CONNECTED is one of my current projects. I am researching the connection between life satisfaction and the use of social media. This project is conducted within the Interdisciplinary School of Doctoral Studies from the University of Bucharest where I currently am a post-doctoral student.

I've started my project by noticing that people use social media in a multitude of ways. It also creates different reactions in individuals. While some are interested to restrict their use, others are just on boarding and find great value in social media. Some create successful businesses through the use of social media, while others make social media their job.

My observations made me interested to explore this phenomenon through scientific lenses. The goal is to identify if there is a connection between the perceptions towards social media use and life satisfaction.

On a rather personal note, my mother is happier since she discovered how easy it is to find recipes online and to test them in the kitchen. I wonder how long will it be until she will start making videos for her channel.

Based on ten interviews I conducted so far, my first chapter is published in a new book coordinated by professor Doru BUZDUCEA at Tritonic Books. The book can be ordered HERE.

The next step is launching the survey in which I am about to collect information concerning use of social media and life satisfaction. The survey is available HERE

"Green DRR - Gestionarea Resurselor Ecologice, Elemente Naturale pentru Reducerea Riscului de Dezastru" [Green DRR - Managing ecological resources, natural elements for Disaster Risk Reduction] is an idea born out of my doctoral thesis research.

In my field experience from the summer of 2017 I've noticed the strong connection between natural habitat and human economic activities.

While protecting inhabitants from loss and trauma, green infrastructure may also support developing new businesses at local level, through sustainable agriculture, through promoting eco-tourism and restoring traditional practices and crafts and updating them to the specificities of today’s market.

My aim is to identify whether green infrastructure for protection against disasters generated by flooding is an appropriate solution for Romania

I study by analysing scientific articles and European Projects which implement nature based solutions to protect against flooding. The article I wrote within the project is available here.

Although the project ended in December 2020, I am continuing to study the topic. The ideal research strategy needed to be reframed as field work was not possible in optimal conditions because of the COVID-19 pandemic related restrictions, so the work continues past the project.

This project is co-financed from The European Social Fund through the Operational Programme Human Capital 2014-2020, code: POCU/380/6/13/123343, Entrepreneurial Education and Professional Counselling for Doctoral and Post-doctoral Researchers in view of Organizing Knowledge Transfer from the field of Social Sciences and Humanities to the Labor Market (ATRiUM).

"Cathartic: Climate Change Adaptation Through an Environmental Justice Framework: The Case of Roma Communities in Romania" is a project which started in May 2018. It will end in April 2020. A team of six researchers specialized in various fields (Sociology, Geography, Political Science and Social Work) are collaborating in order to understand the vulnerabilities of the marginalized citizens in the context of climate change.

From an environmental justice perspective, we analyse the situation of two compact groups of Roma who live informally at the outskirts of cities. We spent the first year in gathering data to select the compact groups - we discussed with experts who conducted research in the past, we surveyed local authorities' employees with a good grasp on the situation of the vulnerable groups from their localities and we conducted field visits to research preliminary cases.

The second summer was spent on the field, conducting interviews with the members of the marginalized compact groups, local authorities and civil society representatives in two cities from the central Romania.

At the moment, the research team is analyzing the data and working on two articles to be sent for publishing in the near future.

This project is supported by a grant of Ministry of Research and Innovation, CNCS – UEFISCDI, project number PN-III-P1-1.1-TE-2016-2260, within PNCDI III.

More information is available on the project's WEBSITE.

"Social Workers in Romania: Who, What, Where and How?" is a social research project aiming to better understand the professional lives of social workers. It unfolded between October 2015 and September 2017.

Through interviews with professionals active in fields such as child protection, health care, working with people living with disabilities, the elderly and in local social services, the project team gathered important information concerning the daily successes and struggles of the specialists.

Through a survey available at national level, social workers provided responses concerning their working experiences, available resources and overall well-being.

The project team is continuing to analyse the data and is now preparing to launch the report. We are thankful to all those involved and can't wait to share our findings.

This project is supported by a grant of the Romanian National Authority for Scientific Research and Innovation, CNCS – UEFISCDI, project number PN-II-RU-TE-2014-4-2322.

More information is available on the project's WEBSITE.