Volume 29 (2019): Edizione 4 (December 2019)

Our paper focuses on the role of the Internet in older people’s lives and suggests that the weighting given to Internet usage should be increased when calculating the Active Ageing Index (AAI). We analyse the results of two weighting systems, which differ from the original one created by an expert group. First, we use the coefficients calculated by Djurovic et al. (2017), then create our own system in which the Internet usage component is given a very high coefficient value, ceteris paribus. Evaluations are done for AAI 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018. The rank order of countries differs in the alternative weighting systems, but these differences are slight, and decrease year by year, suggesting the robustness of the original weighting system. This also shows that older EU citizens are using the Internet more and more, and that Internet usage is becoming a category similar to basic literacy. Finally, we recommend that AAI include a more sophisticated indicator of Internet usage instead of just asking respondents if they have used the Internet at least once a week in the previous three months.

The paper examined the effects of energy use on socioeconomic predictors in Africa. The Gary Becker hypothesis and the Michael Grossman demand for healthcare model were used to interact with energy related predictors on socioeconomic essentials. Our experimented model foretold the urgent need for government intervention programmes to resolve the energy misery in the African region.

Food waste is one of the main contributors to economic disparities, social inequalities and environmental pollution. Numerous studies have sought to understand the drivers of food waste at various stages in the food supply chain, including the consumption stage. Based on a quantitative analysis of 252 Romanian consumers, the present study shows that gender is an important factor that affects the individuals’ attitudes and behaviours in regard to food and a potential factor that could affect the amount of food wasted. The study found that attitudes towards food waste evolve as individuals age, and that, at each stage, women tend to be more concerned about the negative impact of food waste on social equity or the family budget than men. In addition, women were found to display behaviours in regard to food acquisition and preparation that can result in higher food waste in a larger degree than men, even though the study found no differences in the actual amount of food wasted by the two genders. The results of the study are important because they show the need to adapt the public awareness campaigns on food waste on the particularities of each gender across several age groups.

The present study presents, from the theoretical and pragmatic point of view, 6 of the established score models regarding the assessment of the insolvency risk, belonging to the Anglo-Saxon, Continental and Romanian schools. The research sample is made up of 26 companies belonging to the hotel industry and restaurants, listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. The research was carried out over a period of 11 years (2007-2017). Following the application of the score models, it was found that during the period covered by the research, a number of 14 companies had a relatively high insolvency risk and 12 of them had a relatively low insolvency risk.