Encouraging Environmental Sustainability in University Campuses: Evidence from Türkiye

The primary aim of the current study is to comprehend the development and evolution of environmental attitudes and to examine on-campus pro-environmental engagement among 16 undergraduates from two public Turkish universities through semi-structured interviews. Our qualitative analysis highlighted that several factors (e.g., the existence of environmentally aware role models in elementary education) are responsible for the formation of respondents’ environmental attitudes. The current paper also points out that litter pollution is a major problem on university campuses. To combat this problem, most respondents in the study reported taking proactive measures (e.g., disposing of the waste properly) to reduce littering and promote sustainable practices. In addition to fighting against littering, they actively take part in pro-environmental activities (e.g., tree plantation), prefer ecologically friendly mobility options (e.g., biking, using shuttles), financially support ecological organizations and attending their activities, and conserve energy. They also reported several factors for motivating (e.g., the willingness to protect the campus ecosystem) and hindering (e.g., lack of time) their on-campus pro-environmental engagement. Furthermore, our respondents pointed out that all stakeholders (e.g., rectorate, employees, students) regarding campus sustainability should take part (e.g., using effective measures for rewarding and penalizing) in amplifying the effectiveness of on-campus pro-environmental behaviors. With these findings, the current paper made important theoretical and practical contributions to campus sustainability

Türkiye'de Uluslararası Öğrenciler Biricikliği Nasıl Anlamaktadır? Yorumlayıcı Bir Fenomenolojik Analiz

Although the literature on uniqueness has emphasized that it is unique to the Western culture, recent studies have indicated that the need for uniqueness is getting more familiar to the Eastern culture. The current study aimed to get a deeper understanding of uniqueness by investigating the concept among international students. Primarily, the perception and evaluation of uniqueness by participants from other cultures is investigated. The data were collected from seven international undergraduate students studying in Turkey. The interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was used to analyze the participant accounts. The IPA is a qualitative analysis tool that aimed to investigate the meanings of particular experiences. The results revealed that there were three final themes: “Who is unique? Extraordinary, intelligent and different” “Ordinary: You are safe but routine” and “Turkey and home country: We have Nelson Mandela; you have Mustafa Kemal Atatürk”. It was indicated that uniqueness is seen as exceptional and distinctive, but it is something to be achieved in time. On the other hand, ordinary people were criticized for conforming to the norms, besides the advantage of a comfortable life. The results were discussed in relation to the experiences of international students and the differences between cultures.Biriciklik konusunda yapılan çalışmalar, genel olarak biriciklik olgusunun Batı kültürlerinde yaygın olduğunu gösterse de son yıllarda Doğu kültürlerinde de biriciklik ihtiyacının yaygınlaştığı görülmektedir. Bu nedenle, bu çalışma, biriciklik kavramının uluslararası öğrenciler tarafından nasıl anlaşıldığını araştırarak konuya dair daha derinlemesine bilgi elde etmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Temel olarak, biricikliğin başka kültürlerden katılımcılar tarafından nasıl algılandığı ve değerlendirildiği incelenmektedir. Veri, Türkiye'de okuyan yedi uluslararası lisans öğrencisinden toplanmış ve yorumlayıcı fenomenolojik analiz (YFA) ile incelenmiştir. YFA, belirli deneyimlerin anlamlarını araştırmayı amaçlayan nitel bir analiz aracıdır. Sonuçlar, katılımcıların yanıtlarında üç tema olduğunu ortaya çıkardı: “Kim benzersiz? Olağanüstü, zeki ve farklı” “Sıradan: Güvendesin ama rutinsin” ve “Türkiye ve memleket: Bizim Nelson Mandela'mız var; sizin Mustafa Kemal Atatürk‟ünüz”. Katılımcılar tarafından biriciklik istisnai ve ayırt edici göründüğü, ancak zaman içinde başarılması gereken bir şey olduğu belirtildi. Öte yandan, sıradan insanlar rahat bir yaşamın avantajını yaşamanın yanı sıra normlara uydukları için eleştirilmişlerdir. Sonuçlar, uluslararası öğrencilerin deneyimleri ve kültürler arasındaki farklılıklar ile ilgili olarak tartışılmıştır

