Offshore location decision and economic crisis (The case of Greece)

Outsourcing is a trend that has penetrated many industries over the last years taking the form of offshore outsourcing in many cases. However the location decision that follows the offshore outsourcing or the offshoring decision is quite complex and almost impossible to be answered through a linear model. A series of frameworks have been developed attempting to facilitate the process above.The focus of this work is the analysis of the location decision making through the reflection of the existing literature and the example of a specific country, Greece. Greece is chosen as a dynamic environment where the recent economic crisis has provoked structural reforms at the country, affecting the attractiveness of the location. The analysis of country is based on an OECD recent survey while the comparison is made with the assistance of a specific location decision model.Based on the findings of this study, it can be claimed that the case of Greece is quite different compared to other countries at the past which have faced similar situations. Further the reforms that take place need more time in order to be projected and trigger the attractiveness of the location

Data Fusion in Earth Observation and the Role of Citizen as a Sensor: A Scoping Review of Applications, Methods and Future Trends

Recent advances in Earth Observation (EO) placed Citizen Science (CS) in the highest position, declaring their essential provision of information in every discipline that serves the SDGs, and the 2050 climate neutrality targets. However, so far, none of the published literature reviews has investigated the models and tools that assimilate these data sources. Following this gap of knowledge, we synthesised this scoping systematic literature review (SSLR) with a will to cover this limitation and highlight the benefits and the future directions that remain uncovered. Adopting the SSLR guidelines, a double and two-level screening hybrid process found 66 articles to meet the eligibility criteria, presenting methods, where data were fused and evaluated regarding their performance, scalability level and computational efficiency. Subsequent reference is given on EO-data, their corresponding conversions, the citizens’ participation digital tools, and Data Fusion (DF) models that are predominately exploited. Preliminary results showcased a preference in the multispectral satellite sensors, with the microwave sensors to be used as a supplementary data source. Approaches such as the “brute-force approach” and the super-resolution models indicate an effective way to overcome the spatio-temporal gaps and the so far reliance on commercial satellite sensors. Passive crowdsensing observations are foreseen to gain a greater audience as, described in, most cases as a low-cost and easily applicable solution even in the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. Immersive platforms and decentralised systems should have a vital role in citizens’ engagement and training process. Reviewing the DF models, the majority of the selected articles followed a data-driven method with the traditional algorithms to still hold significant attention. An exception is revealed in the smaller-scale studies, which showed a preference for deep learning models. Several studies enhanced their methods with the active-, and transfer-learning approaches, constructing a scalable model. In the end, we strongly support that the interaction with citizens is of paramount importance to achieve a climate-neutral Earth

Industrial symbiosis marketplace concept for waste valorization pathways

Acceleration of raw materials’ depletion and waste accumulation create a need for stakeholders to shift from linear to circular business models by adopting novel strategies. Circular economy (CE) and industrial symbiosis (IS) offer a direction towards sustainable, resource efficient systems and eco-friendly waste management approaches. IS encompasses all types of interfirm cooperation in order to achieve a green, waste-free supply chain and at the same time to attain profits. However, among other barriers hampering widespread adoption of IS is lack of information exchange. Digital tools have emerged as facilitators of IS, since they enable real-time data sharing, identification and evaluation of symbiotic opportunities, while continuous progress of those tools is necessary for the digital transformation of IS. Important elements for the functionality and success of such tools are the criteria determining the matching of potential stakeholders and the support of the decision-making process. In the ongoing research that is presented, these matching criteria and benchmarks for waste valorization pathways are investigated and a matchmaking framework is proposed. The objective of the framework is to identify the most suitable collaborators to be deployed later to an automated matchmaking process, revealing latent possibilities (e.g. by suggesting indirect matches) and advantages of symbiotic actions from a holistic perspective. This tailor-made assessment is aspired to evaluate stakeholders’ compatibility based on more than a mere waste streams’ valorization match. Stakeholders’ specific requirements and motivations are incorporated in the potential partnership evaluation, thereby a multicriterion approach is proposed considering the potential cooperators’ relevance in terms of aspects like strategic goals, the level of IS embracement or synergy’s environmental impact

Sustainable port development:towards the Physical Internet concept

European ports are currently facing the challenge of adapting to the current trends in global trade and efficiently handling the increasing volumes placed on them. The aim of this paper is to present an innovative framework supported by disruptive technologies for cargo ports to handle upcoming and future capacity, traffic, efficiency and environmental challenges. The innovations to be implemented within the proposed framework will contribute to the Port of the Future objectives regarding reduction of port’s total environmental footprint associated with intermodal connections; the improvement of operational efficiency, and increase of data sharing and information visibility; and the promotion on the innovation in the port-urban context. The solutions are expected to contribute to the digitization and smart objects creation, the movement of containers and their interconnectivity as well as to multimodality. Overall, the proposed framework aims to develop models and tools which can support ports to improve their efficiency and gradually participate in a Physical Internet networ