How do MNC R&D laboratory roles affect employee international assignments?

Research and development (R&D) employees are important human resources for multinational corporations (MNCs) as they are the driving force behind the advancement of innovative ideas and products. International assignments of these employees can be a unique way to upgrade their expertise; allowing them to effectively recombine their unique human resources to progress existing knowledge and advance new ones. This study aims to investigate the effect of the roles of R&D laboratories in which these employees work on the international assignments they undertake. We categorise R&D laboratory roles into those of the support laboratory, the locally integrated laboratory and the internationally interdependent laboratory. Based on the theory of resource recombinations, we hypothesise that R&D employees in support laboratories are not likely to assume international assignments, whereas those in locally integrated and internationally interdependent laboratories are likely to assume international assignments. The empirical evidence, which draws from research conducted on 559 professionals in 66 MNC subsidiaries based in Greece, provides support to our hypotheses. The resource recombinations theory that extends the resource based view can effectively illuminate the international assignment field. Also, research may provide more emphasis on the close work context of R&D scientists rather than analyse their demographic characteristics, the latter being the focus of scholarly practice hitherto

La nuova Rete Sismica Ellenica Unificata (HUSN): sviluppo, performance e prospettive

Il contesto geodinamico in cui ricade la Grecia fa di questa la regione sismicamente più attiva ed ha più alto rischio sismico d’Europa (Tsapanos, 2008). I processi tettonici in atto nella subduzione dello slab nel mar Egeo, controllano la distribuzione sia della sismicità sia del vulcanismo in Grecia (Karagianni et al., 2002, 2005). Oltre il 60% delle sismicità in Europa è localizzata in Grecia è forti terremoti hanno colpito più volte tale regione. La sismicità in Grecia è monitorata da quattro centri sismologici: l’Istituto di Geodinamica e i laboratori di sismologia delle università di Atene, Thessaloniki e Patras. Agli inizi del 2005, nell’ambito di un progetto nazionale chiamato “Hellenic Unified Seismological Network-HUSN” finanziato dal Ministero dello Sviluppo, le vari reti sismologiche greche sono state unificate. Tutti i segnali registrati dalle stazioni dei vari parterns, sono oggi raccolti dall’Istituto di Geodinamica e ritrasmessi agli stessi. Ad oggi la HUSN è composta da 88 stazioni digitali e molte altre saranno aggiunte negli anni a seguire. Nel presente lavoro abbiamo applicato il metodo SNES (D’Alessandro et al.) alla HUSN per quantificarne la performance di localizzazione e la magnitudo di completezza Le mappe SNES sono state determinate in funzione della magnitudo (ML 2, 2.5 e 3) fissando la profondità ipocentrale a 10 km e il livello di confidenza al 95%. Per piccole magnitudo (ML 2) solo due piccole aree in Macedonia e tra la Grecia centrale e il Peloponneso risultano coperte. Per magnitudo di poco maggiore (ML 2.5) quasi tutto il territorio Greco appare ben coperto con valori di RES di circa 2.5 km. La mappa della Magnitudo di Completezza mostra che tutto il territorio greco è coperto già per ML>2, con un valore minimo di circa 1.6 tra la Grecia centrale e il Peloponneso

Assessment of Neotectonic Landscape Deformation in Evia Island, Greece, Using GIS-Based Multi-Criteria Analysis

This study deals with the assessment and mapping of neotectonic landscape deformation in the northern part of the Evia Island (Central Greece). Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) utilizing Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Weighted Linear Combination (WLC) procedures were conducted for the calculation of the Neotectonic Landscape Deformation Index (NLDI). The study is based on the combination of morphotectonic, geomorphological and geological parameters. The GIS-based spatial MCDA led to the classification of the study area into five classes of neotectonic deformation (from very low to very high) and to a neotectonic deformation map. The results were compared with the outputs of a relative tectonic activity classification approach based on quantitative geomorphic analysis at a regional scale, including site-specific field observations. Areas of high and very high deformation are related to the major active faults of Dirfis, Kandili and Gregolimano–Telethrio. Other minor active normal faults of medium to high seismic risk level, affecting the northern and northeastern parts of the island, are also associated with areas of intense landscape neotectonic deformation

Μorphometric Analysis for the Assessment of Relative Tectonic Activity in Evia Island, Greece

The aim of this study is to evaluate the relative tectonic activity in the north part of the Evia Island, located in Central Greece, and to investigate the contribution of neotectonic processes in the development of the fluvial landscape. Five morphometric parameters, including Drainage Basin Slope (Sb), Hypsometric Integral (Hi), Asymmetry Factor (Af), Relief Ratio (Rh), and Melton’s Ruggedness Number (M), were estimated for a total of 189 drainage basins. The catchments were classified into two groups, according to the estimated values of each morphometric parameter, and maps showing their spatial distribution were produced. The combination of the calculated morphometric parameters led to a new single integrated Index of relative tectonic activity (named Irta). Following this indexing, the basins were characterized as of low, moderate, or high relative tectonic activity. The quantitative analysis showed that the development of the present drainage systems and the geometry of the basins of the study area have been influenced by the tectonic uplift caused by the activity of two NW-SE trending offshore active normal fault systems: the north Gulf of Evia fault zone (Kandili-Telethrion) and the Aegean Sea fault zone (Dirfis), respectively. The spatial distribution of the values of the new integrated index Irta showed significant differences among the drainage basins that reflect differences in relative tectonic activity related to their location with regard to the normal fault systems of the study area

