Tourism as a driver of economic growth and development in the EU-­27 and ASEAN regions. EU Centre in Singapore Research Brief December 2013

Tourism is a significant driver of economic and social development.  It stimulates economic growth by generating income, employment, investment and exports. It also generates valuable spin-­off benefits, including preservation of cultural heritage, improved infrastructure and local community facilities (World Travel and Tourism Council, 2013).  But, tourism can have positive or negative impacts depending on planning, development and management.        The  purpose  of  this  research  brief  is  to  demonstrate  the  economic  importance  of  tourism,   its  challenges  and  plans  for  tourism  development  in  the  EU-­‐‑271  and  ASEAN2  regions.  It   brings  together  data  from  several  sources  including  the  United  Nations  World  Tourism   Organization  (UNWTO)  and  the  World  Travel  and  Tourism  Council  (WTTC).     This  brief  is  divided  into  three  parts:      Part One describes performance of tourism sector in the  EU-­27 and ASEAN regions in terms of international tourist arrivals and receipts, contribution of tourism to GDP, employment, exports and investment.         Part Two outlines the EU-­27 and ASEAN plans for supporting tourism development while highlighting relevant initiatives.         Part three discusses some of the key challenges that accompany tourism development. It also outlines goals that policy makers should follow in making tourism more sustainable.

Phono-semantically Motivated Lexical Patterns: Evidence from English and Modern Greek.

Generally, linguistic theory assumes that the association between sound and meaning is essentially arbitrary: a meaning can theoretically be represented by almost any set of sounds in a language. This study, however, will show that linguistic signs appear to be less arbitrary and their meaning highly motivated by their sound. In particular, of the sound-symbolic forms, as exposed in Hinton et al (1994), I will confine myself only to those referred to as phonaesthemes (Firth, 1930). In Mela-Athanasopoulou (2001), I argued that phonaesthemes do meet the criteria for being full morphemes, due to their ability to recur with the same meaning at the same position operating as root-forming elements. Here, I will provide a more detailed analysis of the multiple parameters of expressive elements in both English and Modern Greek and indicate that the semantic features of such forms are more evaluative and subjective as well as language specific

Field-Induced Slow Magnetic Relaxation In the First Dy(III)-centered 12-Metallacrown-4 Double-Decker

The reaction of Dy(O2CMe)3•xH2O and Ga(NO3)3•xH2O led to the isolation of (nBu4N)[GaIII8DyIII(OH)4(shi)8] (1). The compound possesses a unique chemical structure enclosing the central magnetic DyIII ion between diamagnetic GaIII-based metallacrown 12-MC-4 ligands. The double-decker complex exhibits field-induced single-molecule magnet (SMM) behaviour with an effective energy barrier (Ueff) of 39 K (27.1 cm-1). Consistent with the observed slow relaxation of magnetization, theoretical calculations suggest a ground state mainly determined by |±11/2> in the easy axis direction

Flood Prevention and Sustainable Spatial Planning. The Case of the River Diakoniaris in Patras Authors: D. Vespiniadou, E. Athanasopoulou

The danger of floods from overflow of rivers that crosses urban regions is a frequent phenomenon that concerns many of European countries. In the framework of Sustainable Spatial Planning arise some serious questions for the way that should such phenomena be handled, apart from the purely hydraulic conventional interventions. Noteworthy that at his flow a river runs through usually at all the length completely dissimilar regions as long as they concern in geomorphology but also their urban characteristics (urban density, existing land uses etc). Through the experience of other countries, different approaches in institutional and urban metres will be studied. Also, the possibility of redesigning the flood region of urban rivers will be examinated, proposing suitable uses per case. The article will investigate the example of Diakoniaris River in Patras/Greece It is a river that crosses the coastal city of Patras in length of 4 kilometres roughly in address E-W, and in the past (1962,.2001) he has created catastrophic floods. Our approach focuses on the suggestion of proposed institutional regulations but also methodological approaches that concern in the flood-preventing protection of urban regions

