Browsing by Author "Durach, Flavia"

Now showing 1 - 13 of 13

Crisis of confidence in vaccination and the role of social media
(Elsevier, 2021-12) Durach, Flavia; Buturoiu, Raluca; Craiu, Dana; Cazacu, Cristina; Bârgăoanu, Alina
Introduction: The aim of this paper is to review the current situation of vaccine hesitancy, with emphasis on children with neurological disorders, and to present the role social media plays in this situation. Methods: A literature review using the following search words was performed: vaccine* OR immune* AND hesitancy OR confidence AND social media. Results: The search retrieved 277 results; 17 duplicates and 234 irrelevant articles were excluded. 43 articles were fully analyzed. Conclusions: An increasing number of parents are becoming vaccine hesitant. Their motives are complex and nuanced and involve factors related to vaccine safety and efficiency, perceived personal risks and benefits, socio-demographic and psychological characteristics. Attitudes toward vaccination differ in adolescents from their parents. In children with neurological disorders, factors involved in vaccination decision included physicians' knowledge of neurological diseases and parents’ concerns that vaccination would exacerbate the chronic disorder. Unfortunately, the current pandemic is associated with an increase in vaccine hesitancy and brought forward unique determinants. The social media platforms can be a tool for the anti-vaccine movement to spread misinformation, but it can also be valued as a way for promoting health and pro-vaccine information.
East-West Divide in the European Union: Legacy or Developmental Failure?
(European Institute of Romania, 2021) Volintiru, Clara; Bârgăoanu, Alina; Ștefan, George; Durach, Flavia
EU goes through a realignment process in the context of the demise of multilateralism, yet the impact of this process on the 11 new Member States from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is rarely discussed. There is a persistent East-West divide in the EU that is mainly socio-economic, even though often narrated as a political divide between older and newer Member States. The article explores in depth the current developmental metrics in CEE and argues that the progress that has been achieved in overall levels of convergence in the EU is yet to be reflected at subnational level, where great disparities persist. It is the developmental divide that continues to inform political divisions in Europe.
Fake News Going Viral: The Mediating Effect Of Negative Emotions
(University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava, 2021-11-13) Udrea, Georgiana; Bârgăoanu, Alina; Corbu, Nicoleta; Durach, Flavia
In recent years, “fake news” has become a buzzword used to describe a variety of disinformation practices identifiable both in the traditional media, and in the digital environment. The goal of our paper is to investigate fake news, aiming at both clarifying the concept and discussing the possible integration of ideologically driven information under this large umbrella, as well as investigating conditions under which various types of fake news have the potential to go viral. In this study we consider ideologically driven news as a form of disinformation, by the mere reason that there is a clear intention to deceive behind this type of news. At the same time, we argue that, compared to no more than one-two decades ago, ideologically driven information is potentially much more harmful, by virtue of the potential of being shared, easily further disseminated within echo-chambers and with the help of filter bubbles. In line with recent studies, we contend that, at its core, the fake news problem concerns the economics of emotion, specifically how emotions are used and often abused to foster audience’s attention, engagement, and willingness to share content. In this context, and under the recent political circumstances in Romania (marked by anti-government protests and public opposition to the ruling political party), our aim is to better understand how people’s susceptibility to disseminate deceitful information is enhanced by various forms and valences of politically biased fake news, and what is the role of specific emotions in explaining this process. Bulding on Tandoc et al.’s classification of fake news, we propose a 2x2x2 experimental design, in which we manipulated intention to deceive, level of facticity and valence. The survey experiment (N=813) tests two positive (enthusiasm and contentment) and two negative (anger and fear) discrete emotions as mediators of the main effect of potential of viralisation effects (i.e. how likely users are to share fake news on a social network). Results show that negatively biased fake news enhances people’s willingness to share the news story, while positively biased fake news has no significant effect on the viralisation potential. Moreover, the potential for viralisation is mediated by negative emotions, but not by positive ones.
Framing the Refugee Crisis in Online Media: A Romanian Perspective
(Comunicare.ro, 2017) Corbu, Nicoleta; Buturoiu, Raluca; Durach, Flavia
The European Union (EU) is under severe pressure, due to the multiple crises it has to manage. Among them, the refugee crisis is remarkable, since it is shaking both the individual member states and the EU as a whole. The media coverage of the refugee crisis is important because the media still are the main source of information concerning distant issues (the refugee crisis included), and as such it facilitates people’s access to social reality. Using the perspective of agenda-setting and the conceptual background of framing theory, we aim to (1) identify the most prominent frames online media employ with reference to the refugee crisis, and (2) reveal the tone of voice online media use when portraying issues related to this crisis. To achieve these two goals, we content analyzed 1493 online news articles, published between April 15, 2015 and February 29, 2016. Main findings show that online media outlets mainly refer to the refugee crisis in terms of responsibility and conflict, in this order of prominence. At the same time, online media portals prefer using a reasonably balanced viewpoint when portraying the refugees, and a slightly negative one in terms of attitudes towards the European Union.
