This paper examines the imposition of new institutional evaluation and accreditation practices in Greek Higher Education (HE) in the last twenty years (from 2005 onwards). This is accomplished through a Discourse-Historical Analysis (DHA) of the Parliamentary Proceedings for key legislation. The analysis reveals the construction of a “blame game” against the academic institutions, where various political actors openly have called for radical institutional restructuring, which promotes the marketization of public HE.

Purpose This study examines how culinary authenticity in tourism is constructed beyond geographic and cultural heritage. It challenges conventional models by analyzing whether non-local ethnic restaurants are perceived as equally or more authentic than local cuisine. Design/methodology/approach A mixed-methods approach analyzed online reviews from 2,271 restaurants across 68 Greek islands and five major tourist island destinations in Southern Europe. A systematic keyword search identified authenticity mentions, which were manually classified into positive and negative perceptions. Quantitative analysis assessed differences in authenticity perception between local and non-local ethnic cuisines. Findings Non-local ethnic restaurants are systematically rated as more authentic than local cuisine. Authenticity is shaped by consumer expectations, ambiance and service style rather than geographic continuity. High tourism intensity fosters broader interpretations of authenticity. Digital narratives significantly influence authenticity perceptions, as tourists rely on collective online validation rather than historical or cultural accuracy. Research limitations/implications Findings are region-specific. Future research should explore authenticity perceptions across diverse cultural and geographic contexts. Practical implications Restaurant owners can enhance authenticity perceptions through storytelling and service rituals. Digital branding is crucial for shaping authenticity narratives. Social implications The findings underscore the shift in cultural authenticity amid globalization. While ethnic dining enriches tourism, overemphasizing non-local cuisine may threaten local culinary heritage. Policymakers must balance preservation with multicultural demand. Originality/value This study challenges the assumption that authenticity is inherently tied to local traditions, demonstrating its social construction through digital influence, globalization and subjective experiences. Among the first multi-country studies to show tourists rate non-local cuisine as more authentic.

Abstract Sea levels are increasing at an accelerated rate1,2 and this is expected to increase flooding along coastlines worldwide3. While cultural and natural heritage sites are among the assets most exposed to this threat4,5, a unified global assessment is currently lacking. Here we assess coastal flood exposure of all nearshore UNESCO World Heritage sites worldwide, under different global warming scenarios. We estimate that for a scenario with current climate mitigation policies and action, by the end of this century around one third of World Heritage Sites could be exposed to floods, corresponding to more than 1.1 million hectares of protected and preserved land. Limiting warming to the 1.5°C Paris agreement target would save 89 heritage sites from being exposed. Large countries are projected to face widespread exposure while smaller nations risk losing entire heritage systems. Combining our findings with the ND-GAIN index6 shows that 32 countries with low adaptive capacity are expected to experience high heritage exposure, especially Small Island Developing States. To safeguard these irreplaceable cultural and natural treasures, it is imperative to scale up heritage adaptation efforts and increase support for vulnerable regions.

The use of fungi as a bio-flocculant for microalgae harvesting has gained great attention in recent years. However, most of the examined fungi were pathogenic, making the harvested biomass unsuitable for human or animal consumption. In the present study, the effectiveness of the edible fungal strain Pleurotus ostreatus was tested for harvesting microalgae Chlorella sorokiniana, cultivated in diluted anaerobic digestate. Types of fungal pellets, pH values, and harvesting durations were examined as critical parameters for harvesting efficiency. The results showed that the maximum harvesting efficiency (74%) at pH 4.5 was achieved using large-sized fungal pellets (formed after 9days) and extended harvesting periods (24h). In contrast, at pH 5.5, the highest harvesting efficiencies (68-69%) were observed with medium-sized fungal pellets (formed after 7days) after 6h of contact time or with small-sized fungal pellets (formed after 5days) after 24h of contact time. The composition of the harvested fungal-algal biomass slightly differed at pH 4.5 compared to pH 5.5. Specifically, it contained a significant amount of proteins (40-45%) and carbohydrates (33-36%) along with approximately 4-5% of fatty acids, mainly linoleic acid, palmitic acid, and stearic acid. Overall, the use of fungal pellets produced by the edible fungus P. ostreatus appears to be a promising option for producing harvested fungal-algal biomass suitable for use as food or animal feed.

