Background: While corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a field of study that has gained popularity in the last years, the approaches of small and medium enterprises’ (SME) contributions to social responsibility are under debate. Moreover, studies on Romanian CSR demonstrate the incremental development of such practices, while the social responsibility of Romanian small business is an understudied topic. In this paper we present data regarding the role of owner-managers in shaping the CSR actions of their SMEs in Romania, along with their opinions on what social responsibility is. Methods: We analyze two sources of data: quantitative research, based on 109 questionnaires collected from SMEs in the western part of Romania, and also a qualitative study, based on 17 interviews with owner-managers of small businesses. The quantitative data presents the reality of social responsibility actions and the relationship with manager’s attitudes, while the qualitative focuses on a better understanding of owner-managers opinions on social responsibility. Results: Our data confirms the high impact of owner-managers’ values and orientations in shaping the degree and forms of the CSR of their firms, and reveals definitions of CSR given by practitioners. Conclusions: Our data reveals that the way managers’ see the role of business in providing social welfare influences their decisions to participate in different types of CSR actions. Through interviews we show that managers, whether their firm has formal CSR actions or not, consider being fair and doing business at their best as part of CSR. Those that also displayed other forms of CSR are those who considered it their duty to give back to the community. The interest of stakeholders was displayed mostly by those who have incremental interest in CSR.
The online educational process has effects on all actors involved. The paper investigates the changes that emerged during COVID-19 pandemic in terms of teaching activities in the case of Social Work study program at the University of Oradea. We present students' opinion regarding the way courses, seminars and laboratories were conducted in general, educational materials used in class and, problems that occurred during online meetings. Another component of this study refers to the way the practical activities were carried out. The research results show that students have adapted to the online context and, to a larger extent, the teaching-learning activity could be carried out in order to achieve the educational objectives of Social Work study program.
Background: Findings indicate a direct relation between engagement in physical activities, dietary habits and a healthy lifestyle. An active life and a nutritional diet are associated with substantial health benefits. But people’s interest in health outcomes as well as their level of engagement in physical activities is influenced by a wide array of determinants, among which socio-cultural factors play an important role. Material and methods: Our paper investigates how much Romanian adults are engaged in exercising and aims to identify their health-related behaviors Data were collected by questionnaire from 400 subjects. Results: Research results indicate that not many Romanian adults are interested in their health. However, those who are preoccupied with this tend to adopt a healthy lifestyle by engaging themselves in various physical activities, feeling motivated about this and eating correctly, as well. Conclusions: The level of engagement in physical activity is individually determined by social covariates, such as education, income, occupational status or age.
The crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic implied specific intervention measures in all areas worldwide. Social workers from the social care system and health services, along with other specialists, have played an extremely important role in providing support to vulnerable groups, in order to manage social and psychological issues that have emerged in this period. This paper presents the results of a study involving 94 social workers from Romania. The aim of the research was to identify the main changes in the activity of social workers from public and private social services during pandemic, a period characterized by restrictive measures in order to limit the transmission of the virus. The paper focuses on vulnerabilities and challenges imposed by these changes in order to continue to provide social services for those in need. Recommendations on social policies are outlined based on the lessons learned in this period. The results show that communication and the maintenance of the relationship with beneficiaries are the parts where most changes occurred. The limitation of direct contacts has led to a decrease in field activity, online work, increased workload, or changes in working schedule, and also sometimes (mainly in public institutions) increased bureaucracy. Based on the results of the study, some recommendations for policy makers are identified, taking advantage of the lessons from this period of crisis: the need for the authorities to prioritize the allocated resources and to impose stricter rules to follow, provide funding for specific resources, intensifying the collaboration between all social actors involved, developing and implementing unitary intervention models, greater interest and understanding from authorities and responsiveness to new intervention methods, maintaining the online activity where the situation allows it in order to reduce bureaucracy in public institutions.
This paper investigates the forms, areas and orientations of social responsibility (SR) within small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Bihor County, Romania. Acknowledging the particularities of SMEs involvement in social and environmental actions, we investigate both the practices and orientations of these firms from our region in SR. Our study, based on the responses of 52 owner-managers of SMEs, reveals interest towards SR practices, yet a limited visibility of such actions. The orientations towards SR can be grouped, based on strategic orientation scale, on three distinct directions: one related to primary stakeholders (law included), one to sustainability issues and one regarding to society. The impact of these orientations on practices still need to be investigated on larger samples.
(1) Background: Adequate housing conditions and access to basic house amenities are fundamental human rights and indicators of individual wellbeing. The paper aims to present children’s perception regarding housing conditions and household goods and their impact on children’s overall satisfaction with their house. (2) Methods: We aim to determine the contribution of housing conditions and household goods on children’s satisfaction with their home in 31 countries worldwide. To capture differences in children’s satisfaction with their house based on their housing conditions, we analyzed models conducted on data from 10 lower- and upper-middle-income and 20 high-income countries. We used secondary analysis on data from the third wave of Children’s Worlds: International Survey of Children’s Well-Being (ISCWeb) (87,000 children, aged 10–12, worldwide). (3) Results: The results show that there is a link between the material conditions of the family and children’s satisfaction with the house they live in, and also that having a place to study and access to internet are the main factors related to housing that explain children’s satisfaction. (4) Conclusions: Children mostly appreciate the way housing setting and household goods contribute and ensure their proper development through the creation of a stimulating home learning environment. Results are helpful in setting future standards to increase children’s wellbeing and quality of life, and ensure adequate housing as one of the pillars of sustainable development.
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