Towards reviving post-Olympic Athens as a cultural destination

This paper examines the effects of global change on the status and qualities of the Greek national capital, Athens, focusing on how they affect the development of cultural tourism in the city. Although Athens constituted one of the most significant destinations for Greek tourism in the past, in recent years it started to weaken. Athens is characterised by a series of problems, among them are the degradation of its environment and quality of life and traffic congestion. However, in terms of tourism development, the Olympic Games helped in re-imaging the city and upgrading its infrastructure. This study based on semi-structured interviews with top officials reveals how global change has affected Athens’ socio-cultural/economic status, identity and image. Despite the tourism policy/planning responses to global changes, Athens’ tourism continues to decline leaving unexplored potential such as its rich cultural heritage, new multicultural identity and the New Acropolis Museum. The paper suggests that cultural elements of capital cities must be multidimensional including a variety of attractions and amenities. The use of cultural heritage assets needs to be in line with global developments in order for cities to effectively leverage heritage for cultural tourism

Olympic legacy and cultural tourism: Exploring the facets of Athens' Olympic heritage

This study examines the effects of the Olympic Games on Athens’ cultural tourism and the city’s potential to leverage the Olympic legacy in synergy with its rich heritage in order to enhance its tourism product during the post-Games period. In doing so, a qualitative and interpretive approach was employed. This includes a literature review on Athens’ 2004 Olympics to identify the sport facilities and regeneration projects, which constitute the Olympic legacy and heritage. Based on that, an empirical analysis was undertaken, by collecting official documents about the 2004 Olympics, and conducting five semi-structured interviews with tourism/administrative officials. The findings indicate that the Olympiad contributed significantly to Athens’ built and human heritage, revealing the dimensions of new venues/facilities, infrastructure, transportation and aesthetic image of the city, and human capital enhancement. Hence, the Games affected to the multifaceted representation and reconstruction of the city’s identity and cultural heritage. However, the potential afforded from the post-Olympic Athens remains unrealised due to lack of strategic planning/management. The study concludes that there is a need to develop cross-leveraging synergies between the Olympic legacy and cultural tourism for the host city. Finally, a strategic planning framework for leveraging post-Games Olympic tourism is suggested in order to maximise the benefits of Olympic legacy and heritage in a host city’s tourism development

Current Wildland Fire Patterns and Challenges in Europe: A Synthesis of National Perspectives

Changes in climate, land use, and land management impact the occurrence and severity of wildland fires in many parts of the world. This is particularly evident in Europe, where ongoing changes in land use have strongly modified fire patterns over the last decades. Although satellite data by the European Forest Fire Information System provide large-scale wildland fire statistics across European countries, there is still a crucial need to collect and summarize in-depth local analysis and understanding of the wildland fire condition and associated challenges across Europe. This article aims to provide a general overview of the current wildland fire patterns and challenges as perceived by national representatives, supplemented by national fire statistics (2009–2018) across Europe. For each of the 31 countries included, we present a perspective authored by scientists or practitioners from each respective country, representing a wide range of disciplines and cultural backgrounds. The authors were selected from members of the COST Action “Fire and the Earth System: Science & Society” funded by the European Commission with the aim to share knowledge and improve communication about wildland fire. Where relevant, a brief overview of key studies, particular wildland fire challenges a country is facing, and an overview of notable recent fire events are also presented. Key perceived challenges included (1) the lack of consistent and detailed records for wildland fire events, within and across countries, (2) an increase in wildland fires that pose a risk to properties and human life due to high population densities and sprawl into forested regions, and (3) the view that, irrespective of changes in management, climate change is likely to increase the frequency and impact of wildland fires in the coming decades. Addressing challenge (1) will not only be valuable in advancing national and pan-European wildland fire management strategies, but also in evaluating perceptions (2) and (3) against more robust quantitative evidence

Exploring effectiveness of safety information for workplace visitors

Providing safety information to visitors is an important task of each employer, but there is little evidence on what instructions are most effective. This study explores the effectiveness of visitor instructions that are currently in use, by identifying what objectives of visitor instruction are considered most important and assessing whether the actual instructions address these objectives.Data for this study was gathered through a survey that was handed out in a workshop in Cyprus and a workshop in the Netherlands. Focus groups were organised during the workshops, instructions from real companies were handed out and their effectiveness was discussed.The findings from this explorative study show that people expect a visitor instruction to provide information on emergency plans, evacuation routes and on the main risks on the worksite. In this study, the actual visitor instructions only partially matched these expectations. The study showed that in the actual instructions a larger variety of topics was addressed. Strengths and weaknesses of the instructions, according to the participants, mainly relate to the information density and to inclusion of clear, specific informatio

