University Of Iasi Research Articles

Gas-Phase Kinetics of a Series of cis-3-Hexenyl Esters with OH Radicals under Simulated Atmospheric Conditions.

The present relative kinetic study reports on the experimentally determined gas-phase reaction rate coefficients of OH radicals with a series of seven cis-3-hexenyl esters. The experiments were carried out in the environmental simulation chamber made of quartz from the "Alexandru Ioan Cuza" University of Iasi (ESC-Q-UAIC), Romania, at a temperature of (298 ± 2) K and a total air pressure of (1000 ± 10) mbar. In situ long-path Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was used to monitor cis-3-hexenyl formate (Z3HF, (Z)-CH3CH2CH═CH(CH2)2OC(O)H), cis-3-hexenyl acetate (Z3HAc, (Z)-CH3CH2CH═CH(CH2)2OC(O)CH3), cis-3-hexenyl isobutyrate (Z3HiB, (Z)-CH3CH2CH═CH(CH2)2OC(O)CH(CH3)2), cis-3-hexenyl 3-methylbutanoate (Z3H3MeB, (Z)-CH3CH2CH═CH(CH2)2OC(O)CH2CH(CH3)2), cis-3-hexenyl hexanoate (Z3HH, (Z)-CH3CH2CH═CH(CH2)2OC(O)(CH2)4CH3), cis-3-hexenyl cis-3-hexenoate (Z3HZ3H, (Z,Z)-CH3CH2CH═CH(CH2)2OC(O)CH2CH═CHCH2CH3), cis-3-hexenyl benzoate (Z3HBz, (Z)-CH3CH2CH═CH(CH2)2OC(O)C6H5), and the reference compounds. The following reaction rate coefficients (in 10-11 cm3 molecule-1 s-1) were obtained for the OH radical-initiated gas-phase oxidation of cis-3-hexenyl esters: (4.13 ± 0.45) for Z3HF, (4.19 ± 0.38) for Z3HAc, (4.84 ± 0.39) for Z3HiB, (5.39 ± 0.61) for Z3H3MeB, (7.00 ± 0.56) for Z3HH, (10.58 ± 1.40) for Z3HZ3H, and (3.41 ± 0.28) for Z3HBz. The results are discussed in terms of hexenyl ester reactivity and compared with the available literature data and structure-activity relationship (SAR) estimates. The atmospheric implications based on the average lifetimes of the investigated cis-3-hexenyl esters are discussed in the present study. The gas-phase rate coefficients for OH radical reactions are given herein for the first time for cis-3-hexenyl isobutyrate, cis-3-hexenyl 3-methylbutanoate, cis-3-hexenyl hexanoate cis-3-hexenyl cis-3-hexenoate, and cis-3-hexenyl benzoate. The newly determined gas-phase reaction rate coefficients provide new information for existing kinetic databases and contribute to the further development of SAR methodologies useful for predicting the reactivity of oxygenated volatile organic compounds.

Teaching specialized translation in Romania in a Francophone context at Master’s Degree Classes on Translation and Terminology

The present article proposes an analysis of the didactic strategies employed in teaching translationin a francophone context at postgraduate Master’s degree classes on Translation and Terminology at the Universityof Iasi, more specifically on specialized translation of religious Orthodox Christian texts. It focuses mainly onthe didactic strategies deployed by the teacher in this field with a view to developing the students’ readingcompetence in order to achieve translation (while displaying a proper representation of the distinct featuresof the presence of religion/the religious, and especially of Orthodoxy in France), as well as their specializedcomprehension skills in the religious, Orthodox Christian conceptual field, conducive to appropriate rephrasingat the level of the target text and to the construction of a cultural confessional competence. The study also dwellson the biographic and didactic, professional history of the teacher (who is, at first, involved in teaching Frenchas a foreign language in Romania), on his/her formation as a trainer in specialized translation, on the wayhe/she manages the (due) neutrality in relating to the religious nature of the source texts, on the manner he/sheedifies students to manage their own “emotions” during the translation process, when they are triggered bypersonal religious convictions. Last but not least, the present analysis considers the very stances adopted bythe teacher of specialized, francophone translation in his/her role as an evaluator of the students’ translativetechniques (and abilities), as well as the impact of the latter on the efficacity of his/her overall approach topedagogical strategies.

