Effect of Continuous Improvement and Quality Data and Reporting on Innovation Performance

It is stated that there is no certainty in the literature as to what sort of relationship between Quality Management practices and innovation exists. The literature on the relationship between Continuous Improvement (CI) and Quality Data and Reporting (QDR) -two of the practices related to quality management- and innovation is even more limited. The aim of this study is to determine the relationships between CI and QDR and innovation performance (IP). The data were obtained from the companies with ISO certificate in the manufacturing and service sectors. The model which consists of QDR, CI and IP variables was analysed with the Structural Equation Model. The IP level was above the midpoint as well. It has been seen that CI and QDR have an impact on IP. In addition, it has been determined that QDR has a mediating role in the effect of CI on IP

Demonstrating the relationship of ultrasonographic parameters with disease activity and pain in lateral epicondylitis

To evaluate the relationship of ultrasonographic evaluation parameters with pain, muscle strength and disease severity in lateral epicondylitis (LE). 64 people were included in present retrospective, cross-sectional study. Activity and rest pain was questioned with Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Also, Patient Rated Tennis Elbow Evaluation (PRTEE) and the maximum grip strength were evaluated. Hypoechoic region, neovascularity, cortical irregularity, enthesopathy and peritendinous fluid or bursitis were evaluated by ultrasonography. 48 of the patients were female and 16 were male. Mean age was 48.53 ± 6.12, body mass index was 27.70 ± 4.75. 55 (85.9%) hypoechoic region, 31 (48.4%) neovascularity, 21 (32.8%) cortical irregularity, 19 (29,7%) enthesopathy, and 18 (28.1%) peritendinous fluid or bursitis were detected by ultrasonography. When the ultrasonographic findings and clinical findings of the patients were compared, no significant difference was found between the hypoechoic region, cortical irregularity, enthesopathy and clinical findings (P > .05), while the extension grip strength was found to be significantly lower in patients with neovascularity (P = .045). In addition, patients with peritendinous fluid or bursitis, were found to be significantly lower in both flexion (P = .033) and extension (P = .023) grip strength, while PRTEE function (P = .021) subgroup and total (P = .038) scores were significantly higher. Hypoechoic region, cortical irregularities and enthesopathy were not evaluated to be associated with disease severity, pain and muscle strength. Neovascularity was found to be associated only with extension grip strength. Peritendinous fluid or bursitis was found to be associated with both flexion and extension grip strength and disease activity, but not associated with pain

EVALUATION OF LOCATION SELECTION CRITERIA FOR COORDINATION MANAGEMENT CENTERS AND LOGISTIC SUPPORT UNITS IN DISASTER AREAS WITH AHP METHOD

In recent years, human beings and our planet have suffered great losses in the frequent disasters. Effective and timely intervention is of utmost importance in all large-scale disasters, whether natural or man-made. In this article, a study has been conducted on a model in which the location selection criteria of the management and support centers, where the coordination works as well as the management and administration are carried out in disaster areas, are evaluated by the Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) method. For this, an in-depth literature analysis was carried out at the first stage, and then all the findings obtained as a result of the literature research were presented to the professionals related to the subject, and expert opinion was sought. In the light of expert opinion, the location selection criteria for the coordination management center and logistic support units in disaster areas were determined, and a model proposal was made, in which the importance values ​​were weighted by using one of the MCDM methods, The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), which is widely used

An investigation of SO2 and PM10 emissions sourced from residential areas by using different models of distribution in körfez district

In this study, the behaviours of SO2 and PM10 emissions emitted from the settlements located in the Körfez district in Kocaeli Province into the atmosphere was studied with the use of different distribution models. This study area is one of the most intense points in Kocaeli province in terms of industry. Therefore, the increases of region's population and residential areas have been observed in recent years. According to the obtained data from Körfez Municipality, 15 villages, 11 districts, 865 streets, 14150 buildings and 29128 housings locate in this study area. In the county, occupied area of housing buildings was found as 5,31 km2 with the help of Google Earth program and the area of housings was divided into four different areas while modelling. In the study, firstly, the fuels and their amounts used by housings for heating were determined according to the data obtained from Kocaeli Province Environmental Status Report and then the emissions rates were calculated with the use of mass - based emission factors of US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and with the help of obtained data. These rates were divided into occupied spaces of residential areas and were obtained the data in g/m2. The obtained data were entered into AERMOD (American Meteorological Society/Environmental Protection Agency Regulatory Model), ISCST-3 (Industrial Source Complex Short Term) and CALPUFF VIEW (California Puff Model) programs in order to make modelling. As a result of the modelling work, daily and annual distribution maps were obtained. Analyzing maps, the obtained daily high concentrations for SO2 were calculated as 41,13 µg/m3 (AERMOD), 14,10 µg/m3 (ISCST-3), 35,16 µg/m3 (CALPUFF) and the obtained annually concentrations were calculated as 6,52 µg/m3 (AERMOD) 4,33 µg/m3 (ISCST-3) 10,18 µg/m3 (CALPUFF). The estimated highly daily concentrations for PM10 emissions were calculated as 86.70 µg/m3 (AERMOD), 69,47 µg/m3 (ISCST-3), 92,21 µg/m3 (CALPUFF) and annually concentrations for PM10 emissions were calculated as 17,10 µg/m3 (AERMOD), 11,51 µg/m3 (ISCST-3), 26,7 µg/m3 (CALPUFF). Analyzing of distribution maps created with the use of all programs, it was seen that, according to both daily and annual time options for both pollutants, the area where the most intensity of pollution located in residential areas. When the results of dispersion model program were examined, it was revealed that the results of each program different from each other. The causes of this situation were supported by literature research and these causes were reviewed

