Ethnic identity and perceptions of the police in Turkey: the case of Kurds and Turks

Drawing on the literature on minorities’ and ethnic groups’ perceptions of the police, this article investigates the differences between Kurds and Turks in terms of their perceptions of the police in Turkey. We conducted survey research using a nationally representative sample of 1804 people. Multivariate regression analysis revealed that Kurds in Turkey have a more negative perception of the police than Turks, regardless of their gender, education, income, party affiliation, and sectarian identity. It is concluded that the historical relationship between Kurds and the Turkish state has had a decisive effect on how Kurds perceive the police

Perceptions of Democracy in Turkey: Gender, Ethnic, and Religious Dynamics

WOS: 000437199300001Bu araştırmada, Türkiye’de farklı cinsiyet, etnik ve mezhep gruplarına mensup kişilerin, demokrasi ve demokratik devlet tanımları 60 adet yarı-yapılandırılmış yüz yüze görüşmeye dayanarak çalışılmıştır. Bu görüşmelerde, çeşitli etnik ve dini kimliklere ve sosyo-ekonomik gruplara ait bireylerle konuşulmuştur. Görüşmelerin analizi sonucunda, demokrasiyi tanımlarken, kadınların cinsiyet eşitliği üzerinde durduğu, Kürtlerin ve Alevilerin hak ve özgürlüklere, Sünni Türk erkeklerin ise ekonomik refaha odaklandıkları görülmüştür. Bu bulgulara dayanarak, devletle tartışmalı bir ilişki içerisinde olan kimlik gruplarının demokrasiyi hak ve özgürlükler açısından tanımlamaya, devletle bu şekilde bir ilişki içerisinde olmayan grupların ise demokrasiyi tanımlarken ekonomik konuları merkeze almaya daha eğilimli olduğu ortaya konmuştur. Çalışmada ayrıca katılımcıların demokratik devletten beklentileri de incelenmiştir. Görüşmelerin bu bölümünde de benzer sonuçlara ulaşılmıştır. Sünni Türk erkeklerin demokratik devletten beklentileri arasında eşitlik bulunduğu durumlarda bile, bu görüşmecilerin daha çok ekonomik eşitliğin belirli bir ölçüde sağlanmasını kastettikleri anlaşılmıştır. Bunun aksine, Sünni Türk kadınlar, Kürtler ve Aleviler, demokratik devletten beklentilerinin arasında farklı etnik ve dini gruplar arasında eşitliğin sağlanması olduğunu ifade etmişlerdir. Türkiye toplumunu oluşturan bu kimlik gruplarının demokrasiye ve demokratik devlete ilişkin tutumlarındaki bu önemli farklılıklar, Türkiye’de hem demokrasinin konsolide edilmesi hem de bu konudaki toplumsal ayrışmanın azaltılması yönündeki sorunlara işaret etmektedir.Utilizing 60 interviews, we examine how people belonging to different gender, ethnic, and sectarian groups in Turkey define democracy and the democratic state. An analysis of the interviews reveals that women emphasize gender equality, while Kurds and Alevis focus on rights and freedoms in their definitions of democracy. Male Sunni Turks, on the other hand, focus on economic welfare. On the basis of these results, we argue that identity groups that have a problematic relationship with the state are more likely to define democracy in terms of rights and freedoms, whereas those who do not have a problematic relationship with the state are more likely to consider economic issues as central to democracy. This research also examined people's expectations of a democratic state. When male Sunni Turks indicated that equality is among their expectations of a democratic state, they formulated it in terms of the state realizing economic equality. Female Sunni Turks, Kurds, and Alevis, on the other hand, emphasized the provision of equality among different ethnic and religious groups in their expectations of a democratic state. These important differences among identity groups in Turkey in terms of their attitudes toward democracy and the democratic state illustrate the problems involved in consolidating democracy as well as significant challenges in lessening social differentiation regarding this issue

