The institution of compulsory preschool education in Greece

Compulsory preschool education for 5-year-old children was instituted by law in Greece in 2006. However, the implementation of the law encountered several problems. This article, on the occasion of the recent institution of compulsory preschool education in Greece, discusses in a critical manner the views that have been voiced in favour and against it and offers an insight of the corresponding situation in other European countries. This article analyses the corresponding legislative course in Greece, focusing on data from the last three years. It identifies and presents oversights and omissions that characterize the implementation of the aforementioned law. Finally, the article offers suggestions that can contribute to the improvement of preschool education in Greece. In this way, the article criticizes the Greek government policy, a policy that governments from other countries must avoid during their efforts to institute compulsory preschool education.peer-reviewe

Change management in Greek state-owned enterprises : the role of archaic Hellenic philosophy and the adoption of business process management

PhD ThesisThis thesis presents and discusses the findings from research in Change Management (CM) in Greek State Owned Enterprises (SOEs). These organisations are currently under great pressure from the state to implement changes with the aim to improve their competitiveness, increase profitability, and become non-reliant on government rescue funds. Previous reform policies have been unsuccessful, mainly due to direct political intervention in the operation of the Greek SOEs, bureaucracy, ineffective recruitment, lack of employee participation in the management of the organisations, and resistance to privatisation efforts. The recent economic crisis in Greece and the imposition of austerity measures has led to reductions in salaries and a diminution in governmental financial support to SOEs, and the abolition of the permanent employment status of new recruits. The author’s work experience, combined with extensive literature review suggested that Ancient Greek Philosophy (AGP) could play an important cultural role in influencing the beliefs, and attitudes of management and staff working in Greek organisations. Greek SOEs are adopting Business Process Management (BPM), which among other contemporary management tools is a method for both implementing change and operational improvements. The research concentrates on: (i) the facilitating or inhibiting role of AGP in bringing about change; and (ii) the impact of adopting BPM as a method of promoting change in Greek SOEs. The theoretical framework of context (why), content (what), and process (how) in the management of strategic and operational change and competitiveness, developed by Pettigrew et al. (1989) was used to investigate change in Greek SOEs. A deductive followed by an inductive analysis of the data was conducted to extend the model of Pettigrew et al. (1989) to account for both the influence of AGP and the impact of BPM in implementing change in Greek SOEs. The Ancient belief that change is unavoidable could facilitate change, while push for change that is not associated with long-term benefit to both the organisation and the employees could face great resistance. A performance related pay system using monetary reward based incentives to promote business process implementation, and a fair bonus scheme to encourage and reward achievement is required

Diagnostic accuracy of cytology for canine osteosarcoma compared to histopathology

PICO question What is the sensitivity and specificity of cytology as a test for canine osteosarcoma when compared to histopathology as a gold standard?   Clinical bottom line Category of research question Diagnosis The number and type of study designs reviewed Overall, four diagnostic validity studies (two prospective and two retrospective) were critically appraised Strength of evidence Weak to moderate Outcomes reported There is evidence of moderate strength to support that cytology is highly sensitive and specific for diagnosing histologically confirmed osteosarcomas as mesenchymal malignant neoplasms (cytological diagnosis of sarcoma). Evidence of weak strength suggests that the sensitivity and specificity of cytology for identifying the exact histotype (cytological diagnosis of osteosarcoma) are low and high, respectively. Finally, there is currently evidence of weak strength indicating that the sensitivity and specificity of cytology are comparable to that of preoperative histopathology after incisional biopsy for the diagnosis of canine osteosarcoma Conclusion Based on the available evidence, the diagnostic accuracy of cytology in diagnosing histologically confirmed osteosarcomas as sarcomas is high, whereas a confident conclusion cannot be drawn regarding the diagnostic accuracy of cytology for the identification of the exact histotype (cytological diagnosis of osteosarcoma). There is currently scant evidence suggesting that cytology has comparable diagnostic accuracy to preoperative histopathology (i.e. after incisional biopsy) for the diagnosis of canine osteosarcomas, however, more studies are warranted to confirm these results   How to apply this evidence in practice The application of evidence into practice should take into account multiple factors, not limited to: individual clinical expertise, patient’s circumstances and owners’ values, country, location or clinic where you work, the individual case in front of you, the availability of therapies and resources. Knowledge Summaries are a resource to help reinforce or inform decision making. They do not override the responsibility or judgement of the practitioner to do what is best for the animal in their care

