261 research outputs found
Correction to: Attitudes of Health and Mental Health Professionals, and Police Staff towards Mentally Ill Offenders in Greece (Community Mental Health Journal, (2024), 10.1007/s10597-024-01432-x)
No full textThe original version of this article unfortunately contained error in author names. The given name and family name was swapped for all the authors and published incorrectly as. Martinaki Sophia · Sakellariou Efthymia-Maria · Ntelidaki Veatriki · Karachaliou Evangelia · Athanasiadis Kimonas · Gkontolia Asimina · Tsiapla Theodora · Tzavara Chara · Chantzinikolaou Fotios. The correct author group should be as follows: Sophia Martinaki · Efthymia-Maria Sakellariou · Veatriki Ntelidaki · Evangelia Karachaliou · Kimonas Athanasiadis · Asimina Gkontolia · Theodora Tsiapla · Chara Tzavara · Fotios Chantzinikolaou. The original article has been corrected. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2025
Forecasting : theory and practice
No full textForecasting has always been at the forefront of decision making and planning. The uncertainty that surrounds the future is both exciting and challenging, with individuals and organisations seeking to minimise risks and maximise utilities. The large number of forecasting applications calls for a diverse set of forecasting methods to tackle real-life challenges. This article provides a non-systematic review of the theory and the practice of forecasting. We provide an overview of a wide range of theoretical, state-of-the-art models, methods, principles, and approaches to prepare, produce, organise, and evaluate forecasts. We then demonstrate how such theoretical concepts are applied in a variety of real-life contexts. We do not claim that this review is an exhaustive list of methods and applications. However, we wish that our encyclopedic presentation will offer a point of reference for the rich work that has been undertaken over the last decades, with some key insights for the future of forecasting theory and practice. Given its encyclopedic nature, the intended mode of reading is non-linear. We offer cross-references to allow the readers to navigate through the various topics. We complement the theoretical concepts and applications covered by large lists of free or open-source software implementations and publicly-available databases. CC BY 4.0© 2021 The Author(s)Corresponding author: E-mail addresses: [email protected], [email protected] (F. Petropoulos).Available online 20 January 2022</p
Η χρήση των μη-επανδρωμένων αεροσκαφών στις εχθροπραξίες υπό το πρίσμα του Jus ad Bellum και του Jus in Bello: το παράδειγμα του πολέμου κατά της τρομοκρατίας
No full textThis PhD thesis deals with the use of armed unmanned aerial vehicles (armed drones) in the context of the use of military force to counter terrorism, in the light of the International Law on the Use of Force between States (Jus ad Bellum) and the International Humanitarian Law (Jus in Bello). Focusing on the targeted strikes carried out by armed unmanned aerial vehicles in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and Iraq, this thesis undertakes a multifaceted examination of these targeted strikes in order to analyze their lawfulness on the basis of the applicable rules of International Law. This legal assessment takes place both in an abstract context (in abstracto lawfulness of drones as a weapon system) and in a concrete context (in concreto lawfulness of drones in the context of their specific uses on the battlefield). Following a thorough examination of the issue, the central position adopted by the author of the thesis is that the technology introduced by unmanned aerial vehicles does not qualitatively differentiate them from other conventional weapon systems, in terms of the assessment of their legality under International Law. In order to adequately achieve the legal assessment of unmanned aircraft, it is necessary to examine them ad hoc in their specific uses in the battlefield in order to find their compliance with the applicable rules of International Law.Η παρούσα διδακτορική διατριβή πραγματεύεται την χρήση των οπλισμένων μη-επανδρωμένων αεροσκαφών (armed drones) στο πλαίσιο χρήσης στρατιωτικής βίας για την αντιμετώπιση της τρομοκρατίας, υπό το πρίσμα του Διεθνούς Δικαίου Χρήσης Βίας μεταξύ Κρατών (Jus ad Bellum) και του Διεθνούς Ανθρωπιστικού Δικαίου (Jus in Bello). Με επίκεντρο τις αεροπορικές προσβολές με οπλισμένα μη-επανδρωμένα αεροσκάφη στο Αφγανιστάν, στο Πακιστάν, στην Υεμένη, στη Σομαλία και στο Ιράκ, η παρούσα διδακτορική διατριβή προβαίνει σε μια πολύπλευρη εξέταση των εν λόγω στοχευμένων επιθέσεων (targeted strikes), με σκοπό να αναλύσει τη νομιμότητά τους επί τη βάσει των ισχυόντων κανόνων του Διεθνούς Δικαίου. Αυτή η νομική αξιολόγηση λαμβάνει χώρα τόσο αφηρημένα (in abstracto νομιμότητα των drones ως οπλικό σύστημα), όσο και συγκεκριμένα (in concreto νομιμότητα των drones στο πλαίσιο των συγκεκριμένων χρήσεών τους στο πεδίο της μάχης). Κατόπιν ενδελεχούς εξέτασης του ζητήματος, η κεντρική θέση που υιοθετείται από τον συγγραφέα της διδακτορικής διατριβής είναι ότι η τεχνολογία που εισάγουν τα μη-επανδρωμένα αεροσκάφη δεν τα διαφοροποιεί ποιοτικά από τα λοιπά συμβατικά οπλικά συστήματα, ως προς την αξιολόγηση της νομιμότητάς τους επί τη βάσει του Διεθνούς Δικαίου. Προκειμένου να επιτευχθεί επαρκώς η νομική αξιολόγηση των μη-επανδρωμένων αεροσκαφών, προϋποτίθεται η ad hoc εξέταση αυτών στις συγκεκριμένες χρήσεις τους στο πεδίο της μάχης, ώστε να διαγνωσθεί η συμμόρφωσή τους με τους εφαρμοστέους κανόνες του Διεθνούς Δικαίου
