Utilizing a Restricted Access e-Learning Platform for Reform, Equity, and Self-development in Correctional Facilities

Objectives: The goal of this paper is to address the issues that arose because of the exclusion of law offenders in the Greek Correctional Institutions from second chance education during the COVID-19 pandemic. During this period, the offenders were deprived of their right to equal access to second-chance education since the pandemics blocked mobility and close contact with teaching personnel. Methods/Analysis: In this paper, we propose a framework based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) that will be deployed to evaluate the acceptance of the CILMS by the learners in Correctional Institutions. We describe a methodology and a set of hypotheses that can reveal the intention of learners to use the system based on several factors, such as trust, perception of privacy, perception of usefulness, and perception of self-efficacy. Findings: We suggest that eLearning and limited Internet access should be added to the list of fundamental human rights for CI detainees as well, in order to counteract their separation from physical society. Inmates are still individuals. In fact, they should be placed in solitary confinement as prescribed by the law. Novelty/Improvement:This viewpoint has been demonstrated with the development and evaluation of acceptance by inmates through the TAM technology acceptance methodology, as well as the proposal of a generic privacy-preserving Web information and services access model for CIs that can, at the same time, provide sufficient information access freedom while respecting the restrictions that should be imposed on such an access for CI inmates. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2022-SIED-017 Full Text: PD

Μελέτη σκοπιμότητας για χρήση ηλεκτροπρόωσης σε μικρά επιβατηγά πλοία μεταφοράς προσωπικού (επιβατηγίδες) εντός λιμενικών εγκαταστάσεων ή μετακινήσεων πολύ μικρών αποστάσεων.

Εθνικό Μετσόβιο Πολυτεχνείο--Μεταπτυχιακή Εργασία. Διεπιστημονικό-Διατμηματικό Πρόγραμμα Μεταπτυχιακών Σπουδών (Δ.Π.Μ.Σ.) “Ναυτική και Θαλάσσια Τεχνολογία και Επιστήμη

LEO Satellites Constellation-to-Ground QKD Links: Greek Quantum Communication Infrastructure Paradigm

Quantum key distribution (QKD) has gained a lot of attention over the past few years, but the implementation of quantum security applications is still challenging to accomplish with the current technology. Towards a global-scale quantum-secured network, satellite communications seem to be a promising candidate to successfully support the quantum communication infrastructure (QCI) by delivering quantum keys to optical ground terminals. In this research, we examined the feasibility of satellite-to-ground QKD under daylight and nighttime conditions using the decoy-state BB84 QKD protocol. We evaluated its performance on a hypothetical constellation with 10 satellites in sun-synchronous Low Earth Orbit (LEO) that are assumed to communicate over a period of one year with three optical ground stations (OGSs) located in Greece. By taking into account the atmospheric effects of turbulence as well as the background solar radiance, we showed that positive normalized secure key rates (SKRs) up to 3.9×10−4 (bps/pulse) can be obtained, which implies that satellite-to-ground QKD can be feasible for various conditions, under realistic assumptions in an existing infrastructure

MULTI-ROOM SPEECH ACTIVITY DETECTION USING A DISTRIBUTED MICROPHONE NETWORK IN DOMESTIC ENVIRONMENTS

ABSTRACT Domestic environments are particularly challenging for distant speech recognition: reverberation, background noise and interfering sources, as well as the propagation of acoustic events across adjacent rooms, critically degrade the performance of standard speech processing algorithms. In this application scenario, a crucial task is the detection and localization of speech events generated by users within the various rooms. A specific challenge of multi-room environments is the inter-room interference that negatively affects speech activity detectors. In this paper, we present and compare different solutions for the multi-room speech activity detection task. The combination of a model-based room-independent speech activity detection module with a room-dependent inside/outside classification stage, based on specific features, provides satisfactory performance. The proposed methods are evaluated on a multi-room, multi-channel corpus, where spoken commands and other typical acoustic events occur in different rooms

Multi-room speech activity detection using a distributed microphone network in domestic environments

Domestic environments are particularly challenging for distant speech recognition: reverberation, background noise and interfering sources, as well as the propagation of acoustic events across adjacent rooms, critically degrade the performance of standard speech pro- cessing algorithms. In this application scenario, a crucial task is the detection and localization of speech events generated by users within the various rooms. A specific challenge of multi-room environments is the inter-room interference that negatively affects speech activity detectors. In this paper, we present and compare different solutions for the multi-room speech activity detection task. The combina- tion of a model-based room-independent speech activity detection module with a room-dependent inside/outside classification stage, based on specific features, provides satisfactory performance. The proposed methods are evaluated on a multi-room, multi-channel corpus, where spoken commands and other typical acoustic events occur in different rooms

Using Post-Emergence Herbicides in Combination with the Sowing Date to Suppress Sinapis arvensis and Silybum marianum in Durum Wheat

Wild mustard (Sinapis arvensis L.) and milk thistle (Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn.) are two competitive broad-leaved weeds commonly found in cereals in Europe, while several weed species have developed resistance to the main herbicides that are applied on these crops. Thus, the implementation of integrated weed management (IWM) programs is of great importance. Field experiments were conducted based on a split-plot design with two factors (sowing date and herbicides). Our results showed that the density of wild mustard and milk thistle was higher in the early sowing compared to the late sowing, while the total weed density was up to 75% higher in early sowing. Moreover, the herbicides florasulam + 2.4-D and bromoxynil + 2.4-D exhibited high efficacy (>98%) against milk thistle and wild mustard, while tribenuron-methyl and florasulam + clopyralid provided greater efficacy in the late sowing compared to the early sowing. Among the four herbicides, the lowest dry biomass and grain yield of wheat were observed in tribenuron-methyl and florasulam + clopyralid, while in the weed-infested treatment, the highest values of both parameters were recorded in late sowing. Finally, the results showed that the sowing date is a cultural weed control method that should be implemented in IWM programs, since it can affect both weed density and herbicide efficacy

Demographic and clinical attendance characteristics of the studied population (n = 204).

<p>^aDuration since diagnosis of CIS or clinically definite MS until study enrollment.</p><p>^bIKA: Social Insurance Institute, OPAD: Insurance institute for employees of the public sector, ΟAEE: Insurance institute for freelancers. One patient had both “other public insurance” and “private insurance”.</p><p>Demographic and clinical attendance characteristics of the studied population (n = 204).</p