Wood trade perspectives in greece during economic crisis and and new technologies challenge

In wood trade sector, the supplier is the forest and the product is round wood. The quality, the quantity and value of wood depend heavily on the practices that are applied in the early stages of the supply chain. The aim of the paper is to present the perspectives of wood trade in Greece and also to study how the economic crisis has affected the forest production and trade (imports and exports). Finally, we will discuss the challenge of using new information technologies, such as databases, digital timber traceability systems, sustainable timber and wood products, in collaboration with the traditional methods employed in wood trade sector contemporarily.</jats:p

A web-GIS approach to cultural resources management in Crete: the digital archaeological atlas of Crete

The Digital Archaeological Atlas of Crete, part of a larger campaign (Digital Crete: Mediterranean Itineraries), was implemented under the framework of the Greek Operational Program “Information Society”, part of the “eEurope” initiative of the European Union which is funded by the 3rd European Community Support Framework. A program module was constructed in order to create a database warehouse for cultural heritage sites on the island of Crete in the South Aegean Sea. A combination of internet-accessible databases, web-GIS techniques and multimedia, provides for the integrated and wide dissemination of cultural information, while contributing to a better understanding of the cultural environment and the influence of the natural environment on the history of the settlement of Crete

Assessing the Volume of Changes to Banking Assets and Liabilities Using Genetic Algorithms in Additional Funds Needed Model

This paper investigates Small-Medium Banks’ (SMBs) business plans in accordance with the structure of Additional Funds Needed (AFN) model. The Key Profitability Variables (KPVs) are the size and structure of deposits, loans, and their interest rates. This study employs a Genetic Algorithm (GA) problem with hard constraints, to point out the limits to changes in the structure of deposits and loans and the effects of those changes on the P&amp;L of a banking institution. After examining 10,000 iterations with Evolver, an innovative optimization software that uses GA, OptQuest, and linear programming, the alternations, have been narrowed down to 3700 which satisfy both, a) constraints and b) maximization of profits. Having also the distributions, this paper concludes that it is a useful methodology that must be further exploited by applying risk weights, mainly for credit risk, to the structural components of the Balance Sheet, and to other competitive institutions. Keywords: banking institutions, genetic algorithms, additional funds needed, operational researc

Farmers’ Attitudes Toward Recycled Water Use in Irrigated Agriculture

This study aims to investigate whether farmers are willing to use recycled water for irrigation purposes. It attempts to analyze the attitudinal, socio-demographics and environmental factors that affect a potential user’s acceptance for wastewater reuse. A primary research designed in order to elicit farmers’ preferences and a statistical analysis applied to analyze the relationships among the variables influence their attitudes. The results were obtained from data collected through 302 questionnaires that were answered by the farmers in Nestos catchment, Greece. The research findings might usefully assist policy-makers and planners in the implementation of strategy in water management sector. Farmers’ awareness about the recycling water and their level of acceptance to use it might constitute incoming parameters, on which the decisions in agriculture water planning could be based. Moreover, the identification of factors influencing stakeholders’ acceptance provide the underpinnings for success in any recycling project. &nbsp; &nbsp; Keywords: public perceptions, behavior analysis, water recycling, integrated water resources management, agriculture water managemen

Alleviating the Thucydides’ Trap through welfare state dependence:How the funding needs of the Western welfare state can influence multilateral relations with China

The dual threat of a US-China confrontation and the rise of populism in the West due, in part, to the gradual decay of the welfare state, paint an ominous picture for the future of the post-war status quo of ever-expanding prosperity. Hegemonic competition between the incumbent superpower (the USA) and the challenger (China) framed as the Thucydides’ Trap and adverse demographic and financial trends are the main causes behind both crises. In this paper we argue that amidst deteriorating demographics, the sustainability of the Western welfare state could be significantly enhanced by positioning Western institutional investments in the regions across India and South East Asia - areas with strong modernization dynamics and the world’s nascent most populous middle class. Such a policy could generate long-term higher risk-adjusted returns for Western pension funds, especially if Western investors look for complementarities with China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The proposed geographical calibration in Western institutional investments could lead to a relationship of strong reciprocal dependence between economic and social growth in the target regions, exports of Chinese construction and financial capacity, and Western welfare state viability. We call the suggested policy the “welfare state dependence” hypothesis. The key objective of the hypothesis is the promotion of peaceful economic and geo-political co-existence in Eurasia through rational re-alignment of the incentives of Western polities with Eurasian growth. But to make this new approach feasible a number of BRI policy reforms that supports its multilateralization are required