Gated communities from the perspective of developers

Gated housing areas have increasingly become a profitable segment in the real estate market as well as a new marketing angle for developers to meet the demand for security, status/prestige, and lifestyle. The development patterns of gated communities in many countries show that developers recognize the opportunity to sell safety and security to a niche market. Against this background, the aim of this paper is to investigate the development process of gated communities in a metropolitan city, Istanbul, from the perspective of developers. The data and information used for evaluation are based on the extensive survey questionnaires filled out by developers of gated communities. A “logistic regression method” is deployed to identify the most important factors on approaches and behaviors of developers. Therefore, the motivating factors both in the decision-making and production-marketing process of developers are evaluated. This evaluation enables us to highlight the characteristics of the real estate market.

A powerful test for unit root and an application to GNP of seven OECD countries

Ankara : The Department of Economics, Bilkent Univ., 2000.Thesis (Master's) -- Bilkent University, 2000.Includes bibliographical references leaves 19.This thesis uses a powerful test, Dickey-Fuller Generalized Least Squares (DF-GLS), to see whether unit root exists or not in real GNP of OECD Countries - Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, Italy, U.K. and U.S. - for the years between the first quarter of 1960 and the second quarter of 1998 by using quarterly data that takes 1995 as base year. For this purpose a simple model with a deterministic component plus an error term, which is assumed to be AR (1), is used. The results of the regressions show the existence of unit root for all of the considered countries. Furthermore, we give flnite sample performances of Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) test and DF-GLS tests which Elliott et al. (1996) conducted by using Monte Carlo experiment.Ustundag, AliyeM.S

INVESTIGATION OF PHYSICAL CONFORMITY LEVELS OF WOMEN CYCLING AND NON-ATHLETES IN 12-14 YEARS CATEGORY

Purpose: The purpose of this research; Physical fitness of 12-14-year-old cycling athletes. Methods: Twenty-five girls cycling athletes and 22 non-athletes participated in the study. Participants were asked about the number of training sessions, daily training duration, and sports histories. Participants who were close to each other according to the answers given were included in the study. According to the normality test results of the groups, Independent correlation T-test and parametric tests were used to determine the correlation between the parameters. Conclusions: In the study, it was found that the flexibility level of bicycle athletes was higher than the non-sport group. In our study, body mass index and body fat ratio values were found to be significantly lower when compared with children in the same age group who did not do sports. As a result, cycling in children is thought to be effective for health-related physical fitness components. Considering these differences between cycling athletes aged 12-14 years and non-athletes, significant differences in parameters such as flexibility, body fat ratio, and body mass index were observed in cycling athletes.  Article visualizations

Factors Impacting University-Level Language Teachers\u27 Technology Use and Integration

Despite the documented affordances of technology to enhance language teaching and learning, technology use does not seem to be normalized just yet. This dissertation investigates the factors that impact university-level language teachers\u27 technology use and integration. Adopting the ecological perspective as a guiding framework, this study particularly examines teacher-level factors, ecosystem-level factors, and teacher-ecosystem interaction and how this interaction impacts overall technology use in language teaching. A single case-study methodology with three embedded units of analysis was employed to answer the research questions. Data sources included semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, field observations, and course management system records. Eight language teachers, three administrators, and three technical and pedagogical support personnel personnel participated in the study. The results indicated that teacher-level factors included teachers\u27 beliefs about the role of technology , daily technology use , technical skills , training in technology , and professional/research interest s. The ecosystem-level factors consisted of access to technology , funding opportunities , administrative support , and professional development . Finally, the factors that impacted university-level language teachers\u27 technology use and integration grown out of teachers\u27 interaction with the ecosystem entailed student characteristics , peer interaction , technical and pedagogical support personnel , and inter-departmental collaboration . The results of this study showed that the ecological perspective could provide a holistic lens to examine language teachers\u27 decisions and practices of technology use and integration. This dissertation has practical implications for language programs and language teacher preparation programs, as well as theoretical implications for the use of ecological perspective in understanding language teachers\u27 technology use or non-use

Micro level impacts of foreign language test (university entrance examination) in Turkey: a washback study

The way standardized tests affect teaching and learning is usually called backwash in educational arena and washback in Applied Linguistics. The purpose of this study is to find out whether the foreign language examination---university entrance test---influences the way teachers teach and students learn in senior three classrooms (the last grade of high school) in Turkey. Secondary goal is to see the outcomess of teaching to the test and attitudes of different stakeholders towards the test and senior three English teaching in general.;The data were collected through online surveys, and participants comprise of four major groups. Senior three high school students and English teachers were invited to participate to find out the nature and the scope of washback, while college students and professors are asked to participate to investigate the outcomes of teaching to the test.;Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the responses of the participants. The results suggest that the test is a major factor determining the flow of English lessons in senior three classrooms. The classroom materials that were reported by both students and teachers including mock tests, commercial exam preparation materials and sample test questions directly serve to the purpose of practicing for the test and indicate the relative effect of the test on language learning.;The results also suggest that high school students and teachers focus more on the immediate goal of language learning which is to score high on the test and be admitted to the university by cramming for the test, and learning and practicing the language areas and skills that are measured on the test (grammar, reading, vocabulary) and ignore the ones that are not tested (listening, speaking, writing). Professors and college students, on the other hand, feel the shortage of not having enough practice especially in productive skills. They opine that long term goal of language learning should be to improve the ability to use the language. Based on the gap reported by these different stake-holders, findings lead to recommendations for a change in the curriculum and in the format of the test towards a more communicative and integrative one

Bir demet flu fotoğraf

Taha Toros Arşivi, Dosya No: 111-Hüseyin Rahmi Gürpınarİstanbul Kalkınma Ajansı (TR10/14/YEN/0033) İstanbul Development Agency (TR10/14/YEN/0033

Eurocities and Their "Sisters": How Are They Close to Each Other?

