• A three year study of coronary heart disease risk factors in Greek adolescents.

      Bouziotas, Constantin; Koutedakis, Yiannis (Human Kinetics, 2003)
      We examined the prevalence of 14 modifiable CHD risk factors in a sample of 210 provincial Greek children as they progressed from age 12 to 14. It was found that 46.2 % of boys and 49.5 % of girls (p > 0.05) exhibited three or more risk factors at their 12th year, with values of 42 % for boys and 51.1 % (p > 0.05) for girls for their 13th year, and 29.4 % for boys and 55 % (p < 0.001) for girls in their 14th year. Risk factors with the highest prevalence in both sexes included low vigorous physical activity, low aerobic fitness, and elevated body fatness. The fact that boys exhibited progressively fewer risk factors with age was mainly attributed to increased time spent on vigorous physical activity (P < 0.001) and higher predicted oxygen intake (P < 0.001) with a concomitant decrease in body fat (P < 0.001). The opposite pattern demonstrated by girls was primarily due to elevated predicted % body fat (P < 0.05), % saturated fat intake (P < 0.05), total cholesterol (TC; P <0.001), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C; P < 0.001), and decreased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C)/TC; P < 0.001). In conclusion, a high percentage of young adolescent Greek boys and girls exhibit three or more modifiable CHD risk factors. However, as the children progress from age 12 to 14, gender differences emerge regarding the development of their CHD risk profiles. The present data support the notion that preventive strategies for combating CHD should begin early in life.
    • Does living in urban or rural settings affect aspects of physical fitness in children? An allometric approach.

      Tsimeas, P.D.; Tsiokanos, A.L.; Koutedakis, Yiannis; Tsigilis, N.; Kellis, S. (BMJ Publishing Group Ltd & British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine, 2005)
      The aim of this study was to investigate physical fitness in relation to fatness in urban and rural Greek children by means of allometric scaling. METHODS: The sample consisted of 360 (189 urban and 171 rural; age 12.3+/-0.42 years) boys and 247 (125 urban and 122 rural; age 12.3+/-0.43 years) girls. The sample was highly representative (32-64%) of all 12 year old children registered in the prefecture of Trikala, Greece. All volunteers were assessed for BMI and % body fat, as well as sit and reach, basketball throw (BT), vertical jump (VJ), handgrip strength (HG), 40 m sprint, agility run, and 20 m shuttle run. To correct for possible associations between fatness and fitness, a single cause allometric scaling was employed using the natural logarithms (ln) of fitness parameters that were significantly correlated with the ln body fat. RESULTS: Independent-samples t tests revealed that VJ (p<0.05) was significantly higher in boys living in urban settings compared to their rural counterparts. Similarly, BT was found to be significantly better (p<0.05) in urban girls, whereas HG was significantly higher (p<0.05) in rural girls. CONCLUSION: Considering that (a) only three out of the 14 possible cases (seven fitness parameters for boys and seven for girls) were significantly different between urban and rural children, and (b) these differences were not uniformly distributed in children living in either urban or rural environments, it is concluded that the place of residence has no clear impact on physical fitness as studied herein.
    • Effect of seasonal programming on fetal development and longevity: links with environmental temperature.

      Flouris, Andreas D; Spiropoulos, Yiannis; Sakellariou, Giorgos J.; Koutedakis, Yiannis (Wiley, 2009)
      This study examined the effect of birth season on fetal development and longevity using two independent databases of all Greek citizens that were born (total: 516,874) or died (total: 554,101) between 1999 and 2003. We found significantly increased birth weight, gestational age, and longevity in individuals born during the autumn and winter seasons of the year. These individuals also demonstrated statistically significantly lower prevalence rates for fetal growth restriction and premature birth. Furthermore, we found that increased temperature at birth was associated with adverse effects on fetal development and longevity. In conclusion, our results show strong effects of season of birth on fetal development and longevity mediated, at least in part, by environmental temperature at time of birth.
    • Europe's Last Red Terrorists: The Revolutionary Organization 17 November

