University of the Aegean

About: University of the Aegean is a education organization based out in Mytilene, Greece. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Tourism. The organization has 2818 authors who have published 8100 publications receiving 179275 citations. The organization is also known as: UAEG.

An overview of corporate social responsibility in Greece: perceptions, developments and barriers to overcome

Abstract: The objective of this paper is to provide an overview of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Greece and present the challenges that need to be met in order to further promote socially responsible business behaviour in the domestic economy. This is the first attempt to provide a systematic analysis of CSR in Greece and adds to the existing pool of knowledge of CSR embeddedness in countries where CSR awareness is still rather low, a literature field that is still quite limited. Drawing from prior literature, the paper is built around three basic questions in relation to the Greek context: how is CSR perceived by Greek business professionals? How is CSR practised in Greece? And which issues evident in the modern domestic environment act as underlying barriers to the broader dissemination of CSR in Greece? The extant empirical work suggests that, while CSR in Greece appears to be developing, there is still scope for improvement and further diffusion of relevant practices. While some of the patterns shaping CSR in Greece have been analysed, much work still remains to be carried out in extending and deepening our knowledge in this part of Europe.

Recent advances on the removal of priority organochlorine and organophosphorus biorecalcitrant pesticides defined by Directive 2013/39/EU from environmental matrices by using advanced oxidation processes: An overview (2007–2018)

Abstract: An extensive research dealing with the removal of organic pesticide residues (ng L−1 to μg L−1) contained in several environmental matrices (water, wastewater, soil, food compartments such as fruits and vegetables, etc.) using advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) has been conducted in the last decade. The present review is aiming to summarize the scientific data published during the period 2007–2018 concerning the development, optimization, and application of diff ;erent types of AOPs used for the degradation of 15 priority synthetic pesticides that are included in the European policy in the water field defined by Directive 2013/39/EU. More specifically, the 12 target organochlorine substances of the survey were dicofol, endosulfan (including both of the two isomers of α- and β- endosulfan), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), hexachlorobutadiene (HCBD), hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) (including the four isomers of α-, β-, γ-and δ-HCH), heptachlor and heptachlor epoxide, aldrin, isodrin, dieldrin, endrin dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT) (including DDT total and p,p'- DDT), and pentachlorophenol (PCP), whereas the 3 orgnanophosphorus pesticides of the study were chlorfenvinphos, chlorpyrifos and dichlorvos. After a brief introduction and an outline of the harmful effects of each chemical family of selected anthropogenic pollutants, the recent advances on the treatment of the 15 selected individual pesticide substances are critically reviewed, focusing on the processes, pathways, metabolites and operating factors affecting the degradation efficiency. The search comprised 323 publications found in Scopus database, using as keywords the name of each water priority pesticide and AOPs treatments including: (i) chemical AOPs, such as Fenton's reagent; peroxonation; oxidation with persulfate, etc (ii) photo-chemical AOPs, such as photolysis of H2O2; O3; photo-Fenton; photo-electro-Fenton; heterogenous photocatalysis technologies; etc (iii) sono-chemical AOPs, such as ultrasounds and H2O2 and/or O3; etc (iv) electro-chemical AOPs, such as electrochemical oxidation; anodic oxidation; electro-Fenton; and finally (v) non-thermal technologies, such as γ-radiation; pulsed electric field (PEF); electrolyzed water (EW); high pressure processing (HPP); ultrasounds and non-thermal plasma (NTP). Review papers published in the same period were not considered in the present review. According to the main findings of the current study many different AOPs methods have been applied efficiently during the period 2007–2018 and thus can undoubtedly be recognized as effective tools and promising strategies for the removal of these substances to levels that are deemed acceptable. Based on the observed overall relative frequency of published data dealing with the decomposition of the 15 individual organic pesticide contaminants listed as priority compounds in the field water policy by Directive 2013/39/EU in various aquatic and not aquatic matices, the decreasing order of employed and studied methods is: (i) miscellaneous processes (≈ 30%), among which γ-irradiation, NTP, electrochemical oxidation, sulfate radical based AOPs, electron beam irradiation, microwave-hydrothermal treatments, sono-chemical oxidation, ultrasonic cavitation, and many other AOPs methods are included, (ii) photocatalysis-based treatments (≈ 27%), employing several heterogeneous and/or homogeneous processes, (iii) photolysis and oxidant assisted processes (≈ 13%) utilizing UV and/or H2O2, K2S2O8, KBrO3, KMnO4, (iv) Fenton-based methods (≈ 11%), and (vi) ozonation- based methods (≈ 8%). Moreover, it was demonstrated that the studies dealing with the comparison of different AOPs represents only a small part (11%) of the reports discussed within the current review. Furthermore, a recent research tendency regarding remediation of soil or sediment samples and agricultural products such as fruits, or vegetables contaminated with several organochlorine and organophosphorus pesticides is observed. However, future research needs to perform more experiments under real conditions and not only simulated is also highlightened.

