Institutional Repository of Academic Research University of Macedonia
Not a member yet
2215 research outputs found
Sort by
Retail Interest Rate Differentials in the Eurozone: A Co-Integration Analysis Approach
No full textOver the last decades, despite the remarkable progress toward the harmonization of banking regulation, interest rate differentials in the Eurozone remain large. In this context, rejecting the law of one price as a measure of financial integration, this paper applies the co-integration technique to investigate the presence of a long-run equilibrium relationship among retail interest rates. The data sample of the co-integration analysis conducted in this paper includes three (3) loan and two (2) deposit interest rates data sets from the 12 original Eurozone member countries for the time period 2000–2020, filling in that way the gap in the existing research by extending the application of this methodology to incorporate an updated database. The empirical findings of the paper provide evidence that in most of cases, there is a co-movement and a long-run equilibrium relationship between retail interest rates. On the basis of the co-integration approach, these findings are being perceived as a signal of retail banking market integration in the Eurozone.30113
Economic policy uncertainty and the Greek economic crisis
No full textPurpose: The authors construct an index of economic policy uncertainty (EPU) for Greece using textual analysis and analyze its role in the 10-year Greek economic crisis. Design/methodology/approach: To identify the causal relationship between various measures of economic activity and EPU in Greece, the authors use a sophisticated “shock-based” structural vector autoregressive identification scheme. Additionally, the authors use two additional models to ensure the robustness of the results. Findings: EPU is negatively associated with domestic economic activity and economic sentiment, and positively with bond credit spreads. EPU is also estimated to have prolonged the crisis even in periods when macroeconomic imbalances were cured. The results are robust across various model specifications and different proxies of economic activity. Originality/value: Brunnermeier (2017) observed that uncertainty may be central to understanding the evolution of the Greek crisis. Yet little attention has been paid to policy uncertainty in the existing long and growing literature on the Greek crisis. The authors attempt to fill this gap.5161199121
A new method for academic staff selection: A hybrid analysis integrating neutrosophic Brown-Gibson model and neutrosophic AHP
No full textAppropriate selection of academic staff is considered a crucial factor for establishing competitiveness, efficiency, and reputation in an academic institute. This selection plays an important role in achieving strategic goals, particularly by emphasizing a strong commitment to providing an excellent student experience and high-quality innovative teaching and learning practices. This paper proposes a novel hybrid method of multi-criteria decision making that helps decision makers select the optimal candidate for an academic position by considering both quantitative and qualitative aspects. Our proposed methodology utilizes neutrosophic AHP and neutrosophic theory to analyze staff selection based on objective, critical, and subjective criteria. In this approach, we introduce a new model called the neutrosophic Brown-Gibson model (N-BG), which is based on single-valued neutrosophic numbers. This model makes the staff selection problem more realistic and facilitates managerial understanding by considering the uncertainty and vagueness that occur when capturing subjective assessments from decision makers. This manuscript also presents a new neutrosophic objective factor correlated with a score function, which plays a key role in the N-BG method. Finally, we evaluate the applicability and effectiveness of our proposed method in the academic staff selection problem through the analysis of a real case study. The robustness of our solution is demonstrated through a comparative study and sensitivity analysis.441-2497
Virtual reality facilitated travel inspiration: the role of pleasure and arousal
No full textThe paper investigates how Virtual Reality (VR)-facilitated travel inspiration increases visit intention through pleasure and arousal. The research rationale is based on our conceptual framework suggesting that the transmission model of inspiration (from the state of inspiration-by to the state of inspiration-to) and the model of emotional states of pleasure and arousal go in tandem. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to test the hypotheses with data from 290 participants recruited through Prolific Academic who had visited a destination via a 360° VR activity. Our findings demonstrate that VR inspired-by has significant relationships with pleasure and arousal. Pleasure is a complementary partial mediator of the relationship between inspired-by and inspired-to. Similarly, our findings demonstrate that there is a positive effect of pleasure on visiting intention through inspired-to. Arousal neither appears to mediate the relationship between inspired-by and inspired-to nor has any significant relationship with visiting intention.11
Skyline-based Exploration of Temporal Property Graphs
No full textIn this paper, we focus on temporal property graphs, that is, property graphs whose labeled nodes and edges as well as the values of the properties associated with them may change with time. A key challenge in studying temporal graphs lies in detecting interesting events in their evolution, defined as time intervals of significant stability, growth, or shrinkage. To address this challenge, we build aggregated graphs, where nodes are grouped based on the values of their properties, and seek events at the aggregated level. To locate such events, we propose a novel approach based on unified evolution skylines. A unified evolution skyline assesses the significance of an event in conjunction with the duration of the interval in which the event occurs. Significance is measured by a set of counts, where each count refers to the number of graph elements that remain stable, are created, or deleted, for a specific property value. Lastly, we share experimental findings that highlight the efficiency and effectiveness of our approach
The GraphTempo Framework for Exploring the Evolution of a Graph Through Pattern Aggregation
No full textWhen the focus is on the relationships or interactions between entities, graphs offer an intuitive model for many real-world data. Such graphs are usually large and change over time, thus, requiring models and strategies that explore their evolution. We study the evolution of aggregate graphs and introduce the GraphTempo model that allows temporal and graph aggregation not only on node level by grouping individual nodes, but on a pattern level as well, where subgraphs are grouped together. Furthermore, we propose an efficient strategy for exploring the evolution of the graph based on identifying time intervals of significant growth, shrinkage, or stability. Finally, we evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed approach using four real graphs.36117143715
