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This paper aims to present a general analysis and overview of forest biodiversity, emphasising the three main components (structure, composition, function) related to biodiversity. Following this theoretical consideration of forest biodiversity the current proposal of the European Environment Agency for biodiversity indicators is presented as a table with the application to forests identified and the direct/indirect nature of the indicator also indicated.

The biodiversity of forests is determined by a number of overall large‐scale factors that intimately affect the individual components of biodiversity. A more specific and direct measurement of forest biodiversity is presented with data assessed by the Fungib programme to provide a set of biodiversity indices that can be used to: create biodiversity baselines; compare sites; and follow biodiversity changes through time, all with the possibility of determining significance of change statistically. An example of data derived from a macrofungal survey is presented as an example of how this methodology can be adapted to many groups of organisms. Finally, a further example of using biodiversity quality data to understand changes in biodiversity is presented comparing butterfly biodiversity quality with nitrogen deposition.

This paper shows how an example of function (nitrogen deposition) has affected an element of composition (butterfly biodiversity). This has been made possible by the use of a rational sampling methodology (TRIM) used over a number of years. This metadata analysis of butterfly survey data shows clearly that changes in the butterfly biodiversity quality would have been missed if the normal approach of equating biodiversity with species richness had been adopted. In this example nitrogen‐sensitive species loss was compensated by nitrophilic species gain.

Such a methodology, therefore, has much to recommend it and it has been shown to be applicable to a wide range of organisms from bryophytes to beetles. For forest biodiversity monitoring the adoption of this kind of rationale will hopefully yield far greater information to the scientific community and policy makers for little extra effort.

This paper aims to address the following research questions: How do European banking stocks react; to the European Central Bank’s (ECB) expansionary policies? Additionally, which types of expansionary measures (conventional vs. unconventional) exert the most significant influence on bank stock performance?

Utilizing an event study approach combined with panel regression analysis, this research evaluates the impact of 77 key ECB policy interventions on the stock prices of 14 large European banks from 2007 to 2020. The event windows focus on cumulative abnormal returns (CARs) over short-term and medium-term periods to capture stock reactions to both conventional and unconventional monetary measures.

The results indicate that European banking stocks respond positively to both conventional (e.g. interest rate cuts) and unconventional (e.g. asset purchases, liquidity provisions) expansionary policies. However, asset purchase programs seem to have the most substantial and sustained impact, generating stronger positive cumulative abnormal returns over longer event windows compared to other interventions.

This article contributes to the literature by providing a detailed analysis of how different types of ECB monetary interventions influence bank stock performance. It is the first study to analyze and compare the persistence and strength of these measures across various event windows, offering valuable insights for investors and policymakers in assessing the effectiveness of monetary policy on capital markets.

• (1)

  This paper explores how European banking stocks react to ECB’s expansionary policies.

• (2)

  It uses an event study and panel regression to assess 77 policy interventions from 2007 to 2020.

• (3)

  Asset purchases are found to have the strongest and most persistent positive effects on bank stock prices.

• (4)

  The analysis highlights the differential impact of conventional versus unconventional monetary policies on European banks.

This paper explores how European banking stocks react to ECB’s expansionary policies.

It uses an event study and panel regression to assess 77 policy interventions from 2007 to 2020.

Asset purchases are found to have the strongest and most persistent positive effects on bank stock prices.

The analysis highlights the differential impact of conventional versus unconventional monetary policies on European banks.

This study examines the relationship between rationality and creativity by means of social identity theory for the Greek society (2019–2020).

The outline of the social identity was given through self-categorization via a distributed questionnaire. The types of behavior (rational, nonrational and loss-averse) were determined by using questions based on the Allais paradox. Principal components analysis (PCA) is used to extract the causal relationships.

The study findings demonstrate that rational individuals are more prompt to creative personality than nonrational individuals. Rational individuals are motivated to pursue creativity through life-improvement goals. Loss-averse individuals are driven through the contradictive incentive of adventure-seeking behavior without, however, being willing to easily give up their established assets.

This article contributes by explaining creativity among rational, nonrational and loss-averse individuals as a product of social identity theory. This contributes to the literature, by proposing that the application of social theories in economics could constitute a different foundation for economics. This refers to the notion of the social microfoundations of the political economy and macroeconomics.

This paper aims to investigate the features of three vectorized iterative numerical schemes used to simulate the behavior of modified Burgers equation (MBE).

Two of the schemes comprise differential quadrature and finite difference methods, while the third scheme consists of only differential quadrature for the derivative approximations. Proposed schemes are simulated for well-posed problems of MBE having known the analytic solution. The computational complexity of the schemes is examined through monitoring the time taken to complete the simulation. The results are compared with the analytic solution with the help of discrete error norms. Also, the accuracy of the proposed schemes is compared with that of the existing schemes in the literature. Vectorized MATLAB programs of the schemes are used for all investigations.