Soil Loss Potential Assessment for Natural and Post-Fire Conditions in Evia Island, Greece

A devastating forest fire in August 2021 burned about 517 km2 of the northern part of Evia Island, affecting vegetation, soil properties, sediment delivery and the hydrological response of the catchments. This study focuses on the estimation of the annual soil loss in the study area under natural (pre-fire) and post-fire conditions. The assessment of the soil loss potential was conducted with the application of the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE), which is an empirical equation and an efficient way to predict soil loss. The USLE factors include rainfall erosivity (R), soil erodibility (K), the slope and slope length factor (LS), the cover management factor (C) and the erosion control practice factor (P). The USLE quantified the annual soil erosion (in t/ha/year) for both pre- and post-wildfire conditions, and the study area has been classified into various soil loss categories and soil erosion intensity types. The results showed that the annual soil loss before the forest fires ranged from 0 to 1747 t/ha, with a mean value of 253 t/ha, while after the fire the soil loss significantly increased (the highest annual soil loss was estimated at 3255 t/ha and the mean value was 543 t/ha). These values demonstrate a significant post-fire change in mean annual soil loss that corresponds to an increase of 114% compared to the pre-fire natural condition. The area that is undergoing high erosion rates after the extreme wildfire event increased by approximately 7%, while the area of moderate rates increased by 2%. The calculated maximum potential of soil erosion, before and after the 2021 extreme wildfire event, has been visualized on spatial distribution maps of the average annual soil loss for the study area. The present study underlines the significant post-fire increase in soil loss as part of the identification of the more vulnerable to erosion areas that demand higher priority regarding the protective/control measures

The uplifted terraces of the Arkitsa region, NW Evoikos Gulf, Greece: a result of combined tectonic and volcanic processes?

The Arkitsa-Kamena Vourla area of central Greece occupies a zone of accommodation between the two tectonic provinces of the North Aegean Trough (the extension of the North Anatolian fault system) and the Gulf of Corinth and is characterized by a series of very prominent tectonic landforms, notably the large (ca. 1000melevation) footwall ridge of the Arkitsa-Kamena Vourla fault system. Despite the highly prominent nature of this footwall ridge and the presence of very fresh tectonic landforms, this fault system is not known to have hosted any major historical earthquakes, and the tectonic and geomorphic evolution of the Arkitsa-Kamena Vourla area remains poorly constrained. This article utilizes a combined geomorphological, sedimentological, and macro-/microfossil approach to evaluate the Late Quaternary evolution of the Arkitsa area, in the eastern part of the fault system, focusing on prominent uplifted terraces present in the hanging wall of the Arkitsa fault. Three distinct raised glaciolacustrine terraces and previously reported uplifted marginal marine deposits suggest sustained uplift of the coastline at a rate of 1–1.5 mm/ yr over the past at least 40,000 yr, possibly dating to 75,000 BP. While movement on an offshore normal fault strand may explain more recent coastal uplift, purely fault-driven, longer-term uplift at this rate requires anomalously high fault-slip and extension rates. Consequently, the development of the terraces and other geomorphic indicators of uplift may be at least partly due to nonfaulting processes, such as Quaternary (intrusive and/or extrusive) volcanic activity associated with evolution of the nearby Lichades volcanic center

Soil Loss Potential Assessment for Natural and Post-Fire Conditions in Evia Island, Greece

A devastating forest fire in August 2021 burned about 517 km2 of the northern part of Evia Island, affecting vegetation, soil properties, sediment delivery and the hydrological response of the catchments. This study focuses on the estimation of the annual soil loss in the study area under natural (pre-fire) and post-fire conditions. The assessment of the soil loss potential was conducted with the application of the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE), which is an empirical equation and an efficient way to predict soil loss. The USLE factors include rainfall erosivity (R), soil erodibility (K), the slope and slope length factor (LS), the cover management factor (C) and the erosion control practice factor (P). The USLE quantified the annual soil erosion (in t/ha/year) for both pre- and post-wildfire conditions, and the study area has been classified into various soil loss categories and soil erosion intensity types. The results showed that the annual soil loss before the forest fires ranged from 0 to 1747 t/ha, with a mean value of 253 t/ha, while after the fire the soil loss significantly increased (the highest annual soil loss was estimated at 3255 t/ha and the mean value was 543 t/ha). These values demonstrate a significant post-fire change in mean annual soil loss that corresponds to an increase of 114% compared to the pre-fire natural condition. The area that is undergoing high erosion rates after the extreme wildfire event increased by approximately 7%, while the area of moderate rates increased by 2%. The calculated maximum potential of soil erosion, before and after the 2021 extreme wildfire event, has been visualized on spatial distribution maps of the average annual soil loss for the study area. The present study underlines the significant post-fire increase in soil loss as part of the identification of the more vulnerable to erosion areas that demand higher priority regarding the protective/control measures