Greek Case Research Articles

A proposed maturity assessment framework of the Greek local government Web Electronic Services

Purpose This paper aims to construct an assessment framework to establish a maturity model for Web Electronic Services offered at a local government level and investigate the maturity of Greek municipalities in the E-Government field, trying to correlate how this is affected by demographic variables. Design/methodology/approach An original assessment framework regarding municipal Electronic Services was created based on the literature review. The assessment framework was included in a methodological approach supported by the PROMETHEE II method, as well as by selected statistical methods. The framework and the methodological approach were applied in the case of Greek municipalities. Findings The analysis revealed the low maturity level of Greek municipalities in Electronic Services sector. The Greek case study indicated that the proposed framework and methodological approach could provide useful insights to municipalities for the improvement of its E-Government Web services based on their strategic preferences. Research limitations/implications The assessment took place only in Greece, assessing all the country's municipalities and conducting research only in the municipalities’ websites. The proposed methodology suggests that the PROMETHEE II multi-criteria decision analysis method can support the assessment of the maturity level of local government entities. Moreover, the combination of the PROMETHEE II–empowered assessment framework with demographic statistical analysis can assist orthological decision-making concerning future investments in Web Electronic Services. The methodology could be a good option for future research efforts (assessments) in municipalities, in Greece and worldwide. Practical implications The framework is both easy to use and fairly complete. The fact that the assessment was conducted in all the Greek municipalities makes it much more reliable, as it provides the whole picture. The suggested methodology which includes the proposed framework could be used in the cases of municipalities in other countries to assist future actions concerning the investment in Web Electronic Services. Originality/value This study provided a medium-size framework, being both complete and easy to use during the evaluation process of all the municipalities in Greece. In addition, the statistical analysis received data from a decision-making tool to execute the clustering (Cluster analysis is usually performed based on the raw data).

Household food waste management: socio-ecological dimensions

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to estimate respondents’ socio-ecological consciousness (SEC) (knowledge, perceptions, behaviour, habits and feelings) concerning household food waste (HFW) and to identify factors that influence attitude concerning HFW.Design/methodology/approachData were collected through a questionnaire survey addressing to 279 residents in Western Macedonia, Greece. A principal component analysis was primarily applied to provide a manageable set of variables relevant to SEC. These variables were analyzed according to their positive/negative influence in SEC through descriptive statistics. Independent samples t-test analysis was employed to examine factors that influence HFW.FindingsResults show that SEC is formed by three main activities: knowledge, perception and attitude. The survey reveals an inconsistency between existing knowledge and problematic perceptions, while the attitude includes neither harmful nor harmless HFW-related activities. A significant finding is that respondents’ age affects food rejection in different consumption stages in a household.Research limitations/implicationsReliance on self-reported data for HFW that concerns a Greek case study does not allow a generalization of results.Practical implicationsThe authors suggest a campaign plan for local bodies. The aim is to enhance respondents’ perceptual abilities and attitude concerning HFW. In order to raise awareness of students and individuals/households, related campaigns could be implemented by educational institutions and other policymakers.Originality/valueThe survey provides information for HFW, a topic not widely examined in Greece, and it is analyzed for the first time on the basis of SEC theory.

The Role of the Director of Educational Units and the Participation of the Teachers' Association in the Decision-making Process. An Overview of the Greek’s Education System

The present paper examines the concept of leadership, the types of leadership and especially the role that the Director plays regarding decision making in the Greek education system. It reviews the literature on the Greek case and through the negotiation and commentary of a specific example from the daily routine of the Greek school, demonstrates how important it is for the Director tooperate democratically and use the presence of the Teachers' Association for the benefit of the school.

Is Education an Investment for the Future? The Impact of the Greek case on Economic Growth

Annals of Social Sciences & Management studies are an international journal which focuses to spread a vast knowledge to the readers. ASM includes various topics which cover every part of Sociology and management studies like Philosophy & Public Affairs

THE NEW LAW ON ENERGY COMMUNITIES IN GREECE

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Crisis, institutional innovation and change management: Thoughts from the Greek case

Abstract. This article explores how the current global crisis and restructuring of global capitalism is related to innovation, in broad terms, and change management. The aim is to understand this relation by first presenting a synopsis of the approaches to the crisis of the Greek socioeconomic system, second focusing on the concept of innovation in institutional terms, and third examining the change management mechanisms that seem useful for the articulation of public economic policy in Stra.Tech.Man terms (synthesis of Strategy-Technology-Management). We suggest that to overcome actual structural crises -such as the Greek socioeconomic crisis- the implementation and valorization of well balanced and effectively implemented sets of institutional innovations is crucial, provided that integrated public policy change management mechanisms are in place. Keywords. Globalization restructuring, Greek crisis, Structural socioeconomic crisis, Institutional innovation, Public policy reform, Change management, Stra.Tech.Man analysis. JEL. O10, B52, O31.

