ISSN 2066-7701

TRANSILVANIA UNIVERSITY OF BRAŞOV

BULLETIN OF THE TRANSILVANIA UNIVERSITY OF BRASOV

VOL. 9 (58) No. 2- 2016

SERIES VII - SOCIAL SCIENCES AND LAW

Published by Transilvania University Press Braşov, Romania

2016

EDITORIAL BOARD

Editor-in-Chief: Mariela PAVALACHE-ILIE

Senior Editor: Gabriela RĂŢULEA

Editors, Series VII Claudiu COMAN Romulus CHIRIŢĂ Cristinel MURZEA Ioana NICOLAE Codrina ŞANDRU Camelia TRUŢĂ

Secretary: Mihaela GOTEA Laura MANEA

Final Technical supervision Victor BRICIU

English Language Supervision Lucian RADU Mădălina MATEI

Web-site: http://webbut.unitbv.ro/bulletin Webmaster: Corina POP Address: 29, Eroilor st., 500036, Brasov, Romania Phone: +40-268-410525 E-mail: [email protected]

© All rights reserved

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE

Teodor Mircea ALEXIU, West University, Timisoara, Romania Dumitru BATÂR, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania Septimiu CHELCEA, University of Bucharest, Romania Giuseppina CERSOSIMO, Universita Degli Studi di Salerno, Italy Romulus CHIRIŢĂ, Transilvania University of Brasov, Romania Rita CLAES, Universiteit Gent, Belgium Elena COCORADĂ, Transilvania University of Brasov, Romania Mihai COMAN, University of Bucharest, Romania Silviu COPOSESCU, Transilvania University of Brasov, Romania Monica DE ANGELIS, Universita Politecnica Delle Marche, Ancona, Itay Nicolae EDROIU, “George Baritiu” History Institute, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, Correspondent Member of the Romanian Academy Nicu GAVRILUŢĂ, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi, Romania Gheorghiţă GEANĂ, University of Bucharest, Romania William HUW GRIFFITHS, University of Ulster, Northern Ireland Corneliu-Eugen HAVÂRNEANU, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi, Romania Adrian IVAN, Babeş-Bolyai University, Romania Marcela Rodica LUCA, Transilvania University of Brasov, Romania Carla MORETTI, Universita Politecnica Delle Marche, Ancona, Italy Valentin MUREŞAN, University of Bucharest, Romania Emmanuele PAVOLINI, Universita Degli Studi di Macerata, Italy George POEDE, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi, Romania Marian PREDA, University of Bucharest, Romania Konstantinos RAVANIS, University of Patras, Greece Liliane RIOUX, Université Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense, France Claudio SOCCI, University of Macerata, Italy Stefano TOMELLERI, Universita Degli Studi di Bergamo, Italy Bogdan VOICU, Research Institute for Quality of Life, Romania

CONTENTS

PSYCHOLOGY AND PEDAGOGY...... 7

Luca, M. R.: Organisational Socialization in the Context of Career Path Changes ...... 9 Nechifor, A., Purcaru, M.A.P.: Stimulating Students’ Creativity in MTM and ELTM Classes: Content Choice and Teacher Creativity...... 17 Pavalache-Ilie, M.: Workspace Appropriation and Attachment...... 27 Purcaru, M.A.P., Nechifor, A.: Stimulating Students’ Creativity In MTM and ELTM Classes: Teaching and Assessing Methods and Instruments...... 35 Radu, L.: Centeredness of Education in the United States ...... 43

SOCIOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY...... 51

Buliga, A. L.: Causes and Effects of the Migratory Italian Waves in the 19th – 20th Centuries...... 53 Burlacu, M.: The ‘Achievement Culture’: Gaming as Work in Diablo III...... 59 Coman, A.: A Broader Perspective of Gender Socialization across Four Social Institutions ...... 65 Coman, A., Sas, C.: A Hybrid Intervention for Challenging the Stigma of Mental Illness...... 73 Coman, C., Rezeanu, C.-I.: The "Free" Movement of Roma in the EU: From the Presumption of the Fundamental Right to Housing to Forced Evictions and Expulsion ...... 81 Gotea, M.: Contemporary Challenges for Intrafamilial Relations ...... 91 Mardache, A.C.: Intentional Communities in Romania. Story of Their Beginnings ...... 97 Sorea, D.: The Wide Religiosity of the Romanian Students ...... 105

SOCIAL WORK ...... 115

Bódi, D. C.: To Be a Manager in Social Work Area...... 117 Bódi, D. C., Gotea, M.: The Evaluation of a Professional Development Program in Social Work. Using SWOT Analysis as an Evaluation Method...... 123

COMMUNICATION AND PUBLIC RELATIONS...... 129

Bârsan, I.M.: Open Access Models and Strategies in Disseminating Scientific Information ...... 131 6 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

Briciu, V.-A., Briciu, A.: A Brief History of Brands and the Evolution of Place Branding ...... 137 Patrutiu-Baltes, L.: Experiences of Digital Marketers on the Online Communication Strategy of IT Companies Using Focus-Group...... 143

LAW ...... 153

Bârsan, M.M., Cardiş, M.M: The Arbitration Clause. Aspects of Comparative Law………………………...... 155 Ionaş, D.G., Crăciun, N.: The European Heir Certificate………………………...... 163 Matefi, R., Crăciun, N.: The Inconsistency between Civil Status and Civil Registry Documents………………………...... 171 Matefi, R., Şchiopu, S.-D.: A short historical overview of the Inheritance Laws applied on the Romanian Territory (19th-20th Century) ……………...... 177 Şchiopu, S.-D.: Sime Considerations regarding the Recovery of a Debt by the unsecured Creditor of an Heir………………………...... 183

Authors Index ...... 189

PSYCHOLOGY AND PEDAGOGY

Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov Series VII: Social Sciences • Law • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

ORGANISATIONAL SOCIALIZATION IN THE CONTEXT OF CAREER PATH CHANGES

Marcela Rodica LUCA1

Abstract: The paper presents the main theoretical issues of the organisational socialization: theoretical models as well as instruments used in the field research. The research in the field of organisational socialization is important mainly in the context of changes in career paths in recent times, the output of the socialization process being related to work performance, job satisfaction and organizational involvement.

Key words: organisational socialization, career, career changes

1. Introduction

Organisational socialization constitutes an interesting domain from a practical perspective, due to the fact that, as years went by, the multi-organisational careers became the rule and not the exception and the organisations are more and more interested in facilitating the rapid adaptation of newcomers. It becomes a domain of study all the more important, considering that in the last decades we have witnessed major changes on the labour market and in the career world. Two of these changes require knowledge of the mechanisms of organisational socialization: the multiplication of international companies and their spread all over the world and the multi-organisational careers. Globalisation brought along inherent ‘culture clashes’ due to the fact that international companies came to have branches in more countries and employees coming from different countries. Some of them work in their own country, but inside companies pertaining to another culture, others work abroad, in the home-country of the company, and a third category works in a third-party country, which many times presents no similarities either with the culture of origin of the employees or with the culture of the country where the employing company was founded. Apart from the usual impact of the organisation on the newcomer who belongs to the same culture (the initial research domain of the socialization was initially limited to Western companies), when cultural differences are part of the equation, the issue of socialization becomes even more acute. In the case of multi-organisational careers, when entering every organisation, the individual goes through a period of organisational socialization which the organisation is interested to shorten as much as possible. The concept of socialization is consecrated by Schein (1968), who defined socialization as a process of learning the ropes of a position, of training and indoctrination of the

1 Transilvania University of Brasov, Romania, [email protected] 10 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016 individual by the organisation, through the system of values, norms and behaviours considered as recommended/acceptable. This way, the organisation maintains its identity and integrity, countering the variability factor introduced in the organisation by the personalities, values and intentions of the newcomers. The origins of the concept are unclear. Wanous states that the first writing on the topic is a book belonging to Bakke (1953 cit. in Wanous, 1980), ‘The fusion process’, in which the fusion between the individual and the organisation is presented as an interaction process, in which every agent makes changes in the other agent: the socialization of newcomers – the reshaping of the individual’s personality under the influence of the organisation and the personalisation of the organisation – the modification of the organisational culture as an effect of the influence of newcomers. In the literature, socialization is more studied than personalisation for a very simple reason: the unit of analysis for organisational socialization is the individual, while in the case of personalisation, the unit of analysis is more difficult to define – the work group, the department, or the organisational ensemble? (Wanous, 1980, p. 168). What is more, the individuals enter the organisation one by one and the ‘culture shock’ is easier to operationalize at individual level than in the case of the personalisation of the organisation, where small modifications occur subtly over time and are consequently difficult to quantify. Organisational socialization is a process through which the individual adapts himself to the organisation, a means by which the organisational culture is trained, transmitted and consolidated. In its essence, socialization is a process of social learning, through which the individual, under the influence of some agents of socialization, develops new means to perceive/understand the organisational environment, new ways of acting, new attitudes, and is thus capable to better cope with his organisational role. A distinction should be made between organisational socialization, where the individual reports to a given organisation, and the wider professional socialization, existing rather in professionals belonging to liberal professions, pertaining to the same professional category, but working in different organizations, or being self-employed. In this case, the individual defines himself rather in relation to the members of his profession, than in relation to a given organisation. Professional socialization starts with the choice of profession and precedes organisational socialization. Self-selection for a certain profession reduces potential conflicts between the individual and the organisation and reduces the need of organisational socialization when entering a given organisation. When possible, the individual can choose the organisation for which he is going to work, engaging in an anticipatory organisational socialization. The concepts related to organisational socialization, because they describe and explain, from different perspectives, the adaptation of the individual to the organisation and his continuous relation with this social entity, are: selection and training of personnel, person-organisation fit, organisational career management, organisational commitment, organisational attachment, organisational identity, organisational personalisation, organisational culture, career. Organisational socialization has many things in common with socialization in general: the individual assumes the values, aims and practices of the organisation where he works, he redefines his identity in relation to the affiliation to the organisation. Through socialization, the organisation ensures an acceptable blend of the aims, values and individual mentalities of its members, making possible both effective collective action M. R. LUCA: Organizational Socialization in the Context of Career Path Changes 11 and the fulfilment of individual needs. Ultimately, socialization can be defined as a social control mechanism, having as aim the fit between the individual and the organisation. Next to selection, organisational socialization is a means of completing a good fit between the individual and the organisation, from the perspective of the organisation, of course. Through selection, the employers hire individuals who share characteristics compatible with the organisation, which somewhat diminishes the adaptation difficulties of newcomers and prevents the inherent disruptions at organisation level. In the socialization process, new employees develop, through learning, characteristics needed by the organisation, thus becoming more fit with the organisational requirements. Organisational socialization was studied particularly in the case of newcomers, although it is a process which is present along the entire working life of the individual, being requested anytime the redefining of the professional role of the individual inside an organisation is necessary along his career (Chao, O'Leary-Kelly, Wolf, Klein, & Gardner, 1994). In most theoretical approaches, the socialization process is seen as a process through which the individual adapts himself to the organisation and to its culture, looks for a place of his own in the organisation’s social system, redefines himself according to the organisation and to his profession, questions himself on his own value, on the manner in which he is evaluated and accepted by the others, on his future perspectives inside the organisation, and, last but not least, on whether he fits the organisation and whether the organisation fits him.

2. Theoretical models of organizational socialization

Saks & Ashforth (1997) summarised the research conducted in the field of organisational socialization up to that point and came to the conclusion that it is still difficult to identify a theoretical model, but that some major areas of socialization were identified, more often encountered in empirical studies: socialization tactics, socialization via training, pro-active socialization, content of organisational socialization and the means of learning, group socialization, moderating and mediating factors, individual differences in socialization. Although there is not yet a generally accepted theory, due to the fact that it cannot be stated that socialization has the same content, the same determinants and the same processuality irrespective of the organisation, some partial theoretic models became known so far. The dimensional model is focused on the content of learning (Chao et al., 1994, pp. 731-732). The authors identified in the literature a number of six dimensions of organisational socialization for which they developed a measurement instrument with 34 items established based on the factorial analysis: • Performance proficiency – the newcomer learns the content of the job tasks as well as the performance standards according to which his work is evaluated, in other words he learns the things that he has to know and to do in that certain position and which is the expected level of his motivation and involvement; of course, other factors which do not belong to socialization interfere with performance: education, previous experience, aptitudes, knowledge acquired via training for that position. • The others (people) – Learning the ‘hidden issues’ of the position entails relating to other people in the organisation, from whom the newcomer learns, by formal or informal means, both the job tasks and things about the group and the organisation; relating to the others entails the acceptance of the individual by the workgroup. 12 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

• The organisational policies – the adaptation to the organisation also has a political dimension, that entails the understanding of the means in which formal and informal relations work, which are the power relations, and who are the individuals you should be connected to. • Language – it is necessary for the newcomer to learn the specific terminology and the jargon specific to the organisation, because these facilitate communication with the others and the completion of the working tasks. • The aims and values of the organisation – socialization implicitly entails learning the rules and principles which are at the basis of the organisation, the group norms; some of these values and aims can be implicit, being promoted by influent people, holding powerful positions inside the organisation. • History – as in the case of socialization in general, the rituals, myths, customs and traditions serve at the transmission of culture: they prescribe desirable behaviours in certain situations, interactions and contexts and serve as guidelines for the adaptation of the newcomer. The stadial models look at socialization from the perspective of the stages that the new employee goes through in the process of adapting to the organisation (Feldman, 1976; Schein, 1978; Wanous, 1980; 1992). In a similar manner to socialization in general, the individual goes through distinct stages when adapting to a social group, which is initially an aspirational group, that later becomes a group of belonging, as an effect of socialization. The organisation can prevent the misfits between the individual and the organisation via the personnel selection strategies, choosing the candidates who are not only compatible with the job requirements, but also with the organisational culture. The interest of the organisation is to attract, in the recruitment process, as many valuable candidates as possible. To this end, the information that they provide tends to create the best possible image of the organisation, which could later become a source of dissonance for the new employee. On the other hand, the employee tries to present himself in the best possible terms during the selection process, which could lead to the employer not being able to see certain aspects which could make the adaptation of the newcomer difficult. These attempts of the individual and of the organisation to produce a mutual positive image could cause disruptions in the expectations that each party has and could influence the adaptation process. The theoretical models of the socialization stages define the stages of the adaptation process from the perspective of the individual, not the one of the organisation. The stadial classification is based more on the main events which take place in the socialization process, on the content of learning, on the modifications which take place at the level of the individual, than on a certain time span. Each stage entails important acquisitions from the perspective of adaptation, progressively leading to a proper functioning of the individual inside the organisation. Thus, Feldman (1976) defined three stages of the socialization process: anticipatory socialization (getting in), adaptation (breaking in) and management of the organisational role (settling in); Schein (1978) found the entrance stage, the stage of actual socialization and the stage of mutual acceptance between the individual and the organisation; Wanous (1980) identified four stages: confrontation with the reality of the organisation, clarification of one’s role, positioning inside the organisational context and success of socialization. M. R. LUCA: Organizational Socialization in the Context of Career Path Changes 13

• In the anticipatory socialization (getting in) stage, (Feldman, 1976), the individual finds out all sorts of pieces of information, from the press, his friends who work, through internship inside a certain organisation, etc. This information will allow the shaping of a representation on what and how the organisation is and which possible part he could play inside the organisation. If the information is not accurate, it is highly likely that the individual shapes an unrealistic representation which could come in conflict with reality after the hiring process and slow down the adaptation process. • In the adaptation stage the individual learns about the requirements of the position and develops the necessary competences, adapts to the work group, clarifies the particularities of his role and the limits of autonomy in exercising it (what ‘is allowed’ and what ‘is not allowed’) and comes to a realistic evaluation of his own performances, evaluation which converges with the one done by the organisation. • In the management of the organisational role stage, the individual knows the organisation, knows his role inside it, but has to deal with inherent conflicts between different sides of the role or between the organisational role and other roles that he holds (for example the family role). Schein’s model (1978) is also a stadial one, which comprises one pre-entry stage and two post-entry stages, analysed from the perspective of the individual’s career. The first stage, entrance, entails obtaining detailed and accurate information on the organisation and providing information about oneself; the recruitment and selection process is the moment when such information exchanges take place, but there is the risk that the mutual expectations of the individual and of the organisation, based on this information would be unrealistic. Both the individual and the organisation aim for a long-term collaboration, but when entering the organisation, it is very likely that deadlock moments appear in the adaptation process, because the individual did not choose the best organisation for himself or the organisation did not choose the best candidate. It should be mentioned that the employment decision does not necessarily entail choosing the best option out of multiple options, but rather a ‘Hobson’s choice’: sometimes there is no more than one candidate for a position, and the decision of the organisation consists in hiring the only candidate or not; there are times when the individual cannot choose between various open positions, and his decision consists in taking the available position or remaining unemployed. Many times, the individual decision considers other variables than the characteristics of the organisation, such as: proximity to the house, the dynamics of the offer and demand of positions at local level, etc. In the second stage, socialization per se, there are some difficulties which could not be anticipated partially and which the individual has to overcome: he faces the reality of the organisation – the requirements of his position and the people with whom he works, in other words, he learns how to work in a concrete situation; he learns that there are differences between the formal, explicit prescriptions of his organisational role and the implicit prescriptions: sometimes the formal prescriptions can be too strictly or too vaguely defined, which determines the individual either to accept restricting prescriptions or to innovate and define his role by himself. The hierarchical relations and the functioning of a system of incentives can also cause trouble to the newcomer and can contribute to his work satisfaction and implicitly, to the intention to stay in the organisation or to leave it. In its turn, the organisation is preoccupied to ensure the best possible fit between the newcomer and the organisational climate, to obtain work performance and innovative contributions that help the organisation function better. 14 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

The third stage, mutual acceptance, marks the transition from the status of ‘newcomer’ to the status of ‘insider’. The individual and the organisation give mutual acceptance signs: the individual improves his work performance, stays inside the organisation, struggles to play his organisational role in the best possible way, is motivated to work, is loyal to the organisation and finds his place inside of it. The organisation, in its turn, sends acceptance signs to the newcomer: it positively evaluates the performance of the individual, offers him incentives, including salary related incentives, promotes him, gives him a clear position; some organisations have ‘rites of passage’ from the status of newcomer to the status of insider, of initiating the individual in the ‘secrets’ of the organisation. These are clear signs of long-term acceptance. In the process of adaptation to work, seen by Schein (1978) as a process of development of the person, socialization is a process which deals with various tasks (pp. 94-102): • The acceptance of the organisational reality, process which is more difficult if the expectations prove to be unrealistic. • Confrontation with resistance to change – The newcomer can have new and very useful ideas, but in their practical realisation comes across many subjective obstacles from the part of the others. • Learning the acceptable means of working – the work tasks can be too broadly or too strictly defined, the company can be very strictly organised or disorganised and, under these circumstances, the new employee has to clarify, sometimes on his own, his organisational role. • Learning the power relations, the system of incentives and the way in which you must relate to the others. • Finding his own place inside the organization – receiving acceptance from the others –superiors and colleagues and adhering to a group. Wanous (1980; 1992) comes forward with an integrative model of organisational socialization, which comprises four post-entry stages and no anticipatory socialization stage, present in the case of other models. The ‘critical acquisitions’ and feelings of the individual reported to the organisation are indicated in these stages (pp. 180-181). • Stage 1: Confrontation and acceptance of the organisational reality. The main events which influence adaptation are: confirmation or disconfirmation of the expectations: conflicts between the personal needs and values and those of the organisation; discovery of one’s own characteristics, which are congruent or not with the requirements of the organisation. • Stage 2: Acquisition of role clarity. In this stage, the individual learns what he has to do (tasks, duties), the interpersonal roles that he accomplishes inside the organisation. He learns to work in the more or less structured context of his position and harmonises self-evaluation with the evaluation done on him by the organisation. • Stage 3: Positioning inside the organisational context. At this stage, which usually occurs after the first year, a smooth adaptation of the individual’s behaviours with the expectations of the organisation takes place. Some conflicts between the requirements of the position and the requirements of extra-organisational roles are solved. Organisational involvement, adoption of organisational values, shaping of a modified self-image and new interpersonal relations also occur. • Stage 4: The manifestation of some indicators of socialization success. The individual is considered trustworthy by the others, is satisfied with his work, involved in the success of the organisation, and has a feeling that he is accepted and integrated in the organisation, that he belongs to the organisation. M. R. LUCA: Organizational Socialization in the Context of Career Path Changes 15

3. Measuring organizational socialization

There are several instruments derived from the theoretical models of organizational socialization that were used in research. Most of them can be included in the domain of dimensional models, which investigate the content areas of socialization, while others are concerned with the outputs of the process. • The Content Areas of Socialization Questionnaire designed by Chao et al. (1994), which comprises 34 items, organised in six content areas: History, Language, Policies, People, Values and aims of the organisation, and Performance level. • The Organisational Commitment Questionnaire designed by Vandenberghe (1996), is based on a previous questionnaire designed by (Allen & Meyer, 1990). It consists of 18 items, organised on three dimensions: Affective involvement, Involvement in continuity, and Normative involvement. • The Organizational Socialization Inventory (Taormina 1994; 1997), has 20 items, organised on four dimensions: Training, Perception/Understanding, Support of the colleagues, and Future perspectives. Through these measurements one can find the particularities of socialization in different organizations (Luca, Pavalache-Ilie, & Munteanu, 2008) as well as cultural differences involved in the process (Claes, Hiel, Smets, & Luca, 2006). The current theoretical models mostly follow the guidelines of these processual models which became traditional and were developed by adding new thematic areas such as socialization tactics, initiated by the work of authors Van Maanen and Schein (1979). In a meta-analysis of the studies from two decades, Saks, Uggerslev, and Fassina (2007), as well as Saeed and colleagues (2012), concluded that the use of some institutionalised socialization tactics is positively associated with the realistic perception of the organisation, with work performance, and negatively associated with the ambiguity of the role, the tactics being the most significant predictors of adaptation to the requirements of the organisation. In a recent study, Saks & Gruman (2011) bring forward a new theoretical model – the SRT – Socialization resources theory, which is rooted in the theory of positive organisational behaviour (POB), based on cognitive learning, which highlights the role of knowledge acquisition and on the concept of psychological capital (PsyCap). They suggest that the socialization process should be considered a process of development of the psychological capital of newcomers. The socialization resources aim to develop self- efficacy, hope, optimism, and resilience of newcomers in the organisation. The four categories of socialization resources are: orientation training, position characteristics, social support and leadership (p. 6). Through the increase of social capital, these socialization resources have an effect on work satisfaction, organisational involvement, work performance and the intention to stay in/leave the organisation. The development of new research on organizational socializations in different professional and organizational areas, the adaptation of classical instruments to different languages and cultures, as well as the creation of new instruments, can contribute to the enhancement of the adaptation of newcomers to the organizational context, to the increase of work performance, satisfaction and commitment.

Other information may be obtained from the address: [email protected].

16 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

The present paper is based on a chapter of the habilitation thesis presented by the author in November 13, 2015 at the University of Bucharest.

References

Allen, N. J. & Meyer, J. P. (1990). The measurement and antecedents of affective continuance and normative commitment to the organization. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 63, 1-18. Chao, G. T., O’Leary-Kelley, A. M., Wolf, S., Klein, H.J., & Gardner, P. D. (1994). Organizational socialization: Its content and consequences. Journal of Applied Psychology, 79(3), 730-743. Claes, R., Hiel, E., Smets, J., & Luca, M. R. (2006). Socializing Hungarians in Transylvania, Romania: A case of International Organizational Socialization. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 15, 1-22. Feldman, J. C. (1976). A contingency theory of socialization. Administrative Science Quaterly, 21, 433-452. Luca, M. R., Pavalache-Ilie, M., & Munteanu, R. (2008). Personalitate şi socializare organizaţională la profesorii stagiari [Personality and organizational socialization in beginner teachers]. Revista de Psihologie şi Ştiinţele Educaţiei, III(2), 3-12. Saeed, T., Abu Mansor, N. N. Siddique, S. Anis-ul-Haq, & Ishaq, H. M. (2012). Organizational socialization: Individual and organizational consequences. International Journal of Academic Research, 4(3), 96-101. Saks, A. M., & Ashforth, B. E. (1997). Organizational socialization: Making sense of the past and present as a prologue for the future. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 51, 234-279. Saks, A. M., & Grunman, J. A. (2011). Organizational socialization and positive organizational behaviour: Implications for theory, research, and practice (1-13). Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences/Revue canadienne des sciences de l’administration, 28, 14-26. Saks, A. M., Uggerslev, K. L., & Fassina, N. E. (2007). Socialization tactics and newcomer adjustment: A meta-analytic review and test of a model. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 70, 413–446 Schein, E. H. (1968). Organizational socialization and the profession of management. Industrial Management Review, 9, 1-16. Schein, E. H. (1978). Career dynamics: Matching individual and organizational needs. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Taormina, R. J. (1994). The Organizational Socialization Inventory. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 2, 133-145. Taormina, R. J. (1997). Organizational socialization: A multi-domain, continuous process model. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 5(1), 29-47. Van Maanen, J., & Schein, E. H. (1979). Toward a theory of organizational socialization. In B. M. Staw (Ed.), Research in organizational behaviour, Vol. 1, pp. 209–264. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press. Vandenberghe, C. (1996). Assessing organisational commitment in a Belgian context: evidence for the three-dimensional Model. Applied psychology: An international review, 45(4), 371-386. Wanous, J. P. (1980). Organizational entry. Recruitment, selection and socialization of newcomers. London: Addison-Wesley. Wanous, J. P. (1992). Organizational entry: Recruitment, selection, and socialization of the newcomers (2nd ed.). Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov Series VII: Social Sciences • Law • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

STIMULATING STUDENTS’ CREATIVITY IN MTM AND ELTM CLASSES: CONTENT CHOICE AND TEACHER CREATIVITY

A. NECHIFOR1 M.A.P. PURCARU 2

Abstract: The aim of the present paper is to highlight different means of stimulating creativity with students attending English Language Teaching and Mathematics Teaching Methodology courses and seminars. What is primarily analysed, exemplified and compared is the cultivation of creativity relative to the scientific content taught in the classes under discussion, by means of the creativity of the teacher seen as a key factor to stimulating students’ creativity in nowadays challenging teaching context. The conclusions invite to perspectivization and broaden the view over such a complex concept such as student creativity.

Key words: student creativity, flexibility, fluidity, originality, content choice.

1. Introduction

Generated by a long-term collaboration between the authors, as a result of a common interest in the area of teaching methodology, the present paper can be enlisted in a series of previous articles published on related topics from Mathematics Teaching Methodology (MTM) and English Language Teaching Methodology (ELTM) classes and based on research extracted from the first-hand experience had, as tutors of these classes, by the authors. This particular paper is focused on creativity, as a key concept, and is interested in analysing the most efficient modalities by means of which the creativity of the students can be revealed and stimulated and in opening a line of further investigations in the field; the chapters comprised by this paper will deal with the choice of scientific content that any teacher has at hand to choose from when it comes to making decisions related to her subject, as well as on the way in which she can do this, based on personal creativity and talent, while a further study will deal with the way in which student creativy can be enhanced according to the methods used for the teaching process, in all its aspects: teaching, learning and assessing. This topic-area is wide and deserves attention to detail, considering the fruitfulness of the data gathered and of the class material, as well as the time span of almost 2 years dedicated to this close observation in class and literature reading.

1 Faculty of Letters, Transilvania University of Braşov, [email protected] 2 Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics, Transilvania University of Braşov, [email protected] 18 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

Creativity is a multidimensional concept and can manifest itself in many domains: arts, cognitive science, psychology, philosophy, etc. According to The Encyclopaedic Dictionary (1993), creativity is listed alongside the complex traits of human personality, consisting of the capacity to create something new, original, while Encyclopaedia Britannica defines it as an ability to find a new solution to a problem, being it a new method or a new device. The Webster Dictionary (1996) offers three meanings to creativity: the state of being creative, the ability to be creative, the process of accomplishing creativity, all of them contributing to the complexity of the concept under discussion. Creative thinking is the main component of creativity, and the most significant characteristics of creativity that we are interested in, both with Mathematics and with English Language classes, are: flexible thinking, fluid thinking and originality. Associated to Mathematics, creativity refers to designing and solving problems with a high level of originality, without an explicit command, or writing notes or articles. (Banea, 1998). According to Dobriţoiu (2015, p.132-133), solving problems plays a very important role in the area of mathematical activities for cultivating and educating creativity and inventiveness. For the purpose of committing to long term memory and applying the theoretical background taught, the teacher has to guide the students through a permanent activity of exploration and of association of the newly learnt concepts. A notion, theorem or definition is well managed by the students only when it can be correctly exemplified or successfully used in practice or applied for solving other problems. When talking about creativity with the English Language classes, teachers practically have to consider the bigger picture, the one which actually takes them outside the class room into the real, i.e. into the greater context than the one limited by the walls of their classroom, in order for them to be able to re/create for their students the premises of life. And for this, they can make use of the modern teaching approach, which is called “communicative” (West, 1992) because its main purpose is to facilitate understanding through creative thinking and originality. Flexible thinking represents the capacity of the human mind to quickly adjust and easily pass form one situation to another. Practically, when solving problems for Mathematics, the student’s mind must be determined to look for rules and combinations of rules and to formulate hypothesis which later on will be validated. When dealing with a new grammatical structure, the student’s mind must be pushed towards placing it into an appropriate life situation that requires such a pattern to express the complexity of the context and must quickly analyse, through a paradigmatic comparison, why any other grammatical structure wouldn’t be correct for the same situation. Fluid thinking consists of the capacity of the human mind to offer several methods for solving the same given problem, being it mathematical or vocabulary related. When required from the students, the teacher must state this overtly, in order for the students to understand that they have to active multiple thinking. (Vălcan, 2012; Vălcan, 2013). Originality can be measured through the factor of novelty and uniqueness attached to the answers and solutions offered by the human mind to a problem, as well as through the ingenuity of their formulation. And even though all the above mentioned characteristics display their degree of importance, originality is the most precious one as it guarantees the value of the creative work’s result (Nicola, 1994, p.126). Original is that student who can find different solutions for the same problem solved either by him or by somebody A. NECHIFOR et al.: Stimulating Students’ Creativity in “MTM” and “ELTM” … 19 else, before him. Original is that student who, under pressure, when faced with a translation problem, can manage to get the correct message across by paraphrase, explanation, contextualisation, demonstration, etc., even if, for that particular moment, he cannot name the exact term under discussion. In any conversation, flexibility can refer to the ease with which a person can negotiate meaning (Thomas, 2013), while fluidity can anytime dwell on the richness of associating images or ideas (Cosmovici & Iacob, 2005, p.149), or, more precisely, associating images with ideas, under the form of an already classical information transfer, as well as on the capacity to produce a great number of words, ideas and phrases in a very short period of time (Nicola, 1994, p.126). The present paper aims at shaping solutions, procedures and suggestions for improving the quality of the didactic activities with the MTM and ELTM classes, by means of choosing that scientific content which, once taught to the students, will contribute to boosting their creativity (flexibility, fluidity and originality. But in order for all this to be successful, a particular emphasis should be laid on the creativity of the teacher which will be analysed separately. At the end, comparisons will be made visible between two such (apparently) different curriculum areas, such as those of Mathematics Teaching Methodology (MTM) and English Language Teaching Methodology (ELTM) classes.

2. Cultivating creativity in students through the scientific content taught

With MTM classes, problem solving is one of the most certain means which can open the path to creativity stimulation and creative thinking in students. And this does not even presuppose approaching too many types of problems or solving methods, but the mere creation of new learning contexts, to which the student is invited to answer in as many ways as possible, in order to find the appropriate one, as a result of an investigating type of an approach. With ELTM classes, the main approach to stimulating creativity in students is contextualisation, in an attempt which is similar to the one considered by the one that MTM has, but which more precisely refers to the possibility of varying situational and pragmatical discourses as much as possible for the students, in order for them to visibly understand the difference between grammatical structures, vocabulary phrases or even literary backgrounds, so that creativity can find its path under the form of normality durimg the cognitive process of learning. Designing and solving problems considerably contributes to developing creativity in students, especially when it comes to enhancing their flexible thinking. For example, for the following task, assigned as independent work with a Mathematics Methodology seminar: design a problem modulating a real life situation which can be solved through an equation and exemplify four working tasks for the solving of the problem, all students provided correct solutions, but what varied in point of creativity was the task environment, i.e. the formulation of the problem, which simply proved how different minds can shape the same situation depending on flexible thinking. The same type of task, assigned to students in ELTM classes had an even more spectacular result, as the raw material that language classes work with in the first place exposes them almost automatically to the invitation of being creative, if we consider a task such as the following one, for the writing skill: create a task environment for your students starting 20 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016 from the grammatical structure of present perfect simple, asking them to write a story. Almost each and every student thought of a different possible real life context in which present perfect must be used, and even though the composition, i.e. the writing assignment, was focused on a grammatical issue, they came up with so many variations of the task environment that everybody felt as if they were actually dealing with a creative writing type of task, in an attempt that proved that grammar can be fun, that skills do not occur in isolation, that teachers can be creative and that students’’ creativity, as a consequence, can be challenged at any time. Another way of developing flexible thinking can consist of asking the students to solve the same type of problem in different contexts. For example, seminar problems in Mathematics classes can be solved by means of using a special arithmetical method, but having environments extracted or inspired from completely different real life situations. Functional language can be explained better to language students exactly by asking them to shift the context, when it comes to teaching turn-taking mechanisms, for example, in discourse analysis. Homework can consist of asking the students to solve the same type of problem, but to formulate the task environment from other domains than the one used in class, which can be a valid requirement for both types of classes. Yet another possible method by means of which flexible thinking can be developed is the resort to other branches of the specialised field the class is about. For example, in MTM seminars an Arithmetic problem can be solved by making use of the figurative method, for which knowledge from Algebra (equating a problem and solving a system of linear equations), as well as from Plane Geometry (properties of various polygons) is also necessary in order for the solution to be a valid one. Or in ELTM seminars, students can relate information from Grammar to Pragmatics, a new branch of Linguistics, which can provide for their future pupils a possible better explanation of why a sentence in which present perfect is used as a grammatical structure, in the situational case provided by the adverbs just, already and yet, will never refer to the semantic meaning of the words that make that sentence, but will go beyond them and will depend on the context prior to it and will have consequences over the close future of it, as only an indirect speech act from Pragmatics can act. Still for developing the same factor of creativity for both subjects, MTM and ELTM, there can be created interdisciplinary seminars with their content oriented towards asking the students to make connections between various related fields in order to solve certain mathematical and/or linguistic, or literary problems, or there can be chosen practically applied tasks. And what other better suited example can be provided here, if not one from Language classes, especially today, when the interdisciplinary approach has made its way through the academia and offers so many solutions to so many different language problems if these one are fragmented, decontextualized and then restructured, reframed and re-contextualized according the possible various approaches to language that Sociology, Anthropology, and even Computer Science can offer to a linguistic situation. Many students consider the content taught by the teachers to be a burden and cannot see the practical side of the theory presented to them, the usefulness of the general background offered by the core, as well as, sometimes, even by the specialised curricula displayed by the syllabi. But the worst part is that they are unable to make connections between classroom content exhibited in universities and real life situations. For example, a course in the Methodology of the Analytical Geometry of cones can be ended with a power point presentation, projected by a video projector, displaying a set of real examples A. NECHIFOR et al.: Stimulating Students’ Creativity in “MTM” and “ELTM” … 21 for the design of which cones were used: countless buildings shaped like this, bridges, or even realia such as flowers with a conical bloom. The homework can consist of asking each student to bring for the next seminar five such further examples, creating thus a sort of indirect motivation towards learning this specialised content focused on cones. or a seminar focused on Applied Linguistics, in which errors in expression are analysed at different language levels, can provide examples from real discourses, belonging to famous personalities of the day, from different domains of activity, in which such error led to miscommunication, breakdowns in communication, funny situations or even had disastrous consequences at political levels, if translation errors occurred as a result of faulty expressions. As homework, students can be asked to start compiling a data base in which to include further examples like the ones offered at the seminar discussion, extracted from real samples of conversation, for better understanding the phenomenon, further research and for a possible further writing of a specialised paper on this topic. Flexible thinking in students can be cultivated, for both subjects that make the interest of the present analysis in the same way, i.e. MTM and ELTM, each and every time a certain knowledge network must be created among different chapters from the same subject, either with the courses or with the seminars, being them theoretical problems or practical applications. Thus, irrespective of the type of work used: individual, pair, group, blackboard display, etc., various lessons are linked together in order for the students to get the “big picture” and to form a bird’s eye view over the task at stake. A simple example at hand, for both subjects, can be the one provided by the following task: design a lesson plan, by filling in next to each stage of the lesson, according to the separate theoretical chapters studied so far. For this particular task, individual pieces of information, studied separately out of didactic reasons, come together and ask for flexibility in approach, because depending on the variables provided at the beginning of the task (students’ age, level of knowledge, number in class, prerequisites etc.), the plan must be adjusted to fit the correct teaching situation. Moreover, the student must rely on information taken in throughout several weeks of attending classes, to come into contact with the content of the appropriate manual that he has to use, to select the suitable tasks from it, to establish the operational objectives, to choose the didactic strategies, teaching- learning methods, temporal resources, forms of organisation and evaluation instruments. Solving, with seminars, those exercises which retrieve theoretical knowledge from several chapters help develop in students flexible thinking, forcing them to connect separate pieces of information taught to them along a longer period of time. The same successful goal is achieved with the reviewing classes or seminars, preparing students for exams, because for solving complex and comprehensive problems asks for passing from one type of reasoning to another, for the same situation. Let alone that the same type of benefit can be obtained with the attaining classes, at the end of a chapter, lesson unit, or semester, when solving a problem requires relying on information from the whole unit or from several units put together, thus providing the student with the opportunity to see the whole process, a process whose stages have been separately presented to him that far. Finding several modalities to solve a problem in a MTM seminar stands for proving that creativity can be stimulated at another level of logical thinking, that of fluid thinking, and demonstrates that students’ creativity can be cultivated and developed in various ways. Offering to students problems that bear multiple ways of solving represents an active modality to raise students’ interest in a content which otherwise would simply be considered monotonous and plain. For example, in a seminar focused on the methodology 22 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016 of designing and solving problems, assigning the task: determine the length of the median in an irregular tringle, using different means and comparing the methods found, there were four solutions obtained: a vectorial one, an analytical one, and two synthetic ones, but different from each other. To all these solutions, the only common item was the characteristic of the median as an important line within a triangle. The size of the median could very easily be obtained by using the Stewart Theorem, both by means of synthetic geometry and vectorial geometry. And simply by using these two methods, a comparison could be stricken in order to see that with the other two methods, especially with the analytical one, the calculations were much more complicated. Asking language students to find different ways to solve a task in translations for example, or even in interpreting, can elicit the best representation of creativity, as, by means of being able to quickly form paradigms of alternative words, synonyms, paraphrases, exemplifications, definitions, or simply strategies of opting out in difficult translation contexts, the student will be able to actually save the situation, not only to solve it. In order to encourage and enhance originality in students’ thinking, it is indicated that the teacher should set as a supplementary goal with each course and seminar to tackle, non-standard problems, problems that make the subject of high level manuals, booster books, or readers, problems which are usually offered to students in competitions or contests. Without making out of them the standard norm of the class, teachers must have these types of problems in mind with the sole purpose of stimulating originality and inviting to creative thinking, as well as of challenging students to try their minds at more complicated problems than the average. Language candidates to learning can any time be made to think outside the box and to try bigger shoes than their size whenever asked to imagine situations that can occur in class, for the distinct entry of possible anticipated problem of the lesson plan, for which they have to simulate different awkward teaching- learning that may arise during class time, for which they are also required to project creative solutions. Another modality to raise originality in students’ creative approach to learning is to offer them problems or tasks with a steady growth in difficulty from one sub-requirement to the next, in a smooth crescendo of the level of difficulty from one question to its follow-up, the last question being usually addressed to the most creative students, with a high level of knowledge that can be flexibly transferred into solving the problem. With the specific case of MTM, complicating a problem solved within a seminar, by introducing new data, or by modifying the initial question contributes to a great extent to developing original creative thinking in students; while for the particular situation of an ELT Methodology class, changing variables in an interaction by simply adding data to the dialogue, modifying the second part of a preferred answer from an adjacency pair to measure the interlocutor’s reaction and adaptability to creatively by triggering spontaneity can qualify for very interesting samples of variations in the degree of difficulty within a task to raise creativity. Besides all the curricular related activities mentioned so far, the ones that can also contribute in a very successful way to the development of students’ creativity is the urge to participate in students’ professional competitions, outside the premises of the university, as well as the occasion of writing their BA or BS projects, which represents, at their level, the most complex process that enables them to express their creative thinking.

A. NECHIFOR et al.: Stimulating Students’ Creativity in “MTM” and “ELTM” … 23

3. The creativity of the teacher

The suspension of the entrance examination by the majority of the universities has generated situations characterised by the fact that candidates to learning, from former graduates from arts high schools to participants in the Olympics, are reunited under the same amphitheatre roof with no discrimination, but a common desire: to have enlisted themselves for a faculty, no matter which that faculty might have been. Under such circumstances, to deliver an attractive lecture has become a challenge for the teacher, superior to that of scientific research (Căuş, 2015, p.189). Thus, an extremely important role in generating, preserving and developing students’ creativity is played by the teacher himself nowadays, irrespective of the type of course offered, that is from subjects completely unrelated in topic, at first sight, such as Mathematics and Languages, to those which display a great potential in point of creativity by the very nature of their content but which still may struggle to gain attention from the student-candidates. Consequently, the creativity displayed by the teacher is at its utmost and unprecedented importance and the skills the teacher has to make use of it, even more, because it will be the only incentive prone to manage to trigger creativity in students, as a fact. For achieving this scope, equally important is the attitude the teacher displays, both towards her own adaptation to the current novelty in the educational system, and towards her students. Tensed relationships cannot generate creativity, but can block affective blockages. Vocation, in other words, is fundamental, the teacher being keen on displaying a genuine desire for the new, preserving her curiosity and interest in anything up-to-date in her field, being also open to interculturality and intercommunication (Păcurar, Niculescu, & Panţuru, 2003, p.89). The teacher, thus, must absolutely necessary dump the authoritarian style used until some time ago, in favour of the more friendly and permissive relations between teachers and students. Students must be allowed to manifest their curiosity freely, as well as their characteristic spontaneity, thus being encouraged to challenge their teachers and to ask them questions without being afraid. The teacher, in her turn, must support fantasy, original ideas, and accept the nonconformist style of the creative students. And even though there are some inborn creative students, naturally endowed with superior creative potential, the teacher must make sure that she uses all the means to stimulate creativity in all her students, taking into account that a grain of creativity exists in every human being. The attitude of the teacher in class, with either MT or ELT Methodology, can contribute to the enhancement of students’ fluid thinking. Thus, the teacher shouldn’t suggest, immediately after assigning a task, possible ways to solving it, especially by favouring a certain method, but should discuss with the group of students all the variants existing for that matter and to analyse the advantages and disadvantages of all of them before settling upon the easiest one, at the same as appreciating the students who contribute the most, with the most interesting solutions, to solving the task. The creativity of the teacher becomes obvious in the how she tackles the teaching process. For example, after teaching the unit focused on the methodology of designing and solving problems at the MTM course, at the seminar students can be asked to design complete didactic approaches for problems not displayed with the course, without being made aware of the similar reasoning they may already be in possession of from previous experiences or of the possible improvisations, thus allowing them to problematize all of 24 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016 the above, by themselves. In this way, some of the students may stand the chance to discover on their own these solutions, developing for themselves the observation spirit and the originality of thinking. Moreover, teacher creativity comes as a result of the way in which she manages to use differentiated training strategies with any of the two subjects under analysis, because some tasks which happen to be difficult for some students may prove to be simple for some others and for this reason, in order to offer chances to everybody to become creative, it is sometimes indicated to approach such a situation in a differentiated manner, in an individual way. A relevant example of using the Cube method in a differentiated manner is represented by an activity within the Mathematics Methodology seminar on the topic of using the interactive methods of teaching in a differentiated manner. Thus, the students can be asked to either apply the general modalities of differentiation presented at the course, in order to design an example of how differentiated the Cube method can be applied to the 6th grade, on the topic of Fractions, proportions and percentages, the type of lesson being one of reviewing. (high level of difficulty); or to describe the general modalities of differentiation presented at the course (low level of difficulty); or to compare between them and then to exemplify the interactive methods of the Cube and the Mosaic, from the point of view of their differentiated implementation in class, within Mathematics courses (medium level of difficulty); or to analyse the possibility of implementation of each general modality of differentiation presented at the course, focusing on the RAI and Starbursting methods (medium to high level of difficulty); or to present an argumented defence, in 20 lines, of the following statement: the differentiated use of the interactive methods within Mathematics Methodology classes can increase students’ creativity (low to medium level of difficulty); as well as to associate to each general method of differentiation introduced at the course, the interactive method that this one can be applied to in the easiest and most efficient manner and then to exemplify it through a lesson on a topic of their choice (extremely high level of difficulty). Teacher creativity can also be depicted from the way in which she chooses to select the content for teaching, i.e. the way in which she lays stress on certain aspects with a particular topic, or, on the contrary, chooses to insist on the bigger picture with some others; when to extract only the essential information without giving rigour up, and when to get into as many details as possible, according to context; with which classes to avoid demonstrating certain taught theorems, and what topics to select with different groups of students for conversations, depending on the complexity and diversity of the group, even if the subject-matter is the same. In order for some elegant demonstrations not to be considered boring or useless by the students, the teacher must put into practice all her skills to make the same demonstration sound like a problem and not like a mere theoretical display of content, in order for the students to see the utility in it, thus making creativity occur when most unexpected. A creative teacher of Mathematics will almost never read to his students the texts of the exercises and problems in the exact form as printed in the manuals, but will rephrase the ones which make this approach possible, so that they become more interesting and complex, enhancing their creative potential. For example, the teacher can read only the beginning of the task, asking the students to come with the requirements themselves and to solve them as well. A creative language teacher, according to Richards (2013, p.4-11), is the one who is A. NECHIFOR et al.: Stimulating Students’ Creativity in “MTM” and “ELTM” … 25 knowledgeable, confident, non-conformist, risk-taker and reflective, and at the same time committed to helping her learners succeed, familiar with a wide range of strategies and techniques and seeks to achieve learner-centred lessons. Drawing on the knowledge of texts, making use of socio-linguistic knowledge, following her intuitions, developing self- confidence in learners, focusing on learners as individuals, creating effective surprises, avoiding repetition, even of the examples provided, varying tasks and activities, trying something new all the time, redesigning the lesson plans, personalising lesson content, as well as using student-selected content, reflecting through journal writing about self as a teacher and her daily teaching experience, getting constant feedback from learners are all, in a nutshell, successful approaches to being a creative teacher and were referred to with examples in the above chapters of the paper.

4. Conclusions

If the teacher, both in MTM and ELTM classes, is preoccupied with the way in which she can proceed in order to make all her students, irrespective of their learning level, love the subject she teaches, or become passionate about it, then creativity must have been either the means through which she managed to do that or at least the catalytic necessary element that linked subject-matter to content, methods, personal talent and professionalism. What is certain is that from this moment on, she will definitely succeed in making her students develop their sense of creativity, creativity being the driving force towards professional academic accomplishment. Students’ creativity can be supported, enhanced, and developed, in both MTM and ELTM classes, when the most appropriate didactic content is chosen or when, if choice is not an allowed option, adaptability, variation and tailoring are applied as instruments at hand to step in and take over on behalf of creativity in order to save monotony, dullness and boredom in class. Still, a boost in students’ creativity cannot be registered without counting on, as well as in, the teacher’s creativity which has become extremely important in today’s competitive academic environment. As Rusu (1965) very clearly stated, an important role of the teacher is that of guiding the candidate to learning so that this one should feel the charm and specific attraction of this activity. Not only that of helping the learner understand, but also feel. The next study that the authors of this paper intend to bring to the attention of methodologists is the one which will have under stage light the most productive didactic strategies and methods of teaching-learning-assessing which, still according to the authors’ close insight into the classes thei teach, provided the best results when applied and implemented, as one of the most modern and up to date means that the students can use to become actively involved and can willingly participate in the discovery of the appropriate solutions for any task they are faced with.

Other information may be obtained from the address: [email protected]

References

Banea, H. (1998). Metodica predării matematicii [Mathematics Teaching Methodology]. Piteşti: Paralela 45. 26 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

Căuş, V. A. (2015). Didactica disciplinelor aplicate-Matematica [The Teaching Methodology of Applied Sciences - Mathematics]. Oradea: Universitatea din Oradea. Cosmovici, A., & Iacob, L. (2005). Psihologie şcolară [School Psychology]. Iaşi: Polirom. Dictionar enciclopedic [Encyclopaedic Dictionary] (1993). Bucureşti: Enciclopedică. Dobriţoiu, M. (2015). Frumusetea problemelor de matematică din gimnaziu [The Beauty of Mathematical Problems in Elementary School]. Bucureşti: Didactică şi Pedagogică. Nicola, I. (1994). Pedagogie [Pedagogy]. Bucureşti: Didactică şi Pedagogică. Păcurar, D. C., Niculescu, R. M., & Panţuru, S. (2003). Pregătirea iniţială psihologică, pedagogică şi metodică a profesorilor [Initial Psychological, Pedagogical and Methodological Teacher Training]. Braşov: Universitatea Transilvania din Braşov. Richards, J. C. (2013). Creativity in Language Teaching. Plenary address given at the Summer Institute for English Teacher of Creativity and Discovery in Teaching University Writing, City University of Hong Kong, 5th June 2013. Available at: http://www.professorjackrichards.com/wp-content/uploads/Creativity-in-Language- Teaching.pdf. Accessed: 26-09-2016. Rusu, E. (1965). Atracţia pentru problematic în activitatea matematică [The Attraction for Problematic in Mathematical Activity]. Revista de pedagogie, 1. Thomas, J. (2013). Meaning in Interaction: An Introduction to Pragmatics. New York: Routledge. Vălcan, T. D. (2012). Didactica Matematicii - caracteristici şi principii [Mathematics Methodology – Characteristics and Principles]. Unpublished lecture notes. Vălcan, T. D. (2013). Didactica Matematicii [Mathematics Methodology]. Bucureşti: Matrix Rom. West, R. (1992). Assessment in Language Learning. Manchester: Manchester University Press. *** (1996). http://www.merriam-webster.com/. Accessed: 26-09-2016. *** (2016). https://www.britannica.com/. Accessed: 26-09-2016. Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov Series VII: Social Sciences • Law • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

WORKSPACE APPROPRIATION AND ATTACHMENT

Mariela PAVALACHE-ILIE1

Abstract: This literature synthesis presents a short history of the evolution of the concepts of space appropriation and place attachment, highlighting the difficulty of their operationalisation from a cultural point of view. The next subject brought into discussion is the relation between the affective dimension of the connection between a person and the work place and the behaviours which are prone to insure the proper functioning of organizations, such as the organizational civism and the organizational commitment.

Key words: space appropriation, place attachment, organization civic behavior, organizational commitment.

1. Space appropriation, a multifaceted concept

The term of space appropriation has known an unequal development depending on the age, country and culture where it was discussed, being obviously unequally used in the language of social science (Pol, 1998). If in fields such as geography, sociology and architecture the term was consecrated via a variety of meanings, in the fields of social and environmental psychology, its definition came late. At this point we have to mention that the pioneers of the latter two mentioned fields were English language speaking researchers and in English the term ‘appropriation’ has lesser meaning that in the Romance languages, in which a lot was written on topics related to geography, sociology and architecture (Pol, 2000). The origin of appropriation is identified by Graumann (1976) in the Marxist anthropology, more precisely in the soviet anthropology at the beginning of the 20th century. Marx sustained that man reproduces himself through the objects which he designs (Bogdan & Mişcoiu, 2014); by acting upon the world and transforming it, the man updates his potential. Seen from this perspective, appropriation is done on two levels: • Individual appropriation, through which every person, in view of his relationship to the world, transforms the surrounding objects in goods which he considers to be his own. • Social appropriation, which, in non-democratic societies is transmitted from generation to generation, at the level of each social class. This second level is tackled by Vîgotski and later by Leontiev, who consider the intellectual development to be rather the result of a social function, historically and

1 Transilvania University of Braşov, [email protected] 28 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016 culturally marked, than the result of an individual process. Leontiev talks about the appropriation of the forms and types of social activities, of the social products, joined by the interiorization of the knowledge and practices already existent at social level. Individual appropriation is therefore strongly influenced by the interiorization of the socially and historically determined significations. This fact makes an over-time connection between Leontiev’s conclusions and those of Marx, to whom material appropriation is mandatorily associated to humanization. It may be the case that this ideological charge of the history of the appropriation concept justifies the difficulties encountered in its adaptation to the field of environmental psychology, especially when it comes to the English variant of the term. The development of environmental psychology in the last half century was done in two directions (Pol, 1996): the positivist direction of the Anglo-saxon orientation, interested on the impact that space design can have at individual level (in hospitals, psychiatric institutions, organizations) and at social level (the evolution and space planning of the architectural housing ensembles and of the individual houses, in order to transform them from a shelter house to a home). The second development direction is the one of Continental Europe, with France and Germany as key elements, which mostly highlights appropriation in various contexts. In the 60s, the Strasbourg-based team lead by Moles brings new developments through the theoretical reframing of the appropriation concept, based both on Lewin’s topological theory (1936), and on the elements of human geography and urban sociology forwarded by Lefebre (1970). Continuing these preoccupations, the IAPC (International Architectural Psychology Conference), organized by Korosec-Serfaty in 1976 reunited researchers of both previously mentioned orientations around the topic of space appropriation, which lead to the coming-together of perspectives and to the visibility of the concept. A few of the contributions made on that occasion are synthetized below. The contributions are centered on the definition and enrichment of the concept. Sansot (1976) sees space appropriation as a collection of practices due to which an object (a thing or a person) is influenced by the one who owns it. Chombart de Lowe (1976a), insists on the relation which is created between the user and a certain space as a result of its repetitive use, which allows the integration of that space in the existence of the user and gives him the opportunity to root it in his life, to mark it in a personal manner, to transform it according to his free will. The concept is enriched from a psycho-analytical perspective by Villela Petit (1976); appropriation is seen as a mutual projection of the person and of the space. The person projects herself in the space which she inhabits and lends her personal characteristics to that space. Because of the fact that the person projects herself in the space that she uses, part of the characteristics of the space reflects upon the person who owns it. Thus, space becomes both appropriated and the one who appropriates. The social dimension of the appropriation process is highlighted by Barbey (1976), who states that the appropriation methods are greatly dependent on cultural models, social roles and role models. This leads towards the cognitive, affective, symbolical and esthetic processes, which are profoundly influenced by social rapports (Chombart de Lowe, 1976b). The consequence is that the objects, and their spatial placement thus come to carry messages and appropriation becomes a communication vector. Barbey suggests the antonymic term of misappropriation in order to describe the processes through which a person, either individually or as a member of a group, feels that space no longer belongs M. PAVALACHE-ILIE: Workspace Appropriation and Attachment 29 to her or is foreign to her. In her opinion, the forces which lead to misappropriation are stronger than the ones which trigger appropriation. Appropriation can be analyzed from two perspectives: as a transformation action and as symbolic identification. The first perspective derives from the territoriality and personal space ideals developed by Altman (1975), and the second one directs us towards an ensemble of affective, cognitive and conative processes (Vidal & Pol, 2005). After the conference which defined the topic of appropriation from multiple perspectives, the research which dealt with the problem was numerous, specifically in Europe and Canada. Most pieces of research tackle the concept of territoriality, to which they associate the notions of landmark, frontier and personalisation: in France Moles & Rohmer (1998), Segaud, Brun, & Driant, (2002), Rioux (2004), Dias, Charles, & Lopez, (2012); in Spain Pol & Moreno (1992) and Moreno (1992), in Canada Serfaty (1999), Morval & Judge (2000), Morval & Corbière (2000). The Anglo-Saxon scientific world tackles the same every-day reality but prefers the concepts of place attachment, place identity (Proshansky, Fabian, & Kaminoff, 1983), place dependence (Stokols & Shumaker, 1981) place meaning (Hay, 1998). It was only in the last decade of the former century that Pol (1993; 2000) designed a theoretical model to synthetize the two perspectives.

