Improving Mobile Video Streaming with Mobility Prediction and Prefetching in Integrated Cellular-WiFi Networks

We present and evaluate a procedure that utilizes mobility and throughput prediction to prefetch video streaming data in integrated cellular and WiFi networks. The effective integration of such heterogeneous wireless technologies will be significant for supporting high performance and energy efficient video streaming in ubiquitous networking environments. Our evaluation is based on trace-driven simulation considering empirical measurements and shows how various system parameters influence the performance, in terms of the number of paused video frames and the energy consumption; these parameters include the number of video streams, the mobile, WiFi, and ADSL backhaul throughput, and the number of WiFi hotspots. Also, we assess the procedure's robustness to time and throughput variability. Finally, we present our initial prototype that implements the proposed approach.Comment: 7 pages, 15 figure

ACQUISITION OF SKILLS WITHIN CLASSES OF INCLUSIVE EDUCATION PRIOR TO ENTERING THE ELEMENTARY GREEK SCHOOL

The current study investigates the co-education of typically and non-typically developed children within the Greek schools, while it presents the conclusions concerning our research which has been conducted with the implementation of an annual intervention educational curriculum about the co-inclusion of disordered children within the autism spectrum into the general class in two kindergartens and one preschool centre. It investigates effective ways of supporting the growth and learning of children with non-typical development through interventions, study courses, educational practices and multi-leveled support systems. Our specimen consisted oftwelve (12) pupils falling underthe autism spectrum who had been attending general classes, from whom seven (7) were the actual participants whereas five (5) pupils worked as the control group. The toddlers were 5 to 6 years of age and they were to be enrolled in the Elementary School the following year. The research showed that the interventions ameliorate the quality along with the quantity of basic skills and that all children can, in fact, participate on equal terms in the School Curriculum, however the readiness of the school units to accept them in an equal rank, providing them with suitable curricula, is essential.  Article visualizations

CO-EDUCATIONAL FACTORS OF TYPICALLY AND NON-TYPICALLY DEVELOPED CHILDREN WITHIN THE GREEK GENERAL KINDERGARTEN AND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Co- education involves a whole of strategies, practices, perspectives and options all of which allow the admission of typically and non- typically developed children in the General School. The issue, however, remains whether school can be restructured as a place where the equal participation of all children in the educational process and the acceptance of their diversities, are ascertained or not. In the context of the present research which was conducted during the 2014- 2015 school year, views of Greek Kindergarten Teachers (N: 217) and Elementary School teachers (N: 303) in the District of Epirus were assessed, regarding the factors which affect admission in the general school, of children with special educational needs. From the extracted data, the need for the general school to be aptly organized and the educators to work together in the context of a dynamic collaboration, not only with each other, but also with the special and parallel support educators, appeared on the purpose of determining the strategies, the practices, the suitable preconditions and the content of the educational process.  Article visualizations

