THE EFFECT OF PROACTIVE PERSONALITY ON CUSTOMER-ORIENTED BEHAVIORS: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF EMPLOYEE CREATIVITY

Purpose - The study explores creativity as a mediator in the impact of proactive personality on customer orientation in light of Allport’s trait theory, 1961. Methodology/Design - The study was conducted in four- and five-star hotels in a destination resort, Cesme, Izmir. The data was obtained via a questionnaire. 194 valid questionnaires were subjected to reliability and validity test. The hypothesized relationships were tested by regression. Findings - The results show that although proactive personality increases hotel employees’ creativity, proactive personality decreases their customer-oriented behavior. In addition, the results show that employee creativity has a partial mediating effect on the relationships between proactive personality and customer orientation. Originality of the research - The results can contribute to the literature on customer orientation in the hospitality industry and assist hoteliers in hiring the right employee. They offer practical implications to encourage the proactive and creative tendencies of their current employees

Interactive Surface Chemistry of CO2 and NO2 on Metal Oxide Surfaces: Competition for Catalytic Adsorption Sites and Reactivity

Cataloged from PDF version of article.Interactive surface chemistry of CO2 and NO2 on BaOx/Pt(111) model catalyst surfaces were investigated via X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) techniques with a particular emphasis on the competition between different adsorbates for the catalytic adsorption sites and adsorbate-induced morphological changes. After NO2 adsorption, nitrated BaO x/Pt(111) surfaces do not reveal available adsorption sites for CO2 at 323 K, irrespective of the presence/absence of exposed Pt sites on the surface. Although NO2 adsorption on thick BaO x(>10MLE)/Pt(111) overlayers at 323 K leads to the formation of predominantly nitrate species, NO2 adsorption on the corresponding carbonated surface leads to the formation of coexisting nitrates and nitrites. The presence of carbonates on BaOx/Pt(111) overlayers does not prevent NO2 uptake. Carbonated BaOx(1.5 MLE)/Pt(111) surfaces (with exposed Pt sites) obtained via CO2 adsorption can also further interact with NO2, forming surface nitrate/nitrite species, accompanied by the transformation of surface carbonates into bulk carbonate species. These results suggest that the nitrate formation process requires the presence of two adjacent unoccupied adsorption sites. It is apparent that in the presence of both NO2 and CO2, carbonate species formed on Lewis base (O2-) sites enable the formation of nitrites on Lewis acid (Ba2+) sites. Thermal aging, nitration, and carbonation have a direct impact on the morphology of the two-/three-dimensional (2D/3D) BaO x aggregates on Pt(111). While thermal aging in vacuum leads to the sintering of the BaOx domains, nitration and carbonation results in redispersion and spreading of the BaOx domains on the Pt(111) substrate. © 2013 American Chemical Society.

Determination of Aflatoxins and Ochratoxin A in Wheat from Different Regions of Turkey by HPLC with Fluorescence Detection

This study examines the occurrence of aflatoxins (AFS) and ochratoxin A (OTA) in bread and durum wheat samples. A total of 141 samples were collected from eleven different regions of Turkey. An analytical method based on liquid extraction, immunoaffinity column (IAC) clean-up followed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used for the determination of AFs and OTA levels. As a result, AFs and OTA were detected in 2% and 9.2% of wheat samples at concentrations varying from 0.21 to 0.44 µg kg−1 and from 0.1 to 3.2 µg kg−1, respectively. Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and aflatoxin B2 (AFB2) were found positive in samples ranging between 0.21–0.35 µg kg−1 and 0.094 µg kg−1, respectively. However, none of the samples contained aflatoxin G1 (AFG1) and aflatoxin G2 (AFG2). The study also recommended that contamination levels in wheat and wheat-based products should be routinely monitored in greater sample numbers to insure food safety

Representing Turkey

__Abstract__ A remarkably rich body of literature analyses the political representation of Turkey. The scholarly debate is, still limited to scrutinizing the dominant media discourse on Turkey’s potential European Union membership. In Representing Turkey, the research moves beyond the prevailing political media representations by widening the scope and looking at lifestyle representations in three core themes ‘travel’, ‘romance tourism’, and ‘sports’. Based on a qualitative content analysis of British broadsheet and tabloid newspapers, the research addresses how British print media construct and circulate views about Turkey in lifestyle news texts? How and why Turkey is evaluated as a ‘fascinating’ travel destination for British tourists? How tabloid journalists make sense of the contradicting social categories and power relations between mature British women and their younger Turkish lovers, with respect to age, gender and economic position? How journalists portray the Turkish national football team, and why the Turkish football fans are portrayed as violent supporters in sports news? Examining the power and politics of Turkey’s representation in popular news, the research demonstrates that lifestyle news are not necessarily soft and uncritical by definition; they shed new light on how national identity is projected in such news texts. At a macro-­‐level, the three empirical case studies demonstrate that the British press treatment of Turkey facilitates the promotion of the old understanding of the cultural superiority and dominance of Britain. This reflects that Turkey is commodified in various forms. This also triggers debates on the inequalities and disparities in the global political, economic and cultural context