      Kassimeris, George (London: C. Hurst & Co. Ltd. / New York: New York University Press, 2001)
      Since the 1970s, Europe's last Marxist-Leninist terrorists the Greek Revolutionary Organization 17 November have waged a violent campaign against US and NATO personnel, Turkish diplomats and members of the Greeks military and business elite. In May 2000 they assassinated a top British diplomat in Athens in a daring daylight attack. Yet no one suspected of belonging to the organization, let alone of being involved in its terror campaign, has ever been arrested. This book deals with revolutionary terrorism in Greece. Tracing the history of 17 November, Kassimeris demonstrates how it has persevered with a one-dimensional view of a world peopled by heroes and villains, that has precluded the emergence of a coherent ideology. Combining fanatical nationalism, contempt for the existing order, and the cult of violence for its own sake, 17 November has stubbornly refused to accept that its eclectic belief system is incompatible with modern democratic principles. Unlike Italy's Red Brigades or Germany's Red Army Faction, which both assailed "the capitalist state and its agents," 17 November hopes to create an insurrectionary mood that will propel the Greeks into revolutionary political action without disrupting society as a whole. As such, 17 November's terror campaign has been an audacious protest aimed at discrediting and humiliating the Greek establishment and the US government, but one that has never sought to develop widespread revolutionary guerrilla warfare.
    • Gendered and classed performances of motherhood and good academic in Greece

      Tsouroufli, Maria (Sage, 2018-09-24)
      The enduring significance of gender and how it intersects with class in the organisation of parenting, domestic, and professional work has been obscured in contemporary neo-liberal contexts. This paper examines how Greek academic women conceptualize and enact motherhood and the classed and gendered strategies they adopt to reconcile ‘good’ motherhood with notions of the ‘good’ academic professional. It draws on semi-structured interviews about the career narratives of 15 women in Greek Medical Schools at the aftermath of the Greek recession. The analysis presented in this paper is informed by a feminist post-structuralist paradigm and an emic approach to intersectionality. Motherhood emerged in the data as a dynamic concept, and a network of practices both constrained and enabled by gendered and classed family and work cultures. Drawing on neo-liberal ‘DIY’ and ‘having it all’ discourse Greek mothers claimed that they could achieve almost anything professionally, if they organised their private lives sensibly. They drew on idealised discourses of motherhood, but they also contradicted these notions by doing non- traditional forms of motherhood, such as remote or transnational motherhood, afforded by their privileged social positioning and academic careers. Further research is required to investigate configurations of classed motherhood in less prestigious professions.
    • Grand Detour

      Altintzoglou, Evripidis (Beton7 Arts, Athens, Greece, 2016-02)
      Euripides Altintzoglou returns to Beton7 Arts with a new group of works that engage with a range of issues related to the crisis of late capitalism. The collection of works does not simply address socio-economic phenomena and their effects but attempts to stimulate the generation of new forms of political agency. True to the avant-garde ethos Altintzoglou’s methods draw from the radical approaches of Situationism, while he breaks new ground by using ‘theft’ objects as a creative mode of production.
    • Greek adolescents, fitness, fatness, fat intake, activity, and coronary heart disease risk.

      Bouziotas, Constantin; Koutedakis, Yiannis; Nevill, Alan M.; Ageli, E.; Tsigilis, N.; Nikolaou, A.; Nakou, A. (Archives of Disease in Childhood, 2004)
      A dramatic increase in adult mortality rates from coronary heart disease (CHD) in Greece, accompanied by increased prevalence of CHD risk factors in children, has been documented. However, there is controversy about the independent effects of certain lifestyle parameters on primary CHD risk factors. This article examine the association between CHD risk factors (HDL-C, LDL-C, HDL-C/TC, triglycerides, systolic and diastolic blood pressure) and lifestyle parameters (fitness, fatness, fat intake, and physical activity) in 210 12-year old Greek pupils. Correcting for the fixed factors of gender and maturation, analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) with backward elimination of the lifestyle covariates revealed significant associations between three CHD risk factors (HDL-C, HDL-C/TC, systolic blood pressure) and physical activity levels. In contrast, the covariates aerobic fitness, fatness and fat intake failed to reach significance with any of the CHD risk factors. In Greek schoolchildren, primary CHD risk factors are mainly associated with physical activity levels, independently of fitness, fatness, and/or fat intake. Prevention strategies should concentrate on enhancing physical activity early in life, if the increased prevalence of Greek adult CHD mortality is to be diminished.
    • Greek Everyman: Andreas Papandreou at 100

