Suchergebnisse

Ausgehend von einem kurzen Rückblick auf die sowjetische UN-Politik zwischen 1945 und 1985 skizziert der Verfasser einleitend die Implikationen des "neuen außenpolitischen Denkens" für eine Neuorientierung der UN-Politik der UdSSR. Vor diesem Hintergrund analysiert er zunächst Gorbacevs Grundsatzartikel "Realität und Garantie für eine sichere Welt" (vom 17.9.1987), in dem die Grundlagen für die Konzeption eines umfassenden Sicherheitssystems sowie für eine weiterreichenden Neuordnung der sowjetischen UN-Politik formuliert sind. Gorbacev unterbreitet einen Katalog von Maßnahmen zur militärisch-politischen, wirtschaftlichen und ökologischen Sicherheit, auf humanitärem Gebiet, zur Erhöhung der Wirksamkeit der UN-Hauptorgane, zur Schaffung neuer UN-Einrichtungen und zur finanziellen Sanierung der UN. Anhand eines Überblicks über die praktische UN-Politik der Sowjetunion im Zeitraum von 1987-1990 untersucht der Autor sodann, inwieweit Gorbacevs theoretische Vorgaben in der Praxis der sowjetischen UN-Politik realisiert worden sind. (BIOst-Klk)

Introduction. Covid-19 outbreak has changed human life and activity [1], Especially In urban areas forcing citizens to stay for large periods of time in lockdowns. Protective measures (social distancing and isolation) that have been globally implemented has caused the isolation of millions. Preliminary findings (Moreno et al, 2021) suggest adverse mental health effects in previously healthy people and especially in people with pre-existing mental health disorders. Extended lockdowns come at the expense of mental health, psycho-physical conditions, wellbeing, and social relations within societies (Campion et al., 2020).
Before COVID-19 outbreak, city centers offered a high-quality life with a wide range of services, utilities, public and green spaces, as well as city parks (Sharifi & Khavarian-Garmsird, 2020). Living in a small apartment with a minimal private space in the city center was balanced by the high level of socialization in public spaces, outdoor activities and events, intense interactions among inhabitants, allowing them to maintain relations (Portegijs et al., 2021). With COVID-19 outbreak, this modern urban standard of living was challenged. Social distancing took place at several levels: at home and at work, and, in the city, in the street and on public transport. Everything created for urban life changed and became uncertain. Societies got used to sharing common spaces, often crowded, and everyone was cut off from everyday socialisation. The isolation forced millions of individuals and families to remain at home, causing them to change their routines, rituals, and habits (McCay, 2020). In dense urban areas, this mostly meant locking people in cramped apartments, cut off from everyday physical activity outside the home (Portegijs et al, 2021; Bil et al, 2021).
Smart cities are instrumented, interconnected, and intelligent urban areas (Harrison et al., 2010) that pursue shared growth through an integrated set of technologies that shape interactions between actors (Nam & Pardo, 2011). A smart city can be defined as complex set of technology (infrastructures of hardware and software), people (creativity, diversity, and education), and institutions (governance and policy) (Nam & Pardo, 2011). Smart cities aim is to create an environment that drives innovation from a technological, managerial, and organizational point of view by fostering environmental and social wellbeing (Karvonen et al., 2018; Polese et al., 2021].
The aim of this study is the literature review of the role of technology for citizens mental health during Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns in Smart Cities and to investigate if there is a relation between digital tools provided to the citizens of Pafos Municipality to use during quarantine, and their mental health status.
Methodology\design\approach. A review of the literature and an additional critical review were conducted in the fields of smart cities and mental health with a focus on the latest research concerning COVID-19 influence on ICT, mental health and wellbeing. For the purposes of this article, a thorough database search has been made. The database used was mostly Google Scholar and Science Direct. Selection criteria included full-text publications and consisted of the following keywords: COVID-19, post-COVID-19, mental health, wellbeing, lockdown, isolation, anxiety, infection rates, density, smart city, digital technology, ICT and Virtual Reality. Author focused on qualitative research available until April 2022.
Further than this, field research was conducted through a qualitative method in the particular case of Paphos Municipality in Cyprus, the introduction of various ICT technology solutions during the pandemic lockdowns and their impact on citizens mental health. ICT tools were briefly analyzed and their contributions towards citizens mental health was evaluated based on questionnaires distributed to the citizens before and after the use of these tools. Now the key question that needs an answer is "Did smart cities impact on citizens mental health during the pandemic?"
During the pandemic, Pafos Municipality introduced to its citizens various ICT solutions that despite initially they were targeting foreign tourists visiting the district, they ended up as entertainment tools that ease the lockdown period during the quarantine phase. As part of the E.U. co-funded by European Union program "Smart Cities – Interreg: Greece – Cyprus" the municipality implemented the "Collection, Documentation and Digitization of Cultural and Tourist material, Development of Digital Tourism / Culture and Entrepreneurship Platform and Development of digital applications of e-democracy and participation in the Municipality of Pafos" project. The result of this project was the creation of 3 websites: 1. Explore Pafos https://www.explorepafos.org/ with multimedia information (text, photos, videos, 360-pictures, interactive map with points of interest etc.) about the province's major points of interest sorted by category: Culture, Environment, Tourism and Services. 2. Historical Timeline https://xronologio.explorepafos.org/ with information about the history of the city in a chronological order. 3. Electronic Participation https://diavouleusi.explorepafos.org/ offering User Registration, Consultation, Online Citizens Community (forum), Civil Council Decisions, Online Polls, News and Announcements. Further than these 2 mobile applications for iOS and Android devices were developed, Explore Pafos with various important information about the city of Pafos and Pafos AR which contain Augmented Reality representation of various significant cultural and historical sightseeing in the district. The websites and mobile applications were available in 5 languages (Greek, English, Russian, Hebrew and German).
These platforms were presented to the citizens of Pafos Municipality on the 27th of February 2020, slightly earlier than the first lockdown. After the first strict lockdown, the administrators of the website reported a significant increase in the traffic of the website among local citizens compared to pre-pandemic. This led the creators of the platforms among which is the author of this article to provide online questionnaires to people using the digital platforms on their leisure time during COVID-19 lockdowns to answer various questions regarding the impact of these digital tools in their mental health status during COVID-19 lockdown.
A questionnaire containing 5-point Likert scale questions and questions about qualitative and quantitative use of the ICT tools and their mental health during COVID-19 lockdowns was completed by citizens of Pafos Municipality.
Due to this study objective, two main criteria were established for sample selection. First, respondents should be citizens of Pafos Municipality from various areas over at least the past 5 years. Additionally, respondents must have been present during COVID-19 outbreak and lockdowns in the city. To verify this criterion, an initial survey question asked whether respondents were staying in the city during the COVID-19 outbreak.
The questionnaire was constructed in three parts. Its first one aimed at collecting descriptive variables (demographic information) of respondents' location, and professional profile. The second part asked citizens about their mental health status before and after COVID-19 outbreak and lockdowns. Each question was assessed according to a 5-point Likert scale (1 referred to 'not used' and 5 denoted 'fully used'). The last section of the questionnaire examined the adoption level of the ICT tools introduced by the Municipality as supporting tools for their mental status during the COVID-19 outbreak. For that, all 6 ICT tools were listed and evaluated based upon a similar Likert scale that ranged from 1 (not used) to 5 (fully used).
Results. The online questionnaire had its link firstly sent by e-mail to 480 citizens that registered in the platform in December 2020. A follow-up message was sent two weeks later. 215 responses returned but only 206 of them were actually from citizens that met our selection criteria, which resulted in 42.9% valid response rate,
For analyzing data, two distinctive procedures were carried out using the SPSS® Statistics 23 software to identify differences in levels of each characteristic related to ICT tools, device available (PC, mobile phone, tablet), and content (Cultural, Environmental, Social, Multimedia Content) when considering the degree of how they impact their mental health during COVID-19 lockdowns.
Our respondents were half men and half women. Moreover, 10% are aged between 20 and 25, 34% between 26 and 35, 36% between 36 and 45, 14% in the interval of 46 till 55 and only 6% are older than 55. 36% are single, 59% being married and almost 5% under another non-defined situation. Most respondents were living in a house (56%), with their family (54%), and had 1 or more kids (44%). 75% of the respondents mentioned that they use more often their mobile/laptops to access the internet compared to before. The majority of respondents (62%) mentioned that they used ICT tools provide 1 or more times per week to remind them of their daily habits while 56% mentioned that they used the platforms to navigate at their favorite place at least once. The largest majority (82%) accessed the services from their mobile phone while the smallest percent (12% accessed the services from their PC/Laptop. Regarding COVID-19 lockdowns, 86% stated that it is very stressful to stay at home in another lockdown while 36% said they wouldn't comply if they were forced to stay at home in another lockdown. 65% mentioned that they found the ICT tools useful to keep them mentally active and 72% mentioned that they wouldn't be able to stay in quarantine without access to internet. 68% of the people using the platforms declared that using the platforms helped to remain mentally active during the quarantine and 70% said they would use the platforms again in case there is a new lockdown.
