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Generalised 2-circulant inequalities for the max-cut problem
No full textThe max-cut problem is a fundamental combinatorial optimisation problem, with many applications. Poljak and Turzik found some facet-defining inequalities for the associated polytope, which we call 2-circulant inequalities. We present a more general family of facet-defining inequalities, an exact separation algorithm that runs in polynomial time, and some computational results.50212212
Host country national support to expatriates: a motivated information processing perspective
No full textPurpose – The support of host country nationals (HCNs) is a key determinant of expatriate adjustment and performance. The purpose of this paper is to explore underlying motivations for their support to expatriates. Previous research has shown that HCNs with pro-social motivation are more likely to help expatriates. Drawing upon motivated information processing in groups (MIP-G) theory, the authors test whether epistemic motivation moderates the observed relationship between pro-social motivation and HCNs’ support toward expatriates. Design/methodology/approach – The authors ran two correlational studies (N 5 267) in the USA (Study 1) and South Korea (Study 2). Across two studies, epistemic motivation and social motivation were measured using their multiple proxies validated in previous research. The authors also measured HCNs’ willingness to offer role information and social support to a hypothetical expatriate worker. Findings – Results lend support to our hypotheses that pro-social HCNs are more willing than pro-self HCNs to provide role information and social support to the expatriates, but this occurs only when they have high rather than low epistemic motivation. Originality/value – The current paper contributes the literature on HCNs helping expatriates by qualifying the prior results that a pro-social motivation (e.g. agreeableness and collectivism) increases the willingness of HCNs to help expatriates. As hypothesized, this study found that that case is only true when HCNs have high, rather than low, epistemic motivation. Also, previous research on MIP-G theory has mainly focused on the performance of small groups (e.g. negotiation, creativity and decision-making). To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is the first attempt to test MIP-G theory in the context of HCNs helping expatriates.29114717
Refactoring Embedded Software: A Study in Healthcare Domain
No full textContextIn embedded software industry, stakeholders usually promote run-time properties (e.g., performance, energy efficiency, etc.) as quality drivers, which in many cases leads to a compromise at the levels of design-time qualities (e.g., maintainability, reusability, etc.). Such a compromise does not come without a cost; since embedded systems need heavy maintenance cycles. To assure effective bug-fixing, shorten the time required for releasing updates, a refactoring of the software codebase needs to take place regularly. Objective: This study aims to investigate how refactorings are applied in ES industry; and propose a systematic approach that can guide refactoring through a 3-step process for refactoring: (a) planning; (b) design; and (c) evaluation.MethodThe aforementioned goals were achieved by conducting a single case study in a company that develops medical applications for bio-impedance devices; and follows a rather systematic refactoring process in periodic timestamps. Three data collection approaches have been used: surveys, interviews (10 practitioners), and artifact analysis (51 refactoring activities).ResultsThe results of the study suggest that: (a) maintainability and reusability are the design-time quality attributes that motivate the refactoring of Embedded Software (ES), with 30% of the participants considering them as of "Very High" importance; (b) the refactorings that are most frequently performed are "Extract Method", "Replace Magic Number with Constant" and "Remove Parameter". We note that the "Extract Method" refactoring has an applicability of more than over 80%; and (c) to evaluate the refactoring process engineers use tools producing structural metrics, internal standards, and reviews.ConclusionsThe outcomes of this study can be useful to both researchers and practitioners, in the sense that the former can focus their efforts on aspects that are meaningful to industry, whereas the latter are provided with a systematic refactoring process.14310676
Social Educational Robotics Application: Architecture and Interconnectivity
No full textSocial robots are widely used in educational activities. Apart from their hardware features that makes them capable of interacting with students, teachers, and educational stakeholders, the software applications are of great importance for a successful use. In the current paper, we present the design and architecture of the STIMEY robot application. The application was designed to transmit all information to and from the robot, ensuring communication between the robot agent and a) the educational platform, b) other social robots, c) the current user.142022 13th International Conference on Information, Intelligence, Systems & Applications (IISA), Corfu, Greec
The WPS Agenda in the Eastern Mediterranean: The Cases of Greece, the Republic of Cyprus and Turkey
