SOCIOECONOMIC INTEGRATION OF ALBANIAN IMMIGRANTS IN THE TRANS- BORDERS AREAS

In the last two decades in Europe and Greece an influx of economic immigrants from various parts of the world (India, Pakistan, Nigeria, the Philippines, Southeast Europe, the former Soviet Union, etc.) has taken place. In remote and disadvantaged border areas entrance and settlement of immigrants differs regarding not only their countries of origin but also the degree of integration into local society. The questions posed to the economy and host society preoccupied academic researchers and institutions to such extent that extensive research and studies have been developed. The present paper is a case study on the identity and role of economic immigrants in the border prefecture of Florina. Even before the Second World War the prefecture of Florina, whose welfare indicators are lower than the national average, had relations of cooperation with neighboring Albania and F.Y.R.O.M. During the Cold War it paid dearly for the "frontier" and then, since 1990, welcomed immigrants mainly from neighboring Albania. This trans-border immigration flow towards Florina went through three stages: initial settlement, the period of "prosperity" and the period of contraction due to the economic crisis. The object of this research is to map the professional identity, financial assistance and social burden to the system and the difficulties that the Albanian immigrants are facing due to the crisis in the prefecture of Florina. Contributions made to employment, financial contributions to social security services and services issuing permits, as well as participation in education are being recorded for the decade 2001 - 2011 by collecting data from local services. Additionally, an empirical sampling research with questionnaires took place, supplemented by personal interviews with Albanian immigrants, for a two month period between November and December 2012. The analysis of responses revealed the degree of socioeconomic integration, their attitude towards the host society, the intensity with which they experience the financial crisis and their expectations for their future

An Analysis of Determinants Affecting the Returns of Dow Jones Sustainability Index United States

During the last decades there has been an increased interest regarding socially responsible stock indexes. However, there is a limitless literature body regarding the factors that affect these types of indexes. For this reason, this paper intends to investigate whether consumer sentiment, US dollar value to major currencies and Gold prices affecting the returns of Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) US from September 1999 to September 2016 using monthly data. The generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity model is used and revealed that consumer sentiment affect positively the DJSI US, while Gold prices and the US dollar value have a negative effect on it. The results of this study add to the international literature by providing important implications for investors and policy makers along with business manager forecasting and planning. Keywords: Dow Jones Sustainability Index, Consumer Sentiment, Gold, US dollar, GARCH model JEL Classifications: C58, Q40, Q50, M2

Corporate Social Responsibility in Greek Small and Medium Enterprises

Abstrac

Cooperation in Wine Tourism and its Role in the Development of Disadvantaged and Isolated Areas

ABSTRACT Wine-tourism is an important resource of income when it comes to organized wine producing countries such a

Environmental Education Centers and Local Communities: A Case Study

AbstractThe International Community has designated the “Sustainable Development” as a central issue for the future of humanity. Unesco has named the decade 2005-2014 as the decade for the “Education for the Sustainable Development”. It has also engaged with the promotion of this project in order to “…integrate the values and practices of sustainable development to all the forms of education”. The Environmental Education Centres (EEC) were created during the past twenty years and they emerged from the growing interest in the issue of Environmental Education. Of course, the places where EEC are created are places of rich natural resources. The institution of EEC is highly connected to the environmental movement and it is internationally considered one of the most important factors of extra curriculum education. The Environmental Education Centres are encouraged to cooperate with the citizens in decision-making [2]. They are also encouraged to connect with the lifelong learning, the traditional learning, the local administration and the production units in the appropriate places and with the appropriate members, in order to become an effective structure of Education for Sustainable Development [6]. They can influence the local communities and create an environmental friendly situation. In 2013, at the place Meliti in the prefecture of Florina, an empirical research was carried out in order to explore the role of an Environmental Center in distant areas. The research shows that the operation of Environmental Education Centres influences the students and the local communities, especially when the centre operates in peripheral and disadvantaged areas. The EEC Melitis has a positive impact on the local community. It brings profit to local community, to local businesses (coffee shops, restaurants, ect.), it empowers the local pride, it makes children familiar with the natural and economic identity of their area and with their parents’ professions. Most importantly, the children are being environmentally informed and they can evolve into future protectors of sustainability

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS OF DISTRICT HEATING: A CASE STUDY

Among major contemporary issues, energy resources and sustainability have caused global concern, thus, emphasizing a more rational use of energy systems and renewable sources for power and heat generation systems, such as district heating. In Greece, energy resources and environmental issues have been given great emphasis. Recently, environmentally friendly policies have been focused on relevant laws, incentives for renewable energy implementation schemes, and applications of new technologies. In this context, there has been a considerable increase in the number of district heating units, and, as a consequence, in the variety of financial, environmental, and power generation benefits. Major district heating facilities have been established in various areas, among which Ptolemaida, Amyntaio, Kozani, Serres, and Megalopolis. The present survey, which was carried out to investigate the socio-economic dimensions of district heating, was based on a representative sample from Ptolemaida, where winter is long, weather conditions are harsh, and district heating units are close to large PPC facilities. The corpus of data was drawn from the analysis of a structured questionnaire comprised of two parts with 21 questions answered through social media by residents, in April and May 2019. The 401 questionnaires were analyzed, first, by employing descriptive statistics and, subsequently, via SPSS. The research results demonstrate that, before district heating was introduced, heating generation mostly relied on oil-fired boiler systems, the heating cost of which was changeable in contrast to district heating prices, which are rather fixed, and, thus, affordable. In addition, the results indicated that a reduction in imported oil consumption is conducive to national economic growth. Heating quality in district heating systems is considered fairly high mainly in terms of the high thermal efficiency it provides. District heating has greatly contributed to reducing pollutants and protecting the environment, especially in areas such as Ptolemaida, which is heavily affected. Finally, the research also demonstrated that an overwhelming majority perceive the crisis as a great opportunity for fostering ecology awareness and the use of renewable energy

Disaster risk management and public education in Singapore

Although it is extremely difficult to predict and manage natural and man-made disasters within a country or a region, public awareness of disaster management is important to increase self-resilience before, during and after disasters. One of the measures to enhance public awareness of disaster risk management is to provide educational programs to the public. This chapter discusses different educational programs to educate the public about disaster preparedness and management in different countries, including Singapore which has been used as a case study. It also assessed the effectiveness of such programs using the five element of the Wisconsin Model of Public Education as the assessment criteria