Gender equality in Turkey

This note reviews gender equality in Turkey with a focus on the existing legislation and programs. The issue of gender equality in Turkey is particularly important for Turkey’s adoption of EU norms and acquis. The main challenges in this respect are violence against women, equal opportunities at the work place, paid and unpaid labour, hidden forms of discrimination and access to political decision-making and representation

Turkey's Predicament in the Post-Cold War Era

Cataloged from PDF version of article.The ultimate objective of the modern Turkish republic was to be recognized as a European state. The Cold War structures enabled the realization of that goal. Turkey's Europeanness was defined according to its geostrategic position; it became a reliable ally for the West as a buffer state against the former Soviet Union. The disappearance of the Cold War structures have brought the importance and suitability of Turkey for Europe into debate. In order to secure its position in the European order, Turkey had to redefine its policy formulations, as determined by Turkey's Eastern connections (whilst attending to the essentially non-Western elements in Turkey such as Kurdish nationalism and Islam). This article analyses how the new Turkish foreign policy in the Middle East, which is motivated to secure its place in Europe, brings out the non-Western elements in Turkey. The aim is to determine the extent to which such changes will shape Turkey's futures. Copyright © 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd

The Cyprus debacle: what the future holds

Cataloged from PDF version of article.This paper analyzes the Cyprus conflict from a realist perspective based on the assumption that it has implications for regional and global security. At the end of the millennium, the UN negotiations for Cyprus have been resumed, the USA has become more actively involved and the European Union has decided to open accession negotiations with Greek Cypriots. The paper proposes first that the futures of Cyprus are going to be determined by the strategic interests of the actors involved and, second, that unification of the island is becoming a more distant possibility

The EU’s common foreign, security and defense policies and the Turkish perceptions

The EU's common foreign and security role is tied to the EU's normative role and this has been one of the critical aspects of the debate concerning Turkey's accession. Turkey's membership negotiations are critical in terms of the future of the European integration process, specifically with respect to the EU's role as a global actor. How Turkey perceives the EU's CFSP is critical in assessing Turkey's potential role in the larger integration process, as well as the future development of the EU's international role. The article investigates whether there are wide differences among the Turkish public vis-a-vis the EU's CFSP and to what extent these differences are visible in Turkey's negotiation talks with the EU. The paper explores the extent to which European norms in foreign policy has diffused into Turkey and how this diffusion might have impacted the process of foreign policy making in Turkey

Perceived Autonomy Support Scale for Exercise Settings: Validity and reliability study for TurkishEgzersizde Algılanan Özerklik Desteği Ölçeği: Türkçe geçerlik ve güvenirlik çalışması

The purpose of this study was to examine the validity and reliability of Perceived Autonomy Support Scale for Exercise Settings (PASSES; Hagger et al., 2007) from teacher and from peers in Turkish context. It was conducted with volunteer university students. 230 university students completed PASSES from teacher, and 142 university students completed PASSES from peers. Each scale has 12 items with a unidimension structure. The items were rated on a 7-point Likert type scale from totally disagree (1) to totally agree (7). Each scale was analyzed by using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to determine validity and by using Cronbach alpha value to determine reliability. The validity analyses for each scale showed good fit indexes in Turkish context. The reliability analyses also showed high reliability scores for each scale. Results were consistent with previous studies. It was suggested that PASSES from teacher and from peers can be used in Turkish context. ÖzetBu araştırmanın amacı “Egzersizde Algılanan Özerklik Desteği Ölçeğinin” (Perceived Autonomy Support Scale for Exercise Settings; Hagger ve diğ., 2007) hem öğretmen hem de arkadaşlar versiyonunu Türkçeye uyarlamak ve her iki ölçeğin geçerlik ve güvenirliğini incelemektir. Bu amaçla Türkçeye çevrilen ölçekler bir grup üniversite öğrencisine uygulanmıştır (öğretmen versiyonu için n = 230; arkadaşlar versiyonu için n = 142). Tek boyutlu olan ölçekler 12 ifadeden oluşmaktadır ve ifadeler tamamen katılmıyorum (1)’dan tamamen katılıyorum (7)’a doğru sıralanan yedili Likert üzerinden değerlendirilmektedir. Ölçeğin yapı geçerliğini belirlemek için doğrulayıcı faktör analizi uygulanmış, iç güvenirliğini tespit etmek için de Cronbach alfa kat sayısı hesaplanmıştır. Her iki ölçeğin yapı geçerliği bulguları iyi uyum indeksleri göstermiştir. Her iki ölçeğin iç güvenirlik kat sayıları da oldukça yüksek olarak hesaplanmıştır. Elde edilen bulgular alan yazında ilgili araştırmalarla benzerlik göstermektedir. Egzersizde Algılanan Özerklik Desteği Ölçeğinin hem öğretmen hem de arkadaşlar versiyonunun Türkçede ilgili araştırmalarda kullanılabileceği önerilmektedir

Optimizing Filter-Probe Diffusion Weighting in the Rat Spinal Cord for Human Translation

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a promising biomarker of spinal cord injury (SCI). In the acute aftermath, DTI in SCI animal models consistently demonstrates high sensitivity and prognostic performance, yet translation of DTI to acute human SCI has been limited. In addition to technical challenges, interpretation of the resulting metrics is ambiguous, with contributions in the acute setting from both axonal injury and edema. Novel diffusion MRI acquisition strategies such as double diffusion encoding (DDE) have recently enabled detection of features not available with DTI or similar methods. In this work, we perform a systematic optimization of DDE using simulations and an in vivo rat model of SCI and subsequently implement the protocol to the healthy human spinal cord. First, two complementary DDE approaches were evaluated using an orientationally invariant or a filter-probe diffusion encoding approach. While the two methods were similar in their ability to detect acute SCI, the filter-probe DDE approach had greater predictive power for functional outcomes. Next, the filter-probe DDE was compared to an analogous single diffusion encoding (SDE) approach, with the results indicating that in the spinal cord, SDE provides similar contrast with improved signal to noise. In the SCI rat model, the filter-probe SDE scheme was coupled with a reduced field of view (rFOV) excitation, and the results demonstrate high quality maps of the spinal cord without contamination from edema and cerebrospinal fluid, thereby providing high sensitivity to injury severity. The optimized protocol was demonstrated in the healthy human spinal cord using the commercially-available diffusion MRI sequence with modifications only to the diffusion encoding directions. Maps of axial diffusivity devoid of CSF partial volume effects were obtained in a clinically feasible imaging time with a straightforward analysis and variability comparable to axial diffusivity derived from DTI. Overall, the results and optimizations describe a protocol that mitigates several difficulties with DTI of the spinal cord. Detection of acute axonal damage in the injured or diseased spinal cord will benefit the optimized filter-probe diffusion MRI protocol outlined here

In vivo MRI volumetric measurement of prostate regression and growth in mice

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