Photochemical long-period grating fabrication in pure-fused-silica photonic crystal fiber

We report on first photochemical recording of a long-period fiber grating (LPFG) in a pure fused silica photonic crystal fiber (PCF), which is based on two-photon absorption (TPA) of high-intensity femtosecond 264 nm pulses. The main disadvantage of previously used nonphotochemical methods of LPFG inscription in PCF fiber (electric arc, mechanical pressure or CO2 laser irradiation) is that they easily damage the fragile holey structure, especially in PCFs with large hole diameters. Besides, photochemical LPFG fabrication in PCF not only allows recording by adding new periods to the grating, but also by repetitive exposure over the fixed number of periods. This important improvement results in production of stronger grating resonances with narrower bandwidths

Innovation As a Tool for Local Development. Introducing New Technologies for the Interpretation of Cultural Heritage: the Case of the RI-SE Programme in Sterea Ellada.

The introduction and pilot application of innovative methods in the field of cultural heritage can have a significant effect on local development by boosting tourism and the related economic activities, increasing familiarity with new technologies and creating a sense of local pride. The five Centres for Heritage Interpretation that were developed in the Region of Sterea Ellada within the framework of the RI-SE Innovative Actions Programme offer a good example of this process, illustrating the contribution of innovation to local development and the integral role played by the Local Authorities. This paper aims to examine the role of cultural innovation in local and regional development, mainly through the promotion of cultural tourism. The use of new technologies in the interpretation of cultural heritage upgrades the services provided to the visitors of cultural sites and can promote archaeological and historic monuments and sites that are less known to the wide public, therefore channeling the flow of tourists to under-developed areas of a Region. Furthermore, it is a means of introducing new technologies and innovation in a way that is user-friendly and appealing, regardless of the user’s degree of familiarity with information technology. The European Regional Innovation (RI-SE) Programme for Sterea Ellada, was implemented in 2003-2004, and aimed to introduce and incorporate innovation in the region’s economic and cultural activities through the provision of new services and the utilization of high technology. Within the framework of this programme, five pilot Centres for Heritage Interpretation were established in the towns of Orchomenos, Lamia, Gravia, Karystos and Fragista, in close collaboration with the respective Municipalities. The case study will examine the methodology and criteria that were used for the selection of the specific heritage sites from the plethora of monuments of the Sterea Ellada Region. It will also present the different multimedia solutions that were employed in each case and outline the reception of the Centres by the public. In addition, it will focus on the contribution of the Municipalities to the success of the project and analyze its effects on local development, both in the specific Municipalities, but also in the entire Region. Finally, the project’s demonstration effect will be evaluated and the prospects of its implementation in other Regions and other countries will be considered: the RI-SE programme developed an innovative model that can easily and successfully be adapted and implemented in every country with a rich cultural heritage (like, for example, in the Mediterranean countries: Spain, Italy, Turkey), especially in areas that are not included in major tourist routes.

Dedications at Dodona

The sanctuary of Dodona is located at the middle of a valley, between the imposing mountains of Tomaros and Manoliassa, a few miles away from the modern city of Ioannina at Epirus. Dodona was the oldest oracle of Ancient Greece and the religious and political center of the Epirotic tribes. The sanctuary was dedicated to Zeus Dodonaios and his wife Dione and the cult focused mainly on the sacred oak tree (ΦΗΓΟΣ). The archaeologists found a vast number of offerings, such as tripods, weapons, bronze statues etc. The presentation aims to shed light on these offerings and discuss the unique character of the cult practices as it can be seen from the archaeological and historical evidences. Moreover, it outlines important religious, political, social, and spatial factors that shaped the reputation of the oracle and affected drastically its fate and its course through time. The primitive cult practices, which survived and formed within the context of the Archaic and Classical Antiquity, played a major role on the identity of the sanctuary. This identity can be decoded through some silent witnesses: the Votive Offerings

Sustaining the unsustainable using precarity as a tool

The article argues that since December 2008, the continuous presence in public space in Athens and the spectacular mediatization in news reports, of various forms of the so-called anomie, as well as (since 2012) of its spectacular and violent repression by the police, were instrumentalized by the Greek austerity government in an attempt to enhance and manipulate already existing feelings of precarity among the population. Organized police operations in public space were turned into ‘media events’. Specifically, ‘affective precarity’ is considered as a way of demobilizing precarity as a politically and economically operative concept. The article adopts Lauren Berlant’s analysis of the relation between precarity and the austerity state

Le développement du réseau Mir@bel pour le signalement et l'accès aux revues francophones en SHS: Un exemple d'adaptation aux transformations du numérique