QUALITY OF CONTEMPORARY STUDENTS LIFE AND LIFESTYLE

Abstract. Quality of life is a concept, and at the same time, one of the basic concerns of all the management systems of modern society. Quality is a concept that refers to a subjective attitude of man, from the perspective of his intelligence and relates to human needs and desires. In order to improve the quality of life, any society creates an increasingly complex infrastructure through which all the multidimensional aspects of life are pursued. This was due to the fact that modern man is aware that all aspects contribute to the definition of his quality of life, both as an individual, as a member of human society, and as a universal entity. In the present research, we proposed a study on the evaluation of indicators related to the quality of life of students and the way in which students self-appreciate their lifestyle. The standardized questionnaire on quality of life - SF-36, was applied to a sample of 250 students from non-profile faculties within three higher education institutions: "Alexandru Ioan Cuza" University of Iasi, Romania; “Vasile Goldiş” Western University of Arad, Romania and the State University of Moldova, Chisinau, which aimed to assess the indicators regarding the quality of life of students, as well as the level of self-assessment of their healthy lifestyle.

Teaching practicum in a pandemic context - challenges and solutions in the opinion of pre-service Romanian teachers

An essential component of the initial training of pre-service teachers, Teaching Practicum took place, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, in special conditions, adapted to new realities in the field of interpersonal relationships and in the school world. The present study aims to inventory the positive / negative elements that pre-service Romanian teachers (students of the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences at the “Al. I. Cuza” University of Iasi, Romania) have identified in Teaching Practicum in primary school, in the second semester of the academic year 2019-2020 and in the two semesters of the academic year 2020-2021. This analysis allows both the diagnosis of the period and the difficulties encountered and the identification of solutions, opportunities to improve Teaching Practicum in different contexts.

Gas-phase IR cross-sections and single crystal structures data for atmospheric relevant nitrocatechols

The gas-phase IR absorption cross sections for 3-nitrocatechol, 5-methyl-3-nitrocatechol, 4-nitrocatechol and 4-methyl-5-nitrocatechol were evaluated using the ESC-Q-UAIC (the environmental simulation chamber made of quartz from the “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iasi, Romania) photoreactor facilities. Specific infrared absorptions and integrated band intensities in the range of 650–4000 cm−1 were investigated by long path gas-phase FT-IR technique. Two different addition methods (solid and liquid transfer methods) of nitrocatechols into the reactor were employed in these investigations. All investigated nitrocatechols were synthesized and characterized by X-ray diffraction spectroscopy techniques beside traditional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and infrared (IR) spectroscopy in order to evaluate their structure-properties relationship in gas and solid phase. This study reports for the first time the gas-phase infrared cross sections and the X-ray diffraction analysis for (methyl) nitrocatechols.

TRUST IN INSTITUTIONS AND POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT AMONG STUDENTS: A QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH

Establishing a relation based on trust between citizens and institutions leads to a good functioning of society and a legitimation of the political system. According to previous research (IRES, 2010, 2012, 2016, IMAS, 2011), Romanians– particularly youth, show low confidence in institutions, especially in politics. Why does this generate negative effects? If citizens have confidence in institutions, they can give a meaning to their civic and political involvement. When level of trust tends to be negative, the motivations to engage in civic or political actions will decrease based on the presumption that even if change is desired, the institutions will not allow it to happen. Thus, the paper aims to analyse the degree of students’ trust in public institutions and their civic/ political behaviour, in the context in which these indicators can influence – on medium and long term -, the type of political culture and the relationship between government and citizens. The study is based on a quantitative research conducted between December 2019 – January 2020 among students from three specializations within the Faculty of Philosophy and Social-Political Sciences, “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iasi, Romania on a sample of 433 subjects, and had as main directions of analysis: the level of trust in public institutions, the forms of civic/ political involvement practiced by students, the ability to effect changes at high level. The results bring into attention that youth have limited trust in institutions and this fact can justify an apathy condition and insecurity regarding social and political change. At the same time, most students are unsatisfied by the Romanian democracy regime. The most common forms of civic and political involvement over the last year have been voting, signing petitions and participating in volunteer oriented work.

