Supporting public decision making in policy deliberations: An ontological approach

This is the post-print version of the Paper. The official published version can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2011 SpringerSupporting public decision making in policy deliberations has been a key objective of eParticipation which is an emerging area of eGovernment. EParticipation aims to enhance citizen involvement in public governance activities through the use of information and communication technologies. An innovative approach towards this objective is exploiting the potentials of semantic web technologies centred on conceptual knowledge models in the form of ontologies. Ontologies are generally defined as explicit human and computer shared views on the world of particular domains. In this paper, the potentials and benefits of using ontologies for policy deliberation processes are discussed. Previous work is then extended and synthesised to develop a deliberation ontology. The ontology aims to define the necessary semantics in order to structure and interrelate the stages and various activities of deliberation processes with legal information, participant stakeholders and their associated arguments. The practical implications of the proposed framework are illustrated.This work is funded by the European Commission under the 2006/1 eParticipation call

Synthesis of perfluorinated polyethers

A series of highly fluorinated acetylenes was prepared and their cyclization reactions were studied. A series of perfluoropolytriazines with -CF2I pendent groups were prepared. These materials can be cured thermally or photochemically to an elastomeric gum. Perfluoropolytriazines with -CN pendent groups were prepared. These materials can be crosslinked by reaction with terephthalonitrile oxide

Effect of Organic Fertilizers on Avocado Trees (Cvs. Fuerte, Hass, Lamb Hass) in Western Crete, a Cool Subtropical Region

The market for avocado is one of the fastest expanding worldwide, inclduing the Mediterranean basin. Organic farming systems cannot make use of synthetic fertilizers and therefore rely on several cultural techniques to maintain vigorous young trees and for quick shoot development, satisfactory yield, and fruit quality. We studied the effect of three different organic products (Terra Insecta (R) (Aeiphoria-Sustainable products of Crete, Chania, Greece), Fruit-Fix (R), and AMINO-16 (R) (both products manufactured by EVYP, Sindos, Thessaloniki, Greece) on avocado plants in the cool subtropical area of southern Greece. Three experiments were carried out, two of them on young avocado trees, and the third one on mature, fully productive trees. The establishment success (ES) (%), plants with shoot induction (SI) (%), plants with shoot growth >= 3 cm (SG) (%), number of sprouted buds >= 3 cm per plant (SB), mean shoot length (cm) per plant (SL), total shoot length (cm) per plant (TSL), mean leaf number per plant (LN), and total leaf number per plant (TLN) were measured in the first and second experiments, while in the third experiment, fruit growth parameters (length, width, fruit weight, fruit weight increase (FWI)) and fruit quality parameters (dry matter, oil concentration, dry matter, and oil concentration increase) were measured. The application of 0.2 K of Terra Insecta (R) to the planting hole did not have any statistically significant effect on plant growth, but when added around the trunk, statistically higher values were observed for SB, SL, LN, TSL, and TLN in the Terra Insecta (R) treatment compared to the control. Fruit-Fix (R) application to Lamb Hass avocado trees resulted in significant differences in ES, SI, SG, SL, TSL, LN, and TLN, and in the Hass variety, in SB. In the AMINO-16 (R) experiment, the fruit dimensions, quality parameters, and yield of the Hass variety were not recorded as significantly different. However, in the Fuerte variety, FW increased by 119.3% in the AMINO-16 (R) treatment. The effect of the organic fertilizers used in this research showed noticeable results requiring studies to be carried out over more seasons, different tree ages, cultivation methods, and stress conditions

HNBR and its MWCNT reinforced nanocomposites : Crystalline morphology and electrical response

