Browsing by Author "Ivan, Loredana"

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Ageing and responsible consumption
(National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, Faculty of Management, 2021-12-30) Zbuchea, Alexandra; Ivan, Loredana; Mocanu, Rareș
Multiple studies show that the contemporary society is increasingly more responsible and ask companies to prove responsible citizens, too. The current study aims to a better understanding of the role of age plans in responsible consumption attitudes and values. Investigating the literature in the field, including studies developed worldwide as well as on the Romanian market. The research documents that the younger adults are more responsible and greener than older persons. Nevertheless, the older the consumer, the more trustful in the personal impact of her/his consumption is. The older adults seem to be less inclined towards responsible buying. The available data also suggests that the age gap is closing, and older consumers tend to be increasingly more responsible.
Closing the gap between museums and schools
(Sciendo, 2022-12-12) Zbuchea, Alexandra; Ivan, Loredana; Timofte, Mona Silvia; Iordan, Iulia
Museums’ roles are diversifying considering their dynamic relationships with the present-day economy, society, and communities. Nevertheless, education is the main constant marketing museums’ complex activities. An important part of the educational mission of museums is designed with and for teachers and their students. Nevertheless, these partnerships are complex and they need more understanding for designing more effective educational programs. Having this in mind, the present study analyzes the way primary-school teachers in Bucharest, Romania, interact with museums and how they use their collections as educational resources in class. The qualitative investigation implemented shows that there is a high potential for partnership and teachers need more guidance and cooperation opportunities coming from museum educators and curators.
Culture and Aging. Exploring older generations through the lenses of shifting patterns
(Department of International Relations and European Integration of the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, 2023-07-10) Duduciuc, Alina; Bîră, Monica; Ivan, Loredana
Worldwide, the phenomenon of population aging has been acknowledged by statistics, and the irreversible rate of aging presents exceptional challenges. In 1950, only 22% of the European population belonged to the age group of 50+. In 2019, the same age group accounted for 38% of the European population. In the next 30 years, the percentage of older adults (+50 and above) is projected to reach 46% of the population (Rogelj & Bogataj, 2019). However, despite the significant demographic shift, only recently academic researchers and policymakers have begun to recognize the importance of the rapidly growing silver segment within the population structure and its implications for the social and economic development of society for the coming decades. In response to the rapidly growing older market, the business world has reacted differently (Kohlbacher & Herstatt, 2011) to the demand of population aging: some appear to be unaware of the existence of this phenomenon; others are considering it loss-making; while few are actively seeking for solutions to be age-friendly pioneering by developing and promoting innovative products aiming to silver consumers.
Developing a Digital and Traditional Political Participation (DTPP) Scale for Youth: A Validity and Reliability Study
(College of Communication and Public Relations, NUPSPA, 2023) Kuș, Zafer; Bertani, Michele; Ivan, Loredana; Mert, Hilal
The purpose of this study is to develop and validate a political participation scale for youth, considering both traditional and digital political participation (DTPP). The research was conducted using 458 participants from Turkey, Italy, and Romania, aged between 15 and 29 years. Explanatory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were performed to test the structural validity of the scale. EFA results illustrated that scale consisted of three factors and the total variance was 61.23%. These factors were labeled as “digital political support”, “traditional political support” and “digital political following”. During confirmatory factor analysis, the three-factor structure was tested, and the resulting model produced an acceptable goodness of fit The scale consists of 39 items and the reliability coefficients for each subscale vary from .92 and .95. The results show that the scale is valid and reliable to measure traditional and digital political participation of young people.
Four European typologies of older adults concerning environmental sustainability
(Elsevier, 2025) Dikken, Jeroen; Kazak, Jan K.; Pavlovski, Daniel; Ivan, Loredana; Ayalon, Liat; Perek-Białas, J.M.; Hoof, J. van
Transforming our societies towards a more sustainable future requires a good understanding of their citizens. This is of particular importance when considering the phenomenon of population ageing, which means that older people will constitute a significant share of society. The imperative for sustainable development arises from escalating concerns over environmental issues, necessitating tailored interventions for the heterogeneous group of older individuals. In this research, data collected using the SustainABLE-8 in Poland, North Macedonia, Romania, the Netherlands and Israel (N = 2318) were analysed in order to identify European typologies and their drivers for - and contributions to - sustainable practices. Several items of the SustainABLE-8 concerned (limiting) energy use at home as well as attitudes towards the use of sustainable energy and climate change. The study identified the existence of four major typologies, which differ in terms of their financial position, beliefs and behaviours in relation to the environment. These typologies cover 1) inactive people with limited financial resources, 2) inactive believers, 3) active and belief-driven people with limited financial resources, and 4) active and belief-driven people with financial resources. Each typology is separately discussed in terms of its specificities and ways how local governments could support their pro-environmental behaviours. The research is summarised with practical implications for industry, policymakers and environmental, social and governance strategies.
