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In the EU Drinking Water Directive (EU DWD) 2020/2184, the approach of “water safety plan” as suggested by the WHO, has been individuated as the correct tool for water utilities to ensure safe drinkable water. The ADRION Interreg project MUHA moved from the necessity to effectively link different aspects of the water related risks management in an improved response system, integrating functions of analysis, forecasting and incident command systems. This paper aims at describing the rationale of the MUHA project and presenting some of the main outcomes.

This thesis studies theoretically and experimentally voting decisions and their welfare implications in three chapters.Chapter 2 discusses the consequences of heterogeneous beliefs on voting behaviour and the welfare implications driven by them. We assume an asymmetric change in voters��� beliefs about the ability of politicians to govern after an implicit negative economic shock. Voters lose faith in the incumbent politician and trust an outsider challenger without prior office experience. Using an electoral competitionmodel, we provide a connection between voters��� beliefs and the post-shock equilibrium policies. Moreover, our welfare analysis shows that competition may under-provide public goods compared to a utilitarian social planner, depending onvoters��� belief distribution regarding the challenger politician.Chapter 3 explores the role of identity in voters��� decision to retain corrupt politicians. We build up a model of electoral accountability with pure moral hazard and bring it to the lab. Politicians must decide whether to invest in a public project with uncertain returns or keep the funds for themselves. Voters observe the outcome of the project but not the action of the politician. We run two treatments; a control and a treatment where subjects are assigned an identity. Our main result is that, upon observing a failed project, voters approve politicians of their same identity group more often than in the control, and compared to politicians of a different group.Chapter 4 introduces a general median voter model of linear taxation with voters having different valuations of public expenditure, according to their income. Moreover, we assume non-quasi-linear preferences and we allow for distortive taxation. We discuss the welfare implications of these different assumptions separately and we see that competition might under-provide public goods, which comes in contrast with the well-known result of the literature, where competition always leads to over-provision, assuming a rightly-skewed income distribution.

Plant-associated beneficial strains inhabiting plants grown under harsh ecosystems can help them cope with abiotic stress factors by positively influencing plant physiology, development, and environmental adaptation. Previously, we isolated a potential plant growth promoting strain (AXSa06) identified as Pseudomonas oryzihabitans, possessing 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate deaminase activity, producing indole-3-acetic acid and siderophores, as well as solubilizing inorganic phosphorus. In this study, we aimed to further evaluate the effects of AXSa06 seed inoculation on the growth of tomato seedlings under excess salt (200 mM NaCl) by deciphering their transcriptomic and metabolomic profiles. Differences in transcript levels and metabolites following AXSa06 inoculation seem likely to have contributed to the observed difference in salt adaptation of inoculated plants. In particular, inoculations exerted a positive effect on plant growth and photosynthetic parameters, imposing plants to a primed state, at which they were able to respond more robustly to salt stress probably by efficiently activating antioxidant metabolism, by dampening stress signals, by detoxifying Na+, as well as by effectively assimilating carbon and nitrogen. The primed state of AXSa06-inoculated plants is supported by the increased leaf lipid peroxidation, ascorbate content, as well as the enhanced activities of antioxidant enzymes, prior to stress treatment. The identified signatory molecules of AXSa06-mediated salt tolerance included the amino acids aspartate, threonine, serine, and glutamate, as well as key genes related to ethylene or abscisic acid homeostasis and perception, and ion antiporters. Our findings represent a promising sustainable solution to improve agricultural production under the forthcoming climate change conditions.

Gene therapy is a relatively novel field that amounts to around four decades of continuous growth with its good and bad moments. Currently, the field has entered the clinical arena with the ambition to fulfil its promises for a permanent fix of incurable genetic disorders. Hemoglobinopathies as target diseases and hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) as target cells of genetic interventions had a major share in the research effort toward efficiently implementing gene therapy. Dissection of HSC biology and improvements in gene transfer and gene expression technologies evolved in an almost synchronous manner to a point where the two fields seem to be functionally intercalated. In this review, we focus specifically on the development of gene therapy for hemoglobin disorders and look at both gene addition and gene correction strategies that may dominate the field of HSC-directed gene therapy in the near future and transform the therapeutic landscape for genetic diseases.

This paper attempts to investigate the effects of the financial crisis on the legislation adopted by the Greek Parliament in the period 2010-2019 related to the evaluation of the educational project. In particular, (a) the Memoranda signed by the Hellenic Parliament and the country's commitments to the institutions of the European and global economic order (European Commission, European Central Bank, International Monetary Fund) on the educational policy on the subject of evaluation (b) presents the state of play of formulating and implementing the legislative framework adopted by governments in the period 2010-2019 and (c) investigates the type of evaluation of educational work promoted in relation to the technocratic and pedagogical models that have prevailed in international literature. The work concludes that the regulatory framework voted for at this time tends to apply pedagogical assessment models, but still retains technocratic elements within it, a condition which contradicts the views of the educational community., Education Sciences, Vol. 2020 No. 3 (2020): Issue 3 / 2020