The investigation of fire growth in dwellings based on stochastic analysis

Two fire growth models for dwellings (3 realms) have been developed using a stochastic approach. The first is based on probability tree analysis and the fundamental work of Aoki [1] and Ramachandran [2]. The second one is a typical Markov approach to the problem. A state transition model was built in order to provide the appropriate transition probabilities needed by the two models and a known deterministic mainframe (CFAST 3.1.6) was used in order to close the set of equations in the probabilistic model. New criteria for the definition of the mean time spent in each of the fire stages--1) fire confined to room or area, 2) fire spread beyond room or area, 3) fire extinction or burn-out)--are proposed and, finally, results from both approaches are compared to each other and with previous analysis. The present models make an attempt to combine the randomness of stochasticity with the accuracy of a deterministic model based on the use of physical laws. As part of a probabilistic fire risk assessment tool, the models can be used to provide information for fire growth in buildings and be combined with a risk to life model to predict the risks to a human being in a fire situation

Employers' perceived importance and the use (or non-use) of workplace risk assessment in micro-sized and small enterprises in Europe with focus on Cyprus

Occupational Safety and Health is often poorly managed in micro-sized enterprises (MiSEs) and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Previous studies have shown that employers in such enterprises do not conduct and/or regularly review workplace risk assessments, even though this is required by legislation. In other cases, they may conduct a superficial workplace risk assessment just to comply with legislation and satisfy the authorities. This study attempts to shed some light into the actual use or non-use of workplace risk assessment by MiSEs and SMEs, the level of its utilization, and investigate if it is used as a tool of occupational safety and health promotion and the reduction of workplace accidents and occupational diseases. It also introduces the concept of employers' perception of the actual value of the risk assessment process. Data from ESENER-2 survey were analysed as well as data gathered by a survey conducted in Cyprus that included 201 MiSEs employing less than five employees, an area not covered by previous ESENER surveys. Analysis revealed that a significant percentage of employers in MiSEs do not perceive risk assessment as a valuable tool for improving occupational safety and health, indicating a problematic perception of and attitude towards health and safety issues. Moreover, considerable differences were identified not only in occupational safety and health management, but also in the perceived value of workplace risk assessment between northern and southern European countries, as well as for enterprises employing less than five employees

Public health and work safety pilot study: Inspection of job risks, burn out syndrome and job satisfaction of public health inspectors in Greece

This is a cross-sectional, nationwide pilot study conducted in the first quarter of 2021 in Greece. The aim of this study was to report the job risks of public health inspectors in Greece and investigate possible relationships with burnout and job satisfaction. An online survey was created, and the web link was distributed to respondents by email, through the National Public Health Inspectorate Administration, while anonymity was retained. A total number of 78 Public Health Inspectors were contacted and 46 responses were collected (response rate 58.97%). The study found that biological, ergonomic, and psychosocial risks are perceived as most severe in public health inspection. Higher levels of emotional exhaustion were associated with more prevalent ergonomic and psychosocial risks. Job satisfaction was associated with ergonomic risks, but it was most strongly predicted by demographic variables. Perceived quality of job training was found to be negatively related to psychosocial risks. It was concluded that Public Health Inspectors in Greece face a variety of job risks the severity of which contribute to burnout and more specifically to emotional exhaustion. These findings are among the first to address occupational health and safety of Public Health Inspectors in Greece and worldwide and can contribute significantly to the development of the appropriate framework to reduce job risks and emotional exhaustion among employees of Public Health Inspection. © 2021 Elsevier Lt

Factors Affecting the Innovation Process in the Cypriot Food and Beverage Industry

The Food and Beverage industry, a leading sector of the Cypriot manufacturing industry is under investigation in our study. The influence of innovation as a development vehicle is considered and factors affecting it have been investigated. In order to define and introduce these factors affecting innovation in the Cypriot manufacturing sector a nationwide survey is carried out. All five prefectures (Nicosia, Ammochostos, Limasol, Larnaca and Paphos) are covered and a sample of 5% of the whole Food and Beverage sector is surveyed. A closed questionnaire, made of five sections is used in order to collect information that will be used in a second stage in order to introduce the innovation factors affecting industrial development. The results illustrate the gradual adoption of a pro-innovation culture in the Cypriot Food and Beverage Industry. Among others it was shown, that companies that have proceeded with product innovation, process innovation and organizational innovation have experienced the impact of innovation on their organizational performance.Innovation, Factor analysis, Total Quality Management