Institutional Repository of Academic Research University of Macedonia
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2215 research outputs found
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How Blockchain and Metaverse Technologies are Redefining Marketing Communication
No full textMarketing communication is a key element for any company seeking to promote its products or services to potential or existing customers, and at the same time, build and keep a relationship of trust. Initially, marketing strategies relied heavily on traditional, centralized media channels like television or print. However, with the advent of digital technologies (such as the internet), and the creation of various digital devices (like smartphones), real-time engagement and personalized messaging have become possible in a more efficient and cost-effective way. Latest innovations, such as blockchain and metaverse technologies, are further revolutionizing marketing communication, pushing the limits of what is possible, aligned with the company brand’s strategic delivery of personalized and enhanced consumer experience. However, brands and platform companies must address many infrastructural and technical issues as the metaverse develops. Also, there are socio-cultural issues due to uncertainty regarding consumer interactions and behavior in the metaverse. This paper explores the evolving landscape of marketing communication, the role and impact that the integration of blockchain and metaverse technologies could have on brand loyalty or consumer engagement, while at the same time is highlighting issues that need to be taken into account, such as regulatory concerns or technological barriers.202588589
Probabilistic Measurement of CTI Quality for Large Numbers of Unstructured CTI Products
No full textThis paper addresses the critical challenge of evaluating the quality of Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) products, particularly focusing on their relevance and actionability. As organizations increasingly rely on CTI to make cybersecurity decisions, the absence of CTI quality metrics challenges the assessment of intelligence quality. To address this gap, the article introduces two innovative metrics. Relevance ((Formula presented.)) and Actionability ((Formula presented.)) are designed to evaluate CTI products in relation to organizational information needs and defense mechanisms. Using probabilistic algorithms and data structures, these metrics provide a scalable approach for handling large numbers of unstructured CTI products. Experimental findings demonstrate the effectiveness of metrics in filtering and prioritizing CTI products, offering organizations a tool to prioritize their cybersecurity resources. Furthermore, experimental results demonstrate that, using the metrics, organizations can reduce candidate CTI products by several orders of magnitude, understand weaknesses in defining information needs, guide the application of CTI products, assess CTI products’ contribution to defense, and select CTI products from information sharing communities. In addition, the study has identified certain limitations, which open avenues for future research, including the real-time integration of CTI into organizational defense mechanisms. This work significantly contributes to standardizing the quality evaluation of CTI products and enhancing organizations’ cybersecurity posture.149182
Cultural and Ekistic Heritage of Princes’ Islands: A Study on Halki and Its Enhancement Through Augmented Reality
No full textThis study aims to photograph, design, and digitally document the surviving residential buildings on the island of Halki (Heybeliada), within the Princes’ Islands. This documentation focuses on the architectural, urban, and historical aspects of Halki, highlighting the significant material evidence of the Greek social and economic presence. It also examines the urban cultural heritage as depicted in Turkish literature of that period to understand how Turkish writers perceived and presented Halki, referencing the Princes’ Islands only for background context. The methodology includes the collection of material from residents through bibliographic and field research conducted on Halki. Based on these findings, a mobile augmented reality (AR) application was developed using the TaleBlazer platform, designed specifically for use on Halki. The application provides a virtual tour with multimedia-supported thematic layers of architectural and historical information. Its usability and learnability were evaluated using a questionnaire completed by students. The results showed high usability, user satisfaction, and perceived value of learning, with the majority of results close to a median score of 4 out of 5. The students identified the occurrence of immersive experience, ease of use, and the emotional stimulation created by the integration of spatial storytelling and multimedia. This paper also shows how the convergence of cultural content (history, architecture, and literature) can enhance interpretations and experiences with mobile AR technologies.8724
Augmented Reality in Cultural Heritage: A Narrative Review of Design, Development and Evaluation Approaches
No full textCultural heritage is important for every group and society, as it represents a part of their identity and helps preserve traditions, along with significant tangible and intangible elements. These elements are not only passed on to future generations but also play a role in education today. Many studies have examined digital applications that promote cultural heritage, particularly those that use Augmented Reality (AR) technology. However, few have systematically examined the methodologies used in the design, development and evaluation of AR applications for cultural heritage. This narrative review addresses that gap by analyzing 45 papers published between 2008 and 2024 from the Scopus and Web of Science databases. The review identifies the main motivations for AR applications, such as enhancing the learning experience, promoting tourism and the use of gamification. The majority of these applications concentrate on tangible cultural heritage, such as historical buildings and cultural routes, while intangible heritage remains less explored. In most cases, AR applications were developed with a focus on user experience, using various development tools and showing different levels of technical complexity. Although many applications initiated evaluation processes, few completed them thoroughly. These evaluations vary widely, ranging from usability tests to pre-/post-tests. The results generally report positive impacts in terms of learning and user experience. This review offers a structured framework and useful insights for researchers regarding the design and evaluation of AR applications and helps identify research gaps and limitations for future work81042
Bayesian estimation of stochastic metafrontiers
