Hellenic Open University

Long-term health care in Greece is covered by a variety of health structures. In contrast to other northern European countries, it is incomplete and fragmented or even absent. The demand for long-term care has been addressed through informal caregiving, provided by family members supporting voluntarily or caregivers getting informal compensation. In recent years, efforts have been made to restructure long-term health care and to introduce services and structures that are conducive to this purpose. In our country there is no corresponding planning or any support for informal care. The provision of informal care has multiple benefits, mainly financial and organizational, for patients, health systems and the state. Compared to Greece, other European countries support informal care through various financial, insurance and social benefits for its providers, thus favoring and facilitating their work. Given that the need for long-term health care and, by extension, the need for informal care will increase continuously and exponentially over time, it is important to recognize and meet the needs of informal caregivers and to formalize this form of care provision. The development of a policy of formal recognition of informal care and the establishment of supportive measures, such as financial assistance, insurance, and education will ensure the sustainability of long-term health care and the health system in general.

By constructing a new measure of cabinet policy orientation, we demonstrate that transitions from state-oriented to market-oriented cabinets are associated with higher direct investment inflows. Product market reforms are more conducive to the inflow of direct investment under cabinets that prefer a state-oriented economy. Labor market reforms significantly boost direct investment and portfolio investment under governments favoring a market-oriented economy.

Vocational education and training are essential for the integration of refugee youth into Greek society. Therefore, it seems that there is an urgent need for the Greek Ministry of Education and Religion and for the Ministry of Labour (herewith, Greek Ministries of Education and Labour) to redesign and adapt their strategies and practices to address the specific learning needs of refugee youth. The aim of this study is to explore the types of policies that the Ministries of Education and Labour should design, reform, and implement to increase the number of students attending vocational education and training in Greece. The researchers adopted a qualitative approach, using semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. Ten participants took part in the study: seven Refugee Education Coordinators based in camps across Greece, two experts from the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP), and one academic specializing in adult education and serving as an EPALE Ambassador. The findings indicate that both Ministries of Education and Labour need to collaborate more closely in redesigning and implementing targeted policies for refugee students. These should include expanding reception classes in EPAS (vocational school) and EPAL (vocational high school) schools, reducing bureaucratic procedures, ensuring adequate staffing with trained teachers, and adopting simpler administrative processes.

Multimodal Learning Analytics (MMLA) is an extension of Learning Analytics that combines multiple data streams such as audio, video, physiological signals, logs, and spatial trails to analyze learning processes that cannot be easily captured through any single modality. This review synthesizes research on sensing and instrumentation, feature extraction, multimodal fusion, modeling approaches, and end-to-end systems that provide feedback and support reflection. We also discuss how generative AI and Large Language Models (LLMs) increasingly improve MMLA pipelines by enabling scalable semantic and pragmatic analysis of learner discourse and interaction. In addition, we review robustness issues that arise when working with real-world data (e.g., noise, missing data, and scalability) and responsible deployment issues such as privacy and student-focused views of fairness, accountability, transparency, and ethics (FATE).

Extended Reality (XR) has reshaped how learning can be structured, yet its integration into formal curricula continues to lag behind its technological potential. Established instructional design models such as ADDIE and ASSURE provide stable planning structures, but were not developed to address the spatial, embodied and interactive characteristics of immersive environments. The XR2Learn framework was developed to bridge this gap by combining structured instructional planning with XR-specific pedagogical considerations. This study presents a multi-round Delphi-based expert evaluation of XR2Learn, involving twenty specialists in instructional design and XR-enhanced education. Experts assessed the framework across four dimensions: validity, clarity, usability and suitability. Qualitative feedback was thematically analyzed and subsequently quantified to establish consensus. The findings show strong agreement regarding the framework’s pedagogical grounding, logical structure and alignment with established instructional design practices. At the same time, experts identified limitations related to practical enactment, accessibility and the explicit integration of XR-specific learning constructs such as presence and social interaction. Overall, the results position XR2Learn as a framework at a transitional stage, moving from conceptual formulation toward practical instructional use. The study provides the first systematic expert validation of XR2Learn and outlines targeted directions for its refinement as a robust instructional design framework for XR-based education.

This study investigates the combinations of factors associated with involuntary psychiatric admission for persons living with their family and whether these are differentiated by type of family. Data from consecutive admissions in public acute psychiatric units of Thessaloniki, Greece, collected over one-year period were analyzed via Latent Profile Analysis. Of the three ensued profiles, only one, consisting mainly of younger men diagnosed with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders living with their family of origin, is linked to involuntary hospitalization. The other two profiles include mainly older people with recent onset of depressive disorder living with their created family and women living in socially deprived families, respectively. Severity and duration of psychopathology, inadequate contact with mental health services and socioeconomic adversity seem to constitute risk factors that might lead people living with their families to psychiatric hospitalization, when in crisis, despite the protective role that the family-related perceived social support and life satisfaction might play. Supporting families to manage their suffering member's mental state through collaboration with appropriate mental health services, as well as empowering disadvantaged families to deal with the adverse effects of socioeconomic deprivation appear to be the main strategies to prevent psychiatric hospitalization, especially involuntary.

This paper investigates aspects of informal and non-formal learning that emerge through adults’ participation in collective actions and social movements. Drawing on qualitative data derived from interviews with members of social collectives in an urban area of Athens (Greece), the study illustrates how these spaces function as dynamic learning environments. Participants develop practical knowledge, social skills, critical awareness, and a deeper understanding of social issues. Moreover, engagement in collective actions also fosters emotional bonds, solidarity, and processes of personal transformation. The findings underline that learning is not confined to formal settings but emerges meaningfully through participation in civic life. The study highlights the pivotal role of collective action in promoting adult learning and self-awareness, contributing to the broader dialogue in the field of adult education by demonstrating how involvement in social groups constitutes a significant site for both individual and collective transformation.

Sewage sludge (SS) management and wastewater (WW) treatment remain among the most critical environmental challenges. The pyrolysis of sewage sludge to produce biochar (BC) represents a sustainable and circular strategy for waste valorization and pollution mitigation. This scoping review provides a comprehensive overview of BC derived from SS (BCxSS), with particular emphasis on how pyrolysis conditions affect key physicochemical characteristics such as yield, ash content, pH, surface area, and functional groups. Although substantial research has focused on the removal of heavy metals and organic pollutants using BCxSS, far less attention has been directed toward its potential for pathogen adsorption and inactivation, revealing a notable research gap. Recent studies highlight BCxSS as a versatile material with considerable promise in adsorption and catalysis. However, its application in pathogen removal remains insufficiently investigated, underscoring the need for further investigation into sorption mechanisms and biochar–microbe interactions.