The Challenges of the Inmates’ Adult Educator. A Greek Case Study

The inmates’ adult educator implements the principles of adult education in the enclosed prison environment and makes efforts to reintegrate them socially. In Greece, inmates’ adult educators mainly work in Second Chance Schools (SCS) operating in prisons. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the challenges encountered by inmates’ adult educators at the Second Chance School of Chania Prison. The qualitative method was used in this research. According to the results of the survey, the inmates’ adult educators of the SCS of Chania Prison believe the challenges they encounter derive mainly from the conditions of imprisonment and the inelastic way of prison operation. In addition, they consider that several barriers arise from the particular characteristics of the prisoners and from the deficiencies of the inmates’ adult educators themselves.

Economic crisis and the variety of populist response: evidence from Greece, Portugal and Spain

Greece, Portugal and Spain are among the countries worst hit by the 2008 Great Recession, followed by significant electoral and political turmoil. However, one of the dimensions in which they differ is the presence and varieties of populism in parties’ political proposals. Drawing on holistic coding of party manifestos, we assess the varying presence of populist rhetoric in mainstream and challenger parties before and after the 2008 economic downturn. Our empirical findings show that populism is much higher in Greece compared to Spain and Portugal. We do not find a significant impact of the crisis as the degree of populism remains rather stable in Greece and Portugal, while it increases in Spain, mainly due to the rise of new populist forces. The study confirms that populist rhetoric is a strategy adopted mainly by challenger and ideologically radical parties. In addition, inclusionary populism is the predominant flavour of populist parties in new Southern Europe, although exclusionary populism is present to a lesser extent in the Greek case. We contend that the interaction between the national context – namely the ideological legacy of parties and the main dimensions of competition – and the strategic options of party leadership is crucial for explaining cross-country variation in the intensity of populism and the specific issues that characterise populist discourse.

The Profile of the Inmates’ Adult Educator: A Greek Case Study

The Profile of the Inmates’ Adult Educator: A Greek Case Study

“A decision support approach for evaluating liquefied natural gas supply options: Implementation on Greek case study”

Natural gas as a primary fossil fuel, will grow faster than both oil and coal for the next decades and distinguishes by its lower environmental impact in comparison to other conventional fuels. Natural gas in its liquid form (Liquified Natural Gas), grows seven times faster than pipeline gas. It is, usually, transferred using liquified natural gas carriers stored in cryogenic tanks. A crucial problem in this field is the selection and the evaluation of liquified natural gas export terminals in different countries (liquified natural gas suppliers). The paper attempts to propose a decision support model specialized for this type of problem, adopting green logistics optimization tools as prescribed in circular economy philosophy. A multicriteria analysis, using Promethee II method, is carried out, evaluating all the potential export terminals and studying the case study of Greece. The approach is based on selected criteria in the fields of economic supply, low environmental impact of transportation, satisfaction of technical specifications and the current and future availability of supply. The evaluation procedure includes the ranking of different preference scenarios. The obtained results showed that there are advantageous liquified natural gas supply options for Greece, like Egypt, Algeria, Libya and Norway, with good performances in almost all the criteria. By adopting the proposed methodology, national and commercial decision makers could take advantage to assess future consortiums.

Europeanization of National Defense and Security: The Greek Case

In 2003, Javier Solana introduced the European Security Strategy (ESS). Since then, there have been important developments regarding the security and defense of the European Union member states. This article examines the impact of Europeanization on the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). Specifically, I analyze how the Europeanization of CSDP has been incorporated into the logic of Greece’s domestic security and defense policy. Hence, the Europeanization process is identified and presented according to Claudio M. Radaelli’s definition. Furthermore, this analysis identifies the impact of CSDP on Greece’s political structures, which are related to the country’s defense and security policy. These changes are presented in terms of an explanatory schema for better understanding the Europeanization dynamics in the Greek case.

