Implications of coal disappearance from the energy mix in Romania

The firm commitment of the European Union (EU) to fully implement the 2030 Agenda requires the Member States to find and implement solutions to meet global targets, including ensuring clean and affordable energy. The EU encourages the elimination of coal from the energy mix in order to quantitatively reduce emissions and the impact on the environment and human health. Romania attaches great importance to the 2030 Agenda and understands that developing the national economy, increasing the quality of life, and caring for the environment are inextricably linked to the development and modernization of the energy system, for which the National Energy Strategy 2019-2030 was developed. According to it, in the perspective of 2050, Romania will be based on a diversified, balanced, and modern energy mix through clean technologies. But what if coal would disappear from the energy mix? The causes of the disappearance of coal from the energy mix could be represented by global or national policies or the depletion of known exploitable reserves, the latter being a less probable variant. In this paper, we aim to highlight and analyze some scenarios related to the possibilities of replacing coal in the energy mix, which would change the perspectives.

Students at the Table

This chapter explores the benefits of involving students in institutional decision making. The authors describe an action research project conducted at a public institution that involved a working group of students, faculty, and administrators researching and cocreating solutions to develop a more inclusive and equitable environment for learning and student development. The university gained direct insight from the students' viewpoints, and students earned course credit while gaining skills in research methods, leadership, communication, negotiation, and writing. The collaborative, cocurricular experience resulted in the development of a center for cross-cultural engagement on campus. The authors also discuss considerations for this model. Institutions must demonstrate a firm commitment to addressing the issues they investigate by providing sufficient resources and recognizing the labor inherent in the transformative leadership of the community members who work to create institutional change.

KOORDINASI ANTARA PEMERINTAH PUSAT DAN DAERAH DALAM UPAYA PROSES PENEGASAN BATAS ANTARA KABUPATEN MERAUKE DENGAN KABUPATEN BOVEN DIGOEL PROVINSI PAPUA

Since the reform process began in 1998, there has been a previously centralistic change of the system towards decentralization. With this principle, the authority of the central government partly began to be handed over to the local government with the principle of regional autonomy. The region has the authority to organize its own household with the aim to be able to develop the potential of the area owned. This principle opens the need for the region to expand the region by dismantling the New Autonomous Region (DOB). However, after the formation of DOB began to arise problems related to the affirmation of unfinished regional boundaries. In its rules 5 years after the Regional Formation Law was established, the regional boundaries must be completed immediately, but in reality many exceed more than 5 years. This is due to the conflict of interest from each region so that a coordination is needed between the central and regional governments in the efforts of the boundary affirmation process in Indonesia. One example that can be raised is the Boundary Between Merauke Regency and Boven Digoel district of Papua Province. The success of this coordination process requires a firm commitment from the stakeholders involved in it. In addition, the Central Government (Minister of Home Affairs) who applies as a leader (leader) must also be able to influence others; motivating others; provide accurate information; And be able to make wise decisions

The Decade of the Violin Concerto: New Music and the Performer in the 1930s

The 1930s saw an unusually rich harvest of violin concertos. An examination of this group of works provides a singular and seldom-considered angle from which to view the music history of the interwar period. In spite of the widely divergent styles and personal approaches, the works are united by certain factors that result from the choice of genre, with an attendant set of historical and technical constraints. In addition, the violinists who commissioned and performed the concertos influenced the compositions to a greater extent than often realized; therefore, in order to understand the works, we must take into consideration the artistic personalities of the respective performers as well. Many of the concertos were written for a new type of soloist, mostly from the younger generation, who had made a firm commitment to new music – something that some superstar violinists were unwilling to do. The concertos offer good opportunities to study the relationships between composer and performer, still a somewhat neglected topic in musicological studies.

Interrogating Sartre and Apartheid

In an important article published last year (2020), Tal Sela asserts that Sartre’s contributions to the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa throughout the 1960s are overblown and overestimated. Sartre was motivated, Sela argues, by a desire for self-aggrandizement rather than by any genuine concern for the victims of apartheid racism. This article refutes those claims. In countering Sela’s arguments, I revisit in detail Sartre’s interventions denouncing the phenomenon of apartheid and establish the importance of Sartre’s tireless struggle against racism to highlight the force of his opposition to South Africa’s infamous policy and his equally firm commitment to freedom both in his philosophy and personal life.

