EFL Students’ Views on Distance English Language Learning in a Public University in Turkey

This study investigated first year Turkish EFL students’ views about learning English through distance education. The participants were on-campus students in a public university in Turkey who took compulsory English language courses through distance education. A total of 62 students from different majors were involved in the study. Data was collected through an 18-item online Likert-Scale questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The questionnaire revealed that students did not have clear views about distance English language learning and that they preferred face-to-face instructional setting to learn English. Interviews revealed that students were happy with distance language learning setting because they liked flexibility of time and place, but they suffered from lack of equipment and technical problems. The study also revealed that students had problems with English language learning in general. New studies should be carried out with distance EFL learners on issues such as autonomy, motivation, academic procrastination, and technical and pedagogical support

Narratives of energy incumbents - Unravelling perspectives on municipal electric utilities

The dominant narrative in sustainability transitions studies frames electric utilities as incumbents and “villains” who hinder the diffusion of niche innovations (Johnstone et al., 2017; Turnheim and Sovacool, 2020). This behavior is in line with the conception of incumbent actors as part of the dominant sociotechnical regime (Geels, 2002, 2006a), painting the picture of incumbents with a broad brush and limiting nuance. However, several authors have made attempts to illustrate heterogeneity among incumbents and that some can take on proactive roles in advancing niche innovation (Altunay et al., 2021; Ampe et al., 2021; Apajalahti et al., 2018; Berggren et al., 2015; Stalmokaitė and Hassler, 2020). The purpose of this licentiate thesis is to advance this inquiry by unravelling the narratives of electric utilities as incumbents in energy transitions. Three narratives are explored through a synthesis of two qualitative case studies of Swedish electric utilities’ engagement with solar photovoltaics. The thesis is organized along two core questions: how electric utilities engage with this emerging technology at the level of business models and collaborations, and why they choose to engage in certain ways, investigating internal and external drivers. The findings show that most electric utilities engage with solar photovoltaics through a variety of business models and collaborations, depending on a combination of firm-internal factors (i.e., organizational goals, business logics, and resources) and external factors (i.e., the task environment, the institutional environment, and the industry regime). The study illustrates the need for extending dominant narratives, as it shows that electric utility incumbents can support niche innovations, display niche and regime characteristics simultaneously, and react heterogeneously to similar external pressures. As a result, this thesis contributes to pluralizing incumbencies within sustainability transitions

January 1958

My dear Brother: It does not require a great stretch of the imagination for me to hear you mutter: Didn\u27t I get one of these yellow sheets only a month ago? Why doesn\u27t he get back to work instead of cluttering up my mail? Well, thereby hangs a tale. A few weeks ago I spent an illuminating, and somewhat dismaying, evening with brother Theophilus in the Middle West. He has a good congregation of about five hundred members. It is an average parish, with the usual complement of saints and sinners, with the lines between them shifting back and forth. Theophilus has worked hard and the Lord of the Church has blessed his hands and his voice

Interaction between Energy Incumbents and Solar Entrants: Relationship Status Complicated

This paper contributes to the conceptualization of niche-regime interaction through a retrospective study of the evolution of business relationships between new entrant solar firms and incumbent municipal electric utilities in Sweden. We analyse how activity links, resource ties and actor bonds evolve over time and discuss the resulting interactions. We find that the relationships initially created mutual benefits, combining utilities’ brands and sales channels with solar firms’ technology competences. Most collaborations later turned into conflict due to the solar firms’ strengthened network positions and the clash between their private sector logic and the utilities’ public sector logic. Conceptually, we emphasize (1) changes in the relative importance of different resources (technology-related interactions), (2) decreased alignment of goals, strategies, and values (institution-related interactions), and (3) shifts in the relative power of new entrants vis-\ue0-vis incumbents (network-related interactions). This leads us to question the common association of niches with new entrants and regimes with incumbents

Solar business model adoption by energy incumbents: the importance of strategic fit

This paper answers recent calls to give more attention to the business strategies of incumbent actors regarding innovation and socio-technical transitions. We map the solar business model adoption of 30 Swedish electric utility incumbents and examine to what extent it can be explained by the strategic fit with the utilities\u27 established business models, corporate strategies, and external environment. We find that all three dimensions need to be considered in order to explain adoption. Alignment with the established business model is mainly important concerning activities, resources, and partnerships, and utilities also re-configure solar models to increase this alignment (e.g. through outsourcing). However, it is not the main driver for adoption. Instead, incentives and pressures related to corporate strategies and external environment induce or block retailers from adopting solar models. By demonstrating the importance of strategic fit, these findings provide a more nuanced understanding of industry incumbent\u27s strategies in relation to emerging technologies