Τα τελευταία χρόνια στην Ελλάδα έχει ξεκινήσει έντονη συζήτηση για την αξιολόγηση των εκπαιδευτικών και του εκπαιδευτικού έργου. Ειδικότερα, με το Νόμο του 3966/2011 διαμορφώθηκαν τα Πρότυπα Πειραματικά Σχολεία και η αξιολόγηση των εκπαιδευτικών που θα θητεύσουν σε αυτά. Ορίστηκε συγκεκριμένη διαδικασία, με άξονες, κριτήρια και φορείς αξιολόγησης. Για πρώτη φορά στην Ελλάδα το 2012 εφαρμόστηκε η αξιολόγηση των εκπαιδευτικών στα Πρότυπα Πειραματικά Σχολεία. Έρευνες που να αποτυπώνουν τις απόψεις των εκπαιδευτικών για την αξιολόγησή τους, όπως είναι αναμενόμενο, δεν υπήρχαν τις προηγούμενες δεκαετίες. Το κενό αυτό επιχειρήθηκε να καλυφθεί με τη συγκεκριμένη έρευνα, γεγονός που διαμορφώνει την πρωτοτυπία, η οποία αποτελεί επιστημονική παρακαταθήκη για την αποτύπωση των απόψεων των εκπαιδευτικών σε αξιολόγηση που έχουν λάβει. Η έρευνα αποσκοπεί στη διερεύνηση των αντιλήψεων των εκπαιδευτικών της δευτεροβάθμιας εκπαίδευσης που θητεύουν στα Π.Π.Σ. αναφορικά με την αξιολόγησή τους. Κατά την εκπόνησή της, διαμορφώθηκε το ερωτηματολόγιο βάσει της ανάλυσης του θεσμικού πλαισίου. Διανεμήθηκε σε όλο τον πληθυσμό των εκπαιδευτικών της Δευτεροβάθμιας Εκπαίδευσης της Ελλάδος, όλων των ειδικοτήτων που θητεύουν στα Π.Π.Σ. Από το σύνολο των 982 ερωτηματολογίων που επιδόθηκαν με τη φυσική παρουσία της ερευνήτριας σε όλα τα Π.Π.Σ. της Ελλάδος συμπληρώθηκαν τα 406. Η στατιστική επεξεργασία και ανάλυση των εμπειρικών δεδομένων της έρευνας, πραγματοποιήθηκε με το στατιστικό πακέτο SPSS 20.0 (Statistical Package for Social Sciences). Στη στατιστική επεξεργασία των δεδομένων χρησιμοποιήθηκαν οι ακόλουθες μεθοδολογικές προσεγγίσεις: α. Αναλυτική παρουσίαση των περιγραφικών στατιστικών στοιχείων, κατανομές και πίνακες συχνοτήτων, μέσων όρων, και τυπικών αποκλίσεων με σκοπό τη διαπίστωση του επιπέδου και του βαθμού διακύμανσης των διαφόρων μεταβλητών β. Αναλυτική διερεύνηση των συσχετίσεων, μεταξύ ανεξάρτητων και εξαρτημένων μεταβλητών (με χρήση στατιστικών δεικτών και κριτηρίων t-test και ANOVA. Ως επίπεδο σημαντικότητας της έρευνας ορίστηκε το 0,05 με σκοπό τη διαπίστωση της συνάφειας μεταξύ των ποιοτικών χαρακτηριστικών του πληθυσμού του δείγματος και τον έλεγχο των υποθέσεων της έρευνας. Επίσης, αξιοποιήθηκε και η Ανάλυση Περιεχομένου για τις ανοιχτού τύπου ερωτήσεις. Από τα ευρήματα της έρευνας διαφαίνεται ότι για τους εκπαιδευτικούς πρωταρχικό σκοπό της αξιολόγησης οφείλει να αποτελεί η προσωπική και επαγγελματική τους εξέλιξη, καθώς και η διαμόρφωση μιας σχολικής κουλτούρας εδραιωμένη στη φιλοσοφία της ανάπτυξης των κοινοτήτων μάθησης. Η έννοια της «κοινότητας μάθησης» συνδέεται με την κατασκευή ενός νέου εκπαιδευτικού μοντέλου (ατομικού και συλλογικού) και αρθρώνεται μέσα από έννοιες όπως: επαγγελματικές κοινότητες μάθησης εκπαιδευτικών, δίκτυα σχολείων και εκπαιδευτικών, πλαίσιο προσόντων και ικανοτήτων, επιτελεστικότητα, επαγγελματική ανάπτυξη εκπαιδευτικών. Παράλληλα, από την ανάλυση των απαντήσεων των εκπαιδευτικών που έλαβαν μέρος στην παρούσα έρευνα προκύπτει η διαπίστωση ότι δίνουν μεγάλη βαρύτητα στη διαμόρφωση δικτυωμένων κοινοτήτων μάθησης. Πιστεύουν ότι τέτοιου είδους κοινότητες θα συμβάλλουν στη διαμόρφωση μιας αναστοχαστικής σχολικής κουλτούρας και θα περιορίσουν την αντίληψη για το ιδιοκτησιακό καθεστώς που έχουν για τη σχολική τάξη. Επιθυμούν να είναι περισσότερο ανοιχτοί στους συναδέλφους τους. Μεταξύ των τεσσάρων διαδικασιών (αξιολόγηση με portfolio, αξιολόγηση από τον διευθυντή, αξιολόγηση από τον σχολικό σύμβουλο, αξιολόγηση με συνέντευξη) που εφαρμόστηκαν κατά την αξιολόγηση των εκπαιδευτικών, οι εκπαιδευτικοί των Π.Π.Σ., ενώ δηλώνουν ικανοποιημένοι από τη χρήση του προσωπικού φακέλου (portfolio) και την αξιολόγηση από το σχολικό σύμβουλο, ωστόσο, δεν εκφράζουν την ίδια ικανοποίηση για τις διαδικασίες αξιολόγησης από τον διευθυντή και την επιτροπή συνέντευξης. Αυτό προκύπτει από το ότι οι εκπαιδευτικοί θεωρούν το portfolio ένα αντικειμενικό εργαλείο το οποίο καταγράφει με μεγάλη ακρίβεια τα τυπικά τους προσόντα, γεγονός το οποίο διαμορφώνει την επιθυμία τους για αύξηση της μοριοδότησής του στη συνολική διαδικασία. Η μη ικανοποίηση από την αξιολόγηση από τον διευθυντή και την επιτροπή συνέντευξης προκύπτει από τη δημιουργία σχέσεων εμπάθειας και συμπάθειας λόγω της έλλειψης συγκεκριμένων κριτηρίων και ενός αξιοκρατικού αξιολογητικού πλαισίου με αποτέλεσμα την έλλειψη αντικειμενικότητας. In the past few years, the