(University of Peradeniya, 2018-11-09) Dovleac, L.; Brătucu,T. O.; Brătucu, G.; Chițu, I. B.
Introduction
This paper includes an analysis of Romanian students‘ opinions regarding the main values associated with the subjective well-being concept. A deeper understanding of subjective well-being among the young Romanian population leads to the development of a more sustainable society where individuals, organisations and policy makers are able to make better decisions. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (2015) measures subjective well-being considering: material condition (income and wealth, jobs and earnings, work-life balance, housing, environmental quality) and quality of life (health status, education and skills, social connections and personal security). Well-being is tightly connected to the concept of sustainability. In measuring a country‘s sustainability, the Sustainable Society Index is based on human, environmental and economic well-being (Sustainable Society Foundations, 2012). The sustainability of well-being is reflected in the need to preserve four types of capital: natural, human, social and economic (OECD, 2015). The research on youth well-being is quite limited and the authors considered it essential to conduct a more in-depth analysis about this age group. Inside the European Union, Romania has one of the highest percentages of young people willing to emigrate for improving their quality of life - 30% (Sandu et al., 2014). The research results are valuable by adding to the international framework the perspective of the young population from Romania, a South-Eastern European country with a different approach of the topic from other countries. The research problem is to understand the meaning of subjective well-being for these students, to identify the most cherished values and to analyse if there is a different perception between males and females regarding this matter.
Objectives
The aim of this paper is to present the results of a survey which quantifies the Romanian students‘ opinions about the most important values of subjective well-being and their role for creating a sustainable society.
Methodology
To achieve the objective, the authors conducted a quantitative marketing research involving 1122 students (aged 18-35) from 10 Romanian universities. The authors collected the data during December 2016 and January 2017 using an online questionnaire. The sample was built using multistage sampling based on geographical area, university size, faculty profile and the study level. So, inside the sample 55% of respondents are Bachelor‘s students, 35% - Master‘s students and 10% - PhD Students. The sample structure includes 68.5% females and 31.5% males. The research variables were selected based on several studies which identified the factors that substantiate the well-being of the young generation; satisfaction regarding personal fulfilment, interpersonal relationships at job and during their free time, finding a sense in life and happiness, health, education, social relationships and environment, finding a stable job and professional satisfaction (Fabbrizzi et al, 2016). The data collected was analysed using the statistical software SPSS 17.
Results and Discussion
Inside this study, the Romanian students were asked to rank 10 values associated with the well-being concept. Overall, the students have mentioned happiness as being the most important value of subjective well-being followed by freedom and outdoor activities. An analysis by gender shows that there is a difference of perspective. The females ranked the values exactly as mentioned above – happiness, freedom and outdoor activities. The males made a different ranking: personal income, happiness, freedom. One explanation could be the desire of men to support their family, bringing material wealth.
Further, the sources of happiness were identified in this study. The majority of the respondents mentioned family as being the major source of happiness. In second place, males mentioned personal income, compared to females who chose career. In third place both males and females mentioned their friends as being an important well-being value. Young people under the age of 25 need friends with the same concerns to provide mutual support. The study results show that freedom is a well-being value which also generates happiness. The meaning of freedom is shown in Table 2.
A person considers herself free when he can take action according to his desires or in the absence of constraints. The study‘s results in the table below show that the freedom of decision is the first sense given to freedom by 46.1% of males and 49% of females. Freedom of speech is the second meaning of freedom cherished by 16.9% males and 24.6% females.
The third important subjective well-being value mentioned by respondents is the time spent on outdoor activities. The results of the study show that students spend an average of 10.37 hours per week in nature (Table 3).
The analysis of age groups shows that although it would be expected for younger students to spend more time outdoors (due to the fact they have more free time), the results show something different. The students aged 26- 35 are those who spend the highest amount of hours outdoor – an average of 13.63 hours/week.
Conclusion
The youth population represent a valuable resource for each country‘s development and Romanian institutions need to make an effort in order to create a safe and promising environment. Considering the high percentage of youth willing to leave the country for a better life (30%) and the most important well-being values resulting from this study, the authors suppose that the Romanian young generation is not satisfied with the level of happiness and freedom and the amount of free time spent on outdoor activities. Based on this study results, all the responsible parties could apply measures in order to encourage the young generation to remain in the country. Through such analyses, the government could achieve a better understanding of how to use the resources on activities and policies which provide the biggest well-being benefits for citizens (Cloutier et al, 2013). If youth are given more opportunities to have a meaningful experience they would be more likely to remain inside the country building a sustainable society. Romanian institutions should create long term strategies for supporting this generation because its current well-being will influence the future well-being of an entire nation.
