36,871 research outputs found
Urban/ Regional Co-Operation in Greece: Athens, a Capital City under the Shadow of the State
No full textThe main purpose of the paper is to demonstrate the difficulty of urban/ regional co-operation in Greece focusing on the overshadowing of its capital Athens by the state. The main outcome of this process is the responsibility of many organisations and actors for the same issue, thus acting as a living proof of the proverb ‘too many cooks spoil the broth’. The first part of the paper presents the basic characteristics and trends in terms of the population, economy, society, environment, spatial structure, transport and international role of the Athens Metropolitan Area. On the basis of these some of the key problems are discussed, particularly in relation to the role of the metropolitan area at a national level. The second part involves an introduction to the basic policy context, particularly the one that has a major impact on the structure and function of the metropolitan area. Existing policies and programmes are briefly presented with a view to assess their influence on the potential role of the metropolitan area at a national context. There is also reference to selected case studies such as transport planning, water management and risk management (natural disasters e.g. earthquakes). The third part discusses the basic institutional context, i.e. the administrative and organizational arrangements and the way they influence the function and the role of the metropolitan area. The frame and the conditions of urban/ regional co-operation are analysed, a typical example being the problematic relationship between the private and the public sector: the public sector is unable to press the state and vice versa (e.g. the case of demanding permissions for new hotels in the saturated Athens Metropolitan Area because of the 2004 Olympics). The last part analyses the main scenarios for urban/ regional co-operation referring to the indications for innovative elements and to the prospects of various new fields for Greece such as place marketing and leisure planning (tourism, culture, sports). The focus of this paper is not on the documentation but rather on a synthesis of strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats for the metropolitan area in a national context.
Post-event leverage and Olympic legacy: A strategic framework for the development of sport and cultural tourism in post-Olympic Athens
No full textAlthough the hosting of the 2004 Olympics in Athens constituted a unique opportunity for the diversification and enrichment of Athens’ (and Greece’s) tourism product, the evident lack of coordination between commercial providers and public governing bodies inhibited the development of a joint strategic approach to leverage the Games. However, the successful organization of the Olympics left a valuable intangible and tangible legacy for Athens, enhancing its heritage and tourism infra/superstructure respectively. Given the unrealized aspiration of harnessing the post-Olympic facilities, this study examines the potential of Athens to exploit its Olympic legacy for the joint development of sport and cultural tourism. This attempt seeks to synthesize a common ground for sport and cultural tourism development in Olympic cities by focusing on Olympic tourism in the post-Games period as it relates to the use of Olympic legacy and post-Olympic assets. A qualitative approach was adopted by conducting nine semi-structured interviews with city officials and tourism administrators. Findings reveal the conditions for synergistic development of sport and cultural tourism and the actions required to mobilize the network of actors, resources and assets that can enable Athens to move from its current inertia and implement post-event leveraging. The study argues that it is still not late for Athens to leverage its post-Olympic assets/legacy capitalizing on its unique and rich cultural heritage interwoven with the Olympic Games. Towards this direction, the study sheds light on what and how can be corrected in order to mitigate the sources and consequences of problems, while providing lessons for future Olympic cities. Finally, a strategic framework is suggested for leveraging the Olympic legacy and developing sustainable post-Olympic (sport and cultural) tourism products
Morality, institutions and economic growth: Lessons from ancient Greece
No full textWe show that the character and the morality of citizens are important ingredients of economic growth because they go hand in hand with the great institutions of private property, democ-racy, and free markets. Our approach enables us to establish this result by reference to the structure and performance of the ancient economies of Athens and Sparta during the period 490-338 BC. Athens grew vastly wealthier than Sparta essentially because its institutions were optimally adjusted to confront the basic scarcity of grains, whereas the institutions of Sparta were optimally adjusted to sustain its military supremacy. However, in both cases there emerged systems of morality, which secured the operating efficiency of their institutions. Therefore, poor countries in search of potent strategies for rapid economic growth should not just try to emulate the institutions of economically advanced countries. At the same time, they should put the emphasis of their efforts to setting up agoge systems, so as to infuse into the character of their citizens compatible “ethos”. For, without the latter, no matter how success-fully they adapt the institutions of democracy and free markets, rapid economic growth will be inhibited from the lack of an environment of generalized morality. In this regard, the ideal type model of agoge is the one that prevailed in ancient Athens 25 centuries ago.ancient Greece; morality; institutions; economic growth