Discussion. The present work was done having as basis 206 questionnaires applied to citizens of a Municipality in Cyprus, namely Pafos Municipality, in order to assess citizens mental health during lockdowns, and the impact of the use of ICT tools for their mental health. The survey collected data from 3 sections, namely demographics, mental health status before and after the COVID-19 pandemic and ICT tools usage during the lockdowns. The average respondents' sample shows that our interviewees are aged between 26 and 45 years old, half are men and the other women, married, qualified with college education. Citizens living in smaller apartments accessed the platforms more times per week compared to people living in the rural areas in houses and their conceived percentage of ICT tools contribution towards their mental health was higher compared to people leaving in rural areas. Citizens' inclusion and digital literacy are relevant issues that were affecting the use of ICT tools that do not apply only to urban contexts and should be addressed to solve societal, economic, technological, and political problems worldwide. COVID-19 restrictions and lockdown increased people's acceptance and use of ICT solutions.
Other studies are in line with the above findings (Troisi et al., 2022) where their key theoretical contribution of their study is the building of a framework that detects the main psychological, rational, social, and cultural determinants that can foster or prevent the acceptance of the changes forced by the pandemic, the adhesion to digitalization, and the transactional distance processes launched in the public sectors. These results are more evident in vulnerable groups (Dai et al., 2020; Ammar et al., 2021) which will require further development and usage of e-health solutions.
Finally, two other studies targeting different populations investigated the effectiveness of interventions by considering, as primary outcomes, not mental illness indicators (e.g., depression and anxiety symptoms), but positive mental health indicators (positive affect and positive mental health). Vara et al. (2020) provided us with a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial that assessed the efficacy of a low-intensity internet intervention aimed to promote positive affect in depressive patients in primary care, as an adjunct therapy to improved treatment as usual (Fonseca & Osma, 2021).
Scientific value / practical value. Another report (Fonseca & Osma, 2021) highlighted the urgent need for research to help improve our understanding of the pandemic's mental health consequences on the general public (Mahase, 2020). In order to help characterize the psychosocial effects of the COVID19 crisis as well as the moderators of these effects, a research group launched a multi-language, multi-center anonymous online survey to assess the "Effects of home Confinement on psychosocial health status and multiple Lifestyle Behaviors" during the COVID-19 outbreak. Preliminary findings from this project revealed that the COVID-19 home confinement resulted in significant negative effects on mental wellbeing and emotional status, with more people experiencing psychosocial and emotional distress compared to before the pandemic (Ammar at al. 2020; Ammar et al, 2021a; Fonseca & Osma, 2021). This research results highlight the importance of introducing ICT tools to provide a virtual tour of citizens to their favorite city spots and remain mentally active during quarantine period.
Conclusions. ICT tools offer citizens the opportunity to remember their pre COVID-19 lockdown habits as highlighted in this article and they contribute towards the improvement of their mental health during quarantine. This study aimed at (i) identifying wither ICT tools use increased during COVID-19 outbreak; (ii) investigating the effect of the tools use and the impact on mental health of their users; and (iii) examining the relationship between the adoption of ICT tools and the demographics of citizens using them most during COVID-19 outbreak. Our findings provided arguments to answer these three research questions raised from existing gaps in both theory and practice.

The advanced state of land degradation affecting more than 3,200 million people worldwide have raised great international concern regarding the sustainability of socio-ecological systems, urging the large-scale adoption of contextualized sustainable land management. The agricultural industrial model is a major cause of land degradation due to the promotion of unsustainable management practices that deteriorate the quality of soils compromising their capacity to function and deliver ecosystem services. The consequences derived from land degradation are especially devastating in semi-arid regions prone to desertification, where rainfall scarcity and irregularity intensifies crop failure risks and resource degradation, compromising the long term sustainability of these regions. Regenerative agriculture (RA) has recently gained increasing recognition as a plausible solution to restore degraded agroecosystems worldwide. RA is a farming approach foreseen to reverse land degradation, increase biodiversity, boost production and enhance the delivery of multiple ecosystem services by following a series of soil quality restoration principles and practices. Despite its promising benefits, RA has been limitedly adopted in semiarid regions. Major reasons explaining this seemingly incongruous mismatch are the scarce and contrasting empirical data proving its effectiveness, top-down research approaches and lack of farmer involvement in agroecosystem restoration projects and decision-making, and the generally slow response of soils to management changes in semiarid regions, which may delay the appearance of visible results discouraging farmers from adopting RA. In the high steppe plateau of southeast Spain, an on-going process of large-scale landscape restoration through adoption of regenerative agriculture was initiated in 2015. The high steppe plateau is one of the European regions most affected by land degradation and desertification processes and represents one of the world´s largest areas for the production of rainfed organic almonds. In 2015, local farmers created the AlVelAl association with the support of the Commonland Foundation, business entrepreneurs, regional governments, and research institutions, and started to apply RA at their farms. The objective was to restore vast extensions of degraded land for increasing the productivity and biodiversity of their agroecosystems, increasing the resilience to climate change, generating job opportunities and enhancing social cohesion in the region, in a time frame of 20 years following Commonlands´ 4-Returns approach. However, the limited empirical information supporting RA effectiveness, the lack of reference examples in the region, and the slowness with which visible ecological restoration processes usually occur in semiarid regions were considered major obstacles hindering RA adoption in the region. To effectively address this knowledge gap, support farmers and expedite RA adoption, this research proposed horizontal research fostering the creation of learning communities between farmers and researchers, putting together local and scientific knowledge to improve the understanding of RA. This thesis presents a participatory monitoring and evaluation research (PM&E) applying a combination of social and ecological methods to evaluate the potential of PM&E to enhance knowledge exchange between farmers and researchers on Regenerative Agriculture in the context of the high steppe plateau. The aim of this thesis is twofold: on one hand, to increase the understanding on RA impacts, on the other hand, to evaluate the potential contribution of PM&E to enable social learning and contribute to the adaptation and long term adoption of RA in the high steppe plateau and semiarid regions in general. To facilitate PM&E of the impacts of sustainable land management and agricultural innovations like RA, Chapter 2 presents a participatory methodological framework that guides the identification and selection of technical and local indicators of soil quality, generating a monitoring system of soil quality for PM&E by farmers and researchers. The methodological framework includes the development of a visual soil assessment tool integrating local indicators of soil quality for farmers´ monitoring. The framework consists of 7 phases: 1) Definition of research and monitoring objectives; 2) Identification, selection and prioritization of Technical Indicators of Soil Quality (TISQ); 3) Identification, selection and prioritization of Local Indicators of Soil Quality; 4) Development of a visual soil assessment tool integrating LISQ; 5) Testing and validation of the visual soil evaluation tool; 6) Monitoring and assessment of sustainable land management impacts by researchers and farmers using TISQ and the visual soil evaluation tool respectively and; 7) Exchange of monitoring results between all involved participants, and joint evaluation of impacts. To facilitate PM&E of RA in the steppe highlands, Phases 1 to 5 were applied through a series of participatory methods including a first meeting with AlVelAl board members for the definition of research objectives, farm visits, participatory workshops, and conducting formal and informal interviews, among others. Technical indicators of soil quality were identified, selected and prioritized by researchers through an extensive literature review and ad-hoc expert consultation with expertise in