Socially Interactive Robots as Mediators in Human-Human Remote Communication
No full textThis PhD work was partially supported by the European LIREC project (Living with robots and interactive companions) a collaboration of 10 EU partners that aims to develop a new generation of interactive and emotionally intelligent companions able of establishing and maintaining long-term relationships with humans. The project takes a multi-disciplinary approach towards investigating methods to allow robotic companions to perceive, remember and react to people in order to enhance the companion’s awareness of sociability in domestic environments. (e.g. remind a user and provide useful information, carry heavy objects etc.). One of the project's scenarios concerns remote human-human communication enhancement utilising autonomous robots as social mediators which is the focus of this PhD thesis. This scenario involves a remote communication situation between two distant users who wish to utilise their robot companions in order to enhance their communication and interaction experience with each other over the internet. The scenario derived from the need of communication between people who are separated from their relatives and friends due to work commitments or other personal obligations. Even for people that live close by, communication mediated by modern technologies has become widespread. However, even with the use of video communication, they are still missing an important medium of interaction that has received much less attention over the past years, which is touch. The purpose of this thesis was to develop autonomous robots as social mediators in a remote human-human communication scenario in order to allow the users to use touch and other modalities on the robots. This thesis addressed the following research questions: Can an autonomous robot be a social mediator in human-human remote communication? How does an autonomous robotic mediator compare to a conventional computer interface in facilitating users’ remote communication? Which methodology should be used for qualitative and quantitative measurements for local user-robot and user-user social remote interactions? In order to answer these questions, three different communications platforms were developed during this research and each one addressed a number of research questions. The first platform (AIBOcom) allowed two distant users to collaborate in a virtual environment by utilising their autonomous robotic companions during their communication. Two pet-like robots, which interact individually with two remotely communicating users, allowed the users to play an interactive game cooperatively. The study tested two experimental conditions, characterised by two different modes of synchronisation between the robots that were located locally with each user. In one mode the robots incrementally affected each other’s behaviour, while in the other mode, the robots mirrored each other’s behaviour. This study aimed to identify users’ preferences for robot mediated human-human interactions in these two modes, as well as investigating users’ overall acceptance of such communication media. Findings indicated that users preferred the mirroring mode and that in this pilot study robot assisted remote communication was considered desirable and acceptable to the users. The second platform (AiBone) explored the effects of an autonomous robot on human-human remote communication and studied participants' preferences in comparison with a communication system not involving robots. We developed a platform for remote human-human communication in the context of a collaborative computer game. The exploratory study involved twenty pairs of participants who communicated using video conference software. Participants expressed more social cues and sharing of their game experiences with each other when using the robot. However, analysis of the interactions of the participants with each other and with the robot show that it is difficult for participants to familiarise themselves quickly with the robot while they can perform the same task more efficiently with conventional devices. Finally, our third platform (AIBOStory) was based on a remote interactive story telling software that allowed users to create and share common stories through an integrated, autonomous robot companion acting as a social mediator between two people. The behaviour of the robot was inspired by dog behaviour and used a simple computational memory model. An initial pilot study evaluated the proposed system's use and acceptance by the users. Five pairs of participants were exposed to the system, with the robot acting as a social mediator, and the results suggested an overall positive acceptance response. The main study involved long-term interactions of 20 participants in order to compare their preferences between two modes: using the game enhanced with an autonomous robot and a non-robot mode. The data was analysed using quantitative and qualitative techniques to measure user preference and Human-Robot Interaction. The statistical analysis suggests user preferences towards the robot mode. Furthermore, results indicate that users utilised the memory feature, which was an integral part of the robot’s control architecture, increasingly more as the sessions progressed. Results derived from the three main studies supported our argument that domestic robots could be used as social mediators in remote human-human communications and offered an enhanced experience during their interactions with both robots and each other. Additionally, it was found that the presence of intelligent robots in the communication can increase the number of exhibited social cues between the users and are more preferable compared to conventional interactive devices such as computer keyboard and mouse