The Political and Civic Involvement of Students: a sociological research

On a democratic society, it is desirable to consolidate the relation between citizens and political system through a participatory political culture. Romania – as others post-communism spaces – is characterized by a low level of political communication, poor civic involvement and insufficiently cooperation between government and citizens. During this context, the position of the new generation is crucial in consolidating democracy. Previous studies showed that the young Romanian is perceived rather as an outsider in the relation with the system, have a low trust in institutions by comparison with other age categories, and is not optimistic regarding the capacity of public contestation. On long term, these issues can lead either to a decrease of interest on civic engagement and – in time – to the emergence of a democratic deficit or a subject political culture, or to the emergence of anti-system positions. Nowadays, young people have new tools to help developing a participatory culture, such as new media, new forms of political socialization, an increasing interest in non-governmental organizations et. al. The purpose of the paper is to approach a set of indicators specific to civic and political involvement, using data from a sociological quantitative study conducted on a sample of 430 undergraduates’ students from three specializations: Sociology, Social Work and Human Resources (“Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iasi), in order to observe their civic and political attitudes.

Alexandru Papiu Ilarian – membru al Academiei române (Alexandru Papiu Ilarian – Member of the Romanian Academy)

Romanian Abstract: Alexandru Papiu Ilarian, istoric și jurist din secolul al XIX-lea, cu contribuții și misiuni importante in epoca, și-a desavârșit studiile juridice la Universitatea din Viena și a obținut doctoratul la Universitatea din Padova. A fost profesor la Universitatea din Iași, ministru de justiție in guvernul lui Mihail Kogalniceanu (1863-1864) și pentru o perioada de aproape șapte ani procuror la Curtea de Casație. In 1868, la 41 de ani, este ales membru al Societații Academice Române, devenita din 1879 Academia Româna. Susține primul discurs de recepție la 12/26 septembrie 1869, fiind unul din cele 4 discursuri care s-au rostit pâna la transformarea din 1879. Intre 1869 și 1873 Alexandru Papiu Ilarian a avut o activitate intensa in cadrul Academiei. English Abstract: Alexandru Papiu Ilarian, a historian and jurist of the 19th century, which carried out important contributions and tasks at the time, completed his legal studies at the University of Vienna and obtained his doctorate at the University of Padua. He was professor at the University of Iasi, minister of justice in the government of Mihail Kogalniceanu (1863-1864) and for almost seven years prosecutor at the Court of Cassation. In 1868, at the age of 41, he was elected as member of the Romanian Academic Society, which from 1879 became the Romanian Academy. He delivered his first reception speech on September 12/26, 1869, being one of the 4 speeches that were delivered until the transformation of 1879. Between 1869 and 1873 Alexandru Papiu Ilarian perfomed an intense activity within the Academy.

Critical Notes on the Doctoral Thesis "The Impact of Adopting Ethics and Compliance Programs on Business Strategy" Elaborated by Valeriu Deciu, „Al. I. Cuza” University of Iasi

current paper exposes critical notes on the doctoral thesis The impact of adopting ethics and compliance programs on business strategy elaborated by Valeriu Deciu, „Al. I. Cuza” University of Iasi, Romania. Based on the thesis analysis I found that it corresponds to the requirements of the elaboration of a doctoral thesis in the field and I agreed with its public defence. PhD student pursues a transdisciplinary approach, having as a central point the field of ethics management, approaching the theories and instruments from the area of management but also from that of applied ethics and sociology. research is exploratory in nature, being approached a relatively new field for the literature in the area of ethics management in our country, a field that is also a novelty for the Romanian managerial practice itself. paper also has a confirmatory side, the statistical processing of the data obtained through a survey based on a questionnaire leading to the confirmation of hypotheses formulated by the doctoral student throughout the paper.