References
Cloutier, S., Larson, L., and Jambeck, J.(2013). Are sustainable cities "happy" cities? Associations between sustainable development and human well-being in urban areas of the United States. Environment, Development and Sustainability.16(3): 633-647.
OECD.(2015). How's Life? 2015 Measuring Well-being, OECD Publishing. [pdf] OECD.
Sustainable Society Foundations.(2012). Measuring wellbeing and progress towards sustainability [pdf] Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/beyond_gdp/download/factsheets/bg dp-ve-ssi.pdf.
Fabbrizzi, S., F., Maggino, N., Marinelli, S., Menghini, Ricci, C.(2016). Sustainability and Well-being: The Perception of Younger Generations and their Expectations. Agriculture and Agricultural Science Procedia, 8: 592-601.
(University of Peradeniya, 2018-11-09) Brătucu, T. O.; Brătucu, G.; Chițu, I. B.; Dovleac, L.
Introduction
In many countries around the world, women‘s opportunity to build a career and to access management positions is strongly related to the society‘s mentality. Different studies show that women do not succeed in advancing to top management positions, although education and job experience do not differentiate them from men (Beeson and Valerio, 2012). Eurostat data (2017) shows that, although women represent almost half of the employees in the European Union (EU), only 35% of them are in management positions. Among the obstacles to advancement are: structural obstacles (like the role assigned by society), family responsibilities, institutional mind-sets (masculine corporate culture, lack of company equality policies etc.) and individual mind-sets (lack of role models for women) (Barsh and Yee, 2012; ILO, 2015).
Global studies show that women‘s presence in the labor market is increasingly significant for economic growth and business development (Kuhlmann et al., 2017). In this context, the authors identified the research problem as one of analysing the particularities of the Romanian young generation‘s mentality related to women‘s career opportunities. The originality of the research comes from the authors‘ idea to identify the perspective of Romanian students on the topic considering them the new generation of employees who could change the present situation. The findings of this study can fill the literature gap by bringing new information on the topic considering the particular case of Romania, a developing country inside the European Union.
Objectives
The research objective is to analyse the mentality of the Romanian young population related to women‘s efforts on building a remarkable career by identifying the students‘ opinions regarding the chances of women‘s integration in the labor market and their access to leading positions.
Methodology
To achieve the objective, the authors conducted a quantitative marketing research (a survey) involving a very large sample of 1122 students (aged 18- 35) from 10 Romanian universities. The authors collected the data during December 2016 and January 2017 using an online questionnaire posted on Google Drive platform. The sample was built using multistage sampling based on 4 criteria: geographical area, university size, faculty profile and the study level. 55% of respondents are Bachelor‘s students, 35% - Master‘s students and 10% - PhD Students. The sample structure includes 68.5% females and 31.5% males. The data collected was analysed using the statistical software SPSS 17.
Results and Discussion
The most important variables analysed in this study are: the barriers faced by female students in applying for a job, the essential skills and competencies for being employed, women‘s chances of becoming leaders and the essential attributes for women to have in order to access management positions. The most important barrier for Romanian students in looking for a job is the lack of professional experience, followed by the gap between theory (from academic courses) and practice, mentioned by a third of respondents. An important barrier mentioned mostly by female students is gender discrimination. This fact confirms the fact that in Romania, as in the European area, young women still have more difficulties to be employed than young men (ILO, 2015).
The following figure shows the students‘ opinions on the skills considered essential in order to have a good job. The females consider that elements like teamwork skills, a strong theoretical background and IT skills help a person to have a good job, and these opinions are different from the male perspective.
In the last 10 years, at the European level many actions empowering women to a larger access at managing positions became more visible, in various fields previously reserved for men. This research shows that in Romania the hope that women can become leaders is very small. Therefore, according to Table 1, only 5.7% of the respondents give women a greater than 75% chance to become leaders.
According to the study, the attributes considered a must for women to have a chance at a management career are: motivation and perseverance, professional skills and gender equality inside the organisation. The following figure shows that a woman with the highest chance to become a leader must have a variety of skills and competences. A high percentage (28.3%) considers that the ability of teamwork is essential for a leader. Also, 13.2% consider it essential to know foreign languages, 11.3% consider that it is necessary to have a solid theoretical background. Equal percentages of respondents (7.5%) mention IT skills and practical skills.