Socially Interactive Robots as Mediators in Human-Human Remote Communication
No full textThis PhD work was partially supported by the European LIREC project (Living with robots and interactive companions) a collaboration of 10 EU partners that aims to develop a new generation of interactive and emotionally intelligent companions able of establishing and maintaining long-term relationships with humans. The project takes a multi-disciplinary approach towards investigating methods to allow robotic companions to perceive, remember and react to people in order to enhance the companion’s awareness of sociability in domestic environments. (e.g. remind a user and provide useful information, carry heavy objects etc.). One of the project's scenarios concerns remote human-human communication enhancement utilising autonomous robots as social mediators which is the focus of this PhD thesis. This scenario involves a remote communication situation between two distant users who wish to utilise their robot companions in order to enhance their communication and interaction experience with each other over the internet. The scenario derived from the need of communication between people who are separated from their relatives and friend
From migrants to settlers : the history of Greek communities in colonial Zimbabwe and Tanganyika, 1890s-1960s
No full textDefence date: 10 October 2025Examining Board: Prof. Corinna Unger (European University Institute, Supervisor); Prof. Federico Romero (European University Institute); Prof. Amalia Ribi Forclaz (Geneva Graduate Institute); Prof. Andonis Piperoglou (University of Melbourne)This doctoral thesis examines the position of Greek migrants in the colonial societies of sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on their transformation from migrants to settlers. Through the cases of colonial Zimbabwe and Tanzania from the 1890s to the 1950s, it explores how Greeks, as marginal Europeans without a colonial background, were positioned both materially and culturally within these societies. Although generally classified as Europeans in the 20th century, Greeks lacked direct colonial rule background, having themselves been subjects of British and Italian rule in the Ionian Islands, Cyprus, and the Dodecanese. The study argues that Greek migrants’ racial and settler status was fluid, shaped by their economic activities, class, and interactions with European settlers, indigenous communities, and other immigrant groups, such as Indians. In the early period (1890s– 1920s), most Greeks worked as laborers, small shopkeepers, or traders with indigenous populations, often occupying peripheral roles in colonial society. However, from the late 1920s to the 1960s, their status shifted: in Southern Rhodesia, Greeks entered politics and even held mayoral positions in major cities, while in Tanganyika, they acquired extensive agricultural estates—land ownership on a scale rarely seen in their homeland. This dissertation examines the conditions that allowed only certain social classes to access the privileges of settler colonialism and how individuals from a non-imperial background—lacking capital, foreign language skills, and religious or ethnic alignment with ruling elites—were able to integrate into, and sometimes thrive within, colonial structures. Ultimately, it challenges approaches to settler colonialism as an exclusive domain of imperial powers, demonstrating how ‘smaller’ European migrant communities strategically navigated, participated and even influenced colonial systems
Η Αγγλική επιρροή στον Ινδικό νομικό πολιτισμό
No full textΣκοπός και ερευνητικό πεδίο της παρούσας διπλωματικής εργασίας είναι η ανάδειξη της επίδρασης που είχε η αγγλική παρουσία στην Ινδία, τόσο στο δίκαιο της εν λόγω περιοχής καθεαυτό, όσο και σε ένα βαθύτερο επίπεδο, εκείνο των νομικών πολιτισμών των δύο λαών και κυρίως της Ινδίας. Βασικό πρίσμα υπό το οποίο επιδιώχθηκε να ερευνηθεί το ζήτημα αποτέλεσε η παραδοχή πως ο νόμος συνιστά μια ενσώματη πολιτισμική μορφή, μια συμπαγής συσσώρευση πολιτισμικών στοιχείων. Κάθε διατύπωση του ισχύοντος δικαίου, μπορεί να θεωρηθεί ως έκφραση «νομικής παραδόσεως», ήτοι μιας σειράς βαθιά ριζωμένων και ιστορικά προσδιορισμένων απόψεων περί της φύσεως του δικαίου, περί του ρόλου του δικαίου στην κοινωνία και την πολιτεία, περί της οργανώσεως και λειτουργίας ενός νομικού συστήματος, καθώς και περί του τρόπου σύμφωνα με τον οποίο το δίκαιο θα πρέπει να θεσπίζεται, εφαρμόζεται, μελετάται, τελειοποιείται και διδάσκεται.The main objective of this thesis is to identify and highlight the impact that English presence has had on India, not only in the field of law and legal system but also at a particularly deeper level, that of legal culture of the aforementioned nations, and especially of India. The issue was examined on the basis of the assumption that law is an embodied cultural form, a multifaceted accumulation of cultural elements. Any formulation of existing law could be regarded as an expression of "legal tradition", namely a series of deeply rooted and historically defined views regarding the nature of law, the role of law in society and the state, the organization and function of a legal system and ultimately, how law should be enacted, applied, studied, refined and taught
- …
