Η Δημοκρατική Νομιμοποίηση της Δημόσιας Διοίκησης

Με το παρόν θα προσπαθήσουμε να αναδείξουμε την αξία της δημοκρατικής αρχής στον τρόπο οργάνωσης και λειτουργίας της Δημόσιας Διοίκησης, προσπαθώντας να καταστήσουμε φανερή τη διαρκή παρουσία του Λαού, ως μοναδικό φορέα της εξουσίας στα δημοκρατικά πολιτεύματα. Σύμφωνα με το άρθρ. 26 παρ. 2 του Συντάγματος, η εκτελεστική λειτουργία με βασική αρμοδιότητα αυτή της εκτέλεσης των νόμων του Κράτους, δηλαδή των νόμων που ψηφίζει η Βουλή, διαθέτει έμμεση δημοκρατική νομιμοποίηση για την άσκηση των αρμοδιοτήτων της. Στο πρώτο κεφάλαιο θα διακρίνουμε την έμμεση δημοκρατική νομιμοποίηση σε δύο κατηγορίες: πρώτον, στην προσωπική-οργανική νομιμοποίηση, η οποία αφορά στην ατομική πράξη επιλογής του φορέα άσκησης της δημόσιας εξουσίας και, δεύτερον, στην αντικειμενική-ουσιαστική νομιμοποίηση που αφορά στη δράση των οργάνων της Δημόσιας Διοίκησης. Αυτή θα πρέπει να είναι σύμφωνη με την αρχή της νομιμότητας, δηλαδή να προβλέπεται στο νόμο, τυπικό ή ουσιαστικό και, σε κάθε περίπτωση, να ελέγχεται από τη Βουλή. Αρωγός στον κοινοβουλευτικό έλεγχο αποτελεί η παραδοσιακή πυραμιδοειδής δομή της Δημόσιας Διοίκησης, ώστε το υφιστάμενο όργανο διοίκησης να ακολουθεί τη βούληση του προϊσταμένου του, μέσω παροχής οδηγιών, διαταγών και εντολών. Ωστόσο, εκτός από την έμμεση δημοκρατική νομιμοποίηση της Δημόσιας Διοίκησης, στο πολίτευμά μας προβλέπονται δομές και διαδικασίες που απολαμβάνουν άμεσης δημοκρατικής νομιμοποίησης και παρέχουν στη διοικητική απόφαση εγγυήσεις άμεσης δημοκρατικής νομιμοποίησης αντίστοιχα. Στο δεύτερο κεφάλαιο του παρόντος, θα αναφερθούμε στους Οργανισμούς Τοπικής Αυτοδιοίκησης, σε θεσμούς άμεσης δημοκρατικής νομιμοποίησης, όπως κατά κύριο λόγο στο Δημοψήφισμα, στην ευρύτερη Συμμετοχή της Κοινωνίας των Πολιτών, καθώς και στη Δημοσιότητα και Διαφάνεια που απαιτείται κατά τη δράση της διοίκησης. Ωστόσο, τα τελευταία χρόνια παρατηρούμε τη σύσταση διοικητικών δομών, όπως οι Ανεξάρτητες Διοικητικές Αρχές, οι οποίες εκφεύγουν του ανωτέρω κλασικού-γραφειοκρατικού μοντέλου διοίκησης και για τη δράση τους ισχύει ένας ήπιος κοινοβουλευτικός έλεγχος. Τέλος, ενδιαφέρον, από άποψη δημοκρατικής νομιμοποίησης, παρουσιάζει και η περίπτωση του Αναδόχου Δημόσιας Υπηρεσίας. Αυτά είναι ζητήματα που θα θίξουμε στο τρίτο και τελευταίο κεφάλαιο της έρευνάς μας, προσπαθώντας ταυτόχρονα να εντοπίσουμε τυχόν λύσεις σε τυχόν φαινόμενα «απονομιμοποίησης» της Δημόσιας Διοίκησης. Στο πλαίσιο αυτό, στα Συμπεράσματα της παρούσας έρευνας, θα προτείνουμε τρόπους εκδημοκρατισμού της Δημόσιας Διοίκησης.The purpose of this paper is to highlight the value of the democratic principle in which the Public Administration is organized and operated. It is ventured to underline the presence of the People as the sole carrier of power in democratic states. According to Art. 26 (2) of the Constitution, the executive function with the primary responsibility for enforcing the laws of the Greek State, as passed by the Greek Parliament, has indirect democratic legitimacy to exercise its powers. In the first chapter we will distinguish indirect democratic legitimacy into two categories: first, personal-organic legitimacy, which relates to the individual act of election of the body exercising public authority, and secondly, objective-substantive legitimacy, which relates to the action itself of the institutions of Public Administration. This should be in accordance with the principle of legality, in other words with the laws adopted by the Greek Parliament. Furthermore, the traditional pyramid structure of Public Administration has led the actions of institutions governing by the will of its superiors by providing instructions and orders. In addition to the indirect democratic legitimacy of Public Administration, there are administrative authorities provided by the direct democratic legitimacy. In the second chapter, we will refer to Local Government Organizations, institutions of direct democratic legitimacy, such as the Referendum in particular, the wide participation of the citizens in order to make a public decision, as well as the Publicity and Transparency required by the administration act. However, in recent years the appearance of new administrative structures has been made, such as the Independent Administrative Authorities characterized by a mild parliamentary scrutiny for their action. Finally, in the context of democratic legitimacy, there is also the case of the Public Service Contractor. These are issues that we will address in the third and final chapter of this research. In this context, in the Conclusions of the present research, ways of democratizing Public Administration will be proposed as well