      Kassimeris, George (Wiley, 2019-04-26)
      © The Author 2019. The Political Quarterly © The Political Quarterly Publishing Co. Ltd. 2019 Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd 2019 marks 100 years since the birth of Andreas Papandreou, Greece's first socialist prime minister and an extraordinary figure of twentieth century European politics. Looking back, the central purpose of this article is to answer pivotal questions about Papandreou and his career. What have been the major turning points in his life? What were his main beliefs? What motivated him and his politics? What were his political priorities and methods? What did he want to achieve as prime minister? Why did he become so involved in foreign policy issues? What were his assets as prime minister? Did they outweigh his shortcomings as a politician and leader? Did power change him and how? What will be Papandreou's place in history?.
    • Instruments to assess secondhand smoke exposure in large cohorts of never smokers: The smoke scales

      Misailidi, M; Tzatzarakis, MN; Kavvalakis, MP; Koutedakis, Y; Tsatsakis, AM; Flouris, AD; FAME Laboratory, Centre for Research and Technology Hellas, Trikala, Greece ; Department of Exercise Sciences, University of Thessaly, Trikala, Greece ; Regional Directorate of Primary and Secondary Education of Western Greece, Patras, Greece. (Public Library of Science (PLoS), 2014-01-21)
      The objectives of this study were to: (i) to develop questionnaires that can identify never-smoking children and adults experiencing increased exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS+), (ii) to determine their validity against hair nicotine, and (iii) assess their reliability. A sample of 191 children (85 males; 106 females; 7-18 years) and 95 adult (23 males; 72 females; 18- 62 years) never-smokers consented to hair nicotine analysis and answered a large number of questions assessing all sources of SHS. A randomly-selected 30% answered the questions again after 20-30 days. Prevalence of SHS+ in children and adults was 0.52±0.07 and 0.67±0.10, respectively (p<0.05). The Smoke Scale for Children (SS-C) and the Smoke Scale for Adults (SS-A) were developed via factor analysis and included nine questions each. Positivity criteria for SS-C and SS-A via receiver operating characteristics curve analysis were identified at >16.5 and >16, respectively. Significant Kappa agreement (p<0.05) was confirmed when comparing the SS-C and SS-A to hair nicotine concentration. Reliability analyses demonstrated that the SS-C and SS-A scores obtained on two different days are highly correlated (p<0.001) and not significantly different (p>0.05). Area under the curve and McNemar's Chi-square showed no pair-wise differences in sensitivity and specificity at the cutoff point between the two different days for SS-C and SS-A (p>0.05). We conclude that the SS-C and the SS-A represent valid, reliable, practical, and inexpensive instruments to identify children and adult never-smokers exposed to increased SHS. Future research should aim to further increase the validity of the two questionnaires. © 2014 Misailidi et al.
    • Junta by Another Name? The 1974 Matapolitefsi and the Greek Extra-Parliamentary Left

      Kassimeris, George (Sage Publications, 2005)
      In the years following metapolitefsi (the 1974 transition from dictatorship to multi-party democracy) a plethora of groups from the far left appeared on the Greek post-junta political scene. Obsessed with the dynamics of the Athens Polytechnic revolt of November 1973, these marginal but vocal and persistent groups viewed the process of constitutional change and democratic consolidation with deep scepticism. Many of them did not accept the legitimacy of the transfer of power and used confrontational anti-regime rhetoric and radical forms of action to denounce constitutional structures and attack the regime’s legality, conservative ethos and lack of structured political solutions. The purpose of this article is to describe the emergence and evolution of the major extra-parliamentary groups of the left and to examine their analyses and interpretations of Greek political circumstances in the late 1970s. (Sage Publications)
    • Last Act in a Violent Drama? The Trial of Greece's Revolutionary Organization 17 November

      Kassimeris, George (2006)
      By strange coincidence, Greece's Revolutionary Organization 17 November (17 N) met its end almost exactly a year after Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda terrorists felled New York's twin towers, when the group's leader of operations, Dimitris Koufodinas, turned himself in to the police after months on the run, on September 5, 2002. The capture of Koufodinas and his group marked the demise of the last and most stubborn of a generation of ideological terrorists whose campaigns caused serious political and security problems in Western Europe for more than a quarter of a century. Drawing on the judicial investigation findings and the courtroom testimonies of the terrorists, this article attempts to tell the stories of the four most senior group members in order to understand what led them to act in the way they did and, more crucially, what kept them inside a terrorist organization with no prospects and community support for so long. (Informaworld)
    • National physical education curriculum: motor and cardiovascular health related fitness in Greek adolescents.