A Bifunctional Photosensitizer for Enhanced Fractional Photodynamic Therapy: Singlet Oxygen Generation in the Presence and Absence of Light

The photosensitized generation of singlet oxygen within tumor tissues during photodynamic therapy (PDT) is self-limiting, as the already low oxygen concentrations within tumors is further diminished during the process. In certain applications, to minimize photoinduced hypoxia the light is introduced intermittently (fractional PDT) to allow time for the replenishment of cellular oxygen. This condition extends the time required for effective therapy. Herein, we demonstrated that a photosensitizer with an additional 2-pyridone module for trapping singlet oxygen would be useful in fractional PDT. Thus, in the light cycle, the endoperoxide of 2-pyridone is generated along with singlet oxygen. In the dark cycle, the endoperoxide undergoes thermal cycloreversion to produce singlet oxygen, regenerating the 2-pyridone module. As a result, the photodynamic process can continue in the dark as well as in the light cycles. Cell-culture studies validated this working principle in vitro. © 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA

Acetaldehyde partial oxidation on the Au(111) model catalyst surface: C-C bond activation and formation of methyl acetate as an oxidative coupling product

Partial oxidation of acetaldehyde (CH3CHO) on the oxygen pre-covered Au(111) single crystal model catalyst was investigated via Temperature Programmed Desorption (TPD) and Temperature Programmed Reaction Spectroscopy (TPRS) techniques, where ozone (O3) was utilized as the oxygen delivery agent providing atomic oxygen to the reacting surface. We show that for low exposures of O3 and small surface oxygen coverages, two partial oxidation products namely, methyl acetate (CH3COOCH3) and acetic acid (CH3COOH) can be generated without the formation of significant quantities of carbon dioxide. The formation of methyl acetate as the oxidative coupling reaction product implies that oxygen pre-covered Au(111) single crystal model catalyst surface can activate C-C bonds. In addition to the generation of these products; indications of the polymerization of acetaldehyde on the gold surface were also observed as an additional reaction route competing with the partial and total oxidation pathways. The interplay between the partial oxidation, total oxidation and polymerization pathways reveals the complex catalytic chemistry associated with the interaction between the acetaldehyde and atomic oxygen on catalytic gold surfaces. © 2015 Elsevier B.V

Učinci profesionalne izloženosti olovu na izabrane upalne biomarkere

In exposure to toxic metals such as lead, determining lead and cytokine levels (IL-6, IL-10, and TNF-α) is essential for early detection of diseases. The aim of this study was to develop an model for early detection of inflammation and onset of atherosclerosis in the absence of clinical findings in young workers, which could help physicians take timely an action and start treatment. This study included 49 metal workers exposed to lead occupationally and 50 unexposed administrative workers (controls) who underwent immunological analysis for cytokines (IL-6, IL-10, and TNF-α) and atherosclerosis markers (h-FABP and VCAM-1), toxicological analysis for lead, and routine biochemical analysis (ALT, AST, creatinine) at the Ankara Occupational and Environmental Diseases Hospital in 2017. Lead levels correlated with IL-6, IL-10, and TNF-α (r=0.469, r=0.521 and r=0.279, respectively, p<0.01) but did not significantly affect h-FABP and VCAM-1 levels.Pri izloženosti toksičnim metalima poput olova, utvrđivanje razina olova i upalnih citokina (IL-6, IL-10 i TNF-α) ključno je za rano otkrivanje bolesti. Cilj je ovoga ispitivanja bio osmisliti model za rano otkrivanje upala i ateroskleroze u mladih radnika profesionalno izloženih olovu dok se još nisu pojavili klinički znakovi i simptomi. Zahvaljujući tomu, liječnici bi mogli pravovremeno započeti liječenje. Ispitivanje je obuhvatilo 49 metalskih radnika izloženih olovu i 50 neizloženih administrativnih radnika (kontrolna skupina) koji su bili podvrgnuti imunološkim testovima na citokine (IL-6, IL-10, i TNF-α) i na markere ateroskleroze (h-FABP i VCAM-1), toksikološkomu testu na olovo te rutinskim biokemijskim testovima (ALT, AST, kreatinin) u Bolnici za profesionalne i okolišne bolesti u Ankari 2017. Razine olova u krvi korelirale su s razinama IL-6, IL-10 odnosno TNF-α (r=0,469, r=0,521, odnosno r=0,279, p<0,01), ali nisu značajno utjecale na razine h-FABP odnosno VCAM-1

Exo-methylene-BEDT-TTF and alkene-functionalised BEDT-TTF derivatives: synthesis and radical cation salts

Hydroxymethyl-BEDT-TTF is converted by tosylation and elimination into exo-methylene-BEDT-TTF whose exocyclic double bond leads to a small increase in the oxidation potential, and from which radical cation salts with perchlorate and triiodide have been prepared, the latter showing semiconductor properties. Allyloxymethyl- and allylthiomethyl-BEDT-TTF, the first BEDT-TTF derivatives with an alkene in the side chain, have been prepared, along with a 1 : 2 radical cation perchlorate salt of the former, an insulator which contains a donor dication