Effects of intellectual capital on qualitative and quantitative performance: Evidence from Turkey

Intellectual capital is among the new, advanced management notions developed to overcome the inadequacy of previous administrations, to adapt to new situations and forge ahead of the competition. Intellectual capital means the information, experience and skills that offer advantage in competition and reveal the values existing within the structure of an enterprise. These values also exist in the relationship between  the enterprise and the environment  and  with the employees. Although some research studies on intellectual capital (IC) have been conducted, to date no research has been carried out on the effects of IC on qualitative and quantitative organizational performance. For this reason, IC and its effects on firm performance (both qualitative and quantitative) were evaluated in this study. Following the evaluation of the intellectual capital and its sub-elements, the differentiation of the sub-elements is made. Then the reliability and validity of these sub-factors are calculated. The intellectual capital model has been tested by the structural equality model (SEM).  According to research results, IC explains 92  per cent of a firm’s performance. The effect of IC on qualitative performance is 0,84, while on quantitative performance it is 0,72. RC impresses qualitative performance with coefficient 0,94, quantitative performance with coefficient 0,60; HC impresses qualitative performance with coefficient 0,92, quantitative performance with coefficient 0,54 less; SC impresses qualitative performance with coefficient 0,90, quantitative performance with coefficient 0,53. According to the results of the research, IC affects both the qualitative and the quantitative performance of firms by supplying extensive knowledge to the managers

TASL practice guidance on the clinical assessment and management of patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a multisystem disease and is significantly associated with obesity, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular disease. NAFLD has become the most prevalent chronic liver disease in Western countries, and the proportion of NAFLD-related cirrhosis among patients on liver transplantation waiting lists has increased. In light of the accumulated data about NAFLD, and to provide a common approach with multi-disciplines dealing with the subject, it has become necessary to create new guidance for diagnosing and treating NAFLD. This guidance was prepared following an interdisciplinary study under the leadership of the Turkish Association for the Study of the Liver (TASL), Fatty Liver Special Interest Group. This new TASL Guidance is a practical application guide on NAFLD and was prepared to standardize the clinical approach to diagnosing and treating NAFLD patients. This guidance reflects many advances in the field of NAFLD. The proposals in this guidance are meant to aid decision-making in clinical practice. The guidance is primar-ily intended for gastroenterology, endocrinology, metabolism diseases, cardi-ology, internal medicine, pediatric specialists, and family medicine specialists

A combined electrochemical and theoretical study into the effect of 2-((thiazole-2-ylimino)methyl)phenol as a corrosion inhibitor for mild steel in a highly acidic environment

Emregul, Kaan C/0000-0002-2991-9702WOS: 0003827940000102-((Thiazole-2-ylimino)methyl)phenol (THYMP) was studied as a corrosion inhibitor for the protection of mild steel in 2 M HCl solution by means of weight loss, polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The potential of zero charge (E-pzc), was also determined for evaluation of the adsorption mechanism. Quantum chemical parameters such as highest occupied molecular orbital energy (E-Homo), lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy (E-Lumo), energy gap (Delta E), dipole moment (mu) etc. were calculated using density functional theory (DFT) at B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) level. Theoretical and experimental results were in fairly good agreement. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Ankara University Research FundAnkara University [15B0430001]The authors wish to acknowledge the financial support of the Ankara University Research Fund (Project No.: 15B0430001). The authors would also like to thank Dr. Ece ERGUN for her help and support in preparation of this manuscript

A Research to Determining the Impact of 360 Degree Performance Evaluation System on Organizational Commitment

This study tries to find out whether the 360 degree performance evaluation system (PES) has an influence on employees in terms of organizational commitment. Then it attempts to determine direction of the impact on commitment. In more detail, the study focuses on the eight key competencies acknowledged by the 360 Degree PES and their respective impacts on organizational commitment dimensions namely affective, continuance and normative. To this end, four different organizations were targeted for the survey which was developed to collect attitudinal information relevant to dimensions of organizational commitment and to key competences defined by 360 degree PES. The results mainly show that the businesses which implement 360 degree PES are more likely to have high levels of organizational commitment. The findings indicate an important degree of positive correlation between key competencies and commitment dimensions. The most influential competency on commitment appears to be communication which is followed by leadership, task management, employee development, adaptability to change, training others, human relations and production/work outputs.360 degree performance evaluation; Key employee competencies; Affective commitment; Continuance commitment; Normative commitment

Diagnostic Value of 64-slice CTA in Detection of Intracranial Aneurysm in Patients with SAH and Comparison of the CTA Results with 2D-DSA and Intraoperative Findings

