Analysis of Mathematics Teachers’ Self-Efficacy Levels Concerning the Teaching Process

The purpose of this study is to identify mathematics teachers’ opinions on the teaching process self-efficacy levels; and to examine mathematics teachers’ teaching process self-efficacy beliefs with regards to specific variables. The study was conducted in Turkey during the second term of the 2015-2016 academic year. The study sample consisted of 328 mathematics teachers working in secondary and high schools. The “scale for teacher self-efficacy on the teaching process” developed by Korkmaz and Ünsal (2015) was used as the data collection instrument for the study. The scale consists of 23 items and four dimensions. These dimensions are  individual difference, planning, method and technique diversity and use of various activities. Arithmetic mean (  ), independent samples t-test and one-way variance analysis were conducted in analyzing the data. In addition, the Lsd test was conducted in cases where a difference was detected in the anova test so as to identify between which groups the difference occurred. According to the study results, it was observed that mathematics teachers stated opinions on having high self-efficacy beliefs concerning the teaching process, that these opinions differed based on the gender, year of service, level of school of profession variables and that these opinions did not differ based on the type of school of graduation, educational background and type of school variables. The results were compared with other study results and were discussed. Suggestions were made based on the results in the final section of the study. Keywords: self-efficacy, teacher self-efficacy belief, teaching process

ANALYSING NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANS IN TURKEY REGARDING TEACHER TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT

This research is motivated to investigate five-year national development plans (NPDs) prepared in Turkey between 1963 and 2013 with regard to teacher training and employment. The data were elicited from the plans in concern, and qualitatively analysed through content analysis. The preliminary findings demonstrated that the related decisions were made with a focus on three purposes: (i) to meet teacher shortage, (ii) to reduce the number of students per teacher, and (iii) to balance distribution of teachers nationwide. The reasons why most of them could not be successfully implemented might be listed as political instability, decisions taken without sufficient preparation, and inadequacy of efforts to implement NDPs. Even though certain decisions were taken considering teacher qualifications and competencies into account, quantitative concerns caused procrastination in their implementation. The study concludes with some practical implications for decision makers on the preparation and implementation of NDPs with respect to teacher training and employment. 

Linking Turkish Credit Card Market as Two-Sided Market

8th International Strategic Management Conference -- JUN 21-23, 2012 -- Barcelona, SPAINCredit Card markets are special kind of market which is called as Two-Sided Markets in economics literature. In these markets there are two sides which benefit from the number of subscribers on other sides. Although scholars and economists has given importance and examined two-sided markets since the beginning of 21th century Turkish scholars have not interested much about these markets. We studied Turkish Credit card market by using Two-sided markets approach and also we aimed to contribute literature that is poor about Turkey Two-Sided Markets. We defined actors and competition structure in Turkish credit card markets and explained profit functions of them and set profit maximizing problems.Beykent Univ Istanbul, Gebze Inst Technol, Emerald Publishing Grp, Elsevier Ltd Publishing Gr

Influence of Surface Treatment on Strength Distribution of Vita VMK 68 Dental Porcelains

Weibull distribution function is the most commonly used statistical model for the investigation of mechanical properties of dental ceramics and design process with dental ceramics. However, it is still unclear whether the Weibull distribution function is the most appropriate function for fitting the strength data of dental ceramics with different surface treatments. In this paper, three-point bending test results of feldspathic body porcelain (Vita VMK 68) specimens with four different surface treatments are analysed. According to goodness-of-fit tests (Anderson-Darling test, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, and Akaike information criterion), it is shown that the type of surface treatment has an important influence on deviation of strength distribution from perfect Weibull statistics. It is concluded that estimation of the most suitable statistical model for Vita VMK 68 is not only a material-dependent but also a process-dependent (machining of the specimens) procedure

Transient changes in QRS morphology during a narrow complex tachycardia: What is the mechanism?

A22‐year‐old man with recurrent episodes of tachycardia inthe absence of structural heart disease underwent an electro-physiological evaluation. A narrow complex tachycardia (NCT)was induced by programmed by ventricular pacing. A transientchange in QRS morphology and H‐V interval in the middle of thetracing was noted during ongoing tachycardia (Figure1). What arethepossiblemechanismsoftachycardia and changes in QRS morphology

Inadvertent right ventricular apical exit after stereotactic body radiotherapy for ventricular tachycardia: Every cloud has a silver lining

