Estimation of economic discounting rate for practical project appraisal: the case of Turkey

This study focuses on estimating an economic discounting rate (EDR) to be used in project appraisals by the State Planning Organisation (SPO) of Turkey. The EDR is a policy tool used for selecting the best projects to meet the economic targets of development plans and to enable planners to choose the most profitable and feasible projects. Since the resources available to the economy are scarce, planners are expected to use cost-benefit analysis (CBA) especially, Net Present Value (NPV) criteria. The NPV is considered to be more reliable than the internal rate of return. Therefore, selection of an appropriate social discount rate is a key issue in the application of CBA for project appraisal. In this article, an attempt is made to estimate the EDR of Turkey via a “growth models” approach, providing fresh evidence for enhancing the project appraisal system in Turkey. The results reveal that the EDR of Turkey is 12.94% in the estimation period of 1985-2009.Project Appraisal; Growth Model; ARDL; Turkey

A social discount rate for Turkey

ocial Discount Rate (SDR) is a very crucial policy parameter in public project appraisals due to its resource allocation impacts. This study estimates an SDR for Turkey using the Social Time Preference Rate (STPR) approach. The elasticity of the marginal utility consumption, which is the most important component of the STPR, is estimated econometrically from a demand for food approach during the period of 1980-2008. The overall result indicates that the SDR for Turkey is 5.06%. The European Union requires evaluation of the publicly supported commercial projects in terms of the SDR; hence the findings from this study can be used as a useful policy measurement for a full EU member candidate country, Turkey.ocial discount rate; social time preference; project appraisal; ARDL; Turkey

Kinematics of W UMa-type binaries and evidences on the two types of formation

The kinematics of 129 W UMa binaries is studied and its implications on the contact binary evolution is discussed. The sample is found to be heterogeneous in the velocity space that kinematically younger and older contact binaries exist in the sample. Kinematically young (0.5 Gyr) sub-sample (MG) is formed by selecting the systems which are satisfying the kinematical criteria of moving groups. After removing the possible MG members and the systems which are known to be members of open clusters, the rest of the sample is called Field Contact Binaries (FCB). The FCB has further divided into four groups according to The orbital period ranges. Then a correlation has been found in the sense that shorter period less massive systems have larger velocity dispersions than the longer period more massive systems. Dispersions in the velocity space indicates 5.47 Gyr kinematical age for the FCB group. Comparing with the field chromospherically active binaries (CAB), presumably detached binary progenitors of the contact systems, the FCB appears to be 1.61 Gyr older. Assuming an equilibrium in the formation and destruction of CAB and W UMa systems in the Galaxy, this age difference is treated as empirically deduced lifetime of the contact stage. Since the kinematical ages of the four sub groups of FCB are much longer than the 1.61 Gyr lifetime of the contact stage, the pre-contact stages of FCB must dominantly be producing the large dispersions. The kinematically young (0.5 Gyr) MG group covers the same total mass, period and spectral ranges as the FCB. But, the very young age of this group does not leave enough room for pre-contact stages, thus it is most likely that those systems were formed in the beginning of the main-sequence or during the pre-main-sequence contraction phase.Comment: 19 pages, including 11 figures and 5 tables, accepted for publication in MNRA

Health Care Utilization by Children with Disabilities and Evaluation of Factors Affecting Caregiver Satisfaction

Aim: Health care is lacking for some level of mental disability for various reasons. The aim of this study was to examine health care utilization by individuals with severe disabilities applied to the health committee of a university hospital and to examine the factors that determine caregiver satisfaction by assessing their burden of care, quality of life, and level of burnout. Methods: Of the 840 disabled individuals who applied to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University Faculty of Medicine Training and Research Hospital, Rize, Turkey between January 2016 and 2019, 48 with severe disability caregivers were included in the study. Their sociodemographic information, level of health care, and caregiver satisfaction were analyzed using sociodemographic data forms. The Zarit Caregiver Burden Scale, Maslach Burnout Inventory, and Family Quality of Life Scale were used to assess the caregiver data. Results: More than half of the 48 children with severe disabilities were male (52.1%).Disabled females and female caregivers appeared to increase the level of emotional burnout of caregivers according to Maslach Burnout Inventory and Family Quality of Life Scale (p:0.01, p:0.05, p:0.02, p:0.03). Groups receiving home care was found with satisfaction. Disabled children and caregivers who were living within an urban area have significant differences with Maslach Burnout Inventory Personal Success (p:0.03). Conclusion: Disability is more of a risk for males. The sex of the disabled individual and caregiver were factors that affected caregiver burnout. Home care services increases caregiver satisfaction. Living within an urban area decreased the level of burnout on caregiver.Keywords: Caregiver burden, caregiver satisfaction, children disabilities, health care, family qualityDOI: 10.7176/JHMN/83-0

Reform-Based Mathematics Teaching in the United States

This chapter examined the trends in reform-based mathematics teaching practices in the United States classrooms. The authors systematically analyzed the journal articles in the Mathematics Teacher: Learning and Teaching PK-12 (MTLT) in order to reveal the current practices that practitioners and experts in mathematics education deem significant and worthy. They found that the most trending reform practices were mathematical discourse, conceptual understanding, task selection, and real-life applications. They discussed each trending practice through sample strategies and provided examples from the reviewed articles. They also identified the least trending reform practices that need attention and discussed associated challenges

The Competencies of the Culturally Responsive Teacher: What, Why and How?

