An Assessment of Land Use/Cover Suitable for Peri-urban Green Space Development: an Example of an Integration of GIS with the Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA) Approach

Land allocation priorities to urban green cover are usually neglected particularly in the countries of developing economies such as Turkey. Lack of urban green space can cause many social and physical problems among the residents. Therefore, urban planning and policy should incorporate suitable green land in the urban planning of cities to optimise the benefits obtained from urban green spaces. Land suitability analysis is a commonly used methodology which provides a framework for developing strategies in the planning of green land development. Two different approaches will be utilised for the assessment of suitability of land uses for urban agriculture, forest and natural vegetation in the Pendik district of Istanbul. Standardisation of values in criteria maps was done using the deterministic approach in the first case whereas fuzzy membership was utilised as an alternative in the second case. Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) was used for the weighting of sub-criteria and map layers were overlaid using the weighted linear combination using the GIS software. Geophysical factors, transport and services accessibility, land cover/use, blue and green amenities, soil properties, geology and erosion susceptibility are the main criteria selected for the assessment of urban green land suitability. The provision of suitable land for urban agriculture, forest and natural vegetation uses will provide a framework to the land use planning and decision support aimed at contributing to urban sustainable development

The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Stress-related Dermatologic Diseases

The number and variety of patients admitted to hospitals have changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These changes have also affected dermatology clinics. The pandemic has had an adverse effect on the psychol- ogy of people by negatively affecting their quality of life. Patients who were admitted to the Bursa City Hospital Dermatology Clinic between July 15, 2020 and October 15, 2020 and from July 15, 2019 to October 15, 2019 were includ- ed in this study. The data of patients were gathered retrospectively by review- ing the electronic medical records and International Classification Diseases (ICD-10) codes. Our results showed that, despite the decrease in the total number of applications, a significant increase was observed in the frequency of stress-related dermatological diseases such as psoriasis (P<0.001), urticaria (P<0.001), atopic dermatitis (P<0.001), and seborrheic dermatitis (P=0.035). However, there was no significant change in the rates of alopecia areata, vit- iligo, herpes zoster, and lichen simplex chronicus (P>0.05, for all). There was a significant decrease in the telogen effluvium rate during the pandemic (P<0.001). Our study demonstrates that the incidence of certain stress-related dermatologic diseases increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may increase awareness of dermatologists on this issue

TREND ANALYSIS OF ANNUAL MEAN TEMPERATURE DATA USING MANN-KENDALL RANK CORRELATION TEST IN CATALCA - KOCAELI PENINSULA, NORTHWEST OF TURKEY FOR THE PERIOD OF 1970 - 2011

The study area, Catalca-Kocaeli Peninsula was located on Marmara Region,northwestern of Turkey. Due to the industrialization, transportation and job opportunities excess and adequacy of education and health services, the majority ofthe population of the Marmara Region is located in the Catalca-Kocaeli peninsula.But in recent years, population growth and urbanization have warming effect onclimate in the research area.The main objective of this study is to examine the trend analysis of annual mean temperature from 1970 to 2011. Trend becomes the most commonly used technique to detect temperature variability in regional and local basis. In this study Mann-Kendall Rank Correlation Test was applied to annual mean temperature data fromstations located in Catalca-Kocaeli Peninsula to determine the existence and significance of trends, and the years in which changes in the trends started. In order to discuss the trends of annual mean temperature, the annual Mann-Kendallstatistics of temperature are illustrated in graphics with MATLAB software

The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Stress-related Dermatologic Diseases

The number and variety of patients admitted to hospitals have changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These changes have also affected dermatology clinics. The pandemic has had an adverse effect on the psychol- ogy of people by negatively affecting their quality of life. Patients who were admitted to the Bursa City Hospital Dermatology Clinic between July 15, 2020 and October 15, 2020 and from July 15, 2019 to October 15, 2019 were includ- ed in this study. The data of patients were gathered retrospectively by review- ing the electronic medical records and International Classification Diseases (ICD-10) codes. Our results showed that, despite the decrease in the total number of applications, a significant increase was observed in the frequency of stress-related dermatological diseases such as psoriasis (P<0.001), urticaria (P<0.001), atopic dermatitis (P<0.001), and seborrheic dermatitis (P=0.035). However, there was no significant change in the rates of alopecia areata, vit- iligo, herpes zoster, and lichen simplex chronicus (P>0.05, for all). There was a significant decrease in the telogen effluvium rate during the pandemic (P<0.001). Our study demonstrates that the incidence of certain stress-related dermatologic diseases increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may increase awareness of dermatologists on this issue

