Romanian National Research Articles

The genesis of opera singing in Ukrainian chamber vocal music

The article considers the specifics of chamber and vocal genres in Ukrainian music culture. Genre evolution of Ukrainian chamber and vocal music covers the XVIII-XX centuries. and consists of 3 stages: from Cantus and song-romance music of the XVIII-early XIX centuries, then romance (mid-XIX century) of strophic and three-part form, to pan-European parallels in the form of lyrical vocal miniature through type or recitative monologue, including touches of arioso expressiveness. The Ukrainian Cantus as a genesis for creation of chamber vocal culture is analyzed. It is determined that the Ukrainian Cantus becomes the basis of the national romance line in the chamber sphere, which extremely actively covered the lyrical array of singing and in the chamber variety, anticipating the aria in the Ukrainian urban-salon sphere. It is noted that the genesis and evolution of Ukrainian romance in the links with folklore and cult tradition, which determined the place of chamber vocal music in Ukrainian opera.

Romanian Nationalism: Politics and Religion, an Inseparable Bond?

The purpose of the present paper is to examine the particular case of Romania, where religion and nationalism go hand in hand to the present day. Particularities related to Orthodoxy will be taken in view, together with historical circumstances. What is more, the way Romanians are, in the majority, religious, will be considered as a factor determining the strong connection of religion and nationalism, of religious and patriotic symbolism, of viewing war heroes as martyrs sacrificing themselves in a religious manner for the good of their country.

Fight and Contemplation. The Towianists amid the European Revolutions of 1848

The aim of the article is to show the European diffusion of an esoteric doctrine that originated in Lithuania in the nineteenth century and its circulation during the European uprisings of 1848. The article focuses on a case study of heterodox Catholic thought promoted by Andrzej Towiański. Towianism was diffused in Central and Eastern Europe and consolidated its presence in Western and Southern Europe. The Towianists acted to influence politics and participated in several key historical events of the nineteenth century. Using archival sources, the article investigates the relationship between Romantic nationalism and esotericism, its transnational nature, and its contribution to a turning point in European history.

Flood simulation on the Vedea River in Alexandria, Romania, using hydraulic modelling and GIS techniques

Flooding occurs yearly in region across Europe, including Romania, when water accumulates at heavy rainfalls, favored by natural and anthropogenic factors such as a flat slope of the meadow, elongated shape of the valley or buildings located close to the river. Alexandria is a city affected by flooding. The study wants to analyze the flood that took place from 3rd to the 6th of July 2005 and the hypothetical impact that could have occurred on the city in the situation of a dam break. The analysis was done based on field observations, hydraulic modeling in HEC-RAS 6.2, GIS techniques (ArcMap) and flow data from the Romanian National Institute of Hydrology. At the beginning, data was imported in ArcMap in order to be prepared with the help HEC-GeoRAS extension for hydraulic modeling in HEC-RAS. After running the simulation, the flooded area was obtained and imported back into GIS. Thus, the number flooded buildings and affected roads have been determined using different tools in ArcMap. There is a high potential for flooding in Alexandria in case the dam would break, especially with high rainfall such as in 2005 when the flow value of 676 m3/s was reached, 80 times higher than the normal flow.

The Emergence of the Romanian National School of Composition in the First Half of the Nineteenth Century: Between the Western Canon and the Resources of the Local Music

This article aims to explain the rise of Western art forms in the musical creation of the Romanian Principalities in the first half of the nineteenth century, as dictated by a particular European political and economic dynamic. I analyse the spread of Western music – usually described as a consequence of the gradual modernization of Romanian society – in terms of the power relations between the European core and a newly integrated periphery at the Eastern border of the continent. To illustrate this change, I discuss Edward Said's concept of orientalism which helps describe the early interactions between Western musicians and professionals and the local music traditions and customs. I then show how these interactions gave the former access to a distinctive musical material used in compositions targeting an expanding European music market. In an age of national struggle in the Romanian Principalities, national music was both a concept and a practice in demand by the local intelligentsia and fostered by composers. However, in addition to this agreement, the concept of national music signalled some significant societal changes that I elucidate by looking at class stratification and the evolution of musical taste. In the final part of the analysis, I draw on dependency theory authors such as Samir Amin and Daniel Chirot to argue that musical life in the first half of the nineteenth century in Wallachia and Moldavia was closely mirroring the economic development of these countries. Thus, I demonstrate that the emergence of the Romanian school of composition must be understood not only at a national level but also within a broader political, economic and social context, defined by the gradual transition to capitalist modes of production and consumption that happened in the first decades of the nineteenth century.

