COVID-19 and its Economic Implications for Turkish Tour Guides

The COVID-19 outbreak, which became one of the most stunning pandemics of the modern era, had a truly global effect on the world economy in a short period of time. Almost all countries were negatively impacted by the outbreak, which practically paralysed global life and resulted in negative dynamics, unprecedented conditions, and obstacles. Türkiye was not immune to this, having felt seriously negative consequences during this period. Tourism, nearly coming to a complete interruption for the first time since World War II in the 21st century, happened to be one of the hardest hit industries. The industry of tourism in Türkiye, steadily growing over the previous decade was subjected to this difficult process, bringing the situation to a near-standstill. Tour guides who are major front-line employees in the industry experienced this negativity and faced numerous job-related challenges. With these considerations in mind, the present study sought to uncover how the COVID-19 outbreak impacted Turkish tour guides. For this purpose, a sample of 26 certified tour guides associated with the Izmir Chamber of Tour Guides were interviewed using a semi-structured interview form in September 2021. The study findings reveal that the COVID-19 outbreak greatly affected tour guides, reducing their sources of income while maintaining most of their fixed expenses. To ensure their survival, tour guides require more supports, particularly financial ones

Interfaith Tourist Behaviour at Religious Heritage Sites: House of the Virgin Mary Case in Turkey

This study questions selected behavioural aspects of travellers belonging to different religious beliefs during their religious heritage site visits. Tourist behaviour needs to be analysed in specific circumstances. This study aims to clarify in situ problems experienced by religious tourists, behavioural differences of tourists with different beliefs, and religious tourist behaviour regarding cultural heritage site protection. A qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews has been followed. Documentary analysis provided secondary data. On-site observation and face-to-face interviews with key-informants provided primary data. Snowball (referral) sampling was applied as non-probability sampling was convenient for data collection. Primary data suggest that visitor behaviour tends to differentiate based on religious faith and age of visitors. Young Turkish Muslim visitors (Gen Y) seemed to have superficial contact with holy sites especially when the site does not represent their own faith. This superficiality seemed higher for Euro Turks and young male students. Muslims and Christians exhibit similarities (deeper interest and respect with increasing age) and dissimilarities (more female interest in Muslims, more on-site praying for Christians)

Kromun Zencefil Tozu Üzerine Adsorpsiyon ile Atık Sulardan Uzaklaştırılması

Sanayi atıkları ve diğer atıklardan kaynaklanan çevre kirliliği, günümüzün en önemli sorunlarından biridir. Ağır metaller; toprak, hava ve su için önemli kirleticiler arasında yer almaktadır. Atık su arıtımında ana odak noktası olan ağır metallerden biri de kromdur. Endüstriyel atık sularda hem üç değerlikli hem de altı değerlikli krom formları mevcut olsa da; altı değerlikli formun kanserojen özellikleri nedeniyle daha tehlikeli olduğu düşünülmektedir. Bu çalışmada, Cr (VI) iyonunun atık sulardan etkili bir şekilde giderilmesi için adsorban olarak yaygın kullanım alanına sahip ve düşük maliyetli olan zencefil tozu kullanılmıştır. Batch (kesikli) yöntemi ile temas süresi, pH, adsorban dozu, kromun başlangıç konsantrasyonu ve sıcaklık parametrelerinin adsorpsiyon üzerindeki etkileri araştırılmış ve optimum koşullar belirlenmiştir. Bu çalışmaya dayanarak, standart Gibbs serbest enerjisi (ΔG°), standart entalpi (ΔH°) ve standart entropi (ΔSG°) gibi termodinamik parametreler değerlendirilmiştir. Adsorpsiyon kinetiği; pseudo birinci derece, pseudo ikinci derece kinetik modeli ve partikül içi difüzyon modeli ile analiz edilerek, Pseudo ikinci derecede kinetik modelin Cr (VI) adsorpsiyonunu en etkili şekilde açıkladığı bulunmuştur. Ayrıca adsorpsiyon denge çalışmalarını tanımlamak için Langmuir, Freundlich, Dubinin-Radushkevich, Temkin izotermleri incelenmiş ve Langmuir izoterminin diğer izoterm modellere göre daha iyi uyum gösterdiği belirlenmiştir. Sonuç olarak, zencefil tozunun düşük maliyetli bir alternatif olarak krom içeren atık suların arıtılmasında verimli bir şekilde kullanılabileceği görülmektedir