Two medium-sized deinotheres (Proboscidea: Mammalia) from the Miocene rocks of the Eastern Carpathians Foreland (Romania)

The paper summarizes the medium-sized deinothere records from Romania, improving the palaeontological data of two less-known specimens from the Eastern Carpathians Foreland. The area is famous primarily by the large deinothere of Gaicena and Mânzaţi assigned to the “ Deinotherium gigantissimum” . Later, several fossils of Deinotherium were documented, but they remained generally unknown, and the morphological and biometrical data were not engaged in the further deinothere comparisons. The most important specimen is a fragmentary right hemimandible with well-fossilized m1-m2, housed in the “Ion Borcea” Natural History Museum of Bacau. The p3-p4 and m3 preserved only the roots; even there are not obvious reworking signs. Furthermore, a tibia sin. fragment were firstly added. The fossil remains were unearthed from the Late Bessarabian rocks (MN 9) near Dragesti (Bacau County). The second specimen represents an isolated M2 sin. of Deinotherium giganteum stored at the Museum of Paleontology “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iasi. It was collected from a microconglomerate bed (Early Bessarabian, ?MN 7-8–MN9) cropping out in the Pietraria Hill Quarry (Deleni, Iasi County). The age of fossil-bearing layers was accurately documented by several mollusc assemblages.

Environmental education through a University Eco-Consortium

At “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iasi, a novel concept has been implemented by creating the University Regional Research Consortium for Environmental Monitoring and Protection, to improve environmental monitoring and education applicability. The Eco-Consortium has implemented several projects which involved teachers, students, and specialists from different educational levels and expertise. During its activity, it has been proven that combining volunteering students’ motivation and the experience of teaching staff with the support of professionals, in a joint Eco-Consortium, is a promising way of dealing with the challenges faced by applied environmental education, from global problems to local awareness.

THIRTY YEARS OF ACTIVITY AT ETHNO-ARCHEOLOGY AND HISTORY MUSEUM FROM ICLOD VILLAGE

On the 14th of May, 1987, when it was founded, the unique Ethno- Archeology and History Museum from Iclod had 3 exhibition rooms; nowadays, it has had 12 exhibition rooms. The „soul” of the Museum is the teacher, choreographer and historian Aurel Ioan Bulbuc. During 30 years of activity, the Museum has hosted research teams during excavation campaigns, symposiums, seminars, and conferences – national and international, many celebrations, festivals, puppet shows, film screenings, poetry recitals and readings. The result of the scientific research and of the excavation made by several teams of specialists from Germany, from the University of Kiel, University of Iasi, University of Cluj-Napoca, Institute of Archeology Cluj-Napoca, determined that a fortified city existed 6850 years ago on the territory of Iclod village.

Simion Bărnuţiu – Pioneer in the development of the law sciences and of the legal education in Romania

Abstract The author analyses in this paper S. Bărnuţiu’s contribution to the establishment of the legal education and to the development of the sciences of the Law in the Romanian area during the mid-19th century. Adept of the natural law philosophy, ardent promotor of human and people’s rights, Bărnuţiu remains a personality of reference in the Romanians’ history not only for being the political leader and ideologist of the Transylvanian 1848 Revolution, but also for establishing the legal education at the University of Iasi by inspiring himself from the curriculum of the profile schools of law from the Western Europe. Having a unitary conception on the law and on the history of law, considering the law from a systemic perspective, Bărnuţiu contributed into the edification of a modern, constitutional, and democratic State in the united Romanian Principalities.