2. Place attachment – the Anglo-Saxon version of appropriation

The Anglo-saxon scientific world prefers concepts which seem more explicit and easier to operationalise from a cultural point of view, when dealing with the same daily reality. Among these concepts we mention topophilia (Tuan, 1974) place attachment, place identity (Proshansky, Fabian, & Kaminoff, 1983; Gustafson, 2001), place dependence (Moore & Graefe, 1994; Jorgensen & Stedman, 2001), the sense of place (Hay, 1998; Pretty, Chipuer, & Bramston, 2003) and space attachment (Altman & Low, 1992; Hwang, Lee, & Chen, 2003). Next to these highly general concepts, other more specific ones, associated to a given space were proposed, such as: residential satisfaction (Bonaiuto, Fornara, & Bonnes, 2003), community feeling (Mc Millan & Chavis, 1986), urban identity (Lalli, 1992) or social urban identity. All the mentioned concepts highlight the dynamic connection which is established between the person and a certain place or space. The great variety of terms used often caused confusion in terminology and methodology, but this confusion was overcame in the mid 90’s, when Bonnes and Secchiaroli (1995) defined attachment as the affective dimension of the connection between a person and a certain place. This definition integrates the theory of place attachment by Schumaker and Taylor (1983) and the contributions brought by Giuliani (1991) and Altman and Low (1992) respectively. This definition highlights, as Bowlby (1969) and later Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters and Wall (1978) had stated, that the main characteristic of attachment is the desire to keep proximity towards the object of attachment, which is the expression of a strong affective connection between the individual and the place where he lives, which objectifies in the effort of the individual to turn this space into something as personal as possible, as much of ‘his own’ as possible. Irrespective of the model and of the concepts used at theoretical level, the investigation of the impact of appropriation and attachment gives answers to questions such as the ones regarding the social dimension of public space constructions, civic responsibility, economic, social and environmental sustainability. These answers are necessary in order 30 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016 to adapt the interaction modalities to the new social requirements (Vidal & Pol, 2005). The management of risk situations has for the first time brought forward the issue of resilience inside an organisation and this issue has afterwards become relevant for the performance factor. Hollnagel, Journé and Laroche (2009, p. 227) state that ‘resilience does not appear instantaneously, that it is neither an organisational reflex nor the result of an order dictated by one’s superiors, but that it needs only a certain amount of time to crystalise’. The cryses which result from the turbulence inside the organisational environment are succeptible to consolidate organisational resilience, via two complementary processes: one based on positive learning, which helps diminish the shock and the other one based on double-shift learning, which includes strategic changes that favour the diminishing of vulnerability inside the organisation (Altintas & Royer, 2009). Pavalache-Ilie and Rioux (2014) investigated the relation between the employees’ capacity to get over the difficulties encountered inside the organization (resilience) and the attachment towards the workplace; the workplace was a university, the participants were teachers and office employees. The hypothesis of the association between workplace attachment and resilience is sustained by data, mostly when it comes to adaptability and ease in finding proactive solutions, particularly in the case of the subsample consisting of administration employees. The connection is weaker for the teachers, compared to office employees, whose workplace is more diffuse and less localised (amphitheatres, seminar rooms, a shared office). Due to the career advancement, they often obtain a personal space inside the faculty, sometimes an individual office, which seems to consolidate their feeling of belonging and consequently amplify their resilience, particularly the dimension of the capacity to identify proactive solutions.

3. Workplace attachment and positive organizational behaviours

There is a complex relation between workplace attachment and positive organizational behavior like organizational civism and organizational commitment. The ethical behaviour at work holds a privileged position in the preoccupations of organizations, the civic organizational behaviour being intensely valued and investigated. Originating in the extra-role behaviour described by Katz and Kahn (1966), organisational civism gravitates around the idea of collaboration (Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Paine, & Bachrach, 2000). This behaviour cannot be prescribed or solicited before some events take place. Ever since the 80’s, Organ (1988) described the syndrome of the devoted soldier as the behaviour with no direct relevance towards the task prescribed in the job description, but as a result of a personal choice with positive organizational effect. Borman and Motowildo (1993) make a distinction between the activities which directly and indirectly contribute to reaching the expected parameters of productivity, describing two forms of performance: the task performance is attained by actions through which the individual directly contributes to the effectiveness of the organization, while the contextual performance indirectly supports the energy and the present and future organizational climate. During the half century since it was introduced, the syntagm ‘organizational civic behaviour’ has been tackled from two perspectives. The first is constituted by Graham’s model (1991) which connects a) obedience, respect towards norms and organizational M. PAVALACHE-ILIE: Workspace Appropriation and Attachment 31 procedures b) the loyalty towards the organization, which determines the employee to put the interests of the organization above his own and c) voluntary participation in organizational events. All these components are not part of the professional role prescription and are not executed in order to obtain rewards, but in order to facilitate the functioning of the social aggregate (Podsakoff & MacKensie, 1997). The second perspective continues the path of the research initiated by Organ and synthetizes the results of the studies conducted by Diefendorff, et al. (2002) and Lievens and Anseel (2004) respectively. From this perspective, the concept is multidimensional, fact which generated controversy regarding the number of dimensions. For more decades, numerous researchers focused on the influence of the attitudes of employees on the organisational civic behaviour. Among the most discussed psycho- organisational variables we mention work satisfaction (Paillé, 2008; Yoon & Suh, 2003), work involvement (Cohen, 2006; Paillé, 2010), organisational justice (Colquitt, 2001), managerial ethics (Koh, Steers, & Terborg, 1995; Konovsky & Pugh, 1994) and transformational leadership (Pillai, Schrieshem, & Williams, 1999). Defined as a psychical state determined by the connection between the employee and his organisation (Meyer & Allen, 1991), the organisational commitment arises the attention of researchers, due to the fact that the three identified components are differently associated with the decision of staying inside the organisation. The employees who declare a high level of affective commitment stay inside the organisation because they feel well; they want to be part of the organisational team. If the commitment is a calculated one, the reason for staying inside the organisation is connected to the fear of losing already gained economic or social benefits. The ones who demonstrate strong normative commitment stay inside the organisation because they feel that they owe the organisation for benefits already obtained, being strongly loyal to the organisation. The workplace attachment and the organizational commitment have proven to be strong predictors of the organizational citizenship behavior (Rioux & Pavalache-Ilie, 2013), a good reason for managers to stimulate the development of work space appropriation.

Other information may be obtained from the address: [email protected]

References

Ainsworth, M-S., Blehar, M-C., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of attachment. A psychological study of the strange situation. Hillsdale, N. J: Lawrence Erlbaum. Altintas, G., & Royer, I. (2009). Renforcement de la résilience par un apprentissage post- crise: une étude longitudinale sur deux périodes de turbulence. Management, 12(4), 266-293. Altman, I (1975). The environment and social behavior. Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole. Altman, I., & Low, S. M. (1992). Place attachment. New York: Plenum Press. Barbey, G. (1976). L’appropriation des espaces du logement. Tentative de cadre théorique. In P. Korosec-Serfaty (Ed.), Appropriation de l'espace, Actes de la Conférence de Strasbourg, pp. 215-218. Strasbourg: Institut de Psychologie sociale. Bogdan, C., & Mişcoiu, S. (coord.) (2014). Ideologii politice. O scurtă incursiune în gândirea politică modernă şi contemporană [Political ideologies. A short incursion in modern and contemporary political thought]. Iaşi: Adenium. 32 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

Bonaiuto, M., Fornara, F., & Bonnes, M. (2003). Indexes of perceived residential environment quality and neighbourhood attachment in urban environments: a confirmation study on the city of Rome. Landscape and urban planning, 65, 41-52. Bonnes, M., & Secchiaroli, G. (1995). Environmental Psychology: A Psycho-social Introduction. London: Sage. Borman, W. C., & Motowidlo, S. J. (1993). Expanding the criterion domain to include elements of contextual performance. In N. Schmitt, & W. C. Borman (Eds.), Personnel selection in organizations, pp. 71-98. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss. Vol. 1: Attachment. London: The Hogarth press and the institute of psycho-analysis. Chombart de Lauwe, P.-H. (1976a). Appropriation de l’espace et changement social. In P. Korosec-Serfaty (Ed.), Appropriation de l'espace, Actes de la Conférence de Strasbourg. Strasbourg: Institut de Psychologie sociale. Chombart de Lauwe, P.-H. (1976b). Transformation de l'environnement des aspirations et des valeurs. Paris: CNRS. Cohen, A. (2006). The relationship between multiple commitments and organizational citizenship behavior in Arab and Jewish culture. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 69, 105-118. Colquitt, J. A. (2001). On the dimensionality of organizational justice: A construct validation of a measure. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(3), 386-400. Dias, P., Charles, M., & Lopez, A. (2012). Place appropriation: elaboration and validation of a new rating scale for an old concept. In R. Ombretta; E., Edward, & Thwaites, K. (ed.) Human experience in the natural and built environment: implications for research policy & practice. Paper presented at IAPS 22 Conference, 24 - 29 June 2012. Giuliani, M. V. (1991). Towards an analysis of mental representations of attachment to the home. Journal of Architectural and Planning Research, 8, 133-146. Moore, R. L., & Graefe, A. R. (1994). Attachments to recreation settings: the case of rail- trail users. Leisure Sciences, 16, 17-31. Graham, J. W. (1991). An essay on organizational citizenship behavior. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 4, 249-270. Graumann, C. F. (1976). Le concept d'appropriation (Aneignung) et les modes d'appropriation de l'espace In P. Korosec-Serfaty (Ed.), Appropriation de l'espace, Actes de la Conférence de Strasbourg (pp.127-132). Strasbourg: Institut de Psychologie sociale. Gustafson, P. (2001). Meanings of place: Everyday experience and theoretical conceptualizations. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 21, 1, 5-16. Hay, R. (1998). Sense of place in developmental context. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 8, 5-29. Hollnagel, E., Journé, B., & Laroche, H. (2009). La fiabilité et la résilience comme dimensions de la performance organisationnelle. Management, 12(4), 224-229. Hwang, S. N., Lee, C., & Chen, H. J. (2005). The relationship among tourists’ involvement, place attachment and interpretation satisfaction in Taiwan‘s national parks. Tourism Management, 26, 2, 143-156. Jorgensen, B. S., & Stedman, R. C. (2001). Sense of place as an attitude: Lakeshore owners attitudes towards their properties. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 21, 233-248. M. PAVALACHE-ILIE: Workspace Appropriation and Attachment 33

Koh, W. L., Steers, R. M., & Terborg, J. R. (1995). The effects of transformational leadership on teacher attitudes and student performance in Singapore. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 16, 319-333. Konovsky, M. A., & Pugh, S. D. (1994). Citizenship behavior and social exchange. Academy of Management Journal, 37, 656-669. Lalli, M. (1992). Urban related identity: theory, measurement and empirical findings. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 12, 285–303. Lefebvre, H. (1970). Du rural à l'urbain. Paris: Anthropos. McMillan, D. W., & Chavis, D. M. (1986). Sense of community: A definition and theory. Journal of Community Psychology, 14(1), 6–23. Meyer, J. P., & Allen, N. J. (1991). A three-component conceptualization of organizational commitment. Human Resource Management Review, 1, 61-89 Moles, A. & Rohmer, E. (1998). Psychosociologie de l'espace. Paris: L'Harmattan. Moreno, E. (1992). Ser y parecer: imagen, simbolismo, identidad y apropiacion del espacio. In Actes des Journées «El comportamiento en el medio construido y natural». Badajoz: Orellana. Morval, J., & Corbière, M. (2000). L'appropriation de l'espace : un concept à la recherche d'une définition opérationnelle. Revue Européenne de Psychologie Appliquée, 50, 1, 127-132. Morval, J., & Judge, P. (2000). Motivation au travail et appropriation de l'espace. In Gangloff, B. (Ed.), Les compétences professionnelles. Descriptif, mesure et développement (pp. 127-134). Paris: L'Harmattan. Organ, D. W. (1988). Organizational citizenship behavior: The good soldier syndrome. Lexington: Lexington Books. Paille, P. (2008). Les comportements de citoyenneté organisationnelle: une étude empirique sur les relations avec l’engagement affectif, la satisfaction au travail et l’implication au travail. Le Travail Humain, 71, 22-42. Paille, P. (2010). Citizenship in the Workplace: Examining Work Attitudes as Predictors among French Employee International. Journal of Business and Management, 5(4), 53-64. Pavalache-Ilie, M., & Rioux, L. (2014). Organizational Resiliency and attachment in the workplace. In S. Ionescu (Ed.), The 2nd World Congress on Resilience / From Person to Society (pp. 817-821). Bologna: Medimond. Pillai, R., Schrieshem, C., & Williams, E. (1999). Fairness perceptions and trust as mediators for transformational and transactional leadership: a two sample study. Journal of Management, 25(6), 897–933. Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Paine, J. D. & Bachrach, D. G. (2000). Organizational citizenship behaviours: A critical review of the theoretical and empirical literature and suggestions for future research. Journal of Management, 26(3), 513-563 Pol, E. (1998, décembre). El modelo dual de la apropiación del espacio. The 6th IAPS Congress, La Coruña, Spania. Pol, E. (2000). La apropiacion del espacio. In L. Iniguez & E. Pol (Eds.), Cognicion, representacion y apropiacion del espacio. Monographie, université de Barcelone. 34 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

Pol, E., & Moreno, E. (1992). Gentrification and degradation of a neighbourhood. Social and environmental factors. In A. Mazis & C. Karaletsou (Eds), Socio-Environmental Metamorphoses (vol. 4) (pp. 400-405). Salónica: Aristotle University of Tessaloniki. Pretty, G. H., Chipuer, H. M., & Bramston, P. (2003). Sense of place amongst adolescents and adults in two rural Australian touwns: The discriminating features of place attachment, sense of place community and place dependence in relation to place identity. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 23, 273-287. Proshansky, H. M., Fabian, A., & Kaminoff, R. (1983). Place identity: Physical world socialization of the self. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 3, 57-83. Rioux, L. (2004). Types de sites universitaires et appropriation de l'espace. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie canadienne, 45(1), 103-110. Rioux, L. (2011). Promoting proenvironmental behaviour. Collection of used batteries by secondary school pupils. Environmental Education Research, 17(3), 353-373. Rioux, L., & Pavalache-Ilie, M. (2013). Workplace attachment and organizational commitment - are they predictors of organizational citizenship behavior? Study on French health care workers. Annals of the Al. I. Cuza University, Psychology Series, 22(1), 5-18. Rioux, L., & Pignault, A. (2013). Workplace attachment and meaning of work in a french secondary school, The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 16(e23), 1-14. Sansot, P. (1976). Notes sur le concept d’appropriation. In P. Korosec-Serfaty (Ed.), Appropriation de l'espace, Actes de la Conférence de Strasbourg (pp. 67-75). Strasbourg: Institut de Psychologie sociale. Segaud, M., Brun, J., & Driant, J.-C. (2002). Dictionnaire de l’habitat et du logement. Paris: A. Colin. Serfaty, P. (1999). Psychologie de la maison. Une archéologie de l'intimité. Montréal: Editions du Méridien. Stokols, D. & Shumaker, S.A. (1981). People in places: a transactional view of settings. In J. H. Harvey (Ed.), Cognition, social behavior and the environment (pp. 441-488). Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers. Tuan, Y. F. (1974). Topophilia: A study of environmental perception, attitudes and values. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall. Villela Petit, M. (1976). Espace approprié-espace appropriant. In P. Korosec-Serfaty (Ed.), Appropriation de l'espace, Actes de la Conférence de Strasbourg (pp. 218-225). Strasbourg: Institut de Psychologie sociale. Vidal, T. & Pol, E. (2005). La apropiación del espacio: una propuesta teórica para comprender la vinculación entre las personas y los lugares. Anuario de Psicología, 36(3), 281-297. Wells, J. G. (2000). Effects of an On-Line Computer-Mediated Com-munication Course, Prior Computer Experience and Internet Knowledge, and Learning Styles on Students' Internet Attitudes. Journal of Industrial Teacher Education, 37(3), 22-53.

Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov Series VII: Social Sciences • Law • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

STIMULATING STUDENTS’ CREATIVITY IN MTM AND ELTM CLASSES: TEACHING AND ASSESSING METHODS AND INSTRUMENTS

M.A.P. PURCARU1 A. NECHIFOR 2

Abstract: The purpose of the present study is to emphasise different means of stimulating students’ creativity with English Language Teaching and Mathematics Teaching Methodology courses and seminars. The basic analysis tries to exemplify and compare the cultivation of creativity by means of the teaching-learning-assessment methods used to teach and evaluate the content of the classes mentioned. The conclusions will summarize and review the two studies dedicated to creativity, as a result of the data collected by the authors and their first hand experience in such classes.

Key words: creativity, teaching-learning-assessment methods.

1. Introduction

Considered a sequel to the paper based on analysing the means by which students’ creativity can be discovered and encouraged to emerge as a driving factor within the teaching process, as a consequence of the content taught and of the personal talent the teacher has in doing that, the present research paper, belonging to the same two authors, is interested in analysing the most significant methods of the very same process, in all its steps: teaching, learning and assessing, that can achieve the same goal, i.e. stimulating students’ creativity. The formation and stimulation of creative thinking can never be considered as an ending process, as it can never be imagined as stretching to the maximum limit of a person’s possibilities or of a life’s requirements and challenges. The outcomes of university work for any professor represent a reflection of, first of all, the first-hand experience she has with the mass of students, and, second of all, but nevertheless equally important, of the relationship established, at a professional level, with each and every student individually, perceived as a particular entity, with personalised profile and parameters. Different ways of addressing the idea of creativity in a language class, for example, can be viewed depending on whether we see it “as a property of people (who we are), processes (what we do) or products (what we make)” (Fisher, 2004, p.8). Therefore, the

1 Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics, Transilvania University of Braşov, [email protected] 2 Faculty of Letters, Transilvania University of Braşov, [email protected] 36 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016 concept of creativity can be generally referred to as encompassing a number of different dimensions, yet again, according to Richards (2013, p.3), “the ability to solve problems in original and valuable ways that are relevant to goals; seeing new meanings and relationships in things and making connections; having original and imaginative thoughts and ideas about something; using the imagination and past experience to create new learning possibilities.” And that is why, he continues, “when creativity is viewed as a product the focus might be on a particular lesson, a task or activity in a book, or a piece of student writing.” While when viewed as a process, the focus is on the thinking processes and decisions that a person makes use of in producing something that we would describe as creative (Jones, 2012). For language teaching, Maley’s (1997) work focused on creativity by means of texts extracted from various non/literary sources in order for them to be used to enable creative thinking and facilitate the ability to make creative connections. Reading from Richards (2013, p.2), “creativity has also been linked to levels of attainment in second language learning. Many of the language tasks favoured by contemporary language teaching methods are believed to release creativity in learners – particularly those involving student-centred, interaction-based, and open-ended elements, and are therefore in principle ideally suited to fostering creative thinking and behaviour on the part of learners. Creative intelligence seems to be a factor that can facilitate language learning because it helps learners cope with novel and unpredictable experiences. Communicative teaching methods have a role to play here since they emphasize functional and situational language use and employ activities such as role-play and simulations that require students to use their imaginations and think creatively.” (emphasis added) For a more comprehensive perspective over the concept of creativity, Ţopa (1980, p. 9) relies on verbs like “to do something which did not exist before, to ground, to produce, to invent, to conceive, to bring into existence, to coin”, meaning that “creativity denominates the human capacity to make creation possible, the human potential without which creation cannot be produced and valued.” By its very essence, when it is related to the proper process of teaching, the capacity to create within the didactic activities involves the transformation of the student from a mere recipient of knowledge, passive and empty-headed, into a direct participant in his own formation, by using active-participative methods and strategies (Vălcan, 2013). In order to be able to develop students’ creative thinking, these ones have to be encouraged throughout the activities, appreciated for their effort and stimulated even when they provide completely wrong answers. The development of the cognitive potential and creativity can be met through activities that elicit a person’s intelligence and originality in an independent manner (Dobriţoiu, 2015, p.132-133). The present article intends to reveal appropriate approaches for improving the quality of the didactic activities with the Mathematics Teaching Methodology (MTM) and English Language Teaching Methodology (ELTM) classes, by means of using those teaching methods that once implemented will lead to involving the students into solving the problems in such a manner that they will have their creativity (flexibility, fluidity and originality) stimulated to the highest levels; by means of applying those ways of evaluation that once an assessment passed the students will feel motivated to go to the next level and challenge themselves for a new endeavour. At the end, conclusions will be drawn with respect to both the current analysis, which will have focused on methods, and the bigger research undertaken by the authors on creativity, considering to include in the M.A.P. PURCARU et al.: Stimulating Students’ Creativity in MTM and ELTM Classes 37 final section outcomes resulted on the occasion of writing the previous paper on stimulating students’ creativity by means of the choice of content taught to them and teacher creativity.

2. Cultivating students’ creativity by means of the teaching-learning methods used

According to Vălcan (2013), efficient learning presupposes the involvement and determination of the one who learns all throughout the act of learning, the method playing here a fundamental role. Besides the means of cultivating creativity referred to above, the ones which should not be, by any means, overlooked, are the ones referring to the teaching-learning methods used, as they are obviously conducive to a boost of creativity in students’ thinking and approach to learning. But of all of them, the ones which can really be relied on when it comes to modern teaching are the active-participative and interactive ones, or the communicative approach. The ones that can be listed here are: problematizing, learning through discovering, heuristic conversation, didactic game, Brainstorming, the RAI method, the Cube, the Mosaic, Starbursting, etc., which can be successfully applied, as proven in a previous paper of the authors (Purcaru & Nechifor, 2015) to both MTM and ELTM classes as well. Dwelling on the same three main features that can encompass the idea of creativity in a complete and comprehensive manner, flexible thinking, fluid thinking and originality, as considered with the previous paper of ours, mentioned before, the followings are situations depicted from the extended data collected in class, as a result of direct work with the students that we experimented with and exemplified on throughout two years of close study. As an example in case, with a MTM seminar focusing on the stages of solving a mathematical problem, the following task was assigned to the students, with the aim of exemplifying the fourth stage, using the Brainstorming method: Fill in the text of the given problem with as many requirements as possible, adding or not any other pieces of information in the hypothesis: consider the ABC triangle right-angled in A, AB =12 m and BC =15 m. (d ) ┴ (ABC) straight-line is built in A, on which point D is chosen so that DA =7 m. When the solving time was up, all the solutions suggested by the students were written on the board, and, as a result of the discussion generated, 12 questions correctly formulated were found. It is for sure that using the Brainstorming method, by means of which the students managed to discuss within the working groups created, brought its contribution to finding so many solutions, as well as to developing the fluidity and originality of the students’ creative thinking. Another example, from the same MTM seminar, still for developing students’ fluid thinking, focused on using the interactive Mosaic method. The group was split into three sub-groups, each receiving as a task to equate a problem which they had to solve using at least two methods. The students from each sub-group discussed among themselves and then sent a representative to explain and to write their solutions on the board. Mention is worth making that one of the three sub-groups found three methods of solving the problem instead of two: two using Algebra and one using Arithmetic. For the same type of method, but this time used at an ELT Methodology seminar focused on the topic of describing learners, another type of manifestation of creativity could be recorded, as the way in which the method itself was used differed from one group of students asked to 38 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016 teach using it to another. For example, as illustrated in Fig. 1, one of the groups even decided, due to the fact that physical setting of the classrooms where this seminar was held allowed this, to ask their subject-students to physically divide into separate groups, using separate classrooms in which each appointed student-teacher presented the content allotted for teaching and then re-united in the main classroom for the joint presentation of the main ideas and conclusions.

Fig. 1. II28D, II27, II28C classrooms – three settings – The Mosaic

Designing questions by the students for their peer-students contributes a lot to enhancing flexible thinking, an example being taken this time from both seminars interested in teaching Methodology, i.e. Mathematics and English Language, more specifically the one focused on the methodology of designing specific items: what was used as a method was the RAI method and the way in which it was implemented was as follows: each student was asked to formulate a question for his colleague in order for it to elicit a certain item corresponding to a certain given lesson content. The students whom the question was addressed had to answer it orally, and if the answer was correct (intervention from the initiator of the question, from other colleagues, or from the teacher was accepted), he would be invited, in his turn, to address another question to another colleague on the same topic. In this way, flexible thinking was definitely encouraged because by means of the questions asked, there were more complicated issued addressed than normally, from different chapters previously studied, either in Mathematics or in the English Language. Among the specific Mathematics teaching-learning methods, the generalisation of certain theoretical concepts, of some problems or category of problems will increase the potential of creative thinking, in all its aspects: flexibility, fluidity and originality. An example would be, from one of the seminars focused on Algebra, a situation in which students were asked to teach pupils the modality through which they can establish whether two polynoms are prime polynoms or not, without having previously introduced to them the specific notions regarding this concept, by simply asking them to put into practice whatever they already know and could work in a similar situation, but applied to a concept that they were already familiar with, that of natural numbers, from the fifth grade, using Euclid’s algorithm. A similar example could be traced to students of the English language when asked to try to teach class changing suffixes to pupils of elementary school without naming the concept as such because its introduction as a professional term is linked faculty syllabus; still, students managed to resort to the concept of conversion, which is taught in schools with the Romanian classes, and its meaning could be transferred in order for the pupils to understand that certain suffixes can make one word change its morphological class. In order to improve creative thinking among students, there are several specific M.A.P. PURCARU et al.: Stimulating Students’ Creativity in MTM and ELTM Classes 39 methods and procedures that can be implemented, but they have to be appropriate to the content taught and to the class of pupils/students the teacher is working with. Any method has an intrinsic creative potential that can be explored (Păcurar, Niculescu, & Panţuru, 2003, p. 259).

3. Cultivating students’ creativity by means of the assessment methods and instruments used

Next to the traditional assessment criteria (the written or the oral exam), the use of alternative evaluating procedures (continuous evaluation, progress measurement) can contribute with both Mathematics and ELT Methodology subjects, up to the end, to a student’s creative thinking development regarding a specific content from the teaching process. Finding ways to evaluate students’ performance throughout the process of teaching and learning, to mark their progression and to appreciate good answers, will help motivate them on the way, and their self determination to find even more creative answers to difficult questions, to find answers alone, to look for examples and counter-examples or to produce and develop an application as a result of their own involvement in solving a theoretical problem will grow in time and will attain unimaginable peaks, contributing, at the same time, at the enhancement of their creative thinking. Continuous assessment based on portfolio evaluation, with both subjects compared in the present paper, can consists in different practical assignments accompanying the theoretical background taught in classes, its structure and its presentation (oral, poster, question based) being left to the students’ choice for a greater freedom in point of manifesting creativity associated with this last step of the teaching-learning-assessing process. The portfolio can also contain all the tasks assigned as homework along the semester and the mark that will be granted for it will be part of the final percentage of the average mark in the end-of-the- course exam, an aspect which will motivate the student to work with more determination in order for him to contribute to a more accomplished final mark. The documentation and research dedicated to gathering the necessary information for the portfolio, the effort taken to look for, to select and to properly use the necessary bibliography, the design and conception of the central piece in the portfolio will all be evaluated and will all contribute to the importance of, on the one hand, developing creativity and, on the other hand, amassing necessary research skills for a possible future academic career. Still for the purpose of raising interest in students’ creativity, more precisely in their original and fluid thinking, role-play can be used when assessing both MTM and ELTM, as part of the continuous evaluation process: “teacher for 20 minutes” is the approach through which the student is elicited to present in front of his colleagues parts of the theoretical information regarding a certain topic, or even to problematize new situations. The choice and understanding of the material taught will benefit the student in terms of shaping his logical thinking, of enhancing his interest for the topic and of boosting his creativity. Using this assessment method along several years with the same generation of students, but also from one generation to another, as analysed and proven in 2014 by the authors of the present paper (Purcaru & Nechifor, 2014, p.47-56), satisfaction was noticed among the students in both Mathematics and English, both within the classes as such, regarding the attention span and the interest in the topics debated, and in what the interest for the final exam was concerned. Here again, the mark granted for this activity 40 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016 was part of the final mark for that particular subject. Fig. 2 below is a representation of such a role-play method used within an ELTM seminar, the students being in their second year of study, in their second semester, belonging to the 2013-2016 generation, and dealing with role-playing a seminar text on “Teacher’s roles”.

Fig. 2. II27 Classroom – one setting – Role-Play

The same type of benefits can be obtained with both subjects, as part of the continuous assessment, if interactive methods are used, methods meant to stimulate and evaluate group creativity: Cube, Philips 6-6, Brainstorming, Starbursting, or Mosaic. The Philips 6-6 method stimulates creativity, encourages the free expression of ideas and arguments, supports creative competition, shapes solidarity spirit, and engages students in evaluation. For example, with a Mathematics Methodology seminar, the students can be divided into sub-groups of six students, each group being assigned the same task of designing problems using two literal formulae: a + a x b + a : cxd = ; (a + a : b + a : b x c) : d = , within 6 minutes. Another example of a method that can be creatively used to assess students as part of the continuous process of evaluation can be Brainstorming with a seminar in either MT or ELT Methodology, focused on didactic means, and can be implemented in the following manner: each group of students receives a sheet of paper on which there is written the topic for a certain lesson and its type; what they are asked to do is to specify the didactic means they can use to accomplish that lesson, associated to each lesson stage, explaining in detail the ways in which each method will be used. All the ideas of the students will be written down on the piece of paper received and only after their thorough examination by the members of all groups will the accepted ones be written on the board. One more example, extracted this time from the Mathematics Methodology seminar, regarding the continuous type of assessment, could consist of the the Mosaic method (which was so creatively used by the language students as a teaching method – see previous chapter) and would be appropriate for the unit focused on differentiated training M.A.P. PURCARU et al.: Stimulating Students’ Creativity in MTM and ELTM Classes 41 strategies in Mathematics. Its professional slip would look like this: subtopic 1 – differentiating Mathematic content; subtopic 2 – active-participative and interactive methods used as strategies for differentiated training in Mathematics; subtopic 3 – didactic means used as differentiated training strategies in Mathematics; subtopic 4 – specific aspects related to the assessment and design of a mathematical lesson unit for which differentiated training strategies were used. The interaction among students while solving the tasks contributed to raising satisfaction towards teaching methodology, while the examples provided corresponding to each subtopic, enhanced students’ creativity relative to those topics, in both what flexibility and originality were concerned. One last example for this section regarding continuous assessment, which proves its validity for both MTM and ELTM classes or seminars, for a unit focused on methods and instruments of evaluation, is the Starbursting method, which is somehow similar to Brainstorming, and can be implemented in this way: each group receives a sheet of paper on which there is already written the title of the lesson unit. Students talk among themselves and list on the paper as many questions as possible related to the topic of the unit, of the type: what?, who?, where?, why?, when?; the list of initial questions can generate unexpected follow-up questions, which may trigger even more concentration on the part of the students. After the time assigned for designing the questions is up, the students from one group start asking a number of their questions to another group which will have to answer, and then the procedure is continued until the last group has asked their questions. The teacher is the mediator of the activity and corrects either the questions or the answers, if the students cannot do it themselves.

5. Conclusions

The applicability of creativity in classroom interaction is thus an issue that can be addressed and it can encompass, as previously mentioned, strategies also discussed by Richards (2013, p.1117), such as: making use of an eclectic choice of methods, such as even blended learning, including activities with an intrinsic creative dimension in class progression, encouraging original thought in students, providing personal examples or working with the fantasy element (Dörnyei, 2001), but most importantly making the most of the teaching moments, by giving students choices, customizing the teaching content from adapting the textbook to serve a certain micro-teaching situation up to the limit of encouraging students to question the textbook, using blogging as a resource and focusing on students as much as possible by using activities that showcase students’ talent, using activities from the learners’ world or by simply encouraging creative collaboration. Besides being audacious enough to choose their own content to teach, in point of not necessarily the macro-topics, but of the applied micro-contexts that can make the main subject more interesting than a mere directive in the syllabus, or even from the courage to adapt and to change the content according to the real level and interests of the students, to the methods the teachers decide to use in class in order to be able to make creativity spring and up to the moment when a teacher asks herself how to make the seed of creativity intrusted in her when she first considered becoming a teacher burst into a fluorescence of colourful petals blooming with original ideas to attract students to class, everything was subjected to analysis in the pages of the two papers written on the topic of creativity in class. And yet potential may be exploited further on if any teacher is interested in working with the creativity that she managed to invigorate in her students. 42 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

As apart from one another that they may seem and as belonging to two so different areas of the curriculum, MTM and ELTM classes meet on the common ground of methodology, each and every time principles are under discussion. And even if the particularities will always make the profile of analysis in point of differences, starting with the content properly and ending with the examples, the similarities will any time make the subject of papers like these ones, especially when even persons like Ion Barbu, famous mathematician and poet, who had direct creative contact with both of them, agreed that inherently these two areas can, somehow, meet: “No matter how contradictory these two terms may seem at first sight, there is there somewhere, in the high domain of geometry a bright place where it meets poetry. As with geometry, I understand through poetry a certain symbolism for representing possible forms of existence.” (Valerian, 1927)

Other information may be obtained from the address: [email protected]

References

Dobriţoiu, M. (2015). Frumusetea problemelor de matematică din gimnaziu [The Beauty of Mathematical Problems in Elementary School]. Bucureşti: Didactică şi Pedagogică. Dörnyei, Z. (2001). Motivational Strategies in the Language Classroom. Cambridge, U. K.: Cambridge University Press. Fisher, R. (2004). What is creativity? In R. Fisher & M. Williams (eds.) Unlocking Creativity: Teaching Across the Curriculum, pp.6–20. New York: Routledge. Jones, R. (ed.) (2012). Discourse and Creativity. Harlow: Pearson. Maley, A. (1997). Creativity with a small ‘c’. In Clyde Coreil (ed.) The Journal of the Imagination in Language Learning and Teaching, 4. Available at: http://www.njcu.edu/ cill/journal-index.html. Accessed: 15-04-2016. Păcurar, D. C., Niculescu, R. M., & Panţuru, S. (2003). Pregătirea iniţială psihologică, pedagogică şi metodică a profesorilor [Initial Psychological, Pedagogical and Methodological Teacher Training]. Braşov: Universitatea Transilvania din Braşov. Purcaru, M. A. P., & Nechifor, A. (2014). Assessment Criteria with Teaching Methodology Courses: The Case of English and Mathematics - A Comparative Study. Bulletin of the “Transilvania” University of Braşov, Vol. 7(56), Series VII, No. 2, pp. 47-56. Purcaru, M. A. P., & Nechifor, A. (2015). A Comparative Study on the Opinions of Students Concerning the Teaching Methods within the ELT and MT Methodology Classes. In “Bulletin” of the Transilvania University of Braşov, Vol. 8(57), Series VII, No. 2, pp. 51-58. Richards, J. C. (2013). Creativity in Language Teaching. Plenary address given at the Summer Institute for English Teacher of Creativity and Discovery in Teaching University Writing, City University of Hong Kong, 5th June 2013. Available at: http://www.professorjackrichards.com/wp-content/uploads/Creativity-in-Language- Teaching.pdf. Accessed: 26-09-2016. Ţopa, L. (1980). Creativitate [Creativity]. Bucureşti: Ştiinţifică şi Enciclopedică. Valerian, I. (1927). De vorbă cu dl. Ion Barbu [Talking to Mr. Ion Barbu]. Viaţa literară 36. Vălcan, T. D. (2013). Didactica Matematicii [Mathematics Methodology]. Bucureşti: Matrix Rom. Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov Series VII: Social Sciences • Law • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

CENTEREDNESS OF EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES

Lucian RADU1

Abstract: In this paper, we are going to present the most representative features of the teacher centered learning, where the teacher is considered to be the only reliable source of information and concentrates the entire power in his/her hands. They are presented versus the features of student centered learning, where students may choose their subjects; students are active participants during the learning process; power belongs mainly to students; students talk as much as the teacher during the class; students may use teaching aids, etc. We have identified the causes for which student centered learning has not been extensively introduced in the American public school.

Key words: behaviour, education, learning, student centred learning, teacher centred learning.

1. Introduction

School must endow students with a certain behavior and learning techniques while at the same time fulfilling social and economic needs. In his work, How Teachers Taught: Constancy and Change in American Classrooms (1890 - 1980), Larry Cuban (1984) discusses teacher-centered versus student-centered learning. In teacher-centered learning, the teacher is the one who dominates the verbal exchanges in the act of teaching. His/her voice is dominant. Teaching is for the whole class. The teacher is the one who manages the time required for each stage of teaching and students are seated in front of him/her in rows of desks. On the other hand, Cuban describes student-centered learning, where the student speaks as much as the teacher in class, teaching is delivered individually or for small groups, students participate in class management and teaching aids are available for all of them (Cuban, 1984).

2. Student-centered education/ Teacher-centered education. Dualism or Continuum

The term ‘student-centered education’ is frequently used in pedagogical literature. Given the demographic explosion of the school population and the consumer culture centered on the customer, contemporary society offers a climate in which student- centered education is a phrase increasingly used. The concept of student-centered education dates back to 1905 in Hayward and 1956 in Dewey’s work. Interpretation varies from one author to another. Some consider it as the equivalent of an active learning; others define it in a more comprehensive way, considering it an active learning,

1 Dept.of Literatures and Cultural Studies, Transilvania University of Brasov, [email protected] 44 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016 learning choice, the shift in power relations between in the teacher and the student. The term is often used in specialized literature as well as politics, but unfortunately it has been transferred into practice only to a small extent. Student-centered education has been seen globally as a positive experience. For example, R. Edwards highlights the importance of student-centered education: ‘Placing learners at the heart of the learning process and meeting their needs is taken to a progressive step in which learner-centered approaches mean that persons are able to learn what is relevant for them in ways that are appropriate. Waste in human and educational resources is reduced as it suggested learners no longer have to learn what they already know or can do, nor what they are uninterested in’ (Edwards, 2001). D. Kember (1997) considered that in student-centered education, the teacher only facilitated learning and is not an information presenter. C.R. Rogers (1983) identified the necessary condition that the teacher must accomplish in order to ensure a student- centered education: ‘A leader or person who is perceived as an authority figure in the situation, is sufficiently secure within herself (himself) and her (his) relationship to others, that she (he) experiences an essential trust in the capacity of others to think for themselves, to learn for themselves (Kember, 1997). In Rogers’ view, student-centered education does not mean only the freedom of choosing what they want to study, but to know also how and why a particular subject satisfies their learning interest. In R.M. Harden and J. Crosby’s vision (2000), teacher-centered education is based on learning strategies focused on transmitting knowledge from expert to novice, while student-centered education, in contrast, is focused on what students do to learn and not on what the teacher does. S.J. Lea, Stephenson and Troy (2003) summarizes the main principles of student-centered education. It is an active learning and not a passive one, which is based on profound understanding in which the student’s responsibility is much higher. It confers autonomy to students, but implies an interdependent teacher - student relationship, mutual respect and a reflexive approach to the learning process from both students and teacher. Education is often presented as a dichotomy between student-centered education and teacher-centered education. In reality, the two forms cannot be seen as totally separate. In fact, these terms, in Geraldine O'Neil and Tim McMahon’s (2005) opinion, are rather a continuum that will be presented in the following figure:

Fig. 1. Student-centered education and teacher-centered education continuum L. RADU: Centeredness of Education in the United States 45

The manner, in which student-centered education is applied in practice, depends on the manner in which we look at this continuum in various learning contexts. University of Glasgow has identified four main strategies of applying it. The first strategy consists in convincing the student to become more active in acquiring competencies, including class exercises, experiments, learning assisted by computer, and so on. The second strategy is to make students more aware of what they have to do and their reasons for learning. The third strategy is focused on interaction, including here tutorials and group discussions, and the final strategy is focused on transferable skills.

2.1. Attempts to impose a student-centered instruction in American Public Schools

Cuban (1984) described several attempts to implement reform in public schools before 1940. In 1934, schools in New York began to experiment with the Activity program, which suggested that students and teachers should work together for choosing subjects, and teaching and learning activities should be centered on students’ needs and interests. In addition, the school timetable had to be flexible, and teacher’s exposure replaced by trips, research work, case dramatization (Cuban, 1984). Discipline was replaced by self-control. Between 1920 and 1940 Denver schools introduced a reform based on student-centered instruction. Beside the Activity program provided by New York schools, the projects method was introduced there which involved the students’ participation, both individually and in groups. Assessing the effects of this reform, Cuban found that only 20% of schools had applied extensively the student-centered instruction. In general, he considered that reform in that period did not bring significant changes in methods of instruction because of the structure and organization of schools. After World War II, student-centered education is considered responsible for the deterioration of academic standards; good academic standards were required in order to win the Cold War against the Soviet Union. Student-centered education was considered as anti-intellectual. Towards the end of the 1960s, an increasing number of alternative private schools came into being, and instruction became student centered. In public schools, an important attempt to introduce student-centered instruction was The Open Classroom. It was based on active learning, as opposed to the passive one. The student coordinated the process of learning alone, and it was not imposed by the teacher. Classrooms were large, with open spaces, divided into learning centers. Each learning center contained a variety of teaching aids. Students had to plan their process of learning. The open classroom offered individual training and the possibility to choose between different learning centers, much bigger than a traditional classroom. Students moved from a learning center to another depending on their desire and individual ability to learn. For example, a center was for reading, another for sciences, etc. During the 1970s, new student-centered methods appeared, based on the critical pedagogy work written by the Brazilian pedagogue and philosopher Paulo Freire. His book, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, is a methodology to educate people from disadvantaged backgrounds (Freire, 1970). Freire is considered a Reconstructionist, who wants to reform society. Most educational systems, in his opinion, try to integrate the disadvantaged people in the social system, a system which actually oppresses them. Freire’s methodology helps people understand the economic and 46 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016 political forces that determine the social structure and prepares them to fight for changing the society. These methods help individuals to understand the world they live in. For example, a group of students were shown an image of a common scene in their life. Through discussion, the students begin to differentiate the elements of the scene. Discussion therefore results in the students’ critical awareness of political and social forces. Also, the words used by participants to describe the scene become the basis of development for reading material. The teacher plays an important role in choosing the problem situation/scene. This should be representative of students’ realities and present aspects of their daily lives. Teachers and students will engage in a dialogue about these problems, from which keywords will be detached, words which students use to describe their lives. These words are the basis of teaching reading. In this way, there is a direct link between learning how to read and learning how to think. To start this process, teachers must investigate students’ lives. The purpose of this investigation is to discover themes in their lives which may be used to open a dialogue based on the problem-posing. Teachers should observe the manner in which people talk, their behavior and, in general, the social life of the given community. In the initial phase of this process, teachers record a series of observations and then compare them. They are aware of social conditions and of how students perceive the world. In all Freirian dialogues, learning is done on different levels. At one level they learn about the world, at another level they learn how they should think about the world and finally they become aware of why they should think about the world in that way. Freire calls this process, reflection (Freire, 1970). Reflection involves thinking about the consequences of our actions and about the reason for which we have thought in some way (Freire, 1970). For example, it is a choice to act in a certain way. That action will have an effect on the world, then the person can reflect on the impact of that choice and why he decided upon that choice and not another one. This process will affect the next choices which, in turn, may become objects of reflection. Since teachers go through this process of reflection on their observations, they identify contradictions in students’ life, which may be used then in dialogues. Freire called codification, such as sketches, photos, dramatizations, recordings. Codifications should reflect participants’ real life, so that they can recognize the situations described in them. Also, they should not be totally explicit or totally obscure. An ideal consequence is that codifications will trigger a dialogue that will lead to other topics from students’ lives (Freire, 1970). The purpose of codification is to show them a representation of their lives for starting a dialogue. For example, the problem of alcoholism may be codified by the image of a drunken man who staggers and other people talking in the corners. Most people live in a culture of silence. Living in a culture of silence, people do not make their lives an object of reflection. They just act without thinking about the causes of their actions. In Freire’s opinion ‘they are dehumanized. They are objects of history as opposed to being subjects of history. They do not make history; history makes them’ (Freire, 1970). Many people live in a culture of silence and do not consider their lives a subject of discussion. In codification, in the case of the drunken man for instance, the teacher should not assume the fact that he might have known the reality. He must start from the premise that the man is drunk because of a vice. In the current dialogue, the investigator who has selected codification made it because he has identified alcoholism as a L. RADU: Centeredness of Education in the United States 47 community problem. Man drinks because of his worries, low pay, and inability to support his family. Freire believes that the presentation of codifications determines students to explain their consciousness about the world. Students see how it works, while examining a situation which has been experienced. Analysis forces them to change their perception upon their own actions. This creates new perceptions and develops new knowledge. After the dialogue on the codification of alcoholic behavior, students may perceive the drunken man’s actions as a consequence of economic conditions. Their perception on the causes of alcoholism will be fundamentally changed. Students will reflect on their previous knowledge and perceptions. Freire describes this process as a ‘perception of the previous perception’ and ‘knowledge of the previous knowledge’ (Freire, 1970). In other words, students will reflect on the fact that they have thought so little about the causes of alcoholism. From the process of codification and dialogue, generative words appear which may be used then for teaching reading. These generative words must have pragmatic value and help participants eliminate the culture of silence. Generative words are words which participants use to describe reality. In the dialogue about drunk man on the street, teachers may use for reading purpose words like: drunk, street, walking, working conditions, wages, family and after that more elaborated words may be introduced like: alcoholism, exploitation, economy, employment, unemployment. During learning, these words help develop students’ conscience. They embody persons’ actions. Reading or writing about someone’s actions is a process of objectification. In this process, a person is reflecting on the action embodied by that word. This reflective process may transform the person’s next choices. For example, if a person learns the words ‘drunk, low wage, family,’ he/she is engaged in a dialogue about the causes of alcoholism and, later, will think that alcoholism is a result of poor remuneration, or of precarious life conditions. These thoughts will determine their future actions, and people, at least so Freire believes, decide to engage themselves in political actions which will eliminate the social causes of alcoholism. In other words, they will be engaged in reconstruction of the world. Reflecting on the problem, participants will have to look for the previous causes which they were not aware of that alcoholism is induced by economic and social causes and why they have never fought to change these conditions. Freire (1970) identifies five stages in the dialogue about codification: • in the first stage, students describe what they see in the picture; • in the second phase, the teacher selects certain problems related to the codified presentation. The stage of problem-posing helps students see their life as an object that may be discussed and as something which may be changed; • in the third stage, students reflect on their previously silent status; • in the fourth stage, participants demonstrate critical awareness and understand how their lives and their thinking is shaped by political and economic circumstances; • in the fifth stage, they eliminate the influence of what has controlled them, in Freire’s terms the ‘oppressor’ from their minds. Open classrooms and critical pedagogy lost their importance by the mid-1970s, when attention shifted towards traditional subjects and discipline. Instruction based on competencies began to replace the open classrooms. 48 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

3. Conclusion: The modest success of introducing student - centered instruction in public schools

Cuban (1984) shows that along the history of education, the attempts to impose a student-centered learning have achieved modest success. Education focused on social efficiency imposed upon a teacher-centered learning. Cuban shows that along the history of education, the attempts to impose a student- centered instruction have achieved modest success. At the beginning of the century, school administrators had a mania for bureaucratic efficiency; schools were seen as enterprises and focused on standards and instruction. There was also a hierarchy of top- to-bottom chains of command, which meant that administrators prevailed over teachers, and teachers prevailed over students. Supporters of student-centered learning, led by John Dewey, began to make pressures for introducing reforms in public schools. These reforms met with resistance from the organizational structure of these schools, but they were successfully implemented in private schools. In the instruction based on competencies, the teacher sets out the objectives and develops methods for achieving them. Also, he/she quantifies in what measure objectives are accomplished. Students gain specific competencies along previously planned stages. The importance of assessment will lead to an increasing importance of standardized tests, these tests having control function upon students and teachers’ activities. This was based on Skinner`s behaviorist theories. Behaviorism is a very mechanistic model, a concept of teaching based on measuring and testing to determine deficiencies and achievements and to teach specific objectives. Skinner tried to apply behaviorism in schools using programmed learning machines. Based on the principles of behaviorism, machines had to train students by showing small units of information and providing a repetition, an update and constant reinforcement of them. Skinnner`s theories became a support for what Ira Shore called the Conservative Restoration of the 1970s (Shor, 1972). How conservative or liberal policies influence student-centered education or teacher- centered education is a mechanism on which it is important for us to look for. Generally speaking, conservatives have rejected the idea of student-centered education in favor of traditional teacher-centered education. Education based on the child’s interest and freedom of choice was considered anti-intellectual. Since the 1970s, excellence, standards, discipline, and homework have become the major concerns of conservative politics. On the other hand, democrats believe that training should be focused on the student’s needs and interests. They argue, as John Dewey did, that the rigid procedures applied in classrooms educate students to receive orders and to be passive participants in a democratic society. They intend to reject excellence in favor of equal educational opportunity and want the students to be evaluated according to their own interests and skills. Conservatives want assessment to rely on absolute standards, and students to be evaluated with letters, each corresponding to certain standards, while Democrats want qualifications to register the progress of each individual student. At the end of the 1960s and early 1970s, we have noticed the appearance of open L. RADU: Centeredness of Education in the United States 49 classrooms, based on the idea that class management should be organized according to children’s development and interests. Open classrooms were operating in John Dewey’s progressive tradition. The method was based on Jean Piaget’s psychological theories. He claimed that instruction should take into account each stage of the child’s development. He did an elaborated analysis of the way in which each stage of development corresponds to the child’s cognitive capacities of understanding different concepts. An important part of this theory has been used in active learning. In the early 1970s, the open classrooms idea became widespread. Elementary schools were built with open spaces to correspond to this type of class organization. Towards the end of 1970, the concept lost popularity and many of those classrooms were divided into traditional classrooms. At the end of the 1970s and early 1980s, the basic principles of Skinner`s learning machine were incorporated into many educational software programs for microcomputers. Like any other behaviorist forms, education based on competencies uses a mechanical model of learning and tends to exercise a direct control over students’ behavior. Cuban (1984) believes that student-centered instruction had no major impact on American public schools, because of the teachers’ conservative culture and because schools were still interested, in his view, in social control and selection. Education based on students’ interests is contrary to the idea that the school serves political and economic interests, and he has brought into light the political nature of class instruction. All these reasons are responsible for the very little change in methods of instruction in the twentieth century.

Other information may be obtained from the address: [email protected].