issue of teachers’ assessment and evaluation of educational work is under heavy discussion in Greece. More specifically, the operation of M.E.S. initiated with Law 3966/2011 as well as the evaluation of teachers who were teaching in these schools. In 2012, teachers’ evaluation was carried out in M.E.S. for the first time in Greece, while a specific procedure was defined with axes, criteria and agents of evaluation. As one would expect, there were not prior studies that depicted teachers’ views regarding their evaluation during the past decades. An attempt was made to bridge this gap through the present research study, which was conducted for first time in Greece, a fact that indicates its originality. Thus, this study constitutes a scientific consignment for recording teachers’ views regarding the evaluation they received. The present study aimed at investigating secondary education teachers’ views, who served in M.E.S. regarding their evaluation. In order to collect the relevant data, a questionnaire was made based on the analysis of the institutional framework of these schools. This questionnaire was distributed to secondary education teachers of every discipline who served in M.E.S. in Greece. A total of 982 questionnaires were distributed by the researcher in all M.E.S. of Greece, but only 406 were completed by the teachers. Statistical processing and analysis of the empirical data of research were conducted through the use of SPSS 20.0 package (Statistical Package for Social Sciences). For the statistical processing of the data, the following methodological approaches were applied: a. detailed presentation of the descriptive statistical data, allocations and tables of frequency, average and standard deviation, which aimed to ascertain the level and degree of variance between the different variables, b. detailed investigation of interrelations between independent and dependent variables (through the use of statistical ratios criteria t-test and ANOVA). The point 0.05 was defined as the level of significance of the study in order to explore the adhesion between the qualitative characteristics of the population of the sample and the verification of the hypotheses of the study. Furthermore, a content analysis was conducted for the open-ended type of questions to the teachers of the sample. The findings of the study revealed that teachers’ primary aim of evaluation was considered their personal and professional progress, as well as the formulation of a school culture based on the philosophy or concept of the development of learning communities. The meaning of “learning communities” is connected with the construction of a new educational model (both individual and collective) and is voiced through concepts such as: teachers’ professional learning communities, schools’ and educators’ networks, qualification and abilities framework, performativity, teacher professional development. In addition, the analysis of teachers’ answers who participated in the present study, revealed that they put emphasis on the configuration of learning networks. They believe that this kind of networks will contribute to the configuration of a reflective school culture, limiting thus, their perception of the possession regime of school classes. In addition they desire to be more open to their colleagues. Among the four processes that were implemented for the teacher assessment (portfolio assessment, headmaster assessment, school counselor assessment, interview assessment), the teachers of the M.E.S. were satisfied by the use of portfolios and school counselor assessment, but they did not express the same satisfaction for the assessing process conducted by the headmaster and the interview committee. This arises from the fact that the educators of the sample consider portfolio an objective tool which records with great precision their typical qualifications, a fact which stems from their desire to increase their credit points in the total evaluation process. Non-satisfaction by the headmasters’ assessment and of the interview committee members arose due to the existence of hostility and affinity relations, given the lack of specific criteria and a meritocratic assessing framework, which according to the teachers leads to the lack of objectivity.

DGG-Proceedings (German Society for Horticultural Science (DGG)), Vol.8, Iss.4, pages 1-5