Fast Moving Consumer Goods: Competitive Conditions and Policies

Fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs) constitute a large part of consumers' budget in all countries. The retail sector for FMCGs in Turkey is in the process of a drastic transformation. New, "modern" retail formats, like chain stores and hyper/supermarkets, have rapidly diffused in almost all major urban areas, and increased their market share at the expense of traditional formats (grocery shops, green groceries, etc.) in the last couple of decades. This rapid transformation has raised concerns about competitive conditions in the sector. This study is aimed at to shed light on competitive conditions prevailing in the FMCGs retail trade sector in Turkey. We analyze how the structure of the market is being transformed in recent years by new retail formats. The study is focused on the analysis of competitive dynamics (inter-firm rivalry, pricing and non-price policies, barriers to entry, regulatory conditions, etc.) within the sector, and draws lessons for competition policy.FMCG, competition policy, Turkey

Credit transmission mechanism in Turkey: An empirical investigation

The purpose of the study is to empirically test the presence of a bank lending channel in the Turkish economy. The empirical investigations are focused on the bank lending behaviour of 58 deposit money banks in the Turkish banking system over the period 1988-1999. The estimation methodology of the empirical analysis differs from that of similar studies in the literature, providing econometrically more efficient model estimates through exploiting dynamic panel data modelling with Generalized Method of Moments estimations. The results of the model estimations provide no evidence of a potential for a bank lending channel to exist in the Turkish economy. Such an outcome is reflected in the lack of a significant relationship between the change in the monetary policy indicator and the growth rate of the loan supply in the estimated models. Categorizing the loan supply responses of banks with respect to bank size differences has not provided any significant improvement in revealing the evidence of a bank lending channel. The empirical results indicate that bank lending behaviour is influenced significantly by bank specific factors, such as the balance sheet strength and the quality of the asset portfolio, and by debt sales to the banking system.Credit channel, bank lending channel, dynamic panel data, Turkey

Purchasing Power Parity Revisited: A Time-Varying Parameter Approach

We re-examine the validity of Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) proposition using Taylor's (2002) data set. Applying the Kalman filter process, our findings not only demonstrate the strong instability in the relationship between the dollar denominated foreign price levels and the US price level, but also rule out the empirical validity of the PPP hypothesis. Thus, we argue that the inference based on the Fisher-Seater methodology cannot account for the Lucas critique in the PPP testing procedure.Purchasing power parity, Fisher-Seater, time-varying parameter, Kalman filter

VAS (Visual Analysis System): An information visualization engine to interpret World Wide Web structure

People increasingly encounter problems of interpreting and filtering mass quantities of information. The enormous growth of information systems on the World Wide Web has demonstrated that we need systems to filter, interpret, organize and present information in ways that allow users to use these large quantities of information. People need to be able to extract knowledge from this sometimes meaningful but sometimes useless mass of data in order to make informed decisions. Web users need to have some kind of information about the sort of page they might visit, such as, is it a rarely referenced or often-referenced page? This master\u27s thesis presents a method to address these problems using data mining and information visualization techniques

Interactive Visual Displays for Results Management in Complex Medical Workflows

Clinicians manage medical orders to ensure that the results are returned promptly to the correct physician and followed up on time. Delays in results management occur frequently, physically harm patients, and often cause malpractice litigation. Better tracking of medical orders that showed progress and indicated delays, could result in improved care, better safety, and reduced clinician effort. This dissertation presents novel displays of rich tables with an interaction technique called ARCs (Actions for Rapid Completion). Rich tables are generated by MStart (Multi-Step Task Analyzing, Reporting, and Tracking) from a workflow model that defines order processes. Rich tables help clinicians perceive each order's status, prioritize the critical ones, and act on results in a timely fashion. A second contribution is the design of an interactive visualization called MSProVis (Multi-Step Process Visualization), which is composed of several PCDs (Process Completion Diagrams) that show the number and duration of in-time, late, and not-completed orders. With MSProVis, managers perform retrospective analyses to make decisions by studying an overview of the order process, durations of order steps, and performances of individuals. I visited seven hospitals and clinics to define sample results management workflows. Iterative design reviews with clinicians, designers, and researchers led to refinements of the rich tables, ARCs, and design guidelines. A controlled experiment with 18 participants under time pressure and distractions tested two features (showing pending orders and prioritizing by lateness) of rich tables. These changes statistically significantly reduce the time from nine to one minute to correctly identify late orders compared to the traditional chronologically-ordered lists. Another study demonstrated that ARCs speed performance up by 25% compared to state-of-the-art systems. A usability study with two clinicians and five novices showed that participants were able to understand MSProVis and efficiently perform representative tasks. Two subjective preference surveys suggested new design choices for the PCDs. This dissertation provides designers of results management systems with clear guidance about showing pending results and prioritizing by lateness, and tested strategies for performing retrospective analyses. It also offers detailed design guidelines for results management, tables, and integrated actions on tables that speed performance for common tasks

COLLECTIVE COMPETITION GAME PLAYED AGAINST EACH OTHER IN SOME BARAK VILLAGES IN GAZIANTEP, TURKEY

The game has a dynamic structure that constitutes the bases of the national culture and changes over time according to living conditions and geography. The Turks has transferred many game to ear from the ear, to generation from the generation and they could not prevent many of the games from disappearing during their civilization. The Höl game is a competition game that is faced with disappearance with the change the living conditions in Turkmens that the last exit point; it is in the appearance of a variation of deep-rooted Turkish sports due to the changes of natural environment and conditions in which the game was played. It is the most important purpose of this research that the game is compiled and rules and bases are formed to gain traditional sports and the determination that the game is a game belonging to Turkmen based on Oghuz in the geography where it is spread.  Article visualizations