Affective Facilitation: A Framework for Surfacing Lived Experiences and Harnessing Creativity in Focus Group Research

In this article, we introduce the framework of Affective Facilitation to the practice of focus group research. In this context, Affective Facilitation is defined as a framework that helps researchers (1) surface and deeply understand participants’ lived experiences, bearing in mind their individual differences, (2) make space for exploring common ground across their diverse backgrounds, and (3) connect with participants through empathy and compassion using active and reflective listening skills. Conceptually, the framework draws on the theoretical and philosophical strands of phenomenology, existential dialogue, holism, and Gestalt therapy. In practice, it employs graphic facilitation as a technique for fostering group learning and connection while creating a visual memory of the dialogue. We explain the implementation of this actionable framework through a case study of facilitated conversations with parents who share their lived experiences, providing insight into their perceptions, beliefs, and concerns regarding childhood vaccination. This study contributes to a growing body of work on creative, participatory, and arts-based research methods. </jats:p

Morphometric Analysis of the Critically Endangered Fan Mussel (<i>Pinna nobilis</i> L.) in Maliakos Gulf (Central Aegean)

In this study, we present the relationships between total length, unburied length, and shell width and between total length and net weight for the critically endangered Pinna nobilis. This is the first transplantation study in which live specimens of P. nobilis have been used for estimating the length–weight relationship by deploying the unburied length. Length–length relationships were all linear for all cases (r2 > 0.900), whereas the length–weight relationship was negative allometric with the values of the exponent b ranging from 2.159 to 2.828. These relationships are important because they offer a restorative monitoring tool without damaging or sacrificing this endangered species, as total length can be computed using unburied length. By examining the relationships between different size dimensions in this re-allocated population, the present study also provided valuable insights for comparative growth studies, stock assessment models, and conservation purposes