Geleneksel Medyadan Yeni Medyaya: Görüntü Yüzeyi

İmgeler bize asıl dünyayıdeğil, seçilmişbir dünyayıgösterir ve gösterilen şeyler gerçeğin temsilleri, yeniden sunumlarıdır.Fotoğrafın bulunuşuna kadar, belirli bir yüzey üzerinde görüntülerin temsillerinin oluşturulmasının en geleneksel yöntemi, resim yapmaktır. Fotoğrafla birlikte elin işlevi, göze yüklenir ve geleneksel resmetme tekniklerinin yerini ışıkla resmetme alır. Video ise ışıkla resmetme sürecine daha önce var olmayan ekranıdahil eder. Yanısıra ekran, ışıklıyüzeyin gündelik yaşama kattığıyeni kullanım biçimleriyle toplumsal bir dönüşümün de simgesi hâline gelir. Yeni medyanın olanaklarıiçerisinde evrim geçiren ekran yüzeyi,iletişim sürecinin çift yönlü olarak yaşanmasınısağlar. Yeni medya,2000’li yıllarda yaşamlarının değişmez bir parçasıolarak ekran kullanan bir jenerasyonunun ortaya çıkmasında, belirleyici bir iletişim ortamıhâline gelir. Yeni medyanın etkileşimli ekranı, geleneksel medya ekranından farklıolarak, görme ve işitme duyularının yanında, dokunma duyularınıda iletişim sürecine dahil eder. Yeni medya ekranınıkullanmaya başlayan “Ekran kuşağı” olarak adlandırılabilecek olan yeni nesil,yeni medyayıgeleneksel medyadan çok daha farklıve kendine özgü biçimde kullanan, yaşam pratikleri içerisinde temel iletişim ihtiyaçlarınıbu ekranlarla birlikte sürdüren farklıbir jenerasyona karşılık gelmektedir

KİTABİYAT

[Abtract Not Available

BİR SOSYALLEŞME ARACI OLARAK YENİ MEDYA

Yeni medya 2000’li yılların en moda kavramlarından biridir. Gerek doğrudan medya üzerine yapılan çalışmalarda, gerekse dolaylı olarak medya ile ilişkilendirilmiş araştırmalarda yeni medyanın karakteristik özellikleri farklı şekillerde sınanmaya çalışılmış, yeni medya tanımlarının sınırları sürekli yeniden yapılandırılır olmuştur. 2000’li yılların toplumsallaşma süreci, modern dünyanın geleneksel medyasının ortaya çıkardığı toplumsallaşma yapısından önemli farklılıklar içerir. Kavram olarak ağ toplumu, Castells (2008) tarafından tanımlanmış, gündelik yaşamlarında geleneksel iletişim araçları yerine yeni medyayı kullanagelen, yeni medyanın iletişim olanaklarını gündelik yaşamı içine yerleştirmiş ve belirli bir alışkanlık edinmiş bir topluma karşılık gelmektedir. Ağ toplumu, Bell’in (1996) endüstrisi sonrası toplumunun toplumsal yapılanmasını ağ üzerinden gerçekleştiren biçimi olarak tanımlanabilir. Toplumsal yapılanmasını da bilginin serbest dolaşımı üzerine şekillendirir. Tıpkı endüstri toplumunda üretilen ürünlerin serbest dolaşımında olduğu gibi, ağ toplumunda öne çıkan en önemli olgu, önemli ya da önemsiz, anlık ya da geçmiş, üretilen tüm bilgilerin paylaşılabilir, manipüle edilebilir olmasıdır. Bu araştırma, ağ toplumunun yapılanmasında, toplumsallaşmasında yeni medyanın ne gibi etkilerinin olduğunu; var olan toplumsal yapıyı şekillendirmesinde hangi özelliklerinden yararlandığını ortaya koymayı amaçlamıştır. Bu amaç doğrultusunda yeni medyanın karakteristik özellikleri özetlenerek, toplumsallaşma ile olan kavramsal ilişkileri ortaya konmaya çalışılmıştır. Farklı toplumsallaşma düzeylerinde yeni medyanın hangi karakteristik özellikleri ile işlev gördüğü, 2000’li yıların ağ toplumunun yapılanmasında hangi yönlerinin öne çıktığı, literatür taraması ışığında betimlenmiştir

Venous Leg Ulceration

Venous leg ulcers are among the most common leg ulcerations. Advancing age, sex, race, phlebitis, family history, obesity, prolonged standing, and number of pregnancies are risk factors. Although the main pathogenetic mechanism is venous hypertension, leading to vein wall damage and thereby a cascade of events resulting in ulceration, there is no consensus about progression from venous hypertension to ulceration

The Structure of Bursa of Fabricius in the Long-Legged Buzzard (Buteo Rufinus): Histological and Histochemical Study

The bursa of Fabricius (BF) is a lymphoepithelial organ found only in birds. Differences in morphology of BF could play an important role in immune response. The objective of this study was to investigate the histological and histochemical characteristics of the bursa of Fabricius in the long-legged buzzard (Buteo rufinus). The material for the study comprised bursa samples obtained from three long-legged buzzards with permission of the General Directorate of Nature Protection and National Parks (Ankara, Turkey). Briefly, interfollicular epithelium (IFE) was shown to be columnar in shape and not to contain goblet cells. Reticular fibers were located in interfollicular septae. Each lymphoid follicle in the bursa of Fabricius in the long-legged buzzard was remarkably linked to the follicle associated epithelium (FAE). Namely, FAE has been reported to stimulate antibody production by transferring antigens to the medulla and have a leading role in developing of local immune response. Among the others, the species-specific differences in bursa of Fabricius morphology of long-legged buzzard (Buteo rufinus) also might support the continuity of this species in nature