soil quality assessment and monitoring. Local indicators of soil quality were identified, selected, prioritized and validated by farmers in two participatory workshops. The co-developed visual soil assessment tool, named the farmer manual, was tested and validated during the second workshop. Local indicators selected by farmers focused mostly on supporting, regulating and provisioning ecosystem services including water regulation, erosion control, soil fertility and crop performance. Technical indicators selected by researchers focused mostly on soil properties including aggregate stability, soil nutrients, microbial biomass and activity, and leaf nutrients, covering crucial supporting services. The combination of local and technical indicators provided complementary information, improving the coverage and feasibility of RA impact assessment, compared to using technical or local indicators alone. The methodological framework developed in this chapter facilitated the identification and selection of local and technical indicators of soil quality to generate relevant monitoring systems and visual soil assessment tools adapted to local contexts, thus improving knowledge exchange and mutual learning between farmers and researchers to support the implementation of RA and optimize the provision of ecosystem services. Implementation of RA usually happens gradually due to socioeconomic, informational, practical, environmental and political constraints Thus, RA adoption by farmers, in practice, translates into different combinations of RA practices, with a diversity of management, based on farmer capabilities, environmental conditions, and expected restoration results. To help the design, adoption and implementation of most effective RA practices to optimize the restoration of agroecosystems, Chapter 3 presents the impacts of the different combinations of RA practices implemented by participating farmers on crucial soil quality and crop performance indicators using previously selected technical indicators of soil quality over a period of 2 years. This chapter corresponds to the application of phase 6 of the methodological framework developed in Chapter 2. RA impacts were assessed in 9 farms on one field with regenerative management and one nearby field with conventional management based on frequent tillage, that were selected together with farmers. Fields were clustered under regenerative management based on the RA practices applied and distinguished 4 types of RA treatments: 1) reduced tillage with green manure (GM), 2) reduced tillage with organic amendments (OA), 3) reduced tillage with green manure and organic amendments (GM&OA), and 4) no tillage with permanent natural covers and organic amendments (NT&OA). The impacts of RA compared to conventional management were evaluated by comparing physical (bulk density and aggregate stability), chemical (pH, salinity, total N, P, K, available P, and exchangeable cations) and biological (SOC, POC, PON, microbial activity) properties of soil quality, and the nutritional status of almond trees (leaf N, P and K). Our results show that GM improved soil physical properties, presenting higher soil aggregate stability. We found that OA improved most soil chemical and biological properties, showing higher contents of SOC, POC, PON, total N, K, P, available P, exchangeable cations and microbial respiration. RA treatments combining ground covers and organic amendments (GM&OA and NT&OA) exhibited greater overall soil quality restoration than individual practices. NT&OA stood out for presenting the highest soil quality improvements. All RA treatments maintained similar crop nutritional status compared to conventional management. We concluded that RA has strong potential to restore the physical, chemical and biological quality of soils of woody agroecosystems in Mediterranean drylands without compromising their nutritional status. Furthermore, farming management combinations of multiple regenerative practices are expected to be more effective than applying individual RA practices. In parallel to researchers´ assessment of RA impacts, farmers assessed RA impacts in their farms by using the farmer manual jointly developed in participatory workshops. Chapter 4 presents the RA impact results from farmers´ assessment, and documented farmers´ insights, in the third year of PM&E, on the visual soil assessment process using the farmer manual, and on PM&E outcomes regarding the facilitation of participation and learning processes. This chapter corresponds to the application of phase 6 and phase 7 of the methodological framework developed in Chapter 2. Farmers´ visual soil assessment indicated regenerative agriculture as a promising solution to restore degraded agroecosystems in semiarid Mediterranean drylands, although observed soil quality improvements were relatively small compared to conventional management, and more time and efforts are needed to attain desired restoration targets. The monitoring results on RA reported by farmers were complementary to researchers´ findings using technical indicators of soil quality. Farmers' evaluation of the research project highlighted the PM&E research as an educational process that helped them look differently at their land and their restoration efforts and facilitated the creation of relationships of support and trust, learning and capacity building that are fundamental conducive conditions to enhance farming innovation efficiency and adoption. Farmers confirmed that generating spaces for farmer-to-farmer diffusion of knowledge and on-farm experiences is a key driver to expedite farming testing and adoption of innovations. Farmers insights revealed the need to actively involve them in all decision making phases of VSA tools and support them in initial implementation, in order to develop tools that meet farmers´ needs, to enhance VSA tool adoption, and facilitate reaching restoration goals. Furthermore, farmers´ evaluation of the farmer manual suggested the need to reinforce the multipurpose usefulness and potential benefits of collectively recording restoration progress in a systematized way, to enhance VSA tool adoption. Farmers´ insights on the PM&E research reinforces the importance of developing learning communities of farmers and researchers that provide a platform for exchange of experiences and support, as a crucial factor to favor social learning and support the adoption of long-term agricultural innovations. The success of PM&E research for agroecosystem restoration can be improved by integrating iterative phases where farmers can evaluate and adjust research activities and outcomes. We concluded that the process of PM&E that leads to enhanced social capital, social learning and improved understanding of restoration efforts has as much value as the actual restoration outcomes on the ground. Social learning is considered an important precondition for the adoption of contextualized sustainable land management and farming innovations like RA. The main objective of involving farmers and researchers in PM&E of RA was to enable social learning for enhanced understanding of RA impacts and support adoption of RA. Although there is a growing body of literature asserting the achievement of social learning through participatory processes, social learning has been loosely defined, sparsely assessed, and only partially covered when measured. Confirming that a participatory process has favored social learning implies demonstrating that there has been an acquisition of knowledge and change in perceptions at individual and collective level in the people involved in the participatory process, and that this change in perceptions has been generated through social relations. Chapter 5 presents an assessment of how the PM&E research process enabled social learning by effectively increasing knowledge exchange and understanding of RA impacts between participating farmers and researchers, and multiple stakeholders of farmers´ social networks. Occurrence of social learning was assessed by covering its social-cognitive (perceptions) and social-relational (social networks) dimensions. This chapter discusses the potential of PM&E to foster adoption and out-scaling of sustainable land management and farming innovations like RA by promoting the generation of information fluxes between farmers and researchers participating in PM&E and the agricultural community of which they form part. To assess changes in farmers´ perceptions and shared fluxes of information on RA before starting the PM&E and after three years of research, we applied fuzzy cognitive mapping and social network analysis as graphical semi-quantitative methods. Our results showed that PM&E enabled social learning amongst participating farmers who strengthened and enlarged their social networks on information sharing, and presented a more complex and broader common understanding of regenerative agriculture impacts and benefits. This supports the idea that PM&E thereby creates crucial preconditions for the adoption and out-scaling of RA. This study was one of the first studies in the field of natural resource management and innovation adoption proving that social learning occurred by providing evidence of both the socialcognitive and social-relational dimension. Our findings are relevant for the design of PM&E processes, agroecosystem Living Labs, and landscape restoration initiatives that aim to support farmers´ adoption and out-scaling of contextualized farming innovations and sustainable land management. We concluded that PM&E where the democratic involvement of participants is the bedrock of the whole research process and the needs and concerns of the farming community are taken as the basis for collaborative research represents a great opportunity to generate inclusive, engaging, efficient, and sound restoration processes and transitions towards sustainable and resilient agroecosystems.

