JOURNAL OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS & OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT Vol. 14 No. 1 May 2020 EDITURA UNIVERSITARĂ Bucureşti Foreword Welcome to the Journal of Information Systems & Operations Management (ISSN 1843-4711; IDB indexation: ProQuest, REPEC, QBE, EBSCO, COPERNICUS). This journal is an open access journal published two times a year by the Romanian- American University. The published articles focus on IT&C and belong to national and international researchers, professors who want to share their results of research, to share ideas, to speak about their expertise and Ph.D. students who want to improve their knowledge, to present their emerging doctoral research. Being a challenging and a favorable medium for scientific discussions, all the issues of the journal contain articles dealing with current issues from computer science, economics, management, IT&C, etc. Furthermore, JISOM encourages the cross-disciplinary research of national and international researchers and welcomes the contributions which give a special “touch and flavor” to the mentioned fields. Each article undergoes a double-blind review from an internationally and nationally recognized pool of reviewers. JISOM thanks all the authors who contributed to this journal by submitting their work to be published, and also thanks to all reviewers who helped and spared their valuable time in reviewing and evaluating the manuscripts. Last but not least, JISOM aims at being one of the distinguished journals in the mentioned fields. Looking forward to receiving your contributions, Best Wishes Virgil Chichernea, Ph.D. Founder of JISOM JOURNAL OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS & OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT EDITOR IN CHIEF Alexandru Tăbuşcă, PhD, Associate Professor MANAGING EDITORS George Căruţaşu, PhD, Hab. Professor Daniela Alexandra Crișan, PhD, Associate Professor Gabriel Eugen Garais, PhD, Lecturer EDITORIAL BOARD Costin Boiangiu, PhD, Professor - Politehnica University, ROMANIA Cristina Coculescu, PhD, Associate Professor - Romanian-American University, ROMANIA Pauline Cushman, PhD, Professor - James Madison University, USA Sergiu Iliescu, PhD, Professor - Politehnica University, ROMANIA Susan Kruck, PhD, Professor - James Madison University, USA Ramon Mata-Toledo, PhD, Professor - James Madison University, USA Viorel Marinescu, PhD, Professor - Technical University of Civil Engineering, ROMANIA Sanda Micula, PhD, Professor - Babes-Bolyai University, ROMANIA Traian Muntean, PhD, Professor - Universite Aix-Marseille, FRANCE Floarea Năstase, PhD, Professor - Bucharest University of Economic Studies, ROMANIA Victor Patriciu, PhD, Professor - Military Technical Academy, ROMANIA Gheorghe Păun, Academician - Romanian Academy, ROMANIA Mihaela Păun, PhD, Professor - University of Bucharest, ROMANIA Mircea Stelian Petrescu, Academician - Romanian Academy, ROMANIA Alexandru Pîrjan, PhD, Hab. Professor - Romanian-American University, ROMANIA Eduard Rădăceanu, PhD, Professor - Politehnica University, ROMANIA Lucia Rusu, PhD, Professor - Babes-Bolyai University, ROMANIA Ion Smeureanu, PhD, Professor - Bucharest University of Economic Studies, ROMANIA Kent Zimmerman, PhD, Professor - James Madison University, USA Senior Staff Text Processing: Mariana Coancă, PhD, Associate Professor - Romanian-American University Justina Lavinia Stănică, PhD, Lecturer - Romanian-American University JISOM journal details No. Item Value 1 Category 2010 (by CNCSIS) B+ 2 CNCSIS Code 844 JOURNAL OF INFORMATION 3 Complete title / IDB title SYSTEMS & OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT 4 ISSN (print and/or electronic) 1843-4711 5 Frequency SEMESTRIAL Journal website (direct link to journal 6 http://JISOM.RAU.RO section) EBSCO GALE Cengage Learning 7 IDB indexation Index Copernicus ProQuest RePEC/IDEAS Contact First name and last name Alexandru TĂBUŞCĂ, PhD Associate Professor Phone +4-0372-120.123 E-mail [email protected] ISSN: 1843-4711 The Proceedings of Journal ISOM Vol. 14 No. 1 CONTENTS Editorial Roxana Ștefania BÎRSANU ANDRAGOGY AND FLT IN THE 7 e-LEARNING CONTEXT Mihai Alexandru BOTEZATU, RESEARCH ON THE CORRELATION 22 Alexandra HOSSZU, BETWEEN THE USE OF MODERN Cezar BOTEZATU, INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION Cornelia Paulina BOTEZATU TECHNOLOGIES BY ORGANIZATIONS AND REGIONAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Daniela Alexandra CRIȘAN COMPETITIVE PROGRAMMING. 