This study aims to explore the postgraduate teachers’ perspectives regarding the ‘culturally responsive teacher’. In doing so, it adopts a basic qualitative approach as the research design. I selected eleven teachers as the study group by using the criterion sampling method. I collected the data from five female and six male teachers from various branches through semi-structured interview forms. I used the thematic analysis technique during the data analysis. I categorized the findings under four themes; “cultural responsiveness”, “self-assessment”, “teacher competencies” and “desirable culturally responsive teacher”. According to the results, being a culturally responsive teacher requires having certain personal and professional competencies, such as avoiding discrimination, respecting cultural differences, being a role model, having an empathic tendency, and having good communication skills as well as a pedagogical background. In the pre-service period, a number of special methods and practices should be implemented in order to develop culturally responsive teacher competencies of future teachers

The Impacts of Using GeoGebra on Students\u27 Perceptions and Achievement in Learning Geometric Transformations

This study aimed to contribute to the literature by examining the impacts of using GeoGebra on students\u27 perceptions and achievement in learning geometric transformations. This study contributes to mathematics education and learning environments supported by GeoGebra. This study reviewed the literature on social constructivist learning theory and students\u27 achievement in geometric transformations and perceptions of using GeoGebra. Nonequivalent control groups and a correlational research design were used to answer the research questions. The participants were selected in six geometry classes from 9th-grade and 10th-grade students (n = 131). The method of selecting participants from the population was a convenience sample. The experimental group (n = 66) was taught using GeoGebra. In contrast, the control group (n = 65) was taught without using GeoGebra for a period of five weeks. The data was collected from students\u27 geometric transformations achievement test scores and a questionnaire from the experimental group to measure students\u27 perceptions of using GeoGebra. A Kruskal-Wallis rank test was conducted to assess if there were significant differences in pretest scores between the group levels. The results of the Kruskal-Wallis test were not significant, based on an alpha value of .05, indicating the mean rank of the pretest score was similar for each level of the group. A Kruskal-Wallis rank sum test was conducted to assess if there were significant differences in gained test scores between the levels of the groups. The results of the Kruskal-Wallis test were significant based on an alpha value of 0.05, indicating the mean rank of Gained test score was significantly different between the levels of the groups. The questionnaire revealed information regarding students’ perceptions of using GeoGebra. A Spearman correlation analysis was conducted between students\u27 perceptions of using GeoGebra and their geometric transformations achievement test. A significant positive correlation was observed between perceptions of using GeoGebra and the geometric transformations achievement test, with a correlation of 0.26, indicating a small effect size. The summary statistics and percentages were used for the students\u27 perceptions of using GeoGebra in learning geometric transformations. The results showed positive student perceptions of using GeoGebra in learning geometric transformations. The result also indicated that the GeoGebra helps students learn geometry concepts, visualize geometry content, and makes students more creative. The findings of this study showed that GeoGebra is an excellent tool for learning geometric transformations

Sukūk Market Depth and Breadth Analysis: LAB (Liquid Assets Buffer) Portfolio Construction for a Non-Depository Megabank MDB

The objective of this paper is to empirically examine the depth of the sukūk market by determining whether the sukūk market, in its current form, is sufficient to cover the liquid assets buffer (LAB) balance sheet requirement for a hypothetical multilateral Islamic “megabank.” The question is relevant as there has been much discussion in recent years amongst market practitioners on whether or not the sukūk market has sufficient breadth and depth to accommodate a “greenfield” Sharīʿah compliant megabank which would be structured as a Multilateral Development Bank (MDB) focusing on infrastructure finance. Given the strong need for infrastructure financing across much of the developing world, two new MDBs were launched just this year: the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Brics New Development Bank. An MDB is an institution that is backed by governments and that typically operates under an exempt regulatory regime, while most other financial institutions are heavily regulated. An Islamic non-depository megabank MDB (“megabank MDB”) would be markedly different from an Islamic commercial bank: MDBs do not accept retail deposits from the public; MDBs have no regulators or even an industry oversight body. However, since MDBs issue bonds and sukūk as part of their business models, they need to acquire credit ratings; while the big three credit rating agencies have different rating methodologies, they collectively serve as the de facto regulators for non-depository MDBs. In light of these constraints, we will construct a LAB portfolio for a megabank MDB utilizing only sukūk

The Impacts of Supporting Productive Struggle Teaching Practice on Students’ Conceptual Understanding, Procedural Fluency, and Strategic Competence: The Case of Quadratic Functions

This quasi-experimental design study aimed to examine how exposure to supporting productive struggle teaching practice impacts students’ conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, and strategic competence when solving high-demanding quadratic functions problem solving tasks. Results suggested that students in the supporting productive struggle teaching practice group performed significantly better than students who received facilitated instruction in every three strands of mathematical proficiency (i.e., conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, and strategic competence). By examining the effectiveness of supporting productive struggle teaching practice, this study offers insight into the conceptions and strategies teachers can implement in their classrooms to improve students’ mathematical proficiency

THREE ESSAYS ON RETURNS TO EDUCATION, HEALTH AND THE SPATIAL WAGE CURVE IN TURKEY

This dissertation comprises three papers on wage and health returns to education and spatial wage curve in Turkey. The second and third chapters make use of the exogenous variations generated by the 1997 Eight-Year Compulsory Schooling Law and the accompanying middle- school class openings to estimate economic and health returns to education. The findings suggest that the reform and the intensity of the reform substantially increased the educational attainment. The second chapter investigates the wage returns to education. Results show that one additional year of schooling increases individual wages by around 9 percent. The third chapter examines the causal impact of education on health outcomes and health behavior. The estimates indicate that there is no statistically significant effect of education on health outcomes. The final chapter focuses on the spatial wage curve in Turkey. Results show that individual real wages are more responsive to the adjacent regions’ unemployment rates than the local unemployment rates. Further investigation reveals that the wage curve estimates are sensitive to the use of group-specific regional unemployment rates