1935. EUGENIE PENTRU NEAMUL ROMÂNESC

After 1919, the medical elite and numerous intellectuals began to show interest to matters such as: the improvement of the human stock, the topic of health and the biological future of the Romanian nation. This essay aims to present and analyze the importance of the biological improvement of the nation around the year 1935. The year itself is significant due to the fact that it coincides with the foundation of the Department of Demography, Anthropology and Eugenics of the Romanian Social Institute and also in the same year the Royal Romanian Society for Eugenics and the Study of Heredity.

Italian Orientalism: Nationhood, Cosmopolitanism and the Cultural Politics of Identity by Fabrizio De Donno

Reviewed by: Italian Orientalism: Nationhood, Cosmopolitanism and the Cultural Politics of Identity by Fabrizio De Donno Alessandro Pes Italian Orientalism: Nationhood, Cosmopolitanism and the Cultural Politics of Identity. By Fabrizio De Donno. (Italian Modernities Series) Oxford: Peter Lang. x+360 pp. €52.86. ISBN 978–1–78874–018–0. How did Italian culture, from the Risorgimento to Fascism, participate in the development of the category of Orientalism? What role did the renewed interest in Indology have in the development of this category? How did the Italian perspective dialogue with European and Western Orientalism? This volume by Fabrizio De Donno tries to answer these fundamental questions in order to understand both the construction of an orientalist discourse in Italy and the transnational dynamics that have forged Orientalism in the West. Italian Orientalism investigates the Italian case to exemplify the processes that have defined the affirmation of Indology among the Western sciences in parallel with the spread of a 'certain' perception of the East which was instrumental in colonial and imperial policies. The volume is divided into two parts: a first in which the author reconstructs the reception of the Orientalist revival in Italy during the Risorgimento, and a second which traces Orientalism and Aryanism from Italian unification up to the Fascist period. In the first part, De Donno opens the discussion by focusing on how in the Italy of the Risorgimento the concept of Europeanness is redefined through the debate that sees Classicism as opposed to Orientalism. This debate is well covered in the book by the analysis of some texts representing the conflicting positions: the Manifestos by Giovanni Berchet and Ludovico Di Breme, which reflect the influences of Orientalism on the Romantic Risorgimento, and the Discorso di un italiano intorno alla poesia romantica of Giacomo Leopardi, in which the poet from Recanati responds to Di Breme by emphasizing the classical roots of the Italian tradition; he contrasts this with a Romantic nationalism strongly influenced by Orientalism, considered foreign to Italian society. This is a position which is not crystallized but which, as De Donno points out, will be modified later with the publication of the Canto notturno di un pastore errante dell'Asia, in which De Donno sees a form of hybrid poem evolving from the Neoclassical-Orientalist form, which leads back to the negative anthropology to which Antonio Prete ascribed the works of Leopardi. The second part of the volume focuses on the post-Unification period and introduces the discussion by highlighting how Italian Orientalism develops in parallel with Indology. The author reconstructs the development of the professionalization of Indology in Italy, in particular through the emergence of Florence as a driving [End Page 263] force, with the foundation in that city of the Istituto di Studi Superiori Pratici e di Perfezionamento in 1860, and the emergence of Angelo De Gubernatis as a central figure for the development of the academic discipline. De Donno subsequently pays close attention to how the concepts of race, religion, and colonialism interact in Italian Orientalism and anthropology. This part of the volume recalls De Gubernatis's effort to carry out 'the first Italian attempt to reconstruct the divine history of Europe, and Italy within it, by replacing the Bible with the Vedas' (p. 179) and highlights the criticisms that the Catholic Church made both of De Gubernatis and of other Italian orientalists who expressed comparable views. Italian Orientalism closes with a focus on the role of Orientalism in Fascist propaganda and on how the categories of nation, race, and empire reconfigured themselves in this period through the influence of Orientalist thought. In this final part of the volume De Donno points out how traces of the idea of Aryanism can be seen in the evolution of the concepts of race and nation developed by the Fascist regime. In this regard, the author recalls, among others, the work of Francesco Lorenzo Pulle, who identified Italy as the prototype of the Aryan-Mediterranean nation. Building a fascinating and detailed literary, political, and historical path, De Donno's book provides a first organic analysis of Italian Orientalism, its origins and its developments; the opening of the analysis frames these dynamics not only...

