ETHICS IN ECONOMIC FIELD RESEARCH or SHORT STORIES OF DEPENDENCY

The paper is an attempt to use the idea of reflexivity in order to organise and set �ready for answers� the ethical issues which have arisen at the very beginning of the field research (on a topic in the economics area) and have been anticipated for later stages of the research project. While at the beginning, the ethical issues were well covered under the appearance of �everyday� research practical problems to be resolved, the interaction with research participants revealed the theoretical depth that those same issue can have and the extend to which they might affect the research project itself. The paper as well as the issues are divided for analysis purposes, into three categories: the first deals with ethics concerning the terminology, vocabulary and narratives during or after field research; the second, discusses the ethical issues connected the interaction with participants, especially two issues: their acceptance to participate in the project and the information exchange; and the third part, discusses the cases where the researcher faces petitions for assistance in constructing something, that according to the research proposal, belongs to the object of the research.ethics, field research, reflexivity

TOURISM, VILLAGE SPACE AND THE RE-APPROPRIATION OF RURAL: TOWARDS A NEW SOCIAL ORGANISATION OF THE COUNTRYSIDE

Modern countryside is increasingly becoming a place ‘utilised’ by city dwellers, a phenomenon particularly observable in Greece, where distances are relatively small and relations between villages and cities remain strong. The case of two Greek villages, where tourism has played a leading part in their social and economic recovery, will help us understand, through a conflict analysis, the way in which different expectations and aspirations expressed by various groups of local actors, concerning the use of rural space, determine the development and social organisation of rural areas.tourism, appropriation conflicts, use of rural space

Prices in parallel currency: The case of the exchange network of Chania, Crete

This paper investigates the prices set within the Exchange Network of Chania and tries to examine what prices are attributed to which products and services, how those prices are set and what they reveal about the values of the goods offered. Moreover, the further aim of the paper is to explore the implications of those prices concerning the function of the scheme itself, within the context of the local economy of the Chania area. The data have been gathered during regular visits to the open markets of the scheme since January 2012. Therefore, the paper attempts to contribute original research findings concerning prices in parallel currency schemes and study several important issues which arise in multiple currency practice

Persistent Food Shortages in Venetian Crete: A First Hypothesis

This paper examines the persistent food shortages in the island of Crete under Venetian rule (1204–1669) through the prism of the monetary system of Venetian territories and in combination with the other economic policies of the Venetian empire. From the available sources and analysis, it seems that the policies of Venice which prioritised the food security of the metropolis, the financial support to the elites, and the elite-favouring monetary and taxation system were contradictory and self-defeating. In particular, the monetary structure of the colonial economy and the taxation system seem to have been forcing both Cretans and Venetian settlers to produce wine for export instead of grain despite the repeated food shortages. The parallel circulation of various high-value (white money) and low-value (black money) currencies in the same economy and the insistence of the Venetian administration to receive taxes in white money seems to have been consistently undermining the food security policy adopted by the same authorities. The paper contributes to the discussion of how parallel currencies can stabilise an economy or can create structural destabilisation propensities, depending on coeval economic structures that usually go unexamined when we examine monetary instruments

Characterization of the Soluble Nanoparticles Formed through Coulombic Interaction of Bovine Serum Albumin with Anionic Graft Copolymers at Low pH

A static light scattering (SLS) study of bovine serum albumin (BSA) mixtures with two anionic graft copolymers of poly (sodium acrylate-co-sodium 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulphonate)-graft-poly (N, N-dimethylacrylamide), with a high composition in poly (N, N-dimethylacrylamide) (PDMAM) side chains, revealed the formation of oppositely charged complexes, at pH lower than 4.9, the isoelectric point of BSA. The core-corona nanoparticles formed at pH = 3.00, were characterized. Their molecular weight and radius of gyration were determined by SLS, while their hydrodynamic radius was determined by dynamic light scattering. Small angle neutron scattering measurements were used to determine the radius of the insoluble complexes, comprising the core of the particles. The values obtained indicated that their size and aggregation number of the nanoparticles, were smaller when the content of the graft copolymers in neutral PDMAM side chains was higher. Such particles should be interesting drug delivery candidates, if the gastrointestinal tract was to be used

Prices in Parallel Currency

This paper investigates the prices set within the Exchange Network of Chania and tries to examine what prices are attributed to which products and services, how those prices are set and what they reveal about the values of the goods offered. Moreover, the further aim of the paper is to explore the implications of those prices concerning the function of the scheme itself, within the context of the local economy of the Chania area. The data have been gathered during regular visits to the open markets of the scheme since January 2012. Therefore, the paper attempts to contribute original research findings concerning prices in parallel currency schemes and study several important issues which arise in multiple currency practice

Book Review: Vally Lytra (Eds.), (2014). When Greeks and Turks Meet:Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Relationship Since 1923.

Book Review: Vally Lytra (Eds.), (2014). When Greeks and Turks Meet:Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Relationship Since 1923

Multicultural competence and factors influencing its development: the case of Greek pre-service teachers

This thesis examines pre-service teachers’ multicultural competence and the factors influencing its development, taking Greece as a case study. Multicultural competence is a concept used frequently to describe teachers’ knowledge, attitudes and skills related to making educational experiences relevant to all students while also taking into consideration their diverse backgrounds. Despite featuring highly in academic literature and policy agendas worldwide, pre-service teachers’ multicultural competence and the factors influencing it are to-date rarely examined. Bringing together literature from multicultural competence, multicultural teacher training and geographies of education and learning, this thesis contributes to an increased understanding of the concept and its main drivers.This study uses an innovative mixed-methods approach to capture more holistically the complex concept of multicultural competence and the factors influencing it, utilising the construction of a statistical model and path analysis with focus group discussions. The empirical dataset comprises 356 questionnaires completed by final-year undergraduate students of Primary Education from three departments in Greece and 6 focus group discussions with students recruited (out of the same pool of participants), conducted equally across the three departments, in which questionnaires were administered. Thus, this study contributes to geographies of education and learning by bringing together a direct engagement with young people, making them the subject of educational research, with an exploration of the influence of wider processes of formal and informal educational spaces on their learning.The study’s findings show that, although based crudely on the quantitative scalar measurements, Greek pre-service teachers’ multicultural competence scores are relatively high, their narratives present a more complex reality, revealing misconceptions around its practical manifestations and a general lack in multicultural teaching knowledge and skills with a social justice orientation. Moreover, the study traces webs of causal connections between multicultural competence and pre-service teachers’ sociocultural positionalities, experiences of international mobilities, multicultural encounters as well as experiences of both formal and informal curricula across diverse spaces of learning. In doing so, the study reveals the importance of thinking relationally about the spatialisation of multicultural competence and offers invaluable insights to the academic literature and policy debates around the best ways to prepare multiculturally competent educators.</div