The relationship between the state and civil society organizations, and participation in civil society organizations in Turkey

Yapılan araştırmalar, sivil toplum kuruluşlarına katılımın demokrasi üstünde olumlu bir etkisi olduğunu göstermiştir. Ancak Türkiye’de sivil toplum kuruluşlarına üyelik düşüktür. Bu çalışma, Türkiye’de devlet ile sivil toplum kuruluşları arasındaki ilişkinin tarihine ve sivil toplum kuruluşlarına katılımı etkileyen faktörleri inceleyen literatüre dayanarak Türkiye’de sivil toplum kuruluşlarına üyeliğin düşük olmasının nedenlerini araştırmayı hedeflemektedir. Bu doğrultuda bu çalışmada, 2015 senesinde Türkiye nüfusunu temsil eden bir örneklem ile gerçekleştirilmiş ulusal bir anket çalışması kullanılmıştır. Yapılan analizler, Türkiye’de kişilerin sivil toplum kuruluşlarını demokrasinin önemli öğesi olarak görmediğine işaret etmiştir. Ayrıca, devletin sivil toplum kuruluşlarını dikkate alması, sivil toplum kuruluşlarının devletten bağımsız hareket etmesi ve vatandaşların çekinmeden sivil kuruluşlarına üye olması gibi konularda katılımcıların büyük bir kısmının olumsuz düşüncelere sahip olduğu bulunmuştur. Bu çalışma, Türkiye’de sivil toplum ve devlet ilişkilerinin problemli tarihinin kişilerin sivil toplum kuruluşlarına karşı bu olumsuz yargılara sahip olmalarına ve dolayısıyla sivil toplum kuruluşlarına üyelikten kaçınmalarına neden olduğu sonuca varmıştır.Previous research demonstrated that there is a positive relationship between democracy and membership in civil society organizations. Turkey is considered to be a country where membership in civil society organizations is low. Relying on the literature on the factors effecting the participation in civil society organizations and the history of the relationship between civil society organizations and the Turkish state, this article aims to investigate the factors behind low civil society organization membership in Turkey. To this end, this article benefited from a nation-wide survey conducted in 2015. Analysis showed that people in Turkey do not consider strong civil society as an important dimension of democracy. In addition, analysis revealed that a large number of people in Turkey think that: civil society organizations in Turkey are not independent from the state; the state does not see civil society as a partner in policy-making; and people are afraid of being a member of civil society organizations. This article concluded that the problematic history between civil society organizations and the Turkish state is a major reason why people in Turkey hold negative views about civil society organizations, and therefore avoid membership in these organizations

Gender impartiality of public institutions, religiosity, and satisfaction with democracy: findings from Turkey

Previous literature demonstrated that gender inequality is a major challenge for democratic consolidation. However, research that studies the effect of gender inequality on citizens' satisfaction with democracy is limited. This study contributes to this literature by exploring the relationship between citizens' perceptions of gender impartiality of public institutions and satisfaction with democracy in Turkey, where gender inequality is an acute problem. Analysis of a nationally representative survey showed that the perception of gender impartiality of public institutions is a major factor explaining citizens' satisfaction with democracy. Results also revealed that perceptions of gender impartiality of public institutions affect citizens' evaluations of the long-term performance of democracy. Another finding is that religiosity moderates the effect of perceptions of gender impartiality of public institutions on citizens' satisfaction with democracy. We conclude that gender inequality is not a peripheral issue to democratic consolidation in Turkey but a social problem that remains at the heart of it

Učinak cjepiva COVID-19 na pneumotoraks kod gerijatrijskih bolesnika hospitaliziranih u jedinici intezivnog liječenja zbog COVID-19

