Stakeholder Perspectives on İmproving Rail Freight Services on the Eve of Rail Market Liberalization: An Analysis of the Turkish Rail Freight Market

AbstractTurkish rail market will be liberalized in the near future in order to comply with EU Directives. Before liberalization, the traditional rail operator, TCDD, needs to recognize and adequately understand the perceptions of different stakeholders and their problem identification with respect to rail freight services. This paper focuses on the perceptions of a group of stakeholders on how rail freight services can be improved, the services desired by customers and the facilities required for rail transport to provide such service. This survey has been conducted by interviewing institutional stakeholders and railway freight companies (both manufacturers and forwarders) and was completed with a focus group meeting to test proposals from the clients. Empirical data was gathered by utilizing semi-structured interviews. This paper reports the findings of the first stage of the research, where a better understanding of the perspectives of the participants and the issues that must be dealt before liberalization of rail freight market were produced. This research has been carried out with the finance of the World Bank

Characterization of Industrial Powder Metallurgy Produced 410L ODS Steel

The overall aim of this project is to characterize a powder metallurgy produced Oxide Dispersion Strengthened (ODS) 410L steel in terms of mechanical and microstructural analysis. An industrial/commercial existing production route was followed instead of a laboratory production. A professional powder metallurgy company did the production of the materials with high-tech manufacturing facility. Materials were based on 12 Cr 410L steel. Four kinds of materials were manufactured based on 410L: "410L HIPed", which is 410L powder compacted via hot isostatic pressing (HIP) without mechanical alloying process; "410L MA", mechanically alloyed and then HIPed; "ODS 0.9 μm", mechanically alloyed 410L + 0.25 wt. % Y2O3 powder of 0.9 pm size and HIPed; and "ODS 50 nm" mechanically alloyed 410L + 0.25 wt. % Y2O3 powder of 50 nm size and HIPed. Tensile tests and creep tests were performed for mechanical characterization. Yield strength and ultimate tensile strength of the samples at room temperature are comparable and around 680 MPa and 830 MPa respectively. The best creep life belongs to non-ODS HIPed sample with a creep life of 679 hours at 625 °C under 75 MPa stress. Mechanical performance of the materials are found not promising when compared to other ODS alternatives from the literature, owing to compositional variations and non-metallic inclusions (up to 2 μm) in the materials. It was expected to have significant increase in the strength in ODS samples as it is seen in other ODS alternatives. However mechanical strengths of all the samples were comparable to each other. The 410L powder was not clean with contaminations and many inclusions in it. Those inclusions are found as SiO2 and MnS with scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive X-Ray (EDX) analysis. These inclusions have a negative effect on mechanical behaviour of the materials as they ease void nucleation and propagation because of very weak interface bonds to the matrix. Another effect of SiO2 particles are found as those particles play a role in formation of oxide clusters during mechanical alloying and high temperature compaction. It is concluded that either SiO2 particles hinder Y2O3 dissolutions via reacting in ball milling and/or serving as nucleation sites to Y2O3 during precipitation. In both cases Y2Si2O7 particles are observed due to the interaction between SiO2 and Y2O3. Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) revealed pure Y2O3 particles in the system as well and clarified the effect of heat treatment on the size of oxide clusters. It is found that yttria particles had not been dissolving during ball milling. It is discovered that the size of the initial yttria powder is as important as the amount. Heat treatment increases the size of the Y2O3 particles but decreases the size of complex Y2Si2O7 particles. This can be considered as there is a Y and/or Y2O3 move from complex particles to pure Y2O3 particles at high temperatures. The main outcome of this project is: understanding possible manufacturing problems and contaminations due to industrial production route and causes on material performance; mechanical and material characterization of a novel ODS alloy from 410L matrix; effects of steel inclusions on ODS manufacturing like hindering yttria dissolution and/or chemical interaction with yttria and forming complex oxides; importance of size of initial yttria powders on ODS manufacturing