Factors Influencing Intention of Facebook Fans of Companies to Convert into Actual Buyers

Recently, a new wave of business opportunities has emerged by integrating social media and commerce. Although many hospitality organizations have considered online social communities as potential channels for promotion, most of them have failed to obtain sales from community members. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to propose and examine a new research model that can capture cognitive- and affective-based trust elements influencing fans' behavioral intention to purchase by affecting their firm commitment. A survey of 393 Facebook participants found strong support for the model. The results indicated that Facebook fans' perceptions of firm commitment could be a strong predictor of their buying intention. Factors of building cognitive trust (i.e. perceived reputation, perceived ability, and information quality) as well as affective trust (i.e. perceived benevolence, perceived integrity and perceived social presence) were the critical components significantly influencing fans' firm commitment. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.

Measuring the Success of the Presidency of the Council of the EU

This paper aims to contribute to the ongoing debate on criteria for measuring the performance of the rotating Presidencies of the Council of the EU. The comparison between Austria and Croatia, two countries that concluded the two most recent Council Presidency Trios, can be illustrative in identifying the main factors that can influence the overall performance of rotating Presidencies. Based on the series of quantitative and qualitative indicators, the overall score of both countries’ Presidencies turned to be positive, despite some failures of these Presidencies to demonstrate a firm commitment to fundamental EU values. In view of the lack of evaluations of the Council Presidencies based on verifiable, measurable indicators, this paper seeks to contribute to the development of a more objective methodological framework for the assessment of the future Presidencies of the Council as a still under-researched area within EU studies.

Healing a Divided Church, 1130–1135

This chapter describes how in the first years of the 1130s, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux became a European figure, involving himself in the ecclesiastical and secular politics of his time and influencing them to a greater or lesser degree. He dedicated himself to solving the perilous situation in which there were two popes at the same time in the Western Church. By 1138, he had been to Italy a number of times and had traversed what today is France. These journeys must have been grueling for an individual with gastric problems and with a firm commitment to the prayer life of the monastery. At the same time as Bernard missed the daily office, he was separated from the brothers he loved in Clairvaux, both his brothers in the flesh and his spiritual brethren, who looked to him for spiritual guidance and inspiration.

INTEGRATION OF NAQLI AND AQLI KNOWLEDGE IN ISLAMIC SCIENCE UNIVERSITY OF MALAYSIA: CONCEPT AND MODEL

The aim of this study is to explore the concepts and models of integration implemented by Islamic Science University of Malaysia (USIM). USIM was chosen as the focus of this study because of its firm commitment to the implementation of integration. For instance, the USIM vision statement makes it clear that the university has an ambition to become a “leader in the integration of naqli and aqli knowledge”. The method of data collection used in this study involved the analysis of document and interviews. Documentation was used to obtain data related to integration concepts and models applied in USIM. Then, interviews were conducted to gather information from key informant to supplement the findings from the documentation. It was found that the integration concepts and models applied at USIM consist of four categories or levels namely: al-nusus (ayatization), al-muqaranah (comparison), al-taqyim (adaptation) and at-tafaqquh (integration). These four concepts were have been implemented in detail in the learning process, as well as in research and community development.

Critical Factors in Containing COVID-19: Lessons from Selected Countries

The coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has affected over 190 countries. In responding to the pandemic, countries around the world have developed their own containment strategies, with varying degrees of success: some have achieved nearly total success in containing the disease, while others have seen a constant rise in infections and deaths. The successful countries have evidenced common responses and strategies, linked in large part to a firm commitment by their leaders to confront the pandemic matched by a strong sense of social cohesion by the countries’ citizens. This paper explores five factors that have been critical to the progress achieved in containing the coronavirus in a few selected countries and their lessons for Kenya and other African countries.