Capacity Choice, Foreign Trade and Exchange Rates

We investigate the effects of exchange rate movements on investment decisions of firms in an oligopolistic market. In a two-country-world model, we focus on the capacity investment decisions of small (small initial capacity and high marginal cost) and large (large initial capacity and low marginal cost) domestic firms. Both type of firms use foreign inputs in production and sell their output in the foreign market, thus they are prone to changes in exchange rate from both cost and demand side. Results show that devaluations alter the composition of production and the relative share of small and inefficient firms at the expense of large and efficient firms in the economy. The investment response to exchange rates is more pronounced in more competitive markets.Capacity investment, exchange rates, market structure.

Markiz is back in business!

Taha Toros Arşivi, Dosya No: 112-Lokantalarİstanbul Kalkınma Ajansı (TR10/14/YEN/0033) İstanbul Development Agency (TR10/14/YEN/0033

Analysis of a Hypothetical Criticality Accident Involving Damp Low-enriched UO\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3e Powder

In this work, we report on the development of a computer model for predicting the excursion characteristics of a postulated criticality accident involving a homogeneous mixture of low-enriched UO2 powder and water contained in a cylindrical blender. The model uses point neutronics coupled with simple lumped-parameter thermal feedback. The reactivity feedback coefficients, reactivity driving force function, and the mean generation time are computed a priori using Criticality Safety Analysis Sequences No.1(CSASlX) and No.2(CSAS25) in the SCALE-IV system. The temperature of the system is calculated using a simple time-dependent energy balance where two extreme conditions for the thermal behavior of the system are considered which bound the real life situation. These extremes are zero and infinite heat transfer coefficients(0-HTC and ∞-HTC, respectively) between the major components(i.e., the powder and the water) of the system. Using these extremes, three different models are developed where the first model assumes the 0-HTC. The second model utilizes the ∞-HTC where the system is assumed to be vented(i.e., open at the upper end) under constant atmospheric pressure with any steam produced leaving the system instantly. The third model also assumes ∞-HTC but the system is not vented(i.e., closed at the upper end and the total volume of the system remains constant). The resulting time-dependent coupled set of ordinary differential equations is solved numerically using the Livermore Solver of Ordinary Differential Equations(LSODE). To evaluate the models, we compared our results with the results of the POWDER code which was developed by CEA/UKAEA(France/UK) for damp powder systems. The agreement in these comparisons is quite satisfactory. Results of the excursion studies in this work show that approximately 1019 fissions occur as a result of accidental water ingress into powder blenders containing 5000 kg of damp low-enriched(5%) U02 powder

Noninvasive methods in evaluation of inflammatory bowel disease: where do we stand now? An update

The inflammatory bowel diseases, consisting of Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and indeterminate colitis, are distinguished by idiopathic and chronic inflammation of the digestive tract. The distinction between inflammatory bowel diseases and functional bowel disorders, such as irritable bowel syndrome, can be complex because they often present with similar symptoms. Rapid and inexpensive noninvasive tests that are sensitive, specific and simple are needed to prevent patient discomfort, delay in diagnosis, and unnecessary costs. None of the current commercially available serological biomarker tests can be used as a stand-alone diagnostic in clinics. Instead, these are used as an adjunct to endoscopy in diagnosis and prognosis of the disease. Along these lines,, fecal lactoferrin and calprotectin tests seem to be one step further from other tests with larger number of studies, higher sensitivity and specificity and wider availability

Understanding Design Practice, A Case of Turkey How Really We Employ Digital Tools for Everyday Designing?

With the proliferation of the use of information technologies in design activity, digital tools and techniques become determinant factors. The digital design processes and approaches that are always considered as complex activities are evolved. In this context, the role of the designer should be questioned. Thus, who is the designer today? What would be the impact of digital tools on design practice? How do the limits of the technology impact the ways designers think, understand and communicate the design ideas? How are different digital tools perceived in performing the complex design activity? In order to discuss the above issues, a comprehensive survey is conducted. In the paper, the result of the survey will be presented. We will also discuss the findings and give some insights of the use of digital tools in the design practice in Turkey. We conclude how the complexity levels of design activity have a considerable importance in the employment of the digital design tools. Different methods enable to reach higher or lower levels of complexities in design discipline are also discusses. Instead of representing a work of architecture in traditional ways, employing computing and digital tools in the design process might have a significant role in creating new kinds of built environments

Teacher and Administrator Perceptions of Religion and Ethics Education Practices in the Primary Schools of TRNC

Education of religion and ethics has been a long-standing element of the school curriculum in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, delivered as a compulsory subject to primary grades 4 and 5 as well as in secondary schools. Numerous issues concerning this practice have been raised by both the national media and the teacher’s unions. In the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, research studies conducted on religious education are scarce. The existing studies have largely focused on various teaching methodologies for religious education, desired teacher qualities and qualifications and so on. A review of the relevant literature suggested that no research study has so far been conducted specifically on the teachers’ and administrators’ perceptions of how to deliver the religious education lessons in schools. Taking account of teacher and administrator perceptions, this study aims to investigate the processes of teaching the religion and ethics lessons effectively in the primary schools of TRNC. To that end, a questionnaire was developed following deliberations and evaluations with specialists in the field. The questionnaire was composed of two sections. While the first section collected demographic information about the participant teachers and administrators, the latter posed four open-ended questions about the religion and ethics lesson. The questionnaire was distributed to the teachers and administrators involved with the teaching of the concerned lessons at the primary level in the city of Güzelyurt, TRNC. Ten teachers and ten administrators returned the filled questionnaire. Five of the teacher participants taught grade 4 and the other five taught grade 5. While five of the administrators were employed at the time of the study, the other five had been retired. The questionnaire data revealed that the religion and ethics lessons were not implemented efficiently in the primary schools of TRNC and that the lessons were offered by the schools even though the teachers assigned to deliver them were nonspecialists. However, it was also found that, owing to the exam anxiety surrounding college entrance, demanding curricular content and nonspecialist teacher profiles, overall little or no classroom practice existed regarding the education of religion and ethics