The paper aims to assess the quality of Greek hospitals by focusing on patients ' perceptions. Hospitals ' performance was measured using the patient satisfaction survey approach. A structured questionnaire was used and seven hospitals were included in the study. In total, 225 patients were asked to report their judgments on their experience of service quality. Results illustrated that educational status, the type of insurance patients had and the emergent admission signifi cantly affect perceptions of satisfaction. Moreover, males and young people tended to rate satisfaction a little higher than females and older people.

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Purpose -The paper aims to explore the reading behavior among LibraryThing users through the linked book-recommendations of 15 popular books. Design/methodology/approach -The research was approached by using the normality test as an index regarding the current reading situation that expresses the intensity of reading preferences upon specific or various topics. The selected variable was the number of book members that is automatically referred by LT statistics. First, 15 popular book titles were included in the research. Second, the combined book recommendations associated with the books under study and appearing in LibraryThing were selected, and their members' data was analyzed. Findings -In order to evaluate the normality, data were plotted and they showed that the combined recommended books do not follow the curve of normal distribution. The lack of normality shape in all the books studied indicates that 25 percent of reading preferences are based on books with a specific theme, and are closely related to the book under study, while 75 percent are related to various subjects. Originality/value -Approaches to reading preferences of LT users are partially unexplored, and this research examines one of its aspects.

While the international literature has examined how the domestic population growth and domestic fertility rates affect economic growth, there is no research about how the foreign fertility rates can affect the domestic economic growth. The bridge on foreign fertility rates and domestic economic growth is the assisted reproductive health services provided through the market of medical tourism. Libertarian legal frameworks may attract health travelers for In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) andcontribute to GDP growth from the side of the tourism industry. The present paper discusses this point of view as a vehicle for depressed economies such as Greece that enjoys a high expertise in IVF and tourism. A simplistic attempt of the potential turnover to the clinics is presented by estimating the future medically assisted births. The results give a clue of how a dynamic part of medical tourism can result beneficially for the exodus of economic depression.

<p><strong><em>Purpose:</em></strong><em> </em><em>t</em><em>he paper aims to investigate if the countries that conduct cross border investments and trade are transferring their own culture to the host countries. <strong>Methodology:</strong> </em><em>c</em><em>ulture was represented by book collections’ data selected by the digital library LibraryThing. In total 2,569 book-titles that represent the 50 top books of 52 country-groups have been used as the study’s sample. Author’s Nationality was set as the country of influence. Statistical analysis was employed to measure if the book collections of LT users were of foreigner-driven or homoethnic-driven authorship. <strong>Findings:</strong> </em><em>t</em><em>he most industrialized countries and the best exporting countries were the best performers in culture transferring. Statistical significance with the amount of the books traded abroad was found to (i) the outward FDIs in millions of $ (p=0.004), (ii) the stock of outward FDIs in millions of $ (p&lt;0.001), (iii) the outward FDIs as GDP percentage (p=0.004)</em><em>,</em><em> and (v) the export volume index (p=0.011). Regression analysis showed that outward FDIs in mil. $ (p=0.016) and outward FDIs stock in mil. $ (p&lt;0.001) were significant predictors of a country’s success to transfer its own cultural product abroad. <strong>Originality/value:</strong> </em><em>t</em><em>his research is addressed to a tangible cultural output, books, issuing the objectiveness in measurements.</em><em></em></p>