Formal and Informal Education during the Rise of Greek Nationalism: Learning To Be Greek by Theodore G. Zervas

Reviewed by: Formal and Informal Education during the Rise of Greek Nationalism: Learning To Be Greek by Theodore G. Zervas Alex R. Tipei (bio) Theodore G. Zervas, Formal and Informal Education during the Rise of Greek Nationalism: Learning To Be Greek. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. 2017. Pp. vii + 186. Cloth $109.99. Over the last 50 years, scholars have produced a rich and nuanced literature on the crucial role that education, particularly popular instruction, played in the construction of national identities in Europe and around the world. Theodore G. Zervas’s book, Formal and Informal Education during the Rise of Greek Nationalism: Learning To Be Greek, promises to contribute to this field by exploring how the Greek state mobilized and shaped what children in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century learned not only in school, but in their homes and communities, as well. Unfortunately, Zervas’s book does not quite deliver. Zervas divides his study into five thematic chapters framed by an introduction and conclusion. He begins with a survey of family and community life (from the village to minority ethnolinguistic groups) and the place of childhood in Greek society around the turn of the twentieth century. In the following three chapters, he discusses schools and textbooks, children’s literature, and folk practices as sites of formal and informal education. The final chapter offers a series of biographical vignettes of Greek cultural figures meant to showcase how informal learning shaped them as children. From the start, Zervas struggles with the very concepts that anchor his study: nationalism and informal education. He never clearly articulates the coordinates of the Greek identity that the state promoted, nor does he directly link it to the content of either formal or informal instruction. While we get a glimpse of the contours of Greekness from allusions to the work of others, notably Michael Herzfeld (115), most of what we learn comes from vague statements. For example, Zervas writes that “Greece was hesitant in welcoming a more Western and secular society and Greek Orthodox Christianity was seen as crucial to maintaining a Greek cultural identity” (65). He leaves us to wonder to what or whom “Greece” refers here—political leaders? teachers? peasants?—as well as what these Western values were, and how they ran counter to Orthodoxy. More generally, Zervas tends to elide Orthodoxy and national identity without clarifying what sets apart the Greek case. The closest to a sketch of Greekness at the time is the claim: “[Today] it is easy . . . to define what it means to be Greek. We speak Greek, we live in Greece, we are Greek Orthodox (at least the majority of us are), and our history and culture dates back to ancient Greece” (15). This essentialized definition of contemporary [End Page 205] Greek identity points to the most troubling aspect of Zervas’s book—the reproduction of nationalist tropes. While Zervas makes it known he has read key works on nationalism (Benedict Anderson, Ernest Gellner, Eric Hobsbawm), his study fails to problematize national identities, histories, and ideologies as historical-political constructions. Already in his preface, Zervas imagines his own Greek ancestry extending back as an unbroken line to 7000 BCE (vii). He contends, in contradiction to a wealth of studies, that customs and traditions—from when to lead a dance to how to serve coffee—were uniform across Greece (12) and rearticulates the figure of the timeless peasant, positing that rural life in postin-dependence Greece not only continued to resemble the entirety of the Ottoman period (1453–1821) but had often changed little “since late Byzantine times (1000–1400)” (31–32). Discussing its ethnolinguistic diversity, he calls Thessaloniki “an old relic from Greece’s Ottoman past” (40), without noting that for most of the period under consideration (1880–1930), the city was actually part of the Ottoman Empire; it only became Greek in 1913. Similarly, his brief note of educational institutions in Smyrna and other parts of Anatolia lacks any recognition of the historical or political context (70)—neglecting to nuance how Greek identity may have developed differently in the diaspora or to inform readers unfamiliar with Modern Greek history that these locales were outside the reach of the...

Towards an improved credit scoring system: the Greek case

During the development of credit risk assessment models, it is very important to find variables that allow the evaluation of a company's credit risk accurately, as the classification results depend on the appropriate characteristics for a selected data set. In this paper, new credit risk models tested on real data, which evaluate credit risk of Greek companies are introduced. These models use a combination of financial and credit behaviour data. The credit risk models, which are introduced in this paper, do have some important additional advantages: 1) they contain a relatively small number of variables; 2) their stability is tested on samples after the time-period of the time period of data-collection; 3) the characterisation of 'good' and 'bad' credit behaviour is strictly defined.