References

Cuban, L. (1984). How Teacher Taught: Constancy and Change in American Classrooms, 1890 – 1980. White Plains, N.Y.: Longman. Edwards, R. (2001). Meeting individual learner needs: power, subject, subjection. In C. Paechter, M. Preedz, D. Scott, & J. Soler (Eds.), Knowledge, Power and Learning, pp. 37-46. London: SAGE. Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Continuum. Harden, R. M., & Crosby, J. (2000). The good teacher is more than a lecturer – the twelve roles of the teacher. Medical teacher, 22(4), 334-347. Kember, D. (1997). A reconceptualisation of the research into university academics conceptions of teaching. Learning and Instruction, 7(3), 255-275. Lea, S. J., Stephenson, D., & Troy, J. (2003). Higher Education students’ attitudes to student centred learning: Beyond educational bulimia. Studies in Higher Education, 28(3), 321-334. O'Neil, G., & McMahon, T. (2005). Student Centered Learning: What does it mean for students and lecturers? Available at: http://www.aishe.org/readings/2005-1/oneill- mcmahon-Tues_19th_Oct_SCL.pdf. Accessed on 12-10-2016. 50 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

Rogers, C. R. (1983). As a Teacher, Can I be Myself.? Freedom to Learn for 80’s. Ohio: Charles E. Merrill Publishing Company. Shor, I. (1992). Empowering Education: Critical teaching for social change. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

SOCIOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY

Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov Series VII: Social Sciences • Law • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF THE MIGRATORY ITALIAN WAVES IN THE 19TH – 20TH CENTURIES

1 Ana Laura BULIGA

Abstract: The phenomenon of the Italian migration proved to be intense and diverse as regards the territorial origins, but also social diversity. Migration is the process involving people of different social status and economic, cultural, religious changes in the society accepting it. The abandonment of the original area by people in order to settle in other areas depended on political, economic or natural factors. The Italian migratory process became a great migration to America, Australia and mainly in Europe. Searching for a safer or better future, Italians came to Romania as well, establishing steady communities.

Key words: permanent migration, seasonal migration, expatriations, demographic evolutions, migratory flows, individual and collective migration.

1. Introduction

Understanding migration as a component of the economic and social life of each state leads to the idea that orderly, well managed migration can be beneficial for individuals and societies as it generates ethnical and religious syntheses, economic changes and regional and overall readjustments of power relations, involving acculturation and exchanges of values (Bocancea, 2011, p.3).

2. Causes of Italian migration

In the context of the economic changes in the 19th century that led to the decline of old artisan crafts and domestic industry, Italian migration intensified. Given that the effects of the industrial revolution in Europe were causing increased agricultural productivity and urbanization, the rural labor force turned to urban activities. Migration was constant in the peninsular life before and after the 19th century and the political, economic and religious crises they faced determined the displacement of population in urban and rural areas. It is not ease to determine migration causes, but most times there were various reasons triggering the displacement from a familiar place to unknown territories. Natural causes

1Liceul Teoretic ,,Dante Alighieri”, [email protected]

54 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016 often determined the mass displacement of migrants who fled climate changes, natural disasters caused by volcanoes, floods or earthquakes (Available at: http://doc.studenti.it/appunti/storia/flussi-migratori.html.) The main causes of emigration were geo-political that concerned territorial proximity, ease of mobility, but also social, causing displacement as result of wars, military invasions, religious persecution (Nicolae, 2009, p. 29). Only in Western Europe, in the late 18th century, there were hundreds of military conflicts and related battles and the Italian states were also involved in the unification fight for changing political order. The political component of migration corresponds to the unification process, which led the Mazzinians and liberals into exile. The process of political migration would be continued in the early 20th century by socialists and anarchists, especially since many of the migrants who returned to Italy, in particular those from Germany, ,,had learned what a union was, how to go on strike” (Procacci, 1975, p. 371). The transition from a mainly rural world to one of technical innovations developed from the Northern Europe to Northern Italy mutual organizations of charity initiative that helped workers. In Italy, Mutual Organizations (Società Operaia di Mutuo Soccorso ed Istruzione-SOMSI) appeared in the beginning of the 19th century and aimed to keep away from policy, but starting with the 1890s the social problem triggered in the Northern Italy the establishment of the first worker unions (Francesconi and Tomasella, 1965, p. 29). There was deemed that the highest impact on migration was caused by economic causes, intensified during the great agrarian crisis from 1873-1879 that aligned with the worldwide crisis and the economic crisis from 1881-1894 (Dorojan, 2013, p. 31). Given the demographic growth, the pursuit was for growth opportunities, a better socio- economic level because the agrarian crisis had covered the European states and, in particular, Italy. The gravity of the crisis was reflected by the poverty of the soil caused by the exhaustion of farming lands through long exploitation and insufficient capital. Thus, the prices dropped on the national market because of the massive imports of American and Russian wheat and in the South, the small peasant property could not compete with the large estates. Overall, the farming and husbandry production dropped from 28,308,000,000 (in lira in 1938), as it was in 1880, to 25,916,000,000 in 1887 (Procacci, 1975, pp. 369-370). The authorities proved incapable of managing the population exodus, begun in the late decades of the 19th century given that migration was also caused by accidental factors such as drought, high taxes and epidemics. The investigations of the Italian officials showed that the Northern and Southern villages faced malnutrition, malaria, pellagra which increased the number of victims “by the thousand each year” (Procacci, 1975, pp. 369-370). The journey of Italians worldwide meant “pursuing the bread that the country could not provide” (Pellegrini and Perissinotto, 2010, p. 3).

3. The effects of the Italian migration

Italian historians differentiated migration and called the migration from the European area internal migration and the migration overseas – external migration. Post-unification Italy did not manage to settle the economic dualism between the developed North and the retrograde South. Most areas of Italy were affected by the financial deficit, by the agricultural crisis and by an industrial sector congregated only in the north of the country. A. L. BULIGA: Causes and Effects of the Migratory Italian Waves in the 19th–20th Centuries 55

Piedmont was an area that offered growth opportunities because of its liberal policies, infrastructure investments, organization of the banking system and reforms in the textile industry, but the pattern was undertaken only by the provinces Liguria and only partially by Lombardy – Venice. Therefore, certain areas experienced severe imbalances between available resources and population needs and these led to the increase of migratory flows. Before and after the unification of the state, Italy underwent the migratory process which transformed into the great migration both in Europe and towards the Americas and later towards Australia. The mirage of the New World determined millions of people to leave the country, and this process was enabled by the progress of the industrial revolution. If ships were the only transportation to America, with journeys lasting around 40 days, in Europe, millions of people travelled by train, seeking a safer present and a better future (Available at: http://www.emigrati.it.).The phenomenon of the Italian migration proved to be intense and diverse in terms of territorial origin and social background. The history of the Italian migration spans over a significant period of time, with the following stages: 1861-1876, 1876-1915, 1916-1940, 1946-1970; therefore more than half of the Italian population was involved in the migratory process (Toninato, 2011, p. 19). Both the continental and transatlantic migrations were mostly composed of men (81%) and the destination of the seasonal migrants was mainly towards European countries, in particular France and Germany and gradually the extra-European migration prevailed. Seasonal migration manifested mainly in Europe, inclusively in the Romanian territories after 1860, but only as secondary direction. An increasingly larger number of people from Piedmont, Liguria and Veneto gradually chose this destination and the great Venetian migration to Romania became a route of seasonal migration of specialized workers, who acted as agents in the modernization of the country and most of whom settled here, establishing solid communities. Migration is a phenomenon of worldwide demographic dimension, which could be temporary or permanent; depending on the temporary duration and the distance between the place of origin and destination, the differentiation is made between temporary or seasonal migration and permanent migration. Based on the distance covered and while the transportation developed in the second half of the 19th century, migrations could be regional, international or intercontinental. In terms of duration, there could be differentiated between permanent or temporary migration and, within it, seasonal migration was differentiated, which involved a definite period for professional activities conditioned by seasons (Negruţi, 1991, p.16). From 1875 to 1915 mesmerized by the dream of the New World more than 20,000,000 people out of the 40,000,000 people from Italy left, which meant “not only several Italians, but half of the people” (Martin, 2009, p. 31, 57). The migration’s effects proved diverse and caused economic, cultural, linguistic transformations in Italy and for the Italians involved in the great migration both for those who left and for those who stayed home. Migration was a choice involving dramatic changes, displacement from communities, from families, hard jobs abroad and generated changes in the Italian society. Foreign and Italian agents tried to take advantage of the ignorance of migrants as those recruited paid a fee for their journey and the employment received. There were usually organized groups of workers from the same region of Italy and the journey and settlement in the region of destination were the entrepreneur’s responsibility (Kisilewicz, 2010, p. 20). The hardships of a migrant also included the limited possibilities to communicate and they were often labeled as illiterate in the 56 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016 countries of adoption. For many migrants the feeling of nostalgia and sadness fed the thought of returning home. In some communities the only ones left were most times the children, elderly and women who were called at the time the white widows (Toninato, 2011, pp.28-29), which caused the disintegration of families. Such effort of Italian migrants helped however to redress the unified Italy as the money sent back contributed not only to the survival of the families that could pay their debts, but also to start small investments. The acclimatization in these countries was not always easy, there were conflicts between the workers in the countries of adoption and Italian migrants were accused of selling their employment under regular wages and of being the “Europe’s Chinese” (Procacci, 1975, p. 371). The Italians are no longer the lice from the 16th century, but in France denigrating labels were used to describe them as Bedouins, Zulu, Burs, meant to describe Italy as the Africa of Europe, thus labeling Italians as poor, retrograde and ignorant (Toninato, 2011, pp.28-29). Even in the United States, the Italians were despised, they were not considered of the white race and were assimilated to the Chinese, Afro-Americans, Mexicans and many articles from New York papers called them robbers, bandits, beggars or even worse the Italian man was presented as a “significant criminal”, “a tensed person, who is agitated when sober and angry after a few drinks” (Toninato, 2011, p. 29). The stereotypes of the violent, ignorant and lazy Italian were most time economically related, were connected to the accusation that they were in unfair competition with local workers, strike breakers, that by accepting work below the market level trigged a decrease in salaries and a large part of liquidities left the countries as wages were sent to Italy. The result of this negative image was violent incidents, as the lynching from New Orleans on March 14, 1891 or the massacre from Agues Mortes on August 17, 1893 with victims among the Italian migrants (Toninato, 2011, p. 30). Refusals and conflicts were also recorded in the South and East of Europe, but the migration was not as significant as in the West. In Romania, feelings of admiration and solidarity were recorded as regards Italy, arising from linguistic kinship and Latin conscience. All the writers from the first half of the 19th century built a bright image of Italy in the Romanian intellectual and literary environment, as Italy was seen as the land of ancestors, an area of romantic adventures, the country of great masters and scholars (Kisilewicz, 2010, p. 15). The contacts were stimulated by the socio-political similarities between the situation of Romanians and Italians given that the second half of the 19th century found the Romanians and Italians in full process of establishment of unitary and modern states. From the Europe of empires, the political French, German, Italian migrants, participants in various revolutions or anti-empire movements often chose migration and came even in the lands from the north of the Danube. Here, they were given the right to practice liberal, artistic and, in particular, didactic professions (Siupur, 2009, p. 68). Marco Antonio Canini, Garibaldian journalist, banished from Italy in the 7th decade of the 19th century, launched an appeal to his countrymen: “Italian citizens, instead of crossing the ocean to America and to see that magnates do not integrate you and you will starve, better come to Romania, a rich country with a welcoming people, of Latin origin like us” (Kisilewicz, 2010, p. 36 and Tomi, 2003, pp. 395-401). The Italian migration in Romania at the end of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century played a secondary role, but occurred in all social fields. In those years, A. L. BULIGA: Causes and Effects of the Migratory Italian Waves in the 19th–20th Centuries 57

Romania seemed to many as the new America on this side of the ocean, with riches, farming land and that needed specialized labor (Ricci, 2008, p. 60). Most migrants came from the Italian territories of the Habsburg Empire or from the Adriatic regions and were involved in fields of specialized labor. The migration statistics from 1883 showed that the qualified migrants of Italy chose Serbia, Romania, Greece and Turkey as country of destination. For the Romanian territory, it was indicated that in 1877, the actual number of migrants was 1371 (1.38%) and in 1878 the migration dropped to 949 (0.99%). In 1897, the actual number was 2156 (1.80%) and in 1880 it was estimated at 1189 (0.99%). The number of migrants in 1881 was estimated to 1436 (1.06%), while in 1882 was kept to 1512 (0.91%) and increased in 1883 to 3839 (2.27%) (Statistica della Emigrazione Ialiana Anno 1883, 1884, p. XIX). The same statistics estimated that, according to the age criterion, the male population was between 64-79% of the migration. (Statistica della Emigrazione Ialiana Anno 1883, 1884, p. X). The largest part of this Italian migration in the Romanian territory, from the second half of the 19th century up to 1918, was temporary or seasonal. The term usually refers here to smaller or larger groups of workers of different specializations, who left Italy at the beginning of spring, in March-April, and returned home either at the end of autumn, in November, or at the beginning of winter, in December ( Scagno and Tomasella and Tucu, 2008, p. 420). There were also exceptions when the temporary migration covered a longer period of time, several years for instance, as stipulated under the employment contract. In such cases, seasonal migration differentiated from temporary migration as it occurred periodically while temporary migration, although for a longer or shorter period of time, did not presume the obligation to return to Romania (Dorojan, 2009, p. 133). Since the 60s of the 19th century, hundreds of workers from Italy worked throughout the regions of Romania, building railways, bridges, streets or important public constructions. The arrival of the Italian workers on the Romanian employment market matches the period of the beginning of the Romanian state’s modernization (Focacci, 2009, p. 4). Italian companies operated in Romania in collaboration with the Romanian state, such as Società rumena di costruzioni e lavori pubblici, Bucharest, Nifon Palace; Società veneta per imprese e costruzioni pubbliche, Bucharest, 5 Vamei Str.; Pellerin, Bucharest, 3 Piaţa Amzei; Società Five-Little, Bucharest (Scagno and Tomasella and Tucu, 2008, p.40). The companies employed qualified labor from Italy, in particular from Veneto and especially from Udine, but later workers from the south of Italy or from the provinces of the Adriatic Sea came to Romania (Drăgulin, 2011, pp. 14-15). The experience of the Italian companies on the Romanian market allowed them to win auctions, dominating the sector of public and private constructions, determining the Italian minster from Bucharest, Emanuele Beccaria Incisa to state that from 1890 to 1895 the total amount of these works had reached 21.5 million of French francs (Dinu, 2007, p. 425). Most Italians from Romania were young people, masters of their crafts, who walked sometimes for weeks and in Romanian settlements they were waited for craftsmen or entrepreneurs who had promised employment (Grosaru and Tarabega, 2012, p.18). Most of them were of modest origin and their crafts were only the traditional ones in the Italian provinces, respectively masons, hewers, artisans of artistic finishing, such as stucco, wherefrom the name of stucco craftsmen, and experts in wood processing and exploitation. At the end of the 19th century, the Italian masons dominated numerous 58 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016 urban centers given their abilities and technical skills. Inspector Di Palma estimated that the “Italian mason was the one who could work the largest number of bricks (around 800) and could work with the highest precision compared to masons of other nationalities” (Kisilewicz, 2010, p. 22). The minister of Italy in Bucharest, Beccaria Incisa wrote in 1892 that: „...the wages our workers receive in Romania are satisfactory and much higher than those in their country.” (Kisilewicz, 2010, p. 15) In 1912, inspector Di Palma, from the Italian Inspectorate of Migration showed that the amounts saved by Italian workers in Romania were around 3-4 million of lira per year. This was one of the negative issues of migration in Romania since it meant that important capital left the country (Negruţi, 1991, p. 106). Since the 6th decade of the 19th century, the Italian migration from Romania represented a peninsular migratory flow that lasted a century. The Small Romania, united and independent, was in the situation of a state, where everything “was to be made” according to Jules Michelet (Pop and Cârja, 2011, p. 110). Romania offered multiple opportunities that Italians enjoyed because, after all, the motivation behind their migration to Romania was mostly economic. The arrival of Italians in Romania corresponds to the beginning of great investments and the modernization of infrastructure from the 19th and 20th century. Generations of Italian migrants found in Romania a region capable of offering possibilities of social, economic and professional growth, proving a second country for many of them (Scagno and Tomasella and Tucu, 2008, p. 5). The Italian seasonal migrants came from underdeveloped urban and rural areas where labor was scarce. Stimulated by the possibility of income and the hope for a better life, some Italians came to the Romanian Principalities even since the first decades of the 19th century. The Italian migration was featured by constant growth, followed by several decreases in the years of crisis. Communities of Italians settled around the whole country and Italian workers were appreciated in Romania for honesty and competence. Italians were hewers in Dobrogea, processed wood in Valea Jiului and Oltului and built from Modova to Oltenia railways, bridges, garrisons and palaces. They also contributed to the transformation of Bucharest into the most populated and important city in the country. In this city on the banks of Dambovita, Italians felt at home, were respected and appreciated by a people with whom they were united by the same values of Latinity. The pro-Romanian Italian, Roberto Fava, following a journey in the territory from the north of the Danube, wrote enthusiastically about how the Romanian society had accepted Italians: “Thus it makes sense how the Italian population living in large numbers and thriving in the capital of Romania and in other cities of the small kingdom could find an identity in the ideas, habits, feelings and hopes of the Romanian people so they seem to have merged with it” (Fava, 1894, p. 104).

4. Conclusions

The approach of the Italian migration can be made from the perspective of some characteristics related to typologies, causes and directions of evolution. The analysis focuses on the impact on the areas of immigration by settling colonies in Romania, in particular in Bucharest, where Italians established the largest community. The exodus of Italians into the unknown is labelled as the most significant from the modern history given that in 1861 more than 24 million departures were recorded in all the regions of Italy. The typology of migration comprises two forms, seasonal migration A. L. BULIGA: Causes and Effects of the Migratory Italian Waves in the 19th–20th Centuries 59 accompanied by temporary migration and permanent migration that led most times to settlement in the new territories by establishing solid communities. Since the 60s, large masses of people left Italy and mostly went to North America, South America and Europe. Trans-Atlantic migration was permanent while European migration was seasonal and permanent. The Italian migration in Romania, compared to the countries of the Western Europe, was not significant in numbers, but important by its consequences. This migration contributed to the social-economic development of Romania and the cohabitation of Romanians and Italians was a factor that favored the process of the country’s modernization.

References

Bocancea, C. (2011). Migraţie, aculturaţie şi valori politice [Migration, acculturation and political values]. Sfera Politicii, vol. XIX, no.12 (166). Bucharest: Civil Society Foundation. Dinu, R. (2007). Studi italo-romeni. Diplomazia e società, 1879-1914. Bucharest: Military Press. Dorojan, A. (2013). L’emigrazione italiana nelle terre romene (1861-1916). Available at: http://www.dspace_roma3.Caspur.it/bitstream/2307/4187/1/L’emigrazione%20italiana %20nelle%20terre%20romene%20. Accessed: 07-03-2016. Dorojan, A. (2009). Comunitatea italiană din Bucureşti (1850-1918) (I), [Italian community of Bucharest (1850-1918 ) (I)]. Revista Arhivelor, LXXXVI, No. 1, Bucharest. Drăgulin, S. (2011). Fenomenul migrator în România. Studiu de caz: italienii (1868-2010) [The migratory phenomenon in Romania. Case study: Italians (1868-2010)]. Sfera politicii, vol. XIX, no. 4 (158). Bucharest: Civil Society Foundation. Fava, R. (1894). Amintiri din Ţările Române. Note dintr-o călătorie în Transilvania şi România [Memories from the Romanian Countries. Notes from a journey in Transylvania and Romania]. Bucharest: Universul Luigi Cazzavillan Press. *** « Flussi migratori nel Novecento italiano ». Available at: http://doc.studenti.it/ appunti/storia/flussi-migratori.html. Accessed: 05-04-2016. Focacci, F. (2009). Italia şi România. Două tipuri de migraţie faţă în faţă [Italy and Romania. Two types of migration face to face]. Sfera Politicii, No. 137, year XVII. Bucharest: Civil Society Foundation. Francesconi, R. & Tomasella, P. (1965). Emigranti friulani in Romania dal 1860 ad oggi, Regione Autonomica Friuli Venezia Giulia. Grosaru, I. & Tarabega, G. (2012). Italienii din România O istorie în imagini. Italiani in Romania Una storia in immagini [The Italians from Romania. A history in images. Italiani in Romania Una storia in immagini]. Bucharest: Association of Italians from Romania. Kisilewicz, I. M., (2010). Contribuţia italiană în arhitectura românească [Italian contribution to the Romanian architecture]. Bucharest: Foundation Romania of Tomorrow Press. Martin, A. (2009). A cultural route and a research direction for a modern approaches of the new realities of migration. Sfera Politicii, No. 137, year XVII, Bucharest: Civil Society Foundation.

60 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

Negruţi, E. (1991). Migraţii sezoniere la lucru în România (1859-1918) [Seasonal migration for employment in Romania (1859-1918]. Bucharest: Romanian Academy Press. Nicolae F. B. (2009). Migraţia forţei de muncă şi resursele umane-impact geostrategic [Migration of labor force and human resources – geostrategic impact]. Sfera Politicii, no. 137, year XVII, no.137. Bucharest: Civil Society Foundation. Pellegrini, I. R. & Perissinotto, U. (2010). Emigrazione dal Veneto tra’800 e’900. Venezia: Mazzanti Editori. Pop, I. A. & Cârja, I. (2011). Un Italian la Bucureşti: Luigi Cazzavillan (1852-1903) [An Italian in Bucharest: Luigi Cazzavillan (1852-1903)]. Cluj-Napoca: Romanian Academy, Centrul de Studii Transilvane, Istituto per Le Ricerche di Storia Sociale e Religiosa. Procacci G. (1975). Istoria italienilor [History of Italians]. Bucharest: Political Press. Ricci, A. (2008). Quando a partire eravamo noi: l’emigrazione italiana in România tra il XIX e il XX secolo. In Romania, immigrazione e lavoro in Italia. Statistiche, problemi e prospettive. Roma: IDOS. Scagno, R., Tomasella, P. & Tucu, C. (2008). Veneti in Romania. Ravenna: Longo Editore. Siupur, E. (2009). Emigraţia: condiţie umană şi politică în Sud-Estul European [Migration: human and political condition in the South-East of Europe]. Bucharest: Romanian Academy Press. Statistica della Emigrazione Ialiana Anno 1883 (1884). Roma: Tipografia della Camera dei Deputati, Direzione Generale della Statistica. Tomi, R. (2003). Imaginea constituirii regatului italian în presa din Principate (1859- 1861) [The image of the establishment of the Italian kingdom in the press of the Principalities (1859-1861)]. Identitate naţională şi spirit european. Academicianul Dan Berindei la 80 de ani [National identity and European spirit. The academician Dan Berindei at 80 years old], Bucharest: Enciclopedic Press. Toninato, R. (2011). Popoli Migranti Guida per l’insegnanti. Roma: Amnesty International, Sezione Italiana.

Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov Series VII: Social Sciences • Law • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

THE “ACHIEVEMENT CULTURE”: GAMING AS WORK IN DIABLO III

Mihai BURLACU1

Abstract: The dynamics involved in the development of Role Playing Games (i.e. RPGs) were previously associated in digital anthropology with the economic goals of the developers and producers (Rettberg, 2007, p. 24). In this article, I reconsider the attraction that Diablo III is meant to engender among players. I also review the features that transform this game from an entertainment platform into a simulacrum that entails countless hours of repetitive work. I conclude that Diablo III represents an elaborate metaphor of achievement through work.

Key words: digital anthropology, digital culture, achievement system, webs of significance.

1. Introduction

The dynamics involved in the development of Role Playing Games (i.e. RPGs) were previously associated in digital anthropology with the economic goals of digital games developers and producers (Rettberg, 2007, p. 24). In this article, I reconsider from a cultural standpoint the attraction that Diablo III is meant to engender among players. Blizzard offers players the illusion of becoming successful in ways similar to those promoted in Western cultures. One of the results of this attraction is the provision of a source of steady income for game developers. This became particularly apparent after Blizzard had introduced seasons to the game in the patch 2.1. Each season lasts for approximately three months and is comparable to the ladder system from Diablo II. Overall, the game developers’ purpose is to introduce players into a world in which they stay as long as possible, without being distracted by other virtual worlds. The economic goals of game developers generally determine the way players engage with computer games. As a result, games “are primarily entertainment products, not forms of art” (Rettberg, 2007, p. 20). Diablo III was developed by Blizzard with a specific idea of how to extract money from players and to encourage the development of a dedicated community. In turn, the Diablo III community provides a reliable source of income for the game’s producers. As the business models of computer games have changed, the nature of reward systems grew in complexity in order to further motivate players. Unlike the first role-playing games, in Diablo III the quantifiable dimension of a player’s achievements includes several measurements that define his/her avatar: agility, armour, dexterity, intelligence, power, mana, stamina etc. Furthermore, the completion of complex, often repetitive and time-

1 Transilvania University of Braşov, [email protected] 60 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016 consuming actions is rewarded through a specific system of achievements. These achievements are similar to those associated with the ‘status-role complex’ from real societies. In this article, I present an excursus regarding the cultural dimensions of gaming transformed into work, as it is represented in the achievement system from Diablo III.

2. Objectives

Blizzard’s development of the achievement system from Diablo III mirrors to a great extent the accomplishments of World of Warcraft. While those that regularly played the other two games from the Diablo francize found many similarities between it and its’ predecessors, the level of complexity of Diablo III’s achievement system was considerably higher. Internalizing the majority of this system was a challenge for me, even though I had experience with other RPGs, both as a gamer and as a researcher. By carrying out participant observation, I was able to uncover many interesting features created by the game developers and adapted by the gamer community. Consequently, understanding these features necessitated not only an experimental approach, but also an interpretive one, in accordance with the theses postulated by Clifford Geertz (1973, p. 5). Players’ interaction on Battle.net servers contributes to Diablo III’s appeal and complexity. The players can explore the world of Sanctuary, partake into various activities and choose from a determined set of mostly linear and often repetitive quests, which have a varying degree of complexity. Interestingly, some of these quests are not apparently connected with the main story of the game. However, their completion is confined within each of the game’s five acts. All these elements allow a high degree of personalization. Thus, every player’s avatar is unique. This degree of personalization allows players the possibility to create “a second self, with traits and physical qualities far different from his or her own real embodied personality” (Rettberg, 2007, p. 23). This is a chance for many players to escape the limitations of their own situation in the real world. In addition, the allure of having a new beginning, albeit a digital one, offers a greater degree of flexibility of choice. This is a decisive factor in the development of a ‘gaming’ attraction and even ‘addiction’. Players replace the reality of their lives with a surrogate, an illusion based on ephemeral achievements. That is why my first objective is to reconsider from a cultural standpoint the attraction that Diablo III is meant to engender among players. This attraction is maintained by Blizzard by continuously revising the game. Assessing the achievement system from Diablo III entails both an anthropological and a semiotic approach. In this article, I argue that this system was developed by Blizzard in order to compel players to spend large amounts of time playing Diablo III. Accordingly, my second objective is to review the features that transform this game from a site of play and entertainment into a work platform (Yee, 2006, p. 68). I emphasize the fact that completing some of the more difficult achievements requires many hours of tedious work.

3. Diablo III as a digital culture of achievement

Any digital culture shares many similarities with ‘real’ cultures. It is constructed, defined and represented according to norms, customs and traditions. Furthermore, it entails ‘webs of significance’ whose meaning could be interpreted using Geertz’s theses (Geertz, 1973, p. 5). Accordingly, the dichotomy between work and play should be also valid in digital cultures. To a certain extent this was true. However, as Nick Yee has M. BURLACU: The ‘Achievement Culture’: Gaming as Work in Diablo III 61 emphasized a decade ago “the staggering amount of work that’s being done in these games is often gone unnoticed [sic!]” (Yee, 2006, p. 68). The blur between work and play in Blizzard’s Diablo III has been influenced by the achievement system developed by Blizzard for World of Warcraft. The achievement system from Diablo III includes multiple quantifiable dimensions determined by a plethora of metrics. Many achievements entail repetitive actions and multiple cultural references. The player’s avatar has an overall level between one and seventy. Additionally, there is a paragon system combined into an account wide level that has no maximum. This system was introduced in the patch 2.0.1 deployed on 24th of February 2014, one month before the release of the expansion pack Reaper of Souls. It allows players to change between multiple avatars and retain the paragon bonuses. The player can choose one of the six classes of avatars or ‘heroes’: (i) barbarian, (ii) crusader, (iii) demon hunter, (iv) monk, (v) witch doctor and (vi) wizard. Also, each player has the possibility to choose not only his/her avatar’s class, but also its type: (A) Normal or softcore avatars have no advantage to obtaining superior items and no experience bonuses, but can respawn upon death. (B) Hard-core avatars have a bonus chance to obtain superior items. They also have an intrinsic experience bonus. However, hard-core avatars cannot be resurrected; they become unplayable if they are killed. They have a distinct ranking system and can form teams exclusively with avatars of the same type. (C) Seasonal avatars are created at the beginning of each season. Their performance is compared on a specific leader board for various levels of difficulty and/or regions. Seasonal avatars have access to exclusive legendary items awarded for good performance. There are also Conquests, which are basically seasonal achievements. Usually, the first 1000 players to complete the Conquests gain this type of achievements. Seasonal avatars are transferred to the main account of the players. Attributes such as agility, armour, dexterity, intelligence, power, mana and stamina define each player’s avatars quantitatively. Firstly, these metrics are determined by the avatar’s class and by the level the player has reached. Secondly, the player’s armour, melee attack, ranged attack abilities, resistances, speed, health and energy regeneration are also influenced by: (a) wearable items type and rarity; (b) class-specific items; (c) multiple crafting, enchanting and transmogrifying options for items; (d) temporary buffs (e.g. Nephalem Glory). Thirdly, each player’s reputation is determined quantitatively according to a plethora of achievements that are locked to each account and character. These achievements are grouped on multiple categories, as it can be seen in Figure 1. Every player’s achievements and reputation are also determined by Blizzard’s Battle.net ranking system. Furthermore, the player’s performance could be assessed subjectively by fellow members of the Battle.net clans. To complicate things even further, Diablo III had a double difficulty system: (I) a system comprising four modes of difficulty (i.e. Normal, Nightmare, Hell and Inferno); (II) the monster power system with ten levels of difficulty. Higher difficulties have exclusive item rewards: superior gems and items, supplementary gold and bonus experience points. In the Reaper of Souls expansion pack this was transformed into a dynamic difficulty system in which the monsters and the avatar’s levels are correlated. The selected difficulty affects the dynamic correlation by further increasing the toughness of the various types of monsters. The difficulties that can be chosen in Reaper of Souls are: (1) Normal; (2) Hard; (3) Expert; (4) Master; (5) Torment I; (6) Torment II; (7) Torment III; (8) Torment IV. 62 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

Fig. 1. The Diablo III in-game achievement interface

All these features could be considered ‘webs of significance’ of the Diablo III digital culture. In reflecting upon the transformation of gaming into work, I think it is worth to contemplate the “inversion of the formula of participant observation to that of an observant participation” (Alemán, 2012, p. 154). Envisaged in digital anthropology by Stephanie W. Alemán, this idea suggests that concepts such as reflexivity are prerequisites for developing research that acknowledges the anthropologist’s subjectivity and agency, especially in studying a digital culture. Thus, the repositioned anthropologist is better able to approach issues such as the transformation of gaming into work. In my experience, this meant spending more than 1000 hours in Diablo III over the past three years. I have pondered upon the appeal of projecting myself into an avatar on a regular basis. Indeed, taking the form of an avatar represents an ephemeral means of overcoming the shortfalls of the ‘real’ life. During my gaming sessions I was able to interact in novel ways, beyond the limits encountered in real life. The development of my avatar in a gothic styled world allowed me to develop a sense of enjoyment and fulfilment in ways that were completely different from those encountered in the real world.

4. Labour and economy in Diablo III

My review of the features that transform Diablo III from a site of play and entertainment into a work platform would not be complete without several remarks regarding the game’s ‘economy’. The in-game economy is also inspired from World of Warcraft. The work I had to perform in each quest and dungeon brought me its rewards or ‘loot’. Almost all the monsters ‘grinded’2 in the hack-and-slash style of Diablo III drop items, raw materials and gold coins. I was able to use the gold in order to purchase weapons, armour, gems, rings,

2 ‘Grinding’ represents the practice of killing one enemy after another, in order to gain loot or experience (Bainbridge, 2010, p. 142). M. BURLACU: The ‘Achievement Culture’: Gaming as Work in Diablo III 63 amulets, dyes and gems. While in-game, I had the option either to sell or purchase items from various merchants. Furthermore, the items from my demon hunter’s equipment could be repaired, crafted, enchanted, socketed and transmogrified. All these services are performed in Diablo III by a special kind of merchant NPCs called artisans. Every artisan’s skill can be levelled up with money and specific recipes. After releasing the Reaper of Souls expansion pack there are three artisans: (1) The blacksmith Haedrig Eamon is specialized in crafting and repairing weapons and armour. He can also salvage crafting materials from unwanted items. This NPC is first encountered in the first act of the game. (2) The jeweller Covetous Shen is able to construct rings and amulets and he can also combine lesser gems into more powerful ones. In addition, Shen can remove gems from socketed items. He is initially found in the second act. (3) The mystic Myriam Jahzia is an expert in enchanting items, which allowed me to change some of their magical properties. The mystic can also alter the appearance of weapons and armour for a certain fee, a process called transmogrification. In order to gain her services it is necessary to buy the Reaper of Souls expansion pack. Initially, there was also an auction house connected with the Battle.net. It allowed players to sell and buy weapons and armour for gold or real money. The other games from the Diablo francize did not include this feature. However, World of Warcraft does include an auction house. In Diablo III it is subdivided in two: (α) in the Gold-based Auction House, all the transactions for items, crafting materials and avatars are conducted using the game’s currency (i.e. ‘gold’); (β) in the Real Money Transaction Auction House the items are transacted for real-world money (i.e. euro, dollars, pounds etc.). The advantage of the auction house was that every player was able to put his/her items for sale in an automated system. Thus, in the auction house it wasn’t necessary for a player to be present in order to sell items or advertise his/her merchandise. The auction house also had the advantage of easy access: it was available at any time, from multiple locations, including a Battle.net button. It was separated between normal (i.e. softcore) and hard-core avatars. However, it was closed on the 18th of March 2014 because it hindered the gameplay. After the release of the Reaper of Souls expansion pack Blizzard introduced an alternate currency in the Adventure Mode of the game: the Blood Shards. In itself, this mode has expanded the game with multiple features, bounties and exclusive zones. Blood Shards represent an alternate currency that drops from: (a) Horadric Caches3; (b) Rift Guardians4. Blood Shards can be used exclusively for gambling items from Kadala. She is the only merchant that provides gambling services in the Adventure Mode. Initially, each player could only possess 500 Blood Shards. However, the developers changed the game dynamics in the patch 2.2.0. Each rank of Greater Rift5 beaten consecutively in single player mode increases this level by 10. Thus, players are encouraged to perform a series of repetitive labours in a manner that is similar to Taylorism. Just like in World of Warcraft, in Diablo III “there is an assembly-line mentality to many of the quests, many of which involve killing a staggering number of a certain type of beast or enemy (i.e. grinding), over and over again” (Rettberg, 2007, 30). Accordingly, I agree with Rettberg’s thesis that

3 A Horadric Cash is a type of item awarded to players after completing the five bounties from an act. 4 The Rift Guardians are boss monsters found in Nephalem Rifts. They are found in alternate realities to the mortal world, similar to dungeons, but with a higher difficulty level. 5 Greater Rifts are alternate realities to Sanctuary (i.e. the mortal realm), were players test their capabilities beyond the Torment IV level of difficulty. 64 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016 combat “is a form of production” (Rettberg, 2007, 31). Through combat every avatar of one’s account generates experience, gold and a quantifiable measure of reputation on Battle.net. In a hack-and-slash game like Diablo III production and development takes the form of killing. However, ‘death’ in-game has a different significance in comparison with ‘death’ in the real world. The monsters killed in Diablo III are respawned each time a player enters the game. The player kills the monster, takes loot form the corpse and in the next instance of the game, the monster is back. This mechanics is somewhat slower than the one encountered in World of Warcraft. However, it can still be argued that it works “more like agriculture than war” (Rettberg, 2007, 37).

5. Conclusions

In an ironic twist, while video games like Diablo III were purportedly designed for our entertainment, they compel players to engage in repetitive quests for countless hours. In other words, they compel them to work. In the last two decades the blur between work and play was addressed in several texts in cultural anthropology. For example, Yee addressed the transformation of games from “sites of play and entertainment” into “work platforms” (Yee, 2006, p. 68). Subsequently, Rettberg developed Yee’s theses. He also associated the transformation of entertainment into work in World of Warcraft with the “detailed simulacrum of the process of becoming successful in capitalist societies” entailed by the game (Rettberg, 2007, p. 20). I assert that Diablo III benefited to a large extent from the lessons that its creators from Blizzard had learned in the past, while developing World of Warcraft. Furthermore, the developers expounded a high degree of flexibility in addressing some of Diablo III’s potential problems, like its Auction House. Blizzard has also developed and constantly upgraded an achievement system that includes multiple references to real cultural traits. The fact that each achievement is accounted in the Battle.net ranking system represents an additional incentive. The achievement system’s quantifiable metrics determine players to frequently engage in repetitive quests in order to obtain an ephemeral sense of enjoyment and fulfilment. Ultimately, the realm of Diablo III remains an elaborate cultural metaphor that distracts players from the true nature of work that is being performed.

References

Alemán, S. W. (2012). Technology, Representation, and the “E-thropologist”: The Shape- Shifting Field among Native Amazonians. In N. L. Whitehead & M. Wesch (Eds.), Human No More: Digital Subjectivities, Unhuman Subjects, and the End of Anthropology. Boulder (CO): University Press of Colorado, p. 147-156. Bainbridge, W. S. (2010). The Warcraft Civilization: Social Science in a Virtual World. Cambridge (MA); London (UK): The MIT Press. Geertz, C. (1973). The Interpretation of Cultures. New York: Basic Books Publishers. Rettberg, S. (2007). Corporate ideology in World of Warcraft. In H. Corneliussen and J. Rettberg (Eds.), Digital Culture, Play and Identity: A World of Warcraft Reader. Cambridge (MA); London (UK): The MIT Press, p. 19-38. Yee, N. (2006). The Labor of Fun: How Video Games Blur the Boundaries of Work and Play. Games and Culture, 1, 68-71.

Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov Series VII: Social Sciences • Law • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

A BROADER PERSPECTIVE OF GENDER SOCIALIZATION ACROSS FOUR SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS

Alina COMAN1

Abstract: Gender socialization is key for understanding how gender- related attitudes become internalized. This paper sheds lights into the gender socialization process and how it is reflected across the four traditional social institutions of family, church, school and mass-media. It advances the argument that gender stereotypes which continue to be enforced across centuries are power-driven social representations for limiting women’ access rights across all social institutions.

Key words: socialising gender, social institutions.

1. Introduction

Gender socialization captures the process of learning the social attributes of one’s gender (Anderson et al., 2013). This process takes place primarily in family settings through children’s interaction with their parents, but continues throughout the whole formative years. This paper offers a description of the gender socialization process across four key social institutions: family, church, school and mass-media. It draws from relevant scholarly work in gender studies and author’s previous empirical work (Coman, 2002a; 2002b, 2005; 2012), to build a broader perspective of how gender becomes socialized, and how gender stereotypes continue to be enforced across centuries. The reviewed work contributes towards the argument that gender stereotypes are power- driven social representations for limiting women’ access rights across all social institution: the right to express negative feelings of aggression in family context, the right to claim educational and professional achievements on the basis of skills and competencies; the right to claim women’s relationship with the Divine; and the right to claim full ownership of one’s body and its standards of beauty.

2. The Family Institution

Family practices strongly impact on the gender socialization; on the one hand, through the different ways in which parents treat children, and on the other hand, through the relationships between adults. With respect to the parents’ different ways of treating children, findings point out the asymmetric, gender biased perceptions of children. This is reflected in the attribution of the role of toys gifted to children, as well as in parents’

1 Transilvania University of Braşov, [email protected] 66 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016 discourse about the gendered expression and control of emotions, i.e., girls can cry while boys can be aggressive. The perspective dream that was assumed in childhood and adolescence is also marked by the gender socialization. Regarding the relationships between adults and family we have analyzed the distribution of the gender roles concerning the power traffic in the parental dyad (Coman, 2005). The distribution of gender roles in the family represents a resource for children’s gender socialization because the roles offer models of gender identities and provide support for learning to assume such gender roles. Mothers’ intention to teach their daughters the household chores is connected in a functionalist way to the marital and maternal roles that they will have in the future. Girls are thought to do the household chores for being able to respond to the requests that are prescribed by the wife and mother roles. These girls learn to reproduce their mothers’ lives. The attention that mothers pay for teaching the boys the household chores is limited because the husband and father roles do not require this kind of instructions. Studies in this area have shown that girls are taught to do reproductive roles in a greater measure than boys (Nivette et al., 2014). The functionalist perspective of gender socialization proposes a rigid circularity. Although the homeostatic equilibrium of the traditional family has been conserved for more than two thousand years, the costs of this incongruence of rights and obligations were exclusively felt by women. The fact that the family institution has functioned this way does not say much about the equity of women’s unequal access to the personal rights and opportunities of affirmation. The massive entrance of women in the work market has been determined by the social changes due to the industrialization process, and not by the will of the patriarchal society regarding women’s emancipation. The patriarchal discourse was very well conserved towards maintaining women’s oppression inside the private sphere of the domestic world. The functionalist perspectives underpinned scholarly work on prostitution (Davis, 1937, 1961), and pornography (Polski, 1967, 1969), while Wood (1994, page 78) synthesized the principles of the gender socialization in family:

Becoming as man Becoming as woman - Don’t be a woman - Look good - Have success - Be sensitive and take care of others - Be aggressive - To be treated depreciatory by others - Be sexual - Be a super-woman - Count only on yourself - After 90 years there are a multitude of meanings assigned to womanhood

3. The Church Institution

In a critique of the church institution, Manolache (1994) argues for its role in driving women away from the church. Women were accused of being dirty, impure and untouchable and therefore forbidden to enter the church that Christ had offered for everybody without exceptions. In the author’s vision, Jesus has abolished all the taboos affirming that nothing is impure but the evil in people’s hearts and their actions. This echoes the Gospels’ story in which Jesus breaks the taboo of menstruation, healing a woman that was considered impure for twelve years because of her continuous hemorrhage (Mark, 5:24-34; Mathew, 89: 18- 26; Lucas, 8: 40-56). In an earlier work entitled “Women, Earth and Creator Spirit”, Johnson (1993) presents an inconsistent justification that was preferred by the clergy regarding sex in A. COMAN: A Broader Perspective of Gender Socialization across Four Social Institutions 67 the religious communities: women cannot represent Jesus in the Christian communities because their gender is different from that of Jesus’. This way the two most feminine experiences - menstruation and giving birth continue to substantiate during two millenniums the concept that the woman is full with negative energies and therefore incapable for intimacy with the Divine. In the Middle Ages the Christian Church successfully associated the women and sexuality with the “devil”. Johnson (1993) argues that the witch hunting has connections with the concept according to which the relationship between the moon cycle and menstruation gave women an occult and heathen wisdom. The servants of the Church banned the relief of the pains implied by giving birth because they thought that pain was a natural punishment for women. The priests advised women to assume their abusive and violent domestic relationships “as a contribution to God’s will”. Later on, the laws of purity were overtaken by the Hebraic tradition and from the celibacy discussed by the hierarchical and Greek cultures. Christianity has inherited this discriminatory vision about women and perpetuated it within the monarchal and church concepts. According to the catholic and orthodox traditions, the entering of women in the altar risks profaning the sacred rituals. In her work “Women’s Difference and Equal Rights in the Church”, Ruether (1991) discussed and analyzed the consequences of a recent misogynic religious practice. This relates to the Pope’s letter in 1988 which affirms that although women and men have equal rights, women’s are special. The author insists on the consequences that derive from this affirmation officially declaring that “women are equal by nature but unequal by grace”. The Christian Church perpetuates a fundamental legitimacy (in the middle of the modern era), namely the prohibition ordaining women as priests. A similar argument has been advanced by Grahn in his work “Sacred Blood to the Curse and beyond” (1982) about perceptions and beliefs connected to the exclusive female experiences. The discrimination of the woman by the man is based on ancestral power traffic. The control that purity laws have had on women was considered proof of this thing. In the author’s vision the clerk regulations of this control have turned the woman’s body- sacred because of the capacity of giving birth - into an element of patriarchal control. In our opinion women’s were not banned from entering the altar and from occupying key positions in the clerical hierarchy because of the discriminatory interpretation of the natural experiences of men and women. The patriarchal discourse was the one declaring the woman’s body impure for preserving the state’s power.

4. The School Institution

Coppock and colleagues (1995) reviewed the key aspects underlining the presence of gender stereotypes in the context of the educational practices in schools. The teachers’ expectations have a very important role in defining the incongruence between role and sex and the girls’ marginalization. Stanworth’s work (1981) emphasized the fact that teachers’ attention is focused on students advantaging the boys, that the expectations towards girls’ achievements are lower than those for boys, and that teachers appreciate less girls’ achievements then boys’. Stanworth concludes that such attitudes determine children to realize their belonging to a certain gender and produce a certain reference to the members of the other gender. In their study on primary school girls, Licht and Dweck (1983) analyzed girls’ lack of confidence in their abilities to solve different intellectual tasks, despite the well-known fact 68 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016 that school girls have at least as good academic achievements as boys’. The two researchers have concluded that girls, more frequently than boys, connect the failure with the lack of abilities while boys think that the reason for not understanding a concept or the incapacity of solving correctly a problem is due to the lack of effort. If in the primary school, girls constantly obtain higher achievements, they should obtain greater university results in comparison with boys. However, when it comes to the job market, the well paid positions that result in the highest social statuses are occupied by men. In the authors’ vision, the fact that girls continue to underestimate their own achievements is the result of the gender stereotypes transmitted by the educational practices and of the fact that girls have been treated by teachers in a different manner than boys. The representatives of the two sexes are encouraged to develop and to introduce themselves in a socially desirable way. Therefore girls become more modest and boys get more self- confident. That’s why girls could be more perceptive to the negative feedback, while boys are much more receptive to the positive feedback. Girls are thought to look nice, to behave properly, and they will work harder to satisfy their teachers and to build up a career. Due to the fact that girls are less criticized regarding their efforts and respect for the disciplinary rules, both teachers and students tend to explain girls’ failure by the lack of certain abilities than by the lack of a sustained effort. In reality the fact that few girls are affirmed should reflect the lack of a sustained effort in teaching and the use of inefficient teaching methods. Miroiu (1999) argued that the formal educational curricula mark the socialization of the gender stereotypes from childhood until adolescence. The primary school and the high-school create “a comfortable feminine” environment, receptive to any kind of enforcement, order and discipline that punish or inhibit divergent thinking. While girls are banned to behave aggressively, boys are allowed to. Boys are also encouraged to aspire towards professional careers allowing increased vertical mobility on the professional market while girls are advised to orientate exclusively towards female professional roles that are stereotypical and limitative. In the educational practices the de- mixed games are encouraged. There are subjects in which these kinds of differences are omnipresent, i.e., physical education or crafts. If the studied texts are about a boy and a girl, the boy’s name comes first- the boy’s name has priority. For professions, the gender accord is not done. Women are presented as having natural features and not virtues. They are presented in rational terms: mothers, daughters, friends and lovers while men are defined in occupational terms. We mention that in the Romanian gender studies there is limited work focusing on gender issues in connection with the reality that contains these differences and which delivers them based on several social discourses (family, school, church, mass-media). An exception is Grunberg’s work (1996) describing the outcomes of a content analysis of several primary school textbooks, insisting on the gender stereotypes that were transmitted through these educational materials. Following I presented the results of a content analysis of Romanian primary school textbooks (Coman et al., 2002).

5. The Mass- media Institution

We first focus on how mass-media socializes the gender among adolescents and young people, and how it promotes positive enforcements of gender inequalities across ages.

Discourse for gender roles In June 1985 Antenne 2 and Telerama have organized and filmed an experiment in which a A. COMAN: A Broader Perspective of Gender Socialization across Four Social Institutions 69 group of 22 families who volunteered to take part in a study, were asked to not watch TV. A year later this idea generated a TV show that illustrated the central role that television has in people’s lives. Here are the voluntaries’ most important reproaches:

It brakes the relationships within a couple, estranges children from their parents, disturbs the study of the latter, diminishes curiosity and the practice of other activities (reading, music, going out, dates, sports) and finally it is a conserving instrument of the family’s traditional roles because the man watches TV while the woman takes care of the household (Coste-Cerdan and Le Diberder, 1991, p. 152).

In the chapter entitled “Mirror, dear mirror who is the most beautiful in this country? - the image of women in Romanian television shows” (Dragomir, 2002), Surugiu offers a synthesis of the gender differences enforced by the mass-media. In a similar direction, Gunter’s “Television and Sex Role Stereotyping” (1986) describes woman’s image in television as tributary to the gender stereotypes. The study outcomes indicate the modest presence of women in television roles (and when it happens, it consists mostly of traditional female roles). In TV soap operas, women spend much time in the house and are not shown working. In spite of the fact that reality is different, women are presented incapable of doing things that are not connected to the household chores. Gunter further argues that irrespectively of their age, all women appearing on TV productions are overly preoccupied with their physical appearance.

Discourse for the masculine aggressions Now we turn our attention to the mass-media’s discourse on aggressiveness. In a review of the impact of gender models on aggressive behaviors, Feshbach and Singer (1971) have shown the negative impact of TV violence on increasing aggressive behavior. The authors insist on the fact that those that ague for the cathartic effect of the violent TV scenes, and arguably their harmlessness, consider only the short term effects. The long term effect of TV violence is higher aggression. I have explained the manner in which boys are more socialized for aggression than girls. The mass-media delivers contents loaded with violence but often in association with masculine models. We refer here to the productions in which masculine aggression is crowned as art or spectacle (Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chuck Norris, Jean Claude Vandame) and to those in which men beat women (e.g. the TV show called Leana si Costel of Vacanta Mare group).

The woman’s vulnerability: family violence By crowning male aggression as an art, mass-media encourages female’s victimization. Although most of the films rich in violent scenes do not necessarily intend to victimize women, they nevertheless continue to enforce the patriarchal discourse according to which the man is powerful and can use his force, he is superior and has almost total rights upon his woman. We illustrate this discourse with the below excerpt from the Playboy magazine (April, 2002, pp. 100-101).

Discourse about the woman’s body and the access to it By all its forms, but especially by publicity, the mass-media promotes an obsessive feminine beauty which limits women. In the second half of the 20th century the socially desired female beauty is unnatural and that’s why the whole transformation ritual of the 70 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016 woman’s body necessarily implies certain costs. The same thing happened in other historical ages too. In Woolf’s critique (1997) the beauty myth prevails over other myths of gender stereotypes (maternity, domesticity, virginity, virtue, and passivity). According to such studies, in the last decade of the last century, 3300 American women declared that their main objective was to lose about 5-10 kilograms. In the last two decades of the last century, cosmetic industry and plastic surgery have greatly developed because of women’s unhappiness with their appearance. Therefore this transformation has to be assisted by hair and make-up artists that are experts in cosmetics, dermatology and plastic surgery and by cosmetic products that are continually promoted through advertisements. The success model of the happy housewife is replaced by a perfect silhouette and a wrinkle free complexion. Bandura (1977) described a similar argument about exposure to pornographic materials, which supports the beliefs of men’s enforcement and maintains the myth of the rape. The pornographic portray of kidnapped women that were shaken by the ecstasy of the sexual intercourse with the kidnappers, encourages men to arrive to an inhuman judgment that women need to be abused. According to several studies completed in the USA in the 7th and 8th decennials of the last century, approximately a fifth of the male population has used pornographic materials even from adolescence (Clinard and Meier, 1995). Thatcher (1993) describes a UK study where teenagers below 14 years interviewed about the source of their sexual knowledge answered that it was pornography. Beyond the fact that it is a successful industry, pornography socializes. Another element that has to be underlined is the Internet. According to several studies, the Internet is a great way to reach pornographic materials. In spite of the fact that the informational globalization brings huge benefits to the whole civilization the liberty to maximum access to information in all domains and to all kind of services makes pornography on the Internet accessible to any curious young man that has no real sexual life.

6. Conclusions. The circularization of the gender socialization

To conclude, we argue that the gender socialization enlightens an intense traffic of gender attributions. With respect to educational and professional achievements, these are differently explained depending on gender. While men’s successes are explained through internal causes, often in terms of superior intellectual abilities, women’s successes are based on circumstantial, external factors rather than intellectual abilities. The causes of men’s success are predominantly intrinsic. In contrast, their failure is also connected to intrinsic elements but with no reference to the cognitive capacities. In other words men’s success has a well-marked natural character. Women’s success is unnatural and therefore attributed to circumstances and to external factors that have nothing to do with their labor. Women’s failure however is connected with poor intellectual skills. The conclusion to which these attributions lead is that women are predisposed for bankruptcy behaviors because they are not intelligent, even when they are successful. Success is landed to men. This idea is supported by the fact that both in the family (National Public Radio, 1992, USA.) and the school practices (Stanworth, 1981), men’s successes are gratified while women’s aren’t. The use of these attributions in the informal and formal educational discourses (family, school) obsessively retries the socialization with gender contents that are considered to be self-affirming prophecies. The consequences of this fact are multiple (Ilut, 2000). One of them is gender educational A. COMAN: A Broader Perspective of Gender Socialization across Four Social Institutions 71 and professional orientation. This is of modest value for girls because their success depends on luck, and massive effort; but of considerable value for men because they grow up in the comfort of being naturally equipped for success. Another consequence shows the women’s lower expectancy and aspiration levels in comparison with men on the same ability level (Beyer & Browden, 1997). Women are less oriented towards the dimension of the social dominance; a reason for not actively pursuing careers that imply social ascendance (Paretto et al., 1997). In comparison with men, women provide a greater social support to others (Shumaker & Hill, 1991; Unger & Crawford, 1992), while the locus of control is also gender-driven, with women being externalists in a greater proportion than men (Maccoby & Jacklin, 1974).