It is observed that all the three schemes succeeded in producing a good replication of the exact solution. The results are closer to the analytical solution than the results in the literature. Among the three schemes, the scheme labeled as FDTDQS is found highly accurate and computationally cheaper using fewer grid points. From the vectorized MATLAB programs provided, it is evident that the implementation of the schemes is simple.

This study gives an idea about three numerical schemes for a highly nonlinear problem. This mathematical framework can be adopted to any one-dimensional partial differential equation as well, and the provided program will be helpful to generate more fast and accurate vectorized code in MATLAB.

Labour force participation and earnings functions of married and single women graduates of economics and business administration in Greece were fitted using probit and OLS analysis respectively. The probability to participate in the labour force for married women was found to be affected positively by the magnitude of their work experience and training and negatively by age, husband′s earnings, number of children and their own non‐wage income. In the case of single women, the factors that were found to exercise a significant impact on their participation were their work experience and non‐wage income. Regarding the earnings function, the main factors that were significant for both single and married women were the amount of training, the work experience and the years of residence in the same town. On the basis of the results of the study certain conclusions are drawn regarding policy issues.

A general overview is presented on applications of the discrete element method (DEM) to granular media. A literature survey is performed of static and dynamic simulations using random arrays of compliant particles, and forty‐two references published mostly in the last ten years are identified and categorized according to a number of relevant criteria. It is concluded that the interest in the use of the technique is rapidly increasing in the research and engineering community, with applications concentrated in soil mechanics, rock mechanics, grain flow and engineering problems. Additional studies and verifications of some numerical aspects of the DEM technique are suggested including parametric studies and comparisons. Program CONBAL‐2 (CONTACT + TRUBAL in 2D) developed by the authors based on TRUBAL created by Strack and Cundall, is described. CONBAL‐2 uses the complete Mindlin solution for the contact between two spheres and thus can be used for small strain and cyclic loading. The program is applied to study the cyclic response of uniform, medium dense to dense rounded quartz sand. Cyclic strain‐controlled loading at constant volume is applied to isotropically consolidated, random arrays of 531 spheres, using cyclic strains ranging from 10–4% to 10–1%. The calculated shear modulus, Gmax, constrained modulus, D, and Poisson's ratio at small strains are correlated with the confining pressure, the porosity of the array, and the coordination number. The calculated variations of secant modulus and damping ratio with cyclic strain compare favourably with the experimental results on sands compiled by Seed and Idriss. Finally, ‘pore water pressure buildup’ and cyclic stiffness degradation of the material with number of cycles is calculated at a cyclic strain of 10–1%, and the prediction is found to represent closely cyclic undrained experiments on sands. The existence of a threshold strain, yt ≈ 10–2%, found experimentally, is also predicted by the simulations.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the gender role phenomenon and the stereotyping of requisite managers’ personal characteristics in the Greek society of today.

Data were collected quantitatively based on the informants’ perceptions on successful managers’ personality traits and according to the informants’ personality characteristics. Questionnaires were administered online to two separate convenience samples. Reliability analysis (Cronbach’s α) was employed for scale refinement, while intraclass correlation coefficient (r’) and t-test analysis examined the similarity of respondents’ responses across the items of the refined scale.

The results indicate that gender role stereotypes are challenged. It seems that the perceived managers’ personality is comprised of both agentic/masculine and communal/feminine characteristics and this perception is not perceived differently by men and women. This debates on whether the “glass ceiling” exists due to other determinants.

The study contributes to the literature on gender role stereotyping research and perceptions of managerial personality characteristics in Greece.

Tucked in the back of Venkataraman’s 1997 work on the distinctive domain of entrepreneurship (DDE) lies a pointer to a question each individual must face when choosing to start a new venture; “is entrepreneurship worth it?” Inventorying costs associated with risk, uncertainty, and illiquidity against surpluses from financial and psychological factors unique to entrepreneurship, Venkataraman tempts readers to tally entrepreneurial returns. The authors summarize and integrate an academic study of these various cost and return components over the past 20 years using Venkataraman’s original framework. The authors find the answer to the question of “is entrepreneurship worth it?” varies with time. Researcher’s answer to the question has shifted from an early view that entrepreneurs sacrifice financial gain in exchange for soft psychological benefits to a more positive view that entrepreneurs are rewarded both financially and psychologically for the unique costs borne in the DDE. But the rewards are not immediate. In entrepreneur time, break-even emerges by gradually overcoming an initial deficit. As surpluses accrue, returns to entrepreneurs likely eventually exceed those of their wage-earning peers.

The purpose of this article is to assess the likely effects of the Single European Market on women′s positions in the labour market. It is expected that for employment in the Community as a whole there will be a “j‐curve” evolution and a redistribution across sectors, industries, geographical regions and groups of people with different socio‐economic characteristics. Because of their lower levels of educational and skill attainment and their unequal opportunities for mobility, women are not expected to get an equitable share of the benefits, while they are most likely to bear a disproportionate part of the costs. Only if women are offered opportunities to improve substantially their educational and skill levels and if the necessary institutional changes are implemented, can they take advantage of the challenges of the new era that is coming.