An IMTA in Greece: Co-Culture of Fish, Bivalves, and Holothurians

Integrated multitrophic aquaculture (IMTA) is an innovative mariculture methodology that reduces the environmental footprint and increases the profitability of the farm. It combines the cultivation of species belonging to different trophic levels, simulating a natural food web. In this study, five Mediterranean species were co-cultured in three operating fish farms in the Aegean (E. Mediterranean) Sea with different trophic conditions. The co-cultivated species were sea bream (Sparus aurata), European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax), Mediterranean mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis), rayed pearl oyster (Pinctada imbricata radiata), and sea cucumber (Holothuria polii). Bream, bass, and mussels were cultivated according to the traditional on-growing methods (fish cages and longlines), whereas the pearl oysters and sea cucumbers were cultivated in baskets designed specifically for oyster farms. To estimate the growth of the co-cultivated species, growth indicators were calculated using length and weight measurements. Furthermore, the growth measurements from co-cultivated species were compared to the respective ones from natural populations. All the species showed high survival rates in the integrated multitrophic aquaculture (IMTA) conditions. Pearl oysters and Mediterranean mussels had positive growth in fish farms with high concentrations of nutrients. Mussel condition index (CI) was 42% in Aquaculture 1 (Aq1) and 33% in Aquaculture 2 (Aq2), compared to 35% in a typical Mediterranean mussel farm. Pearl oysters CI in Aq1 was 53%, in Aq2 56%, in Aquaculture 3 (Aq3) 19%, and in natural populations ranging from 30% to 45%. In contrast, holothurians did not gain weight under the fish cage regime despite the high survival rate. Their final total weight was 17.3 g in Ag1, 8.3 g in Aq2, and 18.3 g in Aq3, but in the natural population, the mean weight was 80 g

Anosognosia in Dementia: Evaluation of Perfusion Correlates Using 99mTc-HMPAO SPECT and Automated Brodmann Areas Analysis

(1) Background: Considerable inconsistency exists regarding the neural substrates of anosognosia in dementia in previous neuroimaging studies. The purpose of this study was the evaluation of anosognosia perfusion correlates across various types of dementia using automated Brodmann areas (BAs) analysis and comparison with a database of normal subjects. (2) Methods: We studied 72 patients: 32 with Alzheimer’s disease, 26 with frontotemporal dementia—FTD (12 behavioral FTD, 9 semantic FTD, 5 Progressive Non-Fluent Aphasia), 11 with corticobasal syndrome, and 3 with progressive supranuclear palsy. Addenbrook’s Cognitive Examination—Revised (ACE-R) mean(±SD) was 55.6(±22.8). For anosognosia measurement, the Anosognosia Questionnaire—Dementia was used. Total anosognosia score mean(±SD) was 22.1(±17.9), cognitive anosognosia score mean(±SD) was 18.1(±15.1) and behavioral–mood anosognosia score mean(±SD) was 3.3(±4.7). (3) Results: Higher anosognosia total score was associated with hypoperfusion in the inferior temporal, anterior cingulate, and inferior frontal cortices of the right hemisphere (BAs 20R, 24R, 32R, 45R). Higher anosognosia cognitive score was correlated with hypoperfusion in the left middle and anterior temporal cortices, and right dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (BAs 21L, 22L, 32R). No association was found with behavioral–mood anosognosia. (4) Conclusions: Automated analysis of brain perfusion Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography could be useful for the investigation of anosognosia neural correlates in dementia

Routine needle biopsy during vertebral augmentation procedures. Is it necessary?

Vertebral augmentation procedures are currently widely performed to treat vertebral compression fractures. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of underlying previously unrecognized etiology in a consecutive series of patients undergoing kyphoplasty to treat vertebral compression fractures. A prospective histological evaluation of vertebral body biopsy specimens from presumed osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures were performed in order to identify aforementioned causes. Over a 2-year period, vertebral body biopsies from 154 vertebral levels were performed in 75 patients undergoing kyphoplasty for vertebral compression fractures. All patients received a preoperative workup that included plain radiographs, MRI, whole body bone scan, and laboratory examinations. Bone specimens were obtained from affected vertebral bodies and submitted for histologic evaluation to identify the prevalence of an underlying cause. All specimens demonstrated fragmented bone with variable amounts of unmineralised bone, signs of bone-remodeling and/or fracture-healing. In 11 patients underlying pathology other than osteoporosis was identified (prostate cancer, 1; pancreatic cancer, 1; colon cancer, 1; breast cancer, 2; multiple myeloma, 3; leukemia, 1; and lung cancer, 2). In all but one patient the results of the biopsy confirmed the diagnosis suspected from the preoperative workup. For the last patient, namely the one with pancreatic cancer, the workup did not identify the origin of the primary tumor, although the patient was considered to have a compression fracture secondary to metastatic disease of unknown origin, the vertebral biopsy suggested the presence of adenocarcinoma which eventually was proven to be pancreatic cancer. In augmentation procedures for vertebral compression fractures, bone biopsy should be reserved for the patients where the preoperative evaluation raises the suspicion of a non-osteoporotic etiology