References

Anderson, S., Ertac, S., Gneezy, U., List, J. A., & Maximiano, S. (2013). Gender, competitiveness, and socialization at a young age: Evidence from a matrilineal and a patriarchal society. Review of Economics and Statistics, 95(4), 1438-1443. Bandura, A. (1969). Principles of Behavior Modification. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston. Bandura, A. (1973). Aggression: A Social Learning Analysis. New York, Prentice Hall. Bandura, A. (1977). Social Learning Theory. New York: General Learning Press. Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Bandura, A. & Ribes-Inesta, E. (1976). Analysis of Delinquency and Aggression. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, INC: Bandura, A. & Walters, R.H. (1963). Social Learning and Personality Development. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Beyer, S. & Bowden, M. E. (1997). Gender Differences in Self-Perceptions: Convergent Evidence from Three Measures of Accuracy and Bias. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, v. 23, 157-172. Clinard, M. B. & Meier, R. F. (1995). Sociology of Deviant Behaviour. Fort Worth; London: Harcourt Brace College Publishers. Coman, A. (2002a). Dincolo de text. Stereotipuri de gen transmise de abecedare [Beyond text. Gender stereotypes transmitted by primers]. Annalis Universitas Apulensis. Seria sociologie, p.123-130. Coman, A. (2002b). Stereotipurile de gen şi raportările atitudinale faţă de viol. Eficienţă, legalitate, etică în România mileniului trei [Gender stereotypes and reports of attitudes towards rape. Effectiveness, legality, ethics in Romania millennium]. Spiru Haret University, p.364-378. Coman, A. (2005). Stereotipuri de gen în discursul publicitar: o incursiune în patriarhatul mediatic [Gender stereotypes in advertising discourse: an introduction into media patriarchy]. Economic Press. Coman, A. (2012). Gender contents between natural data and socio-cultural interpretations. Bulletin of the “Transilvania” University of Braşov, Vol. 5(54), Series VII, No. 2, pp.151-158. Coppock, V., Haydon, D., Richter, I. (1995). The Illusions of “Post-Feminism”. New Women, Old Miths. Burgess Science Press. Coste-Cerdan, N. & Le Diberder, A. (1991). Televiziunea [Television]. Bucharest: Humanitas Press. 72 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

Davis, K. (1961). Prostitution. In R.K. Merton, R.A. Nisbet (Eds.) Contemporary Social Problems. An Introduction to the Sociology of Deviant Behavior and Social Disorganizations. New York and Burlingame. Dragomir, O. (Ed.). (2002). Femei, cuvinte şi imagini. Perspective feministe [Women, words and images. Feminist perspectives]. Polirom Press. Feshbach, S. & Singer, R. (1971). Television and Aggression. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publications. Grahn, J. (1982). From Sacred Blood to the Curse and Beyond. In C. Spretmark (Ed.) The Politics of Women’s Spirituality: Essays on the Rise of the Spiritual Power within the Feminist Movement. Garden City, New York: Doubleday. Grünberg, L. (1996). Stereotipuri de gen în educaţie: cazul unor manuale de ciclu primar [Gender stereotypes in education : case of primary cycle textbooks]. Revista de Cercetări Sociale, 4, p.123-129. Gunter, B. (1986). Television and Sex Role Stereotyping. London: John Libbey. Iluţ, P. (2000). Iluzia localismului şi localizarea iluziei [Illusion of Localism and Localization of Illusion]. Polirom Press. Johnson, E.A. (1993). Women, Earth and Creator Spirit. New York: Paulist Press. Licht, B. & Dweck, C. (1983). Sex differentiation in achievement orientations: consequences for academic choices and attainments. In M. Marland (Ed.) Sex differentiation and schooling. London: Heineman. Maccoby, E. & Jacklin, C. (1974). The Psychology of Sex Differences. Stanford: Stanford University Press. Manolache, A. (1994). Problematica feminină în Biserica lui Hristos [Women's issues in the Church of Christ]. Editura Mitropoliei Banatului. Miroiu, M. (1999). Societatea retro [Retro society]. Bucharest: Trei Press. Nivette, A. E., Eisner, M., Malti, T., & Ribeaud, D. (2014). Sex differences in aggression among children of low and high gender inequality backgrounds. Aggressive behavior, 40(5), 451-464. Polski, N. (1975). On Sociology of Pornography. In A. Mirande (Ed.)., The Age of Crisis: Deviance, Disorganization and Societal Problems. New York: Harper & Row Publishers. Ruether, R. R. (1991). Women’s Difference and Equal Rights in the Church in The Special Nature of Women. London: SCM Press. Stanworth, M. (1981). Gender and Schooling. London: Hutchinson. Shumaker, S. A. & Hill, D. R. (1991). Gender differences in social support and physical health. Health Psychology, 10, p.102-111. Thatcher, A. (1993). O teologie creştină a sexualităţii [A Christian theology of sexuality]. Bucharest: Polimark Press. Wood, T. J. (1994). Gendered Lives. Communication, Gender and Culture. Wadsworth Publ. Co. Wolf, N. (1990). The Beauty Mith: How Images of Beauty are Used against Women. Chatto & Windus. Unger, R. & Crawford, M. (1992). Women and gender: A Jeminist psychology. Philadelphia: P.A. Temple University Press.

Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov Series VII: Social Sciences • Law • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

A HYBRID INTERVENTION FOR CHALLENGING THE STIGMA OF MENTAL ILLNESS

A. COMAN1 C. SAS2

Abstract: The stigma of mental illness has significant negative impact on people experiencing it, to an extent that it may lead to the avoidance of mental health services. Various strategies have been developed to change people’s negative and ill-founded attitudes towards the mental illness. This paper presents a novel strategy which builds innovatively on a robust model of attitude, while supporting both educational aims and access to the emotional world of people experiencing mental illness.

Key words: mental health, stigma, strategies for changing stigma.

1. Introduction

With the increasing number of people suffering from mental illness, its stigma is a seriously disconcerting problem adding unfair burden to people already challenged by such illness. A wealth of research has explored the causes of this stigma and how it can be addressed by changing people’s attitude towards mental health in general and sufferers of mental illness in particular. Such strategies target protest, education, and direct contact with people experiencing mental illness, and their impact has been explored among the large public and medical professionals, the two groups identified as key in endorsing the stigma. We know however little about the potential of addressing this stigma among other groups of endorsers such as mass media workers. While findings indicate the effectiveness of some of the strategies addressing stigma, they also suggest specific limitations. In this paper we describe the design of a novel intervention, operationalizing the tripartite model of attitude (Rosenberg and Hovland, 1960) to address holistically all three attitudinal components: the cognitive, affective and behavioural dimensions of mental illness stigma. The proposed intervention aims to help people develop a more holistic representation of people experiencing mental illness as complex individuals rather than merely ill ones. As a hybrid intervention, it integrates the most successful strategies for challenging stigmas; educational one for challenging cognitions, and behaviours, as well as direct access to the inner world of people experiencing mental illness to challenge participants’ emotions and values. This paper outlines the design rationale of the proposed intervention, and its iterative refinement through two workshops with journalists and members of two Romanian NGOs focusing on mental health and stigma of mental illness.

1 Transilvania University of Braşov, [email protected]. 2 Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK, [email protected]. 74 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

2. The Stigma of mental illness

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines stigma as “a set of negative and often unfair beliefs that a society or group of people have about something” (Merriam-Webster). This definition emphasizes that stigma is underpinned by societal attitudes which are both negative and wrong. In the context of mental health, stigma has been defined as the complex attitude underpinned by negative perceptions about people with mental illness (Corrigan, 2000). Furthermore, in their review of stigma and mental health, Hayward and Bright (1997) noted stigma’s ability to publicly reinforce the negative perception of mental health sufferers, through its derogative labelling. An extensive body of work has explored the key dimensions of this attitude, indicating the emphasis of the severity and stability of the illness, as well as patient’s control over its offset (Wiener, 1993, 1995). More specifically, people wrongly perceive mental illness as chronic and untreatable, its sufferers as less likely to get better in time, or in control of their illness. As a result, people perpetuate the stigma by providing decreasing help and distancing themselves from mental health sufferers who are also kept accountable for their illness (Hayward and Bright, 1997). Stigma is a problematic issue as it deepens the burden of people suffering for mental health illness at several levels. First, once diagnosed as mentally ill, people are at the receiving end of discriminatory practices: they are less likely to get employed, to be accepted as tenants, to exercise control over their choice for treatment; they are also more likely to be falsely accused of violent crimes (Hayward and Bright, 1997; Corrigan, 2000). Such disconcerting array of negative impact of the psychiatric diagnostic can often act as deterrent for people to actually seek professional help from the fear of being stigmatized (Hayward and Bright, 1997). A wealth of research in clinical psychology has explored models for understanding mental illness stigma and developed strategies for changing attitudes towards it. We now turn our attention to models explaining the stigma.

2.1. Theoretical models explaining the reasons for mental illness stigma

According to Corrigan (2000), three main perspectives have been employed to explain the rise and prevalence of stigma including sociocultural, motivational and social cognitive theories. Sociocultural perspectives explain stigma as a means to justify social injustice, motivational perspectives consider stigma’s role in addressing psychological needs, while social cognitive perspectives conceptualize stigma as the result of human knowledge processing. Furthermore, in his model of stigma based on attribution theory, Corrigan (2000) argues that stereotypes mediating discriminatory behavior are rooted in four types of signals used to infer mental illness such as the label of psychiatric diagnostic, people’s aberrant and frightening behavior, limited social skills, as well as the untidiness or uncleanness aspects of their personal appearance. These types of signals are read to infer three classes of ungrounded stereotypes or misconceptions about people suffering from mental health problems: they are dangerous and need to be feared and isolated, they are naïve and helpless and need to be taken care of, or they are irresponsible and need to be restrained and controlled (Couture and Penn, 2003). Hayward and Bright’s review (1997) identified similar causes for mental illness stigma including dangerousness, attribution of responsibility, poor prognosis, and disruptive social interaction. Such stereotypes resonate with the attitudes of mental health staff towards their patients, as identified in a landmark study by Cohen and Struening (1962): authoritarianism, benevolence, and social restrictiveness, each one justifying coercion, parental-like treatment, and social distance from the mentally ill patients, respectively. A. COMAN et al.: A Hybrid Intervention for Challenging the Stigma of Mental Illness 75

2.2. Interventions for addressing mental illness stigma

But who are the main endorsers of the mental illness stigma? Corrigan (2000) identified two sources of endorsement for the stigma of mental illness: general public whose members are often uninformed, and mental health professionals who tend to adhere to the stereotypes about mental illness. In this section we offer an overview of the main strategies for changing attitudes towards the mental illness stigma, and for transforming them. Hayward and Bright (1997) critiqued the limited conceptualisation of mental health and its restricted focus on the dichotomy illness - health. They proposed instead a focus on the whole person who is more than just a mental health patient, but a person with whom people can engage with without prejudice and form a positive impression about. Among the factors decreasing stigma, familiarity with the issue of mental illness and with people suffering from it has been deemed as important (Hayward and Bright, 1997). Such familiarity can be gained through different means, from learning about the mental illnesses, to meeting those suffering from them. Couture and Penn (2003) identified three methods for addressing the stigma of mental illness, in decreasing order of effectiveness: (i) protest strategy instructing people to avoid stereotypes about mental illness, (ii) education strategy providing factual data about mental illness to increase people’s understanding of it, and (iii) promoting contact strategy, for directly meeting those suffering from mental illness in order to understand that most of the stereotypes about mental illness are ill-founded. Contact matters not in terms of the amount but quality of the contact and what it entails: pleasantness, cooperation, and intimacy (Couture and Penn, 2003). To summarize this whole section, mental illness stigma involves negative labels about one’s behavior reducing the whole person to a single exclusive dimension: the illness. This in turn leads to discrimination, social distance, rejection, and even negative, hostile attitudes towards mental illness sufferers. Together, these negative consequences are reflected in a limited access to social, economic and political power which can further add to the burden of the mental illness. Such secondary victimization, i.e., the negative impact of the mental illness stigma may motivate people to no longer seek professional help in order to avoid psychiatric diagnosis and its labelling. Without adequate support, people suffering from mental illness experience increased difficulties of maintaining functional social relationships both at work and at home, and are at higher risk of social isolation

3. Mental health in Romania

Statistics on mental health indicate that about 1% of Romanian population suffers from mental illness, with depression being the most prevalent, particularly among young people (Mental Health Briefing Sheets Facts and Activities in Member States, 2008, http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_determinants/life_style/mental/docs/Romania.pdf). The situation is even more problematic as indicated by almost 10% of the population suffering from undiagnosed depressive disorders. Depression is also responsible for the 50% higher teenage suicide rate than in the rest of Europe (Popescu, 2015). Romanian public lacks the understanding of mental health and of the stigma of mental illness, and subsequently discrimination has a stronger negative impact (Stanculescu et al., 2008).

76 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

4. Novel Intervention for changing attitude about the mental illness stigma

In this section we describe a novel intervention targeting the stigma of mental illness and provide rationale for its design. Our proposed intervention is novel in three ways. First, it is grounded on a theoretical model of attitude which has been limitedly explored to support interventions for mental illness stigma, i.e., tripartite model of attitude (Rosenberg and Hovland, 1960). Second, it offers a hybrid of two most successful strategies: education and promoting contact, while addressing their limitations. For example, education strategy provides factual information about the mental illness, but lacks addressing the mental illness sufferers as complex human beings. In contrast, promoting contact strategy facilitates access to real people suffering from mental illness, in order to dispel stigma related stereotypes. The challenge however here is to ensure quality of contact, which is particularly difficult in naturalistic settings. In designing the interventions, we have drawn from our experience in communication (Coman, 2008; Coman and Coman, 2002), stereotypes in mass media (Coman, 2005; Coman, 2012), emotional memories (Sas et al., 2010, 2013, 2015) and wellbeing (Sas and Chopra, 2015; Sas et al., 2016; Sas and Coman, 2016). We propose a hybrid intervention which aims to sensitize members of the mass media to the issues of mental illness stigma by (i) educating them about the ill-founded rationale of stigma’s stereotypes, (ii) providing direct access to the emotional and creative world of people suffering from mental illness, and (iii) supporting increased awareness of mass media as a promoter of stereotypes, by engaging workers in critical reflection on media excerpts illustrating stereotypes of mental illness stigma. For a discussion about the value of sensitizing concepts see Sas and colleagues (2014). We decided to work with one specific sector of large public, i.e., namely mass media workers, as they offer a less explored case study for the investigation of interventions for addressing mental illness stigma. While it is known that the large public and professional medical staff are partly responsible for endorsing this stigma, there has been less exploration of different sources of endorsement and how attitudes among those people may be changed. We argue that through their impact, mass media workers are also key participants in shaping and perpetuating this stigma among the members of the public.

4.1. Content of the intervention

The intervention was designed as a half day event consisting of the three activities, each addressing one of the components of the tripartite model (Rosenberg and Hovland, 1960). According to this model attitudes which involve evaluation of a specific person, activity or event, have three key components influencing this evaluation: (i) cognitive, i.e., assumptions, beliefs or knowledge about the object of the attitude; (ii) affective, i.e., feelings, emotions, values related to it; and (iii) behavioural, i.e., intended behaviour towards the object being evaluated, in the light of one’s cognitive and affective components. The three activities of this intervention include: • challenging ill-founded myths of mental illness, most of them as unfounded stereotypes highlighted in the literature section; • supporting empathy by allowing access to the experience of mentally ill people both through statistics and poetry; • fostering (self-)awareness of how mass media perpetuates the stigma of mental illness. Activity 1: Challenging ill-founded myths of mental illness This activity involves a short presentation followed by discussion on seven key myths. Each of these myths is dispelled through evidence-based arguments: A. COMAN et al.: A Hybrid Intervention for Challenging the Stigma of Mental Illness 77

(1) mental illnesses are untreatable vs. facts indicating that they can be diagnosed and that people can benefit from a large range of treatments and psychotherapies; (2) mental illnesses do not negatively impact on one’s personal and family life vs. anyone can develop mental illness during the course of their lives, and one in four families is currently affected; (3) people experiencing metal illness are cognitively impaired vs. mental illness and cognitive impairment are distinct; anybody can be affected by mental illness regardless of their intellectual ability; (4) people suffering from mental illness should be hospitalized vs. scientific evidences suggest the increased effectiveness and reduced cost of community-based treatment; (5) people suffering from mental illness are aggressive and dangerous vs. findings indicate that these people are no more violent than the rest of the population; and the risk of violence is real for less than 3% of mental illness patients when they are not treated adequately or consume alcohol or drugs. (6) mental illness limits people ability to work vs. facts indicate that occupational therapy and work in general support recovery and strengthen the sense of self-esteem by fostering social relationships and economic independence; (7) metal illnesses are forever vs. the advent of medical treatment ensures that many mental illnesses can be treated and in many cases completely cured. Activity 2: Supporting empathy by accessing the inner experience of mentally ill people This activity consists of two tasks. The first one involves a presentation and discussion of a survey completed in the UK by over 3000 people who experienced mental illness (Time to change, 2009). The survey findings indicate that almost 30% of respondents mentioned the challenge of admitted publicly that they have a mental disorder. Another third also believed that those diagnosed with a mental illness can continue to function and work responsibly. This task was intended to foster empathic response with respect to the challenges of mental illnesses, as they are directly experienced by those affected by them. This emotional sensitivity and rapport was further strengthened through the second task. This second task is designed to challenge the unidimensional view of people suffering from mental illness, towards regarding them as complex people, with sophisticated emotions and able to articulate creatively their thoughts and feelings. The task challenges people to identify from the five short poems3 below, the one(s) written by people with mental disorders (they all were). Activity 3: Fostering awareness of mass media’s perpetuation of mental illness stigma This activity targets the behavioural component of mass media workers’ attitude towards mental illness stigma and involves two tasks. The first task presents three excerpts from Romanian newspapers illustrating mental illness stigma, which offered the opportunity to discuss in group the myths they proliferate. Excerpt 1. The end of the world “Valerica Cheiaua has been a community nurse for 4 years, in Calarasi… The hospital appointed her to “the Deserted”. This is a district with ghostly bocks of flats, built near the cemetery, without access to services of water and electricity, with windows ripped off. There are crawling weird creatures, whores, schizophrenics, teenage mothers, thieves, poor people, and forgotten old people. Not even the postman, police or town hall officials go there. Not because of fear, but disgust”. (Badalan, 2006)

3 Poems were selected from those available online on the Orizonturi charity website: http://www.orizonturi.org/ 78 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

Excerpt 2. A crazy priest fighting policemen “Extremely drunk, an individual dressed in priest’s clothes was speeding among cars at the wheel of a Mercedes. The surprising fact was the his Reverence was driving the wrong way jeopardizing both himself as well as the other drivers bewildered by the crazy man cutting their way”. (Vlad, 2006) Excerpt 3. They are crazy; they are free “In Botosani, there are people suffering from schizophrenia, who have difficulties to adapt to society and create problems for those around. Over 700 patients from the Psychiatric Hospital end up being a menace for society”. (Monitorul de Botosani, 2007)

Poem 1: Open Petals Poem 3: The tree and the field When flowers sleep Do you see that lordly tree defying In grassy libraries the nakedness of the field? They give voice to my love Do not wish to cut it down… Which calls you in the night, When you are low it will harbor you from Together with the Moon and my fear, heat, rain and wind… To guard them till dawn. The field is the world Thus, my thought I am the tree. Recalls the past On a chamomile field Poem 4: Sisyphus’ Stone Where you secretly harvest and smell Cast away the sadness from your soul And hold Love For yet another day, as long as I stand Close to your heart… On the pebbles of this shore, In dark rests the past, Sipping oblivion, like it is a poem The stars, Where I loose myself, And the flowers, Like a shadow in middays. I rest under the shadow of the Moon Like a cape made of dew… Poem 5: The endless song of the lark The endless song of the lark… Poem 2: Where are you Love? Everything has still just as beautiful… Where are you Love? Frightening beautiful… How long I’ve been waiting But I can no longer find myself… Just the arms of pain I am a stranger… Have me long caressing To find tranquility, is like a weak hope, a bitter Your sweetest gaze medicine for the defeated… Where can be found? I look for my path… Years fly in haste If I will find it, I’ll ask to give me power to I am growing old forget… and to not forget… Where are you my Love? My life is bitter, empty, but I want to live My sweetest dream

The second task also targets the written press, by presenting the findings from a study from the National Agency of Press Monitoring (2006) which showed that from 637 newspaper articles addressing the issue of metal health, 50% perpetuate stigma, while only 17% include educational aspects. The study concluded with seven mechanisms for avoiding the stigma of mental illness in mass media. We communicated these mechanisms with illustrative examples in the form of the three excerpts outlined on the previous page. Avoid labelling and any pejorative terms when referring to people suffering from mental illness. Use professional language and discuss about the person rather than the diagnosis, i.e., person suffering from schizophrenia, rather than schizophrenic. The illness does not define a person, all people including those with mental health problems are complex individuals deserving respect. A. COMAN et al.: A Hybrid Intervention for Challenging the Stigma of Mental Illness 79

Avoid generalizations and ensure that the description of a challenging behavior of a person with mental health problems is framed as a particular case, unless you provide hard data based on statistics or academic research. For example, mention that according to statistical data, such people are no more violent than healthy people, i.e., in the UK 95% of crimes is committed by people with no mental health problems. Avoid referring psychiatric diagnosis particularly in the title and throughout the article. Be clear and precise when mentioning mental illness for example by researching about that specific mental illness in order to form a rich understanding of the situation. Do not stop to the identification of the problem but continue to analyze it in depth in order to suggest solutions or ways of preventing it; if needed seek professional advice from experts in relevant fields. End the article on an optimism note seeking to also include positive information about people with mental health problems. This aspect is crucial for restoring a more balanced perception, particularly when the article mentions negative behavioral aspects of people with mental health problems. Infuse educational aspects to reduce stigma by referring to role models as celebrities who were diagnosed with mental illness and benefited from successful treatment; interviews with people benefiting from professional health services, and interviews with mental health professionals with respect to the current treatment modalities; information regarding the availability and quality of mental health services, and their challenges.

4.2. Future work

The proposed intervention has been iteratively designed and initially evaluated through two half day iterations, with about a dozen of participants. Participants were Romanian journalists, as well as members of NGOs focusing on the stigma of mental illness. As the result of the workshops the intervention was slightly improved. For example, we articulated better the findings for dispelling the myths, increased the number of poems, and provided additional content for the behavioral component. The most impactful component of the intervention appeared to be the affective one, mostly the poems. This is an important preliminary finding indicating the value of the emotional component in changing stigma about the mental illness. Our work has focused predominantly on describing the intervention and its design rationale. Future work will focus on its rigorous evaluation for example by employing scales for measuring is short- and long-term impact.

Acknowledgements This work was partly funded by the Project MATRA, SCUT Brasov. The work of the second author was supported by the Innovative Training Network “Marie Curie Actions” funded by the H2020 People Programme (GA 722022) entitled Personal Technologies for Affective Health.

References

Badalan, A. (2006). The End of the World. Jurnalul National, 18.12.2006 Cohen, J. & Struening, E. L. (1962). Opinions about mental illness in the personnel of two large mental hospitals. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 64, 349–360. Coman, A. & Coman, C. (2002). Tehnici de comunicare şi negociere: curs practic [Communication and negotiation techniques: practical course]. Transilvania University of Brasov, Sociology and Philosophy Department. 80 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

Coman, A. (2005). Stereotipuri de gen în discursul publicitar: o incursiune în patriarhatul mediatic [Gender stereotypes in advertising discourse: an introduction into media patriarchy]. Economic Press. Coman, A. (2008). Tehnici de comunicare: proceduri şi mecanisme psihosociale [Communication techniques: procedures and psychosocial mechanisms]. C.H. Beck. Coman, A. (2012). Gender contents between natural data and socio-cultural interpretations. Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov, 54(2), 151-158. Corrigan, P. (2000). Mental health stigma as social attribution: Implications for research methods and attitude change. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 7(1), 48-67. Couture, S. & Penn, D. (2003). Interpersonal contact and the stigma of mental illness: a review of the literature. Journal of mental health, 12(3), 291-305. Hayward, P. & Bright, J. (1997). Stigma and mental illness: a review and critique. Journal of Mental Health, 6(4), 345-354. *** “Mental Health Briefing Sheets Facts and Activities in Member States”. (2008). Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_determinants/life_style/mental/docs/ Romania.pdf *** Monitorul de Botosani (2007) : “They are crazy; they are free”. Accessed on: 01.10.2007 *** National Agency for Press Monitoring. Available at: http://www.activewatch.ro/. Accessed: 2006 Popescu, I. (2015). “Romania Insider”. Available at: http://www.romania- insider.com/suicide-rate-among-romanian-teenagers-50-higher-than-the-european- average/152031/ Rosenberg, M. & Hovland, C.I. (1960). Cognitive, Affective and Behavioral Components of Attitudes. Attitude Organization and Change. New Haven: Yale University Press. Sas, C. & Chopra, R. (2015). MeditAid: a wearable adaptive neurofeedback-based system for training mindfulness state. Personal and Ubiquitous Computing, 19(7), 1169-1182. Sas, C. & Coman, A. (2016) Designing personal grief rituals: An analysis of symbolic objects and actions. Death Studies 40(6). Sas, C. & Zhang, C. (2010). Do emotions matter in creative design? Proc. DIS, 372-375. Sas, C. Challioner, S., Clarke, C. & Davies, N. (2015). Self-defining memory cues: creative expression and emotional meaning. In CHI’15 Extended Abstracts, 2013-2018. Sas, C., Fratczak, T. & Höök, K. (2013). AffectCam: arousal-augmented sensecam for richer recall of episodic memories. CHI'13 Extended Abstracts, 1041-1046. Sas, C., Whittaker, S. & Zimermann, J. (2016). Design for rituals of letting go: An Embodiment Perspective on Disposal Practices Informed by Grief Therapy. ACM TOCHI 23, 4. Sas, C., Whittaker, S., Dow, S., Forlizzi, J., & Zimmerman, J. (2014). Generating implications for design through design research. Proc. CHI, 1971-1980. Stănculescu, M. S., Nitulescu, D., Preotesi, M., Ciumăgeanu, M., & Sfetcu, R. (2008). Persoanele cu probleme de sănătate mintală în România [People with mental health problems in Romania]. Calitatea vietii, 3-4. *** “Time to change”. (2009). Available at: https://www.time-to-change.org.uk/ sites/default/files/Stigma%20Shout.pdf Vlad, R. (2006). A crazy priest fighting policemen. Averea, 16.12.2006 Weiner, B. (1993). On sin versus sickness: A theory of perceived responsibility and social motivation. American Psychologist, 48, 957–965. Weiner, B. (1995). Judgements of responsibility: A foundation for a theory of social conduct. New York: Guilford Press. Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov Series VII: Social Sciences • Law • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

THE “FREE” MOVEMENT OF ROMA IN THE EU: FROM THE PRESUMPTION OF THE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT TO HOUSING TO FORCED EVICTIONS AND EXPULSION

C. COMAN1 C.-I. REZEANU2

Abstract: The aim of this article is to highlight the contradiction between the EU principles ensuring the right of free movement and residence with EU and the legislative frameworks and measures ratified at national level by the member states for managing the inflow of Roma migrants. The first part of the article will underline how the main EU conventions, agreements, and treaties stipulate the right to free movement, residence, and housing of the member state citizens, regardless of their ethnic affiliation, within the EU. The second part will present a synthesis of the housing condition patterns of the Roma from Romania, who migrated to Italy, France, Spain, and United Kingdom, as revealed by the reports of recent researches. In the final section, the article brings a series of measures drawn from recent studies and programs, which might help mitigate these discrepancies.

Key words: quality of housing, housing rights, forced evictions, Roma, migration.

1. Introduction

Roma are the largest ethnic minority in Europe, with a population of over 10 million people. At the 2011 census in Romania, only 620,000 people identified themselves as Roma, although it is estimated that their number reaches about 2 million people, constituting the largest Roma community in Europe. In addition, the declared intention of Roma from Romania to migrate abroad in the future was about 18% in 2012 (Cherkezova & Tomova, 2013). This intent varies from one country to another, being stronger in Roma people from countries with a tradition of migration and lower level of welfare, such as Serbia, Albania, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The favourite destination countries of Roma are, in order: Germany, Italy and United Kingdom (Roma from Romania preferring rather Spain and Italy). The hierarchy of reasons to migrate is not different for Roma or non- Roma, as the top three places are: higher chance of finding a job, higher salary or better working conditions, and better living conditions (social, political, health system). However,

1 Transilvania University of Braşov, [email protected] 2 University of Bucharest, [email protected] 82 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

Roma tend to claim the first reason to a greater extent than non-Roma. Discrimination based on ethnic grounds in the country of origin is not a criterion to persuade Roma to migrate to another country unless that discrimination hinders their access to employment. Although EU directives stipulate the right to freedom of movement, Roma continue to face problems associated with illegal migration, expulsion, integration, and reintegration in the home country. Roma face difficulties in ensuring their access to education, jobs, healthcare, and housing conditions in both host and home country. Compared to non-Roma, there are much more Roma living in substandard houses, with inadequate access to public utilities (sources of water, electricity, gas), overcrowded, situated in poor segregated neighbourhoods (ghettos). In the period 1990-2005 European policies evolved from rhetorical concerns about the threats of Roma migration towards finding solutions to ensure their access to rights and forms of protection, taking into account the fact that Roma migration is a sign of lack access in the home country to fundamental rights, including the rights to proper housing conditions (Guglielmo & Waters, 2005). In Romania, the Strategy for Roma Inclusion for the period 2012-2020 was adopted in 2011, to improve the situation of Roma (including their housing conditions). In order to optimize the implementation of these policies, in 2011 the ROMED program was initiated with the purpose of training mediators to facilitate the interaction of Roma communities with public institutions (Liégeois, 2012). The project assumes the premise that various problems from Roma communities, including the housing problems, ” are undermining social ties, focusing people on their own difficulties and eventually leading to a sense of relegation and rejection which can spark violence” (Liégeois, 2012). Another positive example is the project MIGROM 2013-2017, in which our country is a partner in the study of causes, effects, and future commitments concerning emigration of Roma from Romania to Western Europe. Under the umbrella of this project, a summary of researches on Roma immigrants in France, Italy, Spain and the UK originating from Romania was elaborated. The results revealed that the main reasons for emigration were economic, Roma aiming to raise money to build a house in Romania (MIGROM, 2014).

2. The right to free movement, residence, and housing

The right to freedom of movement has been stipulated since 1950 under the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF), according to which anyone who is lawfully within a State has the right to freely move and to freely choose his residence, and any person shall be free to leave any country, including his own (article 2). Upon signing, the Schengen Agreement (1985) and the Schengen Convention (1995) introduced the abolition of common border checks for the signatory states and the gradual introduction of free movement in the Schengen area for all citizens. In addition, according to the Amsterdam Treaty (1999) one of the EU's objectives was to ensure the free movement of persons within the EU area (art. b). Similarly, the Treaty of Lisbon (2007/2009) brings into attention the need for social policy based on protecting the right to free movement of migrant workers and their dependents (art. 51 / par. a). In turn, the Stockholm Programme (2010) encourages the EU institutions to take all necessary measures to allow the abolition of internal borders controls with Member States that are not yet part of the Schengen area. At the same time, it recommends the Commission to examine the best ways of exchanging information, inter alia on residence permits and related documentation, and to assist Member States' authorities to effectively fight the abuse of this fundamental right. C. COMAN et al.: The "Free" Movement of Roma in the EU… 83

In keeping with the Amsterdam Treaty (1999), the Council is to adopt measures on illegal residence, including repatriation of illegal residents (art.73k / par. 3b). The treaty transfers the power and responsibility to conclude repatriation agreements from the countries of origin, and transit toward the European Commission. The Directive 2004/28/EC stipulates that EU citizens have the right of free movement, having the right to remain in a Member State for a period of three months, after which they must demonstrate they have sufficient resources to support themselves and not become dependent on the social protection system of the country (Groth, 2012). According to the Treaty of Lisbon (2009), the European Parliament and Council are the institutions responsible to take action on the conditions of entry and residence (art. 63a / par. 2). The Stockholm Programme (2010) aims to ensure the possibility of returning illegal immigrants to their country of origin or to a transit country (encouraging voluntary repatriation and readmission to the country of origin) and recommends that policies encouraging voluntary return should require the creation of incentives, training, reintegration and subsidies systems. At international level, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) recognizes the right to housing as part of the right to an adequate standard of living: ” everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control” (art. 25). The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) protects the individuals against forced evictions and the arbitrary destruction of residence. In the EU, the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (1950) refers indirectly to the right to housing through the respect for private life, family life, and home (art. 8), and the protection of possession (art 1)., among which there is stipulated ”the right to social and housing assistance so as to ensure a decent existence for all those who lack sufficient resources” (art. 34). The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU (2000) recommends promoting access to housing of an adequate standard, to prevent and reduce homelessness, and to make the price of housing accessible to those without adequate resources (art. 31). In 2005, the Council of Europe adopted a Recommendation to member states on improving the housing conditions of Roma and Travellers in Europe, consisting of 52 suggestions. The Treaty of Lisbon (2009) recognizes the rights set out in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.

3. Patterns of housing condition of Roma migrants in the EU

According to a quantitative study conducted in 2011 by FRA (European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights) in collaboration with EC (European Commission) and UNDP (United Nations Development Program) in 11 EU Member States (N= 22.203 Roma and non-Roma respondents), 45% of Roma respondents said they lacked access to at least one basic utility in their home: indoor kitchen, indoor toilet, indoor shower or bath and electricity. In Romania this percentage is higher than 80, and in Bulgaria higher than 70. Overcrowding is another serious housing problem faced by Roma. In Roma households the average number of persons per room ranges from 1.5 in Spain to more than 2.5 in Romania, Slovakia, Greece, Poland and Italy, in non-Roma households, the average being one person per room in most Member States. Moreover, on average, about 90% of 84 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016 the Roma surveyed live in households at risk of poverty and between 70 % and 90 % report living in conditions of severe material deprivation (not affording at least four of the following items: to pay rent or utility bills; to keep their home adequately warm; to face unexpected expenses; to eat proteins every second day; to have a week’s holiday away from home; a car; a washing machine; a colour TV; a telephone). In the last two decades, these social problems led to the massive migration of Roma from Central and Eastern Europe to Western countries. For most Roma migrants, their housing situation did not improve in the host country. For instance, Cherkezova and Tomova (2013) evidenced based on a quantitative survey (N=14.925 Roma households and 7.278 non-Roma households from 11 EU member states, random sample) that Roma migrants in the camps in and around Paris live in dwellings without: piped water (98%), toilet inside (97%), toilet outside (37%), kitchen (78%), shower or a bathroom inside (100%), connection to the sewerage system or waste water tank (92%), electricity supply (59% ) or any kind of heating facility (65%); 74% experiencing at least one of the problems: a leaking roof, damp walls, the plumbing system, the electric wiring, vermin, etc. The previously cited study also showed that none of the households of Roma migrants in camps in and around Paris live in the apartment in block or a new house in good condition, and only 5% live in old houses in good condition, 19% living in caravans and 76% in ruined houses, slums, barracks, tents or in deserted buildings. According to the same sources, a special case is represented by Roma migrants in Italy and France originating from Romania. Those who migrated from Romania to Italy tend to no longer wish to migrate again in another country (89%), preferring rather to return to their country of origin (63%). In contrast, those who migrated from Romania to France said they would prefer to migrate further, especially in the UK. A possible explanation could be related to poor housing conditions of Roma immigrants in France, compared to those in Italy. Paradoxically however, revenues of Roma who migrated to Italy are lower than those of Roma who migrated to France. Under the project MIGROM, in 2013 a qualitative study based on interviews was conducted to assess the situation of Roma from Romania, who migrated to France, and live in camps situated Paris and around (Asséo et al., 2014), starting from the premise that the poor housing conditions of Roma migrants living in slums and shantytowns are an effect of institutional violence. Roma migrants living in illegal shantytowns without access to basic utilities had experienced evictions or fires forcing them to move elsewhere. The unhealthy housing conditions of Roma increase the incidence of diseases like tuberculosis or diabetes. One of the most invoked expectations by Roma families who remained in Romania concerns the re-housing of Roma migrants outside the shantytowns. Another important problem is housing segregation. For instance, in Wissous, the Roma migrants platz was set up on in abandoned field in the middle of agricultural land, with no close neighbours and due to a complaint by the landowner, the shantytown was evacuated. Some Roma moved either in a nearby forest, in a field on the outskirts of a town or next to a motorway. They improvised shacks, using salvaged materials (pallet stock, sheet metal, old windows), having only one room about 10m2, no doors and no windows. For the future, the most prevalent ideal is to expand their house in Romania. MIGROM project also addressed the research of immigrant Roma situation in Italy, using a qualitative pilot study based on lengthy interviews with Roma immigrants in Lombardy region. Roma immigrants in Italy live either in rented housings, or in authorized “nomadic” camps, or in temporary reception centres (created by the authorities C. COMAN et al.: The "Free" Movement of Roma in the EU… 85 for those who have been forcibly evicted, with poor housing conditions without access to basic utilities). Italian authorities had defined three types of Romani camps: formal, semi- formal and informal (Pontrandolfo et al., 2014). Formal camps are the authorized or legal ones, surrounded by fences and walls, with a security guard at the entrance and under camera surveillance, where Roma live in caravans, mobile houses or metal containers, having access to running water and electricity. Semi-formal camps are either settlement made by Roma and later recognized by municipalities, or formal camps losing their legal status due to the worsening of housing conditions. Both formal and semi-formal camps have access to waste collection, water, and electricity. Informal camps or unauthorised camps are situated far from city centres, close to railways or waste dump or industrial areas where Roma live in caravans and shacks, often without access to basic utilities and public services, and liable to evictions. During force evictions, brick-built houses, shacks, tents or makeshift shelters are destroyed together with all the belongings accumulated often Roma not having other alternative to sleeping on the roads, on benches or in cars, without access to water and sanitation because (only mother and children are offered the opportunity to stay in foster homes, being constrained to separate from the rest of the family). Their future expectations depends on their housing situation, those with a stable wanting to stay in Italy, while those living in substandard housing arrangements wanting to return to Romania. Unlike Roma who immigrated to France and Italy, those to Spain enjoy better living conditions, including access to infrastructure and basic utilities, and to public social housing programs and social benefits (Fabeni et al., 2013). There are many Roma immigrants in Spain coming from Italy, in search for better housing conditions. The main forms of Roma residence in Spain are not camps or slums, but apartments or small houses, and temporary abandoned houses of public buildings. Access to housing is more facile, because there are cheap rents available, some landlords do not require guarantees of contracts and authorities offer monetary social aid as rental housing assistance. In order to afford to pay the rent, some Roma migrants form special living arrangements of large concentrations of people (over 15 persons in the same apartment). In the past, migration gave Roma resources to improving their houses left in Romania, or even to buy new ones, which motivated them to want to come back. Presently, the decrease of income and the longer-lasting housing projects started in Romania motivates them to stay longer in Spain. Another MIGROM qualitative study has focused on Roma immigrants in United Kingdom originating from Romania and living in Manchester area (Matras et al., 2014, 2015). Most of Roma immigrants live in privately rented terraced houses (two-storey, centrally heated, back yard), no more than two generations in the same house, being satisfied by their housing condition. Similar to Spain, Manchester was attractive to Roma because of its private market of cheap rented houses, the facility to rent a house and the accessibility of housing benefits for low income families. The collaboration of Roma with Asians landlords was preferred due to lack of discrimination. Younger generation of Roma immigrants do not expect go back to Romania, because they feel integrated in United Kingdom society and culture. The research also showed that in the period between 2013-2014, from all the queries brought up by Roma, 27% were about housing issues (33% set up utilities, 19% change of address, 26% taxes, 7% house search, 15% fixing incorrect billing), proving that Roma are exercising their rights and improving their interaction with administrative institutions. 86 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

4. Violations of Roma free movement, housing and residence rights

Since some Roma immigrants face problems related to lack of documents and evacuations and repatriations, a widespread trend is the criminalization of Roma migration, which refers to putting the sign of equality between Roma migration and illegal migration. As of January 2014, citizens from Bulgaria and Romania were granted the right to work in all EU Member States without the need to obtain a preliminary authorization, an access card or registration certificate. Despite these facilities, the difficulty of access to stable employment of Roma immigrants limits their access to decent housing. Given the unavailability of social housing, Roma end up living in improvised dwellings, lacking basic utilities, forming “illegal camps” subject to demolition and forced eviction. Not having legal address or domicile, Roma from these camps face difficulties in accessing welfare, schooling or garbage collection services. Given the declared efforts of Member States towards the integration of immigrants from ethnic minorities, the actions of mass expulsion of Roma immigrants carried out in France in 2009-2010 attracted public attention and continue to be a controversial topic (Smith, 2012). The nature of expulsions places them in the middle of three conflicting rights: to property (of the owner of the place where Roma improvise settlements), to security (of the nearby residents), to respect for domicile and private and family life (of Roma migrants). To solve this problem, French Government delegated it to be solved by local administrative authorities through municipal decrees. A number of mayors were commissioned by the French Foreign Minister to coordinate systematic demolition activities of Roma immigrant camps (Kuhelj, 2014). The reasons invoked for the repatriation of Roma were the lack of jobs and the construction of illegal and unhygienic shelters. The action continued through the Voluntary Repatriation Program: each Roma who agreed to return to the country of origin was granted the sum of 300 Euro. Pursuant to the implementation of this measure, a study conducted by the FRA (and cited by Embassy of Finland in Bucharest) shows that 50% of Roma respondents have experienced expulsion and 75% evacuation, and 89% of those who had no such experiences feared expulsion and 95% evacuation. In 2012, Amnesty International warned that France did not comply with EU directives, evicting Roma immigrants without properly informing them about the reasons for eviction and without providing them with alternative forms of housing. Several other EU entities and institutions have amended these measures, accusing France of ethnic discrimination and violation of right to free movement. Instead of correcting the situation, in 2011 France adopted Law 672 (Matras et al., 2014) whose provisions conflict with EU directives, facilitating the procedure of rapid expulsion of Roma immigrants. Although EU legislation states the immigrants' right of residence for a minimum period of three months, the new French law allows immediate expulsion of immigrants if they pose a threat to the interests of society in the host country, especially if they abuse the social assistance system. In 2012, France continued the demolition of Roma immigrant camps, claiming the commitment to the humanitarian role of assisting Roma in the process of voluntary return to their country of origin, based on an agreement signed with the Romanian government. The agreement establishes that the Romanian state will assume responsibility that Roma who received the French financial incentive to return and reintegrate in Romania will not emigrate in France again. The French authorities continued the systematic evacuation of Roma immigrants so that, C. COMAN et al.: The "Free" Movement of Roma in the EU… 87 in 2013, 21.500 Roma were forcibly evicted (Asséo et al., 2015), and in 2014, 13.483 (ERRC 2015). Similarly, in 2008 Italy adopted a series of normative acts called L’Emergenza Nomadi (Nomad Emergency) (Matras. et al., 2014), which conflict with the rights of Roma immigrants. Under the protection of this directive, the Italian state has undertaken a number of actions such as gathering information and fingerprints from Roma immigrants, including their children, and from people with no criminal record; or demolition of Roma camps and the expulsion of immigrant residents deemed to be in a situation of illegality. Three years later, this set of directives was deemed illegal and repealed by the State Council. In 2011, pursuant to the exposure in the media of some criminal acts committed by Roma people, an illegal Roma camp was besieged by a local group. Italian authorities did not take measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidences, and they continued, with the help of the police, the evacuation of Roma and their transfer to official camps, segregated from the rest of the population. By applying the rational choice theory, Asséo et al. (2015) showed that Roma evictions in France were not efficient at national level (negative image costs for France associated with racism), but considered rational at local level (local authorities being perceived by residents as competent in solving local problems and being in control of the area). Therefore, Roma eviction proved that local authorities stigmatise poverty, and aim to eliminate its signs in order to improve the locality image and politicians have used Roma topics to improve their image during electoral campaigns. The treatment of Roma immigrants in France was also interpreted in the literature (Carrera, 2013) as a symptom of a paradigm shift by ethnicization of European citizenship, where ethnicity plays an important role in the allocation and assignment of oversight responsibilities of Roma citizen rights and freedoms. In respect of Roma migrants, the freedom of movement has been understood rather as a right to return and reintegrate into their home society, and less as a right to remain and integrate into the host society. The thorough surveillance of Roma immigrants in Italy, the registration of their personal data, even at the cost of violating their presumption of innocence or their right to privacy, were described in literature (Marinaro, 2009) as forms of enforcing a dominant ideology through bio- politics. Consequently, Roma migrants in Italy were required to demonstrate they deserved the right to live in legal camps, controlled by the authorities, strictly supervised to prevent any acts of aggression against the majority population, thus turning into internal exiles.

5. Final considerations

The main recommendations emerging from the study conducted by UNPD in 20124 show the need for more effective social policies on Roma migration. It appears that the measures of mitigating immigration do not work, as under these circumstances, the Roma people resort to illegal migration strategies; so a better solution is to attempt the integration and legalization of Roma in the host country. Such solutions can be optimized by increasing collaboration between the governments of the host country and the countries of origin in formulating national migration policies and in promoting a positive image of migrants, by fighting ethnic stereotypes. Another form of collaboration is the regional and local collaboration between authorities in the host community and those in the community of origin, based on the exchange of best practices. 88 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

As regards the settlement of forced evictions of Roma immigrants, ERRC issued the following recommendations: delegating authorities to monitor the observance of the right to free movement of Roma and the degree of efficiency with which the programs for Roma integration are implemented; facilitating the access of Roma living in informal camps to decent housing and basic utilities; identifying alternative housing solutions for Roma before eviction; investigation of reports on police violence directed towards Roma immigrants and punishing those found guilty; providing Roma immigrants with clear and concise information on their rights in the host country; supporting NGOs in projects for inclusion and integration of Roma. Other recommendations have been made under the program MIGROM which revealed that formulation of social policies aimed directly toward Roma people should be avoided, as they may lead to the impression of positive discrimination or may enable ideological discourses. According to the same source, the measures concerning Roma migrants housing condition should aim to find, together with Roma people, solutions for the temporary camps and evacuations, to develop access programs to cheap social housing, and to ensure the access to basic utilities. Based on MIGROM program, the European Commission suggested that in order avoid eviction of Roma from illegal temporary camps, it is necessary to facilitate access to permanent housing and public services and utilities. Noting the discrepancy between the declared intentions of the EU states for social integration of Roma and the actual measures of discrimination and violation of their fundamental rights, Kuhelj (2014) appreciates that the only viable solution is to assure access to education, so that they acquire resources to help them escape the vicious cycle of poverty.

References

Amnesty International. (2012). CHASED AWAY: Forces evictions of Roma in Île-de- France. London: Peter Benenson House. Available at: www.amnesty.eu/ content/assets/291112_Chased_Awap_-_Report.pdf. Accessed: 20-09-2016. Asséo, H, Cousin, G. & Petcut, P. (2014). MIGROM. Report on the pilot survey, France, Fondation maison des sciences de l’homme, March. Available at: http://migrom.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Paris-Project- report-1.pdf. Accessed: 20-09-2016. Asséo et al. (2015). MIGROM. Report on the extended survey, France, Fondation maison des sciences de l’homme, February. Available at: http://migrom. humanities. manchester.ac.uk/wpcontent/uploads/2015/08/Yr2report_Paris.pdf. Accessed: 20-09- 2016. Carrera, S. (2013). Shifting Responsibilities for EU Roma Citizens: The 2010 French Affair on Roma Evictions and Expulsions Continued. CEPS Papers in Liberty and Security in Europe, 55 (June). Available at: http://aei.pitt.edu/42440/1/No_55_Shifting_Responsibilities_for_EU_Roma_Citizens.p df. Accessed: 20-09-2016. Cherkezova, S. & Tomova, I. (2013). An Option of Last Resort? Migration of Roma and Non-Roma from CEE countries. Bratislava: UNDP. Available at: www.eurasia.undp.org/content/rbec/en/home/library/roma/migration-of-roma-and-non- roma-from-central-and-eastern-europe.html. Accessed: 20-09-2016. C. COMAN et al.: The "Free" Movement of Roma in the EU… 89

EC (European Commission) (2012). Strategiile naţionale de integrare a romilor: o primă etapă în punerea în aplicare a cadrului UE [National Roma Integration Strategies: a first step in the implementation of the EU Framework]. COM(2012) 226, May, Bruxelles. Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regdoc/rep/1/2012/RO/1-2012-226-RO- F1-1.Pdf. Accessed: 20-09-2016. Embassy of Finland in Bucharest. (2014). Background Report about the Roma in Romania, July. Available at: http://www.finland.ro/public/download.aspx?ID=133754 &GUID={AC2C8F55-8AAE-47C8-BA1E-44B6020A2DD8}. Accessed: 20-09-2016. ERRC (European Roma Rights Centre). (2015). Parallel Report by The European Roma Rights Centre Concerning France. To The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, 86th Session (27 April to 15 May 2015). Available at: www.errc.org/cms/upload/file/france-cerd-submission-23-march-2015.pdf. Accessed: 20-09-2016. Fabeni, G. B. et al. (2013). MIGROM. Report on the Pilot survey, Spain. University of Granada, March. Available at: http://migrom.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/wp- content/uploads/2015/08/Granada-Project-report-1.pdf. Accessed: 20-09-2016. Fabeni, G. B. et al. (2015). MIGROM. Report on the extended survey, Spain. University of Granada, June. Available at: http://migrom.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/wp- content/uploads/2015/08/Yr2report_Granada.pdf. Accessed: 20-09-2016. Groth, A. (2012). The situation of Roma in Europe: movement and migration. Report. Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons, June. Available at: www.aedh.eu/plugins/fckeditor/userfiles/file/Discriminations%20et%20droits%20des% 20minorit%C3%A9s/Report%20CoE%20Roms%20June%202012.pdf. Accessed: 20- 09-2016. Guglielmo, R., & Waters, T. W. (2005). Migrating Towards Minority Status: Shifting European Policy Towards Roma. JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies, 43(4), 763-785. Kuhelj, A. (2014). Conflict between Declared Roma Minority Rights and European Practice: Why the Legal Framework Doesn't Work in Reality? Forthcoming, Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review, 36, 64-113. Liégeois, J.-P. (2012). Developments in mediation – Current challenges and the role of ROMED. Council of Europe, October. Available at: http://coe- romact.org/sites/default/files/leaflets/Developments%20and%20challenges%20in%20 Mediation%20ENG.pdf. Accessed: 20-09-2016. Marinaro, I. C. (2009). Between surveillance and exile: biopolitics and the Roma in Italy. Bulletin of Italian Politics, 1(2), 265-87. Matras, Y. et al. (2015). MIGROM. Report on the extended survey, The University of Manchester, June. Available at: http://migrom.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/wp- content/uploads/2015/08/Yr2report_Mcr.pdf. Accessed: 20-09-2016. MIGROM. (2014). MigRom: The immigration of Romanian Roma to Western Europe: Causes, effects, and future engagement strategies. European Policy brief, September. Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/research/social-sciences/pdf/policy_briefs/migrom- policy-brief.pdf. Accessed: 20-09-2016. Pontrandolfo, S. et al. (2014). MIGROM. Report on the Pilot survey, The University of Verona, March. Available at: http://migrom.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/wp- content/uploads/2016/02/Report-on-the-Pilot-Survey_University-of-Verona-.pdf. Accessed: 20-09-2016. 90 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

Smith, L. (2012). A Home for the Roma: Why Strict Enforcement of Migration Laws is Necessary for a United EU. Washington University Global Studies Law Review, 11(4), 868-889. UNDP (United Nations Development Programme), FRA (European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights), EC (European Commission). (2012). The situation of Roma in 11 EU Member States. Survey results at a glance. Available at: http://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra_uploads/2099-FRA-2012-Roma-at-a- glance_EN.pdf. Accessed: 20-09-2016.

Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov Series VII: Social Sciences • Law • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES FOR INTRAFAMILIAL RELATIONS

Mihaela GOTEA1

Abstract: Nowadays we live in a time of rapid changes, from a social, industrial and technological standpoint. Profound mutations in family institution can be observed, regarding the family structure, lifestyle and the cycle of family life. Today’s tendencies reflect a clear distinction between marriage and the activity of raising children, as we can notice the increased number of marriages without children or the number of single-parent families. That is why, the present paper focus on these two types of intra- family relationships: couple’s relationship and parent-child relation, pointing out some changes and challenges of contemporary period.

Key words: family relations, couple’s relationship, parent-child relationship.