In our study, we examined the effect of COVID-19 vaccination on the incidence of pneumothorax in intensive care patients over age 65. COVID-19 intensive care patients that presented to our department between April 2020 and May 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic were evaluated retrospectively. Patients were divided into two main groups, i.e., before and after the vaccination period. Patients were evaluated retrospectively for the following parameters: gender, age, side of pneumothorax, mortality, discharge, comorbidity, and additional pleural complications. The total number of patients was 87, i.e., 66 patients before vaccination and 21 patients after vaccination. When patients in the pre- and post-vaccination period were compared, there was a significant difference in the incidence of pneumothorax between the two groups (p<0.05). Pneumothorax was less common after vaccination. When patients with pneumothorax and tube thoracostomy were evaluated according to pre- and post-vaccination mortality, mortality was significantly higher (89%) in the pre-vaccination period (p<0.05). We consider that COVID-19 vaccines used in patients aged over 65 reduced the incidence of pleural complications, especially pneumothorax. We think that mortality due to pneumothorax in patients over 65 years of age was lower during the vaccination period. In addition, we think that bilateral pneumothorax was more common in the non-vaccinated period. As a result, we think that life-threatening pneumothorax and similar complications could be reduced by increasing the number of vaccines made in the COVID-19 pandemic and spreading it around the world.U našem istraživanju ispitali smo učinak cijepljenja protiv COVID-19 na incidenciju pneumotoraksa kod bolesnika starijih od 65 godina hospitaliziranih u jedinici intenzivnog liječenja. Provedena je retrospektivna analiza bolesnika primljenih u jedinicu intenzivnog liječenja od travnja 2020. do svibnja 2021. godine. Bolesnici su podijeljeni u dvije glavne skupine: prije i nakon cijepljenja, a promatrani su sljedeći parametri: spol, dob, strana pneumotoraksa, smrtnost, otpust iz bolnice, supostojeće bolesti i dodatne pleuralne komplikacije. Ukupno je bilo 87 bolesnika, 66 prije cijepljenja i 21 nakon cijepljenja. Usporedba bolesnika primljenih prije i nakon razdoblja cijepljenja pokazala je značajnu razliku u incidenciji pneumotoraksa (p<0,05). Pneumotoraks je bio rjeđi nakon cijepljenja. Usporedba smrtnosti prije i nakon cijepljenja kod bolesnika s pneumotoraksom i torakostomijom pokazala je značajno veću smrtnost (89%) u razdoblju prije cijepljenja (p<0,05). Smatramo da cjepivo protiv COVID-19 kod bolesnika starijih od 65 godina snižava incidenciju pleuralnih komplikacija, osobito pneumotoraksa. Smrtnost zbog pneumotoraksa kod bolesnika starijih od 65 godina bila je niža tijekom razdoblja cijepljenja. Uz to, obostrani pneumotoraks bio je češći u vremenu prije cijepljenja. Stoga smatramo da se pneumotoraks i slične za život opasne komplikacije mogu smanjiti većom stopom cijepljenja tijekom pandemije COVID-19 širom svijeta

Förstår vi varandra? : En studie om hur fyra lärare i grundskolans mellanår beskriver och arbetar i läsförståelse med lässvaga elever

The purpose of this thesis is to study how four different Swedish teachers in elementary school are teaching pupils reading comprehension to develop the low-performing pupils. To investigate and find out this I intend to try to answer the following questions: What strategies / methods / support structures do the teachers consider to help the lowperforming pupils understand the content of texts? How does the teacher reflect on the support the pupils receive? What types of questions do the teachers use in the text talks to support the pupils in developing their reading skills? The research questions are answered by qualitative methods in forms of interviews and observations. The theoretical point of view of the study is Lev Vygotsky's socio-cultural perspective, where Vygotsky describes how children develop when interacting with other people. Because teachers are the ones helping pupils develop, I will investigate how the interviewed teachers are working with those pupils and whether they believe this theory helps and guides the low-performing pupils forward in the learning process. The results of the study show that all the interviewed teachers agree on that pupils develop their reading skills when interacting with more competent classmates because it increases their ability to absorb information