Morphological characteristics of the elusive blotched snake (Elaphe sauromates)at its northwestern range limit (Romania)

Tiberiu C. SAHLEAN, Alexandru STRUGARIU, Paul C. DINCĂ, Gabriel CHIȘAMERA, Catalin R. STANCIU, Ștefan R. ZAMFIRESCU, Iulian GHERGHEL, Valentina E. MORARU Faculty of Biology, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania Department of Patrimony Research, “Grigore Antipa” National Museum of Natural History, Bucharest, Romania Moldavica Herpetological Group, Iasi, Romania Faculty of Biology, “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iasi, Iasi, Romania Department of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA

An Information Systems Master Programme in Romania. Some Commonalities and Specificities

This paper presents some preliminary results of a survey conducted in 2013 and 2015 for the graduates of Information Systems (IS) master programme at Al.I.Cuza University of Iasi. The survey main objectives were to gather information about graduates employability, to identify the required skills on the IT market, to find out the graduates opinion about the programme (including curricula, syllabi, internship, infrastructure, teaching staff), and program strengths and weaknesses and re-align curricula to the industry demand. A brief description of main IS career tracks was provided according to ACM/AIS curricula guidelines. Enrollment for both undergraduate and master IS programmes were compared to international trends. Some other assumptions which were checked relate to: the type of employers and customers of the IT projects the graduates work for, the moment of getting the first job, the structure IT vs. non-IT and managerial vs. non-managerial ( also overall and by genre) positions/jobs of the graduates. The IT functional (sub)areas of graduates positions were discussed in relation to the current state of Romanian IT market which is massively dependent on off shoring.Keywords: Information Systems Curricula, Graduates Survey, IS Employability, IS Programmes - Industry AlignmentIntroductionAs academic discipline and research topic, Information Systems (IS) has followed a convoluted trajectory. It's never ending identity crisis [1], [2] combined with a steep decline in enrolments in developed countries since the dot.com bust of 2001-2003, especially in US and UK programmes [3], [4], [5], rose questions about its future. Some MIS programs in the United States have completely shut down because of low enrolment [5], [6]. The main reason given in the literature for this decline is the offshoring of IT jobs [7], [6].Amidst funeral moods, Romanian (and other low-wage countries) IS programmes have thrived at both undergraduate and graduate levels [3]. Romania's increasing attractiveness for IT outsourcing (lower wages, technical skills, proficiency in foreign languages) created a big appetite for IT professionals and consequently IS enrolment has constantly risen. National and European statistical and academic studies revealed that from the beginning of the economic crisis (2008 in Romania) until the end of 2014, the number of jobs in the IT sector has doubled in Romania, and the demand continues to rise exponentially [8], [9], [10].One thing that is clear is that the globalization of software is here to stay, and its manifestation as IT services offshoring is a disruptive force that has a long-term effect on the domestic IT work force. This phenomenon brings many challenges to adapting the IT/IS education system. It has not only to prepare growing numbers of people to work in IT industry, but also to cope with different and changing occupations, each with its own skills and knowledge requirements. IT work can be thought of as consisting of a spectrum from the more routine (e.g. system maintenance and support, basic programming, system testing) through the more advanced (e.g. requirements management or system architecture development) to the advanced strategic (development of approaches that utilize IT to provide organisation with a competitive advantage), each of them asking for different mixture of technical, business, and softskills. The literature review doesn't provide a clear picture about IT jobs and skills that are being currently offshored or might be offshored in the future. Some authors state that all IT jobs/skills might be offshored arguing that IT skills tend to become new comodity [11], [12], while others try to prove that not all of its could be offshored and that the vulnerability to offshoring depends on some features of IT jobs/skills, such as the need for interpersonal interaction and face-to-face contact, the physical presence of workers in a fixed location and leading to a competitive advantage [13], [14]. …

CASE STUDY OF ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESS AUTOMATION IN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS FROM ROMANIA

Romanian Universities and those from the entire East-European Region are undergoing a long and arduous transition. Significant amount of money, coming from their own funds, the Government or from European funds, are being invested in order to increase the quality of the education and research. Considering that the changing processes require giving and receiving feedback from all the institutional actors, we have observed in the course of time that students’ interaction with the administrative departments has declined in what concerns both the popularity and the satisfaction.The aim of this article was to introduce to the academic community an analysis, layout, and implementation of an, apparently simple, administrative workflow. This, in turn, will be emulated in an electronic environment, thus permitting to highlight the main functional and organizational problems of the social infrastructure present in Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi, Romania.The research methods used include the functional analysis of the existing administrative process, designing the most appropriate implementation using content management tools including digital certificates, and an adequate method to manage the entire process. The efficiency of the solution is derived from the fact that the development is quite rapid; it implies the exploitation of common applications (for all the actors), such as e-mail services of web browsers and, last but not least, the fast adaptability of the workflow specific to the implementation used without using compiled code.

