The energy sector contributes approximately two-thirds of global greenhouse gas emissions. In this context, the sector must adapt to new supply and demand networks for all future energy sources. The ongoing transformation in the European energy field is driven by the ambition of the European Union to reach the climate objectives set for 2030. The main actions are increasing renewable energy production, adapting transition fuels like natural gas to reduce emissions, improving energy efficiency across all economic sectors, prioritizing building, transportation, (...) and industry, developing Carbon Capture and Storage technologies, and ensuring universal access to clean and affordable energy. The significant changes envisaged in the energy sector to increase renewable energy production and consumption require improved integration and more use of predictive tools to support stakeholders' decision-making processes. This article presents a case study to assess the performance of predictive models based on a Feed-Forward Neural Network architecture that employ Root Mean Squared Propagation as their optimization function in terms of choosing the most appropriate activation function for this kind of data input and output. The training and testing phases of the models use data about building energy consumption. The lowest training time and Root Mean Square Error values were similar for Rectified Linear Unit and Tanh activation functions. The model with the Rectified linear Unit activation function performed best. (shrink)

The paper brings into discussion the social construction of organization and proposes a new model in organizational development. The paper begins with a synthesis on the paradigm of social constructionism, emphasizing its utility in organizational studies. In times of uncertainty and rapid changes, a lot of organizations lose their missions and meanings, or have the capacity to reinvent and to thrive. The question is what makes the difference? In this line, the paper proposes a theoretical model, gathering the social constructionism, (...) relational constructionism, and appreciative inquiry. Using the grounded theory strategy, in-depth interviews and focus groups were developed with employees and leaders from nongovernmental organizations, Iasi, and Bacau Counties. Data are analyzed through NVivo program and present multiple perspectives regarding their activity in social field. The theoretical model may be an inspiration for organizations that are interested in achieving new ideas, solutions, and results. (shrink)

Migration is one of the social processes that have influenced and are still deeply influencing current Romanian society, given that millions of Romanian citizens have relatives who had longer or shorter migration projects. Migration leads to socio-economic and cultural changes, which cause temporary or permanent changes in the human reality, the way of life and the personality of those who leave, but also of those who remain at home. Certainly, migration affects, first of all, the family, changing both its structure (...) and functionality. The temporarily disintegrated family has become one of the forms towards which the evolution of the family is moving, raising a multitude of problems aimed at a new lifestyle and interaction, new demands in the line of adjustment and accommodation both within and outside the family. The phenomenon of emigration in order to find a workplace affects both the family, as a social nucleus, and the individual as part of the family structure. Migration has a major impact on the relationship between spouses, on the parent-child relationship, on parental behavior, on destiny, in general. Although the family remains central to the existence of individuals in a transnational situation, its cohesion is not self-evident; it becomes a problem of community integration. Following the way in which the perspective on the family has changed in the context of migration, the study aims to identify and analyze the most important transnational practices through which family cohesion was maintained in the case of Romanian migration. To better understand this process of maintaining transnational family cohesion, we use an analytical model in four dimensions (social, positional, cultural and identity). (shrink)

Quite fittingly derived from proficient and attack, coming onto the market in late 20-th century, being associated with protocol-abiding clinical psychiatry and gender-based postmodern discourse, Prozac is seen in what follows as a generic name for serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI-s) and, under its various names, it is further associated with creativity or rather poetic input. While providing the sense of a postmodern notion of subjectivity, the case studies in support of our analysis are found to experience a restoration, even if (...) partial and temporary, of the hyperthemic or rather sanguine temperament. (shrink)

The employee motivation at the organizational level is naturally quantified in achieving performance goals. In this paper are studied the motivational factors from the perspective of employee work performance reflected, vertically, in the organizational performance and further in the macroeconomic performance. Using an empirical study in which the observed data were obtained through a survey conducted in this year among the Romanian employees, in this paper we validate three hypotheses that establish the association of employee performance, on the one hand (...) with proactive personality traits and on the other hand with certain motivational factors. As well, we highlight some managerial implications that can contribute to increasing workplace performance by using of appropriate motivational factors. (shrink)

Starting from the four principles of Pólya's problem-solving method, by analogy, in this paper we propose a new method of philosophical counseling. Thus, the objectives of this study are as follows: the review of several methods of philosophical counseling; justifying the need for a new method, which we called the IPAA method; developing the four principles – the principle of identification (I), the principle of planification (P), the principle of application (A) and the principle of assumption (A). In order to (...) achieve these, we took into account the fact that the nature of the philosophical problems faced by the clients of the philosophical counselors, whether they are existential, moral or metaphysical, can be solved on their own. Therefore, we argued that if in the first instance, clients really need the input of the philosophical counselors, as long as the latter uses the IPAA method – a problem-solving method – they can offer clients the opportunity to self-counsel. The novelty of the IPAA method consists in the fact that it offers the client, assisted and guided at the beginning by the counselor, the possibility to carry out the act of counseling outside the office, being empowered to apply the four methodical principles mentioned above. The present study is relevant in that the new IPAA method, a method focused on solving everyday problems, is a useful method for both philosophical counselors, as its application in the office helps them to train the clients in researching, understanding and assuming their own lives, as well as for the clients, because if they are assisted in the first instance by the counselor's expertise, they can independently clarify and solve their daily difficulties. (shrink)

The article examines examples of sociocultural practices in advertising and PR, music, cinema, gamification, tourism, and art. Analyzing the proposed topic, the dependence of transformation of sociocultural practices on technologization and informatization of society, on merging of different spheres of creative industries (on the example of advertising and content), and interdependence of society and the process of content creation were established. The sphere of “project activity” as a way of combining traditional and innovative foundations to improve and enrich culture, effectively (...) draw attention to social problems, and involve new people in the creative industry was considered separately. To carry out this research the author used the following methods: comparative-historical, hermeneutic method of generalization. At the end of the article, the author concludes that in the era of globalization with different topical problems in the creative sector of the economy there is a certain way out. This sector of the economy combines economy and culture, develops small and medium-sized businesses, reduces unemployment, and monetizes human ideas and creativity. Today sociocultural practices are required to be mobile, digitalized, merging different directions within the sphere, flexible, unique content, subordinated to economic indicators, and attracting attention to a particular event or problem. (shrink)

While innovation has evolved into a common concept for quite a few decades now, especially given the need for new forms of development that require technology transfer and creativity mechanisms, less so is the case of social innovation. The latter remains a rather controversial concept, caught between two extremes: some authors consider it to be useless for academic research given its vagueness, while others point to its sacrosanctity given the need for new ways of societal and political development. Knowledge-creation, idea (...) generation and openness are mechanisms that any type of innovation relies upon. However, social innovation takes these concepts one step further and seeks to become a driving force for institutional change, therefore strongly linked with how liberal democracy works. The current paper aims to look at how social innovation is linked to the participative component of liberal democracy by looking at case studies from the European Union. (shrink)