The Securitization of Migration in Greece 2011-2019: A Discourse and Practice Analysis

The European migration crisis, and in particular, the ongoing Greek refugee crisis that burst in 2015, have resulted in the resurgence of the constructivist depiction of migrants - and since 2015 of refugees - as a threat to host countries. Yet, in the case of Greece, the securitization of migration and its various political, social, and economic implications have largely remained underexplored. In this context, the primary goal of this paper is to present the findings of a PhD research revolving around the evolution of the securitization of migration in Greece through the decoding of the security logic that governs and drives political elites in terms of speech acts and securitization practices for the period 2011-2019. The main hypothesis and central argument of this paper, that is, that migration in Greece from 2011 to 2015, but also the refugee crisis of 2015 to 2019, are subject to continuous securitizing procedures, are confirmed through the use of the methodological approach of discourse analysis in speech acts of political elites (Copenhagen School) in conjunction with the examination of securitization practices (School of Paris).More specifically, the discourse analysis focuses - separately but also synthetically - on the periods 2011-2013, 2014-2018 and finally on 2019, attempting to unfold the securitization patterns and the (institutionalized) emergency measures that were applied in Greece during the periods under examination. For each period, speech acts, securitizing actors, referent objects, and extraordinary measures as well as securitization practices were examined. In total, discourse analysis (Copenhagen School) was performed on 116 texts such as Program statements, Parliamentary Debates, Press Releases, Television Interviews, Police Statements, Church Statements, Political Party Programs, and Internet Websites, Newspapers and Legal Texts. Moreover, a large number of separate securitization practices, as stated by the Paris School of Security, were examined. The result? - Migration in Greece from 2011 to 2019, is highly securitized

The transition of Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) from a Euroscepticist Party into European Social-Democratic Party between 1974 and 1987

Eurosceptic rhetoric that PASOK had been expressing for years and had been constantly using for its confrontation with right-wing opponents (Nea Dimokratia). The fall of the junta and the return of Constantine Karamanlis is basically the starting point for PASOK's official expression of hard Euroscepticism. PASOK, as a genuine socialist party, rejected any form of participation in Western-style organizations and was therefore a major ardent against the European idea and European policy of Greece. Initially the party believed that European Integration could only harm the already fragile Greek economy and lead it to a further recession. PASOK took office for the first time in 1981 with the Greek economy presenting structural problems such as unemployment and stagnation. In addition to economic problems the government had to cope with the participation in the European institutions, which had emerged as a consequence of the proposed accession to the EEC by the previous government. Even before taking up duties, PASOK began to revise its political attitude towards the EEC, and it was not talking about leaving anymore. Yet, it opted for a special relationship. The prospect of taking power along with the tension that accompanied this prospect, transformed and evolved PASOK into a different party with genuine pro-European characteristics. The purpose of this paper is to indicate that as the probability for PASOK to take over the country's governance increased, a qualitative change of Euroscepticism from hard to moderate (1977-81) took place. In fact, friction with government power turned it into a pro-European party (1981-89). This analysis will examine specific events that played a role in shaping both governmental and party preferences during the period under consideration. Finally, an important point will be to draw critical conclusions about the reasons why PASOK revised its European ideas and transformed itself into a social-democratic party with a strong unifying factor up to date

Specific gravity and antibacterial assays of some synthetic industrial essential oils

Samples of synthetic industrial essential oil (SIEO) were assayed to provide basis for establishing correlation and validation of claims of its density, disinfectant and germicidal properties with its natural counterparts. Specific gravity (SG) and antibacterial assays were carried out on twenty typical SIEO samples that are commonly used in Northern Nigeria. The results show that mean SG was 0.970 with 5% coefficient of variance (CV) between samples and was not statistically significant following Kolmogorov-Smirnov error protection at 95% confidence limit. Antimicrobial activity test results consisting of bioautography and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) tests present variable effects of the SIEO S. aureus and E. coli but are not completely dependent on each other. Generally, the results of SG determinations for SIEO correspond greatly with SG values of most natural essential oils extracts and that up 70% SIEO showed antibacterial activity. The SIEO studied like their naturalcounterpart may contain certain antibacterial agents with similar effects to standard Chloramphenicol used in this work. However, further studies are required to justify the safety of the application of SIEO as antimicrobial agents. Keywords: synthetic fragrance, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, human healt

The Decommissioning of the Middle Class

: The euro crisis has threatened the balance of social structures, through the impoverishment of the middle class, in almost all countries of the Old Continent. This trend has not only posed a threat to social cohesion, but it also threats the very nature of the so-called Western-style Democracy. The reason for this is that there is a class that has always been a "cushion" that absorbs both the vibrations of competition and the confrontation of the social elite with the socially weak, offering the latter the ability to overcome their misery. In most capitalist economies, the middle class label is based on an economic definition that is largely based on a lifestyle that is based on a certain economic robustness and endurance. With the deepening of the crisis, however, the diversity of the middle class not only has it been jeopardized, but rather, it has gradually been replaced by a new demographic category called the prekariat. This new category consists of a group of people once in the middle class and currently marginalized. All of this leads to generalized uncertainty and totally unstable political attitudes, with intense mobility at the extremes. The rapid rise of right and left-wing populism is an aspect of the threatened subjugation of the middle class strata. The consequences for societies when their layered center is lost are obvious and significant