1. Introduction

Interpersonal relationships are the central part of human existence - this fact therefore justifies scientists’ increased preoccupation to study them. Nelson-Jones (1996, p. 3) mentions that the main characteristic of relationships is connection, with the addition that: ”humans are social animals who cannot avoid relationships. We are condemned not only to exist but to relate.” An important type of social bonds within an individual’s life is represented by familial relationships. The interactions and social exchanges that happen between the members of a family can be found in varied shapes and forms. Therefore we can speak about: couples’ relationships; the relationships between parents and children; as well as the relationship between siblings. Although we spend more and more time at the workplace at the expense of household intimacy, familial relationships still exist and will always exist, despite the gloomy forecasts that claim family will no longer be viable in the future. Instead of seeing family as an old-fashioned, surpassed institution (as pessimists suggest), the optimistic view is that family will provide stability, the sense of belonging and communion, necessary to adapt to a new society defined by fluctuation, alienation and individualism. Familial roots can be tremendously helpful in an individual’s quest to seek and obtain autonomy - this process being accomplished by diminishing the existential anxiety generated by an ever- changing world that's often meaningless as well. The theoreticians who are confident in the family’s ability to adapt to the new changes believe that career plan and domestic life are rather complementary instead of opposing, and that their possibility to interact is a

1 Transilvania University of Braşov, [email protected] 92 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016 contributing factor to increasing individuals’ performance in any domain. Even before the third millennium has begun, profound mutations in family life could be observed - thus the nuclear, traditional family was seen as a thing of the past. These changes can be seen in the dynamics of divorce rates, marriage rates, fertility rates, life expectancy and the involvement of women in the workplace, as well as the transformations suffered by the family structure, lifestyle and the cycle of family life (Iluţ, 2005). Popescu (2010, p.7) synthesizes the characteristics of family today by stating that: ”Family is going through a questionable period; therefore it is not possible to characterize it in simple terms. The postmodern family doesn’t refer to a new family model or a new step in the evolution of family, but one in which the mere idea of evolution no longer stands.” In this era of rapid changes, from a social, industrial and technological standpoint, family values such as communion, belonging, loyalty, and dedication are often undermined by individualism, autonomy and the preoccupation to gain professional prestige. An example of this would be women prioritizing their professional accomplishments by allowing their roles within the family - wife, mother - to come second, whether it’s by living with the other members of the family but spending few hours of their time with them, or by leaving the county/country in search of a more prestigious professional status. Today, the only constant is change; therefore instability and diversity become defining characteristics of our daily lives. Bauman (2005) metaphorically addresses this issue by using the term: „tourist’s syndrome”. In his view, an individual’s life today is embedded with instability from all points of view: he changes his job frequently, his home, his friends, and his life partner, which makes him a “tourist” in his own life. Similar to this ideologically direction, a symbol proposed by Sprey (2000) can be mentioned here as well - he sees family as a “river” whose flow suggests the dynamic of family life throughout time. The familial patterns don’t change as quickly as society and not necessarily in the same direction, which is why the traditional and the modern can and even coexist in our times. An eloquent example in this sense is Eastern Europe, where the fall of the communist regimes led to new cultural models, new lifestyles that clashed with those specific to a patriarchal society. The diversity of these configurations is one of the aspects frequently seen in family life in Romania today. Popescu (2010, p. 7) believes that the essential transformations suffered by the Romanian family “can be reduced to the model of a more democratic family on the inside and more open on the outside”. Today’s family should be analysed, on the one hand, in the context of the dominant conditions of the time in which it appeared and, on the other hand, by looking into the conditions in which it evolves. In the industrial and post-industrial societies, the marital system was built especially to focus on the emotional and self-expression needs of the individuals, as opposed to their instrumental, economic or productive needs. The economic emancipation of women and the democratization and liberalization of social life in general are also characteristics of social realities which affect family (Iluţ, 2005). In regards to today’s tendencies when it comes to the evolution of family life, it is necessary to address the distinction between marriage and raising children, because the roles of wife or husband don’t automatically involve raising children too. These evolutions are reflected in the increase of single-mother families or marriages without children. M. GOTEA: Contemporary Challenges for Intrafamilial Relations 93

When it comes to the quality of familial relationships, Giddens (2000) believes that there has been a mutation considered fundamental: the pure relationship, a relationship that exists in and of itself, one that withstands social pressure. This type of bond is not only found in romantic relationships, but can also be identified in the case of other social connections, such as parents-children, relatives, friends. The mission of the sociology of the family is to outline a global imagine that’s also representative to family as a group. Therefore, family is not analysed separately, but within a macrosystem that also contains the individual, career, community, society and culture. The acquisitions of adjacent subjects are used in this frame, and this contributes to developing the study of the family, from thematically, theoretical and methodological standpoints. In the analysis of the evolution of familial relationships, the following paper will focus on two important elements - romantic relationships and parent-child relationships.

2. Couples’ relationships

When it comes to choosing a significant other, the transition from the options of others to our own involves not only a number of advantages, but it also comes with a price. The fight for the “survival” of the relationship requires the continual development of our negotiation and communication abilities, as well as our ability to relate and to solve the conflicts that arise inevitably in intimate relationships. Compromising may seem incompatible with the selfishness and individualism of today's world, but the reality of today’s relationships shows us that they are necessary to move forward. Couple’s relationship can bring both pleasure and pain, they can prove to be a push in the right direction for the couple’s evolution or they can be real burdens that are hard to carry. Will there ever be equality between “what I give you” and “what you give me” when it comes to the social and symbolic “exchanges” between the two partners? I don’t believe so. Such a simplistic and quantitative approach of interpersonal relationships leads to an impossible situation, to a certain failure. The equity theory sheds a more comprehensive light on the issue by claiming that social actors in a context of co- participation judge “justice” by the balance between “how much I give, how much I receive” and “how much you give, how much you receive” (Iluţ, 2005). If one of the partners or both perceive a profound inequality of that balance, then the relationship is rapidly devolving. A more accurate approach is the point of view that underlines the complementarity present in the “supply-demand” rapport, which focuses on fair distribution of gender roles and household chores. The metamorphosis of the roles of husband and wife, enhanced by the increase of employed women and feminist movements is a consistent part of contemporary family life. Men and women juggle work, family and social obligations by seeking balance between the expectations required to fulfil these specific roles and their individual needs and available time. Functional relationships involve, on both partners, the existence of an interest for the other's well-being and evolution, as well as the relationship’s evolution. To relate effectively, a person needs the ability to experiment, to express and control their own emotions and feelings. The most important aspect of this capacity to relate is communication, in all of its forms. Being able to listen to the other person, being able to and wanting to share what you believe and what you feel are the basis of romantic relationships. 94 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

When it comes to the depth of the relationship between a husband and his wife, things are very different. On the one hand, we can mention “shallow” relationships, in which the two are rather consumers of material or symbolic products and services (very well integrated in today’s consumerist society), the discussions focusing mainly on questions such as what should we buy or where should we go for the holidays. However, all around us we also meet couples with a different type of relationship, where there is a willingness to think and discuss fundamental existential problems such as death, suffering, freedom, individual alienation. But depth is also a subjective concept and it is hard to label objectively a relationship as “shallow” or “lacking substance”. A phenomenon that is becoming normal is the separation of marriage and parenthood. One of the consequences of this fact is a rise in the number of married couples who choose not to have children. Importance is still placed on the idea of an extended family and the reproductive function of a young family; however, nowadays it’s slowly losing ground in the favour of accepting and respecting the young couple’s choice. Therefore, we can talk about a decrease in social pressure regarding this aspect of a couple’s life. How does this alternative affect the relationship between the two partners? A possible answer is the increase of the supportive function, the two partners offering each other a more intense support, attention and understanding necessary for social and professional accomplishment. An important source that generates satisfaction or disappointment in a marital context is represented by aspirations, expectations and the lifestyle of the two partners. The still relevant image of the “scolded” wife or even physically abused one because she refused to serve dinner for the husband when he demanded so, no longer fits our third millennium expectations. We all desire relationships that reward us: a partner that cooks a surprise dinner for our birthday, children who thank parents for their love and support, a partner who’s willing to listen and put up with your pain, anger, confusion and helplessness. But between expectation and reality, there is often an abyss. Romantic relationships offer partners rewards too, among the inherent difficulties, increasing the longevity of said partnerships.

3. Parent-child relationships

A well-established tendency in contemporary families is the decrease in the number of children, and only child families have become more and more common. For women, marriage and motherhood are different aspects - they both offer optimal conditions to raise a child, even if they are not married to said child’s biological father. Among the causes of this phenomenon, we should mention the increase of women’s economic independence, the liberalization of social life (the decrease of social pressure), the development of “high-tech” reproduction procedures and the changes in mentality. The parent-child relationship has moved from the stage in which the parent was “in charge” and threatened, and the children “obeyed” (specific to traditional societies) to a stage that is characterized by the verb “to negotiate”. Also, we hear the sociological saying: “the socialization of parents by the children” more and more often. The negotiation technique and the new morality based on respecting children’s individuality made their lives easier and allowed them to forge a path for themselves. The price of this freedom is children taking increased responsibility for their choices. M. GOTEA: Contemporary Challenges for Intrafamilial Relations 95

A parent’s main responsibility is to be attentive and receptive to their child’s needs for a long period of time, but, as technology progressed, the roles change and parents are the ones who receive their children’s help. The cultural and social change, present in the digital media society, creates new ambiguities, complexity, fears and expectations. Therefore, the digital revolution and the internet can create a significant inversion in the hierarchy of knowledge shared by parents and children. For the first time, in many families, children are more knowledgeable than their parents. But the parent’s openness to the children’s influence and willingness to receive help from them depends on the general characteristics of the parent-child relationship. Grossbart et al. (2002) claim that the most susceptible to be influenced are “warm” parents (those who have a democratic or egalitarian relationship with their children) as opposed to “cold” ones (autocratic). The increased life expectancy for both men and women affects the parent-child relationships too. People live long enough to not only see their children grow up, but they are also often present at their grandchildren’s weddings. This phenomenon brings forward a new type of relationship, with its inherent benefits and costs, the one between parents and their children who became adults. Grandparents are, on the one hand, a much needed help when it comes to “babysitting” and a source of support during crisis in general, but, on the other hand, they are the “voices” of a different generation, the bearers of an opposing mentality. Therefore, this extension in duration of potential familial relationships requires a change in their nature, an increased flexibility on both sides, as well as tolerance to different opinions and options.

4. The relationships of the adults with their elderly parents

The parent-child bond is one of the most long-lasting, strong and stable social relationships that people create and maintain. This can be positive because it involves mutual support or can be characterized by irritation, tension and ambivalence. Parent- child relationships suffer or should suffer deep transformations along their cycle, because in one stage both adults and children are involved, and, in the other, only adults. The ideal parent-child relationship is defined by the presence of two main components: warmth and affection on the one hand, clear rules and monitoring on the other hand, these two components varying throughout the years. If one of these ingredients is missing, problems will not cease to appear. The relationship between mature individuals must be based on warmth, support and respect for the other’s intimacy and choices. Therefore, one of the most frequent challenges in life is the dynamic that we have with our aging parents. Old age brings about a series of significant changes: along with the physical and intellectual decline, there are major changes in the importance of social roles (professional, marital, paternal). For some parents, admitting that their children are mature and no longer financially, emotionally and socially dependent on them often triggers a feeling of inner hollowness and uselessness. Within the family, an elderly parent doesn’t have the same attributions they used to have in the earlier stages. Their involvement in their children’s lives decreased, as well as the support given. In this situation, it is important to understand that the financial independence, gained by the child who later became an adult doesn’t mean abandonment or that they lack gratitude, it reflects a normal stage in their development. 96 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

In his adult life, the individual can simultaneously play three different familial roles that clash with each other - parent, partner and child. It is the situation suggested by the expression “sandwich generation”. They must share their time and other resources between their own children, husband/wife and their elderly parents (who need different types of social support). This overload of roles generates a situation in which most adults experience tension and lack of free time. The increase in life expectancy can also be reflected in the slow succession of generations. To assume responsibilities in the case of a family business, the child who later became an adult must wait until he/she reaches the age of 45-50 or even more. A lot of parents who wish for their offspring to inherit the family business learned that, in order to involve the young generation in their activity, they must treat their “children” as almost equal partners, otherwise they lose them, because they choose other fields to specialize in. (Goldscheider, 1997).

5. Conclusions

We are and will always be shaped by the mentalities we were taught. In most cultures and societies, stereotyping occurs very frequently, depending on the socio-economic conditions, the education level and intellectual openness. These stereotypes can be more or less pregnant and they are more or less accurately integrated in practical endeavours; but they provide an epistemological and assessment frame for the analysis of male-female and parent-child relationships. To sum up, even though the social reality has become extremely complex and it is rapidly and continually changing, family is still alive and functional, it has a high adaptive potential to successfully withstand the challenges posed by today’s society and the tendencies we can already outline for the future.

References

Bauman, Z. (2005). Globalizarea şi efectele ei sociale [Globalization and Its Social Effects]. Filipeştii de Târg: Antet Publishing House. Giddens, A. (2000). Sociologie [Sociology]. Bucharest: All Publishing House. Goldscheider, F. (1997) Family Relationships and Life Course Strategies for the 21st Century. In S. Dreman (Ed.) The Family on the Threshold of the 21st Century. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Elbaum Associates. Grossbart, S., McConnell Hughes, S., Pryor, S. and Yost, A. (2002). Socialization Aspects of Parents, Children, and the Internet. In S. M. Broniarczyk and K. Nakamoto (Eds.) Advances in Consumer Research. Volume 29. Valdosta, GA: Association for Consumer Research. 66-70. Available at: http://www.acrwebsite.org/search/view-conference-proceedings. aspx?Id=8559. Accesed: 29-09-2016. Iluţ, P. (2005). Sociopsihologia şi antropologia familiei [Sociopsychology and Anthropology of Family]. Iaşi: Polirom Publishing House. Nelson-Jones, R. (1996). Relating Skills: A Practical Guide to Effective Personal Relationships. London: Cassell Wellington House. Popescu, R. (2010). Profilul familiei româneşti contemporane [The Profile of Contemporary Romanian Family]. Calitatea Vieţii, XXI, 1–2, 5–28. Sprey, J. (2000). Theorizing in family studies: Discovering process. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 62(1), 18–31. Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov Series VII: Social Sciences • Law • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

INTENTIONAL COMMUNITIES IN ROMANIA. STORY OF THEIR BEGINNINGS

Andreea Claudia MARDACHE1

Abstract: Intentional communities have been present throughout the world, for many years. In Romania, such communities have emerged for only a few years and nowadays they are in the forming stage. I studied five such intentional communities, by means of a qualitative research, with a view to identifying the story of each of them.

Key words: community, intentional community.

1. Introduction

“Of late years, in the Romanian space, several initiatives to form intentional communities have come into being. Although, in Romania, these initiatives are relatively recent, and in small numbers, elsewhere in the world, such community initiatives are very old (decades), and very numerous. In this regard, only the website “Fellowship for Intentional Community” (www.ic.org) recorded so far 2455 communities, either newly emerging, or already constituted, all over the world. Out of them, 1676 communities are in the United States of America, the rest being distributed across other 73 countries” (Mardache, 2015, p. 15). Leafe Christian (2003) considers that the emergence of such communities is an extensive cultural phenomenon, in which large groups of people come to feel that they live in a society increasingly fragmented, superficial, expensive and dangerous, as well as that they long for a warmer, healthier, better lifestyle, also a more accessible, cooperative one, in which people should feel much more connected to each other. I was interested in researching these community projects, as I dare say they will escalate, in Romania, in the coming years, as it has already been happening, for many years, in other countries, too. Furthermore, “this social phenomenon is closely connected to the current problems facing mankind: economic, social, environmental problems, and so forth, offering the alternative of a lifestyle that might mitigate, in the short run, and perhaps even solve, in the long run, a part of these problems facing people everywhere” (Mardache, 2015, p. 17).

1 Transilvania University of Braşov, [email protected] 98 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

2. Definitions of the community – intentional community

Enciclopedia Dezvoltării Sociale [Encyclopedia of Social Development] (2007) defines community as “a long-lasting social formation, bringing together a relatively low number of individuals, with a similar cultural background and social status, who live on a less extensive surface and among whom there are well established and persistent cooperation relations, managing thereby to exercise an efficient social-control at a group level”. International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences (1972) defines community as follows: “a population living within a city’s legally established boundaries”. It is specified below that the term is very rarely used to describe a regular metropolitan area, a commercial area, or an entity defined by other than political functions. The issue of establishing a community’s borders is unresolved, as it is well known that decisions taken on the outside can have a significant impact upon the allocation of values, and upon the important private or public decisions within the community. Precupeţu (2006, p.73) quotes Frazer, who defines community starting from the etymology of the term: “Etymologically, community can come from “Communitas”, which means a symbolic universe of the soul; and, for many authors, the community is the place where the communion with the other people’s souls is achieved. Another etymologic root seems to be “comunitas”, in the sense of a group of people who operate by its members’ consensus, this connotation being opposed to the one of “societas”, which means association, and to the one of “civitas” (city). Communes were territorial associations, sometimes on the grounds of function, such as, for instance, the religious ones”. For Nisbet, quoted by Bădescu (2005, p.41), “community refers to those «social bonds characterized by emotional connection, depth, continuity, plenitude»”, and “society, as an opposed and complementary notion to the one of «community», designates impersonal, non-emotional relations, namely wholly «reflected», contractual, etc.” Bauman and May (2008, p.65) propose a large, extensive definition for community: “a collection of people, who are not clearly defined or circumscribed, yet who agree with something rejected by others, and who confer authority upon these beliefs, can be called a community”. The authors specify however that there can be no community apart from a spiritual unity, “the assent, or at least the availability and potential to agree” being crucial. According to Sandu (2005, p.30), the community “designates a human grouping or gathering, characterized by an increased probability of its members’ value unit” and has at least one of the following three attributes: “its members’ cultural similarity; intense interaction between the group members; status similarity between the group members (occupation, education, age, location, etc.)”. Longres (1995, p.71) considers that “a community is a type of social system which is distinguished by the personal or affective nature of the relations/bonds keeping its members together. It is a group of people who share a common-identity feeling, who are connected to each other, and become attached to each other by constant interactions”. Leafe Christian (2003, xvi) defines residential intentional community as “a group of people who chose to live together or side by side, in order to have a shared lifestyle or a common purpose”. The author regards as important their co-habitation, and especially the existence of a common purpose, their joint effort and work, in order to have a lifestyle reflecting the same values. Likewise, the author notices that such communities are characterized by idealism, the individuals building a vision of a better life, starting from a A. C. MARDACHE: Intentional Communities in Romania – Story of their beginnings 99 lack or a weakness of the majority culture. The website “Fellowship for Intentional Community” (www.ic.org) enumerates several types of intentional communities: “ecovillage” (ecologic villages based on ecology and sustainability), “co-housing communities” (individual houses in a group ownership), “communes” (organized according to the principle of sharing), “co-ops” or “shared houses” (several individuals who share a living space), spiritual or religious communities. Making a brief typology of the communities, Pitulac (2009, p.101-104) distinguishes between anarchist communities and intentional communities, specifying: “Here, the term anarchy does not necessarily mean the opposite of the State, but emphasizes the independence from it, on relevant coordinates”. Intentional communities are located in societies organized as a State, and, “either following a decision, or out of need, some of them almost suffice to themselves, in economic terms, being also quasi-anarchist” (for instance: Fourier-type communities, Israeli kibbutz, and so on). Likewise, “intentional communities usually attempt to build in full an alternative lifestyle, relative to that of the society they partially retreat from”.

3. The story of the beginnings for the intentional communities in Romania

Mardache and Atudorei (2013, p. 170) enumerate a few emerging intentional communities in Romania: Armonia Brassovia, Braşov County, Valea Curcubeului [Rainbow Dell], Hunedoara County, Apusenii Verzi [Green Apuseni Mountains], Alba County, Kogaion [Kogaion Community], Buzau County. The study objectives included the identification of the way in which these intentional communities came into being in Romania. So as to achieve this objective, I conducted a qualitative research, using two research methods: observation (field-, open, uncontrolled, unstructured, participative, intensive), and interview (unstructured, narrative, of thematic storytelling nature). I took 30 depth-, unstructured interviews, ranging between 30 minutes and 2 hours; and for the data analysis, I resorted to NVIVO 10 software. In this research, I analyzed five such intentional communities: Armonia Brassovia community (Braşov county), Aurora community (Hunedoara county), Valea Curcubeului community (Hunedoara county), SatCitAnanda community (Geoagiu Băi, in Hunedoara county) and Stanciova community (Timiş county). Except for SatCitAnanda community, the other four researched ones are also present in the online environment: Armonia Brassovia community with the website http://armoniabrassovia.ro/, Aurora community with the website http://www.aurora-circle.org/, Valea Curcubeului community with the website http://www.valeacurcubeului.org/ and http://valeacurcubeului.com/ and Stanciova community with the website http://stanciova.wordpress.com/. ► Armonia Brassovia Community The initiator of Armonia Brassovia community is F.D., originating in Braşov. In December 2012, F.D. was involved in organizing at Braşov the “Festival of Self- sustainable Communities in Romania”, where he presented the project of a community he wanted to establish in an area of Braşov county. At the end of the festival, he opened a list with the people present thereat, interested in being part of such a community. Starting with January 2013, F.D. organized monthly meetings with the people interested in the community project (including the remote-participation possibility to these meetings, via Skype). How did the founder of this community come to want its establishment? 100 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

In the interview, F.D. mentioned that, some 5 years ago, he began to nurture a series of preoccupations which brought him to the point of wanting to establish such a community: preoccupations for the production of alternative electricity sources (when he also created a blog), concerns for the depletion of oil, pursuits of a healthy nutrition and natural treatments. Likewise, before starting the community project, F.D. attempted a return to nature, yet by then at a family, not community level: “I inaugurated a house, so to speak, last summer, and then I bonded with nature, with what means to sit outdoors, in the open, to sleep... It is well for the children, too; they run over there, it is true elation. However, I realized it was not all well; and so came last autumn’s festival. With the festival, the community act was … enacted.” (F.D.) As a source of inspiration for the community, F.D. mentions the series “Ringing Cedars of Russia”, written by Vladimir Megre. ► Aurora Community C.D. initiated Aurora-community project, in Hunedoara county; he declared that everything started from a wish forged with his wife. But, before the wish took shape, C.D. mentioned to have gone through a series of changes, mostly of a spiritual nature: “... By the age of 18 years old, I experienced a kick of the spiritual kind, I decided that yes, I myself wanted peace, the world was not ok; and my mind would not come to terms with going to college, obtaining a degree diploma and afterwards working for money… So I decided that no, as far as I was concerned, I wanted to dedicate myself to the service for the world, I wanted to do something else; and I actually enrolled in a religious catholic institution, of missionaries, of missionary priests.” (C.D.) And the changes of a spiritual nature have continued after he met his wife, too: „...And so we started a process... in fact, to ask ourselves where we were, how we lived, why we lived like that; the important part being how sustainable was everything we did, the way in which we fed ourselves, in which we dressed ourselves, in which we did everything (...) it was an inner discontent with what one lives here and now…” (C.D.) In this context, they attended some meditation courses and the wish to relocate in the countryside gradually emerged: „…we came to a point, after all this part with the meditations and yoga, and with giving up meat; and, what ever, in which we raised the issue of the lifestyle in the city, and we actually wanted to do a downshifting and a slowing of life; so, we decided that «well, it would be interesting to move in the countryside».” (C.D.) As he did not succeed in purchasing a terrain in Portugal, so as to move in the countryside, and had to return to Romania, after 13 years of living in Portugal, in order to renew his passport, C.D. has the feeling that his place is in Romania. He collaborated with a Portuguese company for a project developed in Romania, company which subsequently opened a branch in Romania, and began to come in our country ever more often. In parallel, he came into contact with permaculture, the transition culture, transition town, he participated in a conference organized by Global Ecovillage Network in Portugal where he discovered that, in fact, a community was what he had been always searching for: “I attended thereto and I realized that what I had been searching all the while was a context in which people live, in fact, much more, much more connected to each other; and here comes the very clear desire of a community, as what we want, this is what I want.” ► Valea Curcubeului Community For M.C., the initiator of the community project in Valea Curcubeului, the desire to live A. C. MARDACHE: Intentional Communities in Romania – Story of their beginnings 101 in a community intertwines with a very strong desire to live in nature and to depend less on earning one’s living in the city: „Well, I started -er.. from a desire to live closer to nature, yet not on myself ...but to be together with others who want the same thing – who really want to make this step, of leaving the city and this whole dependence on the system, as well as of becoming as sustainable as possible and, at the same time, of becoming more aware of our powers and what we are as human beings …”. For M.C., in his turn, Anastasia’s books (the series “Ringing Cedars of Russia”, written by Vladimir Megre) were a source of inspiration as regards the formation of a community: “...from Anastasia’s books, I had the impulse to establish practically and according to a vision... And there I saw a quite practical model, I felt it to be functional and genuinely for the future, to be fulfilling almost all or ideally almost all aspects of a community... Starting from Anastasia’s model of a community, M.C. believes the following to be its prerequisites: each family should own at least one hectare of land, should come and live in contact with nature, should become aware of “where everything comes from and which are in fact the sources of life” and should observe a spiritual practice, so that their spiritual-awakening process might spark and then continue. ► SatCitAnanda Community The project of this community was initiated by a group of five people who met at a campfire in Apusenii Verzi community, Alba county, where they had come in order to attend a spiritual-themed conference. The conference had as its honorary guest Sal Rachele, an author of spiritual-themed books. All five declared to have spiritual preoccupations, and to have felt their meeting around the fire as a magic moment, when an interconnection – a bond formed in their souls: “...and it was only us who remained, the others withdrew; we were left by ourselves; and it was a moment, I cannot precisely define when it sparked, but it was so much as a magical moment.” (M.A.) “And there somehow the idea dawned upon us that, ok, we wanted to spend a longer time together, and we wanted to live together, and to jointly achieve things, as we found ourselves comfortable in each other’s presence; it is out of this soul link , this bond, that our project, so to call it, came into being ...” (M.A.) One of these five persons, A.I. had returned for three years in Romania, after a 12-year period spent in France: “... Life in France had lost any significance, no matter how well we were and things went for ourselves; it had no longer any meaning... because everyone around, all people were in their own movie: home, work, credits, children. And there I stood, watched them, and said to myself: Oh, God…which is the point in all these, as they had no meaning, I could find no significance in them.” A.I. searched for “a sense of joy, simply, that’s all., The joy of being with the others, somehow a joy, I cannot call it now as I was thinking back then; a joy, simply, of being with the others and of living in an environment ... of enjoying life, probably.” As regards the name of the community, “SatCitAnanda”, they chose it after many months when they attempted several times to settle upon a name. Eventually, they decided to choose a book which to open at random, and what they would read therein to be their inspiration:

102 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

“And it was clear that, it sounded very clear, SatCitAnanda, because it is pure existence, pure conscience or awareness, pure beatitude; hence, it actually encompasses everything ... Therefore we call our community SatCitAnanda.” ► Stanciova Community Established in early 2000s, Stanciova community is the longest-lived of all the others. Likewise, out of the five analyzed communities, it is the only one established within the borders of an actual village, namely Stanciova village, in Timiş county; most community members opting for the purchase of an older house in the village and wanting to be in close cohabitation relations with the villagers. All the other communities are at a greater or smaller distance from the residents of the neighbouring villages. The community project was achieved by a student group of Timişoara, concerned for the environment and involved in various environment-protection projects. They became aware that the most attractive path forward, after their graduation, was the constitution of a community in which to live. Other options, unattractive for them, were the return to their parents, their leaving abroad, or their employment in a multinational company “where to work to exhaustion and perhaps, only perhaps, manage to earn enough so as to be eligible for a bank credit and afterwards pay installments, for 20 years, for an apartment.” (T.B.) The youth group contacted Global Ecovillage Network Association, asking for their help with a view to establishing an ecological village (ecovillage). Following their application, they received two interrail tickets, the opportunity to visit the network members, as well as an invitation to their annual meeting, which was held in Spain. This opportunity helped them collect information about other similar communities worldwide and forge and materialize a vision of their own community for the future. Likewise, the youth organized, in 1999, an environmental-themed international camp, which gathered approximately 500 people, and where they launched the new community. Following this camp, the youth group received a donation in money, with which they purchased the very first house of their association, in Stanciova village. ► Legal establishment of the community Out of the five communities, only Armonia Brassovia community was legally constituted as an association at the data-collection time (March-August 2014). In Stanciova community, there is Ecotopia Association, established before the start of the community project, but the new members do not affiliate to this former community (“… The fact is that we use the Association as a legal instrument ... yet it is not something that defines Stanciova community.” (I.T.) The other three communities are to acquire, in time, their legal personality. “... We want to develop ourselves as an organization, to make an NGO, an association, so that we might attract development funds, too.” (M.B., SatCitAnanda) For M.C. in Valea Curcubeului community, the legal constitution of the community bears, in its turn, a spiritual component: “… given that when several come together, there is also a greater power, not only in legal terms, but because several people wanting the same thing put their (our) thought, the power of thought together, which becomes greater than the sum of the parts.”

4. Data Analysis

With a view to analysing qualitative data, I resorted to the software NVIVO 10, A. C. MARDACHE: Intentional Communities in Romania – Story of their beginnings 103 achieving thereby the open coding, axial coding and selective coding. In order to achieve open coding, I used the paragraph-by-paragraph coding technique, I built in-vivo codes, based on which I built categories and subcategories, such as: “types of previous changes”, “socio-professional, familial context”, “transformation stages”, “types of motives for establishing the community”, “characteristics of the founding group”, and so forth. In order to achieve axial coding, I interconnected the categories and subcategories, and I discovered the main axial categories for the research objectives, on temporal sequences, and by localization. In order to achieve selective coding, I identified the nucleus, core category: “motive for establishing the community”.

5. Conclusions

In general, the motivation animating the initiators of the analyzed intentional communities to constitute these communities, overlaps with the community members’ motivation to live in such a community: the wish to live closer to nature, in harmony with nature, the wish to attain food and energy self-sufficiency, to live among people with the same ideals, pursuits, to conduct meaningful activities, to enjoy quietness, serenity, harmony, to conduct spiritual activities, and so forth. Likewise, I have noticed that the initiators of such communities are also motivated by the desire to be of help, to make a change, to do something for the people (although this aspect can be found to various extents and in various forms in most community members). This is because the community members believe their living in the community can provide an alternative lifestyle, which could be a model, an example to be followed by ever more people in the future (in this regard, some of the members dare say there is no viable future outside the communities). In this context, F.D., the initiator of Armonia Brassovia community, wanted to establish the community, with a view to helping other people. SatCitAnanda-community members believe they can help people by the spiritual activities they conduct. Stanciova- and Valea Curcubeului-community members consider to be of help by providing a harmonious lifestyle, and so forth. In addition to these motivations, C.D., the initiator of Aurora community, wants to support the development of the other communities. Likewise, for Armonia Brassovia and Valea Curcubeului communities, Anastasia’s books were a source of inspiration for the community project. If the motivations are quite similar, the ways of starting the community projects differ: - in the case of Armonia Brassovia community, F.D. was involved in organizing the “Festival of Self-Sustainable Communities in Romania”, in December 2012, at Braşov, where he presented the project of the community he wanted to establish in an area of Braşov county. At the end of the festival, he opened a list with the persons present thereat, who were interested in being part of such a community. Starting with January 2013, F.D. organized monthly meetings with the people interested in the community project, where debates took place and group decisions were made, in terms of community location, land purchase, community design, and so forth. - Aurora community was established by a family who purchased a household in a village of Hunedoara county, where they organized various activities and the community promotion has been and is still achieved both in the online environment, and by the conducted activities.

104 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

- Valea Curcubeului community was created by a youth group who had a meeting in Bucureşti, where they discussed the community project. Searching for the land, finding and purchasing it, as well as cultivating it, were the next steps. - SatCitAnanda community was initiated by a group of five people who met at a campfire in Apusenii Verzi community, Alba county, where they had come to participate in a spiritual-themed conference. All five declared to have very intense spiritual pursuits, and to have felt their meeting round the fire as a magical moment, when a bond – an interconnection formed between their souls, and they wanted to establish a community attracting people with similar pursuits. - Stanciova community was constituted in the early 2000s, within the borders of Stanciova village, in Timiş county, by a student group of Timişoara, concerned for the environment and involved in various environment-protection projects. They became aware that the most attractive path forwards, after the completion of their studies, was the establishment of a community in which to live. Likewise, they were supported in the start of their community project, by Global Ecovillage Network Association, whose help they asked, with a view to establishing an ecological village (ecovillage).

References

Bauman, Z., May, T. (2008). Gândirea sociologică [Sociological Thinking]. Bucureşti: Humanitas. Bădescu, I. (2005). Enciclopedia Sociologiei. Fondatorii. Vol. I [Encyclopaedia of Sociology. Founders]. Bucureşti: Mica Valahie. Leafe Christian, D. (2003). Creating a Life Together. Practical Tools to Grow Ecovillages and Intentional Communities. Canada: New Society Publishers. Longres, J. F. (1995). Human Behavior in the Social Environment (second edition). Itasca, Illinois: F.E. Peacock Publishers, Inc. Mardache, A.C. & Atudorei, I.A. (2013). Projects for the Establishment of Intentional Communities in Romania. Bulletin of the „Transilvania” University of Braşov, Vol. 6(55), Series VII, No. 2, pp. 167-172. Mardache, A.C. (2015). Simplitatea voluntară în comunităţile intenţionale din România [Voluntary Simplicity in Intentional Communities in Romania]. Cluj-Napoca: Presa Universitară Clujeană. Pitulac, T. (2009). Sociologia comunităţii [Sociology of Community]. Iaşi: Institutul European. Precupeţu, I. (2006). Strategii de dezvoltare comunitară [Community Development Strategies]. Iaşi: Expert Projects. Sandu, D. (2005). Dezvoltare comunitară. Cercetare, practică, ideologie [Community Development. Research, Practice, Ideology]. Iaşi: Polirom. Zamfir, C. & Ştefănescu, S. (Eds.). (2007). Enciclopedia dezvoltării sociale [Encyclopaedia of Social Development]. Bucureşti: Polirom. Sills, L. David & Merton, Robert K. (Eds.). (1972). International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, vol. 3. London: Collier – Macmillan Publishers.

Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov Series VII: Social Sciences • Law • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

THE WIDE RELIGIOSITY OF THE ROMANIAN STUDENTS

Daniela SOREA1

Abstract: The contemporary Western religiosity is marked by the effects of secularization. The results of a qualitative research having as subjects sociology students from Brasov indicate their explicit statements of belonging to Christianity and their acceptance of the effectiveness of pagan practices in evil eye treatment. Conjugation of these positionings requires a broader understanding of religiosity than in the case of dogmatic Christianity. The faith options for the students are tributary to the pre-Christian representation of the world, perennial in the Romanian cultural space.

Key words: religiosity, Christianity, pagan practices, students.

1. Introduction

From sociology, approaching the contemporary religiousness associates references to secularisation and atheism, to the multiple facets of spirituality (from perennial occultism, to new spiritual movements), as well as to reinvigoration of Christianity. In researching them, the Weberian exigency for objectivity, inherent to any sociological approach, requires further dealing with some sensitivities. These are the sensitivities afferent to the entire field of the sociology of religion, and mainly target the research subjects’ reticence to let themselves studied, in terms of their religious beliefs and behaviours, the control upon the interferences between the researchers’ personal belief options and the research object, as well as the awareness of the Christian origin of the main concepts wielded by sociologists, in the concerned field. Under the sign of these exigencies, this work highlights the dimensions of contemporary religiosity, as outlined in a few significant, recent theoretical stand-takings. This work discusses the adequacy of the theoretical model configured by these stand- takings, to the Romanian students’ profile of religiosity. This attempt enhances the results of a qualitative research conducted at Transilvania University of Braşov, in October 2014.

2. Connotations of contemporary Western religiosity

2.1. Western process of secularisation

K. Dobbeleare (2011) regards secularisation as a process whereby the prevalent religions systems come to be functionally perceived as equally ranked subsystems to some others, whom they no longer dominate. Secularisation is supported by the

1 Transilvania University of Braşov, [email protected] 106 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016 development of functional rationality. Under its sign, reality unveils itself as calculable, predictable and controllable.The aforementioned author isolates two connotations of secularisation: loss of the religion’s social power and, respectively, religious authority’s loss of the control over personal religiousness through decline of the individual’s piety. In this sense, secularisation is compatible with spirituality (there will be about the connotations of the term “spirituality”, as follows), religious bricolage and religion ”à la carte”. Secularization does not necessarily involve the absence of religiosity. But these manifestations’ afferent religiousness is non-dogmatic. The decision in terms of faith becomes private. The individualisation of religion is the result of society’s functional differentiation, not of an explicitly anti-religious attitude, Dobbeleare believes. The two dimensions of secularisation – social and individual – mutually enhance themselves. On the other hand, secularisation is considered one of the implications of postmodernism. R. Neuhaus presents the hostile reticence towards religion, manifested in law, education, public policies, as part of a larger hostility towards any cultural norm (Neuhaus, 1986). With a view to attaining modernity and freedom, the Europeans deemed they had to leave the sphere of influence of religion (Weigel, 2005) and Western Europe’s Christian churches were on the wane (Roberts, 1998). In a Christophobic-turned Europe (Wenzel, 2011), society’s functioning by non-religious principles, as well as the church’s loss of its social influence are accompanied by the declared affiliation to a church, without faith in its teachings, ”belonging without believing” as defined by Repstad (1996).

2.2. Contemporary Western atheism

Secularisation gives strength to atheism. This is not a feature exclusive to contemporary Western culture. World societies have all their atheists. However, in the last two decades, the Westerners’ rationalist-operational mode of relating to the world has gradually outlined their perspective, independently of faith. For the educated population of the West, the evolution towards losing one’s faith is logically justified and predictable, as shown by J. Turner (apud Bainbridge, 2011). Apart from the diachronic justification of atheism, to the pragmatic arguments brought by W. James in favour of religion’s beneficial nature (as basis of morality, grounds for interactions and way to fulfil one’s psychological needs) a number of counterarguments can be brought, as believed by Bainbridge (2011): religion legitimates, indirectly encouraging, hostilities, wars and massacres; religion exploits its adepts, endangering both these ones and the others; religion acts against behavioural social sciences, promoting fixed and unrealistic viewpoints, as regards human nature; religion discourages experimental attempts and career plans oriented towards really solving great problems. Human biology can be, in its turn, a source of justifying arguments for atheism (Stark & Bainbridge, 1987).

2.3. Contemporary connotations of spirituality

The concept of “spirituality” is used in the sociology of religion, with two significations. Spirituality can be a superior form of piety (manifested through prayer and meditation) associated to monastic traditions. With this meaning, spirituality manifests within the traditional religious institutions, as a personalized aspect of traditional religion. The other significance of spirituality targets forms of religiosity beyond the traditional D. SOREA: The Wide Religiosity of the Romanian Students 107 religious institutions, particularly beyond Christianity (Hamberg, 2011). It is with this meaning, to wit “beyond church”, that the term “spirituality” will be used, in the following. Contemporariness stands under the sign of contradictory tendencies: its secularization, which enhances atheism, is sometimes considered only apparent (Berry, 2004) and is doubled by a resurgence of spirituality: the decline of traditional religiosity is doubled by the revival of fundamentalist subcultures (Roberts, 1998) and by the re-emergence of new religious expressions (Wenzel, 2011). The fundamentalism is a reaction to the decline of the institutional and doctrinal authority (Lyon, 2000). Also against the background of secularisation, contemporary Westerners moved on, replacing the organized religion (with systematized beliefs and solid institutions) by a non-institutionalized spirituality – formally unstructured and not necessarily coherent, in philosophical terms (Langley, 1999). One’s own spiritual experience – the one which works, for each individual, is, in this context, more important than the dogma. The contemporaries do not reject the idea of a personal and constructive relation with God; yet, with a God who necessarily is friendly and malleable, as shown by S. Nolen (1999). The syncretism of contemporary religious practices is the outcome of the believer’s need for self-comfort. Religion is a set of items “à la carte” (Bibby, 1987). According to McGuire, contemporary spirituality connotes holism, autonomy, eclectics, tolerance, activism, pragmatism, the appraisal of materiality, the unclear border between the sacred and the profane. Sometimes, its afferent practices are closer to magic than to religion (apud Hamberg, 2011). Heelas (2011) considers the terms of ”spirituality” to be vague, obscure and ambiguous, insomuch as varied spiritual practices, such as: reiki, meditations, psychotherapy, reflexology, yoga, suppose simultaneously relating to two radically different authoritative sources. The spirituality of the latter is being catalogued by contemporary researchers as rather secular, oriented against consumer capitalism. The similarity between its manifestations and the older popular religions, is obvious for some researchers. Under the concept of ”spirituality”, a great number of beliefs, feelings and practices, which suppose the existence of the supernatural and the gain of benefits, without their being necessarily associated to an organized religious structure can be brought together, as deemed by Stark, Hamberg and Miller (apud Hamberg, 2011).

2.4. European Neo-Paganism

The return to ethnicity and religion is considered, by Lindquist (1997), a consequence of the Nation-State’s diminishing importance in Western culture. Within this current, the reinvigoration of European Paganism, is a response of protest to the new political configurations, to Europe’s direction of evolution, to globalisation, technocracy and to the environmental crisis - with the political positioning difficulties of Ecologism (Răţulea, 2015). The anxieties attributed by Z. Bauman (2000) to “liquid modernity” justify the revival and reconstruction of indigenous religions, as part of identity assertion. The phenomenon is a confirmation of the connection emphasized by Durkheim, between group religion and identity, with the specification that the divinities of these indigenous religions have been disrobed of their cosmological attributes, as shown by Rountree (2014). As a spiritual approach to recovering pre-Christian practices, Neo-Paganism operates with two different attitudes towards Christianity: the former – of its rejection, by virtue of its unnatural, discriminatory, as well as sexually and culturally repressive character; the latter – of its assumption, in a dual identity, Christian and Pagan alike. 108 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

2.5. Evolution trends in contemporary religiosity

W.C. Roof (2011) signals the capacity of religion to ensure the continuity between generations. Socially produced and sustained, it always reflects change and continuity alike. Highlighting a decrease in spirituality, from agrarian to industrial and, respectively, post-industrial societies, Norris and Ingelhart (2004) are convinced of the continuing process of secularisation, in Europe, in the next few years. Hamberg (2011) emphasizes the importance held by the connotations of the terms, in studying secularisation and in assessing its level: if, by religion, there is understood only the church-administred religion, then one can speak of a religion on the wane, throughout Europe and if the secularization is the decline of spirituality, as membership in traditional Christianity, then the European countries are in full secularisation process; instead, if religion means more than traditional church-oriented religion, also associating other forms of religiosity, then there is not about a decline of religion, but about the replacement of its traditional forms with spirituality phenomena. In this way, if religion represents any system of beliefs and practices associated to the existence of some supra-natural (Stark & Iannaccone, apud Hamberg, 2011), the secularisation in Europe is no longer evident. While a part of the researchers assimilate the decline of the official religion, in the church, to the decline of religion, in general, other researchers tackle the relation of organized religion with other forms of spirituality, as a zero-sum game: unorganized religions or spiritual movements beyond church rise in importance, against the background of the ever less important organized religion (Hamberg, 2011). On the other hand, Davie (2002) emphasizes the persistence of the traditional religious beliefs and sensitivities, against the background of the secularisation process, in the form of the “vicarial religion”: the contemporary Westerner resorts to the religious capital, in his/her crucial moments. The secularisation process is reversible, as believed by Dobbeleare (2011). Post-Communist Russia and Eastern Europe’s former Communist countries are the proof of this assertion: in all of them, the importance of religion has been on the increase, as an instrument in the approach towards the reconstruction of their geo-political identity, after the fall of the Iron Curtain. Lambert (2003) signals a reduction in the secularisation rhythm and a reinvigoration of Christianity, concomitantly with the development of the “believing without belonging”, over the last few years. This reinvigoration is perceivable especially in youths. Christianity “à la carte”, the uncertainty of the beliefs and the relativism are features of late modernity’s religiosity. Still prevailing, these features are on the wane in the young population, the decline operating as a “de-secularisation indicator”, as believed by Hamberg (2011). Here, we might speak of a recessivity relation, wherein the more widely spread secularizing tendency should be opposed by the de-secularisation tendency, manifested in youths and being on the increase.

3. Religiosity of Braşov sociology students

In early academic year 2014-2015, I asked the 3rd-year students, in the specialisation Sociology, at Transilvania University of Braşov, to answer in writing, anonymously, a few questions referring to church, religion and religiosity. The solicitation was part of the internal protocol for preparing the Sociology of Religion course and seminars. I used the answers as social documents and I processed them by theoretical coding (open, selective and axial) with a view to highlighting the students’ positioning towards as regards the aforementioned features and tendencies of contemporary religiosity. D. SOREA: The Wide Religiosity of the Romanian Students 109

First of all, the students were asked to choose one of the following declarative variants, as well as to motivate their choice: 1. “I know that (Christian) God exists and I have no doubt, in this regard.”; 2. “I sometimes doubt God’s existence.”; 3. “I don’t believe in (Christian) God; yet, I believe there is a great power/ energy, to whom the world’s existence and functioning is due.”; 4. “I believe neither in God, nor in the existence of a supernatural power/ energy.” These variants reproduce, in a simplified manner (by reducing the number of options) the questions referring to God, in the Americans’ General Social Survey . Then, the students had to answer two further questions, referring to the relation of their confessional church and its priests/ pastors with the congregation. The last answer we solicited from the students referred to the question on what was evil eye and how it could be treated. I processed 25 series of answers (conventional labelled from A to Z), coming from students of Orthodox confession, eight males and 13 females. I have noticed the attainment of the theoretical saturation, in the case of the argumentations for their options of faith. The respondents belong to the Christian confession, which is the largest represented in Romania. The respondents are students in sociology. Sociology, as a discipline of the socio-humanities, is in the middle area of the possible disciplinary Weltanschauung-s; it is midway between exact sciences, on one hand, and humanities, on the other hand. Eventually, the respondents are students of Transilvania University of Braşov – a university which collects its candidates from a multi-regional intersection basin: South- Eastern Transilvania, South-Western Moldova, North-Eastern Muntenia. All these specifications render the submitted qualitative research, a source of pertinent information, interrogations and hypotheses, for a future more extensive research upon all Romanian students’ religiosity. Returning to the social documents produced as a consequence of the request addressed to the students, I will submit below, the results of the processing of their answers regarding their belief orientations and regarding the evil eye. Their opinions about Romanian Orthodox Church and Orthodox priests will be the object of a distinct analysis. In terms of the faith in God, of the variants proposed for acceptance and argumentation, the most frequently chosen was variant no. 1. “I know that (Christian) God exists and I have no doubt, in this regard.” With all due reserve regarding the numeric representativity of the research group - research already declared qualitative and with exploratory potential, I will mention 15 options thereto, at considerable distance from the variant “I sometimes doubt God’s existence”- six options, and “I don’t believe in (Christian) God; yet, I believe there is a great power/ energy, to whom the world’s existence and functioning is due”- four options. None of the respondents opted for the last of the variants (of atheism).

3.1. Why “I know that (Christian) God exists and I have no doubt, in this regard.”

The answers afferent to this variant coagulate round God’s representation as a parent, almighty and good. God is the Creator: “We, people, could not have appeared out of the blue.” (B); “God exists, as He made the world and He made us.” (D); “What beautiful creations God has made!” (K). God is generous. His generosity manifests in the bestowal of graces – “I have probably received, by the mystery of Baptism, a special grace (gift, talent) which, I dare say, could only have come from God.” (D); “A Creator exists and He proves this, by leaving a few 110 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016 of us with higher powers than most people… the saints.” (J), and in organisational terms – “By religion, he attempted to impose a minimal discipline, with a view to controlling human nature, which is directed towards anarchy.” (J); “He makes me have a final purpose, for the entire period spent on Earth.” (V). Furthermore, God listens (and fulfils) prayers (manifold, of a great diversity): “Most of my prayers have been answered; those unanswered (or unfulfilled) have been owed to my sins.” (N); “God has always been by my side, either Himself, or the angels He sent, when I encountered hardships, at high-school graduation exams or in other situations.” (U); “Many times when, for instance, I am in pains and I pray to God, I feel the pain decreasing…. and, gradually, disappearing.” (V), the respondents confess. The intrusion of the supernatural in the natural and personal is physically perceptible: “various wonders” (D), “some personal experiences” (S) took place, “there have been some occurrences and events” (Y). Religious behaviour is a part of family traditions, of the feeling of “home”: “I have gone to Church, ever since I was a little child; and I have liked it.” (H); “I chose to believe in God, due to the other parent, to my grandparents, to the religion teachers.” (N); “I have been educated by my parents/grandparents to go to Church; to know that, every time I am in sorrow, I should appeal to Him.” (X), the respondents confess. Students also supplied arguments of the authority type: “Modern proofs revealed by science greatly coincide with the older ones, revealed by the ministers of faith.” (J); “There are too many data, books, events, showing us that God exists” (V). At last, another category of arguments represent reproductions or paraphrases of some consecrated formulations: “The devil’s greatest achievement is to make us believe he does not exist.” (S); “I have nothing to lose” (N); “If you believe and He does not exist, you will have not lost anything; yet, if He exists and you do not believe, you will have lost everything” (Y). A single respondent manifests his reticence, as regards the research subject: “I refuse to ask myself some questions, on God’s existence, as small doubts appear along with them.” (I), he shows.

3.2. Why “I sometimes doubt God’s existence.”

Doubts mainly originate in the deviation from the model of the almighty and good parent. With a view to defending this option, the category of arguments with the richest representation dwells upon the unfair suffering that God seems to tolerate: “Babies have sometimes diseases such as leukaemia, which is not correct.” (A); “As regards young people, how could they err so much, as to be punished by incurable diseases or even death, which happens ever more frequently?” (L); “The region of Moldova is known as a religious region… yet, how many times haven’t floods destroyed the elderly people’s houses?!” (L). Another category includes direct formulations of the personal reticence (regarding the intrusion of the supernatural in the natural and personal): “I find it hard to believe.” (C), “I sometimes believe that things have evolved by themselves.” (M), even “I haven’t received any proof yet.” (Q), the respondents claim. Somebody associates a ufologic hypothesis, expression of a not explicitly assumed atheism, to doubt: “I believe that this divinity, whom we call God is, in fact, a being from another galaxy, who created us in his image and likeness; who, unlike us, has a more advanced technology and who has left us, as hamsters in a cage.” (C). D. SOREA: The Wide Religiosity of the Romanian Students 111

Another category of arguments, logically suitable rather to the third option (the one below), has in view the unnecessary character of the divine’s personification (specific to Christianity): “There is something, a force that probably changes us for the better; not necessarily a person or a spirit.” (A).

3.3. Why “I don’t believe in (Christian) God; yet, I believe there is a great power/ energy, to whom the world’s existence and functioning is due.”

The defenders of these variants rather advanced specifications, than actual arguments: “Religion is acquired at birth, it is decided by parents; faith is acquired throughout one’s life.” (E); “There is a power, a spiritual consciousness, perhaps even our inner Self.” (E); “I believe in God’s existence; yet I do not consider Him a person,…. but rather a spirit, a conscience permeating all that is, even an object” (F); “There is a unique energy in the Universe, an energy whom I myself, as an individual, I am not separated from and whom is experienced by my very subjectivity.” (G), somebody shows. The only arguments brought in favour of this variant are contradictions of the Biblical Genesis: “This world is something that grows and blooms; something that has developed and not something that was assembled, piece by piece.” (G); “Matter and life must have come into being, otherwise than in the 7 days” (O).

3.4. Student’s representations on the evil eye

A single student declared “I don’t believe in evil eye!” (Y) and all of the respondents (including said student) provided a wide range of explanations, as to what it is, how it can be prevented or how it can be treated. In this way, the evil eye is a bodily reaction to the others’ wonder, admiration or envy; an energy theft; an “energy dysfunction in the organism” (Y), a general malaise. It results from the action of a “force of the evil” (I), “an evil force” (D). It is “a destruction of the protective aura surrounding everyone” (K) or “a calcium deficiency” (E), which elderly people see as sorcery. It is provoked by “those persons who, when babies, were weaned and afterwards given suck again” (B), by “the persons with very light coloured or very profound eyes” (M), or by a strong emotion. The evil eye can be prevented by making children wear red thread bracelets, or anything red, or some “clothes inside out” (B) and by “touching one’s heels before leaving home” (D). Unless treated with incantations, one can die. It is treated with “a prayer and matches over a glass of water, by uttering some incantations, with coals unlit in water” (C) whereof the sufferer drinks three times, before being thrown on a “young tree or a white dog” (D); and, not least, as regards the frequency of the mentioning, with the prayer Our Father. Almost two thirds of the respondents indicate the prayer as remedy for the evil eye. Somebody even says: “Only if you say the prayer Our Father, that malaise will pass.”(I). This is not the only expression of the mixture between the spirituality registers. “It is treated with prayers, you must say Our Father six-seven times, while making the sign of the cross with the lit matches, whom you put afterwards in a cup of water.” (U) somebody says. Or: “Evil eye is a superstition to be treated with prayer, confession, fasting” (R), or “by old woman’s cure and the prayer Our Father” (X). Several respondents referred to their own personal experience: “Every time, this procedure has immediately worked its effects upon me” (C); “Mom whispers Our Father, while making the sign of the cross, upon my forehead.” (P); “Dad usually says Our Father.” (T). ”To be honest, the malaise will pass every time.” (X). 112 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

Some respondents tried explanations closer to the operational rationality: “Rituals have a placebo effect” (H); ”The persons who do not believe in evil eye, do not have such problems.” (Q); “The thoughts are those that influence our state.” (T); “The one who administers the treatment restores, by his care and love, the person’s energy.” (J).

