The WordPress General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Framework is a comprehensive solution designed to ensure GDPR compliance for WordPress websites. Given the lack of a native compliance system, website owners rely on third-party plugins, many of which have significant limitations. This research proposes a privacy-centric, modular framework that integrates Consent Management, Data Protection, Access Control, Data Portability, and an Audit System. The framework enforces Advanced Encryption Standard (AES-256) encryption, role based access control (Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)), automated consent tracking, and tamper-proof audit logs, ensuring regulatory adherence while maintaining seamless WordPress integration. Implemented as a lightweight, event-driven plugin, it optimizes performance while automating key GDPR compliance processes. Validation through security testing, compliance verification, and performance benchmarking confirms its effectiveness in mitigating risks and ensuring data protection. Future enhancements include Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven monitoring and decentralized data sovereignty solutions.

This research explores the optimization of Evolutionary Algorithms (EAs) using Unity Job System, a framework enabling task parallelization across multiple CPU threads. EAs, widely applied in optimization and artificial intelligence, often face performance bottlenecks due to their computational intensity, especially in real-time or resource-constrained environments such as game development. By leveraging Unity's parallelization capabilities, the study aims to enhance the performance of EAs while addressing their computational challenges. A custom Unity application was developed to compare the performance of EA components - including fitness functions, selection, crossover, and mutation - under single-threaded and multi-threaded implementations. Tests were conducted on functions with varying computational complexities, including Big-O synthetic functions and benchmark functions such as Rastrigin and Rosenbrock. Additional evaluations included the Traveling Salesman Problem and the efficiency of core EA operations. The results demonstrate the potential for significant performance improvements when using Unity's Parallel Job System, particularly for tasks involving extensive data processing. However, limitations such as platform constraints, data preparation overhead, and restricted debugging capabilities are noted. This study provides practical insights for developers and researchers aiming to integrate parallel computing into real-time applications and highlights the potential of Unity as a versatile platform for advancing artificial intelligence in game development.

The objective of this thesis is to formulate a model that scrutinizes how investors endeavor to broaden the concepts of utilitarian and hedonic value in relation to outcomes such as consumer satisfaction, intentions for word-of-mouth communication, and intention propensity for future repurchase by dissecting the psychological mechanisms and factors influencing their purchasing decisions. The acquisition of a home constitutes a momentous milestone, signifying the advent of a new life phase. Given the multiplicity of elements implicated, it is indispensable to identify all relevant factors; accordingly, this study aspires to bridge the extant research lacunae. It covers various aspects that have not been previously studied in Cyprus or elsewhere. The research framework of this study entails an exhaustive review, synthesis, and analysis of germane literature concerning consumer intentions in real estate acquisitions. The procedure encompasses identifying and summarizing the objectives related to property acquisition as well as the factors impinging upon consumers' purchasing decisions. Based on the amassed materials, this research delineates the key determinants influencing consumer investment in real estate and develops a structured survey questionnaire for data collection from a specific demographic cohort. This quantitative study incorporates 314 buyers worldwide who have invested in properties located in Cyprus. The principal aim is to unearth the motivating factors or triggers influencing Chinese consumers' investment decisions regarding properties in Cyprus. A correlation analysis appraises these factors against property purchase objectives while accentuating their significance for clarity. Structural equation modeling assesses various hypotheses and investigates how variables influencing consumer behavior mediate the environmental influences on satisfaction levels, word-of-mouth intentions, and future repurchase plans. The findings emphasize the critical determinants shaping consumer behavior with an emphasis on both utilitarian and hedonic values while exploring how the functional and emotional aspects within the consumer environment affect satisfaction along with the relative significance of positive emotions within this framework. Furthermore, the employment of the Consumer Value Scale (CSV) within contexts encompassing novel service quality metrics in conjunction with product quality considerations accentuates infrastructure sustainability. This study seeks to establish a conceptual framework for the decision-making process involved in purchasing housing. Initially, it examines the definitions related to housing purchase decisions. Following that, it analyzes existing literature to identify commonalities in housing purchase intentions, preferences, and choices, ultimately leading to the development of a foundational conceptual framework, and the categorized elements that affect a consumer’s house purchase decision. Additionally, this paper explores how consumers behave as homebuyers during the housing purchase decision-making process. To achieve a more comprehensive comprehension, it is imperative to expand these findings across a multiplicity of countries. The study aims to provide useful information that could make Cyprus an appealing place to invest because it has the potential to change the lives of consumers and improve relationships between investors through effective systems designed to strengthen the real estate sector. Understanding the important behavioral factors will help lower risk over time while addressing inflationary pressures in a sustainable way. Understanding the implications of real estate investments not only benefits local economies but also enhances associated industry chains globally by elevating international professional standards.