No full textThis paper presents a Bayesian method for estimating a hierarchical panel data stochastic frontier model for metafrontier analysis. It uses Bayesian simulation-based inference and user-friendly software, requiring minimal coding. Applications to simulated and real data confirm the model's reliability.25211236
Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Fake News: A Comparative Study of Instagram Users in Greece and Portugal
No full textAs our society increasingly relies on digital platforms for information, the spread of fake news has become a pressing concern. This study investigates the ability of Greek and Portuguese Instagram users to identify fake news, highlighting the influence of cultural differences. The responses of 220 Instagram users were collected through questionnaires in Greece and Portugal. The data analysis investigates characteristics of Instagram posts, social endorsement, and platform usage duration. The results reveal distinct user behaviors: Greeks exhibit a unique inclination towards social connections, displaying an increased trust in friends’ content and investing more time on Instagram, reflecting the importance of personal connections in their media consumption. They also give less importance to a certain post’s characteristics, such as content opposing personal beliefs, emotional language, and poor grammar, spelling, or formatting when identifying fake news, compared to the Portuguese, suggesting a weaker emphasis on content quality in their evaluations. These findings show that cultural differences affect how people behave on Instagram. Hence, content creators, platforms, and policymakers need specific plans to make online spaces more informative. Strategies should focus on enhancing awareness of key indicators of fake news, such as linguistic quality and post structure, while addressing the role of personal and social networks in the spread of misinformation.1614
TempoGRAPHer: Aggregation-Based Temporal Graph Exploration
No full textGraphs offer a generic abstraction for modeling entities and the interactions and relationships between them. Most real-world graphs, such as social and cooperation networks, evolve over time, and exploring their evolution may reveal important information. In this paper, we present TempoGRAPHer, a system for analyzing and visualizing the evolution of temporal attributed graphs. TempoGRAPHer supports both temporal and attribute aggregation. It also allows graph exploration by identifying periods of significant growth, shrinkage, or stability. Temporal exploration is supported by two complementary strategies, namely skyline- and interaction-based exploration. Skyline-based exploration provides insights into the overall trends in the evolution, while interaction-based exploration offers a closer look at specific parts of the graph evolution history where significant changes occurred. We present experimental results demonstrating the efficiency of TempoGRAPHer. Additionally, we showcase the usefulness of our system in understanding graph evolution by presenting detailed scenarios, including exploring the evolution of a real contact network between primary school students and analyzing the collaborations in a co-authorship network between authors of the same gender over time.1614
The internalisation of integrated management systems as a key for sustainable companies: empirical evidence
No full textThe integration of management systems has long been studied from various perspectives leaving the internalisation of integrated management systems out of focus. To address the identified gap, this research adopts and investigates empirically a conceptual model linking the internalisation of integrated management systems and corporate sustainability performance (CSP). To collect the empirical data, a structured questionnaire was administered to 787 Greek companies. 280 valid responses were received from companies certified to two or more management system standards. Results highlight the strong impact of the internalisation of integrated management systems on CSP in the form of a second-order model. In the validated model, internalisation is the independent variable, reflected in strategic and human resources, integration tools, and the internal process- and audit integration levels. CSP is the dependent variable, reflected in firms’ relationships with customers and suppliers, employees, investors, shareholders, financial institutions, the environment, society, and the state. Academic-wise, this study adds empirical evidence to the extant body of IMS knowledge, particularly addressing internalisation. Practitioners may relate the composed model’s stakeholder view of corporate sustainability performance with the context view of management system standards.351-227329
To do or not to do? A typology of ethical dilemmas in services (TEDS)
No full textPurpose: This paper seeks to deepen and improve our understanding of business ethics in services by developing a typology that reconciles and integrates disparate and often conflicting ideas and viewpoints while providing practical guidance for ethical decision-making. Design/methodology/approach: The paper examines current theoretical approaches in ethics to provide an understanding of the ethical theories, how they have been applied and how they have evolved in businesses and marketing. It discusses conceptual issues related to ethical dilemmas and the available typologies. Findings: Based on the axioms of the Triple-A Framework for Ethical Service Research, the Typology of Ethical Dilemmas in Services (TEDS) is proposed. The typology identifies three types of dilemmas based on four dimensions considering all service interactions guided by normative ethics (virtue, deontological and consequentialism). Practical implications: The proposed DILEMMAS process illustrates the practical application of TEDS. Originality/value: This paper extends the ethics and services literature by offering a novel theoretical and practical approach to addressing ethical dilemmas. TEDS is authentic, advances our knowledge and applies to all service organizations that aim to manage ethical dilemmas effectively.35457060
An assessment of inflation targeting
No full textThe effectiveness of inflation targeting is linked to the stationarity properties of inflation. Without making apriori assumptions about the order of integration, we examine whether there is a change in the inflation persistence in one hundred and twenty-seven countries (developed and developing) using monthly data over the 1970–2021 period. For the inflation targeters, we find that the endogenously identified break dates are not consistent with the formal adoption of IT. Logit analysis reveals that inflation targeters do not experience an increased probability of a change in inflation persistence. The quality of institutions emerges as more significant for taming inflation.9710189