INJURY VARIANCES AND REASONS OF TRADITIONAL TURKISH FOLK DANCE PLAYERS

The aim of this study was to investigation of injury variances and reasons of Traditional Turkish Folk Dancers. Totally three hundred sixty dancers who were 180 male and 180 female, participated in the study. The all subjects were elite dancer and were dance in Karşılama, Zeybek, Kaşık, Horon, Bar, and Halay regions. The survey form used for determining injury regions, variances and reasons. Obtained data were analyzed from frequencies and percentages. As a result, some internal and external factors that are effective in injuries reveal that the trainers should be in a more systematic approach under the training light. According to obtained data, it is observed that there is a wide range of injury risk to unsystematic loading and rest periods from pre-warming and cooling. In this sense, applying the training principles correctly will prevent the injuries of the players with a great extent. Nonetheless, the treatment process of injuries is also important in term of returning to the exercise on time. It is also one of the important roles of the trainer to persuade the player to go to the physician’s control after the injury, to provide physiological support during treatment process and to strengthen the injured region with exercises.  Article visualizations

Workaholic employees of the Turkish national police

Workaholics spend their time mostly with their job-related activities and they are addicted to working. In the literature, there are currently many academic studies about why workaholism and presenteeism are harmful. Workaholism is also a significant problem in the Turkish National Police Organization which has a hierarchical structure. Presenteeism/workaholism is destructive not only for officers but also organization itself. Throughout the study presenteeism/workaholism, its reasons, its negative effects on individuals and organization and some solutions were discussed. Also, it was emphasized that presenteeism/workaholism is differently applied in the Turkish National Police than in other public and private organizations.İşkolikler, vaktinin çoğunu iş yerinde veya iş ile ilgili konularda harcayan, iş’e bağımlı kişiler olarak tanımlanmaktadır. Günümüze kadar işkolikliğin hem bireye hem de organizasyona zarar verdiği yönünde yüzlerce akademik çalışma yapılmıştır. İşkoliklik, hiyerarşik yapılanması olan Emniyet Teşkilatı’nda da önemli bir problemdir. İşkolik çalışanlar Türk Polis Teşkilatı’nın verimliliğini düşürdüğü gibi, diğer çalışanların da verimsiz olmasına neden olmaktadırlar. Bu çalışmada işkolikliğin polis teşkilatındaki yansımaları, bunun nedenleri, polis ailelerine, kendilerine ve Emniyet Teşkilatı’na verdiği zararlar ve birtakım çözüm önerileri tartışılmaktadır. Ayrıca, Emniyet Teşkilatı’ndaki işkolikliğin diğer kamu ve özel kurumlardakinden farklı olarak istekdışı oluştuğu ve bunun nedenleri incelenmektedir

Leman Karaosmanoğlu 8 yıl önce yitirdiğimiz bir edebiyat ustasını anlattı:Eşim Yakup Kadri

Taha Toros Arşivi, Dosya No: 80-Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoğluİstanbul Kalkınma Ajansı (TR10/14/YEN/0033) İstanbul Development Agency (TR10/14/YEN/0033

Kanser Kök Hücreleri: Başarısızlığın Sırrı

Although rapid responses or long disease free intervals can be retained in advanced stage cancer either by conventional treatment strategies or targeted therapies; cure is seldom if ever is obtained. Recent advances in tumor biology have succeeded in identifying a minor tumor cell subpopulation which have extraordinary capabilities for treatment resistance against various treatment strategies utilizing chemotherapeutic agents and radiotherapy. These cells carry stem cell like properties such as ability to initiate tumor by themselves, self renewal and ability to differentiate into heterogeneous cancer cell lines. In this review , survival and metastatic capabilities of cancer stem cells (CSCs), resistance mechanisms against chemotherapeutic agents are summarized . Novel therapeutic strategies developing against these resilient cell group such as agents specifically designed for targeting survival pathways and intracellular metabolism of CSCs are also discussed.İleri evre hastalıkta konvansiyonel tedavi rejimleri veya hedefe yönelik tedaviler ile yüksek yanıt oranları veya uzun süren hastalıksız sağkalım süreleri elde edilebilse bile şifa nadir elde edilen bir sonuçtur. Tümör biyolojisinde yakın zamanda ki gelişmeler sonucunda kemoterapi ve radyoterapiye dirençli az sayıda bulunan bir hücre alt grubunun varlığını ortaya çıkarmıştır. Bu hücre alt grubu tümör oluşturabilme, kendini yenileyebilme ve heterojen kanser hücre çeşitlerine başkalaşım gösterme kabiliyetleri gibi kök hücrelere benzer özellikler taşımaktadır.Bu derleme de kanser kök hücrelerinin metastaz yapabilme ve sağkalım özellikleri ile kemotöropatik ilaçlara direnç mekanizmaları değerlendirilmiştir..Bu hücre grubuna karşı geliştirilmekte olan kanser kök hücre hedefli yeni tedavi stratejileri de incelenmiştir