Today’s businesses increasingly acknowledge that practicing sustainability not only benefits the society and the environment, but also could be a source of competitive advantage. Smart progressive firms are engaging in social sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) applications differentiating themselves from competition and creating higher reputation levels. Specifically, social sustainability could become a key factor influencing the performance of Small to Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). Even though several studies have been carried out mainly in the developed world on the role of Social Sustainability Practices (SSP), little has been done for the case of developing nations. Accordingly, this study is the first to investigate the effect of SSP on the overall business performance of SMEs in Lebanon. Departing from the Resource Based View (RBV) theory and strategic choice theory, the hypothesis here is that the implementation of SSP has a positive effect on the overall performance of SMEs in the Lebanese context. The research design employed in this study is mainly quantitative in nature, via a survey study administered to a representative sample of SMEs from the manufacturing sector in Lebanon. To ensure validity of the results, a random sampling procedure was followed to select a sample of 700 out of 4033 SMEs, getting 355 valid responses in total. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was utilized for analyzing the collected data and testing a set of hypothesized relationships. Findings from analyzing the validated structural model indeed showed moderate to strong positive direct effects between SSP and the overall performance of the firm. Moreover, significant indirect effects have been identified through the involvement of barriers, drivers, and the development of competitive advantage. This indicates that the implementation of SSP helps in increasing the level of the overall performance of SMEs including operational and social performance outcomes in addition to productivity improvement, organizational learning competency and an enhanced public image. Moreover, the results highlight the positive significant relationships between drivers and SSP, competitive advantage and SSP, and the resulting competitive advantage and the overall firm performance. However, contrary to expectations, barriers did not exhibit significant effects on SSP, competitive advantage, and performance. This unexpected result challenges the conventional wisdom in the SSP field as it does not align with the current literature findings. One explanation of this result might be the resilient culture of a specific country, such as Lebanon. This finding might imply that encountering barriers should not be always seen as preventive to SSP, however, firms might view barriers as opportunities to strengthen social sustainability initiatives. The overall research findings suggest that SMEs should implement SSP to enhance their performance. The study provides an invaluable contribution to the existing literature by adding more empirical evidence about the positive direct and indirect relationship between SSP and the overall business performance. Moreover, this thesis offers practical recommendations for SMEs leaders, practitioners, and policy makers. Further, the road is paved for future researchers to explore more studies related to social sustainability based on this research findings.

Dr. Loucas Louca is an Associate Professor of Science Education at the European University Cyprus. His research interests focus on student abilities for inquiry in science, on modeling-based learning in scinece and on teachers’ instructional strategies for promoting student inquiry in science. He has also a longstanding interest in supporting professional teacher development in science education. He has been involved in several nationally and EU funded projects focusing on student inquiry in science, teacher professional development, professional learning communities, development of curriculum materials, promoting opportunities for gender balance in science education, STEM education, and promoting inquiry-based teaching and learning in science. He has also experiences in the development and enactment of afternoon clubs for young children in Science, and he also has designed various out-of-school STEM activities for students.

The Mediterranean and Black Sea region is an international centre of economic and commercial development and transactions. At the same time, though, it is characterised by a very volatile and dynamically changing security environment that poses severe threats and challenges on the societies and their prosperity. MEDEA aspires to contribute to the establishment of safer and more secure societies throughout the Mediterranean and Black Sea region using research and innovation as a catalyst to promote collaboration between practitioners from diverse disciplines and countries. The MEDEA project, during its 60 months of implementation aims to: Establish and Operate the MEDEA network. A multi-disciplinary network of security practitioners, with active links to policy makers and users/providers of security innovations across the M&BS countries focusing on Border Protection and other Security- and Disaster-Related tasks. All MEDEA members will engage in activities towards maintaining its sustainability and longevity even after the end of the project. Engage participants in anticipatory governance on emerging security challenges that the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions would face in the coming years (present until +10 years), based on a threefold structure that forms the backbone of the project: i) understanding the unsatisfactory state of play, ii) design the desirable future and iii) define a resilient pathway on how to achieve this. Push for the “co-creation” of security technology and capabilities innovations between practitioners and innovation. Their evaluation and prioritization will be based on a multi-criteria analysis (technology, operational, cost-benefit, etc.) and it will be linked to Human Development, Policy Making and Organizational Improvements in-terms of facilitating their use by the practitioners. Establish and annually update the Mediterranean Security Research and Innovation Agenda (MSRIA), that identifies areas where security & defence research is needed (including the research needs that are not covered by civilian research) and establishes recommendations for European Security & Defence technology investments. It will constitute the common position of the Mediterranean practitioners’ for future call for proposals from European and National funding mechanisms.