Conclusion
The research results show that in Romania women face more barriers than men in finding a job and an important reason is gender discrimination. The women interested in building a career and achieving management positions face a difficult path, the main obstacle being the conservative and obsolete mentality of the society, even for the young generation. The small trust of young generation in women becoming leaders could be the result of the traditional education, where the woman is prepared for different roles in life compared to men. The research results show that in Romania are gender deep-rooted stereotypes that define women‘s and men‘s roles inside the community also for the young generation. For a future balanced Romanian society it is important that the individuals change their mentality. The first step can be done in the educational environment where teachers should explain the benefits of gender equality. The research results show the employers that an important part of young women still felt discriminated at job interviews. So, employers need to realize is the fact that gender is not an indicator of competence. The decision to recruit, train and promote young people (women and men), must be always based on criteria linked to skills and behavior. In conclusion, gender stereotypes should be forgotten, corporate cultures should be shaped and really implemented and the lack of measures should be solved in order to give real chances to women to add value to the economy and society.
References
Beeson, J., and Valerio A.M.(2012). The executive leadership imperative: A new perspective on how companies and executives can accelerate the development of women leaders. Business Horizons, 55: 417-425.
ILO (2015).Women in Business and Management.Gaining Momentum. [online] Available at: [Accessed 15 March 2018].
Kuhlmann, E., Ovseiko, P.V., Kurmeyer, C., Lobos, K. G., Steinböck, S., von Knorring, M., Buchan, A. M. and Brommels, M. (2017). Closing the gender leadership gap: a multi-centre cross-country comparison of women in management and leadership in academic health centers in the European Union. Human Resources for Health, 15: 2.
(University of Peradeniya, 2018-11-09) Tofan, M. Ș.; Brătucu, G.; Chițu, I. B.; Dovleac, L.
Introduction
There is a wide variety of health systems around the world, with many organizational histories and structures as nations. By default, each country has to create and develop health systems according to its needs and resources, although common principles are found in almost all health systems. Since 2000, more and more initiatives have been taken at the international level to strengthen national sanitary systems. Given this scope, it is necessary to have a clear and unrestricted vision of national health systems that could generate new global health developments (Handler et al. 2001).
Globalization works with mechanisms that influence each other, such as market liberalization, integration policies and institutions, the emergence of new technologies and international rules (Eșanu 2012). At the theoretical level, each country has resources available if it is effectively prioritized. A study conducted by the European Commission in 2013 reveals that 73% of Romanians consider that the health services do not have the expected quality, while the average of those dissatisfied with the quality of medical services at the European Union level is 27%. Due to deficiencies of sanitary systems, it is important to focus on primary and family medicine, accessible to those with low and very low income (World Health Organization and the World Bank 2017). There are a variety of reasons why people's needs are not satisfied, such as: services have too high rates, the distance to the unit/physician is too long (making them inaccessible), the waiting list is too long (appointments are hard to get).
Economic redistribution, as well as increased democratization of the processes associated with economic decision-making and the means of reproduction of social institutions, would lead to the development of the economy and health. The latter includes educational facilities, healthcare services and social services that could allow new generations to prevent serious or incurable diseases (Benatar et al. 2011). The health system in Romania has a very large gap compared to countries such as the Czech Republic, Poland, Greece, Bulgaria (EU Member States), but national development policies and strategies also aim at reducing this gap by: investing in the sanitary public system, implementing screening programs for incurable diseases, developing partnerships between private health clinics and EU health funds. Also, the importance of globalization could be seen through the development of partnerships between the national health system and other countries in order to treat Roman patients.
The death rate due to cancer in the European Union was 1,036 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants in 2015, with the highest death rates being Bulgaria (1,660 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants), followed by Romania (1,530 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants) (Eurostat 2018). In Romania, in 1995 there were 36,673 new cases of tumor-based illnesses, and in 2016 the number of new cases reached 98,856. In terms of tumor-based deaths, in 1995, 37,359 people died of oncological diseases, and in 2016 the number of deaths reached 51,803.
The research problem is the analysis of statistics about the Romanian health system compared to the international ones regarding population access to treatment, education, screening programmes, in order to identify some solutions for catching up with the globalization of health system. The originality of the research comes from the authors‘ idea to identify the situation of Romania in comparison with the European Union in terms of healthcare and breast cancer statistics. This comparison was made taking into consideration the fact that Romania is a developing country which needs worthy models in order to protect its population‘s health.
Objectives
The paper aims to present the statistics on the Romanian public and privatehealthcare system and how health access can be difficult for some parts of the population. The research objective is to analyse health inequalities (access to healthcare, income) and how the lack of health education affects the statistics of breast cancer in the case of Romanian women. The purpose of these analyzes is to see the opportunities of the Romanian health system offered by globalization.
Methodology
To achieve the objective, the authors conducted a descriptive marketing research in order to present the bond between globalization and the Romanian health system in terms of breast cancer statistics and inequalities in access of healthcare because of the migration of human resources and the lack of primary health in the entire country. The lack of health education can lead to much higher spending for the state budget, making it much easier to prevent than to treat. This study is based on secondary data analysis. The data used for the analysis are obtained from the Romanian National Institute of Statistics and from Eurostat (statistical office of the European Union).