eHealth and People with Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders

eHealth is the transfer of health services and health care by information and communications technology. People with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (SSD) use the Internet for general and health-related reasons. Yet, it is unclear what kind of schizophrenia-related health information this population finds online. eHealth literacy is the ability of Internet users to find, understand, and apply the health information they acquire, to make appropriate health decisions. People with SSD exhibit cognitive deficits and consequently, their eHealth literacy can be affected. The goal of the study was to describe schizophrenia-related health information, to investigate eHealth use among adults with SSD in Finland and Greece, and to compare the country groups. The methodology consisted of three principle procedures. First, a mixed methods study was conducted with descriptive, cross-sectional design, in order to describe and compare schizophrenia-related health information and videos found online when searched in Finnish and Greek language. Content analysis was performed. Data were analyzed with quantitative and descriptive statistics. Second, a survey study with a descriptive, cross-sectional design was conducted to describe and compare eHealth use among Finnish and Greek people with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (SSD). Data were collected by a structured questionnaire and analyzed with quantitative, descriptive statistics, partially, group comparisons were made with logistic regression techniques. Third, a systematic literature review and meta-analysis were performed to assess the potential effectiveness of social media interventions for people with SSD. Our findings, first, showed that assessed online schizophrenia-related health information tended to be of low quality, with no significant differences between the two countries. Furthermore, schizophrenia-related videos tended to present mental illness in a negative, not medically-oriented way, again, without significant differences between the countries. Second, Internet use (FI: 87% vs. GR: 33%) and eHealth literacy (FI: mean 27.05 vs. GR: mean 23.15) of Finnish people with SSD was significantly higher (P<.0001) than their Greek counterparts. The interest component of attitudes toward computer/Internet was significantly higher (P=.006) among the Greek group (FI: mean 2.60 vs. GR: mean 3.16). Third, the systematic review and meta-analysis did not show superiority of social media mental health interventions than treatment as usual. In conclusion, it is recommended that in the future, better quality mental health information and videos need to be made available in several languages and to be easily accessible through the most popular search engines and social media sites. eHealth literacy instruction and training is necessary so that people with SSD can find, understand, and apply the health information they retrieve online.Sähköiset terveyspalvelut skitsofreniaspektrin sairauksien hoidossa eHealth –käsite tarkoittaa terveyspalveluja, jotka välitetään informaatio- ja kommunikaatioteknologian avulla. Skitsofreniaspektrin häiriöitä sairastavat henkilöt käyttävät Internetiä yleisiin ja terveyteen liittyviin tarkoituksiin. On kuitenkin epäselvää, minkälaista skitsofreniaan liittyvää terveystietoa he löytävät Internetistä. Sähköinen terveyslukutaito kuvaa Internetin käyttäjien kykyä löytää ja ymmärtää löytämäänsä terveystietoa sekä käyttää sitä tarkoituksenmukaisesti terveyteen liittyvissä päätöksissä. Koska henkilöillä, joilla on skitsofreniaspektrin häiriö, ilmenee usein kognitiivisia vajavaisuuksia, heidän terveyslukutaitonsa saattaa olla alentunut. Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli kuvata skitsofreniaan liittyvää terveystietoa sähköisissä palveluissa, selvittää näiden terveyspalvelujen käyttöä aikuisten, skitsofreniaspektrin häiriöitä sairastavien henkilöiden keskuudessa sekä Suomessa että Kreikassa ja verrata maiden ryhmiä toisiinsa. Aluksi toteutettiin tutkimus eri tutkimusmenetelmiä yhdistämällä (mixed methods) deskriptiivisellä, poikkileikkaavalla tutkimusotteella. Tarkoituksena oli kuvata ja verrata Internetistä suomeksi ja kreikaksi löytyvää terveystietoa ja videoita skitsofreniaa koskien. Aineisto analysoitiin sisällönanalyysin sekä kuvailevin tilastomenetelmin. Seuraavaksi suoritettiin kysely samalla tutkimusasetelmalla, jossa kuvattiin ja verrattiin sähköisten terveyspalvelujen käyttöä suomalaisten ja kreikkalaisten skitsofreniaspektrin häiriöitä sairastavien henkilöiden keskuudessa. Aineisto kerättiin strukturoidulla kyselylomakkeella ja analysoitiin kuvailevin tilastomenetelmin. Ryhmien väliset vertailut tehtiin logistisen regressioanalyysin avulla. Kolmanneksi tehtiin systemaattinen kirjallisuuskatsaus ja meta-analyysi, jossa arvioitiin sosiaalisen median vaikuttavuutta skitsofreniaspektrin häiriöitä sairastavien henkilöiden hoidossa. Tulokset osoittivat, että skitsofreniaan liittyvää terveystieto oli yleisesti ottaen huonolaatuista molemmissa maissa; tutkittavien maiden välillä ei ollut tilastollisesti merkitseviä eroja. Skitsofreniaan liittyvät videot kuvasivat mielisairauksia negatiivisessa, ei-lääketieteellisessä valossa; tulokset eivät eronneet tilastollisesti maiden välillä. Suomalaisten skitsofreniaspektrin häiriöitä sairastavien henkilöiden Internetin käyttö (Suomi 87% vs. Kreikka 33%) ja sähköisen terveystiedon lukutaito (ka 27.05 vs. ka 23.15) oli korkeampi suomalaisilla kuin kreikkalaisilla potilailla; maiden väliset erot olivat tilastollisesti merkitsevät (P<.0001). Tietokoneisiin/Internetiin kohdistuvat asenteet olivat merkittävästi positiivisimmat kreikkalaisen keskuudessa (ka 2.60 vs. ka 3.16, P=.006). Systemaattinen kirjallisuuskatsaus ja meta-analyysi eivät osoittaneet sosiaalisen median olevan tehokkaampi kuin perinteiset hoitomenetelmät. Tulevaisuudessa korkealaatuista mielenterveysinformaatiota ja videoita olisi oltava helposti löydettävissä eri kielillä suosituimpien hakukoneiden ja sosiaalisen median avulla. Potilaat tarvitsevat koulutusta sähköisten palvelujen medialukutaitoon.Siirretty Doriast