Involving Older People in Participatory Action Research: An Example of Participatory Action Design
(College of Communication and Public Relations, NUPSPA, 2018) Schiau, Ioana; Ivan, Loredana; Bîră, Monica
Participatory Action Research (PAR) has as a main goal the collaborative construction and production of meanings between the researchers and the participants. PAR has been largely used in the area of technology creation and appropriation involving end-users in different stages of technology designing process. However, research studies concerning older people and their use of technology employ PAR to a lesser extent. In the current paper we provide arguments for the value of different participative action approaches when studying technology appropriation by older people, and present an example of a participatory action design that we have implemented in three Romanian cities, with people 60+, to reveal the way older adults depict their experience in using Facebook. We used a five-step collaborative research design – (1) initial evaluation; (2) training session; (3) immediate evaluation; (4) group co-creation; (5) final evaluation – to reflect on the participants’ experience through groups techniques and participant observation notes. Results reveal the fact that one trainer per each participant, adapting the interaction to the participant’s individual needs, intergenerational trainer-trainee communication and patience, as well as proper timing of the organized sessions are key factors to foster participant engagement with social media. In addition, the proposed participatory action design proved to have some potential to empower older people in long time engagement with social media.
Mapping challenges of the Romanian NGOs. A focus on human resources
(Faculty of Management (SNSPA), 2019-03-29) Zbuchea, Alexandra; Ivan, Loredana; Stan, Sergiu Octavian; Dămășaru, Costin
The effectiveness of NGOs, similar to other types of organizations, depends on the quality and implication of their employees and volunteers. The literature highlights the role of learning capabilities, organizational learning, networking and community capacity building in ensuring organizational sustainable development in the NGO sector. In this framework, professional human resources should be an important part of the management strategy. Continuous and personalized training would be also important for NGOs. The present paper presents a qualitative investigation aiming to map the training needs and practices of the NGO sector in Romania, both from the perspective of its representatives and its stakeholders. The findings show a general agreement and concern related to the professionalism of the workers in the sector, as well as related to the lack of explicit responsibility/the feeling of being accountableassumed by the members of the sector. The study also revealed a need for closer cooperation between the members of the Quadruple Helix.
Mobile phone use before and during the COVID-19 pandemic – a panel study of older adults in seven countries
(SAGE Publications, 2024) Taipale, Sakari; Oinas. Tomi; Ivan, Loredana; Rosenberg, Dennis
The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in older adults’ mobile phone use from before to during the COVID-19 pandemic. The media displacement and digital divide approaches served as the theoretical frameworks of the study. The data were drawn from the 2018 and 2020 waves of the Aging + Communication + Technology cross-national longitudinal panel study. The sample consisted of older Internet users, aged 62 to 96 (in 2018), from Austria, Canada, Finland, Israel, the Netherlands, Romania, and Spain, who participated in both waves (N = 4,398). Latent class analysis and latent transition analysis with multinomial regression models were the main methods applied to the data. With regard to the findings, three mobile phone function use profiles—Narrow Use, Medium Use, and Broad Use—were identified from the data. Lower age, being married, higher income, and place of residence (in 2018) predicted belonging to the three profiles, while country differences in the prevalence of the profiles were substantial. Between 2018 and 2020, transition from one profile to another was relatively rare but typically toward the “Broad Use” category. Profile transitions were most common in Romania, while stability was highest in Finland, Israel, and Canada. In addition, gender, age, marital status, and place of residence predicted the likelihood of changing from one profile to another between 2018 and 2020. The results suggest that older adults’ mobile phone function use is relatively stable over a two-year time span. While new mobile phone functions are adopted, they seem to augment the spectrum of mobile usage rather than displace older similar functionalities. In addition, demographic, socioeconomic, and country-level digital divides, although slightly modified over time, remain significant among older adults.
