Technological Educational Institute of Western Macedonia

About: Technological Educational Institute of Western Macedonia is a based out in . It is known for research contribution in the topics: Catalysis & Symplectic geometry. The organization has 291 authors who have published 522 publications receiving 7682 citations. The organization is also known as: TEI of West Macedonia & TEI of Western Macedonia.

Novel sintered ceramic materials incorporated with EAF carbon steel slag

Abstract: In the present research, novel sintered clay-based ceramic materials containing electric arc furnace carbon steel slag (EAFC) as a useful admixture were developed and characterized. The environmentally safe management of steel industry waste by-products and their valorization as secondary resources into value-added materials towards circular economy have attracted much attention in the last years. EAF Carbon steel slag in particular, is generated during the manufacture of carbon steel. It is a solid residue mainly composed of rich-in- Fe, Ca and Si compounds. The experimental results show that the beneficial incorporation of lower percentages of EAFC up to 6%wt. into ceramics sintered at 950 °C is attained without significant variations in sintering behavior and physico-mechanical properties. Further heating up to 1100 °C strongly enhances the densification of the ceramic microstructures, thus reducing the porosity and strengthening their mechanical performance. On the other side, in terms of thermal insulation behavior as well as energy consumption savings and production cost alleviation, the optimum sintering temperature appears to be 950 °C.

A synchronous-asynchronous tele-education platform

Abstract: Synchronous-asynchronous tele-education platform (SATEP) is a software application for educational purposes, with a lot of parametrising (configuration) features written entirely from scratch. It aims at the training and examination of computer skills, a platform that can be adjusted to the needs of each lesson. In the application the trainer and the administrator can define the number of the lectures and upload files for each one of them. Furthermore, he can insert, modify and delete questions which are used for evaluation tests but also for the trainees' examinations. The trainee can read/download the files of each lesson and also test his knowledge on what he has studied through a series of questions/tests. A chat module where registered users as well as system administrator can discuss and solve questions is also developed.

Greenhouse gas emissions–crude oil prices: an empirical investigation in a nonlinear framework

Abstract: The present study examines the relationship between crude oil prices, one of the major inputs, of economic activity and environmental degradation as reflected in the volume of carbon emissions. The nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag cointegration approach was employed to study the intertemporal causal crude oil prices–carbon emissions relationship. Our findings confirm long-run asymmetry in both directions of the relationship studied. In the short run, asymmetric effects are confirmed running only from carbon emissions to the crude oil prices. Furthermore, it is validated that the climate change mitigation policies are effective in the long run, though this is not the case in the short run. The quantification of this relationship outlines the key role of crude oil prices to sustainable economic growth conditional to environmental policies in global terms.

Firm Competitiveness: Theories, Evidence, and Measurement

Abstract: Competitiveness has been a topic of research in the manufacturing and related sectors since the early 1990s. While there is much agreement on the economic and social importance of competitiveness, it is less clear what exactly competitiveness is and what its most important determinants are. The focus of this paper is to review the literature at the firm level and evaluate and compare all the available competitiveness-related frameworks and models, to present the empirical evidence and to investigate the relevant competitiveness indices. Aspasia Vlachvei Western Macedonia University of Applied Sciences, Greece Ourania Notta Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, Greece Firm Competitiveness