Synergy

2

Authors: Anca-Teodora ŞERBAN-OPRESCU

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9

Authors: Irina DAVID

This article highlights Eastern European positive perceptions of America, as they are described in the scholarship. Particular attention will be paid to the reasons which explain Eastern European pro-Americanism. As shown in the article, the experience of communism and the subsequent post-communist European and worldwide reconfigurations are perceived by scholars as the main factors that prevent most formerly communist countries – Romania included – from expressing the same degree of anti-American reactions that can be seen in Western European countries

9

Authors: Virginia Mihaela DUMITRESCU

This article explores the relationship between culture and rhetoric starting from the premise that language is not only a major element of culture, but also a faithful reflection of it, as confirmed by linguistic anthropologists who tend to equate language learning with culture learning. More specifically, it focuses on the cultural characteristics of the UK and the US along two pairs of descriptors (“dimensions”) provided by Geert Hofstede and Michael Minkov – Long-Term Orientation vs. Short-Term Orientation, on the one hand, and Monumentalism vs. Flexumility (understood as a mix of flexibility and humility) on the other-, in an attempt to identify certain cultural differences and their corresponding linguistic expression: an effaced vs. an enhanced self-image, and the rhetorical use of understatement vs. overstatement. The article is meant as a tentative, cultural approach to rhetoric, and a possible starting point for future research on the rhetoric-culture relationship.

10

Authors: Monica CONDRUZ–BĂCESCU

This article deals with the issue of blended learning from a perspective less used in the specialized literature, applying blended learning to foreign language learning. There are highlighted several advantages of using this type of learning in the process of acquiring a foreign language, which can be extended to other areas of learning and that meet the central idea of the article, that blended learning is the future in terms of methods, learning strategies and lifelong learning. A big advantage is to have the assistance of a tutor 24 hours a day, managing to combine time saving, space, that an online classic program with the presence of human factor offers, without which the coherent, effective, genuine and lasting learning can not occur. The article also highlights the disadvantages of this concept; an important one being the fact that some students are not familiar with the latest technology. The last part approaches the issue of online platforms that continue to provide ever more useful applications, at affordable prices and tools for language learning. Even if blended learning has been a functional process for about ten years, there are already numerous supporters of this type of learning, particularly in higher education, where the combination of traditional courses and online interactive activities have already been implemented.

10

Authors: Monica CONDRUZ–BĂCESCU

This article deals with the issue of blended learning from a perspective less used in the specialized literature, applying blended learning to foreign language learning. There are highlighted several advantages of using this type of learning in the process of acquiring a foreign language, which can be extended to other areas of learning and that meet the central idea of the article, that blended learning is the future in terms of methods, learning strategies and lifelong learning. A big advantage is to have the assistance of a tutor 24 hours a day, managing to combine time saving, space, that an online classic program with the presence of human factor offers, without which the coherent, effective, genuine and lasting learning can not occur. The article also highlights the disadvantages of this concept; an important one being the fact that some students are not familiar with the latest technology. The last part approaches the issue of online platforms that continue to provide ever more useful applications, at affordable prices and tools for language learning. Even if blended learning has been a functional process for about ten years, there are already numerous supporters of this type of learning, particularly in higher education, where the combination of traditional courses and online interactive activities have already been implemented.

13

Authors: Maria HRIŢCU, Mariana NICOLAE

This paper focuses on a growing trend of interest in “spiritual leadership” and three important directions arising from a mindful and meditative approach to leadership - selfawareness, empathy and system awareness. The paper also tries to make sense of the experience one of the authors embarked upon in India, at the end of which she noticed significant changes in her understanding of and reactions to her professional and personal life. The methodology employed is of a qualitative type, being based on the narrative inquiry as the most appropriate to the sensitive issues discussed.

16

Authors: Lavinia PETRE Ruxandra CONSTANTINESCU-ŞTEFĂNEL

The present article explores the cultural and communication parameters of both Romania and Japan with the purpose of finding the main cultural barriers that can become potential sources of conflict at the negotiation table. Particularly, what are the profiles of the Romanian/ Japanese negotiator and how culture impacts on business people’s behaviour. The methodology used covers two empirical methods: a qualitative survey, with data collected from expert interpreters with first-hand experience in the negotiation field; and a case study, with an in-depth analysis of a failed negotiation between a Romanian and a Japanese company. Findings suggest that, although there are huge differences between the two cultures, they can be overcome by preparing thoroughly and keeping an open mind to other cultures’ peculiarities.