Abstract:The article aims to identify the degree to which tourism managers who work in Romania in the area of the Carpathian Mountains have implemented sustainable development practices. It also assesses the quantification of their availability to be informed and to apply voluntary tools of sustainable development. Qualitative research based on the method of semi-structured in-depth interviews was conducted, with 34 managers who work in the accommodation units in the Romanian Carpathians. Results show that most managers are concerned with issues linked to sustainable evolution of the accommodation unit they manage. The researchers have noticed a low interest in sustainable evolution negatively correlated with the comfort level of the accommodation unit and competitiveness. Based on these results the authors recommend the adoption of measures that may allow sustainable development, and for the Romanian authorities to encourage the increase in the number of tourism units that can use sustainable management systems. This can be done through accessible rules, development of networks that may offer information about good practices and codes of conduct, as well as the possibility to participate in exchange programs.

Sustainable development is a constant and a necessity of daily life in the restaurant industry. The restaurant industry has high consumptions of energy, water, detergents, and consumables, together with tremendous food waste. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted many acute sustainable development problems. In this context, this article analyzes the practices identified by restaurant managers that define their responsible behavior, and the significant changes made towards sustainability during the COVID-19 pandemic. This article presents the results obtained through qualitative research, carried out by semi-directive in-depth interviews, conducted with 56 restaurant managers from Romania. The answers obtained are based on five topics of discussion highlighting the managers’ growing interest in finding solutions to counteract negative effects on the environment, to ensure the wellbeing of customers and employees, and to increase the profitability of their company. The results obtained from the research reflect the thoughts and actions of restaurant managers in Romania, contributing to the body of knowledge in the understanding of sustainability practices in the foodservice sector.

The aim of this paper is to identify the spatial and temporal distribution of chemical and physical parameters that characterize the water quality, the trophic state and the self-purification capacity assessment of Snagov Lake. The Snagov Lake is a natural lake located at 25-30 km North from Romania�s capital, Bucharest. The study was conducted during a five years period, from April 2010 until October 2014. The measurements used (temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, transparency, chlorophyll-a, total phosphorus, TN/TP ratio) are presented in the form of spatial and temporal evolutions. For self-purification identification the aerobic mineralization degree, biological depuration factor and TN/TP ratio were used. The trophic stage of Snagov Lake in the range and in all the points of sampling is eutrophic�hipereutrophic for all the parameters used for assessment, excepting several short periods of time (fall of 2010, spring and fall of 2011) when the lake was in mesotrophic state.

This article aims at identifying and analyzing opinions referring to the necessity, opportunity and efficiency of the implementation of the strategies and sustainable development practices in the wine industry as food safety is considered a component of sustainability. The main objective of the paper is to create a clear picture of the existing willingness of companies to adopt marketing strategies that should contribute to increasing food security by increasing the quality of wine and which should be based on the principles of sustainability. In this sense, the authors conducted some qualitative marketing research in which 15 managers from wine producing companies from Romania's wine-growing areas were interviewed. The research highlights the relationship between responsible consumption, food safety and sustainability, and the authors believe that such an association is relevant to the economic and social context of the European Union and other parts of the world. The novelty of this research refers to the analysis of the relationship between the responsible wine consumption and sustainability, to the identification of the opinions of the wine companies managers regarding the benefits and the limits of M2M and IoT technologies, to the emphasis of the marketing strategies and techniques considered innovative in the field of viticulture, as well as to the association of the concept of food safety by wine consumption to the aspects related to education and culture.

Abstract:The increased number of road accidents, leading to deaths and serious injuries is a social problem facing most of the world countries, which can affect the sustainable development of a society. This has economic implications, because it impacts the increase of expenditure on hospitalization and the recovery costs of those injured. The current article is based on a quantitative research, coordinated by the authors, conducted among traffic participants from Romania. The major objective of the study was to quantify the main aspects of seatbelt wearing behavior. The research was carried out at national level and used a systematic probabilistic sampling. The sample contains 4346 subjects, of which 3120 were from the automobile section, representing the topic of this article, and being representative of the Romanian adult population. The main research results showed that the percentage of women always wearing seatbelts (76.4%) is higher than the percentage of men (69.9%). Additionally, the highest percentage of people always wearing seatbelts is found at the age group over 55 years (85.2%). The percentage decreases with age-the age group 18-25 are the least likely to wear seatbelts.

The aim of this work is the study of te adsorption process of some heavy metals like lead, copper, chrome and nickel in agricultural argilaceous soil in order to put in evidence the influence of adsorption conditions on adsoption process. The adsorption isotherms, Langmuir and Freundlich, have been used to describe the adsorption equilibrium. The experimental data put in evidence that the adsoption capacity of heavy metals increases in order Ni2+ (about 110 micromol/g), Pb2+ (about 150 micromol/g), Cr3+ (about 300 micromol/g) and Cu2+(about 350 micromol/g). In all cases, the Langmuir isotherm reflects more exactly the adsorption process, being recomended for thermodynamic parameters determination.

Distribution of heavy metals and trace elements from anthropogenic origin in water, sediments, aquatic plants and different tissues of fish from Snagov Lake, Romania. has been investigated. The concentration of Cu, Zn, Cd, Ti, V, Cr, Mo, Co and Ni, was collected from three sites of the lake, during spring time from water, sediments, Ceratophyllum demersum, Phragmites australis reed, and Scardinius Erytrophtalmus fish. The fish samples were taken from gills, muscles, scales and bones. The ecological risk index has been assesed and bio-concentration factor, (BCF), of metals in anatomical tissues of studied fishes to be used as a diagnostic tool for lake pollution Experiments have shown that Ti and Zn had the highest concentration in water, sediments, aquatic plants and fish samples. Also, the metals bio-concentration is increased in branchiae and scales, compared with muscles and bones.

For both Romanians and foreigners, rural tourism in Romania is attractive. Although the literature provides information on strategies and measures that have been taken in the tourism industry to improve the quality of products and processes, the authors did not find studies on quality strategies and sustainability measures implemented in the rural tourism sector in Romania in the last period, which was severely affected by the pandemic. In order to highlight these strategies and the way in which their implementation is perceived by consumers, the authors conducted exploratory research and quantitative research. The results of the research showed that Romanians do not know the significance of quality strategies and sustainability practices, but appreciate the effects of their implementation by tourism units’ administrators.