Editorial: After a Last wave of the Pandemic: Towards a Post-COVID Era (Public Policies in Times of Pandemics II)

This is an Editorial in the Special Edition of the European Scientific Journal entitled “After a Last Wave of the Pandemic: Towards a Post-Covid Era” (Public Policies in Times of Pandemics II). It is a great honor for us, the proposal made by the Editorial Team to participate as Guest Editors of this second Special Edition. After the success of the first special edition entitled "public policies in times of pandemics", we decided to continue by publishing a second special edition. Unfortunately, the remarkably distinguished Professor of the University of the Peloponnese Nikitas-Spiros Koutsoukis passed away just before the publication of this volume. This Special Edition is dedicated to the memory of Professor Nikitas-Spiros Koutsoukis

Preface: Public Policies in Times of Pandemics

This is an Editorial in the Special Edition of the European Scientific Journal, which is an anniversary edition of the 10 years of circulation of this Scientific Journal. It is a great honor for us, the proposal of the Editorial Team to take over as Guest Editors of this Special Edition. The issue of the Special Edition was inspired by the current political developments in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and after reviewing the current bibliography related to the public policies for the management of the pandemic in all aspects of social life and activity. The collection and selection of valuable works by institutions and authors was achieved, in order to be assessed through the double peer review process. The successful completion of the process of publishing the Special Edition is the culmination of our efforts, the Editorial Team’s and the reviewers’. We hope that this Special Edition will be used in the further study of Public Policies in times of Pandemics in the future

Public Policy Analysis of Health System in Conditions of the Greek Economic Crisis

The aim of the study is to provide a literature overview of the Public Policy Analysis of the Greek Health System during the Economic Crisis, so that the generated knowledge can be used in Doctoral studies. The research methodology extends to the literature overview of valid Greek and international literature. The Findings of the study include summarising and categorising information related to the categories of public policies and those involved in policy making. Studies on policy changes in conditions of an economic crisis are reviewed. The Policy Change in the Greek Health System during the economic crisis is studied and placed within a pre-existing framework for classification of health system policies. Study limitation. The study specialises in the policy of the Greek Health System during the Economic Crisis and cannot be generalised as such for health systems of other countries. The studys practical applications are that it may constitute a useful literature review for students who want to study the Policy of the Greek Health System during the Economic Crisis and it also leaves room for further future study of this field. Value. The present study is an innovative research, it is a source of collected information and offers practical help in the study of the field.</jats:p

Strategic Information Systems Planning Of Public Sector In Economic Crisis: An Integrated Framework

The purpose of the study is to establish a framework for the impact of strategic planning on the public sector's information systems during the economic crisis. The survey has been designed for the literature review of the strategic planning of information systems and the enrichment through the review of the effect on this economic crisis. The research methodology extends to the literature review of strategic planning of information systems and the creation of a framework for its implementation in an economic crisis. We approach the general concepts of Strategic Management and Policy Analysis and also the more specific ones of Strategic Planning of Information Systems. We note the relationship between strategy and crisis and the relationship between efficiency and strategic management in the economic crisis. Based on the results of the survey for the strategic planning of public sector information systems, we enrich the study with more specific crisis management and we create a new study framework. Useful conclusions for the integrated management of public sector information systems in crisis arise. The study is limited by the introduction of the economic crisis and cannot be generalised as such in a period of normal operation of the organisations. This original research leaves room for further study cases in the future and completion of the strategic planning studies of public sector IT systems during the economic crisis

Bidirectional Ventricular Tachycardia

Bidirectional&nbsp; ventricular&nbsp; tachycardia (VT)&nbsp; is a&nbsp; form&nbsp; of tachycardia&nbsp; with&nbsp; alteration&nbsp; of&nbsp; the&nbsp; QRS&nbsp; axis&nbsp; in&nbsp; the&nbsp; same&nbsp; electrocardiographic lead.&nbsp; We&nbsp; present&nbsp; a case&nbsp; of&nbsp; bidirectional&nbsp; VT recorded&nbsp; in&nbsp; a female&nbsp; patient under chronic digitalis treatment and respiratory acidosis

Big Data Management in the Shipping Industry: Examining Strengths Vs Weaknesses and Highlighting Relevant Business Opportunities