Enchanted welfare : Islamic imaginary and giving to strangers in Turkey

This study explores welfare provision by non-states in contemporary Turkey. It analyses the phenomenon neither as an extension of the redistributive functions of the state nor as part of market mechanisms but through the theoretical lens of gift-giving. It argues that contractual relations of the market or the anonymity of redistribution fall short of acknowledging the personal, asymmetrical and religious formation of this field. The welfare regime in Turkey is currently undergoing radical transformation, with provisions increasingly expressed within a gift-giving vocabulary. Waqf, the Islamic institution of endowment, plays an important role in this transformation. It provides both the institutional frame of operation and the imaginary signification that interpellates subjects to take part in these operations. Historically, waqf has been the main welfare provider in Muslim societies and has provided a legitimate source of social citizenship. Though its various features, it has shaped the enactments of citizenship throughout a vast geography. This research is also an endeavour to see how these historical features inform the present landscape of welfare provision in Turkey. The research is built upon an extensive ethnography conducted in a central Anatolian city, with a booming industry and an Islamic outlook. The particular focus of this research, given its anthropological methodology, is the daily practices of various field actors. Instantiations of gift-giving characterize the majority of these practices-things, services, prayers, and recognition changing hands. Starting with this observation, the dissertation approaches gift-giving as a prominent mechanism in the field of welfare provision in Turkey. The significance of this paradigm is discussed vis-a-vis dominant political economic discourses, and the ethical and political potentials it brings forth are illustrated. This study is an invitation to have a fuller grasp of welfare provision as a hybrid field of social, political and ethical norms, behaviour and institutions

A Study Of Vantage Point Neighbourhood Search In The Bees Algorithm For Combinatorial Optimization Problems

Tez (Yüksek Lisans) -- İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi, Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü, 2014Thesis (M.Sc. ) -- İstanbul Technical University, Institute of Science and Technology, 2014Bu tez çalışmasının temel amacı arıların kaynak arama davranışlarını modelleyen arı algoritmasının, kombinatoryal uzaylarda komşuluk arama fazına yeni bir yaklaşım geliştirilmesidir. Geliştirilen yaklaşım Gezgin Satıcı Problemine uygulanarak Gezgin Satıcı Problemi çözümünün en iyilenmesi amaçlanmıştır.This thesis focuses on nature-inspired optimisation algorithms, in particular, the Bees Algorithm that developed for combinatorial domains with new local search procedure and applied to Traveller Salesman Problem (TSP). An efficient and robust local neighborhood search algorithm is proposed for combinatorial domains to increase the efficiency of the Bees Algorithm.Yüksek LisansM.Sc

The effect of doxorubicin-albumin magnetic nanoparticles on prostate and lung cancer cells

Thesis (Master)--İzmir Institute of Technology, Chemistry, İzmir, 2012Includes bibliographical references (leaves: 46-51)Text in English; Abstract: Turkish and Englishix, 57 leavesChemotherapy is a major therapeutic approach for treatment of a wide range of cancers. But unfortunately, this therapeutic approach has got a lot of side effects on healthy tissues as well as cancerous cells. Although doxorubicin is one of the most potent and widely used anticancer drugs, it has some side effects on healthy tissues, as well. Therefore, most researchers have studied various doxorubicin carrier systems for targeted delivery. For this purpose, doxorubicin loaded magnetic albumin nanospheres (M-DOX-BSA-NPs) were synthesized. The main objective of this project was basically to determine the cytotoxic, apoptotic and cell cycle effects of BSA-NPs, M-BSA-NPs, DOX, BSA-DOX-NPs and M-DOX-BSA-NPs against prostate and lung cancer cells and compare them. Beside this, it is aimed to understand how cells look like before and after giving doxorubicin and M-DOX-BSA-NPs by using optical microscopy and compare them. Another objective of this project was to determine where M-DOX-BSA-NPs reach out into the cell by using concofal microscopy; and to explore proteins’ differentiations between control groups and lung and prostate cancer cells in which DOX and M-DOX-BSA-NPs were applied, by proteomic studies. In this study, the experimental results which were also supported by literature findings, demonstrated that M-DOX-BSA-NPs were more toxic than free doxorubicin, and this complex was more effective for prostate cancer cells than lung cancer cells. As a result of this study, it was determined that this complex was synthesized as a target chemotherapy drug delivery system. Accordingly, this complex may affect to other cancer types, and it can be carried out by new drug designers and treatments