The genomic history of the Aegean palatial civilizations

The Cycladic, the Minoan, and the Helladic (Mycenaean) cultures define the Bronze Age (BA) of Greece. Urbanism, complex social structures, craft and agricultural specialization, and the earliest forms of writing characterize this iconic period. We sequenced six Early to Middle BA whole genomes, along with 11 mitochondrial genomes, sampled from the three BA cultures of the Aegean Sea. The Early BA (EBA) genomes are homogeneous and derive most of their ancestry from Neolithic Aegeans, contrary to earlier hypotheses that the Neolithic-EBA cultural transition was due to massive population turnover. EBA Aegeans were shaped by relatively small-scale migration from East of the Aegean, as evidenced by the Caucasus-related ancestry also detected in Anatolians. In contrast, Middle BA (MBA) individuals of northern Greece differ from EBA populations in showing ∼50% Pontic-Caspian Steppe-related ancestry, dated at ca. 2,600-2,000 BCE. Such gene flow events during the MBA contributed toward shaping present-day Greek genomes.We thank the INCD (https://incd.pt/) for use of their computing infrastructure, which is funded by FCT and FEDER ( 01/SAICT/2016 022153 ).C.P., E.G., A.S., L.W., and J. Burger acknowledge the support of the European Union and the General Secretariat of Research and Innovation-GSRI, Ministry of Development & Investments in Greece, and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research-BMBF in Germany under the Bilateral Cooperation Program Greece – Germany 2017 (project BIOMUSE-0195 ). O.L. and O. Dolgova acknowledge the support of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation to the EMBL partnership, Centro de Excelencia Severo Ochoa, CERCA Programme/Generalitat de Catalunya, Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Generalitat de Catalunya through Departament de Salut and Departament d’Empresa i Coneixement, as well as co-financing with funds from the European Regional Development Fund by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation corresponding to the Programa Operativo FEDER Plurirregional de España (POPE) 2014-2020, and by the Secretaria d’Universitats i Recerca, Departament d’Empresa i Coneixement of the Generalitat de Catalunya corresponding to the Programa Operatiu FEDER de Catalunya 2014-2020. F.C., C.E.G.A., S.N., D.I.C.D., L.A., B.S.d.M., Y.O.A.C., F.M., J.V.M.-M., and A.-S.M. were supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SFNS) and a European Research Council (ERC) grant to A.-S.M. M.U., S.T., D.U.-K., and C.P. were co-financed by the EU Social Fund and the Greek national funds research funding program ARISTEIA II ( project-3461 ). C.P., E.G., A.S., L.W., and J. Burger were co-financed by the Greek-German bilateral cooperation program 2017 (General Secreteriat for Research and Innovation, Ministry of Development and Investments, Greece, and Federal Ministry of Education and Research - BMBF, Germany) project BIOMUSE-0195 funded by the Operational Programme “Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Innovation” (NSRF 2014-2020 ) and co-financed by Greece and the European Union (EU Social Fund and European Regional Development Fund). E.K. was funded by the Greek State Scholarships Foundation (IKY). O. Delaneau is funded by a SNSF (project grant PP00P3_176977 ). V.C.S. was supported by Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT-Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia) through funds granted to cE3c ( UIDB/00329/2020 ) and individual grant CEECIND/02391/2017 . O.L. was supported by a Ramón y Cajal grant from the Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (MEIC) (RYC-2013-14797), a PGC2018-098574-B-I00 (MEIC/FEDER) grant, and the support of Secretaria d’Universitats i Recerca del Departament d’Economia i Coneixement de la Generalitat de Catalunya ( GRC 2017 SGR 937 ). O. Dolgova was supported by a PGC2018-098574-B-I00 (MEIC/FEDER) grant. J.D.J. was funded by National Institutes of Health grants R01GM135899 and R35GM13938