Social Representations of Working Mothers in Social Media in Turkey

İş gücüne katılan kadın sayısının artmasına karşın toplumsal cinsiyet rolleriyle ilgili beklentiler geçerliliğinikoruyabilmektedir. Mevcut çalışma, Türkiye'deki sosyal medya kullanıcılarının çalışan annelere ilişkinsosyal temsillerini incelemeyi hedeflemiştir. Bu amaçla, bir sosyal site olan Eşi Sözlük sitesinden tek sayılıveriler seçilerek çalışan annelere ilişkin 60 girdi iki araştırmacı tarafından anlamlı söz öbekleri tek tekdeğerlendirilerek kodlanmıştır. Konvansiyonel içerik analizine göre, söz öbeklerindeki ortak örüntülerinbir araya getirilmesi sonucunda 6 adet üst tematik birim ortaya çıkmıştır. Bunlar: i) çalışan anneler ile ilgiligenel bakış açısını, ii) çalışan annenin çocuğun gelişimine etkisini, iii) çalışan anne ile ilgili çocuğun bakışaçısını, iv) çalışan anne olmak ile ilgili annelerin bakış açılarını, v) çalışan annenin sosyal destekkaynaklarını ve vi) çalışan annenin meslek tipi ve mesleğinin içeriklerini yansıtmaktadır. Tematikbirimlerin içeriğine bakıldığında toplumsal cinsiyet rollerinin çalışan anne ile ilgili sosyal temsiller üzerineetkisi görülmektedir. Bulguların, Türkiye toplumundaki çalışan anne temsiline dair önemli bilgiler verdiğidüşünülmektedir.Despite the increased rate of women's labor force participation, expectations from women related with gender roles are still common. The current study aims to investigate social representations of social media users toward working mothers in Turkey. For this purpose, by selecting odd-numbered data from a social site called as Ekşi Sözlük, all meaningful phrases in 60 entries were evaluated by two researchers. In accordance with conventional content analysis, common patterns in the phrases were gathered, and six thematic codes were constructed: i) general perspectives of people about working mothers, ii) the impacts of working mothers on their children, iii) children’s perspective about their working mothers, iv) mothers’ perspectives related to being a working mother, v) social support to working mothers, and vi) the occupation types of working mothers and the content of occupations. Concerning thematic units, the effects of gender roles on the social representations of working mother were shown. These findings were considered as valuable information with regards to the social representations of working mothers in Turkish society

Innovation and adaptation in a Turkish sample: A preliminary study

The aim of this study was to examine the representations of adaptation and innovation among adults in Turkey. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with a sample of 20 Turkish adults (10 men, 10 women) from various occupations. The participants' ages ranged from 21 to 58 years. Results of content analysis Showed that the representation of innovation varied with the type of context. Innovation was nor preferred within the family and interpersonal relationship contexts, whereas it was relatively more readily welcomed within the contexts of work, science, and technology. This finding may indicate that the concept of innovation that is assimilated in traditional Turkish culture has limits. Contents of the interviews were also analyzed with respect to M. J. Kirton's (1976) subscales of originality, efficiency, and rule-group conformity. The participants favored efficient innovators, whereas they thought that the risk of failure was high in cases of inefficient innovation. The reasons for and indications of the representations of innovativeness among Turkish people are discussed in relation to their social structure and cultural expectations

