The Eye in the Sky - Freight Rate Effects of Tanker Supply

We show how the evolution of crude oil tanker freight rates depends on the employment status and geographical position of the fleet of very large crude oil carriers (VLCCs). We provide a novel measure of short-term capacity in the voyage charter market which is a proxy for the percentage of vessels available for orders. We find that our capacity measure explains parts of the freight rate evolution at weekly horizons, where traditional supply measures are uninformative. The fact that freight rates directly influence shipowners’ profitability and charterers’ expenditures makes our measure particularly relevant for these groups of market participants

EPPO (From a Federal and Protection of Human Rights Perspective)

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Agent based approach to land use mix

Modelling and simulating the dynamics of crowd movement within the complex built environment such as a city centre is an evolutionary, processing research task. Recent methodological and theoretical advances have provided the opportunity to explore and provide answers to various crucial problems on land use mix. Daily in our urban settlements we seek for resources and attractions. Our search behaviour is complex and emergent, related to urban morphology and land use patterns as this is generated by our daily movement and activities. This report discusses a pedestrian movement study which examines the ways pedestrian behaviour and flows affect and are affected by the formation of the built environment and the land uses. The focus is in retailing uses and especially shopping. For the formulation of the model, an agent based simulation approach is adapted based on object oriented analysis and programming. Agents are given long distance vision and direct their movement and behaviour in response to the information retreat from their vision field, morphology of the local environment, and their individual desire for retail or exploration of the area. The simulations are used to extract meaningful conclusions on the pedestrian behaviour and factors that have an impact on it. Various formations of retail location patterns in a 7 x 7 grid are explored and three different approaches of agents’ behaviour are used in order to get meaningful conclusions

The use of deep friction massage with olive oil as a means of prevention and treatment of sports injuries in ancient times

The aim of this research was to analyse the use of olive oil as a means of prevention and treatment of sports injuries in the ancient world. The method adopted was based on a thorough study of Greek and world literature. Writings of major ancient philosophers and physicians such as Hippocrates, Aristotle, Philostratus, and Lucian have been analysed in depth. According to the results, the use of massage, together with olive oil rub, helped to reduce muscle fatigue, to remove lactic acid, and to prevent the occurrence of sports injuries through flexibility provided to the skin of athletes. The therapeutic use of oil in the ancient world was fully recognized; and as a result Athenian athlothetes (sponsors of sporting events) provided free oil to all sport facilities where athletes could make free use of it [1]

Greek Intelligence Service (NIS-EYP): Past, Present and Future

The end of the Cold War more than a decade ago created a world in which the relative stability between the two superpowers has disappeared. On the other side, the 9/11 terrorist acts in US and consequently in Spain (11/03/2003) and in UK (07/07/2005) exercised a lot of pressure on the intelligences services to adjust to new threats by looking their past and preparing for the future. Without exception, the Greek Intelligence Service (NIS-EYP) is restructuring its tasks in order to be capable of confronting new threats and protect the Greek national security. This article analyzes the historical process of NIS-EYP, points out the new responsibilities of NISEYP (Intelligence Council, Intelligence Bill) and makes suggestions for the future challenges that the Greek intelligence Service has to face in the 21st century

Impartiality among UN Peacekeepers is key to ending communal violence in sub-Saharan Africa

Communal disputes over local issues such as land use, cattle herding, and access to scarce resources are a leading cause of conflict around the world. Despite abundant evidence that peacekeepers limit large-scale fighting between armed groups, we know little about their ability to prevent more localised forms of violence. William G. Nomikos explains the conditions under which UN peacekeeping operations promote peaceful interactions between civilian communities in fragile settings