3.5. Data interpretation: an old kind of religiosity

Hence, for the respondents, the most readily available of the faith options seems to be the Christian one. The God at its core is a good and almighty parent, generous and ready to answer, meet, and fulfil the prayers addressed to Him. The deviation from this model is the main source of the faith-related doubts. However, in addition to its canonical power of bringing the demands of the faithful to God, the students attribute to the prayer Our Father, some magical powers, similar to those of charm or incantation. The Supreme Prayer is considered an energy-recovery means. Its use is not targeted on the personified evil. The evil eye is not considered an effect of his intervention. The Evil Eye is an energy theft. The use of the prayer in order to cure it, shows that, for the students, the Christian-faith option allows great dogmatic liberties. It is compatible with the belief in the existence of an energy that rules the world and can be magically manipulated. The answers to the question about the evil eye emphasize that this energist representation of the world doubles the Christian faith assumptions, being much more widespread than explicitly declared. The adequacy of the students’ answers to the theoretical model of contemporary religiosity, is partial. Atheism is not, as far as they are concerned, a popular option; students don’t seem to lack religious commitment. Nor is faithless affiliation, an obvious feature of the students’ religiosity; whereas affiliationless faith is rather a secondary option or/ and not explicitly assumed. The private nature of faith is highlighted only in the context of the argumentative enhancement of the personal experiences. Instead, Christianity’s identitary and continuity-between-generations dimensions are perceived and emphasized. Its acceptation is non-dogmatic, one’s own spiritual experience being more important than the dogma, and not necessarily logically consistent. The Christianity confessed by students has a strong vicarial nature. It may be considered religion “à la carte”; as far as the students are concerned, God is just friendly and good. The Christian-faith option is often accompanied by a dimension of spirituality, in the sense of crediting the acquirement of benefits, to the supernatural. This dimension, non- institutionalized, enhances the magical valences in the students’ faith, it operates with different authority sources (not necessarily logically compatible) and it blurs the border between the sacred and the profane. And this openness towards spirituality of the students’ religiosity, beyond the borders of dogmatic Christianity, is in line with the contemporary Western model. This openness is likewise characterized by the closeness to popular religion and paganism. Nevertheless, unlike what happens in the West, this closeness does not have, in the students’ case, a recuperative nature, I consider. It is not about a programmatic recrudescence of paganism, due to the decline of Christianity. Nor is it about the contemporary resumption, under a Christian label, of some older pagan manifestations. The healing practices by incantation of the evil eye are pre-Christian. They are not recent acquisitions in the students’ religiosity. They belong to the traditional faith of their parents and grand-parents. These practices suppose that particular kind of representing D. SOREA: The Wide Religiosity of the Romanian Students 113 the world wherein each of its constituent parts interacts with the others, making up an extensive, comprehensive, all-encompassing network. This representation is close both to the one of Eastern spirituality, as outlined by F. Capra (1995), and to the one of a Europe prior to the Reformation, in I. P. Culianu’s acceptation (1994). It is withal close to the concept of “implicate or enfolded order” at the core of the description which, coming from quantum physics, D. Bohm (1995) makes of the world. In the Romanian cultural space, Christianity had been intertwined from the very beginnings with this type of representation of the world. The preservation in the cultural tradition of some ancestral practices – already extinct at the Greeks, in the Homeric period, according to M. Eliade (1991), and the cosmic Christianity implied by L. Blaga (2011) are the consequences of this intertwining. The use of the prayer Our Father as an (efficient) incantation against the evil eye, is the expression of one’s admitting the coexistence of Christianity and pre-Christian religion. In this context, the secularization process unveils different connotations from the Western ones. The perenniality of the pre-Christian representations gives superficiality to secularization, in spite of the political commands of the communist regime. Consistently, the religious feelings and experiences assumed by students are expressions of religious continuity, rather than of de-secularization. In line with observations on the relevance of research, I propose the following hypothesis: The faith options of the contemporary Romanian students are tributary to the pre-Christian representation of the world, perennial in the Romanian cultural space. This representation, with its similarities both to magic and to quantum physics, allows students to easily operate with an enlarged religiosity, while deeming themselves Christian. Natural and old in the Romanian space, this religiosity is at the core of the contemporary Western trend.

4. Conclusions

The answers of the sociology students in Braşov punctuate many of the features of contemporary religiosity. Shaped around a God with the attributes of a good, generous and helpful father, the religion confessed by students is „a la carte”, its main attributes being vicarial. The main faith option for the students is the Christian one. Nevertheless, the powers which students attribute to God, liken their faith to magic, to the ancient popular, pagan religions. The students want to believe, having experienced the efficacy of the act of faith. Opting for an enlarged variant of religiosity, they place themselves in the Western spiritual trend. Yet not following it, as I hastily believed beforehand (Sorea, 2015), but finding themselves therein, with their own tradition (descending from their parents and grandparents).

References

Bainbridge, W. S. (2011). Atheism. In: P. B. Clarke (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the Sociology of Religion. Oxford: University Press, pp. 319-335. Bauman, Z. (2000). Liquid Modernity. Cambridge: Polity Press. Berry, P. (2004). Postmodernism and Post-religion. In: S. Connor (Ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Postmodernism. Cambridge: University Press, pp. 168-181. Bibby, R. (1987). Fragmented Gods. Toronto: Irwin. Blaga,L. (2011). Trilogia culturii [Culture Trilogy]. Bucharest: Humanitas Publishing House. 114 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

Bohm, D. (1995). Plenitudinea lumii şi ordinea ei [Wholeness and the Implicate Order]. Bucharest: Humanitas Publishing House. Capra, F. (1995).Taofizica [The Tao of Physics]. Bucharest: Tehnică Publishing House. Culianu, I.P. (1994). Eros şi magie în Renaştere. 1484 [Eros and Magic in the Renaissance. 1484]. Bucharest: Nemira Publishing House. Davie, G. (2002). Europe: The Exceptional Case: Parameters of Faith in the Modern World. London: Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd. Dobbelaere, K. (2011). The Meaning and Scope of Secularization. In P. B. Clarke (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the Sociology of Religion. Oxford: University Press, pp.599-615. Eliade, M. (1991). Istoria credinţelor şi ideilor religioase [A History of Religious Ideas], Vol. I-III. Bucharest: Scientific Publishing House. Hamberg, E. M. (2011). Unchurched Spirituality. In: P. B. Clarke (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the Sociology of Religion. Oxford: University Press, pp.742-757. Heelas, P. (2011). Spiritualities of Life. In: P. B. CLarke (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the Sociology of Religion. Oxford: University Press, pp.752-782. Lambert, Y. (2003). New Christianity, Indifference and Diffused Spirituality. In: H. McLeod and W. Ustorf (Eds.), The Decline of Christendom in Western Europe 1750- 2000. Cambridge: University Press, pp.63-78. Langley, L. (1999). A Spiritual Land with Little Time for Church. Daily Telegraph, 17 Dec., 31. Linquist, G. (1997). Shamanic Performances on the Urban Scene: Neo-Shamanism in Contemporary Sweden. Stockholm: University Press. Lyon, D. (2000). Jesus in Disneyland:Religion in Postmodern Times. Cambridge: Polity Press. Neuhaus, R. (1986). From Providence to Privacy: Religion and the Redefinition of America. In R. Neuhaus (Ed.), Unsecular America. Eerdmans Publishing Co, pp. 52-56. Nolen, S. (1999). Give them Jesus , but Hold the Theology. Globe and Mail, 2 Jan., A1. Norris, P., Ingelhart, R. (2004). Sacred and Secular. Religion and Politics Worldwide. Cambridge: University Press. Răţulea, G. (2015). Dreptatea ecologică şi teoria distributivă liberală. Problema extinderii. In G. Răţulea (Ed.), Justiţie şi coeziune socială. Iaşi: Institutul European, pp.53-78. Repstad, P. (1996). Introduction: A Paradigm Shift in the Sociology of Religion? In P. Repstad (Ed.), Religion and Modernity: Modes of Co-existence. Oslo: Scandinavian University Press, pp.1-10. Roberts, R. (1998). The Construals of Europe: Religion, Theology and the Problematics of Modernity. In P. Heelas (Ed.), Religion, Modernity and Postmodernity. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, pp.186-217. Roof, W. C. (2011). Generation and Religion. In: P. B. CLarke (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the Sociology of Religion. Oxford: University Press, pp.616-636. Rountree, K. (2014). Native Faith and indigenous religion: a case study of Malta within the European context. Social Anthropology, 22, 1, 81-100. Sorea, D. (2015). Între revoltă şi înfiorare. Religiozitatea studenţilor sociologi. Biserică şi societate. Cluj-Napoca: Presa Universitară Clujeană, pp. 193-213. Stark, R., Bainbridge, W. S. (1987). A Theory of Religion. New York: Lang. Stark, R., Finke, R. (2000). Acts and Faith. Berkeley: University of California Press. Weigel, G. (2005). The Cube and the Catedral: Europe, America and Politics without God. New York: Basic Books. Wenzel, N. G. (2011). Postmodernism and religion. In: P. B. Clarke (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the Sociology of Religion. Oxford: University Press, pp.172-193. *** http://www.norc.org/Research/Projects/Pages/general-social-survey.aspx. Accessed: 22-03-2016.

SOCIAL WORK

Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov Series VII: Social Sciences • Law • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

TO BE A MANAGER IN SOCIAL WORK AREA

Diana Cristina BÓDI1

Abstract: This presentation shows the difficulties and challenges involved in social management, how to adapt the general functions of management in social work’s field and some specific activities in social services, such as volunteering and professional development of social workers. It presents a global analysis of several interviews with managers of social services from Brasov County.

Key words: management in social work, managerial skills, managerial roles, develop of human resource, volunteering.

1. Introduction

Lack of social work during the communist period meant that after 1990, social services are organized a little chaotic, particularly due to the lack of professionals and legislation. This led to the practice of social work by persons with another specialization than the social worker. Also, the management of social work organizations was made mainly of people with different professional training of social work and management. Therefore, it began to appear structured ways of training of specialists based on a methodology such as specializations courses of Social Work, Master in Management of Social Services, which provides vocational training qualifications in this field. During the time, things have changed on social work, because the social sector is very dynamic and supposes changes of more perspectives: social, human, legal and financial. At present, it is interesting to see what means the management in this social field, social care and how and what is difference between business management and social work management. It is also interesting to see the difference between management of non- governmental organizations, which live from projects and sponsors and the management of state institutions, which have exclusive financing from the state budget.

2. Some theoretical considerations

The main managerial activities in which managers made: – Communication with the formal submission, receiving and handling of information documents; – Traditional management where are important the planning, decision making and control;

1 Transilvania University of Braşov, [email protected] 118 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

– Action on the networks: interacting with people outside the organization, informal socializing and political action on the inside people; – Management of human resources: motivation and consolidation, discipline and punishment, management of conflicts, staffing, qualifications and developing employees (Luthans, Hodgetts, Rosenkrantz, 1988 apud Johns, 1998). All these activities are described in the literature (Dragomirişteanu, 2000; Neamţu, 2001; Gherguţ,, 2003; Nicola, 2003; Bódi, 2007; Neamţu, 2015) by fulfilling the functions, so the organization to meet its goals: - Planning - evaluation of the future and initiate necessary measures; - Organization – building of the management structure of the organization; - Personal function - human resources management; - Leadership - to have a vision of the organization; - Control / supervision - monitoring and evaluation the performance work. These activities can be performed by people who have certain skills / abilities in management: - Technical skills - refers to the level of competence in a specific activity; includes the ability of manager to use his/her knowledge, methods and instruments to achieve specific tasks and activities; - Human skills - managers' ability to work effectively with others people; for this, the manager must know and understand the psychological theories on human motivation and human needs; - Conceptual skills - manager's ability to see the organization as a whole; the accent is on knowledge and understanding of the science of management theories, human and organizational behaviour and put them in management practice (Neamţu, 2003; Neamţu, 2015).

3. Research methodology

The present research was qualitative, with interviews applied of managers in social services. The instrument used was the interview guide, which focuses on these topics: professional route of a manager in social work, managerial skills, managerial activities, advantages and disadvantages of the position of manager, development of human resource in the organization and supervision. I have analyzed thirteen interviews, six of them were with managers / chief department of the state institutions and seven of them were with managers of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), from Brasov County. I’ve analyzed the data through coding thematic, because the topics were fixed and I wanted to watch similarities and differences between the general management and the management in social work. Thematic coding supposedly studied groups are predefined before interviews and best suited for comparative studies (Scârneci, 2007). I also use and open coding to identify on each topic studied, the categories discovered, revealing thus the comparative analysis, how see the managers from social work, their work. In this article, I present a few topics discussed: skills/ qualities managerial activities of a manager of social work, advantages and disadvantages of the position of manager, human resource development within the organization.

D.C. BÓDI: To be Manager in Social Work Area 119

4. Analysis and interpretation of research data

Managers of social work area were identified as management skills the following (with the specification that there were not significant differences between the statements of managers of NGOs and the state institutions): a. Technical skills: – good knowledge in the field: "Assumed to be always very well developed and connected with changes in legislation that is changing very fast" (NGO);

– long experience in the field: "...(he/she) must come from the system and have worked for years, because you can not coordinate anything unless you have practiced" (NGO);

b. Human skills: – communication skills: "A manager needs communication skills. Communication is very important in such a profession, and in such a field. A manager needs vision, organizational skills, and leadership qualities, to impose and to make themselves heard by the team "(state institution);

– ability to work in a team and to motivate it: "To know well your team and it always motivate and you to be the one who pulls the first " (NGO);

c. Conceptual skills: – manager's ability to see the organization as a whole: "Good organizational skills, a good listener, a person with vision and overview of things, a good capacity for networking, analysis, communication, determination and empathy" (NGO).

Some of the subjects remembered the qualities that should have a social work manager, these are being very similar with the specific qualities of social workers: - Integrity "Must be a person with integrity, to have empathy and to like children, to like good of the child, so first of all we have to put the interests of the child" (state institution) - Patient "Patience, I think a lot of patience" (NGO) - Trust "Needs big dose of confidence in people" (NGO) - Empathy "He/she has to be empathetic, to provide support, to show a really concern towards others do, to have a sense of humor, team spirit, to be sensitive to act with tact and good sense" (state institution). Although not specific question, the interviews have been off the roles of social work mananger, which can categorized like managerial roles described by Mintzberg (1973 cited Johns, 1998) and Quinn et al. (1990 cited Neamţu, 2003): 120 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

a. interpersonal roles: "Team members will feel useful. Usually people tend to follow people who say that something can be done and not those who give 200 reasons that can not be done. "(State institution); b. information roles: "To represent the Association in various occasions such as press conferences, events organized by companies or TV ..." (NGO); c. decision-making roles: "Must be able to speak, immediately to find solutions, but also to project the possibilities for conflict or delicate situations" (NGO). An activities of manager of social work does not seem to be totally different to other managers in the productive management, functions of management being achieved in social services, also: ƒ the planning "You have to know all the time, every moment where you are, you look back do analyzes, make evaluations, you go forward and you go analize..how is the „market” in this area, what other problems have your beneficiaries? How you can help a category of beneficiaries depending on what you have as organization [...], always you have to connect to what does and what wants to make your organization" (NGO); ƒ organization/structure "To organize and design the activity of the institution that you're leading" (state institution); ƒ coordination "To ensure the function of organization having the necessary funds to keep the staff in organization [....] every day to know at any time what stage are the projects, if are risks that may appear in implementing them ... how do you lower ? or how do exclude its forever? How to put into practice the organization's development strategy and the strategy itself that you implement all objectives of the organization” (ONG); ƒ leadership "(the manager) have the ability to share this vision with his/her colleagues and with team from the department he leads" (NGO); ƒ the control "Part of control, part of evaluation, uh ... the part of the institution's development and it means that you have think about partnerships with similar institutions, with other types of institutions that can do these partnerships, to develop projects for the institution to grow "(state institution). Managers remembered advantages and disadvantages of work manager in this sector non- profit. Thus, among the advantages, managers were highlighted social network development, high salaries, a higher social position, the opportunity to help people develop, a holistic vision of the organization and the field, also: "Offering a statute and a position in the organization and in society" (state institution). "You see the big picture and if things go well, the results appear and then satisfaction is very high" (NGOs). D.C. BÓDI: To be Manager in Social Work Area 121

The disadvantages of work manager were focused on the same problem: lack of personal time: "A personal challenge that I experienced was when I got to an imbalance between private life and professional life (too much time spent on work - I left the office at 18:00 because I was scheduled to give birth to 18.30" (NGOs). Another disadvantage has been described as a occupational stress, only in state institutions, which dominate the bureaucratic system: "We have received works today with the solve term for tomorrow or even tomorrow or some of them come with the term imposed two days ago, that is happend because of bureaucracy" (state institution). The large volume of work is another disadvantage described by managers: "You have a lot of reports and that should do it yourself and you have to be fit and open for any need arising" (NGOs). Regarding the topic of managing human resources, the accent was placed on the professional development of employees and the vision of volunteering. NGOs highlighted the teams cohesive and who are motivated to work in the organization, the social workers are appreciated by the management team, while in the state institutions, the staff is not enough and that seems to be a problem of management and for quality of social services. It is about the massive departure of social workers from the system because they didn’t were financial motivated to be social worker in state institutions: "Maybe in the future, depending on how legilatia evolves, we will be able to hire a psychologist, counseling is required in the many activities that we conduct" (state institution). Volunteers are seen by both organizations as an important resource for development of the organization. All managers interviewed highlighted the role of volunteers in their organizations, even some developing training programs for volunteers: "We have a training program for volunteers ... who offered to volunteer to us must have some skills to work with children because they already have some knowledge in the field" (state institution). Managers see the involvement of volunteers from two perspectives. On the one hand, for organization winning, the volunteers work are appreciate by the organizations: "Although volunteering can not make quantitative human resource (in organization), they can accomplish qualitative visions, new ideas and concepts, and that means a big help for any organization" (state institution), but also for the volunteer, they can develop their skills in practice, in addition he/she benefit from various advantages offered by the organization and his/her work is recognized as work experience on professional route (see volunteering Law no.78 / 2014): "The involvement of volunteers is vital to the organization, is somehow a partnership type of win-win, that means we as organization gain from their experience and with their help made some activities and, at the same time, we believe that the volunteers can effective learn and implement their theoretical knowledge "(NGOs). Managers give increasing importance of professional development of employees. The ways in which managers encourage participation in courses of continuous training of their employees are paying taxes for training, monthly meetings with the team, for sharing 122 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016 information and experience, inviting specialists from outside the organization, change of experience with other organizations: "We offer training courses and for this we have a special budget, where all the staff is trained and is more than the law demands, trying to find courses for professional development and beyond these courses [...] we have a monthly meeting where each of those who have the capacity and want, offer to the others peer training, a mini-training about different themes, for example communication with the difficult child or we invited specialits from another organizations"(NGO).

5. Conclusions

The data presented shows a global analysis of some topics from interviews with managers who activated in the social services sector, both state and private. After analyzing the interviews, some new themes have emerged, which may be developed later into a new research. This research came with a new perspective, to professionalize the profession of social work manager. The next step is to improve the research instrument and to identify other areas of management of social work.

References

Bódi, D.C. (2007). Managementul organizaţiilor de asistenţă socială [Management of social work organizations]. Braşov: Transilvania University Publishing House. Dragomirişteanu, A. (2000). “Introducere în management [Introduction to Management]”. In C. Vlădescu (Ed.). Managementul serviciilor de sănătate [Management of health services]. Bucharest: Expert Publishing House. Gherguţ, A. (2003). Managementul serviciilor de asistenţă psihopedagogică şi socială [Management of pedagogical and social assistance services]. Iaşi: Polirom Publishing House. Johns, G. (1998). Comportament organizaţional [Organizational Behavior]. Bucharest: Economică Publishing House. Neamţu, N. (2001). Managementul serviciilor de asistenţă socială [Management of social work services]. Cluj-Napoca: Motiv Publishing House. Neamţu, N. (2003). “Dimensiunea managerială în asistenţa socială [Managerial dimension in social work]”. In G. Neamţu (Ed.). Tratat de asistenţă socială [Handbook of social work]. Iaşi: Polirom Publishing House. Neamţu, N. (2015). Managementul serviciilor de asistenţă socială (editia a III-a) [Management of social work services. 3rd Edition]. Cluj-Napoca: Accent Publishing House. Nicola, I. (2003). Managementul serviciilor publice locale [Management of local public services]. Bucharest: All Beck Publishing House. Scarneci, F. (2007). Îndrumar de cercetare calitativă în ştiinţele socio-umane, editia a II-a [Handbook of qualitative research in social and human sciences, 2nd Edition]. Braşov: Transilvania University Publishing House.

Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov Series VII: Social Sciences • Law • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

THE EVALUATION OF A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM IN SOCIAL WORK. USING SWOT ANALYSIS AS AN EVALUATION METHOD

D. C. BÓDI 1 M. GOTEA2

Abstract: This paper presents the partial results of evaluation for a professional development program, created for social workers from the Social Service of Hospice “House of Hope” Brasov, Romania. In the final evaluation stage, we have used several methods and instruments to identify the efficiency of the program and to find ways to improve it. One of them was the SWOT analysis, through which we intend to identify the strengths and limitations of the program implemented. SWOT analysis was filled out by both the specialists participating in the professional development program and the lecturers who have held the working sessions. The partial results of the final evaluation have revealed that the program developed has achieved its goals and met the expectations of the participants and those identified at the managerial level.

Key words: professional development, evaluation of a program in social work, SWOT analysis.

1. Introduction

Developing a career in the social assistance field is a relatively new and rarely approached subject in public institutions and non-profit organisations in Romania, particularly because of the rarity of available financial resources for this type of programs meant to provide both professional and personal development for the employees. We are referring to developing a career within a framework created by the European Union, which states that education, shaping the future work force and the efficient investment in human capital are “key components necessary to insure high levels of sustainable economic growth, based on knowledge and employment service, but also to face the complex challenges of today’s economy” (INCSMPS, 2014, p.6). Career development refers to the evolution of social workers within an organization, according to its needs and depending on the employees’ individual performance, potential and aspirations. This important dimension requires an open mind and sustained effort not

1 Transilvania University of Braşov, [email protected] 2 Transilvania University of Braşov, [email protected] 124 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016 just from the top and middle management of the organization, but also from the staff involved in providing social services, important for both the individual and the organization he is a part of. In addition, it should be noted that it generates multiple positive effects - an efficient professional development of the staff satisfies the needs for institutional, occupational, professional and personal development. The present article contains a concise description of the methods and instruments used in the evaluation stage of a professional development program designed for the specialists within the Social Service of Hospice “House of Hope” in Brasov County - an organization which offers health services for people suffering from incurable diseases in advanced stages. In addition, we have presented the partial results of the evaluation, obtained through SWOT analysis.

2. Paper theoretical foundation and related literature

Career evolution depends on a particular set of skills a social worker needs in order to perform his activities at a higher and higher responsibility level or to contribute to the organization’s development. These skills are made up by the behavioural characteristics needed for a person to perform his activities efficiently, irrespective of the job they occupy or the level at which they find themselves in their career. Career development requires two separate components, one of them being career training. By improving abilities and work techniques, career training allows employees to use their assets better and it also increases their level of work satisfaction. The second component is professional development, whose objective is to provide employees with the needed skillset to cope with the demands of their current position, as well as a future one (Fărcăşanu and Moldovan, 2000). Among the advantages of developing your career we should list increased productivity and a higher quality of performed activities, as well as improved skills in the use of new technology, an increased work satisfaction and a decrease in the need for supervision. This implies that, before creating any supervision program, it is necessary to develop and implement a continual training and professional development program. The Copenhagen Declaration regarding the strengthening of European cooperation for education and career training (November 29-30 2002) addresses, among others, the increased level of information, orientation and counselling, as well as the transparency of education and professional training, the development of instruments used to acknowledge and mutually validate skills and qualifications and the improvement in assured quality of education and professional development. (http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/education_culture/repository/education/policy/vocational- policy/doc/copenhagen-declaration_en.pdf). In order to have quality social assistance services, as well as satisfied employees and clients, we need to have constant quality improvement programs within the organizations. Bódi (2007a) states that the constant improvement of quality in the social assistance field implies: ƒ quality results - that means, first and foremost, the satisfaction of the clients’ current necessities as well as being prepared for new ones; ƒ the monitoring of the results, a process that is both retrospective and prospective; D. C. BÓDI et al.: Evaluation of a Professional Development Program… 125

ƒ assuring quality is not just the responsibility of a person or a department, it is the responsibility of the entire organization; ƒ quality and assuring quality should be focused on both the process and the results. In their first stage, professional development programs should answer the following question posed by specialists: Am I doing it right? On this level, an intervention should assure the proper conditions for: - continuity - the level of coordination over time that different interventions conducted by different specialists have; - efficiency - the level of efficiency that the service has, depending on the level of current knowledge in the field, and with the purpose of reaching the desired results for the intended beneficiary; - care and respect - the level of involvement of the client in the decision to be part of a particular intervention - the provided service must be tailored for different people and it must have the right level of sensibility and respect that the client needs - safety - the measure in which the risks of the intervention are as low as possible for the client, as well as everyone else, including the providers of social services - opportunity - the measure in which the service is provided for the intended client at the most opportune moment (Dragomirişteanu and Pop, 2000). The objectives and themes proposed within these programs can improve abilities, which in turn will lead to an increase in quality for the services offered by social workers.

3. Methodology

The program implemented within the Hospice “House of Hope” in Brasov was created after an initiative of the foundation’s management who foresaw the need to implement both supervision and continual training courses to answer the solicitations of social workers for professional and personal development. In order to achieve these objectives, over the course of 18 months, we had work sessions on diverse topics that we identified, analysed and categorized in order of importance along with social workers within the organization: the internal and external communication of the organization, communicating with difficult clients, decision making, stress management, time management, the management of crisis situations (ethical dilemmas and the ways to solve them, communicating unpleasant news), the research layout in the social work field, as well as the ways in which the results obtained through research could be shared. At the end of the professional development program, we also conducted an evaluation with the following objectives: i. To determine what can be classified as main needs for professional and personal development according to the social workers from palliative care ii. To recognize the current issues regarding supervision in social work in Brasov, Romania. iii. To evaluate the performance of the program by analysing the content presented by two lecturers and a psychotherapist for the social workers from Hospice “House of Hope”, Brasov, Romania. The final assessment involved applying some instruments to identify the efficiency of the program for professional development and finding ways to improve it. Therefore, we applied the SWOT analysis, through which we aimed to identify the strengths and limits of the program that was carried out by both the specialists who attended the professional 126 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016 development program, as well as the lecturers who did work sessions alongside the professionals. In the second stage of the evaluation, we carried out a semi-structured group interview with all of the social workers who attended the professional development program, which we recorded and transcribed. Within this article, we will present the partial results of the evaluation of our program that we obtained through SWOT analysis. This partial data was gathered from the experiences of six individuals who participated in a professional group development program, conducted by three universities within a metropolitan area in Brasov County, Romania. All of the lecturers have worked on this program as volunteers. The participants in this group program were social workers at the Foundation Hospice “House of Hope” in Brasov, Romania. SWOT analysis is a very simple process which can offer a very profound understanding of potential and critical problems. The main purpose of SWOT analysis is identifying each factor, positive or negative, and placing it in one of the four categories. This allows us to have a more objective perspective on the career training program: (Bódi, 2007b). The SWOT analysis has two important dimensions: - the analysis of internal factors, meaning strengths and weaknesses; - the analysis of external factors, represented by the opportunities and threats that the organization faces Strengths refer to internal, positive, tangible and intangible attributes of the program. These are under our control. The questions posed are: What did I do right? What resources did I have? What were the advantages? Weaknesses refer to those factors that affected our ability to perform our activities. The question posed is: What areas must be improved? Opportunities refer to external attractive factors that represent the reason why we desire to implement a professional development program and the key-question posed is: What opportunities are there already in the environment that we can benefit from? Threats refer to external factors that can negatively impact the results of the program. They can either be a barrier or a constraint that can cause problems, damage or prejudice to the organization.

4. Results

The SWOT analysis revealed, first and foremost, a necessity for such a program for professional development, and there have been a number of varied opinions put forward regarding the strong points and opportunities. The SWOT analysis was conducted on two groups - on the one hand the social workers who were the beneficiaries of the professional development program and on the other hand - the trainers who developed and implemented the program. According to social workers, the strengths, the positive, internal aspects of the developed program, which can be controlled and used in planning future programs of this kind, were: the extension of already acquired knowledge, the desire and motivations the participants have showed towards the program, the development of aptitudes and professional skills, group interaction and self-awareness. On the other hand, trainers identified the following strengths: the desire to develop the social department within the foundation, desire that the management of the organization supported fully, the implementation of a professional development program that was well structured and adapted to the needs of the participants, the desire for personal and professional D. C. BÓDI et al.: Evaluation of a Professional Development Program… 127 development for both the participants and the trainers, as well as the uniqueness of this program within Brasov county. The weaknesses, the internal, negative aspects of the developed program, those that were controllable and can be improved when developing future sessions, described by the social workers, were: the limited time in which the program took place, the large timespan between the trainers and participants’ programs, the inadequate space (within the foundation), a number of professional emergencies that limited the participation of social workers to the training sessions, a number of diverse personal limits as well as methodological work limits According to the trainers, the weaknesses of the program were: the difficulty to match schedules (for the trainers and participants) which led to carrying out the program over a longer period of time than initially planned, the inadequate location (ideally, there should have been a neutral space, outside of the premises of the foundation), the lack of continuity of the program, along with the observation that the program could be improved. The opportunities, meaning those external, positive, uncontrollable conditions which we can use to our advantage when it comes to creating and implementing these programs were, according to social workers, the following: team cohesion and the development of interpersonal relationships, the fact that the program can be a starting point for professional supervision, which could prevent burn-out, the possibility to develop and extend the program, the identification of new opportunities for personal and professional development. Trainers identified the following opportunities of the program: the development of inter- organizational relationships, possibilities for extending and implementing similar programs in other departments or organizations, the use of this program as a model of good practice in career training, the identification of sources for financing the implementation of such a program, the possibility to develop the program. The last item of the SWOT analysis, the threats, those external, negative, uncontrollable conditions whose effects we can predict/avoid when it comes to creating and implementing these professional programs were identified by the social workers as following: the limited time of the program, without there being a possibility to continue, for now, the lack of funds to continue the program, unfit legislation. Trainers identified the same threats as social workers did, with the addition that, in their view, managers were reluctant to send their employees to such training programs. The implemented development program was seen by social workers and trainers alike as an opportunity for personal and professional development, as well as a chance to improve aptitudes and professional skills. The weak suits of the program revealed the difficulty to match the schedules of everyone involved, which requires the program to be improved not just methodologically, but by creating a schedule that’s more organized and put together from the beginning of the program, while also choosing a better location outside of the beneficiary organization. Among the opportunities we gathered from the received answers, we should also note the development of interpersonal and inter-organizational relationships (between the Foundation Hospice “House of Hope” and the Transilvania University of Brasov), which can lead to both developing and extending the program in the future. The threats expressed by social workers and trainers alike refer mainly to the lack of financial resources required to sustain the continuity and development of the program. 128 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

Conclusions

According to the partial results obtained through SWOT analysis, the program reached its proposed objectives, and it also met the expectations of the participants and the management of the organization. The SWOT model is a purely descriptive model, meaning it does not offer explicit strategic recommendations regarding the professional development program. However, it is a means by which information can be organized and we can approximate probabilities for potential events to take place - both good and bad - which we can use as a base to create a strategy to develop the organization, as well as come up with operational plans. Which is why, the data obtained through SWOT analysis will be used alongside the data obtained through the other technique utilized in the evaluation of the program - the semi-structured group interview, in order to respect the principle of methodological triangulation and in order to scientifically determine the efficiency of the professional development program conducted at the Foundation Hospice “House of Hope”. The evaluation of employee performance and career development are two concepts that are tightly knit together. Both the social worker and the trainer share the same objective - they both wish for the employee to become more efficient, either immediately or in the future. This is why we can conclude that continual training and supervision is crucial in social assistance. The ideas presented within this paper can be compiled and integrated into a list of procedures and good practice examples. They can be used in the creation of an evaluation tool for a human resources development program in the social assistance field.

References

Bódi, D.C. (2007a). Managementul calităţii serviciilor sociale [Management of Quality of Social Services]. In Muntean, A. and Sagebiel, J. (Eds.). Practici în asistenţa socială. România şi Germania [Social Work Practices. Romania and Germany]. Iaşi: Polirom Publishing House, pp. 41-49. Bódi, D.C. (2007b). Managementul organizaţiilor de asistenţă socială [Management of Social Work Organisations]. Braşov: Transilvania University Publishing House. Dragomirişteanu, A. and Pop, S. (2000). Management general. Evaluarea – concepte şi metode [General Management. Evaluation – concepts and methods]. In Vlădescu, C. (Ed.). Managementul serviciilor de sănătate [Health Services Management]. Bucharest: Expert Publishing House, pp. 164-181. Fărcăşanu, D. and Moldovan, M. (2000). Managementul resurselor umane [Human Resources Management]. In Vlădescu, C. (Ed.), Managementul serviciilor de sănătate [Health Services Management]. Bucharest: Expert Publishing House, pp. 182-253. INCSMPS (2014). Bune practici privind măsurile de stimulare a investiţiei în formare profesională continuă la nivel european. [Good Practices on Measures to Enhance the Investment in Continuous Professional Training at European Level]. Available at: http://www.mmuncii.ro/j33/images/Documente/ProiectePrograme_/2015-proiect-modele- incurajare-inv-fpc-FI-2.pdf The Copenhagen Declaration Regarding the Strengthening of European Cooperation for Education and Career Training (November 29-30 2002). Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/education_culture/repository/education/policy/vocational- policy/doc/copenhagen-declaration_en.pdf

COMMUNICATION AND PUBLIC RELATIONS

Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov Series VII: Social Sciences • Law • Vol. 9 (56) No. 2 - 2016

OPEN ACCESS MODELS AND STRATEGIES IN DISSEMINATING SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION

Ionela Maria BÂRSAN1

Abstract: Open Access movement has completely changed the publishing model in academic community. The golden way is publishing on Open Access Journals and green way is to archive scientific production in institutional repositories. Transilvania University built repository in 2009, first institutional repository from Romania.

Key words: Open access, publishing model, repositories, archiving.

1. Introduction

Aiming to gain broad access to research output, alternative ways of publishing scientific literature are developed. As suggested by the supporters of open access, there are actually two ways of gaining a “genuine”, true open access: self-archiving, performed by authors (Green Road Open Access) and open access journals (Golden Road Open Access).

2. Strategies for Open Access

The first strategy, called the Green Road, is self-archiving. It implies depositing the electronic publications (both edited and non-publications) in the open electronic repositories, supported by the research, education and cultural institutes. These archives are called archives of electronic publications or institutional depositing (repositories) ( urcan, 2009). The standards, focusing on facilitating the dissemination of information, are promoted and developed by the Open Archives Initiative – OAI. The Green Road is free of charge for both authors and users. In 2004, Electronic Publishing Innovation Centre made a distinction between archives and repositories, which states that an archive is a collection of papers published in journals, and a repository is a collection of papers including both published and non-published papers. However, this distinction is not seldom used and both terms are used as synonyms. The Study on the economic and technical evolution of the scientific publications market in Europe (available at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/science-society/pdf/scientific- publication-study_en.pdf) specifies two types of archives or repositories: thematic and institutional (Table 1).

1 Transilvania University of Braşov, [email protected] 132 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (56) No. 2 - 2016

Open access archiving models: The Green Road Table 1

Archive/ repository Description Examples models Thematic archive Collects and offers access to The thematic archive in library (subject-based) articles and documents on and information science of specific fields, disciplines. They CILEA Interuniversity emerged in fields with a long Consortium tradition and for the exchange of (http://eprints.rclis.org/perl/oai preprints when quick publishing 2) was imperative. Institutional repository Preserves, disseminates and The open access archive of manages institutional scientific Cornell University Library publications, usually including (www.arXiv.org) thesis and dissertations, The digital archive of La conference reports and papers, Sapienza University from Rome scientific reports and published (PADIS) and non-published articles. (http://padis.uniroma1.it/) Institutional repositories are both thematic and multi- disciplinary, covering multiple subjects.

The archives may belong to organizations (universities, research institutes, laboratories) or may be organized by subject (economics, mathematics, library and information science, etc.). The authors may self-archive the papers with no restrictions, except for specific conditions concerning the self-archive of post prints. 95% of journals allow authors to self-archive six or twelve months after the article’s publishing in the journal. The main requirement for such archives is the observance of the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI PMH) protocol, which makes possible a unique interface for discovering and sharing resources deposited in open access. Thereby, open access archives are compatible with other resources, which allow retrieval of information including where researchers do not know about the existence, location and content of such resources. Currently there is free software for creating and maintaining OAI, which are widely used worldwide (DSpace, E-print, Fedora, etc.).

Fig. 1. Repository registration in Roar and OpenDoar I. M. BÂRSAN: Open Access Models and Strategies in Disseminating Scientific Information 133

The Open Access Initiative is widely supported in many countries. According to ROAR (June 2014), there were 3193 [3] open access archives from 105 countries registered worldwide, but DOAR recorded 2419 archives, 62% of which were institutional, about 11% - thematic, 4% - aggregations and 3% - governmental (available at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/science-society/pdf/scientific-publication study_en.pdf). The leaders in the management of open access archives are USA with 522 archives, Great Britain with 231 and Germany with 176. Using colour-based self-archiving, as a means of identifying the self-archive friendly editors, is key for the trend towards open access. These colours provide information not only for those who are looking to self-archive, but also information for the editors about the self-archiving editorial policies. The colours are used to encourage self-archiving practices and to convey a clear message, which actually represents open access self- archiving. Digital archives have a crucial importance and an increasing role in raising the visibility of university research and university communities, influencing the institutional rating. This conclusion is supported by the recent results, independently obtained by many researchers: published articles, for which authors offered open access by subscription and which were developed by self-archiving the final version of the article, are downloaded and cited twice more frequently than the articles with no open access (Bohlin, 2004). This fact is also supported by statistical data (available at: http://www.webometrics. info/about.html, http://repositories.webometrics.info/en/top_Inst?page=1). Clifford Lynch argues that fundamentally an institutional deposit is a recognition that the intellectual and scientific life of a university shall be represented, documented and shared in digital form and that the primary responsibility of the university is to manage this patrimony both for making it available, and for preserving it (Lynch, 2003). Steven Harnad in particular emphasizes that self-archiving provides an optimal and inevitable solution for the problems of scientific communication (Bohlin, 2004). If we approach institutional repositories from the perspective of universities, several advantages should be mentioned: accumulation, storage, distribution and ensuring sustainable, permanent and reliable access to the research of university’s scientists, faculty and students; the existence of a software that allows to easily post research results in well organized and reliable electronic archives, providing open access to research materials, archiving and keeping them (both physical preservation of e-publication and stability in the e-identification), as well as ensuring irreversibility of e-publication. Nevertheless, there are opposing opinions claiming that over-euphoric expectations from university digital repositories did not become true. A study conducted by Cornell University determined that investments in the development and installation of institutional archive had been too big, while the universities’ contribution and use of information did not meet the expected level. Similar results were found by another study conducted by the library of the Medical University of Vienna (Lucius, 2006). However, the constant increase in number of repositories confirms their role in archiving, disseminating and ensuring a sustainable access to scientific information. The second strategy, open access publishing – the Golden Road, develops alternative publishing models of scientific papers, scientific journals, conference materials. Electronic journals also provide text review, but only approved materials are published in open access. The cost for electronic journals includes the cost of review, and preparing the manuscript for server upload. 134 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (56) No. 2 - 2016

Fig. 2. Statistics of Open Access repositories

In order to finance these models, investments from organizations, research institutes and universities are attracted. In certain cases (which rarely happen) the journal editorial department charge the authors or sponsors (funders) a fee for processing the approved publications for their conversion in electronic format. The value of the fee is variable and mobile” (Ţurcan, 2009). Dominguez (2006) lists four models of open access publications (Table 2). These models stand apart according to the payment method for the access to scientific information: free open access, partial open access, paid and a fourth model including specific access facilities for transition and developing countries; the access costs are calculated according to the number of inhabitants.

Open access publishing models: The Golden Road Table 2

Open access publishing Description Examples models Free open access Authors and users do not pay Information research journal charges. Online only access Partial open access Open access is provided for Many editors apply this some articles in a number of model to promote the journal journals, while for the other and increase audience, as the articles a subscription is case is for Springer necessary. Publishing. Open access per capita Open access is offered to Oxford University Press, scholars and students in the INASP PERii developing countries for charity reasons, with limited costs for the institutions participating in an information system Paid open access The fee is covered by the author Springer Open Choice, Public or the institution as support for Library of Sciences, maintaining the open access (in American Institute of some cases, the access is paid Physics, Institute of Physics for the author). The access is free of charge for the user

I. M. BÂRSAN: Open Access Models and Strategies in Disseminating Scientific Information 135

3. Directory of Open Access Journals

The Directory of Open Access Journal (DOAJ) was created within the Nordic Conference on Scholarly Communication conference, conducted in Lund – Copenhagen in October 2002. The maintenance is ensured by the University of Lund (Sweden). DOAJ is one of the most renowned and prestigious list of open access peer-reviewed scientific journals. Currently, more than ten per cent of the peer reviewed journals in the world (9627 journals by 10.06.2014) were included in DOAJ, which makes DOAJ one of the leading peer reviewed journal collection worldwide. An analysis of DOAJ journals showed that about two thirds of them cover mathematical sciences, fundamental sciences, medicine and technical sciences. The number of open access journals is constantly increasing, evolving rapidly towards new publication models in order to extend the number of users and to offer new access methods. The journal verification and evaluation process for inclusion in DOAJ requires the overview of the journal editors to ensure that the reviewing process and quality control measures are in force and meet the demands of real open access and meet the requirements of the definition of Open Access. In order to be included in DOAJ, a journal must have an ISSN, to go through the review process, which ensures the quality of the journal. The advocates of open access argue that thanks to open access the journal impact will be revealed by the increase in the number of readers. At the same time, other experts claim that, on the long term, journal quality is best preserved by traditional models.

4. Open Access repository at Transilvania University

At Transilvania University from 2009 we have this important instrument for visibility of scientific production, ASPECKT DSpace, at http://aspeckt.unitbv.ro/jspui/ with 10 communities of Transilvania University, fig.3.

Fig. 3. Communities in Transilvania University Repository

5. Conclusions

Throughout this process, governments and non-governmental organizations implement Open Access initiatives and endorse open access by mandates. Universities, research institutes, publishers, funding institutes endorse open access by ordinances. 136 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (56) No. 2 - 2016

Universities, including libraries, develop open access electronic archives which guarantee not only unrestricted information of users, but also the extended visibility of scientific output. In turn, researchers may adopt a double publishing strategy of scientific papers - publishing in traditional journals or open access journals. Resorting to self- archiving procedure, researchers may also include published and non-published scientific papers in institutional and thematic archives.

References

*** (2006). “Study on the economic and technical evolution of the scientific publications market in Europe: Final Report”. Available at: http://europa.eu.int/ comm/research/science-society/pdf/scientific-publication-study_en.pdf. Accessed: 14- 02-2014. *** “Official website of the Registry of Open Access Repositories”. Available at: http://roar.eprints.org/. Accessed: 14-02-2014. *** “Official website of Webometrics Ranking of World Universities”. Available at: http://www.webometrics.info/about.html, http://repositories.webometrics.info/en/top_ Inst?page=1. Accessed: 9-06-2014. Bohlin, I. (2004). Communication regimes in competition: The current transition in scholarly communication seen through the lens of the sociology of technology. Social Studies of Science, vol. 34, no. 3, pp. 365-391. Davis, P., Connolly, M. (2007) Institutional repositories. Evaluating the reasons for non- use of Cornell’s University’s installation of D-space. D-Lib Magazine, vol. 9, no. 3. Available at: http://www.dlib.org/dlib/march07/davis/03davis.html. Accessed: 14-02- 2014. Dominguez, M. B. (2006). Economics of open access publishing. Serials, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 52-60. Lucius, W. D. (2006). Publishers as elements of the scientific communication system. Poiesis Prax, no. 5, pp. 75-97. Lynch, C. A. (2003). Institutional repositories: Essential infrastructure for scholarship in the digital age. Association of Research Libraries, no. 226, pp. 1-7. Ţurcan, N. (2009). Politicile Accesului Deschis în ţările în tranziţie [Open Access policies in countries in transition]. In Teorie, metodologie şi practică în biblioteconomie [Theory, methodology and practice in biblioteconomy], p. 31 – 8.

Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov Series VII: Social Sciences • Law • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

A BRIEF HISTORY OF BRANDS AND THE EVOLUTION OF PLACE BRANDING

V.-A. BRICIU1 A. BRICIU2

Abstract: The present work synthesizes the main proofs related to the fact that the brands and the process of branding are as old as the human civilization, initially through the appearance and use of the “proto-brands” concept ever since the beginning of the human existence, and then, in different forms and different historical periods, brands show a dynamic of their existence. It is highlighted the aspect according to which brands, in different historical periods, have two invariable characteristics related to information transmission to the interested parties: information related to the quality and information which indicates the origin of the product (that sometimes includes differentiated information in order to help the marketing process, such as assortment, storage, transport, etc.).

Key words: proto-brands, marks, place branding.

1. Introduction

The brand term has been used very often in the specialty literature, but the given meanings have varied with time. It derives from the word “brandr”, from the old northern Scandinavian language, which means “to burn” (Khan and Mufti, 2007, p.75). It refers to the producers practice to engrave the brand on their products. In English vocabulary, the word brand initially referred to anything that was hot or burning, like a piece of “firebrand” (Rajaram and Shelly, 2012, p.100). So, looking back centuries ago, the proof of brand existence is founded in the spaces or locations that usually the selling of the cattle was expected, in places where people were drawing certain representative symbols of those animals. Starting with the 14th century, when the international commerce has bloomed, lots of branding forms have been born or developed (the consumer, products, services, corporative or place branding), and the owners of goods used certain symbols to differentiate and promote their products..

2. The valences of marks and brands from a historical perspective

For the beginning, we can consider desirable the observation through which, at the common knowledge level, it is appreciated that “the mark and brand tend to have similar definitions” (Yang et al., 2012, p. 315), but the similarities are just on the surface, these are apparent since “mark usage can be traced back to the 5.000 BC, much earlier than the

1 Faculty of Sociology and Communication, Transilvania University of Braşov, [email protected] 2 Faculty of Sociology and Communication, Transilvania University of Braşov, [email protected]. 138 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016 birth of brands. The mark origin was evidenced in the Lascaux Caves of Southern France were ownership marks with symbols were found” (Yang et al., 2012, p. 315). Brands and the process of branding are as old as the human civilization, first under the “proto-brands” or ancestral brands (Moore and Reid, 2008, p. 5), being assimilated to the meaning that we give today to marks (Yang et al., 2012), followed by their transformation “with the birth of mass marketing in the 1870s when packaged products became popular” (Yang et al., 2012, pp. 315- 316). The historical perspective of brands evolves “from focusing on ownership to emphasizing quality” (Yang et al., 2012, p. 316) and the information which indicates the origin of the product (Moore and Reid, 2008, p. 6). From the oldest times, people have used different engraves in order to recognize their cattle. For almost 4000 years, brands have been used in order to establish the cattle livestock, and this procedure had started approximately in the year 2000 BC. The term maverick which initially meant unbranded calf, “comes from Texas rancher Samuel Augustus Maverick who, following the American Civil War, decided that since all other cattle were branded, his would be identified by having no markings at all”, explain Rajaram and Shelly (2012, p. 100). The cave paintings from the south-western Europe, from the Stone Age and Early Bronze Age, show branded cattle, as well as paintings and Egyptian funerary monuments, approximately 4000 years old. Initially, “the brands were painted on with pine tar or paint in early history. Later, when the vast trail herds of cattle were driven north to market, hot iron brands were used”. (Rajaram and Shelly, 2012, p. 101) Brands were used also to identify goods property. Chinese ceramic goods, but also Indian, Greek and Roman objects had different engravings to identify the ceramic type, and information related to the property, the source of the materials and the period of realization. “Some of the earliest examples of marked pottery appeared in China 4.000 – 5.000 years ago. Marks placed on Greek vases could denote not only the makers of the pieces but also the merchant who bought the items `wholesale` and then sold them to others in the marketplace. Archaeologists have identified roughly 1.000 different Roman potters’ marks in use during the first three centuries of the Roman Empire, which would seem to indicate that a large number of individuals were each producing a relatively small number of goods” (Rajaram and Shelly, 2012, p. 101). Other different proofs that testify the existence of the first branded objects also appear outside the Roman Empire: “There were trademarks on pottery in Mesopotamia (now Iraq) dating as far as 3000 B.C. At the time of the Pharaohs to identify their own products, brick makers in ancient Egypt placed symbols on their products. Quarry marks and stonecutters’ signs have been discovered on materials used in Egyptian buildings as much as 6.000 years ago. These marks and similar markings on ancient buildings in Greece, Israel, Syria and Turkey seem to have more closely resembled modern trademarks in terms of their function. Quarry marks indicated the source of the stones used in buildings, and stonecutters’ signs, which might helped workers, prove their claims to wages. Medieval stonemasons in Germany developed a very elaborate system for crafting individualized marks that identified their work, but the purposes underlying the markings were the same. Bricks and tiles from Mesopotamia and Egypt bore inscriptions indicating the name of the monarch who had commissioned the structure or who held power during the time of its construction. In contrast, Roman builders stamped their bricks and tiles to indicate the source of the raw materials used or to identify the person who either made the object or built the house in V.-A. BRICIU et al.: A Brief History of Brands and the Evolution of Place Branding 139 which it was used. Even the signatures on paintings of famous artists like Leonardo Da Vinci can be viewed as an early branding tool.” (Rajaram and Shelly, 2012, p. 101) That is why, in this context, in the 12th century, England asked the producers of bread, gold and silver to print unique or personal symbols on their own products, mainly to make sure about the measurement’s honesty. In the Medieval period, printing houses, paper producers and other members of other guilds have begun to use watermarks (Rajaram and Shelly, 2012, p.101). In 1618, it’s recorded a case in the English justice that brought the problem to a different level, showing the connection between the brand and quality: “an owner manufacturing quality cloth took a rival to court for using the mark in their low-grade fabric” (Yang et al., 2012, p. 317). People also have been branded over time. Fugitives, slaves of the galley, gypsies, people without shelters and hooligans have been marked with different “symbols of shame” (Rajaram and Shelly, 2012, p. 101). “Between 1600s and 1800s, criminals were branded (again literally), as a form of punishment and identification. For instance, in England, they branded an S on a person’s cheek, while in France, they branded a fleur de lis on the shoulder” (Rajaram and Shelly, 2012, p. 101). We consider that “proto-brands” represented the attached information or the form of packaging of the object or the product, expressing one of the three characteristics: place of origin (expressed by a mark, signature or even by the physical properties of the used raw material), the achievement of a basic function of marketing (assortment, transport and storage) and the highlighting of the products quality. The factories established during the Industrial Revolution time introduced the mass production of goods, requesting a larger marketplace for the buyers who were used to local products. In this context, “it quickly became apparent that a generic package of soap had difficulty competing with familiar, local products” (Khan and Mufti, 2007, p. 78). In the 19th century, in parallel with the development of packaged goods, “industrialization moved the production of many household items, such as soap, from local communities to centralized factories.” (Khan and Mufti, 2007, p. 78). When transporting these goods, the factories were branding their own marks on the used barrels, this way expanding the meaning of the term early brand to trademark (Rajaram and Shelly, 2012, p.102). These new packaged products had to convince the market that the users or the consumers could have the same amount of trust in these foreign, non- domestic products: “Campbell soup, Coca-Cola, Juicy Fruit gum, Aunt Jemima and Quaker Oats were among the first products to be ’branded’, in an effort to increase the consumer’s familiarity with their products. Many brands of that era, such as Uncle Ben’s rice and Kellogg’s breakfast cereal furnish illustrations of the problem.” Rajaram and Shelly, 2012, p.102). This new phenomenon created or determined a glut of branded products, of high quality and having identical sizes and shapes „after the 1862 Merchandise Marks Act and the 1875 Trade Marks Registration Act. [...] Bass & Company, the British brewery, claims their red triangle brand was the world’s first trademark. Lyle’s Golden Syrup makes a similar claim, having been named as Britain’s oldest brand, with its green and gold packaging having remained almost unchanged since 1885. Another example comes from Antiche Fornaci Giorgi in Italy, whose bricks are stamped or carved with the same proto-logo since 1731, as found in Saint Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City” (Rajaram and Shelly, 2012, p. 102). According to Keller (1998) the branding process faces three different stages in the 140 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016 twentieth century, i.e., the predominance of the commercialized brands (1915 - 1929), the challenges for the brand producers (1930 - 1945) and the establishment of the standards regarding the brand management (1946-1985) (apud Khan and Mufti, 2007, pp. 78-79).

3. The dynamic of branding perspectives

Ever since 1970s the managers related upon a cognitive model of branding, named by Holt (2004) mind-share branding (of mental associations) or by other authors positional branding (Pryor and Grossbart, 2007, p. 295), and only from 1990 a series of experts have transformed this model, on emotional and relational basis, into what today we know as emotional branding. Only with the growth and the influence of the internet it develops a third model, the viral branding. Together, these three models could include, from a theoretical point of view, almost any attempt of branding by any agents, consultants, holders, etc. In the next table (adapted after Holt, 2004, p. 14) are compared the characteristics of this different perspectives on branding, alongside with the forth one, the cultural branding model, proposed by Holt (2004).