Predictors of COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance: The Role of Trust and the Influence of Social Media
(2024-02-21) Bârgăoanu, Alina; Buturoiu, Raluca; Durach, Flavia
The study discusses the predictors of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance in Romania. We implemented a national survey using an online panel (N = 1006), representative for the online population of Romania aged 18 or higher, conducted on 13–26 October, 2020, by the national pollster QUESTIA. Results show a predictive model of people’s willingness to take the COVID-19 vaccine, in which trust in the actors and institutions involved in the management of the crisis is the strongest predictor, followed by the belief in toxic or misleading narratives about vaccines and the COVID-19 pandemic, and media consumption patterns. Education is a moderator of the relationship between trust and the willingness to vaccinate. Implications for professionals in the social work fields, as well as for policy-makers are discussed. Results could be used as a starting point for developing recommendations for evidence-based health communication in the context of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign.
Predictors of Engagement on Social Media and Instant Messaging Platforms during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from Romania
(2022-12) Corbu, Nicoleta; Bârgăoanu, Alina; Durach, Flavia; Ștefăniță, Oana
The COVID-19 pandemic raised important questions about news patterns of interaction on social network sites (SNS) and instant messaging platforms (IM), especially in the context of the massive replacement of face-to-face interactions with mediated interactions, due to the restrictive measures taken in many parts of the world. In this context, by means of a national survey conducted in Romania (N=1160), we investigated people’s willingness to engage on social media and instant messaging platforms about the topic of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results show that people are eager to share information about the topic on both SNS and IM, less interested in getting involved in debates, and even less in voluntary work. All these behaviors are predicted by trust of SNS and news consumption on these platforms, perceived size of the personal digital network, belief in conspiracy theories about the virus, uncertainty about the impact of the crisis, and level of education.
Rethinking the state-market relations in the New Age of development
(2018) Dobrescu, Paul; Durach, Flavia
This paper discusses, from a conceptual and theoretical perspective, the recent debates on the relation between the state and the market as drivers of national development. Since the end of the Cold War, three periods are distinguishable according to the way in which development is discussed, envisaged, and designed through state policies. The first one starts from the end of the Cold War and leads to the 2008-2009 crisis, the second includes the ten years of recovery, while the last is unfolding at the moment. The argument takes globalization into account as the background for development, during the three decades observed. The paper analyses the way in which the state-market relationship was envisaged during each period, both in the developed and emerging economies. The paper identifies the factors that ensure steady development, with an emphasis on current challenges. Lastly, the paper presents the particular experience of Central and Eastern Europe during its transition from the communist regime to democracy. The conclusion is that the better understanding of the relationship between globalization and development, the faster their evolution for a given country.
Tackling Disinformation: EU Regulation of the Digital Space
(European Institute of Romania, 2020-06) Durach, Flavia; Bârgăoanu, Alina; Nastasiu, Cătălina
This paper provides an overview of current responses to fake news and digital disinformation inside and outside the EU, and assesses the advantages and disadvantages of each solution. Four approaches emerge: (1) self-regulation (i.e. actions undertaken on a voluntary basis by the digital platforms); (2) co-regulation (i.e. cooperation framework between EU-level and national-level authorities, the internet platform companies, media organizations, researchers, and other stakeholders); (3) direct regulation (i.e. legal measures & sanctions); and (4) audience-centred solutions (i.e. factchecking and media literacy). We argue in favour of the co-regulation approach, while drawing attention to some current challenges in the response against disinformation. Furthermore, we need to go beyond the understanding of disinformation as an information/ truth fraud, and draw additional measures to reflect the particular understanding of disinformation as a form of users’ engagement fraud.
THE 2014 EUROPEAN ELECTIONS IN ROMANIA. TRANSLATING LOW MEDIA SALIENCE INTO ELECTORAL ”SILENCE”?
("Ștefan cel Mare" Univeristy of Suceava Publishing House, Romania, 2016) Radu, Loredana; Lupescu, Liliana; Durach, Flavia; Pîrvan, Mirela
European Elections are often perceived as ”second-order” elections, thus enjoying lower visibility and turnout than national/presidential elections. According to the specialized literature, this might be due to the fact the EU is usually seen by the electorate (i.e. citizens of the member states) as a far away issue, out of its core area of concern, a phenomenon rooted, for example, into a low degree of europeanization of the national public spheres (Delanty, 2007) or poor European leadership (Habermas, 2012). This paper aims at exploring how European Elections have been approached by the five most popular TV channels in Romania: TVR1, PRIMA TV, Antena 1, Kanal D, and PRO TV. Our paper builds on an extensive content analysis of all of the 3257 prime time news broadcasted by these TV channels between April 25 and May 25 (i.e. during the electoral campaign). Our research focuses on media salience of European Elections, as well as on the key actors present in these news.