Identification and categorization of Refugees' Integration Prospects in the Greek Socio-Economic System: Case Study in Mytilene and Crete Islands

The refugee problem, which Greece faces since 2015, comprise one of the key challenges for policymakers in terms both of immediate measures to protect refugees in host centers and of the prospects for their smooth integration into the socio-economic system. The research project entitled "Detection and classification of perspectives for the inclusion of refugees in the Greek production system. Case study in Crete and Mytilene", in which this paper is based, focuses on these perspectives. Therefore, within the framework of the triangular research process which was followed, quantitative research through a structured questionnaire was conducted to refugees in the selected area of ​​Mytilene, which has received huge refugee inflows since 2015 and still has a significant refugee population in the host centers. In a second phase, the dimensions, prospects, shortcomings and barriers on the integration of refugees into the labor market were explored through semi-structured interviews in Crete and Mytilene with entrepreneurs and social partners’ representatives (75 interviews in each island). The selection of these two geographical areas was carried out in order to investigate the different dimensions and potential opportunities for integration, as long as Mytilene has received extensive refugee inflows while Crete has not received refugee flows and is an appropriate field of entrepreneurship and potential integration of refugees in the production process. Furthermore, 40 narrative interviews were conducted in Crete with “old” integrated refugees and immigrants in order to investigate the problems and challenges they faced during their integration process and the conditions for current refugees in terms of integration. This research is expected to provide useful material for constructing intervention and incentive directions, benefiting refugees’ social integration and the evolvement of their social and human capital

Securitization of Migration Perceptions of Police and Market Actors in Greece: A Comparative Study in the Islands of Crete and Lesvos

Migration is a multifaceted issue with a variety of research implications. In the case of Greece, the migration / refugee crisis of 2015 has been the subject of security centered policies since its beginning. Migration practices in Greece in conjunction with official statements (speech acts) from political and generally security actors, such as the police, suggest that migration in Greece has been securitized. The Greek police are a significant security actor that conveys important security messages and exerts significant influence on the public, since their role lies in the maintaining of public order. Yet, their role in the securitization of migration in Greece has been largely unexplored. Market actors are also an important driving force in attitude shaping at the labor market. Thus, the aim of this paper is twofold. First to explore and illustrate the perceptions and attitudes of the Greek police pertaining to migration and its relation to security and second to investigate whether these perceptions do exert influence on Greek market actors in the respective research areas (Crete and Lesvos), thus impeding the migrants’/refugees’ integration in the labor market of Greece. In order to do so, a mixed methodology is used, applying both quantitative (structured interviews with police officers) and qualitative (semi-structured interviews with entrepreneurs) methods, so as to investigate whether police officers’ stances reinforce market actors’ perceptions on refugees with an emphasis on the economic sector of security as referred to by the Copenhagen School. The research was carried out in the Greek islands of Crete and Lesvos. These diverse geographical areas were chosen due to their different socio-economic conditions as well as due to their different migrant/refugee flows, hence providing fertile ground for optimal research outcomes

Development of a compact excavator mounted dust suppression system

This paper reports on the investigation of an excavator mounted dust suppression system for demolition and construction activities. Ever increasing pressure is placed on contractors to improve their environmental performance, especially dust emissions. Current methods of dust suppression have been investigated and each of the methods has also been critically analysed to determine their advantages and disadvantages. The investigation also examined the requirements of such a system and a concept system proposal was produced. A working prototype has been constructed for a mini excavator complete with a hydraulic breaker. The proposed system was rigorously tested in various configurations to determine its efficiency and effectiveness in comparison with current suppression techniques. The resulting benefits such as the reduction of water usage and cost are highlighted

Analysis of discrimination by linguistic profiling during callings to access rental housing in Spain