Troll Magic: Hidden Folk from the Mountains and Forests of Norway

Troll Magic: Hidden Folk from the Mountains and Forests of Norway

Machine Learning Model Validated to Predict Outcomes of Liver Transplantation Recipients with Hepatitis C: The Romanian National Transplant Agency Cohort Experience.

In the early period after liver transplantation, patients are exposed to a high rate of complications and several scores are currently available to predict adverse postoperative outcomes. However, an ideal, universally accepted and validated score to predict adverse events in liver transplant recipients with hepatitis C is lacking. Therefore, we aimed to establish and validate a machine learning (ML) model to predict short-term outcomes of hepatitis C patients who underwent liver transplantation. We conducted a retrospective observational two-center cohort study involving hepatitis C patients who underwent liver transplantation. Based on clinical and laboratory parameters, the dataset was used to train a deep-learning model for predicting short-term postoperative complications (within one month following liver transplantation). Adverse events prediction in the postoperative setting was the primary study outcome. A total of 90 liver transplant recipients with hepatitis C were enrolled in the present study, 80 patients in the training cohort and ten in the validation cohort, respectively. The age range of the participants was 12-68 years, 51 (56,7%) were male, and 39 (43.3%) were female. Throughout the 85 training epochs, the model achieved a very good performance, with the accuracy ranging between 99.76% and 100%. After testing the model on the validation set, the deep-learning classifier confirmed the performance in predicting postoperative complications, achieving an accuracy of 100% on unseen data. We successfully developed a ML model to predict postoperative complications following liver transplantation in hepatitis C patients. The model demonstrated an excellent performance for accurate adverse event prediction. Consequently, the present study constitutes the foundation for careful and non-invasive identification of high-risk patients who might benefit from a more intensive postoperative monitoring strategy.

Emergency‐line calls as an indicator to assess human–wildlife interaction in urban areas

AbstractHuman–wildlife interactions (HWIs) are increasingly common human disturbances as development continues to remove wildlife habitats. Documenting HWI is critical for environmental protection agencies to develop strategies and management decisions that meet the needs of both people and wildlife. However, evaluation of the frequency and types of HWI at broad spatial scales (e.g., national or regional level) can be costly and difficult to implement by managers. In this study, we apply a novel method for the evaluation of patterns of HWI in urban areas by using publicly available data from emergency calls (ECs) placed by inhabitants of Romania's urban areas. We used information from 4601 ECs placed at the Romanian National Emergency Call System 112, which consisted of (1) wildlife species, (2) spatial location, (3) date and time, and (4) a short description of the emergency. Of the 318 analyzed cities, 300 cities documented ECs on HWI between 2015 and 2020, with roe deer and brown bear being the most frequently mentioned species. We recorded an increasing trend in HWI‐related ECs in 73% of the urban areas over the five‐year period. We mapped the large‐scale distribution of HWI by species and type of interactions in order to capture variations at the national level. Further, we analyzed the social and the biophysical factors potentially influencing the occurrence and frequency of HWI. The results showed that social factors have the same effect on all species, while the effect of the biophysical factors varied between species. Particularly, the presence of large natural habitats, represented by forests, influenced the number of calls only for brown bears. Seminatural landscapes with agricultural land have a different influence in terms of effect and significance for the considered species. Our results suggest that publicly available data from ECs can be used for the rapid assessment of HWI and for evaluating trends and predictors of HWI at broad spatial scales.

