Turkish and International Journalists Comparing the Media Systems, Journalistic Practices and News Production Processes

The article will be mainly based on the comparison of media systems and journalists’ professional values and practices. By relying principally on the findings of the in-depth interviews conducted with the Turkish journalists and journalists from different countries working in Turkey, I will analyze journalists’ approach to their profession and ask what kind of a professional approach is dominant both in theory and in practice among the journalists and what are the potentials and obstacles for more democratic forms of journalism. The findings show that Western values are the key points for comparison, not only for the journalists from Anglo-Saxon countries but also for Turkish journalists (as can be seen in the discourse of “we are more democratic than Middle Eastern countries, but less democratic compared to Europe”). Turkish journalists and the others differed mostly in the rights and opportunities they have and the different political culture. They share more common points when it comes to professional codes, but they have differences in practice

Regeneration of begonia plantlets by direct organogenesis

The economic importance of ornamentals worldwide suggests a bright future for ornamental breeding. Rapid progress in plant molecular biology has great potentials to contribute to the breeding of novel ornamental plants utilizing recombinant DNA technology. The plant cell, tissue or organ culture of many ornamental species and their regeneration are essential for providing the material and systems for their genetic manipulation, and this is therefore the first requirement of genetic engineering. In this research, different concentration of BA (0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 mgl(-1) with NAA ( 0.0, 0.5, 1.0 mgl(-1)) and BA (0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 mgl(-1)) with IAA ( 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, mgl(-1)) were investigated to optimize regeneration of Begonia elatior cv. Toran orange. The best regeneration and growth were obtained from the media containing 2.0 mgl(-1) BA and 1.0 mgl(-1) NAA (70%) followed by 1.0 mgl(-1) BA and 0.5 mgl(-1) NAA (50%), 1.0 mgl(-1) BA and 1.0 mgl(-1) NAA (20%) in BA - NAA combination. The media with BA - IAA combination showed that the best regeneration was 0.5 mgl(-1) BA and 0.5 mgl(-1) IAA (43%) followed by 0.5 mgl(-1) BA and 1.0 mgl(-1) IAA (23%)

RF Source Seeking using Frequency Measurements

In this paper, we consider a problem motivated by search-and-rescue applications, where an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) seeks to approach the vicinity of a distant quasi-stationary radio frequency (RF) emitter surrounded by local scatterers. The UAV employs only measurements of the Doppler frequency of the received RF signal, along with its own bearing, to continuously adapt its trajectory. We propose and evaluate a trajectory planning approach that addresses technical difficulties such as the unknown carrier frequency offset between the emitter and the UAV's receiver, the frequency drifts of the local oscillators over time, the direction ambiguity in Doppler, and the noise in the observations. For the initial trajectory, the UAV estimates the direction of the emitter using a circular motion, which resolves direction ambiguity. The trajectory is then continuously adapted using feedback from frequency measurements obtained by perturbing the bearing around the current trajectory. We show that the proposed algorithm converges to the vicinity of the emitter, and illustrate its efficacy using simulations.Comment: Submitted to IEEE SPAWC 2018, Greec

The role of specific heat capacity on building energy performance and thermal discomfort

The key role of the building and construction sector, in terms of sustainability and decarbonization, has led building codes to tighten mandatory requirements related to buildings energy performance. Envelope quality, beyond light efficiency or the renewable energy contribution, is a key factor since the highest percentage of energy consumption is produced by thermal losses through enclosures. Therefore, building codes have significantly increased the mandatory benchmarks for equivalent thermal transmittance. However, the specific heat capacity (SHC) has commonly been overlooked in the discussion. Thus, in order to estimate the impact of such parameter in the energy consumption and thermal comfort of residential and non-residential buildings, a building model has been simulated by means of Transfer Functions Methods and the Finite Difference Methods. A traditional double brick façade has been considered and the SHC of bricks has been varied from 800 to 1800 kJ/kg K. The thermal behavior of the building has been assessed at several locations in accordance with the Spanish building code. In addition, building orientation has also been shifted from north to south. Although passive strategies have not been considered, the results show significant energy savings (i.e. up to 20%) and a reduction of thermal discomfort (i.e. up to 20%), depending on the type of building and its location

Replacement of Natural Sand with Expanded Vermiculite in Fly Ash-Based Geopolymer Mortars

Increasing the thermal insulation of building components to reduce the thermal energy loss of buildings has received significant attention. Owing to its porous structure, using expanded vermiculite as an alternative to natural river sand in the development of building materials would result in improvement of the thermal performance of buildings. This study investigates the properties of fly ash (FA)-based geopolymer mortars prepared with expanded vermiculite. The main aim of this study was to produce geopolymer mortar with lower thermal conductivity than conventional mortar for thermal insulation applications in buildings. A total of twelve batches of geopolymers were prepared for evaluating their different properties. The obtained results show that, at a given FA and expanded vermiculite content, the geopolymers prepared with a 10 molar NaOH solution exhibited a higher flowability, water absorption and porosity, as well as a lower dry unit weight, compressive strength, ultrasound pulse velocity and thermal conductivity compared with those prepared with a 15 molar NaOH solution. As is also shown, the geopolymers containing expanded vermiculite (15%) developed a lower flowability (~6%), dry unit weight (~6%), compressive strength (~7%), ultrasound pulse velocity (~6%) and thermal conductivity (~18%), as well as a higher apparent porosity (~6%) and water absorption (~9%) compared with those without expanded vermiculite at a given FA content and NaOH concentration. The findings of this study suggest that incorporating expanded vermiculite in FA-based geopolymer mortar can provide eco-friendly and lightweight building composites with improved sound and thermal insulation properties, contributing toward the reduction of the environmental effects of waste materials and conservation of natural sand

Teacher perceptions of the competence of the school management team to utilise an ethical foundation and its influence on job satisfaction

Abstract: Various South African legislations such as the White Paper on the Transformation of the Public Service, Section 32 of the Constitution of South Africa, the Administrative Justice Act of 2000, and the Public Service Regulations of 2001 aim to revitalise provision of public services by focusing on the interests of people (Batho Pele). However, with regard to educational leadership, it has been easier to legalise the functions of the School Management Team for school efficiency than to implement such functions. In fact, SMTs face enormous challenges when it comes to the actual implementation of these tasks. In a hierarchical bureaucratic system where different task levels have different authority and control, SMTs face challenges in how to collaborate. In this research, leadership is a fundamental function of the SMT and one of its important functions involves teacher motivation...M.Ed. (Educational Leadership and Management