Calitatea Vieții

ALEXANDRA DELIU, Identity here and there. Migration as resource for identity construction, Print-House Pro Universitaria, Bucharest, 2019

Cornelia Dumitru — 2022-12-31

Migration is a phenomenon, widely researched by social sciences from different angles. However, this book is not about this phenomenon, but is rather a pragmatic, objective and at the same time subjective introspection of the discourses and narratives of migration, and of how these ‘stories’ shift, in turn, the social definitions. The book proposes a constructivist approach in considering migration and identity as two related concepts and how identities are constructed and, we suggest, reconciled with the realities of rural communities. It basically brings a new subjective perspective and knowledge about assimilation and transnationalism, and relates to issues that are documented at theoretical and pragmatic level, albeit from the individuals’ perspective on integration and dealing with political, social or even psychological borders. The volume draws attention and contributes to new knowledge about the shared issues of migrants and stayers alike, leaving open the promise of return migration, while each migrant is faced with new relations and social environments, as well as with new social categories, representing the sometimes looked for or cautiously approached ‘otherness’.

IULIAN STĂNESCU, FLAVIUS MIHALACHE (eds.) „România rurală în noul capitalism”: 1990-2020”, Editura Pro Universitaria, București, 2022, 375 p.

Alina Pop — 2022-12-31

România rurală în noul capitalism [Rural Romania under the new capitalism], edited by Iulian Stănescu and Flavius Mihalache, is a collection of studies that address the multiple transformations affecting Romania’s rural areas in the three decades after the fall of communism. The “new capitalism” of contemporary Romania designates a new stage in the country’s social and economic development and is set in contrast with the old capitalism of the interwar period. The volume is divided into four sections that analyse different aspects of rural life, such as demography and legal status of rural municipalities, rural economy, quality of life, and social processes.

Introducere: aspecte privind dezvoltarea spațiului mediatic online și rolul său în perioada pandemiei, cu accent pe social media

Mona Simu — 2023-02-02

The article shortly presents the emergence and development of Online Media, with an accent on the description and analysis of Social Media and on the context regarding media in the moment of Covid 19 pandemic outbreak. It also introduces the two articles which are part of the Special Section dedicated to Social Media and its role during pandemic times.

Third Person Perceptions About the Ability to Detect Fake News: The Role of Media Diet and Conspiracy Theories

Nicoleta Corbu — 2022-12-31

Multiple forms of disinformation have proliferated on digital media platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic, when news consumption increased considerably. In this specific context, this paper investigates the way media diet influences the third person perceptions about people’s ability to detect fake news. We focus here on some understudied predictors of third person perception about fake news detection, such as diversity of media diet and belief in conspiracy theories. By means of a national survey (N=1006) conducted in Romania in October 2020, we test this effect for close and distant others, and the role both mainstream and online media play in this context. Main findings show that frequency of news consumption, trust in the media, and belief in conspiracy theories decrease the perceptual gap between self and others, while education and the diversity of the media diet intensifies it.

Decalajul digital și excluziunea digitală a vârstnicilor în România - un studiu de caz în București-Ilfov

Alexandra Dobre — 2023-02-01

Romania becomes a fast ageing society. The support of the elderly became, consequently, a significant topic, and promoting digital technologies is an efficient modality to provide help in this regard. The lower degree of elderly digitalization must be understood in the context of multiple digital divides. Along with the existent divide between generations (age being one of the digital profficiency predictors), there are other factors too, with a major impact, as low level of education or revenues, these two being strongly correlated with a lower degree of digital technology use. This paper is examining the present situation of Internet use in a small sample of elder population in the region of Bucharest-Ilfov. The study analizes the causes that explain the lower digital abilities of eldelrly persons (over 65 years old), and the factors that influence these abilities, using data from Romanian society. The conclusions of the article find that public administration, the digital equipment manufacturers, and families of elderly persons should work together to help these persons to use the advantages of these new digital technologies.

Structura maritală a populației Republicii Moldova în baza datelor studiului generații și gen (2020)

Inga Chistruga-Sînchevici — 2022-12-31

The population of the Republic of Moldova has adopted some trends recorded in European countries regarding matrimonial behavior and attitudes: postponing the official registration of marriage to a more mature age, the spread of premarital cohabitation, and celibacy for good. At the same time, the population has a favorable attitude towards marriage, and the need to create a family seems to be dominant in the socio-cultural context of the Republic of Moldova.

The article highlights the transformations occurring in the marital behavior of the population of the Republic of Moldova and is based on the data of the Generations and Gender (GGS) study, carried out in 2020 by UNFPA Moldova. The results of the analysis of both empirical data and official statistics reflect the same changes in the evolution of marriage and divorce phenomena. The research on the aspects related to the partner's presence, marriage, the average age at marriage, the average number of partnerships, and involvement in cohabitation shows a series of different characteristics for men and women depending on age. Cohabitation, as a marital trend in the Republic of Moldova, is practiced more and more, most often turning into marriage. Nuptial behavior is far from the stage where there is no distinction between cohabitation and marriage. The study found that the stability of marital relationships is influenced by a series of socio-demographic and economic factors: the presence of children, the duration of the relationship, the environment of residence, etc.