Nicholas Harkiolakis

Challenges facing women entrepreneurs in Nigeria

Purpose - This study seeks to examine the business and social profiles of 67 women entrepreneurs in three regions of Nigeria in order to identify patterns of entrepreneurship and social and economic challenges facing women business owners in Nigeria. The study aims to support and encourage sustainable small-scale economic development activities by Nigerian women and determine ways to integrate these small businesses into existing urban economic development projects and strategies for poverty alleviation, expand understanding of the business and social profiles of women entrepreneurs in Nigeria, examine the contextual influences on their work, raise the level of awareness of women entrepreneurs amongst all economically active agents and researchers, influence social and economic policy addressing issues of women entrepreneurs. Design/methodology/approach - A survey was developed and administered to a sample of 62 practicing Nigerian female entrepreneurs. The survey was divided into sections that recorded personal demographics, the entrepreneurs perceptions of the business environment and their venture and the motivations and drives that led to the birth of their business. Data were collected and processed to produce frequency distributions on every question/variable in the survey followed by cross-tabulations between all variables and Findings - With no or few significant differences shown to exist between male and female business owners or managers once they have already started an enterprise, there is a strong indication that Africa has sizeable hidden growth potential in its women. From the results presented, it is evident that female entrepreneurship in Nigeria is driven by micro-financing as well as family dynamics that work to shape and influence the birth of a business. Research limitations/implications - Future research initiatives need to explore the gender dimension and the influence of education levels on the role models that influence and drive female entrepreneurship. In addition, the evolution of the complete life cycle of the entrepreneurs business should be examined and dependencies on the variables presented should be investigated. Finally, research should focus studies whose aim is to influence social and educational policy that encourages womens entrepreneurship in the fight for poverty alleviation in Africa. Originality/value - Unique contribution with information being provided regarding an area that has not been studied before with a quantitative and qualitative method both within the same study.

Detecting Hidden Hierarchy in Terrorist Networks: Some Case Studies

This paper provides a novel algorithm to automatically detect the hidden hierarchy in terrorist networks. The algorithm is based on centrality measures used in social network analysis literature. The advantage of such automatic methods is to detect key players in terrorist networks. We illustrate the algorithm over some case studies of terrorist events that have occurred in the past. The results show great promise in detecting high value individuals.

Characteristics and business profiles of immigrant-owned small firms: the case of African immigrant entrepreneurs in Greece

Research cites that immigrant businesses are closely intertwined with national interest in community, economic and social development. In addition, national economic and social science research, and statistics reflect that immigrant entrepreneurship in Greece has a direct economic impact on the local economies and provides a springboard for successful immigrant social integration into the host society. The second article of a dynamic five-year project to research and promote the unique entrepreneurial and self-employment spirit brought by immigrants and refugees to Greece, the purpose of the current research is threefold: (1) to determine characteristics and business profiles of small firms owned and operated by African immigrant entrepreneurs in Athens, Greece, (2) to view ethnic enterprise as a means of socio-cultural integration in the host society, aiming to reveal rich and varied forms of economic self-organisation and (3) based on the results of this preliminary study, recommendations are made for developing a follow-up three-year longitudinal study of African immigrant businesses in Athens.

Detecting high-value individuals in covert networks: 7/7 London bombing case study

This article focuses on the study and development of recently introduced new measures, theories, mathematical models and algorithms to detect high value individuals in terrorist networks. Specific models and tools are described, and applied to a case study to demonstrate their applicability to the area. We are confident that the models described can help intelligence agencies in understanding and dealing with terrorist networks.

Harvesting covert networks: a case study of the iMiner database

Data collection of covert networks is an inherently difficult task because of the very nature of these networks. Researchers find it difficult to locate and access data relating to the structure and function of such networks in order to study this extreme social phenomenon. In addition, information collected by intelligence agencies and government organisations is inaccessible to researchers. To counter the information scarcity, we designed and built a database of terrorist-related data and information by harvesting such data from publicly available authenticated websites. The database was incorporated in the iMiner prototype tool, which makes use of investigative data mining techniques to analyse data. This paper will present the developed framework along with the form and structure of the terrorist data in the database. Selected cases will be referenced to highlight the effectiveness of the iMiner tool and its applicability to real-life situations.

Economic And Social Characteristics Of Albanian Immigrant Entrepreneurs In Greece

Greece has experienced rapid growth in immigrant and refugee populations since 1990. Although most are immigrants from Albania and throughout the Balkan region, some immigrant and refugee groups arriving in Greece also come from the former Soviet Union, Southeast Asia and Africa. Some of these newcomers have started small businesses in their quest to become economically self-sufficient, serve the consumer needs of fellow newcomers, and integrate into community life. The purpose of this research is two-fold: to review the extant literature on social and economic factors influencing immigrant entrepreneurship in Greece, and to determine characteristics and business profiles of Albanian immigrant-owned small businesses within the municipality of Attiki — the location of Athens, Greeces capital city and largest urban center.

An Automated Approach to Assessment Management of Higher Education Institutions

This paper presents the development of a knowledge management tool that addresses the needs of the higher education institutions in terms of their self evaluation process. The tool aims at bridging the gap between the collection, handling and distribution of data by engaging the various stakeholders in a dialogue and action to improve outcomes. It was developed and modelled according to the quality assurance standards and processes adopted by the oldest American regional accreditation association the New England Association of Schools & Colleges Inc. (NEASC). Conceptually the tool is focused on the six interrogatives of the English language: what, where, when, who, how and why. The questions raised are grouped and addressed in three areas, description, appraisal and projection, according to the format suggested by NEASC

A New Algorithm for On-Line Multivariate ARMA Identification Using Multimodel Partitioning Theory

In this study an adaptive algorithm for multivariate (MV) ARMA model order identification and parameter estimation is presented based on the multi-model partitioning theory (MMPT). The method proposed is based on the reformulation of the problem in the standard state space form and on implementing a bank of Kalman filters, each fitting a different order model. The first step will be to select the order of the MV ARMA model using the MPPT, for general (not necessarily Gaussian) data pdfs. The assumption made is that the true model order is \theta (\lambda, \lambda) where \lambda = max (p, q), p is the order of the AR component and q the order of the MA component. The second step will be to estimate the AR and MA coefficients and the actual values of p and q.

A data mining approach to intelligence operations

In this paper we examine the latest thinking, approaches and methodologies in use for finding the nuggets of information and subliminal (and perhaps intentionally hidden) patterns and associations that are critical to identify criminal activity and suspects to private and government security agencies. An emphasis in the paper is placed on Social Network Analysis and Investigative Data Mining, and the use of these technologies in the counterterrorism domain. Tools and techniques from both areas are described, along with the important tasks for which they can be used to assist with the investigation and analysis of terrorist organizations. The process of collecting data about these organizations is also considered along with the inherent difficulties that are involved.

Extracting Information from Semi-structured Web Documents

This article aims to automate the extraction of information from semi-structured web documents by minimizing the amount of hand coding. Extraction of information from the WWW can be used to structure the huge amount of data buried in web documents, so that data mining techniques can be applied. To achieve this target, automated extraction should be utilized to the extent possible since it must keep pace with a dynamic and chaotic Web on which analysis can be carried out using investigative data mining or social network analysis techniques. To achieve that goal a proposed framework called Spiner will be presented and analyzed in this paper.