Towards a Common Reference Infrastructure for Documenting Public Sector Administrative Processes: The Case of “MITOS”
No full textThe Greek government introduced in 2020 the National Registry of Administrative Procedures ("MITOS") to standardize public sector administrative processes, improve transparency, and provide accurate information to citizens and businesses. While various processes have been documented, the lack of standardized metadata and metaprocesses has led to ambiguity, inconsistent content, and unnecessary complexity. To address these issues, the paper proposes the creation of a common reference infrastructure of standardized metadata and metaprocesses to ensure accuracy and consistency in the final documentation of administrative processes. As a case study, the process of enrolling students in the first grade of high school was chosen. The implementation of the proposed method revealed that using process-oriented metamodels to annotate the underlying legal texts helps to extract crucial information comprehensively. Furthermore, establishing standardized metadata reduces heterogeneity, while outlining the hierarchical structure of the process creates a precise framework for adequately organizing and naming the processes. Lastly, publishing the extracted information in a machine-readable format can pave the way for applications to simplify information access for public servants and citizens.3855Companion Proceedings of the 17th IFIP WG 8.1 Working Conference on the Practice of Enterprise Modeling Forum, M4S, FACETE, AEM, Tools and Demos co-located with PoEM 202
Developing a Tool for Calculating the Carbon Footprint in SMEs
No full textThe need to rapidly reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs) has accelerated the adoption of circular economy (CE) practices. However, this has proved challenging for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), who lack the financial, organizational, and informational capabilities to adopt circular business models. This paper highlights some of the SMEs’ challenges in adopting CE practices. It focuses on the need to calculate their carbon footprint (CF) by drawing on the literature examining the effect of information technologies (IT) on adopting CE strategies. This study aims to present a CF calculation tool used to calculate the CF of SMEs. The tool’s design is based on the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology, which assesses the environmental impact of a particular service or product over the different stages of its life cycle. The tool was tested in a small cheese factory in northern Greece, an SME representative of the country’s average SME. The production process was mapped, a GHG inventory was created, and the total emissions related to the production of a specific product were estimated. Our results show that adopting such CF calculation tools can have various implications regarding the organizational structure of SMEs, leading to cost reductions and reducing potential environmental impacts. The final aim is to test this tool at a large scale.165190
Impact of Gamification on Students’ Learning Outcomes and Academic Performance: A Longitudinal Study Comparing Online, Traditional, and Gamified Learning
No full textThis study aims to examine the influence of gamification in students’ learning outcomes and academic performance. A longitudinal study was conducted to compare students’ academic performance in online learning (2020–2021), traditional learning (2021–2022), and gamified learning (2022–2023). The longitudinal study lasted 3 years and a total of 1001 higher education students were involved. Three research questions were set to be explored and students’ viewpoints and experiences were also examined through a questionnaire of 20 questions. This study follows a quantitative research approach. The data refers to students’ academic performance, success rate, excellence rate, withdrawal rate, engagement, motivation, and perspectives. In the laboratory part of the course, gamified learning yielded better outcomes over online learning and traditional learning in success rate (39% and 13%), excellence rate (130% and 23%), average grade (24% and 11%), and retention rate (42% and 36%) respectively. In the theoretical part of the course, gamified learning resulted in better outcomes over online learning and traditional learning in success rate (19% and 14%), in excellence rate (125% and 79%), and in average grade (25% and 12%) respectively. In the overall course, gamified learning yielded better outcomes over online learning and traditional learning in success rate (14% and 14%), in excellence rate (122% and 70%), and in average grade (25% and 17%) respectively. The highest increase was observed in students’ excellence rate. Students highly regarded gamification as an effective educational approach that can increase their learning outcomes, engagement, productivity, and motivation and trigger both their both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. The learning experience become more enjoyable and students’ basic needs in terms of autonomy, competence and sufficiency, and relatedness and sense of belonging were met. Traditional learning also resulted in better learning outcomes when compared to online learning. Gamification emerged as an effective learning approach which leads to improved learning outcomes and academic performance, learning motivation, engagement, and retention rate over online learning and traditional learning in both theoretical and applied course settings.14436
Emerging Trends and Challenges in Pink Hydrogen Research
No full textPink hydrogen is the name given to the technological variant of hydrogen generation from nuclear energy. This technology aims to address the environmental challenges associated with conventional hydrogen production, positioning itself as a more sustainable and eco-efficient alternative, while offering a viable alternative to nuclear power as a source of electricity generation. The present research analyzes the landscape of pink hydrogen research, an innovative strand of renewable energy research. The methodology included a comprehensive search of scientific databases, which revealed a steady increase in the number of publications in recent years. This increase suggests a growing interest in and recognition of the importance of pink hydrogen in the transition to cleaner and more sustainable energy sources. The results reflect the immaturity of this technology, where there is no single international strategy and where there is some diversity of research topic areas, as well as a small number of relevant topics. It is estimated that the future development of Gen IV nuclear reactors, as well as Small Modular Reactor (SMR) designs, will also favor the implementation of pink hydrogen.1710229