The polysemy of -ize derivatives and the ModGreek counterpart -pi`o

Derivatives involving the suffix -ize in English are extremely heterogeneous with regard to their semantics, syntax and the types of bases the suffix attaches to. A similar claim can be made for the ModGreek counterpart -pi`o. In this study I argue that the case of     -ize and -pi`o derivatives has implications for morphological theory with regard to the status of the derivational affix in general, and word-formation rules (WFRs) in the lexicon, as well as the role of semantic and pragmatic information in lexical morphology. Based on the theory of Lexical Conceptual Semantics (LCS) (Jackendoff 1990; Plag 1999), I show how the meaning of the derived verbal is compositional and results from the interaction of the meaning of the stem with the semantic structure of the potential -ize/-pi`o derivative

Characterization of pavement subgrade soil using gyratory compaction

A parameter used to carry out the quality control of unbound compacted soil materials is the maximum dry unit weight obtained from a standard or modified Proctor test. However, these tests are far from simulating the field compaction mechanism produced by roller equipment. The gyratory compactor has been put forward as a new laboratory equipment to determine the compaction curves in the Highway Construction and Pavements Laboratory accommodated in the Polytechnic School of Democritus University in Xanthi Greece. Results of Proctor and modified compaction curves as well as those obtained from the gyratory compactor are presented in the current paper. The controlled variables in the gyratory compactor were the vertical pressure, the gyration angle, and of course the number of gyrations. The compaction curves are more or less similar disregarding the rate of gyration and gyration angle. The dynamic compaction yielded better results compared to those obtained by the gyratory compactor. The difference between the two compaction modes was greater at low moistures. Three different moistures were used. In any case, the dynamic method led to higher dry density values. California Bearing Ratio specimens prepared with dynamic or gyratory compaction have lower values with an increase in moisture contents and were generally greater in the case of dynamic compaction