Is Education an Investment for the Future? The Impact of the Greek case on Economic Growth

Is Education an Investment for the Future? The Impact of the Greek case on Economic Growth

Negative concord in classical Greek case study : Xenophon

Negative concord in classical Greek case study : Xenophon

The Impact of Deferred Taxation on Banking Profitability and Capital Adequacy. Evidence from the Greek Banking System

The need for a unified approach to businesses involved in the global economy and in particular in the financial markets around the world has been addressed by International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs), which are increasingly adopted by countries and especially in the banking field, which is also the main point of our research interest. In this paper we will look at one of the most important International Financial Reporting Standards, International Accounting Standard 12 (IAS 12), which deals with the accounting treatment of deferred income tax. We will present how IAS 12 accounts for deferred tax liabilities and receivables, and examine its application to the banking sector. Finally, we will investigate and compare with the help of the published financial statements of the Greek systemic banks and with the principle of application of International Financial Reporting Standards, deferred taxation and its effects on profitability and capital adequacy. So we will refer to the Greek case and see how the Greek banking system calculated and used deferred taxation.

Dynamics of Polarization in the Greek Case

This article focuses on the dynamics of polarization emerging within Greek political culture in the postauthoritarian setting. Following a brief historical framing, we trace Left–Right polarization between the two major parties of the period: Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) and New Democracy (ND). The party-based polarization of PASOK/ND was arguably the main axis of political antagonism in Greece from the 1970s until the end of the 2000s. By 2009, polarization had ebbed due to an ideological convergence of the two parties toward the center, but the onset of the 2009 economic crisis dislocated the established two-party system and facilitated the emergence of a new political landscape comprising many new political actors, most notably the Coalition of the Radical Left, SYRIZA. Using a predominantly quantitative methodology, we focus on a set of dimensions of polarization brought forward or re-activated within the context of economic crisis.

The International Court of Justice and the Macedonian –Greek Case

In the international law there is often a mention of the peaceful arrangements of international disputes. The resolution of international disputes is also part of the most important principles of international law. Given the historical development of international law, we observe that states that have been subjected to the fictitious subjects of international law have often had disputes between them on interrelated issues. For these differences between states to be provided international law different mechanisms are being considered in order to resolve disputes and diplomatic aids and in some cases also judicial means that serve to resolve these disputes. This paper presents the dispute between Macedonia and Greece regarding the issue of the name where the role of the international community has been extremely important by putting its diplomacy at its disposal with the sole aim of reaching a resolution of the parties'.

Cost of quality measurement in food manufacturing companies: the Greek case

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to focus on the cost of quality (CoQ) of food manufacturing companies. The study aims at empirically validating the conceptual structure of the core dimensions of CoQ (prevention, appraisal, internal and external failure cost) and determining their level and relationships. Determining the reasons for not measuring the CoQ as well as the barriers-difficulties and benefits of the CoQ measurement is also an aim of the present study. Design/methodology/approach Greek food manufacturing companies were approached through a structured questionnaire and 91 participated in the study. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, descriptive statistics and correlation analysis are applied for data analysis. Findings The structure of the core dimensions of CoQ is empirically validated, while all of them range within medium levels and are inter-related. The reasons for companies not measuring the CoQ as well as the barriers-difficulties of companies measuring the CoQ are not significant. On the contrary, significant benefits are derived from the CoQ measurement. Research limitations/implications The small sample of the food manufacturing companies operating in one country and the subjective business evidence collected are the main limitations of the present study. Practical implications Food companies can be motivated to establish a robust CoQ measurement system, which would reflect the level of the CoQ dimensions. According to the results of the CoQ measurement, a food company can make decisions to increase the prevention and appraisal costs and decrease the internal- and external-failure costs in order to be more competitive in the market. Originality/value The paper provides deeper insights into the level and inter-relations of empirically validated CoQ dimensions. Very few studies on the CoQ in food manufacturing companies have been carried out in Greece and the present study makes the picture of the CoQ status in this sector more clear.

The European Refugee Crisis and Humanitarian Citizenship in Greece

ABSTRACTGreece has been at the epicentre of two overlapping ‘humanitarian crises:’ the economic crisis and the crisis of refugees. Since 2011, as austerity policies have hamstrung the Greek state’s capacity to meet the basic needs of citizens, long-term residents, and new arrivals alike, formal and informal humanitarian initiatives have sought to provide for diverse beneficiaries. Meanwhile, the ‘refugee crisis’ has opened up a booming humanitarian marketplace in Greece. This article draws on my long-term research in the field of asylum in Greece, and ethnographic data from research on ‘social solidarity clinics and pharmacies,’ grassroots initiatives meant to provide medicines and care to citizens and non-citizens in need. I argue that the Greek case signals the emergence of what I call ‘humanitarian citizenship’ on European margins: the replacement of both social rights (afforded to citizens) and human rights (afforded to refugees) with humanitarian logics and sentiments, positioning both citizens and non-citizens in a partially shared continuum of precarity.