Morphology and electrical response of hydrogenated acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (HNBR) and its multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) reinforced nanocomposites were studied by means of x-ray diffraction and broadband dielectric spectroscopy. HNBR systems were found to be semi-crystalline, with their crystallinity to increase with the addition of MWCNTs. In their dielectric spectra, four relaxation processes were detected. Ascending in relaxation time, these were attributed to: (i) interfacial polarization at the interface of crystalline and amorphous regions of HNBR and at the interface between HNBR and MWCNTs, (ii) glass to rubber transition of the amorphous part of HNBR, (iii) rearrangement of polar side groups, such as –CN, and (iv) local motions of small segments of the main elastomer chain. Electrical conductivity increases with MWCNT content and frequency increasing. The effect of temperature, on the electrical response, is more pronounced at low frequencies. The temperature dependence of the electrical conductivity strongly deviates from a pure Arrhenius behavior, signifying that the occurring conductance mechanisms do not correspond to a single thermally activated process. Relaxation dynamics imply that crystalline regions exert motion restrictions to large segments of the macromolecules in the amorphous phase and to polar parts of the systems

The police and the far right in Greece::a case study of police voting behaviour in Athens

The electoral advance of the far right party of Golden Dawn has left a clear mark on the Greek parliamentary elections of 2012. A less debated aspect of these results involves the extent of the electoral influence of Golden Dawn among police personnel. Using electoral data from two districts in Greece’s capital city, this paper explores the extent of that influence among major front line police units based in those localities. Our analysis obtains clear indications that Golden Dawn’s presence has been much more emphatic among police personnel than among the general public. These results warrant further exploration of this development, particularly in light of the possibility that far-right ideology may influence the character of everyday policing in Greece and the use of police discretion at the detriment of vulnerable or politically undesirable groups

Publisher Correction: A novel two-score system for interferon status segregates autoimmune diseases and correlates with clinical features

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has been fixed in the paper

B cell tetherin: a flow‐cytometric cell‐specific assay for response to Type‐I interferon predicts clinical features and flares in SLE

Objective: Type I interferon (IFN-I) responses are broadly associated with autoimmune disease including SLE. Given the cardinal role of autoantibodies in SLE, we investigated whether a B cell-specific IFN assay might correlate with SLE activity. Methods: B cells and PBMCs were stimulated with IFN-I and IFN-II. Gene expression was scrutinized for pathway-related membrane protein expression. A flow-cytometric assay for tetherin (CD317), an IFN-induced protein ubiquitously expressed on leucocytes, was validated in vitro then clinically against SLE diagnosis, plasmablast expansion, and BILAG-2004 score in a discovery cohort (156 SLE; 30 RA; 22 healthy controls). A second longitudinal validation cohort of 80 patients was also evaluated for SLE flare prediction. Results: In vitro, a close cell-specific and dose-responsive relationship between IFN-I responsive genes and cell surface tetherin in all immune subsets existed. Tetherin expression on multiple cell subsets was selectively responsive to stimulation with IFN-I compared to IFN-II and -III. In patient samples from the discovery cohort memory B-cell tetherin was best associated with diagnosis (SLE/HC: effect size=0.11, p=0.003; SLE/RA: effect size=0.17,

'Glocal' disorder: causes, conduct and consequences of the 2008 Greek unrest

This article examines the unrest that emanated in Athens and rolled out across Greek cities in December 2008 as a case through which to advance understanding of how local, national and international arenas may together shape localised episodes of disorder. We begin by addressing the proximate and structural causes of the unrest, before turning to explore the multifarious character of protest actions, including novel and derivative forms of contestation deployed by protestors, and public debate about the appropriate apportioning of blame amongst the variety of actors involved. Finally, we look at the diverse outcomes of the unrest and their impact upon extant socio-political tensions. For each stage of the lifecycle of the unrest, we evaluate the relevance of international actors, practices and discourses. Our analysis of the Greek unrest of 2008 suggests, first, that the array of intersections between global, national and local dimensions of unrest are more diverse than has heretofore been recognised by pertinent scholarship; and second, that international or transnational factors may play a significant role in the emergence, conduct and consequences of disorder even in instances where national and local dynamics remain predominant