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(Bob) Smith In search of the effective mission statement: Structural support of the firm's culture to augment financial performance Seong-Yuen Toh Innovation labs to support tourism organization in transforming crisis into opportunities: Insight from a case study Francesco Santarsiero, Daniela Carlucci, and Giovanni Schiuma Novelty and success of healthcare service innovation: A comparison between China and the Netherlands Yu Mu, Rujun Wang and Ying Huang Public private partnership in selected countries: A comparative analysis Bekir Parlak and Abdullahi Suleiman Hashi Strategic orientation of service enterprises towards customers Korhan Arun and Saniye Yildirim Ozmutlu The effects of organizational culture on information sharing attitude Mohammadi Lanbaran Nasrin and Cicek Isik The impact of industry 4.0 strategy on the work-life balance of employees Ali Sukru Cetinkaya The mediating effect of psychological empowerment on inclusive leadership and innovative work behaviour: A research in hotels Emete Toros, Ahmet Maslakci, and Lutfi Surucu Assessment of industry 4.0 on manufacturing enterprises: Demographic perspective Ali Sukru Cetinkaya and M. Kemal Unsacar Human Resources Management Affective commitment in new hires' onboarding? The role of organizational socialization in the fashion retail industry Pui Sze Chan, Ho Ching Ching, Pui Yi Ng, and Annie Ko Do burnout perception levels of nurses working in the health sector differ according to demographic characteristics? Irfan Akkoc and Korhan Arun Examining a moderating effect of employee turnover between recruitment and selection practice and organizational performance in Maldives civil service sector Fathmath Muna, Azam S. M. Ferdous, and Ahmad Albattat Personnel relationships in the workplace Ali Sukru Cetinkaya, Shafiq Habibi, and Umut Yavuz The evolution of human resources empowerment theory: A literature review (1970–2020) Theodoros Stavrinoudis and Moschos Psimoulis Teamwork, satisfaction and mediating effect of affective, continuance and normative commitments on employee's loyalty Thalita Aparecida Costa Nicolleti, Eduardo Roque Mangini, Leonardo Aureliano-Silva, Cristiane Sales Pires, and Carolina Aparecida de Freitas Dias Perceptions of teachers in educational institutions regarding the principles of teaching professional ethics Gulsah Aki, Nejat Ira, and Hasan Arslan Influence of psychological empowerment on employee competence in Nigerian universal basic education system: The mediating role of work engagement Isah Sani, Rashidah Binti Mohammad Ibrahim, and Fazida Karim Retail Management Artificial intelligence in retailing Ibrahim Kircova, Munise Hayrun Saglam, and Sirin Gizem Kose Customer value in retailing (2000-2020): A narrative review and future research directions Rajat Gera and Ashish Pruthi Effect of social media marketing on online retail performance of Konga Nigeria LTD Abubakar Ado Adamu, Muhammed Yazeed, Mohammed Aliyu Dantsoho, Jamilu Abdulkadir, and Aliyu Audu Gemu Employment of blue-collar workers in organized retail sector: The case of Turkey Inci Kayhan-Kuzgun Saving grace: Digitization to stay or address crisis? Smitha Vasudevan Inclusion of disabled consumers in online retail landscape: Web accessibility conformance of Turkish organized food retailers' web sites Asiye Ayben Celik A customer segmentation model proposal for retailers: RFM-V Pinar Ozkan and Ipek Deveci Kocakoc Economics Nigeria's economic management: Reflections through monthly interest rate movement from 1996 to 2020 and beyond Job Nmadu, Halima Sallawu, and Yebosoko Nmadu A qualitative study of perceptions of the residents of Sidon, Lebanon regarding the economic effect on Sidon with reference to repatriation of the Palestinian refugees Raja El Majzoub and Karen Howells Three keys of development: Knowledge, efficiency and innovative entrepreneurship Irfan Kalayci, Ali Soylu, and Baris Aytekin Tourism and women empowerment: Empirical findings from past experience and predictions for the post-COVID era Burcu Turkcan COVID-19 effect on FDI motivation and their impact on service sector: Case of Georgia Vakhtang Charaia and Mariam Lashkhi Economic cooperation between Central Caucasus, China, and EU, under COVID-19 challenges Vakhtang Charaia and Mariam Lashkhi Effect of real exchange rate and income on international tourist arrivals for Turkey Erhan Aslanoglu, Oral Erdogan, and Yasin Enes Aksu Innovative entrepreneurship in Turkey: Micro and macro perspectives Irfan Kalayci, Baris Aytekin, and Ali Soylu Optimal fiscal and price stability in Germany: Autoregressive distributed lags (ARDL) cointegration relationship Ergin Akalpler and Dahiru Alhaji Birnintsabas Struggle with COVID-19 crisis within the scope of financial national security: The example of the Republic of Turkey Silacan Karakus The nexus between fiscal freedom and investment freedom: The case of E7 countries Mehmet Bolukbas To be or not to be a female entrepreneur in the Mexicali Valley Roberto Burgueno Romero and Jose David Ledezma Torrez Accounting and Finance Comparative measurement of working capital efficiency for Borsa Istanbul restaurants and hotels for the COVID-19 period and previous quarters Fatih Gunay and Gary Cokins Relationship between business confidence index and non-financial firms foreign exchange assets and liabilities: Evidence from ARDL bound approach Ilkut Elif Kandil-Goker The impact of RTGS on internal control - A comparative study between some Iraqi banks Salowan H. Al Taee and Noor A. Radhi The impact of working capital on cash management under IAS 7 framework: An examination of tourism listed companies in Indonesia and Turkey Tri Damayanti and Tuba Derya Baskan A nexus between mergers & acquisitions and financial performance of firms: A study of industrial sector of Pakistan Fiza Quareshi, Mukhtiar Ali, and Salar Hussain Decentralized approach to deep-learning based asset allocation Sarthak Sengupta, Priyanshu Priyam, and Anurika Vaish Sustainability and Environmental Issues Blockchain technology applied to the Consortium Etna DOC to avoid counterfeiting Matarazzo Agata, Edoardo Carmelo Spampinato, Sergio Arfo, Ugo Sinigaglia, Antonino Bajeli, and Salvino Benanti Eco-label certification, hotel performance and customer satisfaction: Analysis of a case study and future developments Michele Preziosi, Alessia Acampora, Roberto Merli, and Maria Claudia Lucchetti The integration of circular economy in the tourism industry: A framework for the implementation of circular hotels Martina Sgambati, Alessia Acampora, Olimpia Martucci, and Maria Claudia Lucchetti Using the theory of planned behavior to explore green food purchase intentions Katrina Anna Auza and Kamel Mouloudj Survey on purchasing methods of food products in Tarragona and Catania Matarazzo Agata, Vazzano Tommaso Alberto, and Squillaci Carmelo Information Technology Comparative analysis of tools for matching work-related skill profiles with CV data and other unstructured data Florian Beuttiker, Stefan Roth, Tobias Steinacher, and Thomas Hanne State-of-the-art next generation open innovation platforms Murielle De Roche, Monika Blaser, Patrick Hollinger, and Thomas Hanne The coverage of AIOT based functional service: Case study of Asian futuristic hotel Gege Wang, Irini Lai Fun Tang, Eric Chan, and Wai Hung Wilco Chan The effect of the blockchain technology on service companies and food retailers: An overview of the blockchain use cases and applications Gokhan Kirbac and Erkut Ergenc The regulation problem of cryptocurrencies Lamiha Ozturk and Ece Sulungur Understanding information technology acceptance by physicians: Testing technology acceptance model Anuruddha Indika Jagoda

This is the second volume of the Advances in Global Services and Retail Management Book Series. This volume has the following parts: Part 1: Hospitality and Tourism Part 2: Marketing, E-marketing, and Consumer Behavior Part 3: Management Part 4: Human Resources Management Part 5: Retail Management Part 6: Economics Part 7: Accounting and Finance Part 8: Sustainability and Environmental Issues Part 9: Information Technology ISBN: 978-1-955833-03-5 Hospitality and Tourism Significance of VR in the spa: A spatial analysis Irini Lai Fun Tang, Schultz Zhi Bin Xu, and Eric Chan Social media marketing in rural hospitality and tourism destination research Samuel Adeyinka-Ojo and Shamsul Kamariah Abdullah All aboard! Is space tourism still a fantasy or a reality: An investigation on Turkish market Emrah Tasarer, Vahit Oguz Kiper, Orhan Batman, and Oguz Turkay Strategic consciousness and business performance relationship of open innovation strategies in food and beverage businesses Muhsin Halis, Kazim Ozan Ozer, Hasan Cinnioglu, and Zafer Camlibel The effects of COVID-19 epidemic on guided tours and alternative tour samples from Turkey Bayram Akay The effect of COVID-19 phobia on holiday intention Halil Akmese and Ali Ilgaz The effect of the usage of virtual reality in tourism education on learning motivation Sarp Tahsin Kumlu and Emrah Ozkul The impact of effective implementation of customer relationship management to the success of hotels in Afikpo North local government of Ebonyi State, Nigeria Ogboagha Callister and Managwu Lilian The