Este estudio busca determinar si existe discriminación lingüística hacia individuos percibidos como extranjeros por perfilado de su forma de hablar cuando llaman para acceder a pisos de alquiler. Trabajos anteriores apuntan a que esto es posible y ocurre en otros países. Nuestra investigación se basa en 288 llamadas telefónicas a anuncios de alquiler en tres ciudades con altos números de migración o turismo y otras tres que no. Se trazó un personaje homogéneo que todas las llamantes interpretaron para evitar que aspectos sociales o laborales fuesen distractores. En total, 8 potenciales candidatas hicieron 36 llamadas cada una. Dos de ellas hablaban una variedad peninsular y otra tenía origen dominicano. En este caso se quería comparar la diferencia de éxito entre diferentes variedades del español. También queríamos contrastar el efecto nativo y diferentes tipos de nacionalidades, por eso, el resto de llamantes eran de origen árabe, japonés, finlandés, alemán e italiano. Los resultados muestran que no hay diferencia entre nativas de español de diferentes variedades a la hora de acceder a oportunidades de visitar un piso. Tampoco se encuentra con hablantes de origen europeo. Sin embargo, las llamantes arabófona y japonesa tuvieron menos oportunidades de ver pisos y peor calidad de atención en las llamadas.This study seeks to determine whether there is linguistic discrimination against individuals perceived as foreigners by profiling their way of speaking when calling to rental flats. Previous works suggest that this is possible and occurs in other countries. Our research is based on phone calls to 288 rental ads in 3 cities with high migration or tourism numbers and 3 other cities with the opposite profile. A homogeneous role was drawn, and all the callers performed it to avoid social distractors. In total, 8 potential candidates made 36 calls each. Two of them were of Spanish origin and spoke a peninsular variety, and another was of Dominican origin. In this case, we wanted to compare the difference between communicative success between different varieties of Spanish. We also wanted to contrast the native/non-native effect and different types of nationalities, so the rest of the callers were of Arab, Japanese, Finnish, German and Italian origin. The results show that there is no difference between native Spanish speakers of different varieties when it comes to accessing opportunities to visit a flat. Neither are statistical differences found for speakers of European origin. However, the Arabic-speaking and Japanese callers had fewer opportunities to see the flats and, also, worse quality of service on the calls.Esta publicación es parte del proyecto de I+D+I PID2021-124673NA-I00 financiado por MICIN/ AEI/10.13039/501100011033/ y por FEDER Una manera de hacer Europa

The katG mRNA of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium smegmatis is processed at its 5' end and is stabilized by both a polypurine sequence and translation initiation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In <it>Mycobacterium tuberculosis </it>and in <it>Mycobacterium smegmatis </it>the <it>furA</it>-<it>katG </it>loci, encoding the FurA regulatory protein and the KatG catalase-peroxidase, are highly conserved. In <it>M. tuberculosis furA-katG </it>constitute a single operon, whereas in <it>M. smegmatis </it>a single mRNA covering both genes could not be found. In both species, specific 5' ends have been identified: the first one, located upstream of the <it>furA </it>gene, corresponds to transcription initiation from the <it>furA </it>promoter; the second one is the <it>katG </it>mRNA 5' end, located in the terminal part of <it>furA</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this work we demonstrate by in vitro transcription and by RNA polymerase Chromatin immunoprecipitation that no promoter is present in the <it>M. smegmatis </it>region covering the latter 5' end, suggesting that it is produced by specific processing of longer transcripts. Several DNA fragments of <it>M. tuberculosis </it>and <it>M. smegmatis </it>were inserted in a plasmid between the <it>sigA </it>promoter and the <it>lacZ </it>reporter gene, and expression of the reporter gene was measured. A polypurine sequence, located four bp upstream of the <it>katG </it>translation start codon, increased beta-galactosidase activity and stabilized the <it>lacZ </it>transcript. Mutagenesis of this sequence led to destabilization of the mRNA. Analysis of constructs, in which the polypurine sequence of <it>M. smegmatis </it>was followed by an increasing number of <it>katG </it>codons, demonstrated that mRNA stability requires translation of at least 20 amino acids. In order to define the requirements for the 5' processing of the <it>katG </it>transcript, we created several mutations in this region and analyzed the 5' ends of the transcripts: the distance from the polypurine sequence does not seem to influence the processing, neither the sequence around the cutting point. Only mutations which create a double stranded region around the processing site prevented RNA processing.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This is the first reported case in mycobacteria, in which both a polypurine sequence and translation initiation are shown to contribute to mRNA stability. The <it>furA-katG </it>mRNA is transcribed from the <it>furA </it>promoter and immediately processed; this processing is prevented by a double stranded RNA at the cutting site, suggesting that the endoribonuclease responsible for the cleavage cuts single stranded RNA.</p

Three Essential Ribonucleases—RNase Y, J1, and III—Control the Abundance of a Majority of Bacillus subtilis mRNAs

Bacillus subtilis possesses three essential enzymes thought to be involved in mRNA decay to varying degrees, namely RNase Y, RNase J1, and RNase III. Using recently developed high-resolution tiling arrays, we examined the effect of depletion of each of these enzymes on RNA abundance over the whole genome. The data are consistent with a model in which the degradation of a significant number of transcripts is dependent on endonucleolytic cleavage by RNase Y, followed by degradation of the downstream fragment by the 5′–3′ exoribonuclease RNase J1. However, many full-size transcripts also accumulate under conditions of RNase J1 insufficiency, compatible with a model whereby RNase J1 degrades transcripts either directly from the 5′ end or very close to it. Although the abundance of a large number of transcripts was altered by depletion of RNase III, this appears to result primarily from indirect transcriptional effects. Lastly, RNase depletion led to the stabilization of many low-abundance potential regulatory RNAs, both in intergenic regions and in the antisense orientation to known transcripts