The globalization process has led to the emergence of network of cities in which the cities have become more integrated to the new world system. ‘Eurocities’ or ‘Sister Cities’ are among the well known examples of network of cities which provide interaction and cooperation of the cities at the regional and global level. The ‘sister city movement’ can be defined as a further step of international relationships of the cities at the municipality level which is based on understanding the cultures of each other and aims to create common values. Additionally, sister city relationship provides international trade and economic development between two countries at the local level. Empirical findings show that there are 3 phases of sister city movement: i) the associative phase, ii) the reciprocative phase, and iii) the commercial phase. In this process, municipalities or local authorities have become ‘entrepreneurs’ in order to contribute to the economic and social dynamisms of cities. The present study investigates the relationships of Eurocities with their sister cities from the perspective of the development level or the degree of the relationship. Which factors are important in improving the mutual relationship? Which factors determine the development phases of the relationship? Under which conditions the mutual relationship creates business opportunities and reaches to the level of economic cooperation? What are the success measures of city-to-city affiliation? The study aims to compare and evaluate the current sister cities relationships of Eurocities on the basis of the actual performance in cultural dialogue, benchmarking and commercial activities. The data and information used for comparison and evaluation are based on extensive survey questionnaires filled out by relevant departments or experts of municipalities in Eurocities. As a rather novel methodological contribution, a recently developed artificial intelligence method, i.e. rough set analysis, is deployed to assess and identify the most important factors that are responsible for successes and failures of the relationships between sister cities.

Turkey's Rurality: A Comparative Analysis At the EU Level

The future of Europe’s rural peripheries as well as the future of rural societies is one of the most important development and planning issues of the EU. Several typologies of rural areas and different rural development indicators have been developed by researchers and international organizations such as OECD and EU to better understand the dynamics of rural areas and to develop relevant policies for these areas. The typologies of rural areas are based on sub-national territories and administrative or statistical units (i.e. local, regional, NUTS3, NUTS5), whereas rural development indicators include a wide range of indicators from population and migration to economic structure and performance and from social well-being and equity to environment and sustainability. Against this background, the aim of this paper is to compare and evaluate Turkey’s rurality with the EU-25 countries on the basis of rural development indicators. The data and information used for comparison and evaluation are based on EUROSTAT data. A multicriteria analysis technique, factor analysis is deployed to define Turkey’s rurality in the European context. To map out the characteristics and dynamics of Turkey’s rurality may also help to develop relevant policies for rural development of the country.

THE USEFULNESS OF ANALYTICAL TOOLS FOR SUSTAINABLE FUTURES

The aim of this study is to assess the usefulness of analytical tools for policy evaluation. The study focuses on a multi-method integrated toolkit, the so-called SMILE toolkit. This toolkit consist of the integration of three evaluation frameworks developed within an EU-funded consortium called Development and Comparison of Sustainability (DECOIN) and further applied within the consortium Synergies in Multi-Scale Inter-Linkages of Eco-social systems (SMILE). This toolkit is developed to provide reporting features that are required for monitoring policy-making. The sustainable development perspective is rather difficult to attempt due to its dynamism and its multi-dimensionality. Therefore, in this study, we aim to assess the usefulness of the SMILE toolkit to sustainable development issues on the basis of the critical factors of sustainable development. In other words, here, we will prove the usefulness of the toolkit to help policymakers to think about and work on sustainable developments in the future.

RELIGIOUS TAXONOMY FROM THE OTTOMANS TO THE AUSTRO-HUNGARIANS: CONTINUITY AND/OR RUPTURE?

The aim of this article is to underline the continuity and rupture between the official taxonomy used in the collection of population data during the Ottoman and the Austro-Hungarian administrations in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the second half of the nineteenth century. In order to achieve this goal, the results of the population censuses of the time are analyzed. Comparison of the official taxonomy used for collecting data for understanding the composition of the Bosnian and Herzegovinian society under the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian rules shows that they both focused on the division of society based on religion. The official designations/categories, defining ethno-religious belonging in population censuses conducted by the Austro-Hungarian administration between 1879 and 1895, are almost the same as those used by the Ottoman State right before the end of its rule over Bosnia and Herzegovina (1878). This work shows that the taxonomy used for religious designations remained almost the same despite the changes in the rule and administration. The taxonomy in use was in line with the religious taxonomy of the Millet System. Hence, it is possible to talk about a continuity and acceptance of the Ottoman organization of society based on religion by the Austro-Hungarian rule. Another significant finding of this research is the absence of the ethnic identity, hence ethnic categories, in the taxonomy of all population censuses conducted in the second half of the nineteenth century in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Hence, it would be wrong to refer to an ethnic division of the Bosnian and Herzegovinian society recognized by either the Ottoman or the Austro-Hungarian state in the nineteenth century, although it is commonly mentioned in today`s political discourse and scholarly discussions