History testifies that there is a dialectic relationship between humans and technology. Especially during the last couple of decades, the shipping industry has benefitted from a very extended number of advanced technology innovations. Today, all systems supporting the conduct of navigation and the various information technology (IT) applications related to ship management activities are heavily reliant upon (almost) real-time information to safely/effectively fulfil their allocated tasks. As a result, truly vast quantities of data -which are often described as “Big Data” in the wider literature- are created and the issue of how to effectively manage all the associated information is clearly standing out. Furthermore, topics such as optimising the conduct of all relevant activities on-board the vessel at sea, identifying the right opportunities in order to further promote business and boost profits, or even contributing to the numerous elements of sustainability by achieving reductions in energy consumption and/or a better environmental footprint for shipping, should all be researched further. Considering the quite limited capacity of the human brain to process really enormous quantities of data in comparison to modern computers, the trend to use advanced software tools for extracting and processing the “right” information that is often hidden in the vast pool of Big Data, as well as relying on advanced techniques and algorithms to perform the relevant statistical analysis becomes quite obvious. The purpose of this paper, which follows a qualitative approach working in unison with a “Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats” (SWOT) analysis, is to identify and briefly discuss the most relevant tools and techniques that are associated with Big Data Management. It will also clearly highlight the various benefits that are opening up and will try to explain the notion behind this transition to a new era, characterized by the term “smart shipping”. A very important conclusion is that the exploitation of Big Data and the role of certain software applications in accessing and managing this large volume of information are key factors for improving/optimising the conduct of ship operations and management; establishment of a “Data Driven Culture” within a shipping company can clearly improve the current business model and at the same time promote sustainabilit

System Identification of Tunnel Response to Ground Motion Considering a Simplified Model

This paper presents a simplified model using coupled Bernoulli and shear beams supported by Winkler-type springs for system identification of tunnels subjected to earthquake induced ground motions. The model formulation is introduced and closed-form solutions to the modal characteristic equation and mode shapes are derived. The latter are verified against the results of numerical models. Then, the system identification algorithm is presented, showcasing its ability to recover model parameters when recorded acceleration time histories along the tunnel are compromised by noise and sensor locations are varied. The presented framework can be used to initially and, simply, recover tunnel response when monitoring data is available, or to plan for monitoring campaigns in newly constructed or existing tunnels

Suitability of equivalent linear soil models for analysing the seismic response of a concrete tunnel

Current methods of analysis for the seismic response of tunnels rely on linear elastic soil constitutive behaviour. This has obvious benefits in terms of minimising the number of soil parameters required and the complexity compared to more sophisticated soil models. However, it has recently become possible to parameterise sophisticated soil models using only routine data from boreholes or in-situ testing. This paper will therefore review the effectiveness of seismic analyses using an equivalent linear soil constitutive model, by comparison of 2D Finite Element simulations with those using an advanced non-linear elastic model with isotropic hardening plasticity. In the elastic case, the parameters have been estimated using Equivalent-linear Earthquake site Response Analyses software (EERA) and consideration will be given to the amount of sublayering that is required to match the variation of soil properties with depth. The tunnel considered is of horseshoe shape and sprayed concrete construction (New Austrian Tunnelling Method), based on metro tunnels in Santiago, Chile, subjected to the Llolleo ground motion from the 1985 Valparaiso Earthquake. The results will focus the differences in the induced structural forces within the tunnel lining and modification to the ground motion in the near-field of the tunnel, and discuss the implications of this for tunnel design

From Pillars to AI Technology-Based Forest Fire Protection Systems

The importance of forest environment in the perspective of the biodiversity as well as from the economic resources which forests enclose, is more than evident. Any threat posed to this critical component of the environment should be identified and attacked through the use of the most efficient available technological means. Early warning and immediate response to a fire event are critical in avoiding great environmental damages. Fire risk assessment, reliable detection and localization of fire as well as motion planning, constitute the most vital ingredients of a fire protection system. In this chapter, we review the evolution of the forest fire protection systems and emphasize on open issues and the improvements that can be achieved using artificial intelligence technology. We start our tour from the pillars which were for a long time period, the only possible method to oversee the forest fires. Then, we will proceed to the exploration of early AI systems and will end-up with nowadays systems that might receive multimodal data from satellites, optical and thermal sensors, smart phones and UAVs and use techniques that cover the spectrum from early signal processing algorithms to latest deep learning-based ones to achieving the ultimate goal