The Effect of the Layered Curriculum on Students’ Academic Achievement and Retention of Learning

In this study, it is aimed to determine the effect of the layered curriculum activities on students\u27 academic achievement and retention of learning and to determine the students\u27 views regarding the applied program. The research was carried out with random experimental model with pretest-posttest control group. In addition to quantitative data, qualitative data were collected through the interview method and quantitative data were explained and deepened in this way. The study group of the research was composed of 24 students who were studying in 10th grade of the “information technologies” field in a vocational and technical high school in a city center of Turkey in 2014-2015 academic year. The data of the research were collected by the achievement test and semi-structured interview form developed by the researcher. As a result of the research, it was observed that there was a significant difference in favor of the experimental group between the averages obtained from the posttest and permanance test of the students in the experimental group where the activities based on the layered curriculum were applied and the students in the control group where the activities based on the existing program were applied. Students stated generally positive opinions about the layered curriculum process

An Investigation on Quantum Learning Model

Today, the importance of education has increased even more in terms of raising qualified individuals. According to researches on the development of upper mental skills and abilities, it has been found out that students who are actively involved in the learning process learn beter. In result of information interactions, treasury is changing and increasing. To adjust to this changing, people have to improve their skills and abilities effectively; hence, various methods and techniques have been developed in education. One of them is quantum learning which a model is becoming widespread. This research includes a literature review regarding quantum learning model and suggestions given light of the related literature

Place and function of women in war time in Pat Barker's fiction

Bu çalışmanın amacı Pat Barker‘ın Toby’nin Odası ve Rejenerasyon adlı eserlerinde savaş dönemi içerisinde kadının yeri ve önemini incelemektir. Kadının savaş dönemi içerisindeki yeri ve işlevi algısı, kadın ve sanatın genel ve sıradan bakış açıları görüşünden farklı olduğu için çalışılmaya değerdir. Şu bir gerçek ki roman okuyucuyu yazıldığı dönemin tarihi ve sosyal normları hakkında aydınlatır. Yazar okuyucuya hikâyede anlatılan zaman hakkında bazı mesajlar ve ipuçları verir. Yazar bunu yaparken okuyucunun zihninde yeni ve daha kapsamlı bakış açıları açarak objektif olmalıdır. Bu noktada Pat Barker eserlerinde kadın ve erkek figürleri aracılığıyla kadın ve erkeğin zihnindeki savaş algısına karşı benimsedikleri farklı tutumları kıyaslama yaparak savaş dönemi içerisinde kadının işlevini ortaya koymuştur.The aim of this thesis is to discuss the function and place of women in war time in Toby’s Room and Regeneration by Pat Barker. The notion of the function and place of women in war time deserves an inquisitive study because it differs from the general point of view about the function of women and art in wartime. In fact, these two novels enlighten the reader about the historical and social norms of that era. The author gives messages and clues about the time when the story is told. While the author does this, he or she should form an unbiased point of view for the reader just by opening a new and wide analytic viewpoint on readers‘ mind. At this point Pat Barker shows how women function in war time by creating a comparison between men and women‘s different adoption of attitude for the notion of war in her books. She represents the main difference between men and women through her male and female characters in order to clarify the reader how war demolishes the taboo of society

Assessment of powdery mildew resistance in wild barley (Hordeum spontaneum L.) populations in the aegean region of Turkey

In a study of resistance to powdery mildew, we investigated three populations of Hordeum spontaneum using leaf segment test. For comparison of the reactions, we used 44 barley lines as differentials representing most of the resistance used in barley breeding. The H. spontaneum accessions were infected with 21 isolates selected for their reactions on the differential barleys. The results of H. spontaneum collections did not show any similarities with differential barleys used. Resistance reactions were very rare. There was no resistance to 13 out of the 21 isolates. Horizontal resistance was noticed in most of H. spontaneum lines