Determining Performance and application of steady-state models and lagrangian puff model for environmental assessment of CO and NOx emissions

Air quality modellings are highly useful systems used to investigate the possible impact of emissions diffusing into the atmosphere in any area they might have on that area. There are many modelling methods whose capacities are limited by their advantages and disadvantages or the equipment they use. In this study, therefore, both steady-state models (AERMOD and ISCST-3) and the Lagrangian model (CALPUFF) are used. This study has two purposes: one is to specify performance of the models. Performances were determined with various statistical methods such as fractional bias (FB), mean squared error (MSE), and geometric mean bias (MG). The other purpose of this study is to evaluate temporal and spatial variations of point (P), area (A), and line (L) - sourced CO and NOx emissions in the research area by using the modelling methods. The district of Korfez, which is one of the districts of the province of Kocaeli, was chosen as the study area. When the results obtained with modelling all P and A sources by three programs are analyzed, the highest annual concentration AERMOD, ISCST-3, and CALPUFF were found as 128.82, 86.96, and 201.30 mu g/m(3) for CO, and 7.56, 26.31, and 6.10 mu g/m(3) for NON, respectively. On the other hand, when the results obtained with modelling all P and A and L sources by two programs are investigated, the highest annual concentration AERMOD and ISCST-3 were found to be 155.12, 92.46 mu g/m(3) for CO, and 166.93 and 89.98 mu g/m(3) for NOR, respectively. When contributions of the pollutant sources on pollution are evaluated, it was observed that area sources and line sources are more predominant than other sources for CO and NOx emissions. It was observed by analyzing the diffusion maps that residential areas in the district are more concentrated. Therefore, in the study the predicted and observed values were also compared with national and international limit values and determined to meet these limit values. According to the results obtained by evaluation of performances of the models with FB, MS, and MG statistical methods, performance sorting for NOx emissions was found to be ISCST-3 > CALPUFF > AERMOD, while for CO emissions it is given as CALPUFF >AERMOD > ISCST-3. However, since it is not correct to distinguish between performance of a model for an application and that of another model accurately, performances of the models were interpreted according to the results of this study and literature review

Higher education, and the future of distance teaching and perceptions of academics; An investigation in Turkey

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to analyze distance education and explore the implications for tourism education from the perspective of academics in the higher education system. Design - This study was designed as exploratory research in order to measure its effects on the university academics. Methodology - A questionnaire-based survey was used to collect data. A total of 408 questionnaires from participants were found to be a satisfactory sample. Simple random sampling technique was used by selecting a sample of academics who were teaching distance education in universities in Turkey, of which 228 were from tourism and the rest were from other social science departments. Findings - The system entails an excessive workload for faculty to provide satisfactory preparation, while some technical problems such as interruptions and disconnections occurred frequently. It was also found that the system is less interactive, does not provide control over students’ examination, and it is difficult to keep students interested in active participation. This system was found to be less effective and impractical than traditional on-site instruction in subject areas, especially where hands-on practice is required. Originality of the research - This study reveals the views of instructors during and immediately after the Covid 19 pandemic, and it is also one of the first studies to examine instructors’ opinions on distance education, including suggestions for professionals as their scholarly and applicable contributions

Evaluation of CO and NOx distributions from point (industry) sources in Körfez district of Kocaeli province with ISCST3 model

This study was performed for the modelling of the distributions of CO and NOx emissions emitted to the atmosphere from point sources in Körfez District of Kocaeli Province. ISCST3 (Industrial Source Complex Short Term) dispersion model approved by the EPA (US Environmental Protection Agency) was used for the study. The model uses steady state Gaussian plume flow equation for high point sources. Due to the nature of the steady-state condition, the model is able to predict distribution of emissions from point, area and volume sources within 50 km in a successful manner; therefore it is defined as a suitable model for estimating air quality. Accuracy of the estimates depends on the correct measurement of meteorological parameters in the study area, as well as the detailed and accurate emission inventory for all resources. Körfez district has a number of pollutant sources including many industrial plants, ports and docks, railway and busy traffic arteries together with a high density of urbanisation. It is one of the most polluted sites in Kocaeli region and determination and monitoring of air quality here has a great importance. For this purpose, CO emissions emitted from 20 factory chimneys and NOx emissions emitted from 15 factory chimneys were modelled and the daily and annual distribution maps were obtained. The modelling study showed that the maximum ground-level CO concentrations were calculated as 335.24 µg/m3 and 70.02 µg/m3 in daily and annual basis respectively. On the other hand, for NOx concentrations, daily and annual maximum values were calculated as 372.05 µg/m3 and 26.29 µg/m3 respectively