Older Adults and the Digital Divide in Romania: Implications for the Covid-19 Pandemic
(2021-10-31) Ivan, Loredana; Cutler, Stephen
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Romania invoked the 15th Amendment of the European Convention of Human Rights for emergency situations and issued an Emergency State Presidential Decree (first put into effect on March 16 and extended until May 15, 2020). This amendment allowed for exemptions from broad categories of human rights (e.g., the right to privacy and intimacy). Older people became the main target of the Romanian government’s plans for isolation. Using data from the Romanian National Institute of Statistics and data gathered prior to the COVID-19 pandemic from a longitudinal study on communication technologies used by older people in Romania (Loos, Nimrod, & Fernández-Ardèvol, 2018; 2020), we examine the digital inequalities faced by Romanian elders. The current study addresses the following specific research questions: (1) what digital opportunities and limitations were faced by the older population of Romania: e.g., online shopping, asking for help from various organizations using online platforms, using online medical assistance, etc., and (2) how did digital inequalities shape the lives of older people in Romania? Although the data do not reflect the situation of older Internet users during pandemics, we used the most recent and detailed data regarding Internet behavior of older adults in Romania. The current article discusses the opportunities faced by those who already had access and Internet skills when the pandemic started, and the limitations faced by older people who were less digitally skilled. With many of the daily activities moving online during this period, older adults with poor digital skills or no Internet access risked social isolation. Also, we consider policy recommendations to reduce digital inequalities that affect elders. Although we focus on Romania, the current study typifies vulnerabilities older people face in emergent economies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Perspectives of older people on environmental sustainability: A cross-cultural validation study between five countries
(Elsevier, 2024) Dikken, Jeroen; Kazak, Jan K.; Ivan, Loredana; Ayalon, Liat; Pavlovski, Daniel; Perek-Białas, Jolanta M.; Hoof, Joost van
The global agenda to move societies towards a more sustainable course of development also affects the lives of older people in our ageing populations. Therefore, it is important to understand the drivers, intentions and behaviours concerning sustainability among older adults. The aim of this study is to translate and cross-culturally validate an existing instrument (SustainABLE-16 Questionnaire), developed in the Netherlands, which measures how older people view the theme of environmental sustainability in their daily lives, for use in Romania, Poland, North Macedonia and Israel. The SustainABLE-16 covers three domains: 1) Pro-environmental behaviours; 2) Financial position; and 3) Beliefs. The scale was translated in Romanian, Polish, Macedonian, Albanian and Hebrew. Its 16 items were appraised for relevance by older people and experts in the field. A total of 2299 older people, including the original Dutch respondents, were included for the assessment of the level of measurement invariance across six languages, spoken in five countries. As the initial validation of the SustainABLE-16 did not meet internationally-recognised fit requirements, the shorter SustainABLE-8 was validated instead. This instrument proved valid for use in all participating countries (configural validity). Subsequently, increasingly constrained structural equation models were applied to test their fit with the data, ensuring that the fit did not deteriorate. The test results of measurement invariance across the countries indicated that items were stable, achieving partial scalar invariance, with five items demonstrating full scalar invariance. The shorter SustainABLE-8 functions uniformly across all language groups and can, therefore, be used to evaluate sustainable practices among older people. A better understanding of the drivers and practices among older citizens across Europe could, in turn, feed into more fitting public policies on sustainability in the built environment.