Numerical Simulation of Plastic Deformation Process of the Glass Mold Parts

In our present days numerical simulation became an important tool of engineering. Numerical simulation methods allow quantitative examination of the complex processes and phenomena in the general area of physics and also provide an insight in their dynamic evolution and even can become important tools for the discovery of new phenomena. In essence, the numerical simulation transfer important aspect of physical reality in discrete forms of mathematical description recreates and solves the problems on computer and finally, highlights issues that the analyst required. This modern numerical method approach, attacks the original problems in all their details on a much larger platform with a much smaller number of assumptions and approximations, in comparison to traditional methods. Transposition of the physics problems in the virtual space, governed by the force of computers, numerical simulation - as scientific approach - is becoming increasingly interesting for many fields of research. Basically, by means of numerical simulation are addressed fields such as mechanics deformable solids, fluid mechanics, aerodynamics, biomechanics, astrophysics. Numerical simulations follow a similar procedure to all the scientific approach, which consists in going through several stages, as follows: the phenomenon, the physical model, mathematical model, discrete model, and coding, numerical solution. In the plastic deformation of metals are involved, besides the mechanical properties and some thermal properties because even if the process is applied in the initial state to a cold material, along the process changes occur because of friction between materials and tools and transformation of plastic mechanical work into heat. Basic mechanical properties of the materials are underline through characteristic diagrams of materials obtained in simple tests of traction and compression. These tests were carried out in the Polytechnic University of Bucharest, Romanian Research & Development Institute for Gas Turbines COMOTI, Institute for Calculating and Testing Aero-Astronautic Structures STRAERO, SC UPS PILOT ARM Ltd, and Asachi Technical University of Iasi. To achieve the major objectives of the numerical simulation of the technological process of cold plastic deformation, are incorporated into the physical model three types of surfaces: cylindrical, conical and profiled. The sizes of the initial geometry were established in accordance with the basic dimensions of processed products by this method. For delimiting surfaces to be machined, the addition of grip (the tail) has a reduced diameter. Geometric models provide strength and rigidity needed for safely and accurately processing technology of cold plastic deformation. Geometric models and specimens which had been subjected to tensile tests, compression and hardness were made in the Glass Factory, Chisinau, Moldova.

Global Simulations in Business French Teaching and Learning

Originally designed for the teaching of French as a Foreign Language (FFL), global simulations have been rapidly adopted by teachers of French as a Second Language (FSL), French as a Mother Tongue (FMT) and French for Specific Purposes (FSP). This approach can be successfully used with learners of all age groups, from the beginner to the advanced level. In this paper we will present several thematic places and the way in which the global simulations approach can be used in teaching Master's students from the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration within “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iasi.

Positive Politeness and Negative Politeness in Didactic Communication – Landmarks in Teaching Methodology

Didactic communication involves the usage of positive and negative politeness at all levels (verbal, nonverbal and paraverbal) concerning the interaction teacher – student. This reality is reflected in the present paper by the answers provided by a group of teachers and students from “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iasi, Romania, at an interview focused on the topic of communication with pre-school/primary school students. Therefore, I propose the analysis of the main forms of manifesting positive and negative politeness in this particular framework of didactic communication (as part of teaching methodology) – at a pre-school and primary school level.

Comparative Analysis of Student Training Needs Regarding Internet Use and Its Effects

In this article we will try to realize a comparative study in order to find out if the internet has a positive or a negative role for undergraduate’s university students.The purpose of this study is to identify the perception of undergraduate university students regarding the effects of the internet for their scientific activities and their training needs.The study is based on data obtained from the application of a sample survey which studies the opinion of undegraduate students regarding the role of internet in students education.The sample size was 496 students (students from 'Alexandru Ioan Cuza' University of Iasi and from 'Stefan cel Mare' University of Suceava.