Nowcasting of air pollution episodes in megacities: A case study for Athens, Greece
No full textThe main objective of the present study is to develop a model for the prediction of the extreme events of air pollution in megacities using the concept of so-called "natural time" instead of the "conventional clock time". In particular, we develop a new nowcasting technique based on a statistically significant fit to the law of Gutenberg-Richter of the surface concentration of ozone (O3), particles of the size fraction less than 10 μm (PM-10) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). Studying the air pollution over Athens, Greece during the period 2000–2018, we found that the average waiting time between successive extreme concentrations values varied between different atmospheric parameters accounted as 17 days in case of O3, 29 days in case of PM-10 and 28 days in case of NO2. This average waiting time depends on the upper threshold of the maximum extreme concentrations of air pollutants considered. For instance, considering the NO2 concentrations over Athens it was found that the average waiting time is 13 days for 130 μg/m3 and 2.4 years for 200 μg/m3. Remarkably, the same behaviour of obedience to the Guttenberg-Richter law characterizing the extreme values of the air pollution of a megacity was found earlier in other long-term ecological and paleoclimatic variables. It is a sign of self-similarity that is often observed in nature, which can be used in the development of more reliable nowcasting models of extreme events
Wine Roads in Greece: A Cooperation for the Development of Local Tourism in Rural Areas
No full textAn association of Wine Roads was developed in Greece at the beginning of the 1990s in an attempt to boost rural tourism. The association was created by wine producers in the regions of Macedonia and was then extended to Epirus, Thessaly and Thrace. Its main purpose has been the promotion of wine companies and the association's regional members, while its specific targets have been the development of local tourism, the support of cultural heritage and the improvement of product quality and related services. The Wine Roads initiative has received substantial financial support from the European Union and the State of Greece, mainly through the LEADER II program. However, socioeconomic results for the participating companies and regions appear to differ. An assessment using a questionnaire showed a positive effect on the enhancement of relations among members, the increase in tourist visits, publicity for the regions and cultural events. In contrast, there have been no significant positive effects on employment. Finally, it should be noted that some of the participating districts and companies have been more active and have taken better advantage of this initiative.Wine roads, rural tourism, cooperation, financing, LEADER program, Greece, Community/Rural/Urban Development,
Towards reviving post-Olympic Athens as a cultural destination
No full textThis paper examines the effects of global change on the status and qualities of the Greek national capital, Athens, focusing on how they affect the development of cultural tourism in the city. Although Athens constituted one of the most significant destinations for Greek tourism in the past, in recent years it started to weaken. Athens is characterised by a series of problems, among them are the degradation of its environment and quality of life and traffic congestion. However, in terms of tourism development, the Olympic Games helped in re-imaging the city and upgrading its infrastructure. This study based on semi-structured interviews with top officials reveals how global change has affected Athens’ socio-cultural/economic status, identity and image. Despite the tourism policy/planning responses to global changes, Athens’ tourism continues to decline leaving unexplored potential such as its rich cultural heritage, new multicultural identity and the New Acropolis Museum. The paper suggests that cultural elements of capital cities must be multidimensional including a variety of attractions and amenities. The use of cultural heritage assets needs to be in line with global developments in order for cities to effectively leverage heritage for cultural tourism
Olympic legacy and cultural tourism: Exploring the facets of Athens' Olympic heritage
No full textThis study examines the effects of the Olympic Games on Athens’ cultural tourism and the city’s potential to leverage the Olympic legacy in synergy with its rich heritage in order to enhance its tourism product during the post-Games period. In doing so, a qualitative and interpretive approach was employed. This includes a literature review on Athens’ 2004 Olympics to identify the sport facilities and regeneration projects, which constitute the Olympic legacy and heritage. Based on that, an empirical analysis was undertaken, by collecting official documents about the 2004 Olympics, and conducting five semi-structured interviews with tourism/administrative officials. The findings indicate that the Olympiad contributed significantly to Athens’ built and human heritage, revealing the dimensions of new venues/facilities, infrastructure, transportation and aesthetic image of the city, and human capital enhancement. Hence, the Games affected to the multifaceted representation and reconstruction of the city’s identity and cultural heritage. However, the potential afforded from the post-Olympic Athens remains unrealised due to lack of strategic planning/management. The study concludes that there is a need to develop cross-leveraging synergies between the Olympic legacy and cultural tourism for the host city. Finally, a strategic planning framework for leveraging post-Games Olympic tourism is suggested in order to maximise the benefits of Olympic legacy and heritage in a host city’s tourism development