National audienceWith the digital transition, the evolution of arrangements for the dissemination of journals in Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) leads to changes in the methods and tools used by librarians on how to report online access and to face the vast and scattered amount of information available as well as the diverse business models and the question of open access. The need to control the metadata operated and to acquire specific skills has led to the establishment of the Mir@bel project. This library and information network produces a shared knowledge base, gateway to journals, which includes commercial packages such as open access journals. Information on access available online (full text, abstracts, tables of contents) is enriched with additional external links. The partners share the intelligence on journals and control the flow of data aggregated automatically from the four main french language platforms (Cairn.info, Érudit, Persée, Revues.org). The development and organization of the network, its international openness and diversification of partnerships, such as changes in working practices, are other significant results of the project. Mir@bel sketches what could be an information tool for journals, extended to all facets of their digital presence.Liée à la transition numérique, l'évolution des modalités de diffusion des revues en Sciences humaines et sociales (SHS) entraîne une évolution des méthodes et outils mis en œuvre par les professionnels de l'information pour signaler les accès en ligne et faire face à la très grande quantité d'information disponible, à sa dispersion, aux modèles économiques variés et à la question de l'accès ouvert. La nécessité de maîtriser les métadonnées opérées et d'acquérir des compétences spécifiques a conduit à la mise en place du projet Mir@bel. Ce réseau documentaire produit une base de connaissance mutualisée, porte d'entrée sur les revues, qui intègre les bouquets commerciaux comme les revues en libre accès. L'information sur les accès en ligne disponibles (texte intégral, résumés, sommaires) est enrichie de liens rebonds complémentaires. Les partenaires se partagent la veille sur les revues et contrôlent les flux de données agrégés automatiquement depuis les quatre principaux portails francophones (Cairn.info, Érudit, Persée, Revues.org). Le développement et l'organisation du réseau, son ouverture internationale et la diversification des partenariats, comme l'évolution des pratiques professionnelles, sont d'autres acquis significatifs du projet. Mir@bel esquisse ce que pourrait être un outil documentaire pour les revues, étendu à toutes les facettes de leur présence numérique

Dedications at ancient Dodona

The sanctuary of Dodona, the oldest of the Greek world, is located a few miles away from the present city of Ioannina. The close proximity of the site to my birthplace, made me wish to study further the history and the cult of Dodona. The oracle had a long lasting history, with the early finds dating back to the 13th century BC, with a course of distinct presence until the 4th century AD, when the pagan cult was replaced by the Christian religion. From the 8th century onwards, Dodona had a certain Greek cult activity, with interesting and rich dedications: bronze statuettes, statues, ex-voto, vessels, and valuable offerings. However, the earlier finds (weapons, ceremonial axes, miniature clay vessels) signify a primitive cult activity. This thesis aims to present an overview of the offerings, interpret their significance, and reveal the character of the oracle through the finds. For the first time, a combined catalogue of more than 600 offerings, presents as a whole the variety of the finds. Moreover, I tried to explore the factors that affected the identity of the oracle and highlight the connection of Dodona with other areas or individuals. The decline of the sanctuary came with the Roman Invasion in 167 BC. Therefore, I had to stop at that point, when the evidence was limited and vague

Cost-effective solution for phase-OTDR distributed acoustic/vibration sensing

Self-injection locking - an efficient method to improve the spectral performance of semiconductor lasers without active stabilization - has already demonstrated its high potential for operation with single-longitude-mode fiber lasers. Recently, we demonstrated that self-injection locking of a conventional DFB laser through an external fiber optic ring cavity causes a drastic decrease of the laser linewidth and makes possible its direct application in a phase-sensitive optical time domain reflectometry (φ-OTDR) acoustic sensor system. Detection and localization of dynamic perturbations in the optical fiber were successfully demonstrated at the distance of 9270 m. However, the ability of the system to restore the perturbating frequency spectrum was not quantified. Here, we have evaluated the performance of a φ-OTDR system for acoustic/vibration measurements utilizing a conventional telecom DFB laser self-stabilized through an external PM optical fiber ring resonator. The use of PM fiber components prevents the polarization mode-hopping that is proved to be a major source of the laser instability, resulting in single frequency laser operation with 6 kHz linewidth. The laser diode current and the laser fiber configuration temperature both have been stabilized with accuracies better than 0.3%. All laser components have been placed into a special insulating box to protect the laser from external perturbations. Under these conditions, the typical duration of laser operation in self-maintaining stabilization regime is ~30 minutes. The laser long-term frequency drift is estimated to be less than ~30 MHz/min. This low-cost solution is directly compared with the use of a commercial, ultra-narrow linewidth (~ 100 Hz) fiber laser implemented into the same setup. Both systems are tested for measurement of the frequency of vibration applied to a fiber at a distance of 3500 m. The obtained SNR value higher than 6 dB demonstrates the ability of the DFB laser to be used in distributed measurements of vibrations with frequencies up to 5600 Hz with a spatial resolution of 10 meters