Ship Recycling under the light of the EU legal framework

Προ των προσφάτων καταγεγραμμένων περιπτώσεων διάλυσης πλοίων, η συντριπτική πλειοψηφία των πλοίων είτε υποβάλλονταν σε καταστροφές από φωτιά ή άλλα ατυχήματα, ενώ εκτελούσαν πλόες στη θάλασσα, ή χάνονταν πλήρως. Ως εκ τούτου, η έννοια της ανακύκλωσης των πλοίων, προκειμένου για την επαναχρησιμοποίηση τμημάτων τους, ήταν εκτός της εξίσωσης. Η παρούσα εργασία επιχειρεί να υπογραμμίσει την εξαιρετική σημασία της αγοράς της ανακύκλωσης των πλοίων, ως ξεχωριστός τομέας αγοράς της ναυτιλιακής βιομηχανίας, ο οποίος αναπόφευκτα συνδέεται με την ιδέα της βιώσιμης ανάπτυξης και της οικονομικής εξέλιξης, οι οποίες προστατεύονται από το πρωτογενές δίκαιο της ΕΕ και να «βουτήξει» στο Διεθνές και Ευρωπαϊκό ρυθμιστικό πλαίσιο, το οποίο επί της ουσίας επιχειρεί να καταπολεμήσει τα τρομερά αρνητικά αποτελέσματα στην ανθρώπινη υγεία, ην εργασιακή ασφάλεια και την περιβαλλοντική υποβάθμιση. Επιπλέον, να εξετάσει την αποτελεσματικότητα, την εφαρμογή, τις ανεπάρκειες και τις αποκλίσεις από τα προαναφερόμενα νομικά πλαίσια στην πράξη και να απαντήσει στο ερώτημα περί του εάν υπάρχουν ακόμη βήματα που θα πρέπει να γίνουν, προκειμένου για την ασφαλή και περιβαλλοντικά ορθή ανακύκλωση πλοίων παγκοσμίως, λαμβάνοντας βέβαια υπόψιν τις ιδιαιτερότητες της εξισορρόπησης των αντιτιθέμενων συμφερόντων. Τα ερευνητικά ερωτήματα υπέδειξαν τη δομή της παρούσας εργασίας, η οποία χωρίζεται σε δύο μέρη, καθένα από τα οποία συμπληρώνει το άλλο, διαμορφώνοντας ένα συνεκτικό σύνολο, το οποίο εξετάζει το νομοθετικό πλαίσιο της ανακύκλωσης των πλοίων, των υποχρεώσεων που επιβάλλονται, ιδίως στους πλοιοκτήτες, του πλαισίου ευθύνης σε Διεθνές και Ευρωπαϊκό επίπεδο, καθώς και της αρμοδιότητας των Διεθνών και Ευρωπαϊκών θεσμών ρύθμισης της βιομηχανίας της ανακύκλωσης πλοίων. Από τις κοινές προσπάθειες διεθνών παραγόντων, ΜΚΟ, καθώς και από την επιθυμία να προστατευθεί το περιβάλλον από τα αρνητικά αποτελέσματα της δραστηριότητας της διάλυσης των πλοίων, υιοθετήθηκαν δύο διεθνή μέσα, ήτοι η Διεθνής Σύμβαση της Βασιλείας για την διασυνοριακή μεταφορά επικίνδυνων αποβλήτων και η Διεθνής Σύμβαση του Χονγκ Κονγκ, η οποία ρυθμίζει ειδικώς την ανακύκλωση των πλοίων. Ο ρόλος της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης ως σημαντικός διεθνής παράγοντας στη ναυτιλιακή βιομηχανία έγινε πιο εμφανής από τη συνεχή συνεισφορά στη διαμόρφωση ενός νομοθετικού ρυθμιστικού πλαισίου σχετικά με την περιβαλλοντικά ασφαλή και ορθή ανακύκλωση των πλοίων. Έτσι, η Ένωση υιοθέτησε το 2006 τον Κανονισμό (ΕΚ) 1013/2006 για την μεταφορά αποβλήτων, ενώ τον Νοέμβριο του 2013, η Ένωση υιοθέτησε τον Κανονισμό (ΕΚ) 1257/2013 ειδικά για την ανακύκλωση των πλοίων, αντικαθιστώντας εν μέρει τον προηγούμενο Κανονισμό (WSR) και μεταφέροντας τη Διεθνή Σύμβαση του Χονγκ Κονγκ. Ο κύριος σκοπός του Κανονισμού (SRR) είναι να ‘αποτρέψει, μειώσει, ελαχιστοποιήσει και εξαλείψει τα ατυχήματα, τους τραυματισμούς και άλλα αποτελέσματα στην ανθρώπινη υγεία και στο περιβάλλον ως αποτέλεσμα της ανακύκλωσης πλοίων […], να βελτιώσει την ασφάλεια, […] η προστασία του θαλάσσιου περιβάλλοντος της Ένωσης καθ’ όλη τη διάρκεια της ζωής ενός πλοίου, ιδίως να διασφαλίσει ότι τα επικίνδυνα απόβλητα από την ανακύκλωση των πλοίων θα διαχειρίζονται περιβαλλοντικά ορθά’, προκειμένου να διασφαλίσει πως η ανακύκλωση θα διεξάγεται με ‘πράσινο’ τρόπο, να μειώσει ή απαγορεύσει τη χρήση επικίνδυνων υλικών στα πλοία και να εγκαθιδρυθεί μια Ευρωπαϊκή λίστα εγκαταστάσεων ανακύκλωσης πλοίων. Τέλος αλλά εξίσου σημαντικό, οι κύριοι στόχοι της παρούσας εργασίας ήταν να υπογραμμιστεί ο σημαντικός ρόλος της βιομηχανίας της διάλυσης πλοίων στην βιώσιμη ανάπτυξη και οικονομική ευημερία, να κατανοηθεί καλύτερα το νομοθετικό πλαίσιο (Διεθνές και Ευρωπαϊκό) στην αποστολή του να αντιμετωπίσει τα αρνητικά αποτελέσματα στην ανθρώπινη υγεία, την εργασιακή ασφάλεια και την υποβάθμιση του περιβάλλοντος και να τεθούν τα ερωτήματα περί του εάν αυτά τα συστήματα κανόνων είναι αρκετά