ABSTRACT
During Covid-19 pandemic many employees found themselves in the new position of teleworkers. Proof of the last years, teleworking remains an alternative to the classic system, reason why in this paper we aim to examine, based on an online questionnaire, the perceptions of Romanian employees about the very complex aspects that teleworking involves: the new ICT tools and technologies adoption, impact on work efficiency, work-family balance, and employees physical and mental health. The paper is based on an empirical analysis of data, and the authors have used as research methods: testing the independence of groups (Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal Wallis) and the correlation between variables, categorical principal components analysis (CATPCA) and logistic regression model. Our findings show that several factors, such as flexible working hours, family time, and autonomy have a positive influence on the decision to telework, while IT security risks, interruptions and virtual meetings were not perceived by respondents as negatively influencing their decision to telework. However, the consequences for mental health, such as mental stress, lack of socialisation and the difficulty of separating working time from family time, lead respondents to prefer another working system. The implications of the research are relevant for policy makers, employers, and employees as they reveal which categories of employees are more likely to telework and why.
ABSTRACT
During the Pandemic, the access to online education was the best solution to continue teaching. The evolution of technology and its inclusion in the educational process has had its primary role in changing the way we learn, teach, and evaluate. Students are no longer tied to a specific space to be in contact with information, which they no longer necessarily take from books. Access to information paves the way for deciding individually what to learn, in what system, whether to join a learning community, or to download materials to study individually. Interactive learning is based on the exchange of information and ideas, opinions, beliefs, and attitudes, on interpretations and resolutive suggestions and on the social interactions that are established within a group. Interactive learning can be defined as cooperative or collaborative learning based on the paradigm of group-centred learning, reinforced by the theory of social learning. The permanent interaction with the groups to which the learner belongs, the access to the common experience and knowledge of the group members contribute to an ascending learning process supported by a continuous feedback. Learning is located in a social setting, in the middle of cultural influences, and technology-based collaborative learning can facilitate interaction between individuals and teamwork, and how collaboration and technology facilitate the transmission of knowledge and practices between members of a community. Collaboration can be considered a special form of interaction mediated by a computer. The aim of the paper is to present best practices in interactive learning, challenges, and solutions emphasizing on the use of online technologies and the new pandemic context. We focus on bachelor’s degree programs students but the results can be replicated in different learning systems. © 2021, National Defence University - Carol I Printing House. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed the shape of conventional recruitment processes over the past few months. Remote working where it is technically possible has become a de facto standard all over the world. For software development, Freelancing platforms, as virtually unlimited resources of globally distributed talents, pose a great opportunity but also plenty of risks. This study proposes an automated model for recruiting remote specialists in a framework meant to reduce the time-to-market for software products. The results are optimal in relation to the project’s cost, team’s productivity and overall product success. The research methodology along with the system used to collect data and the relevance of the data set are described. © 2020, Bucharest University of Economic Studies. All rights reserved.