The four branding model axioms comparison Table 1 Cultural Positional Branding Emotional Viral Branding Branding (Mind-Share Branding Branding) Key Words Cultural icons, DNA, brand essence, Brand Stealth marketing, iconic brands genetic code, USP personality, cool hunt, meme, benefits, onion`s experiential grass roots, sheets model branding, brand infections, religion, seeding, experience contagion, buzz economy Brand Performer of, and A set of abstract A relationship A communication Definition container for, an associations partner unit identity myth Branding Performing myths Owning the Interacting with Spreading viruses Definition companies, and building of through top associations relationships with customers customers Brand Performing a myth Consistent expression Powerful Mass traffic of the Success that addresses an of the associations interpersonal virus Exigency acute contradiction connection (Required in society for Success) Most Identity categories Functional categories, Services, dealers New fashion, new Appropriate low-involvement and retailers, technology Applications categories, products and sophisticated products special services Holder’s or Author Steward: consistent Good friend Hidden master of Company’s expression of DNA in puppets: Role all activities over time motivates certain consumers to V.-A. BRICIU et al.: A Brief History of Brands and the Evolution of Place Branding 141

Cultural Positional Branding Emotional Viral Branding Branding (Mind-Share Branding Branding) promote or advocate for the brand Source of Buttressing identity Simplifying decisions Commit to the Being cool and the brand, fashionable Consumer`s relationship with Value the brand Consumers’ - Personalizing the - Ensuring that - Interaction with - "Discovering" Role brand`s myth in benefits become the brand the brand as their order to fit personal salient through - Building a own, DIY or individual repetition personal - Word of mouth biography - Perceiving benefits relationship - Ritual action to when buying or using experience the the product myth when the product is being used

4. Conceptual delimitations and historical perspectives of place branding

Branding of different places, locations and spaces, term associated to the post-modern period, has European roots, with a powerful practical load and theoretical evolution from British pioneers S. Anholt, K. Dinnie and W. Ollins. The concept of country branding is also a practical opportunity for branding agents and a scientific research field multi and inter-disciplinary, with an alternative often met in the specialty literature as nation branding, which is, in turn, subsumed to a larger area, known as place branding. Despite the recent waves of interest and discussions, at national and international levels, both from the academic environment, the practitioners, the responsible figures from the public sphere and the ones targeted by the implementation of this phenomenon, the research and the establishment of universal valid criteria, at least to the defining level of this field of interest, of the notions that compose it and differentiate it from other related fields (e.g., destination branding, place marketing, etc.) and some applicable and functional methods and techniques, haven’t succeeded by now to cover the whole knowledge area, this construct still being a very hazy one. In addition, at the same level for this discussion, in the academic discourse are to be found we can find other concepts, synonyms with place branding: thematic branding, regional branding, geographic branding or geo-brands. Therefore, from the first few steps, where usually we should have certainty or to know the concepts that we are about to follow, to operationalize other concept, we are confronted by inaccuracies, by valences, by an incapacity to classify, insertion or grouping, because of the multitude of approaches, incongruities, haziness and, specially, a confusion in defining these branding forms - as a prominent lineage of a field (even with theoretical background or having practical valences) still in evolution.

142 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

5. Conclusions

We can observe a gradual transition and evolution of brands, from communicating the information, having a utilitarian nature, regarding the origin and quality (to reduce the risks and the haziness in the first human civilization periods – i.e., highlighting the transactional side of the brand), to the addition of more characteristics, over time. Modern human civilization brands include both the informational characteristics of proto-brands and the ones associated to the building of an image (including status, power and intrinsic value) and brand personality - i.e., emphasizing the transforming side of brands, as “the postmodern consumers are into a process of continuous search for experiences” (Nechita, 2014, p. 270). In addition, the dynamic of the brand term involves an ever growing complexity, including images or meaning (power, value and/or personality) alongside other initial elements. In this way, “since the 18th-century England and France, there has been a massive development of the knowledge, procedures, and theories within branding. Contemporary branding theories have their origin and evolutionary starting point in the mid-20th century, primarily due to the development of commercials in mass media” (Hampf and Lindberg-Repo, 2011, p. 1). A different aspect in this paper targets the confusions that are made between marks and name-brands, but, following the purpose and the value chain of these, we can conclude that: “a mark represents a legal claim of exclusive ownership right for an entity (e.g., company, organization, individual, product or service). It tends to be grouped together with intellectual property and used as an expression by the mark authority […] As for a brand, while securing the ownership is the foundation, its emphasis is on the market awareness, reputation, and prominence and their implications for the firm” (Yang et al., 2012, p. 317).

References

Hampf, A. & Lindberg-Repo, K. (2011). Branding: The Past, Present, and Future: A Study of the Evolution and Future of Branding. Hanken School of Economics Working Papers. Available at: https://helda.helsinki.fi/bitstream/handle/10138/26578/556_978-952-232-134- 3.pdf. Accessed: 20-09-2016. Holt, D. B. (2004). How Brands Become Icons: The Principles of Cultural Branding. Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business Press. Khan, S. & Mufti, O. (2007). The Hot History & Cold Future of Brands. Journal of Managerial Sciences, vol. 1, no. 1, 75-87. Moore, K. & Reid, S. (2008). “The Birth of Brand: 4000 Years of Branding History. Munich Personal RePEc Archive, no. 10169”. Available at: http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/10169/. Accessed: 02-02-2012. Nechita, F. (2014). The New Concepts Shaping the Marketing Communication Strategies of Museums. Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov, vol. 7 (56), Series VII, no. 1, 269-278. Pryor, S. & Grossbart, S. (2007). Creating meaning on main street: Toward a model of place branding. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, vol. 3, no. 4, 291-304. Rajaram, S. & Shelly, C. S. (2012). History of Branding. International Journal of Social Sciences & Interdisciplinary Research, vol. 1, no. 3, 100-104. Yang, D., Sonmez, M. & Li, Q. (2012). Marks and Brands: Conceptual, Operational and Methodological Comparisons. Journal of Intellectual Property Rights, vol. 17, 315-323. Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov Series VII: Social Sciences • Law • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

EXPERIENCES OF DIGITAL MARKETERS ON THE ONLINE COMMUNICATION STRATEGY OF IT COMPANIES USING FOCUS-GROUP

Loredana PATRUTIU-BALTES1

Abstract: The IT field, by its nature and evolution, requires a special attention to the online communication strategy. If for most IT companies, the marketing strategy is customized according to their product, customers, marketing objectives, budget, marketing team size, etc., there is a common perception of the digital communication strategy. Therefore, this article, which is based on two Focus-group research projects, aims to present the attitudes, experiences and opinions of online marketers related to the digital communication strategy of the IT companies based in Romania.

Key words: online communication strategy, IT field.

1. Introduction - Why Focus-Group?

The Focus-group provides relevant information compared to other research methods and it is designed to create and exploit a group’s dynamics, in order to facilitate data collection of the digital marketing specialists within IT companies, while retaining their individual preferences. Thus, this method allows them to gather in-depth information as well as the opinions and attitudes of the participants. The advantages of this method are: ƒ it allows to generate a large amount of information about a specific topic; ƒ relatively low cost; ƒ it permits to obtain immediate reactions.

2. Size and setting of a sample

Given that the ideal sample specific to the focus-group method is 8 to 12 people, it was considered to have chosen 8 participants (an optimum number for shaping the analyzed broad theme and for enabling everyone to present his/ her views and opinions). The criteria for selecting the 16 participants of the two focus groups were: - working in the online marketing field within an IT company in Romania; - parity between the sex of the respondents; - similar ages; - no participation in a panel discussion on the topic for the last 6 months.

1 Transilvania University of Braşov, [email protected] 144 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

3. Selection

The participants in the two focus groups were selected via LinkedIn and contacted through an email containing a recruitment questionnaire. Subsequently, they were contacted by phone to confirm their presence in the focus group.

4. Focus group participants

Persons participating in the two focus-groups were: Group 1: - Male, 25-30 years, Online Marketing Specialist; - Female, 25-30 years, Digital Strategy Developer; - Female, 25-30 years, Community Manager; - Female, 25-30 years, SEO Specialist; - Male, 30-35 years, Digital Marketing Manager; - Female, 25-30 years, Manager E-commerce and Online Marketing; - Female, 25-30 years, Manager E-commerce and Online Marketing.

Group 2: - Male, over 35 years, Content Marketing Manager; - Female, over 35 years, Database Manager; - Female, over 35 years, Online Marketing Specialist; - Male, over 35 years, Digital Marketing Manager; - Male, over 35 years, SEO specialist; - Female, over 35 years, Digital Marketing Specialist; - Female, over 35 years, Community Manager; - Male, over 35 years, Online Marketing Specialist.

5. Formulation of hypotheses and objectives

The hypotheses and objectives of these two focus-groups have been designed to facilitate knowledge and understanding of the attitudes, opinions and experience of digital marketing specialists in IT companies related to the online communication strategy of these companies.

5.1. Hypotheses a. Online marketing is the most important form of marketing practiced by IT companies; b. All IT companies use digital marketing tools in their marketing strategy; c. The most effective form of digital marketing for IT companies is email marketing; d. The efficiency of online marketing campaigns depends on defining the profile of "buyer persona" and the content marketing.

5.2. Objectives: 1. Identifying the main forms of marketing used by IT companies: a) Identifying traditional marketing tools practiced by IT companies; L. PATRUTIU-BALTES: Attitudes, experiences and opinions of digital marketers… 145

b) Establishing the importance of digital marketing in the marketing strategy of IT companies; c) Benefits of the digital marketing for IT companies.

2. Identifying the tools used in the IT companies’ online communication: a) Identifying the tools used by IT companies in their online communication; b) Identifying the advantages of using social networks; c) Identifying the advantages of using Google Adwords; d) Identifying the advantages of using SEO; e) Identifying the advantages of using Newsletters; f) Identifying the advantages of articles published on the blog; g) Identifying the most effective online marketing tools for IT companies.

3. Opportunities to raise the target through online communication: a) Establishing how online communication influences the purchase decision; b) Establishing the efficiency of webinars for IT companies; c) Establishing the efficiency of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) for IT companies.

4. Defining the ways to improve the customer relationships through the online communication strategy for IT companies: a) Improving the company’s image by online communication; b) Establishing the new online communication’s priorities in order to improve the client relationship.

5. Identifying the best online marketing strategies practiced by an IT company: a) Identifying the basic components necessary for an online strategy to be successful in the IT field; b) Establishing the percentage of each element that ensures the success of the online strategy; c) Identifying the elements that can lead to the failure of an online marketing strategy for IT companies.

6. Profiling "buyer persona" for IT companies: a) Socio-demographic characteristics; b) Identifying the "buyer persona" profile for IT companies (interests, hobbies, expectations, etc.);

7. Identifying content marketing strategies for IT companies: a) Content of an IT company website; b) Content of Articles; c) Content of Newsletters; d) Content promoted through social networks - language, topics, frequency. The two Focus groups followed the standard steps of a qualitative research, namely: (1) Design of the detailed interview guide used in the Focus-group moderation; (2) Preparation of the questionnaire completed by the participants in the Focus group; (3) Conducting the Focus Group; (4) Interpretation of the results. 146 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

6. Preparing the interview guidelines

The focus group began with a series of structured questions that followed the topic, asked to the specialists in online marketing working in IT companies. The introduction lasted about 5 minutes, after which, the members had approximately 3 minutes each to present themselves.

7. Interview guide

The focus group began with a series of structured questions that followed the topic, asked to the specialists in online marketing working in IT companies. The introduction lasted about 5 minutes, after which, the members had approximately 3 minutes each to present themselves. The two focus groups were recorded audio / video and then manually transcribed to be analyzed carefully.

PART I - 35 minutes I. Identification of the main forms of marketing practiced by IT companies (10 min): 1.What are the traditional marketing tools used by IT companies? 2.What are the benefits of the traditional marketing tools for IT companies? 3.What are the digital marketing tools used by IT companies? 4.What are the benefits of the digital marketing tools for IT companies? 5.What is the percentage of the digital marketing in the marketing strategy of IT companies?

II. Identifying the advantages of the digital tools used by IT companies in their online communication (15 min): 1. What are the tools used by IT companies in their online marketing strategy? 2. Which are the benefits of using online social networks to promote IT companies? 3. Which are the benefits of using SEO in the online promotion of IT companies? 4. Which are the benefits of using Newsletters for IT companies? 5. What are the advantages of articles published on the blog? 6. What are the most useful online tools to promote IT companies efficiently?

III. Opportunities to raise the target through online communication (10 min): 1. What kind of online advertising used by IT companies can influence the purchasing decision of their customers? 2. What is the effectiveness of CSR in the online communication of IT companies?

PART II - 45 minutes IV. Establishing ways to improve the customer relationships through online communication strategies for IT companies (5 min.): 1. How can IT companies improve their image by online communication? 2. What are the priorities of IT companies' online communication towards the clients?

L. PATRUTIU-BALTES: Attitudes, experiences and opinions of digital marketers… 147

V. Identifying the best online marketing strategies practiced by an IT company (15 min.): 1. What are the components necessary for an online strategy to be efficient? 2. What is the percentage of each element that ensures the success of an online communication strategy for IT companies? 3. What are the digital marketing mistakes that can lead to the failure of online communication strategies for IT companies?

VI. Profiling "buyer persona" for IT companies (10 min.): 1. What are the socio-demographic characteristics of the IT companies’ customers? 2. How can the "buyer persona" profile be identified?

VII. Identifying content marketing strategies for IT companies (15 min.) : 1. What do the IT companies’ websites present? 2. What topics do the articles published on the IT companies’ blogs cover? 3. How often must articles be published on the IT companies’ blogs? 4. What type of content is used in Newsletters by IT companies (sales, information, education..)? 5. What is content marketing used in social media? 6. How often do IT companies communicate on social networks? 7. Does the content marketing strategy used by IT companies relate to the strategy practiced by their competitors?

PART III –5 minutes In this final part, each participant has been asked to give his/her suggestions and lessons learned from these talks.

8. Interpretation of results

Regarding the marketing tools used by IT companies, they are both traditional and digital. Traditional marketing tools include: brochures, banners, posters, radio and TV, neon signs, roll-ups, stands, advertising in print media, etc. They are used to achieve the sales targets and to increase the IT companies’ awareness on the Romanian market, especially for recruitment reasons. Thus, traditional marketing tools are used by the IT companies in Romania for: ƒ PR campaigns (participation as partner in IT events, appearances in magazines - interviews, etc.); ƒ CSR campaigns (sponsorship and participation in CSR events) ƒ BTL (Below-the-line) campaigns - segmented communication, face to face (promotional materials, fairs, etc.) ƒ ATL (Above-the-line) campaigns - communication (generally through mass - media), street billboards, TV commercials, radio, etc. As the main objectives of the IT companies in Romania are related to increasing awareness and to recruitment (in most of the cases, customers are international), some of the most useful tools of traditional marketing are organizing competitions, internships and participation in events specific to the IT field or IT recruitment. 148 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

Two important forms of traditional marketing for the IT companies in Romania are: "brand ambassadors" - employees can influence significantly and positively the company’s image, and the charitable actions (CSR actions in general) that are designed to increase the awareness and the confidence in the brand. In this context, a priority of the IT companies’ marketing strategy in Romania is to improve their image internally (among employees). In terms of digital marketing tools used by the IT companies in Romania, they are: Newsletters, Facebook / Google / LinkedIn Ads campaigns, remarketing, PPC, SEO; SEA; SMO; content marketing, affiliate marketing, blogging and web sites, applications, free webinars, testimonials and demonstrations on YouTube; quizzes; online competitions; campaigns on blogs; comments on specialized forums. Among them, the most effective are email marketing and Facebook. The weight of the digital marketing tools versus the traditional marketing tools differs greatly from one company to another. If for small IT companies, digital marketing may be the only form of marketing practiced by the company, for the mid-size and large companies, the attention allocated to the traditional marketing is on the rise, reaching a balance between the two forms of marketing (a mix of elements within a coherent strategy with a common goal, in which the two forms of marketing are complementary). Furthermore, the objectives set up as part of the marketing strategy may influence the decision of using marketing tools belonging to one of the two categories (digital and traditional). The multiple advantages of the digital marketing tools determine the IT companies in Romania to use them. Thus, it may be considered that any IT company in Romania that has a marketing strategy relies on one or more digital marketing tools. The most important advantages of the digital marketing tools are: ƒ Notoriety; ƒ Better customer segmentation; ƒ Easier access to information; ƒ ROI much easier to track; ƒ They are matching well with the changes in the consumer’s behavior; ƒ Greater flexibility in analyzing the results of the marketing strategy; ƒ Opening to new international markets; ƒ Measurable results in real time; ƒ Ability to test new strategies without high costs; ƒ Two-way communication and real-time feedback from clients or potential clients; ƒ Diversification of communication depending on the target audience; ƒ Lower costs compared to the traditional marketing tools. The instruments used in digital marketing are: SEO, SEA, Facebook, Online PR → Lead Nurturing, Email Marketing, Facebook and specialized forums, social media, online advertising, newsletters and webinars. Regarding the objectives established in the online strategies of the IT companies in Romania, they are related to the awareness and confidence in the brand (brand awareness), the presentation of products and services, sales and getting leads (improvement rate conversion), recruiting and building an online community. Also, the main forms of sensitization of the target chosen by the IT companies in Romania are: ƒ Participation with speakers in online and offline events (webinars and conferences); L. PATRUTIU-BALTES: Attitudes, experiences and opinions of digital marketers… 149

ƒ Participation in charitable events, sponsorships, CSR; ƒ Organization of internal parties and events (KS, Team Building, etc.); ƒ Job Fairs; ƒ Contests, gala premieres, social activities such as marathons. In order to improve the IT company’s image by online promoting, the following items are needed: ƒ Establishing a clear image, a precise and measurable target as well as the tactics to achieve it; ƒ A very good customer service strategy (quick responses, management reviews etc.); ƒ Distribution of quality content, proper audience segmentation; ƒ Measurement and analysis of the results of each campaign to be able to see items that must to be improved; ƒ Clear expression of values; ƒ Social Media and CSR actions taken correctly; ƒ Transparency regarding recruitment goals - Glassdoor, open days, facing positive negative feedback (forums); ƒ Mailing campaigns to educate the public and less with trade promotion purposes. The online communication priorities of IT companies towards their clients are related to transparency, honesty, delivering quality content adapted to the target audience, attention allocated to the customers’ interests (customers override their own image), improving the conversion rate. In fact, the online communication priorities of IT companies are determined by objectives (each company communicating towards its target useful information). Regarding the components necessary for an online communication strategy to be effective, they are: ƒ Research; ƒ Analyzing and defining the target audience / buyer personas / context personas; ƒ Defining SMART objectives, resources, timing, communication plan, communication platforms, budget; ƒ A clear strategy (branding, communication, context, social, SEO); ƒ Testing and adaptation; ƒ Monitoring and analysis of results; ƒ Proposals to improve future campaigns. Each of the above mentioned elements contributes to the whole and if an item is not treated properly, the whole marketing strategy will fail. In general, the IT companies in Romania communicate their services and products, then the brand values, followed by the customer service communication. Also, the forms of digital marketing practiced by the IT companies in Romania vary greatly, but the current trend for the majority is represented by a crossing use of inbound marketing element; for the best of them, the use of integration marketing platforms. The most common mistakes made by the IT companies in Romania are related to the lack of clearly defined objectives from the beginning, or the lack of coherence between tactics (if there are many actions without any coherence between them), the lack of content tailored to the specific needs of the target audience, the lack of competition analysis, the use of an inappropriate communication channel, a budget spent without a plan, by defining uncompetitive goals, or by the obsolete use of platforms as well as the lack of monitoring and analysis of the results. 150 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

The "Buyer persona" profile for the IT companies in Romania is difficult to be identified because, on the one hand, it is different from one company to another, and on the other hand, because it is a dynamic component, which changes over time. Broadly, however, the customers of the international IT companies in Romania are coming from: the USA and Western Europe, from urban areas having a high income and a modern lifestyle. They are decision makers (CEO, CTO, COO, CMO) and HR managers, aged between 35-50 years from different sectors: banking, finance, automobile, industrial, IT, tourism, entertainment or health, from famous international companies, software publishers to start-ups. Some ways to identify the "buyer persona" profile are: newsletters, blogs, the analysis of social network subscribers, the analysis of current customers (customers are grouped based on demographics, their main activity, goal, turnover, business needs, how they use the online environment, etc.), the analysis of certain trends related to their field of activity, marketing research: integration of custom forms, questionnaires sent to customers, profiling with the sales department, research on social networks (social listening), Google Analytics. The content used in the digital strategy of the IT companies in Romania has an overwhelming importance. In the case of the websites, the communication is informative and commercial, and it must be adapted to the stage of purchase in which the prospectuses are. There are different types of pages, PDFs, presentation, transformation, intermediate pages, etc., as well as several types of formats (sports video, infographics, charts, statistics, GIF, slideshow presentations, e-books and other “how-to” materials,). The website content must be adapted according to the Search Engine Optimization rules and tailored for the mobile devices. In terms of the content published by IT companies on their blogs, it presents mainly topics of interest, up-to-date articles, as well as specialty articles written by IT experts with the objective of informing, educating and providing news in the field. Also, the content publishing action on a blog must meet the following phases: planning (topics and frequency of publication), research (content and keywords), editing, publishing, promoting and measuring results. The content of newsletters is predominantly sales and information content (in order to increase brand, products and services awareness). It communicates available offers, new products, information about products / services, what improvements are made to a specific product, new launches, information about the company, promotional events, etc. The promoted content on the social networks varies much depending on the specificity of the communication network. The content used on Facebook, the most popular social network, is mixed: on the one hand, there is a commercial communication of products, services, promotional offers, and on the other hand, the IT companies in Romania promote non-commercial, educational, entertaining and informative content. Generally, on Facebook get promoted the company’s services and products, brand, vision and values of the company, messages related to the company’s field of activity (eg news from tech) which are interesting to the target, promotions / discounts, messages related to the main celebrations within the company and customer service messages. Regarding the frequency of article publication on blogs and on social networks, this kind of communication is welcome when it has an informational and educational nature, and its frequency can be raised. L. PATRUTIU-BALTES: Attitudes, experiences and opinions of digital marketers… 151

As far as Newsletters are concerned, because they typically have a commercial character, the recommended frequency is less often, to not becoming "annoying". Moreover, within the digital strategy of the IT companies in Romania, it is required an analysis of the market, customers, competition, trend, in order to develop and promote unique and valuable content.

9. Conclusions

One conclusion of the two research focus-groups conducted on the digital communication strategies adopted by IT companies refers to the fact that the IT companies in Romania are mainly focused on recruitment and increasing awareness, and they have less commercial goals on the Romanian market. Moreover, small IT companies develop their marketing strategy using digital tools, while large companies or multinationals use a mix of digital and traditional marketing tools. If the internal and external events, as well as the specialized fairs are the most important traditional marketing tools, the email marketing and Facebook are the most important tools of digital communication. Moreover, the multiple benefits of the digital tools compared to the traditional ones emphasize the importance of the digital marketing strategy for the IT companies in Romania. In large companies or multinationals, most often the marketing strategy is set globally and adapted only circumstantially, depending on the context, to the Romanian market (local events for example). Also, two elements acquire a major importance in the digital communication strategy of the IT companies in Romania, namely: the content marketing and the correct definition of the target audience. Without an accurate definition of these two items, any digital marketing strategy is doomed to failure. Moreover, defining the objectives of communication, the communication plan, budget, used platforms, etc. plays an important role in the digital marketing strategy. Another conclusion of both Focus-groups is the fact that the most useful way to raise the target audience is supporting CSR (Corporate social responsibility) actions, especially charity events. The communication goals of the IT multinationals in Romania are mainly related to the recruitment process. In this case, the most important form of communication is the definition of "brand ambassadors" among the employees, which could materially affect the company's image outside. The content promoted through the digital strategies varies largely depending on the digital tool that is used. If in the case of the websites and newsletters, the content is rather a commercial one to boost sales, on blogs and social networks the content is, in particular, non-business and educational, allowing the identification and entertainment of the target audience. Regarding the frequency of communication, educational and informational posts can be published more often than posts with commercial content, so as to gain the trust of the target segment and to develop a long-term relationship. If the size of the IT company or its marketing budget no longer play a crucial role in the success of its communication strategy, as it was the case in the past, a careful 152 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016 organization and professional digital marketing can tilt significantly the balance of the marketing results and can be turned into a powerful competitive advantage for any IT company on the Romanian market.

References

*** European Commission, (2015). Abordarea ICARUS referitoare la organizarea intalnirii Focus Grupului. I.C.A.R.U.S. [Information and Consultation: Approaches of Research coordinating good Union Standards]. Available at: http://www.unionsnetworksindacale.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/doc-3_focus-grup- sito-RO.pdf. Accessed:15-05-2016. p. 1. Stănciulescu, E. (2007). Metode calitative 2006-2007 [Cantitative Methods 2006-2007]. Available at: http://elisabetastanciulescu.ro/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Focus-grupul- si-alte-inteviuri-de-grup.pdf. Accessed: 29-09-2016. p. 4.

LAW

Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov Series VII: Social Sciences • Law • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

THE ARBITRATION CLAUSE. ASPECTS OF COMPARATIVE LAW.

M.M. BÂRSAN1 M.M. CARDIŞ2

Abstract: In the matter of contracts, the Civil Code regulates, in article 1169 the freedom to enter into a contract by stating that the „parties are free to enter into any contracts and to determine the content of those contracts, within the limits stated by law, public order and morals”. As a result, the parties are free to reach an understanding regarding the way in which they will create, change, execute or terminate a legal act, within the limits stated above. This is achieved by writing in the contract the so-called arbitration clause. However, we must state that this procedure does not restrict free access to justice; it offers the parties another possibility of solving a potential conflict thus ensuring a closer connection between man and justice, by facilitating the free access to several types of manifestation in human society.

Key words: Civil Procedure Code, Civil Code, contracts, law, arbitration clause.

1. Definition and concept

In order to fully understand the nature and specifics of the arbitration clause, but also its significant importance in regards to its purpose, that of creating a freely consented connection between man and justice, as the former chooses the way in which a conflict is solved, before these means are even necessary, we must a provide an extremely accurate definition of this clause. One of the first statements to be made is in regard to the meaning of the word „clause”; a contractual clause is that provision whereby the parties of a contract agree on one of the aspects of the contract, unless the law states otherwise. Article 550 first alignment of the Civil Procedure Code states that „the arbitration clause helps the parties in agreeing that any potential litigation arising from the contract will be solved by arbitration also pointing out, under the sanction of annulment, the means by which the arbiters will be named. In case of institutional arbitration, a reference to the institution or the procedural rules of the arbitration institution is sufficient”. In crystallizing the concept of „arbitration clause” we must also consider the provisions of article 549 first alignment of the Civil Procedure Code, which mentions that the „arbitration convention can be concluded in the form of an arbitration clause, written in the main contract or established by separate convention as annex to the main contract or under the form of compromise″. Through the arbitration convention, the parties agree in writing that all present of future litigation, resulting from their legal relations to be solved

1 Transilvania University of Braşov, Law Faculty, [email protected] 2 Transilvania University of Braşov. 156 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016 by arbitration (Boroi, G. apud Păncescu, F.G., 2013, p. 32). As a result, by interpreting the above mentioned provisions we can state that the arbitration clause is a form of manifestation of the arbitration convention, whether written in the main contract or concluded separately by convention, thus valorizing the consecrated contractual rule regulated by article 1201 of the Civil Code which states that „if the law does not state otherwise, the parties are held by the clauses of the contract they entered into”. In regard to the arbitration clause, we must keep in mind the first thesis of article 548 first alignment of the Civil Procedure Code which mentions that „the arbitration convention is concluded in writing, under the sanction of annulment”. Given the fact that this convention can either be written in a contract or concluded as a separate convention, we notice that the existence of an arbitration clause can’t be presumed; it needs to be expressly regulated, in writing, under the sanction of annulment. We believe that, in this case, the sanction is absolute annulment, given the phrasing of the lawmaker. Foreign doctrine stated that „the arbitration clause is that clause which intervenes in contract and by which potential litigation resulting from that contract are given to arbitration courts and the courts of law″ (Schäfer, F.L., 2012). In this context and considering the existing regulation regarding the arbitration clause, we can define it as that certain provision of a contract by which the parties agree that solving possible litigation resulting from the contract is achieved by the arbitration court, regardless of whether it is ad-hoc arbitration or institutionalized arbitration, as it represents a form of manifestation of the arbitration convention concluded between the parties before the conflict occurs.

2. The legal nature of the arbitration clause

Any contract provides the possibility of regulating an unlimited number of clauses whose different legal nature does not impact on the existence of the contract. The importance of the legal nature of the arbitration clause resides in the fact that it must be distinctive and independent from other clauses, as it can’t be considered a part of the clauses regulated in regard to the creation, change, execution or termination of any obligations deriving from the contract. Article 553 of the Civil Procedure Code states that „concluding an arbitration convention excludes the competence of the courts of law”. In analyzing the legal nature of the arbitration clause we must also consider the provision of the second alignment of article 550 of the Civil Procedure Code, which states that „the validity of the arbitration clause is independent of the validity of the contract in which it was written”. Another legal provision which helps in separating the arbitration clause from other contractual clauses, but also in establishing a special legal regime, which derogates from common law, is the one stated in article 1203 of the Civil Code, which states that „standard clauses which limit liability of the person who suggests that clause, the right to terminate the contract, to suspend the execution of obligations who state the other party’s loss of certain rights, the restriction of exercising certain rights, the tacit renewal of the contract, the applicable law, arbitration clauses which derogate from the regulations regarding the competence of courts of law do not trigger effect unless they are expressly accepted, in writing, by the other party”. M.M. BÂRSAN et al.: The Arbitration Clause. Aspects of comparative Law 157

We must also consider the content of article 1202 third alignment which states that „negotiated clauses overcome standard clauses”. Thus, in an attempt to determine the legal nature of the arbitration clause we must keep in mind the following aspects: first of all, it is an unusual clause, which derogates from common law in regard to solving a potential conflict between the parties of a contract by arbitration and not by filing a complaint before a court of law. Furthermore, given the fact that this clause does not have a standard form, as it must expressly accepted by both parties, in writing, thus consent in regard to this clause can’t be presumed to exist, it often appears as a negotiated clause. By applying the law principle ubi lex non distinguit nec nos distinguere debemus we can see that a written agreement regarding a standard arbitration clause is necessary even in a relation between professionals. By analyzing the content of article 550 second alignment of the Civil Procedure Code, we must notice its accessory character; thus, doctrine states that if this clause is „written in a contract, it does no represent an obstacle in regard to the independence of the validity of this clause as opposed to the validity of the contract″ (Bobei, 2013, p.57) and regardless of whether it is written in the main contract or in a contract which represents an accessory to the main contract. Given the fact that it is a form of manifestation of the arbitration convention, it is concluded in writing, under the sanction of (absolute) annulment, thus the arbitration clause will have to be determined in writing. The last issue on this matter refers to the interpretation of the arbitration clause; thus, article 550 third alignment of the Civil Procedure Code states that „in case of doubt, the arbitration clause is interpreted as it applies to all misunderstandings which derive from the contract or the legal relation to which it refers″, except for those which are not in the competence of the arbitration court. These provisions must be completed according to the general rules regarding the interpretation of contracts, namely those of article 1268 fifth alignment of the Civil Code, which state that „the clauses which are meant to exemplify or remove any doubt in applying the contract to a particular case do not restrict its enforcement in other cases which were not expressly regulated”. As a result, given the traits of the arbitration clause, it can be considered as having a complex legal nature, as it is essentially a clause which awards competence. However, we must keep in mind that awarding competence does not equal derogation form the competence rules which function in regard to filing a complaint before a certain court, in case the listing of the lawmaker is an alternative one.

3. The object and content of the arbitration clause

As a general rule, the object of the contract must not be confused with the object of a clause written in the contract; as the provisions of article 1225 first alignment of the Civil Code point out, „the object of the contract is a legal operation, such as the selling, renting, lending and other such operations agreed upon by the parties, as resulting from all contractual rights and obligations”. As a result, the object of a contractual clause will be an action or inaction stated for one of the parties in order to achieve the object of the contract. However, given the fact that the arbitration clause is a form of manifestation of the arbitration convention, the object of the arbitration convention (thus, that of a possible contract) will be overlapped with the object of the arbitration clause. 158 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

This conclusion can be drawn from the interpretation of article 550 first alignment first thesis of the Civil Procedure Code, which states that „through the arbitration clause the parties agree that any litigation arising from the contract in which this clause is written in, will be solved by arbitration and the means by which the arbiters are named must be precisely described, under the sanction of annulment″. As a result, the object of the arbitration clause is future litigation, which did not occur at the time when the contract had been concluded. In regard to the content of the arbitration clause, the Civil Procedure Code does not make a clear statement of the aspects which can be regulated by such a clause. Based on the provisions of law, we can point out the content of this clause in regard to the form of arbitration which is chosen in case of conflict. Thus, the second thesis of article 550 first alignment of the Civil Procedure Code states that „in case of institutionalized arbitration, the reference to the institution or the procedure rules of the arbitration institution are enough”. By interpreting these provisions, we deduce that, in case of ad-hoc arbitration, mentioning the means by which the arbiters are named is mandatory, under the sanction of absolute annulment. In case of institutionalized arbitration, the parties can choose to mention the means by which the arbiters are appointed, the institution which organizes the arbitration or any reference to the procedure rules of the institution which organizes the arbitration. The lack of any of these mentions will cause absolute annulment. Although the lawmaker specified what an arbitration clause should contain, we appreciate that, in writing this clause, we must consider, the provisions of article 552 of the Civil Procedure Code, which state that „the end of an arbitration procedure, with or without a decision in regard to the matter of the cause does not affect the efficiency of the arbitration convention. It will remain valid and will serve as grounds for any new arbitration procedure which will derive from the main contract”. As a result, regardless of the number of litigations which may occur during the existence of a contract, the arbitration clause will continue to exist until the contract is terminated. Also, given the fact that it must be in writing in order for it to be valid, any change to this clause will also have to be made in writing and accepted by all parties, and regardless of whether it is a negotiated or standard clause, in accordance with the provisions of article 1203 of the Civil Code.

4. Aspects of comparative law

Starting from the present European context, we notice that there is a tendency to unify laws, a tendency which manifests itself more strongly in case of European laws which must be regulated by internal laws. However, we must point out some aspects of comparative law in regard to the arbitration clause, in order to understand the way in which it is regulated in other national laws. Furthermore, this matter is important in regard to the law which applies to the arbitration convention, regardless of whether it manifests under the form of the arbitration clause or that of a separate contract. In regard to these aspects, article 1112 second alignment of the Romanian Civil Procedure Code states that „in regard to form requirements the arbitration convention is valid if it meets the conditions of one of the following laws: a) the law agreed upon by the parties; b) the law which governs the object of litigation; c) the law which applies to the contract that contains the arbitration clause; d) Romanian law”. As a result, we can see that the parties choose which law applies, as the lawmaker expressly lists their options. M.M. BÂRSAN et al.: The Arbitration Clause. Aspects of comparative Law 159

4.1. German law

If the Romanian lawmaker chose to expressly regulate the arbitration clause, by pointing out the form, object and content of the clause, by examining the provisions of the German Civil Procedure Code, we will notice that there is no express regulation in regard to the arbitration clause. However, the notion is regulated in German law, as we can find the general traits of the arbitration clause. Thus, article 1029 first alignment of the German Civil Code, states that „the arbitration convention is the agreement which occurs between the parties by which they decide that all or part of any future litigation resulting from contractual or non-contractual relations will be solved by arbitration”. The second alignment states that this agreement can be concluded in the form of a separate contract or as a clause in the initial contract (art. 1029, second alignment of the German Civil Procedure Code). As a result, the legal nature of the arbitration clause is still that of a clause which awards competence, given that the potential conflict will be solved by arbitration and not by the courts of law. In regard to the object and content, given the fact that the German lawmaker does not make a clear distinction between the content of the arbitration convention concluded in the form of a separate contract and that of the arbitration clause, the provisions of article 1030 first alignment of the German Civil Procedure Code will be considered, stating that „any complaint which can be evaluated in money can be subject to arbitration. In case of complaints which are impossible to evaluate in money, they can be subject to arbitration if both parties conclude a transaction under the provisions of the law”. As we can see, the German civil procedure law is different from the Romanian one in regard to the object and content of the arbitration clause. As a result, the object of the arbitration clause is any litigation which might occur in regard to any patrimonial rights of the parties, whether resulting from a contract or not. As an exception, if the parties can conclude a convention in regard to non-patrimonial rights, any litigation resulting from these can be the object of arbitration. Another difference in regard to the object of the arbitration clause is represented by the fact that the German lawmaker does not regulate a sanction for disrespecting the requirements of the law. Finally, one last observation regards the form of the arbitration clause. Thus, the first alignment of article 1031 if the German Civil Procedure Code states that „arbitration convention is validly concluded between parties in writing or by letter, mail or any other means of communication, which can be used as proof”. By way of interpretation, we can see that the German lawmaker, much like the Romanian one, regulated the obligation of drafting up the arbitration clause in writing, so it can be proven. As for the form of the arbitration clause, we must consider the provisions of article 1031, sixth alignment of the German Civil Procedure Code which states that, in case the arbitration clause is not regulated in writing, the clause will still be active if the parties bring their litigation directly before the arbitration court, even if the arbitration clause was regulated in writing (Article 1031, sixth alignment of the German Civil Procedure Code); this possibility is not regulated by the Romanian Civil Procedure Code.

160 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

4.2. Italian law

Similar to the Romanian lawmaker, the Italian one thought it was necessary to expressly regulate the arbitration clause. Thus, according to article 808 first alignment of the Italian Civil Procedure Code, „the parties can agree, through a clause in their contract or by separate convention, that any future litigation resulting from their contract will be solved by an arbitration court, provided their conflict can be subject to arbitration. The arbitration clause must result from a document which is concluded in the specific form required by law, according to the provisions or article 807”. According to article 806 of the Italian Civil Procedure Code, all litigation resulting from rights which the parties can handle can be subject to litigation, if not expressly forbidden by law (Article 806, first alignment of the Italian Civil Procedure Code). In regard to the legal nature of the arbitration clause, given the fact that the Italian lawmaker’s vision regulates that the courts are competent to solve litigation, thus solving it by any other means is a special situation, which derogates from common law, resulting in a clause which awards competence. The object of the arbitration clause will be future litigation resulting from the main contract. Furthermore, the object of the conflict must result from a contract and it must pertain to the rights which the parties can dispose of. Also, the possibility of solving a conflict by arbitration must not be expressly forbidden by law. As an exception, even non-contractual litigation can be the object of an arbitration clause, under the conditions of article 808 bis of the Italian Civil Procedure Code: „the parties can establish that any future litigation resulting from a specific situation be solved by arbitration. The arbitration clause must result from a contract and it must be concluded in the form required by law, according to the provisions of article 807”. As a result, much like German law, the conflict which is subject to arbitration can result either from a contract or from another specific situation. As we can see, the Italian lawmaker expressly regulated the form of the arbitration clause, regardless of whether it is a conflict resulting from a contract or from another situation, thus emphasizing the provisions of article 807 of the Italian Civil Code, which indicate the written form as a mandatory condition, under the sanction of annulment (Article 807, first alignment, Italian Civil Procedure Code).Thus, regardless of the way in which the arbitration clause is regulated, it will have to be made in writing and it will have to point out the object of litigation; for not abiding by any of these provisions, the sanction is annulment, as the Italian Civil Procedure Code does not regulate a situation similar to the German Civil Procedure Code, by which the lack of written form can be remedied after litigation occurs. As a resemblance with the Romanian law, we must also mention the provisions regarding the efficiency and the autonomy of the arbitration clause, but also in regard to its interpretation, provisions which are regulated in a similar manner in the Italian Civil Procedure Code.

4.3. French law

Similar to Italian and Romanian law, French law contains express regulations regarding the arbitration clause, but also its object and form. By article 1442 first alignment of the French Civil Procedure Code it is regulated that „the arbitration convention has the form M.M. BÂRSAN et al.: The Arbitration Clause. Aspects of comparative Law 161 of an arbitration clause or an agreement”. Thus, similar to Romanian law, the arbitration clause is a form of manifestation of the arbitration convention. Given all these, the French lawmaker made a clear distinction, by stating in article 1442 second alignment that „the arbitration clause is that convention by which the parties of a contract or more contracts agree to solve any potential litigation which might result from their contract by arbitration”. As a result, by way of interpretation we can deduce that by including an arbitration clause in a contract, all litigation which might result from this contract, will be solved entirely or partly by an arbitration court, depending on the parties’ decision. So, the French lawmaker also believes that the arbitration clause awards competence. The object of the arbitration clause is future litigation resulting from one or more contracts. As a result, unlike the German and the Italian lawmaker, the arbitration clause is applied only in the matter of contracts. However, the French lawmaker makes no distinction between the types of litigation which are the object of arbitration, as they can be both patrimonial and non-patrimonial rights. Since it is applied only to litigation resulting from contracts, we consider that the object of the arbitration clause will be litigation regarding rights of which the parties can claim, according to the law. In regard to the content of the arbitration clause, the French lawmaker also believes it is a form of manifestation of the arbitration convention, thus it will have to contain all the arbitration regulations, the name of the arbiters or the procedure used to appoint them (Article 1444, French Civil Procedure Code). If the Romanian lawmaker expressly lists similar mentions under the sanction of absolute annulment, the French lawmaker states no sanction. Furthermore, the French lawmaker does not make the distinction made by the Italian lawmaker regarding the possibility of a certain conflict to be solved by arbitration. Similar to all other previously examined laws, in order to be valid, the arbitration convention must be concluded in writing; as a result, the validity of the arbitration clause must be drawn up in writing, under the sanction of annulment (Article 1443, French Civil Procedure Code). In regard to its validity, we must consider the provisions of article 1447 first alignment of the French Civil Procedure Code, which regulates the independence of the arbitration convention and thus, the independence of the arbitration clause: „the arbitration convention is independent of the contract to which it represents an annex. It is not affected by the inefficiency of the contract”. As a result, the arbitration clause will not be terminated along with the contract, if the contract is ineffective.

5. Conclusions

As we can see from the present paper, regardless of the way in which it is regulated and its specifics, the notion of arbitration clause is regulated in the laws of the great European states and the provisions are somewhat similar. Also, the role of the arbitration clause is identical, as it allows the parties to choose an arbitration court which would solve any potential conflict, thus facilitating the relation between man and justice. The regulations in regard to the arbitration clause are found in the matter of arbitration, whether ad-hoc or institutionalized, because, as we have noticed before, the Romanian lawmaker made this distinction. Another provision which was noticed was that of the German Civil Procedure 162 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

Code, regarding the annulment of the arbitration clause, as the described situation is the only one of this kind. In this context, it remains to be seen which solutions will be the most suitable on a national level, in regard to the situations which will arise in practice.

References

Bobei, R. B. (2013). Arbitraj intern şi internaţional. Texte. Comentarii. [Internal and international arbitration. Texts. Comments.]. Bucharest : C.H. Beck Publishing House. Schäfer, F.L. (2012). Die Schiedsklausel. Gabler Wirtschaftslexikon, Springer Gabler Verlag (Herausgeber), available at http://wirtschaftslexikon.gabler.de.

*** The Romanian Civil Procedure Code. *** The Romanian Civil Code. *** The German Civil Procedure Code. Available at http://www.gesetze-im- internet.de/bundesrecht/zpo/gesamt.pdf. Accessed: 22-09-2016. *** The Italian Civil Procedure Code. Available at http://www.altalex.com/. Accessed: 22-09-2016. *** The French Civil Procedure Code. Available at http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/. Accessed: 22-09-2016. .

Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov Series VII: Social Sciences • Law • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

THE EUROPEAN HEIR CERTIFICATE

D.G. IONAŞ1 N. CRĂCIUN1

Abstract: Opening the borders of member states and the circulation of all citizens within the European states resulted in succession procedures with foreign elements. In this context, the following question arose: which law will apply in the case of a succession procedure of a citizen who used to live in a state without having the citizenship of that state, but also when the inheritance contains goods that are located on the territory of another state? In order to unify European law and to avoid discriminatory treatment, these situations had to be regulated by a document which would apply throughout the entire European Union. That is why, starting with August 15th, 2015, The European Union enforced EU Regulation no 650 of July 4th, 20012, of the European Parliament and the Council regarding the competence, the applicable law, the acknowledgement and the execution of legal sentences and the acceptance and performance of authentic documents in regard to succession and the creation of a European heir certificate.

Key words: succession, law, Regulation.

1. Introduction

Opening the borders of member states and the circulation of all citizens within the European states resulted in succession procedures with foreign elements. In this context, the following question arose: which law will apply in the case of a succession procedure of a citizen who used to live in a state without having the citizenship of that state, but also when the inheritance contains goods that are located on the territory of another state? In order to unify European law and to avoid discriminatory treatment, these situations had to be regulated by a document which would apply throughout the entire European Union. That is why, starting with August 15th, 2015, The European Union enforced EU Regulation no 650 of July 4th, 20012, of the European Parliament and the Council regarding the competence, the applicable law, the acknowledgement and the execution of legal sentences and the acceptance and performance of authentic documents in regard to succession and the creation of a European heir certificate. The European heir certificate can be widely defined as that instrument provided by competent authorities, acknowledged on a European level, which allows legal heirs, legatees, testamentary executors or trustees of the successor’s patrimony to prove their quality and exercise their rights in another member state. According to article 69 of the Regulation, the certificate produces effects in every member state without the necessity of any additional procedures. According to the second alignment of the same article, it is presumed that all

1 Transilvania University of Braşov, Law Faculty. 164 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016 information is accurate and that the people presented in the certificate as heirs, legatees, testamentary executors or trustees of the inheritance have all the rights and obligations which result from their quality as confirmed by the certificate. Thus, as opposed to the national heir certificate, the European one does not have the value of an authentic act, as it can be used only to prove the following, which are considered to be accurate: - the statute and rights of each heir or legatee - the awarding of one or more goods of the deceased’s patrimony to the heirs or legatees mentioned in the certificate the duties of the testamentary executor or trustee of the successor’s patrimony.

2. The issuing of the European heir certificate

From the very beginning, we must state that the European heir certificate will be issued only in those succession procedures in which the heirs (legal or testamentary), the testamentary executors or the trustees of the successor’s patrimony will have to prove their quality or exercise their rights in another member state. Thus, the subsidiary character of the European heir certificate is regulated, as opposed to the national one, but also the principle of availability in this procedure. Furthermore, a succession procedure can be finalized by the issuing of a European heir certificate, but it is also possible that the certificate is issued subsequently, after the succession procedure is finalized, if a foreign element is discovered, as they can both function at the same time. The issuing of such a certificate is a procedure which depends on the request of the person who requires this document, as the principle of availability governs any notary procedure, as stated in article 65 of the Regulation. Thus, according to article 65 first alignment, the European heir certificate will be issued upon request for any interested person. According to article 63 first alignment, the person who requests this document can be either the heir, or the legatee, testamentary executor or the trustee of the successor’s patrimony, in person or by conventional or legal representative. If, in regard to universal legatees there are no issues, as they have universal succession capacity, in regard to the particular legatees, the doctrine stated that the particular legatee can’t be issued a European heir certificate, unless there is a universal or particular legatee who will give the legatei. We agree with this opinion because we feel that Regulation no 650/2012 considers the possibility of issuing a European heir certificate only to legatees with direct rights in the succession procedure or, in the light of legal internal provisions, direct rights to the inheritance are provided only for universal legatees. In regard to the possibility of the heir’s creditors or the heir’s possibility to request a European certificate, the opinions are divergent. A first opinion claims that creditors do not have to possibility to request a European heir certificate, although they might have interest in the procedure; the reason for this interdiction is the listing stated in article 63 of the Regulation which is limitative. Another opinion, which we agree with, claims the contrary, namely the fact that the creditors of the heirs or the heirs themselves have the right to request a European certificate. This theory is supported by the provisions of point 45 and 46 of the preamble of the Regulation no 650/2012 which explicitly stated the following: „The current regulation D.G. IONAŞ et al.: The European Heir Certificate 165 should not exclude the possibility of the creditors, by representative, to fulfill the additional procedures required by national law, should it be the case, in accordance with the relevant instruments of the European Union, in order to protect their rights. The current regulation should allow that potential creditors from other member states in which the goods are located to be informed in regard to the inheritance procedure. In order for the current regulation to be applied, the possibility of creating a mechanism should be considered, a mechanism which, through the portal e-justice, will allow creditors from other member states to access relevant information, in order to present their claims”. In conclusion, we believe that the request of issuing a European heir certificate can be filed by the creditors as well, regardless of whether they are creditor of the inheritance or of the heirs; the listing of article 63 is merely declarative and it does not affect the rights of the creditors. As shown above, the issuing of the heir certificate is performed on request. The request implies a form should be filed and published in the Official Bulletin of the European Union. The request must contain the following information, expressly stated in article 68 of the Regulation: a) information regarding the deceased: name (name before marriage, if applicable), surname, sex, date and place of birth, civil status, citizenship, personal number code (if required), address at the time of death, date and place of death; b) information regarding the petitioner: name (name before marriage, if applicable), surname, sex, date and place of birth, civil status, citizenship, personal number code (if required), address and relation to the deceased, if required; RO L 201/128 Official Bulletin of the European Union 27.7.2012; c) information regarding the representative of the petitioner, if required: name (name before marriage, if applicable), surname, address, capacity of representation; d) information regarding the husband/wife or partner of the deceased, and, if applicable, ex husband/ex wife or former partners: name (name before marriage, if applicable), surname, sex, date and place of birth, civil status, citizenship, personal number code (if required) and address; e) information regarding other possible beneficiaries as stated by death cause or by law: name and surname, name of the organization, personal number code (if required) and address; f) the intended purpose of the certificate, according to article 63; g) the coordinates of the court or other competent authority who handles the succession procedures, if required; h) the elements, based on which the petitioner claims his right to succession as a beneficiary of the right to execute the will of the deceased and/or the right to administer the patrimony of the deceased; i) an indication which states if the deceased drafted up a provision for cause of death; if the original document or a copy of it are not filed along with the request, the petitioner must state the place where the original can be found; j) an indication of whether the deceased had a matrimonial convention or a convention regarding a relation which could result in effects similar to marriage; if the original document or a copy of it are not filed along with the request, the petitioner must state the place where the original can be found; 166 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

k) an indication which states if any of the beneficiaries made a statement regarding the acceptance of the succession or of the waver of the succession; l) a statement that, as far as the petitioner knows, there is no litigation regarding the elements which are to be proven by the certificate; m) any other information which the petitioner believes are useful in issuing the certificate. The competence of issuing the European heir certificate lies with the court or with another authority which, based on internal law, is competent in the matter of succession. In the case of Romania, the competence lies with the court or the public notary. Upon receiving the request, the notary has the following obligations: - to check his territorial competence; - to check whether other demands have been made in regard to the same inheritance in the same state or in another member state; - to register the request in the European Register of Succession Procedures and to form a succession file; - to inform the beneficiaries or potential beneficiaries by public announcement; - to obtain the agreement of all people involved in the procedure; - to issue the European heir certificate. The European heir certificate has a predetermined content, established in article 68 of Regulation no 650/2012. According to these provisions, the certificate contains the following information, if it is necessary for the purpose of the certificate: a) name and address of the authority which issued the certificate; b) the reference number of the file; c) the elements based on which the issuing authority is competent to issue the certificate; d) date of issue; e) information regarding the petitioner: name (name before marriage, if applicable), surname, sex, date and place of birth, civil status, citizenship, personal number code (if required), address and relation to the deceased, if required; f) information regarding the deceased: name (name before marriage, if applicable), surname, sex, date and place of birth, civil status, citizenship, personal number code (if required), address at the time of death, date and place of death; g) information regarding the beneficiaries: name (name before marriage, if applicable), surname, personal number code (if required) h) information regarding a matrimonial convention or a convention regarding a relation which could result in effects similar to marriage and information regarding the patrimonial aspects of the matrimonial regime of another equivalent patrimonial regime; i) the law which applies to the succession procedures and the elements based on which the law was established; j) information which states whether the succession is ab intestat or based on a provision for cause of death, including information about the elements which come from the right and/or prerogatives of the heirs, legatees, executors of the will and the trustees of the successor’s patrimony; k) if required, information regarding the nature of accepting the succession or of waving it by the beneficiary; l) the share of every heir and the list of rights and/or the goods which are awarded to D.G. IONAŞ et al.: The European Heir Certificate 167

a certain heir; m) the list of rights and/or goods which are awarded to a certain legatee; n) the restrictions which apply to the rights of the heir (heirs) and of the legatee (legatees) based on the law which applies to succession and/or in accordance with the provision of the cause of death; o) the powers of the testamentary executor and/or the trustee of the successor’s patrimony and the limits of these powers based on the law which applies to succession and/or the provision for the cause of death. Article 70 the first alignment of Regulation 650/2012 states that the issuing authority keeps the original of the certificate and issues one or more certified copies to the petitioner and any other person who proves they have a legitimate interest. We do not agree with the statement according to which the certificate is drawn up in just one original copy for the following reasons: the Regulation does not clearly state this, it only states that the original is kept by the issuing authority; also, the Regulation is completed by internal provisions, as stated by the preamble of the Regulation. As a consequence, as opposed to internal provisions which state the necessity of drafting up the heir certificate in two original copies, we feel that the European heir certificate must be drafted by the public notary in two original copies. In case the quality and extent of successor rights is established by the court, this discussion is irrelevant. The issuing authority can issue one or more certified copies to the solicitor and any person who proves they have a legitimate interest, by keeping a list of the people who were issued certified copies. The certified copies are valid for a limited time of 6 months; the date of expiration must be mentioned on the certified copy. In exceptional cases, justified accordingly, the issuing authority can decide to extent the validity period. After the expiration of this period, any person who has a certified copy has the possibility to request an extension of the validity of the certified copy or to request a new certified copy from the issuing authority. The succession procedure is not finalized in all cases with the issue of an heir certificate. Although Regulation no 650/2012 does not expressly state all the cases in which the issue of the heir certificate can be denied, we appreciate that, in these cases, the European provisions must be completed with national ones which apply to all succession procedures. Thus, in addition to the two situations which are expressly stated in article 67 first alignment second thesis, namely when the elements which are to be certified are subject of litigation or when the certificate would not be in accordance with a court ruling regarding the same elements, there are a series of other situations which can prevent the finalizing of the procedures by issuing an heir certificate. The phrasing chosen by the lawmaker shows that the issuing authority does not issue the certificate especially if we are in the presence of one of the two situations listed above, without excluding the possibility of another circumstance which would prevent the issuance of the certificate. Among the situations which prevent the issuance of the certificate we can list, as an example, the disagreement of parties or their lack of representation. These are reasons which justify the public notary’s refusal to issue the certificate, as the notary procedure is a non contradictory one, an amiable procedure, which can’t be achieved if the parties are not in agreement or if the parties are not present. 168 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

The legal means by which the notary refuses to issue the certificate is regulated by Law no 36/1995 of public notaries and notary activity and it is a rejection document. Against this document, the interested party can file a complaint at the court where the public notary is registered. If the succession procedure is performed by a court of law, the absence of parties or their disagreement does not prevent the issuing of the certificate, as the trial entails a contradictory element.

