Browsing by Author "Vrabie, Cătălin"

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Analiza orizontală a Web site-urilor primăriilor municipiilor din România (2024)
(National University of Political Studies and Public Administration. Faculty of Public Administration, 2024) Vrabie, Cătălin
Avansul tehnologic a avut un impact semnificativ asupra furnizării serviciilor din sectorul public. Primăriile din România adoptă digitalizarea ca parte a strategiilor lor de dezvoltare, având ca scop implementarea platformelor web pentru servicii publice, sporind eficiența și accesibilitatea pentru cetățeni. Pandemia COVID-19 a accelerat această tranziție digitală, determinând instituțiile publice să treacă de la servicii livrate în format tradițional la servicii online. Acest studiu evaluează adaptabilitatea primăriilor din România la digitalizare, oferind noi perspective asupra rezilienței instituțiilor publice în fața schimbărilor tehnologice. Va fi analizată furnizarea de servicii prin portalurile web oficiale ale celor 103 municipii din România, folosind 23 de indicatori pentru măsurarea diseminării e-serviciilor în contexte locale. Cercetarea dezvăluie progrese semnificative în transformarea digitală a serviciilor în timp (2014-2023), cu majoritatea municipiilor oferind funcționalități online, precum plata impozitelor pe proprietăți, informații despre transportul public și documentația de stare civilă. De asemenea, cercetarea relevă disparități în calitatea și disponibilitatea serviciilor, sugerând necesitatea unor standarde uniforme de digitalizare. Concluziile au rolul de a oferi sprijin științific decidenților politici, sprijină instituțiile publice în avansarea furnizării de servicii digitale și contribuie la cercetarea tehnologiei în reforma sectorului public.
Converting Municipal Waste to Energy through the Biomass Chain, a Key Technology for Environmental Issues in (Smart) Cities
(MDPI, 2021-05) Vrabie, Cătălin
Cities around the world should prioritize the management of municipal solid waste (MSW). For this to be effective, there is a strong need to buildup a complex system that involves social, economic, and environmental processes, leading to a supply chain (SC). The actors involved in dealing with MSW-from suppliers, collectors, distributors, industries, and managers-should be engaged in strategic planning. This paper focuses on alternative energy solutions and uses existing SC models of managing MSW, as well as the existing literature, to identify successful stories in cities like Bergen and Tonsberg in Norway, London in UK and Barcelona in Spain and draw a conceptual framework for city officials in Romanian municipalities (but not only) to innovate-and convert MSW in biogas to be used in delivering public services, i.e., public transportation. The article shows that when the innovation is accepted and well implemented by all actors, the benefits for the citizens and the municipality are considerably higher than by using conventional methods of collecting and depositing MSW. The proposed approach is also relevant for implementing the EU environment policy, where delays are usually observed (as the case for Romania).
E-Government 3.0: An AI Model to Use for Enhanced Local Democracies
(MDPI, 2023-06) Vrabie, Cătălin
While e-government (referring here to the first generation of e-government) was just the simple manner of delivering public services via electronic means, e-gov 2.0 refers to the use of social media and Web 2.0 technologies in government operations and public service delivery. However, the use of the term 'e-government 2.0' is becoming less common as the focus shifts towards broader digital transformation initiatives that may include AI technologies, among others, such as blockchain, virtual reality, and augmented reality. In this study, we present the relatively new concept of e-government 3.0, which is built upon the principles of e-government 2.0 but refers to the use of emerging technologies (e.g., artificial intelligence) to transform the delivery of public services and improve governance. The study objective is to explore the potential of e-government 3.0 to enhance citizen participation, improve public service delivery, and increase responsiveness and compliance of administrative systems in relation to citizens by integrating emerging technologies into government operations using as a background the evolution of e-government over time. The paper analyzes the challenges faced by municipalities in responding to citizen petitions, which are a core application of local democracies. The author starts by presenting an example of an e-petition system (as in use today) and analyses anonymized data of a text corpus of petitions directed to one of the Romania municipalities. He will propose an AI model able to deal faster and more accurately with the increased number of inputs, trying to promote it to municipalities who, for some reason, are still reluctant to implement AI in their operations. The conclusions will suggest that it may be more effective to focus on improving new algorithms rather than solely on 'old' technologies.