Moment-Type Estimators for the Dirichlet and the Multivariate Gamma Distributions

This study presents new closed-form estimators for the Dirichlet and the Multivariate Gamma distribution families, whose maximum likelihood estimator cannot be explicitly derived. The methodology builds upon the score-adjusted estimators for the Beta and Gamma distributions, extending their applicability to the Dirichlet and Multivariate Gamma distributions. Expressions for the asymptotic variance-covariance matrices are provided, demonstrating the superior performance of score-adjusted estimators over the traditional moment ones. Leveraging well-established connections between Dirichlet and Multivariate Gamma distributions, a novel class of estimators for the latter is introduced, referred to as "Dirichlet-based moment-type estimators". The general asymptotic variance-covariance matrix form for this estimator class is derived. To facilitate the application of these innovative estimators, an R package called estimators is developed and made publicly available.Comment: 27 pages, 5 figure

Differential white blood cell counts in rabbits: a comparison of the Advia 2120 and a manual method

We evaluated the performance of the Advia 2120 (Siemens) differential leukocyte count (A-Diff) compared to the manual method (M-Diff) in rabbits. EDTA-anticoagulated blood samples collected for diagnostic purposes were analyzed within 6 h of collection. The M-Diff was performed blindly by 2 observers on blood smears by counting 200 cells. We initially included 117 samples; 25 samples were excluded because of suboptimal gating of leukocytes in the Advia peroxidase cytogram or poor blood smear quality. The correlation between the A-Diff and M-Diff was very high for heterophils (r = 0.924, p < 0.001) and lymphocytes (r = 0.903, p < 0.001), high for basophils (r = 0.823, p < 0.001), moderate for monocytes (r = 0.645, p < 0.001), and low for eosinophils (r = 0.336, p = 0.001). The Passing–Bablok regression analyses revealed a small-to-moderate constant error for lymphocytes and a slight constant error for basophils. Small proportional errors were detected for heterophils, lymphocytes, and eosinophils. The Bland–Altman analyses revealed that the Advia significantly underestimates heterophils and overestimates lymphocytes compared to M-Diff. The biases for the other leukocytes were minimal and likely clinical insignificant; however, our results, particularly for eosinophils, should be interpreted cautiously given the observed low percentages in our samples. Given the observed biases in heterophil and lymphocyte percentages in the Advia 2120 CBC results in rabbits, method-specific reference intervals should be used. The Advia can recognize leporine basophils. Evaluation of blood smears is still recommended to investigate abnormal results and erroneous cytograms reported by the Advia

Το ταφικό έθιμο της ανέγερσης τύμβου κατα μήκος της Ιονίας και Αδριατικής ακτής ως πολιτιστικό και κοινωνικό φαινόμενο

This article deals with the two-folded role of the burial custom of tumulus along the Adriatic and Ionian Arc, both as an impressive architectural construction that excels in the surrounding area, as well as a symbolic place of collective memory for the local communities. Initially, the main architectural features –the central burial, the soil and the enclosure– are presented, which, with varied local peculiarities, determine the emergence of the tumulus almost simultaneously in these regions and its evolution in the course of the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC. Furthermore, the article is focused on the chronological and geographical distribution of the tumulus custom starting from the northern Adriatic and ending in the southern part of the Ionian Sea with the scope of unfolding local similarities and differences. The social role of the tumulus as a labour-intensive, enduring and highly visible ancestral monument – signal (sema), is then addressed, via both its topographical correlation to its settlement and the surrounding landscape, and via the ceremonial acts performed in several of them in the study area. Finally, through the choice of selected groups of finds and the adoption of common burial practices, the cultural relations of these regions and the special bond developed between them during the Bronze Age are emerging