Successful Aging Across Middle Versus High-Income Countries: An Analysis of the Role of eHealth Literacy Associated With Loneliness and Well-Being
(Oxford Academic, 2024) Ivan, Loredana; Marston, Hannah R.; Prabhu, Vishnunarayan Girishan; Großschädl, Franziska; Silva, Paula Alexandra; Buttigieg, Sandra C.; Öztürk Çalıkoğlu, Halime; Bilir Koca, Burcu; Arslan, Hasan; Kanozia, Rubal; Browning, Matthew H. E. M.; Freeman, Shannon; Earle, Sarah
Background and Objectives “Successful aging” concerns the process of growing older while maintaining physical, cognitive, and social well-being, emphasizing independence for overall satisfaction and quality of life. We investigate the impact of eHealth literacy on reducing loneliness and sustaining well-being during the pandemic, comparing middle- and high-income countries. Research Design and Methods Online surveys were conducted between April 4, 2020, and September 30, 2021, collecting responses (N = 2,091) from medium- and high-income countries in Europe, Asia, and North America. T-tests and ANOVAs were used to test how sociodemographic predictors were associated with differences in e-Health literacy, loneliness, and well-being. Results Respondents from high-income countries reported significantly higher well-being scores than those from middle-income countries and respondents from high-income countries had significantly higher e-HEALS (e-Health literacy) scores compared to middle-income countries. No significant difference was observed in loneliness scores between high-income and middle-income country respondents. Well-being is associated with age, with younger adults (18–29 years) and those aged 40+ reporting higher levels. Higher education and income are linked to greater well-being. Gender differences are observed, with females and those with a partner reporting higher well-being. In middle-income countries, higher education levels are more linked to loneliness, while in higher-income countries, loneliness is observed across education levels. Discussion and Implications Future interventions by governments and policymakers should consider intersectionality in e-Health planning and offer digital literacy and digital skills training to those with lower education levels.
The impact of ‘technology generations’ on older adults’ media use: Review of previous empirical research and a seven-country comparison
(International Society for Gerontechnology, 2020) Ivan, Loredana; Loos, Eugene; Bird, Ioana
Background: In our information society, media use plays an important role. However, knowledge is lacking about whether specific birth cohorts show preferences for specific traditional or new media and whether technology generations can be identified across different countries. Objective: A cross-cultural research project was carried out with the aim of providing empirical evidence for the concept of ‘technology generations’ formulated by Sackmann & Weymann (1994; 2013) in relation to media use by older adults. The research questions focus on empirical evidence for the existence of technology generations related to media use and preferences. Methods: We tested differences in media use and media preferences (traditional versus new media) in Austria, Canada, Denmark, Israel, the Netherlands, Romania and Spain, using commensurate samples consisting of Internet users aged 60 years and older at the time we started collecting data in 2016 (N=10527). We selected three technology generations: the ‘mechanical generation’ (age group of 78 and above), the ‘household revolution generation’ (age group of 68-77), and the ‘technology spread generation’ (age group of 60-67), and analyzed the differences in media use and preferences between these technology generations and across the seven countries. Results: Our cross-cultural data reveal differences between the technology generations, especially in terms of media use, but not in technology media preference (time spent using different media). We also found the effect of country of origin to be stronger than the effect of generation in explaining older adults’ preferences for traditional vs new media. Conclusions: The results point to the need for a more nuanced view of the concept of ‘technology generation’, i.e., one taking into account contextual aspects, such as country of origin, gender, level of education, working status and the interaction effect between country of origin and ‘technology generation’.
Unveiling the experienced age-friendliness of older people in Bucharest: A comprehensive study using the validated Romanian age-friendly cities and communities questionnaire and cluster analysis
(Elsevier, 2024) Ivan, Loredana; Dikken, Jeroen; Hoof, Joost van
Current global trends show that different regions of the globe face an increased level of urbanization, and there is a swift aging process from the Western to the Eastern European countries. Romania is a typical country expecting to triple the percentage of the older population aged 65 and over in the next 30 years. Urban policies often neglect such demographic perspectives. The World Health Organization launched the age-friendly city and communities' movement that proposes solutions for older people to age actively by improving their welfare and social participation. The concept of an age-friendly city comprised eight dimensions: (1) outdoor spaces and buildings; (2) transportation; (3) housing; (4) social participation; (5) respect and social inclusion; (6) civic participation and employment; (7) communication and information; and (8) community support and health services. It raises some important questions about how to measure and evaluate urban policies in this framework. Current work presents the process of adaptation and validation for the Romanian older population of a standardized tool - the Age-Friendly Cities and Communities Questionnaire (AFCCQ). The validation study was conducted in Bucharest (n = 424) on a representative sample of older people, who were asked to rate their life in the city, following the eight dimensions and an additional one regarding their financial situation. Four clusters were differentiated in the analysis, resulting in different views of older adults on their experience of living in the city, showing that people's socio-economic status, their living arrangements and health situation play a role in shaping their views on city life. The results highlight the importance of standardized tools to design urban policies following an age-friendly agenda.