Evaluation of three pollutant dispersion models for the environmental assessment of a district in Kocaeli, Turkey

Air Quality Modeling is a method used to manage urban air quality. Various pollutant dispersion models are available, and each of these models is characterized by its own advantages and disadvantages. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of the models and to determine their performance by applying them to a specific district. This study also enabled the determination of the contribution of pollution sources to the total pollution and the current air quality of the study area according to the selected pollutants. In this study, both steady-state models (the American Meteorological Society/Environmental Protection Agency Regulatory Model-AERMOD and the Industrial Source Complex Short Term Model-ISCST-3) and the Lagrangian model (the California Puff Model-CALPUFF) were used as the dispersion models. The Korfez district of Kocaeli was selected as the study area. SO2 and PM10 emissions were observed as pollutants. The statistical methods of mean squared error (MSE) and fractional bias (FB) were employed to evaluate the performance of these models. The results of the study revealed that the highest concentration varied according to the models and time options. However, when the modeling results for all of the sources were examined, the highest concentration was calculated by ISCST-3. The effect of the line source was less than the other sources (point and area). The contributions of the pollution sources differed according to each modeling program. The results of the statistical methods, which were used for evaluating the performance of the models, varied according to both the pollutant type and the time option. An overall ranking regarding modeling performance is as follows: CALPUFF > AERMOD > ISCST-3 for PM10 and ISCST-3 > CALPUFF > AERMOD for SO2. The MSE/FB results demonstrated that the predicted values were lower than the measured outcomes. Similarly, a comparison of the predicted and measured values with national and international limits revealed that various measures are necessary to reduce SO2 and PM10

A Construction Heuristics For Vehicle Routing Problem in Fuel Distribution

DergiPark: 470669trakyasobedOneof the well known problems in distribution is the Vehicle Routing Problem(VRP). In this problem, vehicles start their tours from a depot, they visit thecustomers and finish their tours in the depot again. There are several variantsof VRP. Fuel distributionprovides a different kind of VRP which is called as Multi Compartment VehicleRouting Problem (MCVRP). In MCRVP vehicles have compartments and incompatiblepetroleum products are delivered in different compartments of a vehicle. Forboth of the problems solution methods can be classified into two categories;route construction heuristics and improvemenet heuristics. While there is asignificant literature on VRP regarding these heuristics, the literature onMCVRP is much more limited. The aim of this study is to offer a constructionheuristics for a fuel distribution problem in Turkey. The problem has somefeatures such as compartments, visiting customers more than once and tolerancewhich turns it into a MCVRP problem. Savings Algorithm (SA) and a loadingalgorithm is integrated to develop a construction heuristics for the problem.Proposed heuristics is tested on test problems and acceptable results obtainedwhen compared with the literature. A real life fuel distribution problem issolved with the propsed heuristics and significant cost reduction has beenachieved. The proposed method can be used as a construction method in MCVRP andas a practical solution for real life problems in fuel distribution in Turkey.Araç Rotalama Problemi (ARP) dağıtım alanındaki enbilinen problemlerden birisidir. Problemde bir merkez depodan turlarınabaşlayan araçlar, müşterileri ziyaret edip tekrar depoya dönmektedirler. ARP’ninpek çok çeşidi bulunmaktadır. Akaryakıt dağıtımı da Kompartmanlı Araç RotalamaProblemi (KARP) adı verilen ARP’nin farklı bir versiyonunu sunmaktadır. KARP’dekarışmaması gereken akaryakıt ürünleri farklı kompartımanlarda taşınmaktadır.ARP’de olduğu gibi KARP için çözüm yöntemleri de genelde rota oluşturmasezgiselleri ve iyileştirme sezgiselleri olmak üzere iki kategoriyeayrılmaktadır. Her iki sezgisel kategorisi ile ilgili ARP ile ilgili geniş birliteratür olmasına rağmen, KARP için literatür sınırlıdır.  Bu çalışmanın amacı Türkiye’de akaryakıtdağıtım problemi için bir başlangıç çözümü önermektir. Problemi KARP halinegetiren, her müşteriye birden fazla kez uğrama, kompartıman, tolerans gibideğişkenler bulunmaktadır. Tasarruf Algoritması (TA) bir yükleme algoritmasıile entegre edilerek problem için bir başlangıç çözümü önerilmiştir.  Önerilen yöntem test problemleri üzerindetest edilmiş ve literatürle kıyaslandığında kabul edilebilir sonuçlarvermiştir. Önerilen yöntemle gerçek hayat akaryakıt dağıtım problemiçözülmüştür ve önemli maliyet iyileştirmesi gerçekleştirilmiştir. Önerilenyöntem hem KARP problemlerinde başlangıç çözümü olarak, hem de pratik uygulamaolarak Türkiye’de akaryakıt dağıtımında kullanılabilir