The COVID-19 Infodemic–An Accelerated Version of the New Digital Ecosystem
(College of Communication and Public Relations, NUPSPA, 2020) Bârgăoanu, Alina; Durach, Flavia
The COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented in terms of its quasi-simultaneous global reach and its multilayered character (medical, economic, political, geopolitical and social). It is also unprecedented because it is the first pandemic of the digital age, thus offering an accelerated version of the digital eco-system: interconnectedness across countries, regions, and even continents; globalization/ trans-nationalization of the national/ local communication spaces coupled by the circulation of global polluted narratives which are strikingly similar in terms of content in spite of their appearance of being tailored, even “extremely personalized” to fit local characteristics; and the preeminence of digital platforms within the communication ecosystem, including the semi-private or downright private ones such as WhatsApp or Facebook private messaging applications. Out of these emerging features, we will focus our analysis on the last interconnected two: globalization of seemingly local narratives and the emergence of the WhatsApp or Facebook private instant messaging applications as prominent transmission/ contagion means. We will do so by carrying an in-depth case study of Romania, which may offer an insight into more generalizable trends.
The East-West Divide in the European Union: A Development Divide Reframed as a Political One
(Springer, 2019) Bârgăoanu, Alina; Buturoiu, Raluca; Durach, Flavia
This chapter focuses on the return of the East-West divide in the European Union, a divide neither new nor superficial. Dating centuries back in history, the divide is fuelled by persistent differences in the level of development of the Old (Western) Member States, and the New (CEE) Member States. Given the major geopolitical shifts shaking the current world order (i.e., the transatlantic deficit), overcoming the East-West divide is crucial for the EU’s future. This chapter will underline the morphology of the East-West “development divide” by focusing on its socio-economic determinants. It seeks to show that CEE membership to the EU has left largely untouched development indicators such as the urban-rural ratio, level of capitalisation and savings, entrepreneurship and innovation, integration in global/European production, technology, R&D chains, minimum wages, social expenditures, poverty, deprivation, income inequality, unemployment, and mortality. The authors consider that a sober, critical evidence-based acknowledgement of the European Union’s failure to make significant contributions to closing this development divide is worth our attention, and that the temptation to “reframe” this development gap in political, cultural, or even civilizational terms has the potential to create the greatest vulnerability for the EU and the international liberal order in the next years. This chapter has been prepared with financial support granted in the project “State of the Nation. Designing an innovative instrument for evidence-based policy-making” (SIPOCA 11, MySMIS 118305), which is co-financed by the European Social Fund through the Operational Programme Administrative Capacity 2014–2020.
The New Age of Development: The Geopolitical Assertion of Eurasia
(Springer, 2022) Dobrescu, Paul; Durach, Flavia
This book focuses on current trends in development, arguing that the digital revolution will shape today’s race for global supremacy. The volume explores how the technological race, driven by AI advances, will decisively contribute to shaping a new world order. Every leap in technological advancement changes the rules of the game and initiate new cycles of economic growth. The main argument of the authors is that these changes are particularly intense in Eurasia, the main geopolitical hotspot at the moment. Starting from recent statistical data, the authors underline this new ascent of the Asian continent - a shift that can be best described as a historical change of relay not between two countries, but between two continents. Lastly, the volume discusses the consequences of these shifts in power and influence, by reflecting on the possible new world order to follow. Effectively providing an overview of the challenges that will decisively shape future geopolitical relations, this volume will be of use to researchers and students interested in globalization studies, international relations, geopolitics, and development.
Unable to Stop Inequality from Rising: Evidence from Romania
(Springer, 2019) Dobrescu, Paul; Durach, Flavia
The different perspectives on inequality and its evolution in the post-crisis period have emerged in recent years. The first was introduced by Piketty (Capital in the twenty-first century. Transl. Arthur Goldhammer. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 2014), who emphasized cyclicity as an inherent feature of inequality. According to the author, inequality tends to increase or decrease according to the variations of the economy. In times of robust economic growth, the rate of return on capital (consisting of profits, dividends, interest, rents) and the labour force can both be satisfied to reasonable extents. When the rate of economic growth is low, wealth accumulates in favour of the capital instead of labour, thus increasing inequality. The second view on inequality is authored by Milanovic (Global inequality: A new approach for the age of globalisation. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 2016), who focuses on the evolution of inequality in a global setting. He draws attention to the growing gaps between nations that pose a threat to international stability. Lastly, Graham (Happiness for all? Unequal hopes and lives in pursuit of the American dream. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 2017) contrasts objective inequality to its subjective perceptions. There are cases in which factual inequality is high, but the existence of social mobility policies based on personal merit leads to acceptance and tolerance towards inequality. The most obvious example is “the American dream”, with all the hope it encompasses. According to Graham, during the last decade, tolerance to inequality has decreased, leading to a crisis of trust. By relating to the three aforementioned ways of understanding inequality, and other prominent views in the literature, this paper investigates through quantitative methods the different faces of inequality within Romania, with an emphasis on regional disparities. Furthermore, we aim to find the country’s ranking in its geographic region (Central and Eastern Europe). A secondary focus of the study is on the Romanian citizens’ perceptions of inequality. The findings suggest that, in its post-communist existence, Romania did experience economic growth but, unfortunately, little development, while inequalities became more severe.