ANALYZING LAND COVER CHANGES USING REMOTE SENSING AND GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN AKFIRAT AND ITS SURROUNDINGS (TUZLA - ISTANBUL), NORTH-WEST TURKEY

In this study, land cover changes are analyzed by using of Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in Akfirat and Its surroundings (Tuzla - Istanbul), North - West Turkey. Akfirat and its surroundings are located in Tuzlatown, southeast of Istanbul. Istanbul is the most populated city in the world with 13.483.052 population according to the recent 2011 census. The city will expandthe north - south and east - west direction of along the Bosporus and increasing theneed for new settlement areas in Istanbul. Akfirat and its surroundings where Istanbul Park Formula 1 racing pist located in this area are interesting example from southeast of Istanbul.For determining the land cover change in the study area, on-screen digitizing method is applied to Landsat satellite images acquired in Landsat 7 ETM + 2003 and Landsat 5 TM 2010 using ArcMap. The method consists of three major steps:(1) determining land cover classes with unsupervised classification method (2) the establishment of land cover change classes based on CORINE land coverclassification theme using on screen digitizing method (3) mapping of land coverchange. According to the obtained results, it was determined that the biggest change in the land cover from 2003 until 2010 occurred with the 271 hectare and 275,4% increase in the non - continuous urban residential land

Cost-Benefit Evaluation Tools on the Impacts of Transport Infrastructure Projects on Urban Form and Development

This study reviews literature for identifying the methods in order to evaluate the impacts of key transport infrastructure provisions on urban form and peri-urban development in European Union (EU) member countries. Key impacts and linkages of transportation provision on urban development trends are identified through the international literature. These include direct impacts of transportation infrastructure provision, socio-economic impacts, transportation network effects and energy and environmental impacts. Among the evaluation methodologies, cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is the most common approach for transport policy impact assessments both in the national project appraisal guidelines and in scientific analysis and research. Considering its extensive usage in the appraisal work, the main focus will be on the evaluation tools used within the CBA approach. The corresponding data requirements for the valuation of indicators will be also discussed in order to assess the impacts of costs and benefits of transport investments, particularly rapid rail investments, on urban form and development

Effect of the sport training on empathy ability of the vocational school students in Turkey

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of the sport training on empathy ability of the vocational school students in Turkey.The research population comprised of the vocational school for girls and 41 students in three class were taken as sample. All students in these classes participated in the study voluntarily. A total of 62 students were surveyed and 21 survey has been canceled owing to faults. As data collection tools, inquiry form and Empathic Ability Scale (EAS) were used to determine the demographic variables and scores of empathy ability of the participants respectively. The findings indicated that there was a significant statistically different between pre test and post test on empathy scores of participants (,0.001, p&lt;0.05). These findings were discussed in terms of empathy ability of the students and sport training in vocational school for girls in Turkey. Keywords: Empathy, Sport training, Vocational school

A maturity model for digital transformation

Various disruptive digital technologies such as IoT, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data and Analytics, 3D Printing, Augmented Reality, Cybersecurity, Clouding, Autonomous Robots, Simulation, Horizontal and Vertical Integration challenge the traditional means of doing business. Also, factors such as fierce price competition due to price transparency, the increased demand for customized product and services, and so on force organizations to adapt to the rapid change in digital technologies. However, many companies have doubts about where to start their transformation process. In order to develop a roadmap, the companies should first identify their weaknesses and strengths in the context of digital transformation. Maturity models have been used for years in order to identify companies’ weaknesses and strengths. In this work, we proposed one such maturity model to determine the current readiness level of the companies in the context of digital transformation. Overall, we defined 5 dimensions and developed/adopted 76 questions for assessing digital maturity. These dimensions include “Leadership”, “Strategy”, “People”, Partnership and Resources”, and “Product, Process, and Services”. The proposed maturity model is among the few models that are based on sound theoretical frameworks already validated in earlier studies and/or widely used in the literature and practic