influence of study travel on quality-oriented education: The case of Handan, China Wang Jingya and Alaa Nimer Abukhalifeh The impact of U.S. Cuba policies on Cuban tourism industry: Focus on the Obama and Trump Administration Jukka M. Laitamaki, Antonio Diaz Medina, and Lisandra Torres Hechavarria Determination of students' characteristics and perspectives about social entrepreneurship: A case of Anadolu University Muhammed Kavak, Ipek Itir Can, and Emre Ozan Aksoz The place of Kazakhstan tourism sector in the countries of the region in terms of transportation infrastructure Maiya Myrzabekova, Muhsin Halis, and Zafer Camlibel What are tour guides most praised for? A sharing economy perspective Derya Demirdelen-Alrawadieh and Ibrahim Cifci An examination of representations for USA in tourism brochures for Chinese market Yasong Wang An exploratory study on cognitive internship perception of tourism students Ozge Buyuk and Gulsah Akkus Are you afraid to travel during COVID-19? Gulsum Tabak, Sibel Canik, and Ebru Guneren Destination management during the health emergency: A bibliometric analysis Valentina Della Corte, Giovanna Del Gaudio, Giuliana Nevola, Enrico Di Taranto, and Simone Luongo Determination of food neophobia levels of International Mersin Citrus Festival participants Sevda Sahilli Birdir, Nurhayat Iflazoglu, and Kemal Birdir Analysis of effectiveness of industrial exposure training undertaken by students of hospitality management in star hotels G. Saravana Kumar Conceptualization of ecotourism service experiences framework from the dimensions of motivation and quality of experiences: Four realms of experience approach Jennifer Kim Lian Chan Does Coronavirus (COVID-19) transform travel and tourism to automation (robots)? M. Omar Parvez, Ali Ozturen, and Cihan Cobanoglu Efficiency of internal control systems and the effect of organizational structure and culture on internal control systems in accommodation industry Kadriye Alev Akmese and Ali Ilgaz Ethical perceptions of housekeeping department employees: A study in Izmir Province Tuba Turkmendag and Bayram Sahin Factors that prevent participation of tourists in online co-creation activities Resat Arica, Feridun Duman, and Abdulkadir Corbaci Health sector after COVID-19: Salt thermal facilities example Azize Serap Tuncer and Sinan Bulut PRISMA statement and thematic analysis framework in hospitality and tourism research Samuel Adeyinka-Ojo Evaluation of Turkish nights as a tourism product: The case of Cappadocia Meral Buyukkuru, Eda Ozgul Katlav, and Firdevs Yonet Eren Customer perceptions against COVID-19 precautionary measures of the restaurants: The case of Istanbul-Turkey Elif Kaymaz and Sevki Ulema Analysis of e-complaints regarding hotel restaurants during COVID-19 process: The case of Antalya Sevim Usta and Serkan Sengul Marketing, E-marketing, and Consumer Behavior Materialistic social consumption amidst COVID-19 pandemic: Terror management theory in the Malaysia context Seong-Yuen Toh and Siew-Wai Yuan A conceptual framework for the mediating role of the flow experience between destination brand experience and destination loyalty Ipek Kazancoglu and Taskin Dirsehan Investigating drivers influencing choice behaviour of Islamic investment products Hanudin Amin Local food festivals within the scope of destination branding Hatice Akturk and Atilla Akbaba Marketing a destination on social media: Case of three municipalities of Izmir Huseyin Ozan Altin and Ige Pirnar Perceived usefulness, ease of use, online trust and online purchase intention: Mediating role of attitude towards online purchase Muhammed Yazeed, Mohammed Aliyu Dantsoho, and Adamu Ado Abubakar Social media framework for businesses Nawel Amrouche Social media marketing the African door of return experience in Badagry-Nigeria Huseyin Arasli, Maryam Abdullahi, and Tugrul Gunay The effect of corporate social responsibility on consumer-based brand equity: A research on automobile brands Ali Koroglu and Ibrahim Avci The effect of superstitions on consumer luck, horoscope and evil eye-oriented purchasing behavior: A study in Turkey Ibrahim Avci and Salih Yildiz The evaluation of S-D orientation on service innovation and performance of airline Inci Polat and Ozlem Atalik Brand new leisure constraint: COVID-19 Guliz Coskun The impact of consumers price level perception on emotions towards supermarkets Abdulcelil Cakici and Sena Tekeli The impact of TikTok's plastic surgery content on adolescents' self-perception and purchase intention Markus Rach Accelerated modernity: What are the social media stories undergraduate students engage with? Pericles Asher Rospigliosi and Sebastian Raza-Mejia Virtual influencer as celebrity endorsers Fanny Cheung and Wing-Fai Leung Does millennial shopping orientation using augmented reality enabled mobile applications really impact product purchase intention? Anil Kumar Exposure to e-cigarette marketing and product use among highly educated adults Onur Sahin Extending the theory of planned behavior to explain intention to use online food delivery services in the context of COVID -19 pandemic Ahmed Chemseddine Bouarar, Smail Mouloudj, and Kamel Mouloudj Factors affecting investors' buying decision in real estate market in Northern Cyprus Gurkan Arslan and Karen Howells From home to the store: Combined effect of music and traffic on consumers shopping behaviour Luigi Piper, Lucrezia Maria de Cosmo, Maria Irene Prete, and Gianluigi Guido Market expansion and business growth from the perspective of resources and capabilities: The case of a micro-enterprise Jose G. Vargas-Hernandez and Omar C. Vargas-Gonzalez How learning style interacts with voice-assisted technology (VAT) in consumer task evaluation Bonnie Canziani and Sara MacSween Effect of brand credibility and innovation on customer based brand equity and overall brand equity in Turkey: An investigation of GSM operators Suphan Nasir and Ozge Guvendik Value chain for a B school in India Vimal Chandra Verma and Devashish Das Gupta Management AI as a boost for startups companies: Evidence from Italy Irene Di Bernardo, Marco Tregua, Greco Fabio, and Ruggiero Andrea The role of quality management applications for corporate reputations Ibrahim Sapaloglu and Isik Cicek Toxicity in organizations: A sample study on the perceived toxicity in Turkish academicians Mustafa Hakan Atasoy and Muhsin Halis Which resources are matter to healthcare performance? A case study on Bahrain Mahmood Asad Ali and Mohamed Sayed Abou Elseoud Case study: HereWay Inc. European expansion: A facility location problem Mikhail M. Sher, Michael T. Paz, and Donald R. (Bob) Smith In search of the effective mission statement: Structural support of the firm's culture to augment financial performance Seong-Yuen Toh Innovation labs to support tourism organization in transforming crisis into opportunities: Insight from a case study Francesco Santarsiero, Daniela Carlucci, and Giovanni Schiuma Novelty and success of healthcare service innovation: A comparison between China and the Netherlands Yu Mu, Rujun Wang and Ying Huang Public private partnership in selected countries: A comparative analysis Bekir Parlak and Abdullahi Suleiman Hashi Strategic orientation of service enterprises towards customers Korhan Arun and Saniye Yildirim Ozmutlu The effects of organizational culture on information sharing attitude Mohammadi Lanbaran Nasrin and Cicek Isik The impact of industry 4.0 strategy on the work-life balance of employees Ali Sukru Cetinkaya The mediating effect of psychological empowerment on inclusive leadership and innovative work behaviour: A research in hotels Emete Toros, Ahmet Maslakci, and Lutfi Surucu Assessment of industry 4.0 on manufacturing enterprises: Demographic perspective Ali Sukru Cetinkaya and M. Kemal Unsacar Human Resources Management Affective commitment in new hires' onboarding? The role of organizational socialization in the fashion retail industry Pui Sze Chan, Ho Ching Ching, Pui Yi Ng, and Annie Ko Do burnout perception levels of nurses working in the health sector differ according to demographic characteristics? Irfan Akkoc and Korhan Arun Examining a moderating effect of employee turnover between recruitment and selection practice and organizational performance in Maldives civil service sector Fathmath Muna, Azam S. M. Ferdous, and Ahmad Albattat Personnel relationships in the workplace Ali Sukru Cetinkaya, Shafiq Habibi, and Umut Yavuz The evolution of human resources empowerment theory: A literature review (1970–2020) Theodoros Stavrinoudis and Moschos Psimoulis Teamwork, satisfaction and mediating effect of affective, continuance and normative commitments on employee's loyalty Thalita Aparecida Costa Nicolleti, Eduardo Roque Mangini, Leonardo Aureliano-Silva, Cristiane Sales Pires, and Carolina Aparecida de Freitas Dias Perceptions of teachers in educational institutions regarding the principles of teaching professional ethics Gulsah Aki, Nejat Ira, and Hasan Arslan Influence of psychological empowerment on employee competence in Nigerian universal basic education system: The mediating role of work engagement Isah Sani, Rashidah Binti Mohammad Ibrahim, and Fazida Karim Retail Management Artificial intelligence in retailing Ibrahim Kircova, Munise Hayrun Saglam, and Sirin Gizem Kose Customer value in retailing (2000-2020): A narrative review and future research directions Rajat Gera and Ashish Pruthi Effect of social media marketing on online retail performance of Konga Nigeria LTD Abubakar Ado Adamu, Muhammed Yazeed, Mohammed Aliyu Dantsoho, Jamilu Abdulkadir, and Aliyu