Education - A Key Concept for E-Administration
(Elsevier, 2015) Vrabie, Cătălin
The paper aims to investigate the link between the actual level of e-administration at the county level in Romania and the educational system at the same level (I refer here especially to the education in the field of IT&C) in order to verify if there is a connection between those data. I will start from a previous research in which I radiographed the Romanian e-administration (January 2014), based on the Mark Holzer study a1qbout Digital Governance in Municipalities Worldwide. I will correlate it with data collected from all the Romanian ECDL centers (European Computer Driving Licence) knowing the fact that ECDL is an engine for what is called "intelligent citizen" (Stoica 2009). For having an accurate image on this topic I will look onto every county in Romania (41 in number) analyzing the official Web sites of municipalities as well as those from ECDL centers. The results I count on are a strong connection between education (on the field of IT&C) and a good e-administration, suggesting by this some new investments in the field of education. It is understood that the existence of Web platforms very well maintained doesn't imply that they're also used by the citizens or the business society. The new methods of administration don't need only innovative solutions but also "intelligent citizens". The value of this paper is the comparison itself. There are a lot of studies in Romania about the education, about the local administration but rare those studies are connected. More and more researchers stated that "education should come first", so I suggest that before investing in IT platforms and so on, to invest firstly in education. It is not only the personnel of public administration that need to benefit from IT&C education, but also those to whom these platforms address (the citizens).
Education 2.0: E-Learning Methods
(Elsevier, 2015) Tîrziu, Andreea Maria; Vrabie, Cătălin
Information and communication tools (ICT), Web 2.0 applications and the impact that these resources are having on education are rapidly creating new challenges for teachers and learners faced with learning online. Teaching and learning in an e-learning environment happens differently than in the traditional classroom and can present new challenges to professors and learners participating in this online learning environment. Objectives: The purpose of this article is to provide a framework for teachers for a better e-interaction with students. Approach: It shows the literature and research that focus on e-learning statistics. Results: Continuing to learn and try new methods of communication will aid in improved learning and foster teacher-student respect and collaboration. Value: There are effective techniques to presenting face-to-face material in the online environment that will allow the student to achieve a higher level of satisfaction of learning and cognitive understanding of the course material.
Electric Vehicles Optimism versus the Energy Market Reality
(MDPI, 2022-05) Vrabie, Cătălin
The promotion of new electric and hybrid vehicles is a worldwide strategy to reduce carbon emissions for a clean future environment in many countries. In Europe, development of the electric vehicle (EV) industry is a strategic direction of multiple car-producing companies, institutes, and governments, but how sustainable it is to shift fully to electric has yet to be seen. By making use of the statistic reports from the European Union, scientific literature, and mathematical calculation, the author wants to examine if what politicians see will be a matter of reality in the near future. It will be proved that, if all private transport become electric, energy consumption will increase to such a level that is impossible to be satisfied by the actual energy producing companies. While the EV industry is seen as an important step towards achieving environmental goals, and despite some positive assumptions made by few European Governments (e.g., Norway) according to which electrical cars will replace the fossil fuel ones in private transportation, the actual energy market trends are not able to support the demand for the next several decades. The author will focus on one European country, Romania, to provide it as a case study (Romania is a self-sustainable country with regard to energy production, producing roughly 124% of its needs.).
Smart-optimism. Uncovering the Resilience of Romanian City Halls in Online Service Delivery
(Association for Computing Machinery, 2024) Vrabie, Cătălin
"Recent technological advancements have significantly impacted the public sector's service delivery. Romanian city halls are embracing digitalization as part of their development strategies, aiming to deploy web-based platforms for public services, enhancing efficiency and accessibility for citizens. The COVID-19 pandemic has expedited this digital shift, prompting public institutions to transition from in-person to online services. This study assesses the adaptability of Romanian city halls to digitalization, offering fresh insights into public institutions' resilience amidst technological shifts. It evaluates the service provision through the official web portals of Romania's 103 municipalities, using 23 indicators for measuring e-service dissemination within local contexts. The research reveals notable progress in the digital transformation of services over time (2014-2023), with a majority of municipalities offering online functionalities, such as property tax payments, public transportation information, and civil status documentation. It also discovers disparities in service quality and availability, suggesting a need for uniform digitalization standards. The findings enlighten olicymakers, assist public institutions in advancing digital service delivery, and contribute to research on technology in public sector reform"