Hedge fund pricing and model uncertainty

Abstract: This article uses Bayesian model averaging to study model uncertainty in hedge fund pricing. We show how to incorporate heteroscedasticity, thus, we develop a framework that jointly accounts for model uncertainty and heteroscedasticity. Relevant risk factors are identified and compared with those selected through standard model selection techniques. The analysis reveals that a model selection strategy that accounts for model uncertainty in hedge fund pricing regressions can be superior in estimation/inference. We explore potential impacts of our approach by analysing individual funds and show that they can be economically important.

Learning design Rashomon I – supporting the design of one lesson through different approaches

Abstract: This paper presents and compares a variety of approaches that have been developed to guide the decision-making process in learning design. Together with the companion Learning Design Rashomon II (Prieto et al. , 2013 ), devoted to existing tools to support the same process, it aims to provide a view on relevant research results in this field. The common thread followed in these two contributions is inspired by Kurosawa'1s Rashomon film, which takes multiple perspectives on the same action. Similarly, in this paper, Rashomon I, a lesson on “Healthy Eating” is analysed according to five different approaches, while the Rashomon II paper is used to exemplify the affordances of different tools. For this reason, this paper does not follow the conventional structure of research papers (research question, method, results and discussion), but rather it moves from an introduction providing the rationale for the paper, to a description of the five different approaches to learning design (the 4SPPIces Model, the 4Ts, the e-Design Template, the Design Principles Database and the Design Narrative) and then to a discussion of their similarities and differences to inform the choice of potential users. Keywords: learning design approaches; pedagogical planning; inquiry learning (Published: 16 September 2013) Citation: Research in Learning Technology Supplement 2013, 21 : 20224 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/rlt.v21i0.20224

Effect of ageing on precipitation kinetics, tensile and work hardening behavior of Al-Cu-Mg (2024) alloy

Abstract: The effect of artificial ageing conditions on precipitation kinetics, tensile and work hardening mechanical behavior of aluminum alloy 2024 was investigated Tensile specimens were artificially aged in three different temperatures and for various times so as to bring the material in all possible ageing conditions These included under-ageing (UA), peak-ageing (PA) and over-ageing (OA) and then the specimens were tensile tested Yield stress was found to increase up to the peak-ageing condition with a simultaneously decrease in elongation at fracture due to the precipitation of the S -type particles It was confirmed that precipitation kinetics of this alloy is in between the diffusivity rate of solute Cu and Mg atoms in the aluminum matrix Peak yield stress was found to be absolutely dependent on the iso-thermal ageing temperature and it was experimentally noticed that a 6 MPa yield stress drop exists per increasing ageing temperature by 10 °C At the OA condition, non-uniform elongation attains values exceeding 40% of total elongation, and therefore the damage tolerance capability of the material at this ageing condition is further reduced Work hardening Stage I dealing with pile-up of the dislocation debris of dipoles is almost double in PA when compared with the respective in UA condition Duration of Stage II increases up to 40% of uniform elongation within the PA condition, where the precipitation transition of coherent S′′ to semi-coherent S′ type takes place Stage II is essentially decreased in the OA condition to approximate 30% of uniform elongation, while dislocation cross slipping (Stage III) exceeds 50% of uniform elongation in the OA condition Duration of Stages II and III for different artificial ageing conditions have a similar trend with yield stress and elongation at fracture values, respectively, thus giving proof that work hardening stages are artificially aged sensitive