Grid-based virtual laboratory experiments for a graduate course on sensor networks
No full textThis paper presents the pedagogical and technical challenges the authors faced in developing a distributed laboratory for the execution of virtual scientific experiments (VSEs) superimposed on a Grid infrastructure, for a course on sensor networks that is part of the Master's in Information Networking (MSIN) program jointly offered by Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), USA and Athens Information Technology (AIT), Athens, Greece. The MSIN program utilizes virtual classroom technologies because of its strong distance learning component. Courses taught by CMU faculty are attended in real-time by students in Athens, Greece, via video-wall teleconferencing sessions. Vice versa, visiting CMU faculty to AIT teach classes that are attended by students at CMU. Students in both institutions enjoy full interactivity with their classmates on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. A distributed shared virtual laboratory is needed for many of the more empirical courses. This paper describes the challenges and issues the authors faced in developing such a lab
Challenges and Perspectives on Metropolitan Governance in Athens
No full textThe fragmentation of local government structures (more than 120 municipalities), combined with the traditional ‘sectoral federalism’ within a centralist state, the lack of visible democratic legitimacy and political responsibility for the whole region, could not foster the implementation of coherent policies for the metropolitan area of Athens. For a long period, the rising socioeconomic complexity combined to a growing deficit of social capital and urban identity, as well as to several self-referential organizations and particularistic interests had led to a series of failures and blockades. The governability-problems of Athens have been a legend for many years. Economic recovery and an unprecedented mobilization due to the city’s nomination for the Olympic Games (in 1996), gave new hope to citizens and stakeholders that had continually been frustrated. Large-scaled projects (with pressing needs for private capital and expertise), a growing voluntary sector and self-confident local leaders shaped new, more “open†networks of metropolitan policies. The success of new, result-oriented metropolitan coalitions in and for Athens has in deed been remarkable: The “face and the image of the city†has drastically changed, while the achievement of effectively organizing the games in a small country should not be under-estimated. The “mega-project†of the Games created a strong public awareness, new platforms and new agendas of public deliberation. During the games, the city revealed the “hidden treasure†of Athenian civil society that proved to be much stronger than expected. Soon after, the need to conceptualize a ‘modern’ scheme of metropolitan governance became a part of the political debate. The need for metropolitan reform is widely accepted but public debate on alternative scenarios seems to postpone the starting point. For the moment, the danger of a “back to normal businessâ€-effect is growing. An environment of non-continuity and disruption, distrust and non-transparency seems to rise again. How could the perspective of metropolitan integration through governance be still kept alive in Athens? How are the positive effects of “mega-projects†for metropolitan governance to be evaluated and further advantaged in cases like the one of Athens?
Politics, media and journalism in Greece
No full textThe aim of this thesis is to analyze the relationship between politics and media in Greece. The relations of the two fields are defined mainly by the underdevelopment of Greek capitalism.
This fact had a decisive contribution in the delay of democratization of the political institutions but also in the delay of development of a massive press. During its emergence, the Greek press was an instrument for the propagatory of national ideas and supporting the movement for national liberation. Later it played an important role in the creation of a constitutional state. The press during that phase was not simply political, but a political institution of power. Even during the period of political divisions of the Greek political system, press functioned inside these divisions, not only by supporting but also by expressing either conservative or liberal political forces.
The appearance of radio and later of television was connected with state interference and state control. Both these media, until recently, comprised an integral ideological mechanism of the state and the political powers. The de-regulation of the broadcasting field and the upgraded role of media, and especially of television, did not decrease the degree of composition of these relationships.
The entry and the domination of businessmen with main interests in other economic fields expanded the relationship between political power and media on economic level.
From the estabIishment of the Modern Greek State untiI today, politics and media not only continue to have a close relationship but one depends on the other. The media supported politically and ideologEcalIy the politicaI power and in turn the political power supported and provided the media with vast subsidies and public contracts.
This thesis supports that in Greece historically, there was developed a relationship of interdependence between the political power and the media, which reflected different characteristics at different historical periods. Even nowadays this interdependence continues to exist, taking the form of Media Clientelism
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