Studiu de impact “E-guvernarea în municipiile României”–Analiza orizontală a Web site-urilor primăriilor municipiilor din România 2025
(National University of Political Studies and Public Administration. Faculty of Public Administration, 2025) Vrabie, Cătălin
În ultimul deceniu, administrațiile municipiilor din România au trecut printr-o transformare digitală remarcabilă în furnizarea serviciilor publice. Acest studiu analizează un set de date cuprinzător pentru toate cele 103 municipii românești, examinând multiple dimensiuni ale gradului de pregătire pentru e-guvernare, inclusiv infrastructura de conectivitate digitală, furnizarea serviciilor publice online, cultura digitală organizațională și inițiativele sustenabile de tip smart-city. Statisticile descriptive și inferențiale arată că serviciile digitale de bază sunt acum larg disponibile – de pildă, două treimi dintre municipii dispun de portaluri de servicii e-guvernare pentru rezidenți, reflectând progrese considerabile încă de la începutul anilor 2010. Conectivitatea și viteza internetului diferă de la o localitate la alta, dar o mare majoritate (≈81 %) raportează disponibilitatea rețelelor 5G, iar vitezele medii de bandă largă ating ~90 Mbps la descărcare. Serviciile avansate sau specializate rămân inegale: doar ~18 % dintre municipalități dispun de aplicații integrate de transport public și ~22 % raportează sisteme electronice de evidență medicală. Datele indică, de asemenea, lacune în capacitățile interne: mai puțin de 20 % dintre primării au o strategie formală de digitalizare sau programe specializate de formare a personalului, deși aproape 70 % publică datele în format open și majoritatea respectă reglementările privind protecția datelor și securitatea cibernetică. Constatăm condiții socio-economice mai bune (indice de dezvoltare urbană mai ridicat, venit pe cap de locuitor) care se corelează cu o utilizare mai mare a serviciilor digitale, sugerând existența unei diviziuni digitale persistente. În secțiunea de Discuții, contextualizăm aceste constatări în cadrul mai larg al administrației publice și al guvernanței inteligente. Rezultatele sunt în concordanță cu studiile de impact anterioare care arată o adoptare rapidă a e-serviciilor după 2014, dar evidențiază și disparități în calitate și implementare. Analiza noastră subliniază necesitatea unor standarde digitale uniforme, a investițiilor în capitalul uman (competențe digitale atât pentru cetățeni, cât și pentru funcționarii publici) și a strategiilor smart-city integrate, pentru a asigura că toate comunitățile beneficiază de e-guvernare. Concluziile conturează implicații de politică privind sprijinul național și schimbul de cunoștințe între orașe și sugerează direcții pentru cercetări viitoare privind menținerea rezilienței digitale în sectorul public.
The Quality Initiative of E-Learning in Germany (QEG)-Management for Quality and Standards in E-Learning
(Elsevier, 2015) Brosser, Luise; Vrabie, Cătălin
Quality in E-Learning is a critical success factor that is not easy to determine and achieve. In this paper, we aim to describe the challenges in quality development and show as solution approach, an innovative process management for planning, production and application of e-learning and the importance of quality standards. We will focus especially on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), because in the SME sector, the special optimization potential is what the introduction of explicit quality strategies concerns. This paper illustrates at first the problematic and defines its quality development in education and training. Subsequently, appropriate tools and aids, used by both providers and users, will be demonstrated. The focus will be on quality standards and instruments for their application, which will be developed by the Quality Initiative E-Learning in Germany. In particular, the reference process model of PAS 1032-1 and the subsequent constructive first standard for quality management in education and training (ISO / IEC 19796-1) and the type of Quality Management Support Systems (QSS) are explained. (
The Smart Community: Strategy Layers for a New Sustainable Continental Framework
(MDPI, 2023-03-22) Stoicescu, Vlad; Bițoiu, Teodora; Vrabie, Cătălin
The topic investigated in this article is a comparison, contrast, and integration effort of European strategies for sustainable development with the evolving market initiatives that are beginning to fuel the fourth industrial revolution. Several regulatory initiatives from continental bodies come into effect to radically change access to finances for business development, based on sustainability goals, and an analysis of the legislation and trends becomes essential for an effective pivot tactic in the face of adversity, as well as change management policies to pre-emptively adapt and perform. The general research question is "what the strategic tools are best employed to overcome the hurdles laid forth by the drastic changes legally required for a sustainable future?" The research methods include a quantitative analysis of norms, regulations, and legislation, including strategic initiatives circulated in the European Union governmental bodies, integrated with qualitative research of the literature. The study finds and draws synergies between national strategies that have recently been drafted or are currently evolving with sustainability-centric initiatives such as the hydrogen initiative, the nuclear initiative, the natural gas initiative, the renewables initiative, the synthetics, and biomass initiative, the ESG initiative, the digital initiative. The findings are to contribute to the business administration field by providing an appropriate image of the organizational design model in the sustainability era, and a strategy framework to build the optimum long-term vision founded on continental regulatory initiatives that have come into effect.