Results and Discussion
In Romania, the evolution of the healthcare system is closely linked to medium and long-term economic development. Differences between areas in terms of the access and quality of healthcare services presents a gap that can only be recovered with well-established policies. The fragility of health system earnings has been seen as a response to economic, political and social changes and instability in recent years (Sen and Bonita 2011). Meanwhile, the private medical services market in Romania grows with about 10% per year and it was estimated in 2016 at over 700 million euro. In recent years, in Romania, the number of private health service providers has increased, largely due to the poor quality of public health services, outdated endowments, and equity of services. The public health system has a lot of gaps, not from the point of view of the physicians who provide services, but because of lack of a unitary health system.
According to Romanian National Institute of Statistics, at the end of 2016 there were 367 public hospitals, 187 private hospitals and 3 public hospitals with private areas. In 2007, there were 22 private hospitals in Romania, so their number increased more than eight times in ten years, while the number of public hospitals fell from 425 in 2007 to 366 in 2016. Romanians tend to choose a private hospital at the expense of a public hospital in the urban areas. The following chart is based on the Institute's data:
The European Commission's Working Paper "Investing in Health" shows that the health of the population also affects economic prosperity (European Union, 2018). Education has an essential role to play in preventing various diseases, and especially in understanding the strategies used to promote campaigns. Education includes components such as: patient education, school education, mass media, health communication (Nutbeam 2000). All these concepts are closely linked to globalization and adaptation to the highest standards of population health. In the last few years, public authorities have shown a growing concern to provide quality health services and the increase in health budgets has exacerbated the need for information and by default the research on the accessibility, quality and cost of providing good health services (Enăchescu 2007).
In fact, Romania is ranked the penultimate place in Europe as regards the percentage of the female population that has breast-controlled at least once in life and the last place in terms of the number of women who have performed a test at least once in their life in order to prevent cervical cancer. The study conducted by the European Union in 2012 is still valid today because in 2018 Romania is among the last three EU member states that have not yet implemented a national breast cancer screening program (Figure 2).
The consequence is the mortality rate caused by this disease in Romania which is 36%, higher than the European average (29%). In Romania, in 2017, 21 new cases of breast cancer are detected daily, and breast cancer is the main cause of female mortality in Romania (at every 3 hours a woman dies from this disease). However, the big health problems faced in the whole world demonstrate that the state of healthcare concern is still at the beginning.
Conclusion
The research results show that Romania does not currently have policies and strategies geared towards the real evolution of the healthcare system. Globalization in the health field can have a positive influence on the reduction of cancer mortality rates, thanks to facilitating the exchange of information and best practices used globally. More than 9000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer annually in Romania, 33% of them are diagnosed in stage IV, when options therapies are minimal. Breast cancer in Romania is the oncological disease with the most victims among women.
Sanitary education can help to create patterns that can describe the symptoms that can lead to breast cancer, understand the importance of prevention and apply good practice in this field. All these efforts would help the country's evolution and then remove health gaps and help the country align with global health policies. Another key issue is the medical staff, globalization being a factor that has led to a migration of the necessary human resources (which is a reason of the difficult access to healthcare), due to the unsatisfactory incomes in Romania, as well as the difficult working conditions. In poorly developed or in developing countries, even if the population had access to medical services, they would not afford the medication needed to treat serious diseases such as cancer. In order not to get into that impasse, prevention and education are very important. The research results show that Romania has an urgent need to implement a breast cancer screening program. Such screening programs can lead to very important results and can help in decreasing the funds needed to treat a breast cancer discovered in the advanced stage, precisely by early detection.
In conclusion, globalization can be used to the advantage of health systems with the help of policies and strategies created by the profile of each country because targeted populations are not similar in terms of attitudes and behaviors.
References
Handler A, Issel M and B. A.Turnock.(2001). Conceptual framework to measure performance of the public health system. A.J. of Public Health, 91(8): 1235–1239.
Eșanu, A. (2012). The concept of "global health" from the perspective of globalization, Chișinău: CEP Medicina. Current public health issues and management, (2):553-557.
Benatar, S., Gill S. and I. Backer. (2011). Global Health and the Global Economic Crisis, American Journal of Public Health, 101(4): 646– 653.
Sen, K., Bonita, R. (2011) Global health status: two steps forward, one step back, The Lancet, 365(9229): 579-582.
Nutbeam, D. (2000) Health literacy as a public health goal: a challenge for contemporary health education and communication strategies into the 21st century, Health Promotion International, 15(3).