3. The effects of the European heir certificate

According to the provisions of article 69 of Regulation no 650/2012, „the certificate causes effects in each member state without any special procedure„. It is presumed that the certificate proves with accuracy all the elements established based on the applicable law or based on any other law which applies to the specific elements. It is presumed that the person mentioned in the certificate as heir, legatee, testamentary executor or trustee of the successor’s patrimony has the statute mentioned in the certificate and/or is the holder of the rights or powers stated in the certificate, without any other conditions and/or restrictions of those rights or powers, except for those mentioned in the certificate. It is presumed that any person, acting based on the information stated in the certificate, makes payments or transmits goods to a person mentioned in the certificate as an authorized person to accept payments or goods has concluded the transaction with the above mentioned person, except for the case when this person knows that the information contained in the certificate is not accurate or has no knowledge of this fact due to severe negligence. In case a person mentioned in a certificate as being authorized to administer the successor’s goods, administers these goods to the benefit of another person, by acting based on the information contained in the certificate, it is presumed that the person becomes part of a transaction with a person who is authorized to manage the goods, except for the case in which that person knows that the information in the certificate is not accurate or has no knowledge of this fact due to severe negligence. The certificate is a valid title to register succession goods in the corresponding register of a member state. Based on the content of the European provisions, we can easily acknowledge that this European tool only has proving power, as it is not an authentic act in the sense of article 269 of the Civil Procedure Code. The European heir certificate only creates an assumption of accuracy of the elements contained in the document. It has a declarative effect of the successor’s rights and its purpose is to protect good faith. Although it creates a justified appearance, the regulations of article 2 letters k and l of the same Regulation exclude real rights as well as any other registration of mobile or immobile property, including the legal demands for such a registration, as well as the effects of the lack of registration such rights in a register. Thus, the issues regarding the acquiring and publicity or real rights are solved, as these institutions are governed by national law. Thus, this is another case in which European provisions are completed with internal ones, which apply in each member state, thus avoiding a contradictory and confusing legal context.

4. The procedure of rectifying, changing or retracting the European heir certificate

The rectifying of the European heir certificate entails the correction of material errors of D.G. IONAŞ et al.: The European Heir Certificate 169 the certificate. Regulation no 65/2013 does not stipulate a special procedure according to which the certificate can be rectified. As a consequence, European regulations will be completed with national regulations, as each state will apply the procedure according to its national law. In the case of Romania, the notary procedure of rectifying the European heir certificate will occur in accordance with the provisions of article 88 of Law no 36/1995. The procedure of changing or withdrawing the European heir certificate is also not regulated by the Regulation. The cases in which the certificate can be changed or withdrawn are those situations in which it had been established that certain elements of the certificate were not in accordance with reality. Internal regulations are also to be applied in these cases, thus we claim that the changing or withdrawal of the heir certificate can only be achieved by its annulment followed by the issuance of a new certificate. The decisions of rectifying, changing or withdrawing the heir certificate, as well as those by which the request for rectification, change or withdrawal was dismissed can be contested by any person who proves legitimate interest. The claim is filed before the judicial authority of the member state where the issuing authority is located, according to the laws of that state. In case it is established that the certificate is not accurate, the competent judicial authority rectifies, modifies or withdraws the certificate or ensures the rectifying, change or withdrawal of the certificate by the issuing authority. During the procedure of rectifying, changing or withdrawing the heir certificate, as well as throughout the entire time needed to solve any possible contestation of the certificate, the effects of the certificate can be suspended. Given the phrasing chosen by the lawmaker, we believe that suspending the effects of the certificate is not mandatory, thus it will be decided upon by the judicial authority, thus not operating by power of law. In case the effects are suspended, the issuing authority or the judicial authority is obliged to inform all people who were issued certified copies of the certificate in regard to any suspension of the effects of the certificate. Disregarding the obligation to inform entails the liability of the issuing authority for any damages caused. During the time the effects of the certificate are suspended, certified copies of the certificate can no longer be issued.

5. Conclusions

The European heir’ certificate is a very useful tool in the attempt of unifying European law. By creating this tool, the need to solve succession procedures with foreign elements is addressed, as these procedures are more and more frequent since European borders have been opened. The enforcement of Regulation no 650/2012 starting with August 17th, 2015 allows for issues which will have to be interpreted in a unified manner by all professionals, but will also urge the European lawmaker and the lawmaker of national states to perfect the text of law in order to usefully apply it.

170 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

References

Negrilă, D. (2015). Moştenirea în noul Cod Civil. [Inheritance in the new Civil Code]. Bucharest : Universul Juridic Publishing House, p. 325. Nicolae, I. (2015). “Legislative news brought to the matter of succession by the EU Regulation no 650/2012 of the European Parliament and the Council of July 4th”. In the supplement of the Legal Sciences Magazine. Bucharest: Universul Juridic Publishing House, volume 30(2015), p. 116-126. Olaru, I. (2014). Drept European privind succesiunea internaţională [European right of international succession]. Bucharest : Notarom Publishing House, p. 156. Popa, I. & Moise, A.A. (2013). Drept notarial. Organizarea activităţii. Statutul notarilor. Proceduri notariale. [Notary law. Organization of activity. The statute of the notary. Notary procedures]. Bucharest : Universul Juridic Publishing House, p. 289. *** The law of public notaries and notary activity no. 36/1995 was republished in the Official Bulletin of Romania, Part I, no 72 of February 4th, 2013; subsequently it was modified by Law no 54/2013 for the approval of the Government’s Emergency Ordinance no 120/2011 regarding the extension of some deadlines for the change and completion of some laws, published in the Official Bulletin of Romania, Part I, no 145 of March 19th, 2013. *** Law no 134/2010 regarding the Civil Procedure Code, republished in the Official Bulletin, Part I, no 247 of April 10th, 2015.

Bulletin of the Transylvania University of Braşov Series VII: Social Sciences • Law • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

THE INCONSISTENCY BETWEEN CIVIL STATUS AND CIVIL REGISTRY DOCUMENTS

R. MATEFI1 N. CRĂCIUN1

Abstract: The present article aims to emphasize the potential inconsistencies which can occur in practice between a person’s civil status and the civil registry documents which prove the respective status. Jurisprudence in this domain shows that there are numerous situations when a person’s civil status is inconsistent with the civil status documents, an inconsistency which must be corrected. The lawmaker provides the necessary tools, such as rectification, when the civil status documents contain wrongful mentions, by way of administrative or civil action. In case the inconsistency occurs between the apparent civil status and the real one, the inconsistency must be corrected by legal action.

Key words: civil status, civil registry document, civil registry action, rectification.

1. Civil status

In order to determine the relation between the civil status of a person and the documents which regulate this status, as well as the potential inconsistencies between the two, we must establish from the very beginning which is the content and the meaning of these two phrases. Civil status has been given numerous definitions in the doctrine, as it is present in specialty literature as “an ensemble of elements whereby a person is individualized, as a subject of rights and obligations, thus establishing its legal position in relation to the family it is a part of” (Lupulescu, 1980, p. 5) or “as a legal means of individualizing a person by pointing out the personal qualities with this meaning” (Beleiu, 2007, p.234). The esteemed professor Emil Poenaru defined civil status as containing “the elements which form a person’s quality as a subject of law - different elements such as filiations, married or divorced status, age, whether the person is adopted or adopts a child and so on (Poenaru, 1996, p.234) ”. Thus, we can conclude that marital status or the civil status of a person provides the elements by which a person is individualized in society and in the legal relations he is involved in, containing the previously stated elements. The judicial characteristics of civil status A first judicial character of civil status is its inalienability, as it can’t be completely or

1 Transylvania University of Braşov, [email protected] 172 Bulletin of the Transylvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016 partly alienated; a person is forbidden from concluding acts by which it forgoes its civil status or it alienates it to another subject of law. However, the law allows for the change of civil status, within the expressly stated limits. At the same time, marital status is not subject to the statute of limitation. Thus, regardless of how long it would not be used, the person will not be deprived of it; similarly, a person can’t acquire a marital status which does not belong to him, regardless of however long he used it. Another characteristic of civil status is universality, as the right to have a civil status is acknowledged for every person. “The legal provisions which establish the formal conditions of civil status documents are of imperative character” (Lupulescu, 1980, p. 5), thus resulting the mandatory character of civil status. Another characteristic is individuality, as the attributes of civil status can only be personally exercised. Proof of civil status is made, in accordance with the provisions of Law no 119/1996 regarding the civil status documents, with documents of civil status, as well as with certificates released based on the civil status documents. From a historical point of view, civil status registries first appeared in 1832, created based on the Organic Regulations, as the priests were designated to draw up these registries. Until the Organic Regulations “our old law did not contain provisions regarding the drafting and conservation of special acts, which would acknowledge the events which modify a personality and legal capacity” (Hamangiu et al., 2002, p. 163).

2. Civil status documents

The definition of civil status documents is provided in the first article of Law no 119/1996 regarding the civil status documents, according to which these are “authentic documents which prove the birth, marriage or death of a person. These acts are drawn up in the interest of the state and of the person and provide information regarding the number and structure of the country’s population, its demographical situation and the protection of a person’s fundamental rights and freedoms”. According to doctrine “civil status documents acknowledge, under the conditions stated by law, the legal acts and facts which form the elements of a person’s civil status, (Lupulescu, 1980, p. 14)”; these acts are the birth certificate, the marriage certificate and the death certificate. The civil status acts have a mixed legal nature, belonging both to civil law and to administrative law. From a civil law point of view, it is an authentic document, from an administrative law point of view “the civil status document is an act which provides proof (instrumentum probationis) of the administrative act (negotium iuris), which is the registration in the civil status registries” (Urs, et al., 2007, p. 138).

3. The relation between civil status and the civil status documents and the inconsistencies between the two

It is only natural that there should be an agreement between a person’s civil status and the documents which prove this status, and when this agreement in not achieved, as the R. MATEFI et al.: The Inconsistency between Civil Status and Civil Registry Documents 173 civil status is inconsistent with the civil status document, this inconsistency must be corrected. If the inconsistency results from a material error which occurred at the time the civil status document was made or when a mention was made on that certain document, the inconsistency will be removed by way of rectification, which is “the operation of removing errors from the content of the civil status documents, errors which occurred at the time the document was made or the operation of aligning the information from the civil status documents with the real elements of civil status (Urs & Todică, 2007, p. 139)”. Rectification of civil status documents as well as the mentions written on these documents is achieved by way of a directive issued by the mayor of the county which holds the civil registry. This can be achieved upon the request of the interested party, with previous notice from the Public Community Service of Personal Records. The procedure of rectification is stated in article 58 of Law no 119/1996 regarding the civil status documents. Rectification will follow the administrative law, as “the request of rectification of civil status document and the mentions written in it, accompanied by all proving documents, will be filed at the Public Community Service of Personal Records or the city hall where the person resides. The request is solved within 30 days and is communicated to the interested party within 10 days from the date of issue” [Article 58, alignment (3) of Law no 119/1996]. In case “the inconsistency regards the civil status of a person, namely the legal position of this person in relation to their family, removing the inconsistency between an apparent civil status and an apparently real civil status can only be achieved by state action”(Lupulescu, 1980, p. 19). Depending on their object, state actions are classified in: reclamation actions, contestation actions and modification actions. A reclamation action ensures the obtaining of a civil status which is different from the one the person had when the complaint was filed. Such is the case for establishing maternity or establishing paternity for the child born outside of marriage. The action for establishing maternity is regulated in article 422 of the Civil Code which states that “in case filiation in regard to the mother can’t be established for any reason, whether is can’t be established by the birth certificate or in case the reality of this certificate is contested, filiation in regard to the mother can be established by way of legal action, by entering any means of evidence”. The performer of this action is the child, by his legal representative. This right is not subject to the statute of limitation. “If the minor has no capacity of exercise or is placed under interdiction, the complaint will be filed by his legal representative; if the minor’s exercise capacity is restricted, he will be able to file the complaint, assisted by his guardian or his parent. In case the interest of the child conflicts with that of his legal representative, the court will name a special trustee who will file the complaint ” (Nicolae, 2014, p. 248).” The lawmaker allows the heirs of the child to file this complaint or to continue it. The statute of limitation for this action is one year calculated from the time of the child’s death. Thus, the only people who are acknowledged the right to file this complaint are the child and his heirs, as the mother has no active legal capacity in such a complaint. An 174 Bulletin of the Transylvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016 interesting case is the one filed before a Bucharest court, civil section of the second sector, settled by the legal decision no 6870/04.06.2014. Thus, “through her complaint, filed before the court on 24.01.2014 and registered under the no X, the plaintiff A.M. filed a complaint against the defendant L.T. requesting the plaintiff to identify, by name and surname, a female person who studied at a certain high school and graduated between 2011-2013, born between 1992-1994, with brown eyes, dark long hair, narrow forehead, a height of approximately 1,70m, slender, with a nice physical aspect and resembling a person named Ajla Tomljanovic, born on 07.05.1993, a Croatian citizen, from Zagreb, requesting the court to establish filiation in regard to the mother by performing a DNA match test of her and the person who will be identified by the defendant. Presenting the reason for this complaint, the plaintiff stated that she had met with this female person who can’t hear and can’t speak, and her maternal instinct told her that this person was her daughter. The female person resembles Ajla Tomljanovic, born on 07.05.1993, a Croatian citizen, from Zagreb. She knows that the child is normal and she can help her hear and talk. The certainty of maternity became clear to her once she took part in a church service for people who were having difficulties in speaking because of their shyness and inferiority complexes, emphasizing the quality of the person who can’t express words and is required to be quiet and patient. She also took part in a catholic service where deafness was supposed to be cured by faith. The person she had met was not deaf and she made inquiries in this matter. She asked the principal of the high school to show her photographs of the students who graduated between xxxxx-2013. She stated that between August and December 1992 she was pregnant and registered at C. Clinic. In December she was subject to a surgical procedure. She believes the person she met had difficulties in hearing and speaking because of this procedure (...) By analyzing this material, the court ruled that the plaintiff showed that during August- December 1992 she was pregnant and that in December 1992 she requested an abortion, which was performed at the C. Clinic. After having met a female person, who studies at the T .Special high school in Bucharest, who graduated between 2011-2013, born between 1992-1994, with brown eyes, dark long hair, narrow forehead and a height of approximately 1, 70 m, slender, with a nice physical aspect, resembling tennis player Ajla Tomljanovic, born on 07.05.1993, a Croatian citizen, from Zagreb, her maternal instinct told her that these two children were her twins, born in December 1992 (...) Establishing filiation means proving the legal act or the legal fact which derives from the descendant relation between a child and each of his genitors; according to article 405 first alignment of the Civil Code, kinship is the connection based on the lineage of a person from another person or the fact that several people have a common ascendant. Filiation in regard to the mother comes from the act of birth and can be established by acknowledgement or by court order, as stated in article 408 first alignment of the Civil Code. By considering the provisions of article 409-413 of the Civil Code and those of article 422-423 of the Civil Code it is acknowledged that the court must rule on establishing maternity, an action which can only be filed by the child or its legal representative if he is a minor. Thus, the plaintiff can’t file such a complaint for establishing maternity for a child of age, born in December of 1992, a child she has no information about and has no evidence in regard to his existence” (http://idrept.ro/DocumentView.aspx?DocumentId). The regulation of action in establishing filiation is regulated by the Civil Code only in R. MATEFI et al.: The Inconsistency between Civil Status and Civil Registry Documents 175 regard to children born after the Civil Code came into force; in regard to the children born before the Civil Code came into force, the provision of the old Family Code apply. As for the action on establishing paternity, it will be filed in case the father of a child from outside of marriage does not acknowledge the child. This action can be filed by the child through his mother, even if she is a minor, or the child’s legal representative. Also, the heirs of the child can file or continue the action. “Present day DNA test allows establishing a maternity and paternity relation with a precision of 99, 99%. In regard to the necessity of finding out the truth over the biological ascendance and lineage, ECHR gave priority to reality. People want to know where they come from, from a biological point of view, and not knowing this aspect can cause psychological suffering, with a major impact on the normal development of a child” (Dobozi, V., 2013). An interesting case than deserves to be analyzed is Jäggi v. Switzerland, from 2003, in which ECHR ruled to convict the defendant state, thus acknowledging a violation of article 8 of the Convention. “The plaintiff stated to the court that he was unable to perform DNA test on a deceased person, his alleged father, in order to establish the biological truth. The Court stated that it is the duty of member states to establish adequate means in order to ensure the respect of the provisions of article 8 of the Convention in all relations between its individuals, as there are different means to ensure the respect of private life and the nature of the obligation of the state depends on the aspect of private life which is involved in that certain matter. The Court also stated that article 8 protects two interests, namely the vital interest of every person to know its biological identity as opposed to the interest of preserving the intangibility of the deceased person and the respect owed to the dead, both threatened by the idea of forced DNA testing. The Court considered the public interest of legal security, endangered by the possibility of changing filiation” (Dobozi, V., 2013). By contestation actions, a civil status which does not correspond with the real one is removed and is replaced with an allegedly real one. Such actions are - denial of paternity of the child born into marriage, challenging maternity and paternity, annulment of marriage. As for the modification action, it implies changing a person’s legal status in the future, such as divorce actions, as well as reversing an adoption procedure. A second criterion for classifying civil status actions is considering the person who can file these complaints. Thus there are complaints which can be filed exclusively by the holder of the civil status, such as the divorce action; complaints which can be filed by both the holder of the civil status and his legal representative, such as the action of establishing maternity and actions which can be filed by any interested party, such as challenging filiation and annulment of adoption. In regard to the statute of limitation, civil status actions are divided into actions which are not subject to the statute of limitation, as are most of the actions and actions which are subject to the statute of limitation (annulment of marriage, denial of paternity).

4. Conclusions

Starting from the content of the notions of civil status and civil status documents, the present article pointed out the hypotheses which are likely to happen in case there are inconsistencies between a person’s civil status and the civil status act, as well as 176 Bulletin of the Transylvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016 identifying the means by which these inconsistencies can be removed. We have described the civil action which can be filed, by presenting the specifics of each one from a theoretical point of view and by considering its practical applicability. In regard to the practical aspects, we have described the action for establishing maternity, as well as the action for establishing paternity of the child born outside marriage in regard to the people who can file this action and the proof which is required. We have included certain aspects from ECHR jurisprudence, which point out the conflict which can arise between the child’s right to know their identity, as regulated by article 8 of the Convention and the alleged father’s right to not be subjected to DNA testing.

References

Beleiu, Gh. (2007). Drept civil român [Romanian Civil Law]. Bucharest: Universul Juridic. Hamangiu, C., Rosetti – Bălănescu, I., Băicoianu, Al. (2002). Tratat de drept civil român [Romaniain Civil Law Treaty], volume I. Bucharest: All Beck. Lupulescu, D. (1980). Actele de stare civilă [Civil status acts]. Bucharest: Editura Ştiinţifică şi Enciclopedică. Nicolae, I. (2014). Dreptul familiei în context national şi în raporturile de drept international privat [Family law in national context in relations of international private law]. Bucharest: Hamangiu. Poenaru, E. (1996). Introducere în dreptul civil. Teoria generală. Persoanele [Introduction in civil law. General theory. The people]. Bucharest: Universitatea Europeană Drăgan. Urs, I.R. & Todică, C. (2007). Drept civil. Persoana fizică. Persoana juridică [Civil law. The people. The judicial persons]. Bucharest : University Publishing House. *** Dobozi, V. 2013, http://idrept.ro/DocumentView.aspx?DocumentId=79241204, Accessed: 26.09.2016. *** http://idrept.ro/DocumentView.aspx?DocumentId=79241204, Accessed: 25.09.2016.

Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov Series VII: Social Sciences • Law • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

A SHORT HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF THE INHERITANCE LAWS APPLIED ON THE ROMANIAN TERRITORY (19th-20th CENTURY)

R. MATEFI1 S.-D. ŞCHIOPU2

Abstract: For a better understanding of the institution of inheritance and the conflict of inheritance laws in time, this short overview attempts, on the one hand, to highlight certain historical moments that defined the institution of inheritance and its present-day configuration in the light of the successive laws applied on the Romanian territory during the past two centuries, and, on the other hand, to examine the advancement or the regression of the surviving spouse’s rights in the inheritance left by the deceased spouse.

Key words: civil law, succession of laws, inheritance, historical provinces, surviving spouse.

1. Introduction

" Civil laws viewed in their sense of source of civil law, like every normative act are enacted by the competent authority in order to regulate the commissive and /or omissions conduct of the persons to whom it is intended, in principle, as long as these laws are in force "(Prescure & Matefi, 2012, p. 47). In terms of law enforcement in time, the two essential moments that are currently relevant are the moment thenceforth a certain law is applied and that until it is applied. Generally speaking, law enforcement is limited, according to the doctrine on three dimensions - time, space and people, our analysis stopping at the first one, namely time.

2. The inheritance legislation applied in Romania’s historical provinces

I. Transylvania and Banat. The Austrian Civil Code (A.B.G.B.) was introduced in Banat by the imperial decree of November 29th, 1852; it came into force May 1st, 1853; by the imperial decree of May 29th, 1853 it was established that it would come into force September 1st, 1853 (Corjescu, 1921, p. IV). We must also mention that some parts of Transylvania and Banat continued to enforce Hungarian private law. According to the Austrian Civil Code, there was no distinction between man and woman in regard to the possibility of inheriting from the surviving spouse; also, no distinction was made in regard to their fortune or if they had lived together for a longer period of time.

1 Transylvania University of Braşov, [email protected] 2 Transylvania University of Braşov, [email protected] 178 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

Also, the surviving spouse was not a forced heir. The spouse would inherit along will all other categories of heirs, his side being usable along with that of the children of the deceased (article 757), or in full property of the surviving spouse when the deceased was not survived by any living children (article 758). II. Bukovina. In Bukovina, the Austrian Civil Code (A.B.G.B.) was introduced by the imperial decree of June 1st, 1811, enforceable since January 1st, 1812. It was applied throughout Bukovina, with all subsequent changes made by the Austrian state. As opposed to the regulation enforced in Banat and Transylvania, for Bukovina, the Austrian Civil Code was modified by imperial decree to state that the children of the deceased or their descendents would no longer inherit along with the surviving spouse, as the spouse would reclaim full property. Also, the surviving spouse would inherit all mobile objects which formed the spouses’ residence, but only those needed for his own use, if the deceased had living children. III. The inheritance legislation applied in the United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia. After reclaiming the throne in Moldavia, Scarlat Calimach (1812-1819), wishing to form a civil law form all existing written law, created a commission formed of Anania Cuzanos, professor at the Iasi Academy and Christian Flechtenmacher, PhD graduate in law and philosophy from Vienna, a German national born in Brasov. The Calimach Code resembled the Austrian one whose regulations were Roman or Greek-Roman but phrased more clearly and in modern language. This code applied as the civil law of Moldavia from October 1st, 1817 until December 1st, 1865, when the Civil Code came into force. However, much like the Caragea Laws, the Callimachus Code with subsequent changes continued to apply for all legal situations occurring before December 1st, 1865, namely for solving litigation regarding acts and facts previous to the date when it was rescinded. The surviving spouse’s right to inherit was not dependent on his gender, as the right to inherit was regulated both for men and women. The poor surviving spouse, much like the rich one, who had brought dowry (the woman) or had made an ante nuptias donation (the man) would inherit a certain part of the inheritance, alongside the children of the deceased, provided he would not be married. If the deceased had children from previous marriages, the poor surviving spouse, much like the rich one who had brought dowry (the woman) or had made an ante nuptias donation (the man) would inherit some part of the inheritance in full property. The situation was similar in case the surviving spouse would inherit along with other relatives except the children of the deceased. Ion Caragea, lord of the Romanian Country (1812-1818), thought that there was no comprehensive law, so in 1816, he called on Anastase Hristopol, an avid knower of byzantine law and Nestor, a famed lawyer of those times, to devise a code (Palade, I., 1907, p. XXVII). Before the byzantine law, it served as the main law for lawyers; however the variety of controversies along with the degree of variability of customary law led to the “transposition of law”. The commission finished the works within a year; the code was printed and approved by Caragea on August 9th, 1818 and came into force September 1st, 1818. The Caragea Code is the short version of the Armenopol Manual, which served to clarify legal doctrine in the Romanian Country and had power of law even after the Caragea law had been passed, thus adding the custom of the land, namely customary law, as a source of law, and the quote of Justinian’s Institutes attributed to Teofil. The R. MATEFI et al.: A Short Historical Overview of the Inheritance Laws… 179 surviving spouse’s right to inherit was not dependent upon his being poor or not, nor if it was a man or a woman, but on whether he had children or not (and especially the duration of the child’s life); if there were no children, the duration of the marriage was taken into account. Considering all these variables, the share of the surviving spouse could be used along with that of other heirs or it could be in the sole property of the spouse. In 1864, Alexandru Ioan I, lord of the United Romanian Principates, requested his state council to elaborate a civil code. Significant contributors are Constantin Bosianu and Vasile Boerescu. The Civil Code was finalized November 26th, 1864, passed December 4th, 1864 and came into force July 1st, 1864 (article 1912); however, a July 2nd, 1865 decree by Cuza postponed the enforcement until December 1st, 1865. Most of the provisions of this code were borrowed from the Napoleon Code, but it was also inspired by the Italian Civil Code, Belgian civil law and Roman law. Radu Vernescu, the author of the succession part, took ad literam the entire French law in this matter (Bob, 2012, p. 31) according to which the surviving spouse would inherit only after 12th degree relatives. However, previous laws, namely the Callimachus Code (articles 957-961) and the Caragea laws (chapter III, articles 17,18 and 23) maintained the poor widow’s right to inherit (article 684 of the Civil Code) (Nacu,C.,1914, p. 311). Once Nicolae Titulescu’s Law on the progressive inheritance tax (1921) was passed, the ab intestat right to inherit from the fourth degree was abolished, as the surviving spouse would legally inherit in lack of any fourth degree relatives (Nicolae,I., 2016, p. 175).

3. The unification of inheritance laws during the inter-war period in the Kingdom of Romania

The unification of civil law in the matter of succession was not achieved by passing new laws, but by extending the existing laws in the Old Kingdom, namely enforcing the 1864 Civil Code in other historical provinces of Romania.

I. Bassarabia. The first extended law was the Law for the expansion in Bessarabia of some provisions from the legislation of the Old Kingdom, enacted by the Royal Decree no. 876 from 29th of March 1928, which came into force June 1st, 1928. This law stated that, along with the previously introduced provisions in Bessarabia, the 1864 Civil Code is extended throughout the entire territory of this province in order to unify the enforcement of law. Since the Civil Code and all other laws had already been modified, the extended law stated that these provisions would be entirely applied in the form which was in force in the Old Kingdom June 1st, 1928. However, as the Romanian Civil Code contained some provisions which were no longer accurate given the realities of those times, some exception from the general rule of applying the Civil Code in Bessarabia were regulated. Thus, in the matter of succession, since Bessarabia law provided more advantages for the surviving spouse as his rights were more clearly stated and with a better regulation as opposed to the Romanian Civil Code, maintaining the Byzantine local law was preferred (Radulesco, 1934, p. 111). In regard to enforcing laws timewise, we must state that the south of Bessarabia (the entire Ismail County, a part of Cetatea-Alba county and a few villages of Lapusna country) had different conditions. This part of Bessarabia was under Moldavian sovereignty since 1856; however, in 1878 it was again taken over by Russia. So, legal practice solved the matter of which law would apply depending on the time the legal 180 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016 relation occurred (Boldur, 1932, p. 11). If the legal relations occurred during Romanian sovereignty, the Romanian Civil Code would apply, if it occurred under Russian sovereignty, Russian law would apply, but in accordance with Romanian law for the legal relations which occurred under Romanian sovereignty.

II. Bukovina. The second extension law was Decree-law no. 478/1938 for the expansion in Bukovina of the Old Kingdom’s legislation. Article 1 of this law stated that: “Along with the provisions which were introduced until then, starting October 15th, 1938, the Romanian Civil Code of December 4th, 1864 with all subsequent changes, is extended throughout the entire Bukovina; […] without any exception. Thus, unlike the Law for the expansion in Bessarabia of some provisions from the legislation of the Old Kingdom, the law which extended the enforcement of the Romanian Civil Code in Bukovina contained no mention regarding maintaining local laws in regard to the surviving spouse. The extension of law without any exception was motivated by the minister of justice Victor Iamandi in his address to the Council of Ministers accompanying Law no. 3406/1938 for the expansion in Bukovina of the Old Kingdom’s legislation by the fact that it was abnormal to maintain laws which were no longer in force in their country of origin and which can’t be modified. Also, several other reasons were listed, some of which prevented a good administration of justice given the new administrative division of the country. Thus, through this new administrative division, Suceava Couny along with Bukovina, Dorohoi and Hotin County still had the Old Kingdom laws in force; on the other hand, the Appeal Court in Cernauti had the Dorohoi Courtouses of the Old Kingdom, along with Hotin and Bessarabia.

III. Southern Transylvania. The third extension law was Law no. 389/1943 on the expansion of the civil and commercial legislation in the Trans-Carpathian Romania, a law enacted September 15th, 1943. According to article 1: “Civil and commercial law of the Old Kingdom is extended on the territories over the Carpathian Mountains, as follows: 1. The December 4th 1864 Civil Code […]”. Still, the second chapter of this law regards “provisions of local laws which are still in force “, thus according to article 3, until the Romanian Codes would be revised, several provisions of local law were to be maintained, including provisions regarding the right to inherit of the surviving spouse. In regard to the enforcement of this law timewise, the law stated the following: a) succession procedures started before the law came into force or ruled by the laws which are were in force at the time succession procedures began (article 23); b) accepting or giving up an inheritance, if the procedure began before the law came into force, when the heir did not exercise his right to choose, will be ruled by the extended law, namely the Romanian Civil Code (article 24); c) disownment based on previous local laws will still be in effect in succession procedures started after the law came into force. Also, the legal act between the living or those with death clause, previous to the coming into force of Law no. 389/1943 on the expansion of the civil and commercial legislation in the Trans- Carpathian Romania, were still subject to the laws which were in force at the time they occurred in regard to their validity and effects. Those which occurred after the extension law came into force were subject to public order provisions from extended laws (article 27). Proof that acts were concluded before the extension law came into force was made by any legal means available. In regard to succession and testamentary provisions drafted based on local laws, the extension law stated that they were bound to produce effects in R. MATEFI et al.: A Short Historical Overview of the Inheritance Laws… 181 succession procedures which began after the law came into force, as they could be revoked or annulled according to the provision of the law which was in force before this date (article 28), namely according to local law, not extended law.

IV. Northern Transylvania. The final extension stage was achieved by Law no. 260/1945 on the applicable legislation in Northern Transylvania, and the rights acquired in this territory during the Hungarian occupation, once Northern Transylvania was released from Hungarian occupation imposed by the Vienna dictate of August 30th, 1940. By this law, Romanian law, of any nature, with exceptions which were still in force in Transylvania, extended throughout the entire Northern Transylvania territory (article 1), as all acts and rights acquired in Northern Transylvania between August 30th, 1940 and October 25th, 1994, according to laws of the occupying power were to be respected, unless they were contrary to Romanian public order.

3.2. The unification of the surviving spouse’s rights in the inheritance left by the deceased spouse

Unifying the right to inherit of the surviving spouse throughout the entire Romanian territory was achieved not by revising the Civil Code, but by special law: Decree-law no. 319/1944 for the inheritance right of the surviving spouse. Although the Romanian Code was revised, The Carol II Civil Code never came into force, as it was abolished only when Law no. 287/2009 regarding the Civil Code (Law no. 71/2011 for the implementation of the new Civil Code) came into force. Thus, article 7 of the Law for the inheritance right of the surviving spouse clearly states the all provisions regarding the inheritance right of the surviving spouse from Transylvania and Banat, much like any provisions which are contrary to the decree-law, except more favorable provisions stated in Law no 609 of July 1st, 1941 regarding war widows are and will remain abolished and article 6 restates that the provisions of article 676 of the Civil Code as modified by article 4 of the Law on the progressive inheritance tax of July 28th, 1921 whereby the succession order until the fourth degree was restricted are and will remain in force.

4. Conclusions

This paper presented an overview of the inheritance laws applied on the Romanian territory in the 19th and the 20th centuries, from a historical point of view. The first part of our work deals with the inheritance legislation in Romania’s historical Provinces, presenting the main features of this specific legislation in Transylvania, Banat, Bukovina and the United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia. The second part contains a short presentation of the unification of inheritance laws during the inter-war period in Bessarabia, Bukovina, Southern Transylvania and Northern Transylvania.

References

Bob, M.-D. (2012). Probleme de moşteniri în vechiul şi în noul Cod civil [Inheritance issues in the old and the new Civil Code]. Bucharest: Universul Juridic. Boldur, A. V. (1932). Dreptul local al Basarabiei [The local law of Bessarabia]. Chişinău: Viaţa Basarabiei, 10, p.1-25. 182 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

Corjescu, I. (1921). Codul civil general austriac [Austrian General Civil Code]. Bucharest: Imprimeria Statului. Nacu, C. ( 1914). Comparaţiune între Codul civil român şi Codul Napoleon [Comparison between the Romanian Civil code and Napoleon’s Code]. Bucharest: Leon Alcalay. Nicolae, I. (2016). Devoluţiunea legală şi testamentară a moştenirii [Devolution of inheritance by law and by will]. Bucharest: Hamangiu. Nicolae, M. (2013). Contribuţii la studiul conflictului de legi în timp în materie civilă (în lumina Noului Cod civil) [Contributions to the Study of Conflict of Laws in Time in Civil Matters (in the light of the New Civil code)] Bucharest: Universul Juridic. Palade, I. (1907). Codul Caragea reprodus după manuscrisul original românesc [Caragea’s code reproduced according to the original Romanian manuscript]. Bucharest: Leon Alcalay. Prescure, T., Matefi, R. (2012). Drept civil. Partea generală. Persoanele. [Civil law. General Part. Persons.] Bucharest: Hamangiu. Radulesco, A. (1934). L’introduction de la législation roumaine en Bessarabie [The Introduction of the Romanian legislation in Bessarabia]. Bulletin de la Société de Législation comparée Roumaine, 5, 100-120. *** Codul civil Carol al II-lea – ediţie oficială [Carol II’s Civil Code - official edition]. Ministerul Justiţiei (1940). Bucharest: Monitorul Oficial şi Imprimeriile Statului. *** Legea asupra impozitului progresiv pe succesiuni [Law on the progressive inheritance tax], published in The Official Journal of Romania, Part I, no. 91 from 28th July 1921. *** Legea pentru extinderea în Basarabia a unor dispoziţiuni din legislaţia Vechiului Regat, promulgată prin Decretul regal nr. 876 din 29 martie 1928 [Law for the expansion in Bessarabia of some provisions from the legislation of the Old Kingdom, enacted by the Royal Decree no. 876 from 29th of March 1928], published in The Official Journal of Romania, Part I, no. 77 from 4th April 1928. *** Decretul-lege nr. 478/1938 pentru extinderea în Bucovina a legislaţiei din Vechiul Regat [Decree-law no. 478/1938 for the expansion in Bukovina of the Old Kingdom’s legislation], published in The Official Journal of Romania, Part I, no. 228 from 1st October 1938. *** Legea nr. 389/1943 privind extinderea legislaţiei civile şi comerciale în România de peste Carpaţi [Law no. 389/1943 on the expansion of the civil and commercial legislation in the Trans-Carpathian Romania], published in The Official Journal of Romania, Part I, no. 142 from 22nd June 1943. *** Decretul-lege nr. 319/1944 pentru dreptul de moştenire al soţului supravieţuitor [Decree-law no. 319/1944 for the inheritance right of the surviving spouse], published in The Official Journal of Romania, Part I, no. 133 from 10th June 1944. *** Legea nr. 260/1945 privitoare la legislaţia aplicabilă în Transilvania de Nord, precum şi la drepturile dobândite în acest teritoriu, în timpul operaţiunii ungare [Law no. 260/1945 on the applicable legislation in Northern Transylvania, and the rights acquired in this territory during the Hungarian occupation], published in The Official Journal of Romania, Part I, no. 78 from 4th April 1945. *** Legea nr. 287/2009 privind Codul civil [Law no. 287/2009 regarding the Civil Code], republished in The Official Journal of Romania, Part I, no. 505 from 15th July 2011. *** Legea nr. 71/2011 pentru punerea în aplicare a Legii nr. 287/2009 privind Codul civil [Law no. 71/2011 for the implementation of the new Civil Code], published in The Official Journal of Romania, Part I, no. 409 from 10th of June 2011.

Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov Series VII: Social Sciences • Law • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

SOME CONSIDERATIONS REGARDING THE RECOVERY OF A DEBT BY THE UNSECURED CREDITOR OF AN HEIR

Silviu-Dorin ŞCHIOPU 1

Abstract: Nowadays, the article 1107 of the New Civil Code regulates the acceptance of an inheritance by the heir’s creditors. For a better understanding of the difficulties that the heir’s unsecured creditor faces in enforcing his rights, this short overview attempts, on the one hand, to highlight certain aspects of the present-day configuration of the unsecured creditor’s legal position, and, on the other hand, to examine the special case of the heir’s unsecured creditor and some of the obstacles that he faces in order to recover the debt in an effective way.

Key words: succession, inheritance, unsecured creditor, heir, oblique action, National Notary Registry of Successions.

1. Introduction

A person’s death is socially in principle a sad event, one of the few exceptions being probably the situation in which the heir with concrete vocation to inherit the deceased is insolvent. As a result of the opening of the inheritance, the creditors of the insolvent heir might assert claims, either amicably, in the event that the debtor accepts the inheritance and then he pays his debts willingly, or by court, if the heir (debtor) does not exercise the right of inheritance option in the sense of accepting the inheritance. However, among all the heir’s creditors, the unsecured creditor is in the most precarious situation, because he does not have any privilege, any hypothec right, any right equivalent to hypothec, according to art. 2347 from the Civil Code (Law no. 287/2009 regarding the Civil Code), nor any right of pledge for the assets from the debtor’s patrimony in order to effectively exercise the claim, so that the exploitation of his rights by court may prove extremely difficult in this context.

2. The Unsecured Creditor’s Legal Position

According to the most recent legal definition that we can find at point 6 of art.3 from the Law no. 151/2015 on insolvency proceedings against private individuals (Law no. 151/2015 on insolvency proceedings against private individuals), the unsecured creditor is that creditor who does not have the quality of the holder of a claim that benefits from a case of preference.

1 Transilvania University of Braşov, [email protected] 184 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

Claims that benefit from a case of preference refer to the claims accompanied by a preferential right to payment and/or a hypothec and/or rights equivalent to hypothec, according to art. 2347 from the Civil Code, and/or a right of pledge for the assets from the debtor’s patrimony, no matter if this is the main debtor or a third party guarantee towards the individuals who benefit from the preference cases. Consequently, the unsecured creditor does not benefit from any preferential rights to payment (preference granted by law to a creditor, on considering his claim, even if the other creditors’ rights appeared or were previously scored) (Boroi, & Ilie, 2012, p. 113), neither by hypothec (the real right on the movable or immovable assets affected to the execution of a debt, regulated by the art. 2343 from the Civil Code), nor by the regulation of the transactions equivalent to hypothec (property reserve clauses, redemption pacts and assignments of receivables completed for security purposes) and not for the pledge (the pledge that requires the debtor’s dispossession of the guarantee affected asset, regardless of the moment and of the legal basis of the constitution of this -art. 186 from the Law no. 71/2011 for the implementation of Law no. 287/2009 regarding the Civil Code, published in The Official Journal of Romania, Part I, no. 409 from 10th of June 2011). Furthermore, for the part of the uncovered claim, is also an unsecured creditor the creditor who benefits from the preference case, but whose claim is not totally covered by the value of the asset affected to the preference case. We have to underline that the simple registration in the Electronic Archive for Security Interests in Movable Property of a claim does not determine its transformation into a claim that benefits from a preference case.In the same sense, the doctrine also offered a synthetic definition according to which “the unsecured creditors are those creditors that do not have a security interest to provide the achievement of the claim that they have against the debtor (hypothec, pledge, privilege), but only a right of «general pledge» on the debtor’s present and future assets, these assets serving as creditors’ common guarantee” (Boroi, G., Anghelescu, C. A., 2012, p. 227). So, to the actual execution of the rights of claim, the unsecured creditor has only general and joint guarantee established by art. 2324 paragraph (1) from the Civil Code in favour of all the creditors, regarding all debtor’s present and future movable and immovable assets. This guarantee is known in the doctrine under the name `general pledge of the unsecured creditors`, the term `pledge` not having in this context its technical meaning of real right, but the meaning of guarantee, insurance (Boroi & Ilie, 2012, p. 89, n. 3). This guarantee regards all of the debtor’s traceable assets existing in his patrimony at the moment of the forced execution, regardless of the fluctuation of the patrimony between the date of issuance of the claim and the date of the forced execution. The subject of the right of general pledge of the unsecured creditors does not consist of the actual assets that exist in the debtor’s patrimony at the date of the foreclosure, but the subject of the general and joint guarantee is the debtor’s patrimony itself, the unsecured creditors supporting the effects of the legal acts concluded by the debtor (Matefi, 2015, p. 107), acts that enrich or deplete the patrimony, excepting the acts through which their interests are defrauded. The legislator allows the unsecured creditors to trace any assets that entered their debtor’s patrimony between the moment of filing the claim and the one of the execution of the guarantee, between these two moments the debtor’s patrimony being in a continuous dynamics (Vişinoiu, 2014, p. 2416). In the event that the debtor concludes a legal transaction through which he creates or increases the state of insolvency, the unsecured creditor, if he proves the prejudice, can require a judicial decision that the act may not be set up against him, relying on the S.D. ŞCHIOPU: Some Considerations regarding the Recovery of a Debt by the unsecured… 185 provisions of the art. 1562 paragraph (1) from the Civil Code that regulates the revocatory action (Paulian). This means of protection of the creditor’s rights involves as an allowed situation the debtor’s concluding a legal act regarding patrimonial rights, either with the direct intent to harm the creditor, even by knowing that the document causes or worsens the insolvency state. But what really happens when the debtor, already in a state of insolvency, refuses to get rich, thus perpetuating the state of insolvency, even if he could have collected an inheritance that could have recovered his financial situation?

3. The Heir’s Unsecured Creditor

As we have already seen, among all creditors, the unsecured creditor finds himself in the worst situation (Prescure, & Matefi, 2012, p. 192), by benefiting only from the general pledge of the unsecured creditors, the general and joint guarantee established by art. 2324, paragraph (1) from the Civil Code. However, the unsecured creditor’s situation under the current regulation has been improved through the express consecration of the right of the heir’s creditors to accept the inheritance, by way of an oblique action, but only in the limit of the sufficiency of their claim: `The heir’s creditors may accept the inheritance, obliquely, in the limit of the sufficiency of their claim’ (art. 1107 from the Civil Code). So, the acceptance of the inheritance, made by the heir’s creditor, produces effects only in the limit of the sufficiency of the claim of its creditor, so the effects are relative because they are produced only regarding the plaintiff creditor and only in the limit of his claim. The exercise of the oblique action in the sense of accepting the inheritance by the heir’s creditor is a particular case of the oblique action regulated by art. 1560 from the Civil Code: `The creditor whose claim is certain and exigible might exercise the debtor’s rights and actions when this one, in the creditor’s detriment, refuses or neglects to exercise them`. The specific difference between the general oblique action and this particular case consists in the fact that the court order of admission of the (general) oblique action brings profit to all the creditors ` with no preference in favour of the creditor who exercised the action` (art. 1561 from the Civil Code) while the effects of the admission of the oblique action for the acceptance of the inheritance by the creditors strictly reflect on the creditor who exercised the action and only in the limit of his claim. Previously, under the influence of the Civil Code from 1864, the right of the heir’s creditors to accept the inheritance constituted the subject of some controversies in the doctrine, but according to the dominant opinion in the speciality literature, the right of succession option was of patrimonial nature, not of `strictly personal` nature as it seemed to result from the art. 974 from the 1864 Civil Code, as it might have been exercised by the heir’s personal creditors by oblique action (Deak, 1999, p. 424). Also, in order to make the claims, the unsecured creditors of the forced heirs also benefit from the right to require the reduction of the excessive liberalities (art. 1093 from the Civil Code). The reason why the legislator also admitted the forced heirs’ unsecured creditors the right to require the reduction of the excessive liberalities resides in the fact that the reduction is a means through which the forced heirship of the forced heirs that come effectively to the inheritance is protected (Nicolae, 2016, p. 464), the rejoining of the heirship improving the financial situation of the heir and implicitly his capacity to pay his debts, thus increasing the unsecured creditor’s chances to recover their debt. 186 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

The right to require the reduction of the excessive liberalities is not a strictly personal right, but a patrimonial right, that may be developed by oblique action by the forced heirs’ unsecured creditors, if the following conditions are accomplished: the forced heir should not have introduced himself the action in reduction, meaning to be inactive, to refuse or neglect to exercise it; the creditor should have a serious and legitimate reason, namely the heir should be insolvent; the creditor’s claim should be certain and exigible (Trăilă, 2015, p. 157).

4. Obstacles in the Efficient Recovery of the Debt

According to the above, the heir’s unsecured creditor seems to have at reach all the necessary levers in order to develop the right of claim by court order, the appearances are however deceiving. Both the case of the debtor already in the insolvency state and who refuses to get rich, thus developing the insolvency case, although he could have collected an inheritance that could have re-established his financial situation, and the case of the debtor who accepts the succession, but alienates the assets that he received through inheritance before the unsecured creditor could have taken action are two hypotheses not to be neglected and which probably intervene in practice more often than one might think. So, the main obstacle in the way of the actual enforcement of the rights of claim by the unsecured creditor of an heir is both the lack of visibility on the debtor’s patrimony, and especially the lack of visibility on what concerns the debtor’s chance to have become an heir with concrete vocation to inherit the deceased, and consequently able to pay his debts. Although nowadays there is a National Notary Registry of Successions ( RNNEOS - NNRS) where all the notarial deeds referring to accepting, respectively disclaiming the inheritance, are registered, managed by the National Centre for Managing the National Notary Registers – CNARNN (NCMNNR) – INFONOT – entity with legal personality, founded and organised under the authority of The National Union of Public Notaries from Romania, founded on May 1st 2013, its main purpose being the management of the national notary registers (art. 162 from the Law no. 36/1995 of the public notaries and notarial activity, published in The Official Journal of Romania, Part I, no. 479 from 1st of August 2013) – the study of it by an unsecured creditor who does not know his debtor in the most intimate way obviates any action in this direction. The procedure of studying the national notary registers was established through the decision of the Executive Office of the Council of the Public Notaries Union from Romania (http://www.infonot.ro/). In order to directly obtain information regarding the exercising of the right of succession option by the debtor heir, the unsecured creditor has to fill in a petition containing the following data regarding the deceased: surname, name, Personal Identification Number, date of birth (day/month/year), place of birth, date of death (day/month/year), place of death, last residence, (at least the locality and the county/department), the country, the name and the surname of the deceased’s parents, other names and surnames under which he was known. Of these data, the minimum provided is represented by the surname, the name, the Personal Identification Number, the date of death, the date of birth and the last residence. To this petition must be enclosed a supporting evidence of the death, such as a photocopy of the death certificate, an extract from the registry of deaths etc. Also, the unsecured creditor might refer to the concluding issuance procedure regarding the result of the verifications performed in the Register of S.D. ŞCHIOPU: Some Considerations regarding the Recovery of a Debt by the unsecured… 187

Succession Procedures of the Chambers and in the national notary registers of the Union (art. 15, letter f from the Law no. 36/1995 of the public notaries and notarial activity), procedure fulfilled by the competent notary public, according to the law, to perform the succession procedure. According to art. 331 from the Regulation for the implementation of Law no. 36/1995, for the concluding issuance regarding the checking of the inheritance evidences, the notary public checks the presentation of the death certificate, as well as proving the quality of heir or entitled person. The petition for the concluding issuance regarding the checking of the inheritance evidences is registered in the inheritance evidences of the Chamber and the notary public registers the case pending before the office, the concluding issuance falls under the responsibility of the notary public legally competent to settle the succession procedure. The notary public will issue, within 3 working days from the petition registration, a concluding statement regarding the result of the checking performed in the Register of succession procedures kept by the Chamber, as well as in the national notary registers stipulated by art. 163, paragraph (1) letters a)-c) from the law. The concluding statement will contain the results of the checking of the mentions included in the certificates released by the succession registers. The notary public proceeds first to interrogate the registry kept by the Chamber where the deceased had the last residence. In the case that, as a result of checking, it is established that the succession is solved, it will be mentioned in the concluding statement, without proceeding to check the unique registers of the Union established by art. 163, paragraph (1) letters a)-c) from the law. If as a result of the checking of the register kept by the Chamber it is established that the deceased’s succession is not pending before any notary office, the interrogation of the Register of Succession Procedures would be done only when the deceased had his last residence abroad or his residence is unknown, but had left assets in Romania. But if as a result of the checking of the register kept by the Chamber, as well as in the national notary registers, it is established that the succession is pending before a notary office, the one who is interested will be guided to obtain the concluding statement from the notary public who instruments the case. The petition, through which the checking is required, together with the concluding statement issuance by the notary public as a result of the checking, is included in the notarial register or, if the case might be, in the succession register. In the end, we have to mention that in the initial form, the procedure of the concluding statement issuance regarding the checking of the inheritance evidence, requested the entitled person (the unsecured creditor) to present to the notary public a copy of the request for summons, being mentioned whether it was filed or not. This request was, however, considered excessive by the legislator, so the Order of the Minister of Justice no. 392/C from May the 10th repealed it.

5. Conclusions

Taking into consideration both the procedure of consulting the Register of Succession Procedures kept by the Chamber, and the procedure of interrogation of the National Notary Registry of Successions, we cannot but conjecture that probably none of the heir’s unsecured creditors ever appealed to any of these in order to develop by court order of his rights of claim. 188 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 9 (58) No. 2 - 2016

Anyway, even the hypothesis in which the unsecured creditor would manage to present the death certificate (or at least a duplicate of this obtained according to the procedure regulated by the special law) and the consulting of the registers would show both the existence of the open legacy, as well as the quality of heir with concrete vocation of the insolvent debtor, we doubt the effectiveness of the means available to the unsecured creditor in the present state of the legislation, especially that the moment of establishing the right of pledge of some monitored assets from the debtor’s patrimony, constitutes the creditor’s switch to the foreclosure of the claim. The conclusion cannot be any other than the fact that the precarity of the quality of unsecured creditor should determine on its own the potential future creditors to refer to guarantees, other than the right of general pledge of the creditor on the debtor’s patrimony the more so as for example even the practice court was pronounced in that the inscription in the Land Registry of a legal action, in order to prevent the alienation of the ownership and to avoid the encumbrance of the real estate with duties, so that it might be provided the enforcement of the court order that is to be pronounced, it is necessary that particular action should be related to the right or to the estate registered in the Land Registry, relation that is not possible if the litigation for which the inscription has been solicited is based on the creditor’s right of general pledge on the debtor’s patrimony (Court of Appeal, Cluj, The Civil Section, decision no. 500/R March 3rd 2010).

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by Diacena Medical SRL.

References

Boroi, G., Anghelescu, C. A. (2012). Curs de drept civil: partea generală [Course of Civil law: The General Part]. Bucharest: Hamangiu. Boroi, G., Ilie, A. (2012). Comentariile Codului civil: garanţiile personale, privilegiile şi garanţiile reale [Comments on the Civil code: Personal Guarantees, Preferential Rights to Payment and Real Guarantees]. Bucharest: Hamangiu. Deak, F. (1999). Tratat de drept succesoral [Treatise on succession law]. Bucharest: Actami. Matefi, R. (2015). Sinteze şi aplicaţii de drept civil: partea generală [Synthesis and Applications of Civil law: The General Part]. Bucharest: Hamangiu. Nicolae, I. (2016). Devoluţiunea legală şi testamentară a moştenirii [Devolution of inheritance by law and by will]. Bucharest: Hamangiu. Prescure, T., Matefi, R. (2012). Drept civil: partea generală, persoanele [Civil law: General Part, Persons]. Bucharest: Hamangiu. Trăilă, D. (2015). Acţiuni civile în materie succesorală [Civil actions pertaining to inheritance]. Bucharest: C.H. Beck. Vişinoiu, B. (2014). Art. 2324. Garanţia comună a creditorilor [Art. 2324. The creditors’ common guarantee]. In F.-A. Baias (coord.): Noul Cod civil: comentariu pe articole [The New Civil Code: comments on articles]. Bucharest: C.H. Beck. AUTHORS INDEX

B M Bârsan, I.M...... 131 Mardache, A.C...... 97 Bârsan, M.M. ……………………... 155 Matefi, R. ……………………. .171, 177 Bódi, D. C...... 117, 123 Briciu, A...... 137 N Briciu, V.-A...... 137 Nechifor, A...... 17, 35 Buliga, A. L...... 53 Burlacu, M...... 59 P Pavalache-Ilie, M...... 27 C Patrutiu-Baltes, L...... 143 Cardiş, M.M. ……………...………. 155 Purcaru, M.A.P...... 17, 35 Coman, A...... 65, 73 Coman, C...... 81 R Crăciun, N. ………………….. 164, 171 Radu, L...... 43 Rezeanu, C.I...... 81 G Gotea, M...... 91, 123 S Sas, C...... 73 I Sorea, D...... 105 Ionaş, D.G. ………………………. .. 164 Ş L Şchiopu, S.D. ……………… .... 177, 183 Luca, M. R...... 9