In January 2010, Professor Arno Loessner and Professor Maria Aristigueta from the University of Delaware together with Professor Calin Hintea, from Babes Bolyai University, coordinated a joint research project which involved mixed research teams composed of Romanian and American students who conducted conduct cross-cultural research in Cluj Napoca, Romania. Teams of two or three students worked side-by-side to conduct interviews and collect data on their topics of mutual interest. They met with leaders of Cluj city and county as well as representatives of Romania's central government, nonprofit organizations, schools, media and other well-informed individuals over two weeks of intensive study. Each student research team produced a 20-page research paper on their findings. The teams presented preliminary experiences and findings at a Jan. 21 forum in Romania. The presentations were preceded by a press conference at which students were interviewed by Romanian print and TV media. Their research topics have included public health, public education, opportunities for economic and social development of minorities (especially the Roma population), disaster response, freedom of information, anticorruption measures, and the relationship of public transportation to air quality. The papers presented in the panel are the result of these joint efforts. The chair of the panel will also elaborate in his presentations on the topic of conducting such academic programs in the field of public administration. The aim of the panel is to disseminate the outcomes of this effort, to find ways to improve the program and to replicate it in other locations.  |
Sarah Logrieco, University of Delaware, USA graduate student
Cristina Guglia, Diana Pop, Cristina Rabagel, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj Napoca, Romania, Public Administration Department
Paper: Prevalent Issues in Romania: Public School Management and the Progress of Regional Decentralization
Robert Coons,University of Delaware, USA graduate student
Andreaa Andries, Roxana Negru, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj Napoca, Romania, Public Administration Department, graduate student
Paper: Emergency Management in Romania
Billy L. Collins, Ludmilla Costin (presenter Dan Balica, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj Napoca, Romania, Public Administration Department, research assistant)
Paper:The Current State of Freedom of Information and Government Transparency in Cluj-Napoca and Cluj county, Romania
Marius Profiroiu, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, Public Administration and Management Department, Professor
Paper: International cooperation as key factor of developing public administration programs in Eastern and central Europe
Presentation of the new Nispacee book:
Study Abroad for Graduate Students:Combining Teaching and Research in a Cross Cultural Course in Public Administration and Public Policy. Edited by Arno Loessner, Calin Hintea, Catalin Baba
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