Audu Gemu Employment of blue-collar workers in organized retail sector: The case of Turkey Inci Kayhan-Kuzgun Saving grace: Digitization to stay or address crisis? Smitha Vasudevan Inclusion of disabled consumers in online retail landscape: Web accessibility conformance of Turkish organized food retailers' web sites Asiye Ayben Celik A customer segmentation model proposal for retailers: RFM-V Pinar Ozkan and Ipek Deveci Kocakoc Economics Nigeria's economic management: Reflections through monthly interest rate movement from 1996 to 2020 and beyond Job Nmadu, Halima Sallawu, and Yebosoko Nmadu A qualitative study of perceptions of the residents of Sidon, Lebanon regarding the economic effect on Sidon with reference to repatriation of the Palestinian refugees Raja El Majzoub and Karen Howells Three keys of development: Knowledge, efficiency and innovative entrepreneurship Irfan Kalayci, Ali Soylu, and Baris Aytekin Tourism and women empowerment: Empirical findings from past experience and predictions for the post-COVID era Burcu Turkcan COVID-19 effect on FDI motivation and their impact on service sector: Case of Georgia Vakhtang Charaia and Mariam Lashkhi Economic cooperation between Central Caucasus, China, and EU, under COVID-19 challenges Vakhtang Charaia and Mariam Lashkhi Effect of real exchange rate and income on international tourist arrivals for Turkey Erhan Aslanoglu, Oral Erdogan, and Yasin Enes Aksu Innovative entrepreneurship in Turkey: Micro and macro perspectives Irfan Kalayci, Baris Aytekin, and Ali Soylu Optimal fiscal and price stability in Germany: Autoregressive distributed lags (ARDL) cointegration relationship Ergin Akalpler and Dahiru Alhaji Birnintsabas Struggle with COVID-19 crisis within the scope of financial national security: The example of the Republic of Turkey Silacan Karakus The nexus between fiscal freedom and investment freedom: The case of E7 countries Mehmet Bolukbas To be or not to be a female entrepreneur in the Mexicali Valley Roberto Burgueno Romero and Jose David Ledezma Torrez Accounting and Finance Comparative measurement of working capital efficiency for Borsa Istanbul restaurants and hotels for the COVID-19 period and previous quarters Fatih Gunay and Gary Cokins Relationship between business confidence index and non-financial firms foreign exchange assets and liabilities: Evidence from ARDL bound approach Ilkut Elif Kandil-Goker The impact of RTGS on internal control - A comparative study between some Iraqi banks Salowan H. Al Taee and Noor A. Radhi The impact of working capital on cash management under IAS 7 framework: An examination of tourism listed companies in Indonesia and Turkey Tri Damayanti and Tuba Derya Baskan A nexus between mergers & acquisitions and financial performance of firms: A study of industrial sector of Pakistan Fiza Quareshi, Mukhtiar Ali, and Salar Hussain Decentralized approach to deep-learning based asset allocation Sarthak Sengupta, Priyanshu Priyam, and Anurika Vaish Sustainability and Environmental Issues Blockchain technology applied to the Consortium Etna DOC to avoid counterfeiting Matarazzo Agata, Edoardo Carmelo Spampinato, Sergio Arfo, Ugo Sinigaglia, Antonino Bajeli, and Salvino Benanti Eco-label certification, hotel performance and customer satisfaction: Analysis of a case study and future developments Michele Preziosi, Alessia Acampora, Roberto Merli, and Maria Claudia Lucchetti The integration of circular economy in the tourism industry: A framework for the implementation of circular hotels Martina Sgambati, Alessia Acampora, Olimpia Martucci, and Maria Claudia Lucchetti Using the theory of planned behavior to explore green food purchase intentions Katrina Anna Auza and Kamel Mouloudj Survey on purchasing methods of food products in Tarragona and Catania Matarazzo Agata, Vazzano Tommaso Alberto, and Squillaci Carmelo Information Technology Comparative analysis of tools for matching work-related skill profiles with CV data and other unstructured data Florian Beuttiker, Stefan Roth, Tobias Steinacher, and Thomas Hanne State-of-the-art next generation open innovation platforms Murielle De Roche, Monika Blaser, Patrick Hollinger, and Thomas Hanne The coverage of AIOT based functional service: Case study of Asian futuristic hotel Gege Wang, Irini Lai Fun Tang, Eric Chan, and Wai Hung Wilco Chan The effect of the blockchain technology on service companies and food retailers: An overview of the blockchain use cases and applications Gokhan Kirbac and Erkut Ergenc The regulation problem of cryptocurrencies Lamiha Ozturk and Ece Sulungur Understanding information technology acceptance by physicians: Testing technology acceptance model Anuruddha Indika Jagoda

Dottorato di ricerca in Ecologia e gestione sostenibile delle risorse ambientali ; L'utilizzo dei satelliti a supporto degli studi oceanografici è consolidato ormai da anni, mediante l'impiego di sistemi remoti operativi a risoluzioni spaziali intermedie (SeaWifs, MODIS, MERIS), incentrati principalmente sull'acquisizione di dati di Ocean Color, che permettono di ottenere come prodotto finale la distribuzione di temperatura superficiale, clorofilla e solido sospeso, sulla base di algoritmi già sviluppati per le acque di largo. I recenti progressi nella progettazione di sensori satellitari ad alta risoluzione spaziale e spettrale e nelle tecniche di analisi dati, hanno reso i sistemi di telerilevamento più efficaci e utili anche per lo studio degli ambienti marino-costieri, dimostrandosi quindi un valido strumento di indagine a supporto delle misure di politica ambientale della Comunità europea (Cristina et al., 2015). Tali misure mirano ad ottenere il "Buono stato ecologico" GES delle acque costiere europee secondo la Direttiva Quadro sulla Strategia Marina (MSFD) (2008/56/ Commissione Europea). La MSFD indica e descrive Descrittori ed indicatori ambientali da considerare ai fini delle misure di monitoraggio per la valutazione del GES nelle aree costiere europee. Le immagini multispettrali da satellite, opportunamente corrette per i rumori atmosferici e calibrate utilizzando le misurazioni in situ, sono riconosciute come efficaci strumenti multiscala per il monitoraggio della qualità dei mari e delle acque poco profonde (Dazhao et al., 2010, Blondeau-Patissier et al., 2014). In linea con tali riferimenti, questo progetto di dottorato si pone l'obiettivo di valutare, in maniera tempestiva, efficace e a scala sinottica lo stato di qualità ecologica degli ecosistemi marino-costiero, attraverso nuove tecniche di remote sensing (RS) secondo le linee guida della Direttiva Marine Strategy. In questo contesto, sono oggetto di studio alcuni indicatori, riferiti principalmente al Descittore 1 MSFD per la Biodiversità Biologica, che prevede la stima dello stato qualitativo delle praterie di fanerogame marine e misure sulla Torbidità dell'acqua marina identificabile con il solido sospeso superficiale; infine, la clorofilla è stata osservata in riferimento al Descrittore 5 MSFD per il fenomeno dell'Eutrofizzazione. Tali variabili possono essere rilevate e mappate mediante telerilevamento per ottenere stime quantitative di distribuzione superficiale al fine di valutare l'integrità ecologica e lo stato di salute degli ecosistemi marino-costieri (Shetty et al., 2015). I sensori RS devono necessariamente soddisfare determinati requisiti per il loro utilizzo in ambiente costiero, soprattutto in termini di risoluzione radiometrica e spazio-temporale, diversi rispetto a quelli per gli studi in mare aperto. Questo è dovuto a vari fattori: l'elevata variabilità delle scale spazio-temporali dei processi ecologici costieri richiede un'alta risoluzione spaziale del sensore satellitare (1-30 m); le acque sono otticamente più complesse, acque di Caso 2 (Morel and Prieur,1977) e richiedono numerose bande spettrali per discriminare i vari tipi di segnali, legati alle diverse componenti otticamente attive dell'acqua marina e dei bassi fondali; il segnale dell'acqua che viene rilevato dal satellite è maggiormente influenzato dagli strati atmosferici rispetto al segnale terrestre e quindi è 2 richiesta un'accurata correzione atmosferica; infine la vicinanza di superfici terrestri altamente riflettenti, come le spiagge, può indurre un ulteriore disturbo (denominato "fattore di adiacenza") al segnale uscente dall'acqua. Sulla base di queste problematiche, le piattaforme satellitari utilizzate in questo studio sono state Landsat 8 Operational Land Imagery (L8OLI) per uno studio ad alta risoluzione (30 m- High Resolution HR) per la mappatura della prateria di PO (Caso Studio 1) e della distribuzione di clorofilla a (Caso Studio 3) e MODIS (Caso Studio 2) con la media risoluzione (250 m) per un'indagine su scala regionale e a lungo termine delle dinamiche di distribuzione del solido sospeso, attraverso un approccio multidisciplinare. La metodologia affrontata in tutti e tre i casi studio presentati, ha previsto l'abbinamento temporale dei dati raccolti per la verità a mare con le immagini satellitari scaricate dal sito NASA, che rende liberamente accessibili i dati satellitari compresi nel suo sistema osservativo globale della Terra. Questi dati spettrali sono stati corretti adeguatamente per il rumore atmosferico per mappare su opportune scale spaziali/temporali la distribuzione dei parametri biofisici discreti e continui (associati all'ambiente acquatico o del fondo marino) per valutare adeguatamente le distribuzioni delle variabili in esame, sulla base di diversi approcci di modellazione. In particolare, Landsat 8 OLI ha permesso di stimare le condizioni di qualità delle