A 78-year-old man suffering from gastric cancer with ischemic cardiomyopathy and recurrent ICD shocks consented to ventricular tachycardia (VT) ablation. He had a previous endocardial VT ablation 1 year ago, and a stereotactic radioablation for his recurrent VT 4 months ago. We planned again left ventricular endocardial mapping for his incessant slow VT suggesting an apical exit site (Figure 1A). However, the activation mapping of LV did not cover the whole VT cycle length, and we decide to map the right ventricular septal side instead of the epicardial access due to the patient's poor frailty. Fortunately, the mid-diastolic potential (MDP) was acquired in an unusual position (Figures 1A and 1B); however, the pericardial location of the mapping catheter was confirmed fluoroscopically (Figures 1C and 1D). An urgent surgical consultation was called for, and operative preparations were initiated. However, since no pericardial tamponade occurred and blood pressure remained stable, we continued the endo-epicardial ablation by ablating the MDP (Video 1)

Prenatal radiation exposure

Pregnant women may be exposed to nonionizing, ionizing radiation and contrast media via diagnostic or therapeutic procedures and workplace exposure. When computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging is performed on a pregnant woman, the effects of exposure to radiation, high magnetic fields and contrast media, which can be risky for a fetus, should be considered. Nonionizing radiation that is not significantly risky for a fetus includes microwave, ultrasound, radio frequency and electromagnetic waves, while ionizing radiation that can be teratogenic, carcinogenic or mutagenic includes particles and electromagnetic radiation. The effects of radiation are associated with the level of exposure and stage of fetal development. Organogenesis (two to seven weeks after conception) and the early fetal period (eight to fifteen weeks after conception) are the most sensitive stages for a fetus. Noncancerous health effects have not been determined at any stage of gestation with less than 50 mGy (5 rad) exposure dose of ionizing radiation. Higher exposure levels may lead to spontaneous abortion, growth restriction, and mental retardation. The risk of cancer is increased regardless of the dose. Although the use of iodinated contrast media is generally thought to be safe during pregnancy, the risk of fetal hypothyroidism should be considered and it should be used only when necessary. The use of gadolinium-based contrast media during pregnancy is controversial because of the lack of clinical data. The purpose of this article is to review the existing literature regarding the prenatal radiation exposure and to discuss fetal risk of radiation

Reply to letter to the editor: '2D LGE or 3D high-resolution LGE: Role of cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging in the treatment of ventricular arrhythmias'

We are pleased that our paper raised interest among readers of the Anatolian Journal of Cardiology. Even though the late gadolinium enhancement cardiac magnetic resonance (LGE-CMR) imaging was first established for ventricular tissue characterization in localizing ventricular tachycardia (VT) ablation targets (CMR-aided), it is by now widely used as a clinical tool to guide VT ablation (CMR-guided) through the detection of the arrhythmogenic substrate and conducting channels. While the CMR-derived information has been used alongside electroanatomic mapping (EAM) data to aid VT ablation (CMR-aided), the CMR-guided approaches, where EAM acquisition is completely avoided, make procedures faster, and the operator relies solely on imaging data.1 As the authors reported, the analysis of CMR images with software, which is known as ADAS (ADAS 3D, Barcelona, Spain), is very helpful for identifying these conducting channels.2 The preliminary results showed that the mean procedure duration was lower in CMR-guided when compared to CMR-aided and No-CMR substrate ablation (109 ± 61 vs. 206 ± 70 and 233 ± 48 minutes, respectively; P <.001 for both comparisons).1 VOYAGE is a prospective, randomized, multicenter controlled open-label study designed to compare in terms of efficacy, efficiency, and safety of a CMR-aided or guided workflow to standard EAM-guided VT ablation

Cardiac magnetic resonance-guided conducting channel delineation of an aneurysmal ventricular tachycardia with the same circuit in the reverse direction

A 54-year-old male patient with remote inferior wall myocardial infarction with inferoseptal left ventricular (LV) aneurysm (Figure 1A, Video 1) was referred for ablation of hemodynamically tolerated ventricular tachycardia (VT). Image processing (ADAS 3D Galgo Medical, Barcelona, Spain) was used to reconstruct myocardial scar from cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) and to identify channels of heterogeneous tissue that could be directly involved in the VT reentry circuit (Figure 1B, Videos 2-4). Then, this 3-dimensional (3D) CMR analysis was uploaded into 3D electroanatomic mapping system (CARTO® Biosense Webster Inc., Diamond Bar, CA, USA)

The width of life is more important than the length of life

A 58-year-old man with previous inferior myocardial infarction (MI) was referred for cardiac resynchronization therapy pacemaker (CRT-P) for decreased left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF; 45%) and left bundle branch block (LBBB) (Figure 1). He had New York Heart Association Class I functional classification but palpitation for 3 months. General physical and cardiac examinations were normal. On the admission day, the electrocardiogram showed a narrow QRS rhythm with and without tachycardia (Figures 2 and 3). Would you recommend or consider a CRT-P device or a CRT defibrillator or only an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) based on these clinical and electrocardiographic findings, or ablation or medical therapy only