An Empirical Analysis of the Common Factors Influencing the Sharing and Green Economies

The digital revolution, driven and accelerated by the current pandemic, involves changes to known business models. The innovative model of the sharing economy can be a real and sustainable solution for long-term green economic development. The aim of our research was to determine the common factors of the sharing economy and the green economy and the perceptions of Romanian users regarding them. Our research questionnaire was based on the elements we found in the academic literature. To evaluate the collected data, we used the factor analysis method with the support of the SPSS program. As our study reveals, digitalization as well as inclinations towards saving are factors impacting both the propensity towards sharing and support for the green economy. The demarcation line between the sharing and the green economies is rather fluid, the two realities being under a reciprocal influence. In our model, the green economy develops according to the principles of the sharing economy, going a step further in considering the relationship between society and environment, society and sustainable, eco-friendly behaviour. Although the sharing economy is not necessarily a prerequisite of the green economy, it is, nevertheless, easy for societies or groups that have internalized the lessons of the sharing economy to move forward towards the green economy. This study can be an important tool and a first step for businesses, and, more importantly, for the Romanian public institutions to accelerate the implementation of necessary measures, including legislative ones, in order to promote the further development of these economies.

Knowing-with-snow in an outdoor kindergarten

This article highlights how reciprocal relationships between children and the environment can contribute to exploring understanding of children’s learning in the outdoor environment. We draw on data from a kindergarten in the northern part of Norway, where we have carried out fieldwork three hours a week from October to mid-May. During this period, the outdoor area was covered with snow of varying qualities. Snow and weather conditions are included as elements in a relational understanding, in which the environment is understood as open and dynamic – an interaction between past and present, between geography, materiality, people and the ‘more-than-human’. The learner and the environment are understood as an indivisible process, where different elements exercise a reciprocal influence on each other. Using Ingold’s concept of correspondence, we explore how children learn by being within and with the world. The article is a contribution to creating a nuanced understanding of children’s learning and the educator’s role within an outdoor environment in kindergarten practice.

Enhancing teachers’ classroom communication skills – Measuring the effect of a continued professional development programme for mainstream school teachers

Continued professional development (CPD), tailored to teachers’ needs and expectations, is required for updated skills and knowledge. In this study, twenty-five teachers working with first and second grade students participated in an 11-week programme focusing on enhancing classroom communication. The participating teachers were randomly assigned to either a direct intervention track (intervention) or a delayed intervention track (waiting control). Teachers’ perceptions of activities and interactions in the classroom and self-efficacy were assessed on three occasions: T1, T2, and T3. The direct intervention track received intervention between T1 and T2, while the delayed intervention track received intervention between T2 and T3. A percentage change score for changes between T1 and T2 was calculated, to compare the direct and delayed intervention tracks and assess any intervention effect. Results revealed no significant difference between the groups, i.e., the intervention had no effect on teacher self-reports. The teachers gave an overall positive evaluation of the CPD. Thematic analyses revealed continued need for professional development and insights into the reciprocal influence of student and teacher behaviour. The quantitative and qualitative results paint somewhat different pictures showing the need of mixed methods when analysing these kinds of data.

Response Surface Methodology for 30 kW PEMFC stack characterization

Hydrogen is a promising energy carrier to allow the reach of the zero-emission targets established for the next years. Polymeric Electrolyte Membrane FC are studied inside the HI-SEA laboratory of the University of Genoa, to assess the opportunities of this technology on marine applications. Here, 8 PEMFC stacks, sized 30 kW each for a total power installation of 240 kW, have been tested to draw guidelines for the best system design onboard ships and to deepen the know-how on the experimental management of the technology. During the tests, it was possible to observe the reciprocal influence of some parameters, which may influence the system efficiency. In this work, a statistical investigation is developed to quantify the cell voltage variation correlated to the values of temperature and current. This has been possible thanks to Design Expert (DE), a software developed by Stat-EASE, Inc. Through the Design of Experiment approach, it is possible to evaluate the significance of variables in the FC system, called factors. The experiment under consideration is also characterized by non-controllable factors, cause of disturbances that induce further variability in the response. Eventually, it was possible to analyse the significance of the parameters involved, to build a regression model by performing the analysis of variance with which the significant values are identified, and to assess the presence of outliers.

Older Adult Employment Status and Well-Being: A Longitudinal Bidirectional Analysis

Mixed findings in the literature on the effects of older adult employment on well-being and the reciprocal influence of well-being on employment suggest the need for more careful methodology in teasing out this relationship. Moreover, as previous research has shown that different domains of well-being relate to constructs differently, more nuanced definitions of well-being may be appropriate. The present study examined the longitudinal bidirectional associations of employment and different domains of well-being, controlling for stable within-person variables. The present study sampled older adults from the Midlife Development in the US study at three timepoints on employment status and well-being, specifically psychological, social, and subjective well-being. A Random-Intercept Cross-lagged Panel Model (RI-CLPM) approach was employed to determine the longitudinal bidirectional influence of employment and domains of well-being. Results showed that employment status was not associated with various well-being domains at a later time point. Results also showed that greater well-being, specifically in meaningfulness of society and personal growth, was associated with being employed at a later time point.

Physical Exercise and Mental Health: The Routes of a Reciprocal Relation

Sport participation and exercise practice are considered to be beneficial for mental status, yielding an improved mood and better quality of life. On the other hand, good mental fitness is thought to lead to better physical status and sport performance. The key aim of this narrative review is to provide an unstructured overview on the topic with special considerations on the role of mental and physical health to summarize the evidence on their reciprocal influence. While very few papers describe the role of mental health measures in affecting physical performance, more evidence is available concerning the effect of exercise and sport in improving mental health outcomes. Furthermore, there is a consistent role of depressive and anxiety symptoms in influencing the risk of sport injury in either recreational or elite athletes. Moreover, the importance of investigating mental health issues in elite and retired athletes is highlighted. On the basis of the available literature, several biases were found to affect the provided evidence mainly because of the complexity of a proper study design in this field.

Humour in Film as a Method of Expression

Living in a social world, we experience feelings and react to others’ feelings as they appear to us. For instance, we have all smiled since we were babies. The first “genuine” social smile typically occurs sometime between weeks 6 and 8, as a response to recognizing someone very special: Mom or Dad (Kail, V., Robert & Cavanaugh, John C., 2019). We see, we are happy, we smile. We are born with the desire to be happy. Humankind has searched for different revelations of happiness, and this is how humour was born. From ancient times to the present day, humour has been an instrument of communication, a social behaviour that is an integral part of mass media and social interaction. Humour provides a reciprocal influence. It is a way to interpret information as well as a specific media that can be used to convey this information. What happens to the media once it is "infected" by humour? Does humour necessarily satisfy the need for entertainment? Can humour have a "serious face"? Is it true that "Humour is always a monopoly of the semi-literate" (McLuhan, 2016)? This essay will explore the above-mentioned topics from the perspective of the humour applied in motion pictures, during the interwar era. It will specifically discuss the genre of satire using as a case study the humour found in Latin America during that time as evidenced in the movie Tararira, the film of Benjamin Fondane produced by Falma Film in Buenos Aires in 1936.