και αποτελεσματικά, αν εφαρμόζονται ορθώς, να εξεταστούν οι ανεπάρκειές τους, καθώς και να εξαχθεί το συμπέρασμα για το εάν χρειάζονται περαιτέρω βήματα για την περιβαλλοντικά ασφαλή και ορθή ανακύκλωση πλοίων.Prior to the earliest recorded ship breaking cases, the vast majority of vessels either suffered damages caused by fire or other accidents, while operating at seas, or were completely lost. Thus, the concept of recycling a ship, in order to reuse her parts, was out of the equation. The present research attempts to underline the importance of the ship - recycling business, as a distinct market within the shipping industry, which inevitably is interlinked with the concept of sustainable development and economic growth, which both are to be safeguarded from the primary EU law and to dive into its International and European regulatory framework, which in its very essence yearns to combat all of the tremendous and negative adverse effects on human health, occupational safety and environmental degradation. Moreover, to scrutinize the efficiency, implementation, deficiencies, circumventions of the aforementioned legal frameworks in practice and to answer to the question of whether there are still steps to be taken for safe and environmentally sound ship – recycling worldwide that take into account the peculiarities of the balance of the conflicting interests. The research questions imposed the structure of the present paper, which was constructed in two parts, each one of which complemented the other, forming a cohesive whole that examines the ship – recycling regulatory regime, the duties imposed primarily to shipowners and the liability regime at International and European level, as well as the competence of International and European Institutions to regulate the ship – recycling industry. From the joint efforts of international actors, NGO’s and the willingness to protect and preserve the environment from the adverse effects of the activity of ship – recycling, two International instruments were adopted, thus the Basel Convention on the transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and the Hong Kong Convention which regulates specifically the recycling of vessels. The European Union’s role as key international actor in the shipping industry became more obvious from its continuous contribution to a formation of a legal regulatory framework concerning environmentally safe and sound ship - recycling. Hence, the Union adopted in 2006 the Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 on shipments of waste, while on November 2013, the Union adopted a Regulation (EU) 1257/2013 specialized on ship recycling, partly replacing the WSR and transposing the Hong Kong Convention. The main purpose of the SRR was to ‘prevent, reduce, minimize and eliminate accidents, injuries and other adverse effects on human health and the environment caused by ship recycling […] to enhance safety, […] the protection of the Union marine environment throughout a ship’s life-cycle, in particular to ensure that hazardous waste from such ship recycling is subject to environmentally sound management’, so as to ensure that recycling is conducted in a ‘green’ manner, to restrict or prohibit the use of hazardous materials on ships and to establish a European list of ship - recycling facilities. Last but not least, the main objectives of this research are to highlight the key role that ship - recycling industry holds in sustainable development and economic growth, to have an insight and a better understanding concerning its regulatory framework (International and European) in its mission to tackle the negative adverse effects on human health, occupational safety and environmental degradation and to question whether these sets of rules are sufficient and efficient or implemented properly, to scrutinize their deficiencies and to examine whether there are still steps to be taken for safe and environmentally sound ship – recycling