No full textThe implementation of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda, despite its globalprominence, has been slow in the Eastern Mediterranean. This article is aimed at examining howthree neighbouring states in the Eastern Mediterranean, namely: Greece, the Republic of Cyprus and Turkey, have responded to the normative traction of the WPS agenda. It is not only theirgeographic proximity that have rendered a comparative analysis of the three countries importantbut also the ongoing tensions that Greece and Cyprus experience at different times with Turkey.An evaluation of the three countries’ standing regarding the promotion of the WPS agenda willshed light on the missed opportunities that a substantive commitment to the WPS would haveoffered, especially in the context of conflict prevention and peacebuilding. Cyprus adopted in2020 its first WPS National Action Plan while Greece finalised its first WPS National Action Plan(NAP) in 2021 and awaits its official adoption. Turkey is yet to adopt a NAP despite its deterioratingwomen’s rights record. The article evaluates the perspectives that both Greece and Cyprus haveadopted in their NAPs and assesses Turkey’s perspectives on gender equality. Through a contentanalysis with the support of respective secondary literature, the article highlights the unexplored,and thus missed, opportunities that a substantive implementation of the WPS normative settingswould have offered in a region suffering from tensions, power competition and revisionism.81578
Η ελληνορθόδοξη μειονότητα της Τουρκίας και η αρχή της αμοιβαιότητας
No full textΗ νομική προστασία των μειονοτήτων σε Ελλάδα και Τουρκία συνδέθηκε αμοιβαία μέσα από την πολιτική ανάγνωση του άρθρου 45 της Συνθήκης της Λοζάνης. Από νωρίς, Ελλάδα και Τουρκία εφάρμοσαν με αρνητικό τρόπο την αρχή της αμοιβαιότητας σε βάρος των μειονοτήτων τους. Τα πεδία προστασίας και τα ειδικά δικαιώματα, όπως θρησκευτική ελευθερία και αυτό-οργάνωση των θρησκευτικών θεσμών, των βακουφίων και των κοινοτικών σχολείων, αλλά και τα γενικά δικαιώματα του ανθρώπου, όπως δικαίωμα ένωσης προσώπων και περιουσίας περιστάλησαν στο όνομα της αρχής της αμοιβαιότητας. Η εμπλοκή του Κυπριακού από το 1955 αποτέλεσε τον καταλύτη για την άσκηση πολιτικών που οδήγησε στην μετανάστευση δεκάδων χιλιάδων ανθρώπων. Ειδική θέση στις πολιτικές αυτές έχει η καταγγελία των ελληνοτουρκικής συμφωνίας εγκατάστασης του 1930 και η απέλαση των Ελλήνων πολιτών Ρωμιών της Κωνσταντινούπολης το 1964-1965. Η αρχή της αμοιβαιότητας δικαιολογήθηκε από τις ελληνικές και τουρκικές κυβερνήσεις, δημοκρατικά εκλεγμένες και στρατιωτικές, από την δεκαετία του 1950 μέχρι και σήμερα ασκώντας αμοιβαία πιέσεις για να διασφαλίσουν πολιτικά οφέλη. Παρακάμπτοντας και παραβιάζοντας βασικές αρχές του δικαίου η αρχή της αμοιβαιότητας λειτούργησε σε βάρος των δικαιωμάτων και των υποκειμένων.6781Ο ελληνισμός της Κωνσταντινούπολης μετά τη Συνθήκη Ανταλλαγής Πληθυσμών (1923-2016
Το ισλαμικό δίκαιο (σαρία) στην Ελλάδα: Παράδοξα και προκλήσεις
No full textΟι μουσουλμάνοι της Ελλάδας, έλληνες πολίτες και κάτοικοι της Θράκης, απολαμβάνουν ένα ειδικό καθεστώς μειονοτικής προστασίας το οποίο ρυθμίστηκε από τη Συνθήκη της Λοζάνης (1923). Τα δικαιώματα των μειονοτήτων αφορούν την θρησκευτική ελευθερία, την εκπαίδευση και την κοινοτική περιουσία, δηλαδή τα βακούφια, και αποδίδονται με βάση την θρησκεία. Κατά συνέπεια, μπορεί κανείς να ισχυριστεί κανείς ότι ορισμένες πλευρές του οθωμανικού συστήματος των μιλλέτ (ως θεσμική αυτονομία στην βάση εθνο-θρησκευτικής υπαγωγής) διατηρήθηκαν εντός της ελληνικής έννομης τάξης ως μειονοτική προστασία101117Τιμητικός τόμος για τον Καθηγητή Κ. Χατζηκωνσταντίνο
Influences of family ownership on dividend policy under mandatory dividend rules
No full textWe explore the relationship between family ownership and dividend policy in an insider financial system under mandatory dividend rules. In a civil law insider institutional setting like ours, the concentration of management control in the hands of family members in combination with poor corporate governance makes the expropriation of minorities more likely for high levels of family ownership leading potentially to lower dividend payouts. We theorize on the competing effects of the alignment and entrenchment hypotheses of family control and how the dividend supply and demand mechanisms explain dividend payout decisions. We empirically demonstrate a U-shaped relationship between dividends and family ownership- akin to previously documented dividend patterns across Anglo-American firms- in line with the alignment effects on the supply of dividends and the entrenchment effects on the demand of dividends. Meanwhile, high levels of family ownership increase the likelihood that the mandatory (minimum) dividend requirement is waived. Investment opportunities and the firm’s risk profile moderate the shape and strength of the above relationships.59393996
What exactly is it that technical services does?: Promoting and advocating for technical services work to the academic community
No full textThe article suggests ways of advocating Technical Services to library users and the wideracademic community. It starts with the reasons behind advocacy and then focuses onmodern tools, such as social media, Canva, and word clouds. Finally, it provides a list offurther reading for those interested in advocating without using visual aids.484
A cut-and-branch algorithm for the Quadratic Knapsack Problem
No full textThe Quadratic Knapsack Problem (QKP) is a well-known NP-hard combinatorial optimisation problem, with many practical applications. We present a ‘cut-and-branch’ algorithm for the QKP, in which a cutting-plane phase is followed by a branch-and-bound phase. The cutting-plane phase is more sophisticated than the existing ones in the literature, incorporating several classes of cutting planes, two primal heuristics, and several rules for eliminating variables and constraints. Computational results show that the algorithm is competitive.4410057