The growing accumulation of non-biodegradable petrochemical plastics and increasing food waste present urgent environmental and public health challenges. This study addresses both issues by developing biodegradable food packaging films from agar and starch, enhanced with antimicrobial properties by incorporating silver nanoparticles. The innovation of this work is the synthesis of novel agar–starch–silver nanoparticle coatings, where the contained nanoparticles were produced via green methods using two agro-industrial by-products of Greek olive oil production—olive stone extract and olive mill wastewater—as reducing agents. The morphology of the novel coatings was confirmed using transmission electron microscopy combined with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, revealing nanoscale particles with variable sizes. Additional film characterization was performed through Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive spectroscopy, and surface profilometry. Infrared spectroscopy analysis suggested the presence of functional groups responsible for nanoparticle stabilization, while energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy revealed silver aggregation in both olive stone extract and olive mill wastewater-derived films. Profilometry showed that films with olive mill wastewater-based nanoparticles had a rougher surface than those synthesized from olive stone extract. Antibacterial efficacy was tested against Escherichia coli (Gram-negative) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (Gram-positive) using a spot-on-film assay with high (106 CFU/film) and low (103 CFU/film) bacterial loads. After 72 h of incubation at 4 °C, both film types showed strong antibacterial activity at high bacterial concentrations, demonstrating their potential for active food packaging. These findings highlight a promising approach to sustainable food packaging within the circular economy, utilizing agricultural waste to create biodegradable materials with effective antimicrobial functionality.

ABSTRACTUnder the context of the climate change we assess the impact of EU's legislative initiative on European stock markets. Specifically, we focus on its impact on energy and Environmental Social Governance (ESG) sectors for equity returns and volatility for a representative basket of EU countries (participating also in Eurozone) as well as countries outside Eurozone/EU. We derive a cross‐country event analysis for the European green deal (willingness to implement and legal adoption on EU level as long‐term strategy) and national climate laws. Moreover, we assess the efficient market hypothesis (EMH). Second, we expect the announcement effect of the law implementation to have an impact on industry sectoral stock markets' volatility. The EMH is initially exhibited and announcement‐dependent; stock market is pricing announcements inefficiently. We find negative cumulative abnormal returns (CARs) both in the ESG, energy industry sector indexes. Abnormal return (AR) volatility is found per se at the announcement day. The magnitude and sign for abnormal returns as well as cumulative abnormal returns are announcement‐dependent. Heterogeneity is present since ESG (green index) appears to exhibit more statistically significant cumulative abnormal returns than the energy index.

ABSTRACT Greece is a country with numerous islands, which on the one hand have a unique landscape and, on the other hand, experience intense tourist development. The spatial planning incompetence, combined with the pressures brought about by tourism development, leads to built-up area dispersion and land use changes and conflicts. In this paper, short-term rental is examined, which, despite having a strong spatial footprint, is developing outside the framework of spatial planning. The study area is the Cyclades islands. The density of short-term rental – here expressed through Airbnb listings – and the built-up area of the islands are quantified and cartographically rendered. This results in island typologies of short-term rental intensity, which highlight the pressures faced not only by international destinations but also by smaller or less built-up islands. The need for integrated spatial planning with sustainable directions is emphasized.

Research has shown that children with dyslexia have syntactic awareness difficulties in comparison to typically developing readers. Considering the theoretical connections among phonological awareness, morphological awareness, and syntactic awareness, the present study explored (a) whether Greek-speaking children with dyslexia face syntactic awareness difficulties in comparison to typically developing readers, and (b) to what extent phonological and non-phonological language skills contribute to syntactic awareness performance. Measures of syntactic awareness, phonological awareness, morphological awareness, and receptive vocabulary were administered among 8.7-year-old children with and without dyslexia. The children with dyslexia had syntactic awareness difficulties in comparison to the typically developing readers. Phonological awareness, morphological awareness, and reading status were significant predictors of syntactic awareness performance. Phonological and morphological awareness made a more substantial contribution to syntactic awareness performance in the typically developing readers. Notably, reading status (i.e., children with dyslexia versus typically developing readers) was highlighted as a significant mediator of the relationship between phonological awareness and syntactic awareness and between morphological awareness and syntactic awareness. Taken together, it could be suggested that both phonological awareness difficulties and morphological awareness difficulties of Greek-speaking children with dyslexia might explain syntactic awareness difficulties. These findings are discussed in light of current research on the nature of syntactic deficits in dyslexia.