43 Justina Lavinia STĂNICĂ AN ANALYSIS OF THE PERFORMANCE IN Adam Nelu ALTAR-SAMUEL ROMANIA Ioana Monica DICHER UNSUPERVISED MERGE OF OPTICAL 60 Ana-Georgia ȚURCUȘ CHARACTER RECOGNITION RESULTS Eduard-Marius COJOCEA Patricia-Steliana PENARIU Ion BUCUR Marcel PRODAN Eduard STĂNILOIU Ionel IACOB SQL INJECTION 68 Mironela PIRNAU ATTACKS AND VULNERABILITIES Alexandru ILINU VOTING-BASED MOTION ESTIMATION 82 Cristian AVATAVULUI Giorgiana Violeta VLĂSCEANU Costin-Anton BOIANGIU Ionela-Cătălina ZAMFIR A REVIEW OF DATA MINING TECHNIQUES 93 Ana-Maria Mihaela IN MEDICINE IORDACHE Alexandra MĂRGINEAN EMPIRICAL ASPECTS IN THE 107 PSYCHOLOGY OF ONLINE TEACHING OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES Alin-Florin MIHĂILĂ ON IMAGE SEGMENTATION USING A 121 Patricia-Steliana PENARIU COMBINATION OF FELZENSZWALB, SLIC Giorgiana Violeta AND WATERSHED METHODS VLĂSCEANU Marcel PRODAN Jose MUJICA EE, DIFFERENCING BETWEEN DECIBEL (DB) 130 Ramon A. MATA-TOLEDO ADDITION IN ROOM ACOUSTIC DESIGN AND LINE ARRAY LOUDSPEAKERS DESIGN Robert STANCA ON HOW TO COMBINE SINGLE IMAGE 140 Eduard-Marius COJOCEA SUPER-RESOLUTION ALGORITHMS Cristian AVATAVULUI Costin-Anton BOIANGIU Radu STEFAN EXPLAINABLE MACHINE LEARNING FOR 151 George CARUTASU ETHICAL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE BASED DECISIONS Alexandru TĂBUȘCĂ IOT AND THE FLYING ANSWER 162 Gabriel-Eugen GARAIS TO COVID-19 Marilena Roxana ZUCA THE RELEVANCE OF ACCOUNTING 174 Alice Emilia ȚÎNȚA INFORMATION IN MEASURING THE PERFORMANCE OF AN ENTITY Janina Mirela THE INTELLIGENT SPECIALIZATION 193 GABROVEANU (VLĂDOI) MECHANISM PROPOSED BY ROMANIA FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH JOURNAL OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS & OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT, Vol. 14.1, May 2020 ANDRAGOGY AND FLT IN THE e-LEARNING CONTEXT Roxana Ștefania BÎRSANU1 Abstract: The teaching-learning dyad has incurred significant changes of dynamics as a result of the emergence of the information sharing medium which is the online education environment. One of these changes reflects a revisitation of andragogic approaches, as increasing numbers of adult learners enrol in e- courses, mainly for convenience reasons – they allow for information dissemination in a manner which satisfies their concrete professional needs, at a pace and in a time frame that can be easily fitted into their busy schedules. Relying on the andragogic principles developed by Malcolm Knowles, this paper sets to analyse them in the framework of foreign language learning, as the study of foreign languages might be one of the most challenging instruction areas for adult learners. Thus, the article first reviews some of the most frequently used methodologies of language teaching such as the communicative approach, grammar-translation, task-based learning, the natural approach or suggestopoedia. The aim of this appraisal is to detect which of them are most suited for adult students on the one hand and for virtual classrooms, on the other. Special emphasis is placed on the transformative learning theory advanced by Jack Mezirow, which is usually applied in adult education. Keywords: language teaching, e-learning, adult learner, transformative learning 1. Introduction The digital age has led to a reorganisation of the complex structures of social, professional and economic layers. It has represented a genuine game-changer in education as well, that has entailed an adjustment of the instructional paradigm in respect of all the elements involved, from learner profiles to curriculum design and reconsideration of teaching methods. This paper draws on an interdisciplinary approach, as it tackles issues pertaining to foreign language teaching, e-learning and principles of andragogy. It focuses on three aspects of the broad educational framework: learner – in this particular case, the adult learner –, subject matter – foreign language acquisition –, and medium – online learning as opposed to traditional forms of instruction. The above-mentioned training triad can be addressed from various perspectives; however, in this particular instance, the focus 1 Corresponding author, lecturer PhD, Romanian-American University, Bucharest, [email protected] 7 JOURNAL OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS & OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT, Vol. 14.1, May 2020 will be on the learners, on their needs and expectations as to the result of their learning endeavours. In the broader context of adult education, language learning is probably in the top three of all types of courses (together with computer literacy and management skills) in which adult persons enrol once they graduate some level of formal education. Most learners take up language classes as a result of a need that arises in their social and professional lives: “Some may need mainly speaking and listening skills, other may have to learn to read and write for particular purposes. Others may need informal language mainly for social interaction rather than the more formal language required for work purposes. Alternatively, they may be more interested in cultural aspects of language learning rather than the strictly functional ones” [1]. In the last decades, the advancement of the Internet and the continuous progress of information technologies have made it possible for people to engage in online learning as well, which is oftentimes preferred to traditional