Floods Simulation on the Vedea River (Romania) Using Hydraulic Modeling and GIS Software: A Case Study

Extreme hydro-meteorological phenomena have become more frequent in recent years compared to the year 2000 in Europe, including Romania. Flooding occurs from heavy rainfalls favored by natural and anthropogenic factors such as the valley’s flat slope or settlements situated near the river. Ţigăneşti and Brânceni villages (from southern Romania) are no exception and have been affected by floods many times. One of these events is that from 2005, when the flow reached 676 m3/s (a value 80 times higher than the normal flow of the Vedea River) in Brȃnceni. This paper aims to present a simulation of the flood that occurred during 3–6 July 2005 and its impact on the settlements, roads, and land, using field observation (including some from 2005), GIS software (ArcGIS), software for flood simulations (HEC-RAS—Hydrologic Engineering Center River Analysis System), and flow data from the Romanian National Institute of Hydrology. Simulations were run in HEC-RAS. The obtained flooded areas imported back into GIS (Geographic Information System) were used to determine the area covered by water and the length of affected roads. The surface and number of flooded buildings were calculated using different tools from ArcMap. Results were interpreted, commented on, and compared with data and maps provided by the Romanian Water National Administration. The simulation shows that the villages would be protected from the flood by building a levee along the Vedea River. Significant losses can be prevented, and money can be saved.

Rehabilitation and restauration of the main façade of historical masonry building –Romanian National Opera Timisoara

A typical characteristic that generally defines historic buildings is certainly the age of the buildings. The life cycle of historic buildings is out of date, the vast majority being hundreds of years old. Naturally, as time has gone by, buildings have been subjected to the degradation process. The cultural and historical value of these buildings are the subject of a particular focus on finding rehabilitation and restoration solutions that meet both architectural and structural requirements. A lot of the historical buildings are buildings with structure from brick masonry walls, as is and the case of the Romanian National Opera from Timisoara. Thus, this paper aims to address the subject of the deficiencies faced by the materials that make up the facade of the historic masonry building - Romanian National Opera Timisoara in order to find the optimal solution for rehabilitation and restoration. In the first phase, the characteristics of the analysed building are presented as well as the historical context throughout its existence. The methodology of travertine testing is described, including pull-off and porosity tests and morphological and mineralogical analyses as well as a thermography of the façade. The results of the non-destructive and destructive tests carried out on the bricks extracted from the masonry wall of the Opera House as well as the testing procedure are also presented. A comparison of the methods of rehabilitation and restoration of brick masonry buildings was also made. The paper includes details regarding the initial situation of the building’s damaged façade, but the main scope is to evaluate the causes of the façade’s cracks which have led to the need of façade rehabilitation and restauration works. The deficiencies of the travertine plates that make up the façade as well as the structural walls are described. Thus, for the rehabilitation of the masonry walls, a reinforced plaster lining was chosen, at the same time the existing cracks were filled by injections of cement milk, while for the restoration of the façade, the existing travertine tiles were replaced with new tiles with the same aesthetic configuration. In conclusion, the focus is on highlighting the efficiency of the chosen rehabilitation solution as well as that of restoration works executed in order to prolong the building’s life cycle. The conclusions of the study also highlights the importance and necessity of preserving heritage buildings in Romania in order to complete the historical and cultural space.