Estimating truck operating costs for domestic trips – case studies from Greece

"jats:p" The transport sector represents a vital component of national economies and has significant impacts on productivity and social welfare. In 2012, the transport sector in Europe was estimated to account for 3.7% of the European Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 5.1% for employment. Road transport proves to be the predominant mode for moving goods within Europe holding a share of approximately 45.8% in 2012 (in ton-kms). In Greece, the share of road freight transport is significantly higher (98%) indicating the importance of this sector for the Greek economy. To this end and considering the existing needs of road freight transport operators in Greece, the objective of this research is to establish an analytical and documented basis for estimating the operating cost of a truck on specific urban or national freight transport routes. To achieve this goal, an extended literature review has been conducted resulting in the identification of the main components comprising the total truck operating cost, which were then updated and validated through a series of personal interviews with selected road freight transport professionals. An excel-based application tool was also developed in order to facilitate operating cost estimates for different cases, through selection of the proper values of the relevant parameters. The resulting tool was used to analyse four test cases, which demonstrate the tool’s usability and applicability. Results from this analysis have been also validated by industry experts and they reflect real-world transport scenarios. Document type: Articl

Innovative Scheme for Efficient Freight Movement and Sustainable Emissions Management

"jats:p"This paper presents and analyses an innovative integrated scheme that aims to rationalize and improve the efficiency of urban freight transport as well as to promote reduced GHG emissions and traffic flows. Emissions management has become critical concern for modern companies and public authorities seeking to reduce carbon emissions and energy consumption from private and commercial heavy vehicle fleets, in line with the political targets of COP21 to COP23. The proposed scheme aims to utilize the current technological advances for efficient transport and logistics operations that regional authorities and companies can use and afford in order to provide competitive traffic management decisions as well as improvements in terms of pollutant emissions reduction. Both public and private stakeholders could interact to monitor and evaluate the impact of traffic policies and measures over time as well as the level of success of their routing strategies. Computational results on different scenarios of an experimental simulation model illustrate the competitiveness of the proposed scheme in an effort to quantify its effect. Document type: Articl

Γνώσεις και απόψεις Ελλήνων εκπαιδευτικών για τη δυσλεξία

The aim of this study was to explore teachers’ subjective knowledge over dyslexia and their opinions about the management of dyslexic students in the classroom. 387 teachers participated in the research (primary school teachers, secondary school language teachers and graduate students from primary education university departments). Semi-structured interviews were used. The major finding of the study was that teachers’ knowledge over dyslexia was contradictory due to the ambiguities and conflicts over the concepts of dyslexia and learning disabilities. Teachers’ opinions over the management of dyslexia were also contradictory, resulting in low self-efficacy beliefs on the management of dyslexic students in the classroom.Στόχος της έρευνας ήταν να διερευνηθούν οι υποκειμενικές γνώσεις των εκπαιδευτικών σχετικά με τη δυσλεξία και οι απόψεις τους σχετικά με την αντιμετώπιση των δυσλεκτικών μαθητών στην τάξη. Η έρευνα έγινε σε 387 εκπαιδευτικούς (δασκάλους, φιλολόγους και τελειόφοιτους παιδαγωγικών τμημάτων δημοτικής εκπαίδευσης) με ημιδομημένες συνεντεύξεις. Τo σημαντικότερο εύρημα της έρευνας ήταν ότι οι γνώσεις των εκπαιδευτικών για τη δυσλεξία ήταν αντιφατικές λόγω της ασάφειας που επικρατεί στο πεδίο της δυσλεξίας και των μαθησιακών δυσκολιών. Ταυτόχρονα οι εκπαιδευτικοί είχαν αντικρουόμενες απόψεις ως προς τη διαχείριση της δυσλεξίας, με αποτέλεσμα τη χαμηλή αίσθηση επάρκειάς τους να αντιμετωπίσουν δυσλεκτικούς μαθητές στην τάξη