The COVID-19 pandemic has led to perspective shifts in the approach of English language classrooms in the online higher education context. The current empirical study aims to understand the behaviour of 394 university students enrolled in agricultural, veterinary, and overall life science programmes in one of the main Romanian universities while learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and English for Specific Purposes (ESP) in terms of their classroom engagement during the 2020–2021 academic year. Following the application of an online questionnaire, a principal component analysis (PCA) was undertaken to determine the factors that determine students’ engagement (predominantly emotional and social), while learning EFL and ESP in the online system during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the PCA results were used to identify clusters of students expressing similar behaviours towards the English learning process. Two clusters were identified: Cluster 1 consisted of moderately engaged students, and Cluster 2 consisted of highly engaged students. The clusters differed by the anxiety students express during class, the perception of the online system, the level of involvement and enjoyment, as well as class environment and dynamics, with the second cluster being the only one revealing a difference between the face-to-face and online experience. This study on students’ behaviours, attitudes, and preferences places students in the centre of the process of foreign language teaching and learning, as their enjoyment and engagement lead to a less stressful environment, especially during challenging times, and ultimately to long-term language proficiency and sustainable educational development.

Tourism represents a viable alternative for economic activities in rural areas, and improves the living standards of the communities. The aim of the paper is to assess residents’ perceptions towards tourism destination quality in the North-West Development Region of Romania using the following items: natural attractions: cultural and social attractions; accommodation; food; availability of transportation to destination area; quality of information and communication; hospitality of host community; feeling of security and safety. A survey was conducted to collect the data and a total of 433 questionnaires were validated and analyzed. Descriptive and inferential statistics (Principal component analysis, ANOVA, Scheffe multiple range test) were used to analyze the data. Results show that there are statistically significant differences in residents’ perceptions between counties. Two of the components of destination quality (general infrastructure and tourism potential) are affected by the gender of residents, while the level of education has no significant effect. A weak and indirect correlation was found between the age of residents and their perception towards a quality destination. This study makes two contributions to the existing literature. First, a questionnaire was developed based on the QUALITEST tool adapted to the realities of the research area. Second, we analyzed the perception of residents towards a quality destination in relation to their socio-demographic characteristics and county of residence. Understanding the implications of tourism development from the residents’ point of view helps to increase knowledge about the factors affecting the long-term, sustainable success of tourism destinations.

The COVID-19 pandemic affected consumers’ behavior worldwide. This paper aims to analyze consumers’ sustainable food behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research was based on an online survey during May–October 2020 among 859 Romanian consumers. Principal component analysis and cluster analysis were employed to group the consumers based on their behavior. Furthermore, the binary-logistic regression was used to identify the socio-demographic profile of the identified groups. Based on the cluster analysis, the consumers were grouped into three main groups: indifferent, pro-environment protection, and health concerned. The results indicate a positive attitude towards sustainable food behavior. Consumers’ attitude towards sustainable food choice is mainly influenced by age and education level. The study offers valuable information for future public policy and marketing campaign regarding sustainable food behavior.

In this paper, the production of a second-generation bioethanol from lignocellulosic vineyard cutting wastes was investigated in order to define the optimal operating conditions of the autohydrolysis pretreatment, chlorite delignification and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF). The autohydrolysis of vine-shoot wastes resulted in liquors containing mainly a mixture of monosaccharides, degradation products and spent solids (rich in cellulose and lignin), with potential utility in obtaining valuable chemicals and bioethanol. The autohydrolysis of the vine-shoot wastes was carried out at 165 and 180 °C for 10 min residence time, and the resulted solid and liquid phases composition were analysed. The resulted liquid fraction contained hemicellulosic sugars as a mixture of alpha (α) and beta (β) sugar anomers, and secondary by-products. The solid fraction was delignified using the sodium chlorite method for the separation of lignin and easier access of enzymes to the cellulosic sugars, and then, converted to ethanol by the SSF process. The maximum bioethanol production (6%) was obtained by autohydrolysis (165 °C), chlorite delignification and SSF process at 37 °C, 10% solid loading, 72 h. The principal component analysis was used to identify the main parameters that influence the chemical compositions of vine-shoot waste for different varieties.

Globally, as the population and the living standards expanded, so did the use of energy and materials. Renewable energy resources are being used to help address the energy issue and reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). Because lignocellulosic biomass resources are widely available and renewable, various processes are used to convert these resources into bioenergy. In the current study, two production processes were evaluated, namely the transformation of vine shoot waste into value-added biofuels, i.e., pellets/briquettes and bioethanol. The life cycle assessment (LCA) technique was used for simulating and documenting the environmental performance of two biomass waste to biofuels pathways, possible candidates for closing loops in the viticulture production, according to the circular economy models. The SimaPro software was used to perform the LCA. The results show that the pellets/briquettes production process has a lower negative influence on the studied environmental impact categories compared to the production of bioethanol.

Considered among the fastest-growing industries in the world, tourism brings immense benefits but also creates certain challenges. Conservation of natural resources is a stringent necessity, without which the extraordinary ecosystems’ attributes that create the premises for nature-based tourism would reduce, alter, and subsequently disappear. The aim of the present review is twofold: gaining a general understanding of what nature-based tourism is and providing a systematic literature review of articles on nature-based tourism in European national and natural parks, with emphasis on their applicability. The articles included in the present review were selected based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. The review accounts for research conducted between 2000 and 2021 and is divided into two sections: articles aimed at understanding tourists’ behaviour and articles that are focused on other stakeholders or have the local communities in the foreground. While many studies are aimed at understanding tourists’ behaviour as a means of improving parks’ management, participatory strategies including local communities are often indicated as beneficial. The results of this paper can facilitate future research in the field and provide valuable knowledge to policymakers and any interested parties.