praterie di Posidonia oceanica lungo più di 40 km della costa settentrionale tirrenica, a sostegno di un metodo innovativo d'indagine non invasiva e quindi in linea con una gestione sostenibile delle risorse marino-costiere. Questo sensore è stato anche utilizzato per mappare la distribuzione della clorofilla a, per una caratterizzazione efficace della distribuzione del fitoplancton nelle acque del Mar Piccolo di Taranto, attraverso modelli statistici regressivi e algoritmi bio-ottici. Da questi due studi, è emersa quindi, la validità dei dati multispettrali HR, forniti dalla nuova generazione di sensori della famiglia NASA Landsat (cioè Landsat 8 OLI, Sentinel 2 MSI) per un'osservazione efficace, integrata ed operativa degli ecosistemi marino-costieri. Per quanto riguarda la media risoluzione con MODIS, questo sensore ha permesso di raccogliere 630 immagini dal 2013 al 2017 nel golfo di Gaeta, per ottenere informazioni sinottiche e continue sulla componente della colonna d'acqua superficiale di solido sospeso, strettamente connessa alle dinamiche meteo-marine su scala regionale anch'esse studiate. La risoluzione media delle immagini RS è risultata un valido strumento di supporto, all'interno di un approccio integrato per lo studio marino costiero, al fine di migliorare la strategia di gestione ambientale a lungo termine dal punto di vista delle attività umane sostenibili per gli ecosistemi costieri. Come prospettiva futura, si può considerare di pianificare una più ampia raccolta di misure in situ per i dati di colonna d'acqua, per implementare il dataset necessario all'applicazione di un modello di inversione bio-ottica, utile alla rimozione più efficace dei disturbi della componente otticamente attiva della colonna d'acqua sul segnale spettrale del fondale marino oggetto di studio. Questo fattore apporterebbe anche ulteriori informazioni a sostegno di una maggiore comprensione degli ambienti acquatici otticamente complessi e, di conseguenza, la mappatura degli ecosistemi bentonici costieri risulterebbe ancora più accurata. Sulla base delle considerazioni e dei risultati soddisfacenti ottenuti in questo lavoro di tesi, tradotti nello specifico in tre pubblicazioni, si può affermare che le nuove tecniche di telerilevamento si mostrano efficaci per lo studio operativo degli ecosistemi marini di basso fondale e della biodiversità in ambiente costiero, fornendo un utile contributo alle misure indicate dalle Direttive comunitarie per arrestare il declino della biodiversità e per garantire la conservazione degli ecosistemi marini. ; The use of satellites to support oceanographic studies has been consolidated for years, through the use of remote systems operating at intermediate spatial resolutions (SeaWifs, MODIS, MERIS), mainly focused on the acquisition of Ocean Color data, which to obtain as a final product the distribution of chlorophyll and suspended solid, based on algorithms already developed for the offshore waters. Recent advances in the design of satellite sensors with high spatial and spectral resolution and in data analysis techniques, have more effective remote sensing systems also useful for the study of marine-coastal environment, thus proving to be a valid investigation tool to support policy measures. Environment of the European Community (Cristina et al., 2015). These measures aim to achieve the "Good ecological status" GES of European coastal waters according to the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) (2008/56/European Commission). The MSFD indicates and describes Environmental descriptors and indicators to be considered for the purpose of monitoring measures for the evaluation of the GES in the European coastal areas. Multispectral satellite images, appropriately corrected for atmospheric noise and calibrated using in situ measurements, are recognized as effective multiscale instruments for monitoring the quality of seas and shallow waters (Dazhao et al., 2010, Blondeau-Patissier et al., 2014). In line with these references, this PhD project aims to evaluate, in a timely, effective and synoptic way, the ecological quality status of marine-coastal ecosystems, through new remote sensing (RS) techniques according to the guidelines of the Marine Strategy Directive. In this context, some indicators are being studied, mainly referring to the MSFD Descriptor 1 for Biological Biodiversity, which provides for the estimation of the qualitative status of marine phanerogams and measures on the turbidity of the marine water that can be identified with the surface suspended solid; finally, the chlorophyll has been observed with reference to the MSFD Descriptor 5 for the phenomenon of Eutrophication. These variables can be detected and mapped by remote sensing to obtain quantitative estimates of surface distribution in order to evaluate the ecological integrity and health status of marine-coastal ecosystems (Shetty et al., 2015). RS sensors must necessarily meet certain requirements for their use in coastal environments, especially in terms of radiometric and spatio-temporal resolution, different from those for offshore studies. This is due to poor factors: the high variability of the spatio-temporal scales of coastal ecological processes requires a high spatial resolution of the satellite sensor (1-30 m); the waters are optically more complex, Case 2 waters (Morel and Prieur, 1977) and require numerous spectral bands to discriminate the various types of signals, linked to the different optically active components of sea water and shallow waters; the water signal that is detected by the satellite is more influenced by the atmospheric layers than the terrestrial signal and therefore an accurate atmospheric correction is required; finally, the proximity of highly reflective terrestrial surfaces, such as beaches, can induce a further disturbance (called "adjacency factor") to the signal coming out of the water. Based on these issues, the satellite sensors used in this study were Landsat 8 Operational Land Imagery (L8OLI) for a high resolution study (30 m- High Resolution HR) for mapping the PO prairie (Case Study 1) and of the chlorophyll a distribution (Case Study 3) and MODIS (Case Study 2) with the average resolution (250 m) for a regional and long-term investigation of the distribution dynamics of the suspended solid, through a multidisciplinary approach. In all three case studies presented, it provided for the combination of temporal data collected for the sea truth with satellite images downloaded from the NASA site, which makes freely available the satellite data included in its global observational system of the Earth. These spectral data have been adequately corrected for atmospheric noise to map the distribution of discrete and continuous biophysical parameters (associated with the aquatic environment or the seabed) to suitably assess the distributions of the variables under examination, on different bases. modeling approaches. Landsat 8 OLI has allowed to estimate the quality conditions of seagrass meadows supporting an innovative method of non-invasive investigation based on the sustainable management of marinecoastal resources. Using its acquisition channels, improved in terms of spectral and radiometric features and with the introduction of the new coastal band, it was possible to produce suitable PO LAI and sea beds substrate distribution maps in a significant portion of the middle Tyrrhenian coast: more than 40 km along the coast. The effectiveness of the use of new remote sensors was demonstrated for an ecological study of seagrass grasslands with various advantages: limitation of destructive sampling for PO; cost reduction with respect to sea-truth measurement campaigns; evaluation of the plant distribution on a synoptic scale to estimate the ecological quality, and a potentiality for classifying substrate types of the seafloor in the entire study area. The results achieved by the Landsat OLI sensor suggest their effectiveness for seabed/PO/chlorophyll mapping and monitoring in the optically complex shallow water, evidencing also the specific atmospheric correction relevance for reflectance data pre-processing. The complexity and variability of coastal marine environments highlights, in fact, the need to apply appropriate investigation tools and methodologies to develop an integrated and multidisciplinary study method that allows an effective assessment of the good environmental status of marine ecosystems. As a future perspective, we can consider setting up a larger collection of in situ measurements for water column and seabed data, to apply the bio-optical inversion model, which can more effectively remove the disturbances of the water column on the spectral signal of the seabed. It is also needed for continuous progress in the understanding of complex optical aquatic environments and, as a result, the mapping of benthic coastal ecosystems may be more accurate. On the basis of all these considerations and the satisfactory results achieved in this work, it can be stated that innovative and effective remote sensing technique for the operational study of the seabed coastal ecosystems could significantly contribute to the attempts of Community legislation, to halt the decline of biodiversity and to ensure the marine ecosystems preservation. Functioning ecosystems are essential for maintaining the oceans in a healthy state (Tett et al., 2013) and while being healthy, they provide numerous and diverse goods and services that contribute "for free" to the general well-being and health of humans (Van Den Belt and Costanza, 2012).