      Koutedakis, Yiannis; Bouziotas, Constantin (BMJ Publishing Group Ltd., 2003)
      Background: State school physical education (PE) programmes are common throughout Greece. However, it is not known if the main objectives of the Greek PE curriculum are achieved. Objective: To assess the current national PE curriculum in relation to selected motor and cardiovascular health related fitness parameters. Methods: A sample of 84 Greek schoolboys (mean (SD) age 13.6 (0.3) years, height 160.7 (8.6) cm, weight 50 (10.8) kg) volunteered. Forty-three indicated participation only in school PE classes and habitual free play (PE group). The remaining 41 were involved in extracurricular organized physical activities in addition to school PE and habitual free play (PE+ group). The subjects underwent anthropometric, motor (flexibility, balance, standing broad jump, hand grip, sit ups, and plate tapping), and cardiovascular health related (percentage body fat, aerobic fitness, and physical activity) fitness assessments. Results: Children in the PE group had inferior motor andcardiovascular health related fitness profiles compared with those in the PE+ group. Body fat (20.3 (8.8) v 13.9 (3.5); p < 0.001), aerobic fitness (34.7 (3.7) v 43.9 (4.2); p < 0.001), and time spent in intensive physical activity (0.2 (0.2) v 0.7 (0.3); p < 0.001) showed the greatest differences between the two groups. In the pupils in the PE group, these were lower than the levels proposed to be necessary to combat future health risks. Adjustments for confounding variables showed a decrease in the significance of motor fitness, but not in cardiovascular health related parameters. Conclusions: The national PE curriculum for Greek secondary schools does not achieve the required levels of motor and cardiovascular health related fitness and should be reconsidered.
    • Performance Monitoring and Accountability through Technology: E-government in Greece.

      Petrakaki, Dimitra J.; Hayes, Niall; Introna, Lucas D. (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), 2008)
      The paper provides an account of the likely consequences that performance monitoring systems have on public service accountability. The research draws upon an in-depth empirical study on Citizens Service Centres, one of the biggest projects of the Greek e-government strategy. Specifically, we outline the rationale for introducing performance monitoring technology in Citizens Service Centres, the use the central government ministry made of the system and the ways in which Citizens Service Centre staff responded to such performance monitoring. Drawing upon studies on e-government and the critical literature on performance monitoring systems, we argue that performance monitoring technology is a limited tool for ensuring accountability. This is due to the effects of the monitoring and performance standards, which increase staffs concerns and are likely to encourage irresponsible and unaccountable practices.
    • The prevalence of selected modifiable coronary heart disease risk factors in 12-year-old Greek boys and girls

      Bouziotas, Constantin; Koutedakis, Yiannis; Shiner, Ruth; Pananakakis, Yiannis; Fotopoulou, Vasiliki (Human Kinetics, 2001)
      The prevalence of 14 selected modifiable coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors was determined in randomly selected adolescent boys (n = 117) and girls (n = 93) from provincial Greece. Based on published criteria thresholds for CHD, 45 % of boys and 50 % of girls exhibited three or more risk factors with time spent on "vigorous" activities, low cardiorespiratory fitness and fatness being among the most frequent in both sexes. Stronger associations were found between cardiorespiratory fitness and time spent of "vigorous" rather than "moderate-to-vigorous" activities in both boys and girls. Regression analysis indicated that energy expenditure (P < .01) in boys and energy expenditure (P < .05) and energy intake (P < .01) in girls could alone explain about 60 % of the body-fat related findings in either group. Broadly based primary prevention strategies aimed at children should concentrate on reducing the overall energy intake and increasing the time spent of "vigorous"activities if future Greek adult CHD mortality is to be reduced.
    • Urban Guerrilla or Revolutionary Fantasist? Dimitris Koufodinas and the Revolutionary Organisation 17 November

      Kassimeris, George (London: Routledge, 2005)
      The end of Greece's Revolutionary Organization 17 November (17N) finally came on 5 September 2002 when the group's leader of operations, Dimitris Koufodinas, turned himself to the police. Unlike Alexandros Giotopoulos, the group's chief ideologue who denied any involvement in 17N, Koufodinas took responsibility for the entire 17N experience and sought to defend and justify their violent actions. Drawing on Koufodinas's court testimony this article suggests that the world of 17N was a closed, self-referential world where terrorism had become for the members a way of life from which they could not walk away. Defending the group's campaign from beginning to end, Koufodinas contended that 17N was an authentic revolutionary alternative to a barbaric, inhumane and vindictive capitalist order that was running amok. An emblematic personality of 17N terrorism, Dimitris Koufodinas embraced the view that Greece's “self-negating democracy” necessitated exactly the kind of political violence they had undertaken. (Ingenta)