ALBERT

Description: This research aims at identifying the role of social media in evaluating the attractiveness of a tourism destination, with special emphasis on the health safety of the destination. Consistent with this objective, a survey has been carried out on a sample of 675 Romanian social media users. The research results led to the development of a model based on structural equation modeling. The model includes nine latent variables that were structured taking into account different behavioral aspects related to the role social media has in travel planning, as well as for evaluating the health safety of a tourism destination. The main findings suggest that the trust in social media for tourism information made people become more interested in communicating through this means and to consider it more useful throughout the travel planning process. When choosing a travel destination, the more involved a tourist is in the decision making process, the greater the attention they pay to social media. The perceived usefulness of social media in travel planning has a significant influence on intentions to choose a tourism destination. As the importance assigned to the health safety of tourism destination increases, social media plays a more active role in travel by creating trust in this means in order to obtain sanitary safety information. People that intend to use social media for finding information on the health safety of a tourism destination are more likely to choose that destination for their vacation. The managerial implications of this paper regard the communication strategies adopted by tourism services suppliers or by some public authorities aimed at stimulating an efficient usage of social media so as to increase the buying intentions for tourism destinations.

Description: The present study assessed the retention forces corresponding to different telescopic systems used in removable prosthetic dentures. The telescopic systems were represented by Co–Cr alloy or zirconia-based primary crowns and Co–Cr secondary crowns. All crowns were manufactured using computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing technology (CAD/CAM). Two types of reference abutment teeth (upper canine and first upper molar) were selected in order to obtain the telescopic crowns and two taper angles—of 0° and 2°—were used for the design of the crowns. A number of 120 samples of telescopic crowns were obtained and subjected to mechanical tests, following a specific protocol, on a mechanical testing equipment. The retention of the telescopic systems was evaluated for different sets of cycles (up to 360), represented by movements that simulate the intraoral insertion and disinsertion of the telescopic systems. The present study highlights that the telescopic systems in which the primary crown is made of zirconia ceramics presents more advantages than those made of Co–Cr. All telescopic systems studied, highlighted that by modifying the taper angle from 0° to 2°, the retention forces have decreased, irrespective of the materials used for the fabrication of the primary crown, suggesting that by using a taper angle of 0°, which is known to be ideal, more efficient, and reliable prosthesis can be developed. Thus, even though the ceramic–metallic telescopic system exhibited the highest retention, all telescopic crowns evaluated registered values between 2–7 N, indicating that they are suitable for clinical use.

Description: The aim of this study was to adapt the electrochemical behavior in synthetic body fluid (SBF) of hydroxyapatite-based coatings obtained by pulsed galvanostatic electrochemical deposition through addition of Mg in different concentrations. The coatings were obtained by electrochemical deposition in a typical three electrodes electrochemical cell in galvanic pulsed mode. The electrolyte was obtained by subsequently dissolving Ca(NO3)2·4H2O, NH4H2PO4, and Mg(NO3)2·6H2O in ultra-pure water and the pH value was set to 5. The morphology consists of elongated and thin ribbon-like crystals for hydroxyapatite (HAp), which after the addition of Mg became a little wider. The elemental and phase composition evidenced that HAp was successfully doped with Mg through pulsed galvanostatic electrochemical deposition. The characteristics and properties of hydroxyapatite obtained electrochemically can be controlled by adding Mg in different concentrations, thus being able to obtain materials with different properties and characteristics. In addition, the addition of Mg can lead to the control of hydroxyapatite bioactive ceramics in terms of dissolution rate.

Description: Today’s human society provides to food consumers many options that involve difficult decisions. Disoriented and stressed by contradictory messages of mass media and by the warnings of being as slim as possible, a modern consumer gets confused and shows a tendency towards losing his traditional habits. Still, most experts suggest that the adoption of a healthy food behavior, based on minimally processed natural products, may contribute to the development of a sustainable food system. The study aims to design the food profile of Romanian consumers by presenting the underlying factors of a balanced diet. The conducted marketing study was of quantitative nature, in which, a face-to-face survey was used. The questionnaire was applied to individuals aged over 18 years old, and the tool used for collecting data was the structured questionnaire applied to a sample of 1185 Romanian respondents. In this study, the following methods of analysis were used: factor analysis, cluster analysis, and structural equation modeling. The research results present the main aspects underlying the food products classification, the clustering of Romanian consumers by their interest in healthy diet, and the relationships between specific variables influencing the healthy food habits. These results have shown the need for supporting educational campaigns targeted at Romanian consumers aimed to develop healthy food habits that could create conditions needed to reshape food supply, and implicitly, to contribute to the development of environmental sustainability.

Description: This research aims to evaluate the individual and social implications of telework, along with the foreseeable permanent result that could be generated. Consistent with this objective, a survey has been carried out on a sample of 1180 Romanian employees, on which a model has been developed, based on structural equation modelling. The model includes five latent variables, on the one hand targeting telework features and on the other hand, its possible effects on individuals and society. At an individual level, the study results emphasize that telework could contribute to a better work–life balance and could also help teleworkers to develop specific teleworking abilities. At a social level, telework could generate sustainable effects targeting the long-term management of the work force and providing solutions to potential problems at local community levels. The managerial implications of this study are directed toward the need to implement a series of sustainable human resource management strategies and efficient employee training and development programs. Moreover, organizations need to be more proactive in assuming corporate social responsibilities.