Future time orientation and religion

The purposes of this study were to evaluate whether Future Time Orientation (FTO) was associated with interest in the future beyond death, and/or with level of belief in religion, and also to validate an instrument aimed at measuring belief in religion in Turkish society. Gjesme's (1979) FTO scale was administered to 244 undergraduate students from Middle East Technical University together with a scale developed to measure Belief Orientations and a single-item measure designed to assess a subject's level of interest in the future beyond death. Results indicated that those who scored high in FTO also tended to score high in level of interest about the future beyond death and level of belief in God (intrinsic religiosity), compared to those who scored low in FTO. Research implications and suggestions for future studies are discussed

Preferences and expectations of innovator-ritualist types in relation to sex of university students in a Turkish sample

The aim of ihis study was whether there is a prevailing representation of Innovators versus Ritualists which differs in both expected frequency and preference of the types for the two sexes. 213 Turkish undergraduate students were given Ritualist and Innovator vignettes in a random order and asked to state the expected frequency of the vignettes if each described a male or female. In addition to this, they stated their preferences for each sex in vignettes. Analysis showed that women are expected more frequently to be Ritualist than men, and men are expected to be more frequently Innovators than women. Moreover, regardless of sex, people prefer Innovators to Ritualists, while they state that they expect to encounter Ritualists more frequently than Innovators in Turkish society. Research implications and suggestions for study are discussed

Known-groups validity of the translated version of self-monitoring: A comparison of conservatoire students and university students

The aim of this study was to test the known-groups validity of the Turkish translation of Snyder's 1974 Self-monitoring Scale by administering a translated version to 151 first-year university students (85 men, 66 women) and 39 first year conservatoire students from the School of Theatre (18 men, 21 women). The mean score of the latter group was higher than the mean for regular university students. The finding was regarded as an indicator of known-groups validity

Future Time Orientation in Romantic Relationships and the minding theory of relating

The aim of this study was to explore the differences between high and low scorers of Future Time Orientation in Romantic Relationships (FTORR) on the three subscales of the minding scale, namely Acceptance, Knowledge, and Attribution. Undergraduate students (N = 160) from Middle East Technical University were given the FTORR scale developed by Oner (2000b) together with the Minding Scale developed by Omarzu, Whalen and Harvey (2001). Results indicated an interaction effect between subscales of the minding scale and FTORR. In terms of the "Acceptance" subscale, individuals with high FTORR scores were found to score lower than were individuals who had lower FTORR scores-whereas for both "Knowledge" and "Attribution" measures, individuals with higher scores of FTORR scored higher than did individuals who had lower FTORR scores. Detailed analysis of the results and research implications were discussed

Factors predicting future time orientation for romantic relationships with the opposite sex

The author examines the possible connection of predictors of future time orientation to romantic relationships with the opposite sex using the Future Time Orientation in Romantic Relationships Scale (FTORR; B. Oner, 2000b). The variables suggested as correlates with FTORR scores in B. Oner's (2000a) study were subjected to regression analysis. The results indicated that relationship satisfaction and an eagerness to break up negative relationships were negatively related to FTORR scores, whereas being a woman, experiencing jealousy, and the degree of selectivity in choosing a dating partner were positively related to FTORR scores. Caution and relationship commitment both predicted FTORR scores through the mediating effect of relationship satisfaction. The author discusses the implications of the findings

Revised form of the belief in Good Luck Scale in a Turkish sample

The aim of the study was to explore the patterns of belief in luck in a Turkish sample. For this purpose, a shorter version of Freedman and Darke's Belief in Good Luck Scale was given, including some more items related to the beliefs in 'consistent' versus 'variant' patterns of luck. This scale, together with Turkish versions of Rosenberg's measure of Global Self-esteem, Rotter's Internal-External Locus of Control Scale, and the Satisfaction With Life Scale of Diener, Emmons, Larsen, and Griffin, was administered to a group of 173 (96 men, 77 women) undergraduate students from the Middle East Technical University. attending an elective general psychology course. The mean age was 21 yr. (SD=2.1). The factor composition of the extended scale consisted of three scales, similar to the original version. Loading of new items on the General Belief in Luck factor indicates that this factor may describe a belief in an organised pattern of luck