Nobilimea romaneasca aradeana in veacurile XIX-XX. Familia Petranu de Ileanda – destin si istorie

In the labyrinth of discovering the past lives of the Romanian nobility, our thoughts have stopped on the longevous Petranu Family of Ileanda whose history of over 250 years of nobility raises new interests of deciphering a universe, anchored in traditions, spirituality, and Romanian culture throughout the ages. Old records mention that the Petranu Family of Ileanda was ennobled by the Transylvanian Prince G. Rákoczy, in 1650, for military services. Over the history, two of the members of this family marked the Romanian culture and spirituality. The renowned priest‑professor Dr. Ioan Petranu (1864–1904) was an author of school textbooks, a well‑known collector of folklore, a passionate philologist, and a researcher of the most important bibliophile documents from the parts of Arad. His son, Coriolan Petranu (1893–1945), a university professor at the Institute of Archeology and the History of Art from Cluj‑Napoca, was considered a pioneer in the field of Romanian museology. His prodigious activity was always driven by professionalism, conscientiousness, and visionary spirit. Over the time, he remains a model for us, the generation of today. We consider it appropriate, at the celebration of 130 years since he was born, to reinstate him in the pantheon of the Romanian nation, creator of new cultural and spiritual values.

Nicolae Iorga as everybody’s political ally in post-communist Romania

This chapter discusses how the memory of an influential figure of modern Romania’s history like Nicolae Iorga (1871–1940), a foremost historian-politician and nationalist intellectual, became instrumental in the three decades following the end of communism by politicians. As he is considered the father of Romanian nationalism and a symbol of the nationalist struggle on the eve of WWI, Iorga’s memory in contemporary Romania allows us to examine nationalism in politics. In the research, a qualitative approach was adopted to the subject by dealing with discourses and initiatives produced by politicians as agents of memory in post-communist Romania. By looking at the various strategies of remembrance used after 1989 by these memory entrepreneurs, the research investigates the politicians who honoured Iorga, the purpose of their engagement in such politics of memory, and what this says about how post-communist politics, nationalism and memory mingled.

Csíki-medence munkaerőpiaci helyzetképe

"The study analyses the labour market situation in the Bazinul Ciucului based on the data of the Romanian National Statistical Office, closely linked to the research on Szeklerland and the Bazinul Ciucului. The aim of the study is to analyse the social and economic trends in the area under study, with a particular focus on the evolution of labour market data in rural municipalities. The findings will provide insights into the economic performance and competitiveness of the municipalities of the Bazinul Ciucului and its labour market situation, helping decision-makers and local authorities to explore the labour market and plan interventions to increase employment. The results show that in most municipalities there have been no major changes in the labour market over the last 10 years. Both the number of employed and the number of registered unemployed are low compared to the population of the municipalities. The unemployment rate is not high in principle, but it is still significant, due to the statistically difficult to measure share of the unemployed who are not registered (e.g. houseworkers, temporary foreign workers) and the share of the unemployed who are working in the black economy."

SWOT analysis regarding vaccination in Romania in the family doctor's office

Objective. This article aims to identify strengths, weak­nesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT analysis) re­gar­ding vaccination in family medicine practices in Romania. Methodology. A SWOT analysis was performed in a focus group or­ga­nized with the members of the Vaccinology Group of the Romanian National Society of Family Me­di­cine (SNMF) in February 2022. Results. Covering the ter­ri­tory with family doctors as well as the population’s trust in the fa­mily doctor are still strong points. The main weaknesses are the lack of organization in practice groups dedicated to the current activity but also the vaccination, as well as the insufficient time needed to solve all the problems in pri­ma­ry care. The use of modern vaccine products, the ex­pan­sion of vaccination programs but also the experience as vaccinators offer opportunities for vaccination in fa­mily medicine practices, while admi­nis­tra­tive issues and po­li­ti­cal inconsistency are identified as the main threats. Con­clu­sions. The promotion of vaccination, the logistical process of distributing vaccines and the ad­mi­nis­tration of the vac­ci­na­tion consultation, together with the vac­cine products, have many aspects that are rather related to administrative and organizational issues.

M. H. Maxy: de la avangardă la socialism

„M. H. Maxy: from avant-garde to socialism”, opened on the 28th of December 2023 at the Romanian National Museum of Art, uses a chronological line of events to bring up to date the image of Max Herman Maxy (1895 – 1971), seen as a leading artist with a significant role in the Romanian Avant-garde, but also as the first director of the Romanian National Museum of Art. Subsequently, his contribution to the development of the national art scene can’t be denied in art history. Furthermore, the opening was carefully chosen to mark a symbolic anniversary of 145 years since the first Romanian Jew obtained his citizenship, therefore enhancing the role that the Jew community had in the bloom and spread of the Avant-garde in Europe. The exhibition has a tacit dialogue to the main artistic events which celebrate Timișoara as The Cultural Capital of Europe 2023, the retrospectives dedicated to Victor Brauner and Constantin Brâncuși, suggesting the main artistic pillars in the dawn of Modern Romania.