Selective Laser Sintering of Aluminum Extrusion Dies

In this study, geometric forms of maraging steel dies used in aluminum extrusion were optimized by means of flow dynamics as well as surface quality and mechanical properties of the final part. Maraging steel (MS1) dies were produced by Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS), a Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) method, using EOS M290. Dies were not subjected to any conventional finishing post processes. Field tests were carried out in an industrial aluminum extrusion facility. Results presented that DMLS is a promising method for the production of dies with complex inner sections with high accuracy, high speed and low cost. Production of high quality extruded profiles was possible using additive manufactured dies directly from production without applying any finishing post process

Effects of Hot Isostatic Pressing and Heat Treatments on Structural and Corrosion Properties of Direct Metal Laser Sintered Parts

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the effects of various heat treatments on microstructure, hardness, porosity and corrosion properties of the parts. Design/methodology/approach – Hot isostatic pressing (HIP) process, various heat treatments and their combinations were applied to the AlSi10Mg parts produced by direct laser metal sintering (DMLS). Findings – It has been found that the HIP process, which is a post-processing process, reduces the amount of porosity in DMLS-AlSi10Mg material, thus improves corrosion resistance significantly. Originality/value – In this study, the HIP process and subsequent T6 heat treatments were applied to AlSi10Mg parts produced by the DMLS technique. The study aims to increase the corrosion resistance of AlSi10Mg parts by reducing porosity with the HIP process and by altering the microstructure with the T6 process

Valorización sostenible del patrimonio cultural via tour guías: caso turco de efeso ciudad antigua

The concept of sustainability has become one of the most popular topics of tourism studies. Sustainable tourism emerged as a strong stream of tourism research based on the stance that tourism industry has responsibility for degradation of natural and cultural environments. Additionally, tourism industry consumes local resources and has to pay its attention on conservation issues. Tour guides are part of tourist experience in destinations and they have a strong influence on tourist behavior. In this study, the potential support of tour guides conducting excursions to Ephesus Ancient City located at Western Anatolia nearby Izmir metropolitan city is questioned for sustainable heritage valorization process. Ephesus is regarded as one of the great outdoor museums of Turkey, once the trade center of the ancient world, a religious center of the early Christianity and today an important tourism center deserves to be questioned through cultural heritage valorization concept. Role of tour guides in minimizing negative impacts of tourist traffic is rarely perceived and applied as a support to heritage site managers. This research seeks to reflect primary data obtained through qualitative data collection techniques (semi -structured interview) from Turkish tour guides surveyed at Ephesus Ancient City. Following the evaluation of findings, recommendations will be developed for tourism industry and cultural heritage site managers.El concepto de sostenibilidad se ha convertido en uno de los temas más populares entre los estudios de turismo. El turismo sostenible surgió como una fuerte corriente de investigación basada en la postura de la industria del turismo en relación a su responsabilidad en la degradación de los ambientes naturales y culturales. Además, la industria del turismo consume recursos locales y tiene que prestar atenciónal tema de la conservación. Los guías turísticos hacen parte de la experiencia turística en los destinos y tienen una fuerte influencia en el comportamiento de los turistas. En este estudio es cuestionado el potencial apoyo de los guías turísticos que realizan excursiones a Éfeso, antigua ciudad ubicada en Anatolia occidental cerca de la ciudad metropolitana de Esmirna, en el proceso de valorización del patrimonio sostenible. Éfeso es considerado como uno de los grandes museos al aire libre de Turquía, uno de los centros de comercio del mundo antiguo, un centro religioso del cristianismo primitivo, y en la actualidad, un centro turístico importante que merece ser estudiado a través del concepto de valorización del patrimonio cultural. El papel de los guías turísticos en la minimización de los impactos negativos del tráfico de turistas rara vez es percibido y aplicado como un apoyo para los gestores de lugares con patrimonio. Esta investigación procura reflejar datos primarios obtenidos a través de técnicas de recolección de datos cualitativos (entrevista semiestructurada) de guías turísticos turcos encuestados en la Ciudad Antigua de Éfeso. Tras la evaluación de los resultados, se elaborarán recomendaciones para la industria del turismo y para los gestores de lugares con patrimonio cultural