GRACE aims to equip European law enforcement agencies with advanced analytical and investigative capabilities to respond to the spread of online child sexual exploitation material. The growth in online child sexual exploitation and abuse material is a significant challenge for European law enforcement agencies. Referrals of CSEM exceed the capacity of LEAs to respond in a practical and timely manner. To safeguard victims, prosecute offenders and limit the spread of CSEM, LEAs need a next-generation AI-powered investigative platform. Background The sexual exploitation and abuse of children, the production of CSEM and subsequent distribution of this material via the internet is a shocking crime. Referrals from Online Service Providers (OSPs) are crucial to fighting CSE. Growth in the number of referrals of CSEM to LEAs is driven both by increased availability and distribution of online CSEM and improved detection and reporting processes. The extent of referrals is affecting LEAs' capacity to respond promptly, leading to an inability to prevent harm to infants and children, rescue those in immediate danger, and investigate and prosecute perpetrators. Core concepts Recent improvements to the referral process have improved LEAs capabilities. However, the sheer volume of data obtained in CSE cases stretches human resources, the limits of manual analysis beyond most LEAs reach. Given there has been a 4,000% increase in referrals since 2014, a new approach to managing, processing and analysing this content is necessary. At the heart of the project, GRACE has three core concepts. Adress the volume and analyse the content of online CSEM through technological innovations; Provide genuine operational value to LEAs in their investigation of online CSEM; and Impact at the strategic and policy level in the harmonisation of EU-wide responses to CSE.

Flipped classroom (FC) is a pedagogical approach in which the conventional notion of classroom-based learning is inverted, so that students are introduced to the learning material before class, with classroom time then being used to deepen understanding through discussion with peers and problem-solving activities facilitated by teachers. Although using FC methods has multiple benefits and is growing popularity, researchers and practitioners indicate that among impediments of widespread usage of FC methods are the additional time and technological support in relation to development of flipped learning activities. The flipped approach often involves the investment of significant time and energy on the part of instructors (e.g., recording video lectures; designing additional in-class activities). It is therefore recommended for teachers flipping their courses in team. By working in team, teachers can share their experiences of implementing flipped classrooms as well as their teaching resources The “Developing Flipped Methods for Teaching” project aims at developing all the necessary flipped learning pedagogical material (out-of-class tasks, pre-assessment tools, in-class activities) for teaching a discipline (psychology) covering a whole academic year course. The project aims at overcoming the difficulties of elaborating multiple materials for teaching with flipped classroom design. By collaboration of six education institutions an entire discipline will be covered with FC materials in seven languages (English, Romanian, Hungarian, Portuguese, Bulgarian, Slovak and Greek), tackling a gap between educational research and practice. One of the project partners, The Mihai Eminescu National Pedagogical High School (Romania) is a secondary-level educational institute. Due to the particularities of the Romanian education system they offer teacher and kindergarten teacher training program, whereby graduates receive a teacher-kindergarten teacher degree. In Romania psychology is part of the secondary-level school curricula, so high schools can also benefit from educational materials translated to Romanian. Their main role in the project is to translate the developed educational methods by the higher education institutes from the partnership, to test and adapt it to the Romanian requirements. The partnership is composed from other six Higher Education Institutes with Teacher Training Faculties, who have important experience as partners or leaders Strategic Partnership projects and educational innovation. The main intellectual output of the project are the pedagogical materials for teaching an entire course of psychology with flipped classroom (FC) methods (materials for 30 courses), available in seven languages. Each pedagogical material is composed of instructional video, out-of-class work plans (online activities) associated with Low-stakes, formative assignments as well as in-class activities and assessment tools.