The Rights and the Proxies of the Monarch in Romania According to the Constitution of 1866

The article is devoted to the analysis and the characteristics of the rights and the proxies of the monarch in Romania according to the Constitution of 1866. The adoption of the first Basic Law was the fateful act in the history of the state-building processes of Romania and contributed to its development as the sovereign state. The Constitution had the contractual nature and established the compromise between the young bourgeoisie and the large landowners in the form of the constitutional monarchy. The king in Romania for a long time remained the person who was «above» of all the state and political leadership of the country. This status and the proxies of the monarch were delegated with the first Basic Law. The legal fixing of such legal status of the monarch at the level of the Constitution made it possible to establish full-fledged royal power, which was an extremely important state-political step for the development of Romania as the independent country. The constitutional foundations, the functions and the limitations of the institution of the monarchical power in the principality were fixed in the number of the articles of the Constitution of 1866. At the same time, the important state-constitutional aspect was the clear fixation that all proxies of the monarch could be done based on the interests of the Romanian nation. The Basic Law of 1866 established the proxies of the monarch such as in the legislative branch of power (the right of legislative initiative, the right of the interpretation of laws, Articles 32–34); executive power (had to implement it in the manner determined with the Constitution, Article 35) and partially in the justice system (the right to declare amnesty on the political issues, the right to postpone or to mitigate punishment in criminal cases, Article 93). For strengthening of the foundations of the statehood, the Constitution officially established the principle of the hereditary power of the monarch (Article 82). His person was declared inviolable. Herewith, the Romanian constitutionalists fixed that the monarch did not have any other proxies, except those granted to him with the Basic Law (Article 96). Adopted in 1866, the Basic Law approved legally the democratic aspirations of the Romanian nation. It defined directly the most important principles of the state functioning as the principle of the national sovereignty, the principle of the division of powers, the principle of representative government, the principle of hereditary monarchy, the principle of the responsibility of the state officials, the principle of the Rule of law, etc. The Basic Law definitely contributed to the gradual democratization of the state-governing and public structures, the formation of the concept of the civil personality and untouchability, foresaw the presence of the political and legal pluralism in the country, etc. Due to the introduction of the institution of the constitutional monarchy, that ruler in the person of Karl I could establish and hold the certain political balance in the country between the liberals and the conservatives, which opened the possibility to potentially strengthen the two-party system and laid the foundations of the civil society and the future constitutional life of Romania.

Wooden roof structures of the Moberg house

The preservation of cultural heritage sites is an important task. Historical monuments are a reflection and documentary evidence of the past, information about which must be preserved and passed on to future generations. One of the most vulnerable and fragile structures in a building is the roof. This work provides historical information and presents the results of a survey of the structures of the building of engineer Moberg in the urban-type settlement of Kalevala in the Republic of Karelia of the Russian Federation. The structural system of the roof and the joint work of its elements have been studied. The expediency of preserving the structural system, shape and geometric parameters of the roof, as well as replacing the existing structures before the reconstruction with new elements from modern sawn timber has been substantiated. The cultural heritage site “House of Engineer Moberg” is an architectural monument of regional significance of the early 20th century and the main historical building of the urban-type settlement of Kalevala, built under the influence of the ideas of Finnish national romanticism. According to archival sources, the house was built in 1906 and renovated in 1925-1926 with the participation of engineer Eduard Moberg and builder Tuomas Waller. Nowadays, the building houses the ethnocultural center kalevalatalo.

Problems of national romanticism in a new context of research (Based on the work of Yashar Garayev “Tragedy and the Hero”)

Problems of national romanticism in a new context of research (Based on the work of Yashar Garayev “Tragedy and the Hero”)