Turizm İşletmelerinde Kalite Fonksiyon Göçerimi: Seyahat Acentelerine Yönelik Varsayımsal Bir Yaklaşım

Having emerged in Japan in 1966, The Quality Function Deployment (QFD) concept developed day by day as a result of successful implementations and spread over to western countries. Initially, aim of this method was to prevent inferior product design mostly experienced in manufacturing and assembly phases of industrial sectors. However, in the following periods QFD was accepted by other sectors. Being a customer-oriented product design and development model, QFD required a thorough specific and technical jargon and detailed computations at initial stage. Actually, social and psychological aspects of the language are also used. Moreover, QFD found a fertile application domain under Total Quality Management philosophy and it is becoming itself a production philosophy. Within this study, after having analyzed the emergence and development of QFD concept from a historical perspective, we have tried to clarify the concept itself together with secondary concepts. Then, we shed light on strong and weak aspects of the method. A relation is created between the method and travel agencies, which are a part of service industry. Finally, a hypothetical QFD implementation on a travel agency is carried out. Assuming this study to be the first in this domain, a strong wish of serving as guideline for future studies is shared by the authors. Kalite Fonksiyon Göçerimi (KFG) kavramı 1966'da Japonya'da ortaya çıktıktan sonra başarılı uygulamalar sonucunda gelişmiş ve batı ülkelerine de yayılmıştır. Başlangıçta sanayi sektöründe, imalat ve montajla bağlantılı alanlarda ürün tasarımında görülen hataları önceden giderebilmek amacı taşıyan yöntem ilerleyen dönemlerde diğer sektörlerde de kabul görmüştür. Müşteri odaklı bir ürün tasarlama veya geliştirme modeli olan KFG başlangıçta oldukça spesifik ve teknik bir dil kullanımı ve detaylı hesaplamalar gerektirmiş iken günümüzde sosyal ve psikolojik dilin de kullanımı da mümkün olmaktadır. Hatta denilebilir ki, KFG Toplam Kalite Yönetimi felsefesinin altında geniş bir uygulama alanı bulmuştur ve kendi başına bir üretim felsefesi haline gelmektedir. Bu çalışmada KFG kavramının ortaya çıkışı ve gelişimi tarihi perspektiften ele alındıktan sonra, kavram ve ilgili yan kavramlara açıklık getirilmeye çalışılmış ve yöntemin zayıf ve güçlü yönlerine ışık tutulmuştur. Hizmet sektöründe yer alan turizm işletmelerinden seyahat acenteleri ile KFG yöntemi arasında ilişki kurulmuş ve son kısımda seyahat acentelerine yönelik varsayımsal (hypothetical) bir KFG uygulaması yapılmıştır. Alanında ilk olduğunu düşündüğümüz bu çalışmanın bundan sonraki çalışmalara ışık tutması beklenebilir

Isolation and genomic characterization of Culex theileri flaviviruses in field-collected mosquitoes from Turkey