In: 45th R3Nordic Symposium. Cleanroom Technology, Contamination Control and Cleaning. Wirtanen, Gun & Salo, Satu. VTT Technology 168, 139 - 141 ; Food safety is related to the absence or presence of levels of foodborne hazards in food at the point of consumption. The EC Regulation 852/2004 covers the principal objective of the general hygiene rules to ensure a high level of consumer protection with regard to food safety. However, food safety is the joint responsibility of many people and it is principally ensured through the combined efforts of all the parties in the food chain. Legislative demands set the basic requirements for the manufacturing of safe food products whereas food safety management systems and food safety guidelines and standards based on given legislation help the food industry to keep up with current food safety requirements. Hygiene survey is a practical tool for controlling hygiene in food plants. By using an efficient sampling of the surfaces of the process line, it is possible to reduce the amount of low-quality food leaving the plant. Hygiene survey can include checking of the amount of surface-attached soil including protein, polysaccharides, other organic and inorganic residues, biofilm, dead and/or living microbes in general, or specific pathogens and other harmful microbes. Hygiene survey also helps with tracing contamination sources and in optimising cleaning systems. There are several sources of microbial contamination: raw materials, process equipment, environmental surfaces, air, personnel and the final product. In some cases demands for better hygiene have been made because of prolonged shelf-life of products, centralized production and long-distance transportation, less time spent on cleaning and demands for environmentally safe cleaning agents (Salo, 2006). Quantification of the actual number of microbes from surfaces is difficult due to strong microbial adherence of biofilms. In addition, detection of biofilms using traditional swabbing method often gives incorrect results due to strong microbial adherence. Most techniques underestimate the number of microbes on a surface. Hygiene surveys from surfaces are challenging; the measuring should be quickly performed, directly from the surface and without damaging the surface, and the microbes need to be detached completely. However, it is difficult to measure biofilm and biotransfer potential because the conventional microbiological methods used to assess equipment hygiene have not been developed for detecting biofilm. Reliable results are only possible if the biofilm is properly detached and the cultivation is performed under reproducible conditions or if the measurement can be performed without detaching the microbes. Microscopy is very often used as a reference method for swabbing and cultivation. It has been reported that the cells counted by direct microscopy consistently give results one log unit higher than the cultivation methods. Moreover, observations of surfaces using epifluorescence microscopy have clearly revealed that even when vigorous swabbing is applied only a small part of the actual biofilm including the cells in it is detached (Wirtanen, 1995). On the other hand, use of excessive agitation and strong chemicals for detachment of surface-adherent cells may harm the cells, thus making them unable to grow in the cultivation procedure. Choosing sampling sites in food plants and especially in equipment with complicated structures is challenging, since most likely the microbial residues are in curvatures, con-nections, propellers, or on uneven surfaces which are not easy to reach with sampling tools. Quantification of the swabbed areas in places like these is challenging. Contact agar applications with ridged frames are only suitable for sampling of smooth and straight surfaces (Salo et al., 2008). Preventive risk-based food safety management systems such as HACCP require that hygiene monitoring should provide results rapidly in order to be able to perform corrective actions. ATP bioluminescence and protein detection kits for instance can provide a real time estimation of overall cleaning efficacy or protein residues, respectively. The detection and enumeration of indicator organisms is widely used to assess the efficacy of sanitation procedures. Escherichia coli counts can be used as an indirect measure of faecal contamination. The use of Enterobacteriaceae as hygiene indicators instead of coliforms or E. coli yields much more precise results. Interpretation of the results from hygiene monitoring is often carried out case by case since there are quite many factors affecting an acceptable level of cleanliness. The ac-ceptable level depends on the purpose of the surface. The surfaces in contact with ready-to-eat food products must be much cleaner than other surfaces in the process plant in contact with products which will be pasteurised or surfaces in no direct contact with foods. Special attention should also be paid to the surfaces next to food contact surfaces since there is a high risk of spreading contamination to food products (Salo et al., 2006). The cleanliness level of the processed product depends also on the spoilage sensitivity and the wanted self-life of the product. The available recommended guidelines and standards for aerobic colony counts for clean surfaces vary widely, being 0 - 80 CFU/cm2 (Griffith, 2005). The threshold limit for clean surface must be based upon a perception of a specific risk and the decided acceptable level. Alternatively, microbial yield obtained from surface after correct imple-mentation of a well-designed cleaning programme can be used as a desired value (Griffith, 2005). Comprehensive studies performed by Griffith (2005) have indicated that in many cases levels of <2.5 CFU/cm2 for general surface count are attainable and these are relatively close to majority of suggested standards. In the microbial survey described in Salo et al., 2006 the threshold limit for clean surface was set based in perception of risk to <2 CFU/cm2. Suitable methods for detecting cleanliness of process surfaces vary according to the situation studied. All available methods have limitations and the suitability of the method strongly depends on the type of microbes and the microbial load present. Traditional sampling with swabs prior to culturing does not detach all microbes attached to the surface. Swabbing can be improved by moistening the surface with mild surfactant solution. Also flexible contact agar is suitable for the detection of microbes from process equipment, and if the microbial load is less than 30 CFU/cm2 the microbial colonies can be counted. It is recommended to use more than one detection method in new environment to validate the results obtained. A clean surface has to be free of microbes, physical particles and chemicals. Chemical residues remaining after cleaning and disinfection can be detected using rapid methods based on bioluminescence of sensitive photobacteria. Visual observation of the cleaning results is an important practical method which can be improved by using UV-light and possibly fluorescent stain. This type of assessment is not very accurate but is a practical choice especially for large equipment such as fermentation tanks. ; Food safety is related to the absence or presence of levels of foodborne hazards in food at the point of consumption. The EC Regulation 852/2004 covers the principal objective of the general hygiene rules to ensure a high level of consumer protection with regard to food safety. However, food safety is the joint responsibility of many people and it is principally ensured through the combined efforts of all the parties in the food chain. Legislative demands set the basic requirements for the manufacturing of safe food products whereas food safety management systems and food safety guidelines and standards based on given legislation help the food industry to keep up with current food safety requirements. Hygiene survey is a practical tool for controlling hygiene in food plants. By using an efficient sampling of the surfaces of the process line, it is possible to reduce the amount of low-quality food leaving the plant. Hygiene survey can include checking of the amount of surface-attached soil including protein, polysaccharides, other organic and inorganic residues, biofilm, dead and/or living microbes in general, or specific pathogens and other harmful microbes. Hygiene survey also helps with tracing contamination sources and in optimising cleaning systems. There are several sources of microbial contamination: raw materials, process equipment, environmental surfaces, air, personnel and the final product. In some cases demands for better hygiene have been made because of prolonged shelf-life of products, centralized production and long-distance transportation, less time spent on cleaning and demands for environmentally safe cleaning agents (Salo, 2006). Quantification of the actual number of microbes from surfaces is difficult due to strong microbial adherence of biofilms. In addition, detection of biofilms using traditional swabbing method often gives incorrect results due to strong microbial adherence. Most techniques underestimate the number of microbes on a surface. Hygiene surveys from surfaces are challenging; the measuring should be quickly performed, directly from the surface and without damaging the surface, and the microbes need to be detached completely. However, it is difficult to measure biofilm and biotransfer potential because the conventional microbiological methods used to assess equipment hygiene have not been developed for detecting biofilm. Reliable results are only possible if the biofilm is properly detached and the cultivation is performed under reproducible conditions or if the measurement can be performed without detaching the microbes. Microscopy is very often used as a reference method for swabbing and cultivation. It has been reported that the cells counted by direct microscopy consistently give results one log unit higher than the cultivation methods. Moreover, observations of surfaces using epifluorescence microscopy have clearly revealed that even when vigorous swabbing is applied only a small part of the actual biofilm including the cells in it is detached (Wirtanen, 1995). On the other hand, use of excessive agitation and strong chemicals for detachment of surface-adherent cells may harm the cells, thus making them unable to grow in the cultivation procedure. Choosing sampling sites in food plants and especially in equipment with complicated structures is challenging, since most likely the microbial residues are in curvatures, con-nections, propellers, or on uneven surfaces which are not easy to reach with sampling tools. Quantification of the swabbed areas in places like these is challenging. Contact agar applications with ridged frames are only suitable for sampling of smooth and straight surfaces (Salo et al., 2008). Preventive risk-based food safety management systems such as HACCP require that hygiene monitoring should provide results rapidly in order to be able to perform corrective actions. ATP bioluminescence and protein detection kits for instance can provide a real time estimation of overall cleaning efficacy or protein residues, respectively. The detection and enumeration of indicator organisms is widely used to assess the efficacy of sanitation procedures. Escherichia coli counts can be used as an indirect measure of faecal contamination. The use of Enterobacteriaceae as hygiene indicators instead of coliforms or E. coli yields much more precise results. Interpretation of the results from hygiene monitoring is often carried out case by case since there are quite many factors affecting an acceptable level of cleanliness. The ac-ceptable level depends on the purpose of the surface. The surfaces in contact with ready-to-eat food products must be much cleaner than other surfaces in the process plant in contact with products which will be pasteurised or surfaces in no direct contact with foods. Special attention should also be paid to the surfaces next to food contact surfaces since there is a high risk of spreading contamination to food products (Salo et al., 2006). The cleanliness level of the processed product depends also on the spoilage sensitivity and the wanted self-life of the product. The available recommended guidelines and standards for aerobic colony counts for clean surfaces vary widely, being 0 - 80 CFU/cm2 (Griffith, 2005). The threshold limit for clean surface must be based upon a perception of a specific risk and the decided acceptable level. Alternatively, microbial yield obtained from surface after correct imple-mentation of a well-designed cleaning programme can be used as a desired value (Griffith, 2005). Comprehensive studies performed by Griffith (2005) have indicated that in many cases levels of <2.5 CFU/cm2 for general surface count are attainable and these are relatively close to majority of suggested standards. In the microbial survey described in Salo et al., 2006 the threshold limit for clean surface was set based in perception of risk to <2 CFU/cm2. Suitable methods for detecting cleanliness of process surfaces vary according to the situation studied. All available methods have limitations and the suitability of the method strongly depends on the type of microbes and the microbial load present. Traditional sampling with swabs prior to culturing does not detach all microbes attached to the surface. Swabbing can be improved by moistening the surface with mild surfactant solution. Also flexible contact agar is suitable for the detection of microbes from process equipment, and if the microbial load is less than 30 CFU/cm2 the microbial colonies can be counted. It is recommended to use more than one detection method in new environment to validate the results obtained. A clean surface has to be free of microbes, physical particles and chemicals. Chemical residues remaining after cleaning and disinfection can be detected using rapid methods based on bioluminescence of sensitive photobacteria. Visual observation of the cleaning results is an important practical method which can be improved by using UV-light and possibly fluorescent stain. This type of assessment is not very accurate but is a practical choice especially for large equipment such as fermentation tanks.