Objective: To prospectively evaluate the diagnostic value of 64-slice CTA in detecting intracranial aneurysms and to compare it with 2D-DSA and/or intra-operative findings.Material and Methods: 37 cases with SAH according to unenhanced cranial CT were included in the study. A 64-slice CTA was performed to all cases immediately after the nonenhanced cranial CT. DSA was performed in 24-48 hours following CTA. CT images were reviewed by two radiologists experienced in CT vascular imaging. The DSA reader was the angiographer who performed the DSA. The results of the CTA were compared with the DSA results and/or intraoperative findings in order to determine the diagnostic efficacy of CTA in detecting intracranial aneurysms. Results: Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy of CTA in detecting aneurysms were 92.8%, 83.3%, 96.2%, 71.4% and 91.2% respectively. The diagnostic value of CTA in detecting intracranial aneurysms was found to be equal to DSA by Mcnemar test. Conclusion: CTA is invaluable in detecting intracranial aneurysms. It may be used as a first line modality in SAH, and DSA may be reserved for patients with negative or equivocal CTA results

Orak hücre hastalığında karaciğer tutulumu

Amaç: Orak hücre hastalığında karaciğer tutulumu primer hastalık ya da aşırı demir yüklenmesi, viral hepatitler ve kolelithiasis nedeniyle gelişebilir. Çalışmamızda 48 orak hücre hastasında hepatik disfonksiyon sıklığını ve etyolojik faktörleri inceledik. Yöntem: Tüm hastalarda klinik bulgularla birlikte esas olarak karaciğer fonksiyon testleri olmak üzere laboratuar bulgular incelendi ve üst batın ultrasonografisi yapıldı. Ek olarak 13 hastadan karaciğer biyopsisi alındı. Bulgular: Biyopsi örneklerinin tümünde intrasinüzoidal oraklaşma ve Kupffer hücre hiperplazisi izlendi. Tüm hasta grubunda hepatomegali, %27 hastada ise karaciğer fonksiyon testlerinde bozukluk mevcuttu. Kolelithiasis sıklığı 35% olarak bulundu. Serolojik test sonuçlarına gore hepatit B yüzey antijeni üç, hepatit B antikor pozitişiği 19 ve hepatit C antikor pozitişiği ise toplam dört hastada tespit edildi. Karaciğer örneklerinin histolojik incelemesinde en sık izlenen bulgu hemosiderosis idi. Sonuç: Bulguları mız orak hücre hastalarında kronik karaciğer hasarının genellikle birden fazla nedeni olduğunu, bu faktörler arasında ise primer hastalıktan çok aşırı demir yükünün ve viral nedenlerin ön planda olduğunu düşündürmektedir.Background/aims: Liver involvement in sickle cell disease may take place due to the primary disease itself or to secondary conditions such as iron overload, viral hepatitis and cholelithiasis. In the present study we have tried to evaluate the frequency of hepatic dysfunction and etiological factors in 48 patients with sickle cell disease. Methods: Clinical and laboratory investigation including liver function tests, serological tests for viral hepatitis, and abdominal ultrasonography were performed in all of the patients. Additionally, liver biopsies were taken from 13 patients. Results: Intrasinusoidal sickling and Kupffer cell hyperplasia were consistently seen in all of the biopsy specimens. Hepatomegaly was present in all patients, whereas liver function test abnormalities were seen in 27%. The prevalence of cholelithiasis was found as 35%. Serological tests demonstrated the presence of hepatitis B surface antigen in three, antibody to hepatitis B virus in 19 and antibody to hepatitis C virus in four of the patients. The most significant contributory finding was the presence of hemosiderosis in histological examination of liver specimens. Conclusion: Our data suggest that chronic liver injury in patients with sickle cell disease seems to be a multifactorial phenomenon depending mostly on overlapping factors such as iron overload and viral damage rather than primary disease itself

Öğretmen ve Öğrenci Bakış Açısıyla Tablet PC ve Etkileşimli Tahta Kullanımı: FATİH Projesi Değerlendirmesi

Bu çalışma "The use of tablet PC and interactive board from the perspectives of teachers and students: evaluation of the FATİH project." paralel adıyla İngilizce de yayınlanmıştır.Bu çalışmanın temel amacı FATİH projesinin yürütüldüğü okullardaki katılımcı paydaşların (öğretmen ve öğrenci) bakış açısından projenin bir değerlendirilmesini yapmaktır. Proje kapsamında dağıtılan etkileşimli tahta ve tablet bilgisayarların öğretmen ve öğrenciler tarafından hangi amaçlarla ve ne sıklıkla kullanıldığı, pilot uygulamada ortaya çıkan sorun ve eksikliklerin neler olduğu incelenmiştir. Bu kapsamda Samsun, Yozgat, Kayseri ve İzmir illerinde pilot okul olarak seçilen 11 okulda projeye katılan öğretmen ve öğrencilerin görüşleri; anketler, yarı yapılandırılmış mülakatlar, sınıf içi gözlemler ve odak grup görüşmelerle toplanmış olup karma araştırma yöntemi prensiplerine göre analiz edilmiştir. Bulgulara göre etkileşimli tahta ile ilgili genel olarak olumlu bir tutum ve belirli oranda bir kullanım var iken, tablet bilgisayarların kullanımı çok düşük düzeyde olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Teknolojik sorunların yanı sıra içeriklerin eksik olması ve öğretmenlerin proje kapsamında sağlanan teknolojilerin kullanımı konusunda pedagojik ve mesleki yönden desteğe ihtiyaç duydukları çalışmanın önemli bulgularındandır