Vector surveillance for the arthropod-borne infections has resulted in the isolation of a growing number of novel viruses, including several flavivirus strains that exclusively replicate in insects. This report describes the isolation and genomic characterization of four insect-specific flaviviruses frommosquitoes, previously collected from various locations in Turkey. C6/36 Aedes albopictus and Vero cell lines were inoculated with mosquito pools. On C6/36 cells, mild cytopathic effects, characterized as rounding and detachment, were observed in four pools that comprised female Culex theileri mosquitoes. Complete (3 isolates, 10,697 nucleotides) or near-complete (1 isolate, 10,452 nucleotides) genomic characterization was performed in these culture supernatants via next generation sequencing. All strains demonstrated high genetic similarities, with over 99% identity match on nucleotide and amino acid alignments, revealing them to be different isolates of the same virus. Sequence comparisons identified the closest relative to be the Culex theileri flavivirus (CTFV) strains, originally characterized in Portugal. Phylogenetic analyses demonstrated that the isolates remained distinct as a cluster but formed amonophyletic group with CTFV strains, and shared a common ancestor with Quang Binh or related Culex flaviviruses. The organization of the viral genome was consistent with the universal flavivirus structure and stem-loops; conserved motifs and imperfect tandem repeats were identified in the non-coding ends of the viral genomes. A potential ribosomal shifting site, resulting in the translation of an additional reading frame, was detected. The deduced viral polyprotein comprised 3357 amino acids and was highly-conserved. Amino acid variations, presumably associated with adaptive environmental pressures, were identified. These isolates comprise the first fully characterized insect-specific flaviviruses in Turkey. Their impact on West Nile virus circulation, which is also endemic in the study region, remains to be explored. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center, Global Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response System (AFHSC-GEIS), United States [W81XWH-11-2-0174]; Georg Forster Research Fellowship (HERMES) for Experienced Researchers by Alexander von Humboldt Foundation; National Research Council (NRC) Research Associateship Award at the Walter Reed Army Institute of ResearchThis study was partially supported by The Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center, Global Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response System (AFHSC-GEIS), United States (W81XWH-11-2-0174) (with Yvonne-Marie Linton as the principal investigator). KE is a recipient of the Georg Forster Research Fellowship (HERMES) for Experienced Researchers by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, 2015. This manuscript was prepared whilst YML held a National Research Council (NRC) Research Associateship Award at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. This research was performed in part under a Memorandum of Understanding between the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and the Smithsonian Institution, with institutional support provided by both organizations. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript. The material to be published reflects the views of the authors and should not be construed to represent those of the US Department of the Army or the US Department of Defense

Co-circulation of West Nile virus and distinct insect-specific flaviviruses in Turkey

Background: Active vector surveillance provides an efficient tool for monitoring the presence or spread of emerging or re-emerging vector-borne viruses. This study was undertaken to investigate the circulation of flaviviruses. Mosquitoes were collected from 58 locations in 10 provinces across the Aegean, Thrace and Mediterranean Anatolian regions of Turkey in 2014 and 2015. Following morphological identification, mosquitoes were pooled and screened by nested and real-time PCR assays. Detected viruses were further characterised by sequencing. Positive pools were inoculated onto cell lines for virus isolation. Next generation sequencing was employed for genomic characterisation of the isolates. Results: A total of 12,711 mosquito specimens representing 15 species were screened in 594 pools. Eleven pools (2%) were reactive in the virus screening assays. Sequencing revealed West Nile virus (WNV) in one Culex pipiens (s.l.) pool from Thrace. WNV sequence corresponded to lineage one clade 1a but clustered distinctly from the Turkish prototype isolate. In 10 pools, insect-specific flaviviruses were characterised as Culex theileri flavivirus in 5 pools of Culex theileri and one pool of Cx. pipiens (s.l.), Ochlerotatus caspius flavivirus in two pools of Aedes (Ochlerotatus) caspius, Flavivirus AV-2011 in one pool of Culiseta annulata, and an undetermined flavivirus in one pool of Uranotaenia unguiculata from the Aegean and Thrace regions. DNA forms or integration of the detected insect-specific flaviviruses were not observed. A virus strain, tentatively named as “Ochlerotatus caspius flavivirus Turkey”, was isolated from an Ae. caspius pool in C6/36 cells. The viral genome comprised 10,370 nucleotides with a putative polyprotein of 3,385 amino acids that follows the canonical flavivirus polyprotein organisation. Sequence comparisons and phylogenetic analyses revealed the close relationship of this strain with Ochlerotatus caspius flavivirus from Portugal and Hanko virus from Finland. Several conserved structural and amino acid motifs were identified. Conclusions: We identified WNV and several distinct insect-specific flaviviruses during an extensive biosurveillance study of mosquitoes in various regions of Turkey in 2014 and 2015. Ongoing circulation of WNV is revealed, with an unprecedented genetic diversity. A probable replicating form of an insect flavivirus identified only in DNA form was detected