A novel instrument of regional development in Turkey: Izmir development agency

In Turkey, due to centralized state tradition, regional development has been kept in background and priority has been mostly given to national development. Regional development has been grasped as an extension of national development, thus top-down policies, which ignore the dynamics of each region, have been applied. However, these policies have not been successful and have created deep socio-economic disparities between the regions. With Turkey's highly motivated accession bid to EU, at the end of the 1990s, effects of Copenhagen Criteria have been influential in the country. Europeanization process obliges amendments in many parts of Turkish polity as well as the administrative structure of Turkey. The process favors bottom-up, decentralized policies where regional actors become more active in the decision-making mechanism. Therefore, Europeanization challenges the existing centralized state structure of Turkey, and triggers a transformation where dynamics of governance may prevail. With regards to this, a break in the logic of regional policy has started to occur in Turkey; new instruments of regional policy are introduced. In this context, the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) was established and 26 NUTS 2 regions were formed. As a novel attempt, 26 Regional Development Agencies (RDAs), which are derived from NUTS 2 regions, will be generated in Turkey. It is an innovative attempt, because for the first time, with the Law on The Establishment and Duties of Development Agencies, regional level, which devolves some responsibilities of the state to regional level and promotes region-specific policies, is institutionalized in Turkey. Institutionalization of the regional level is a step towards the multi-level governance model of the EU, in which the regional level may interact with the EU without the interference of the central government. In this respect, two RDAs were established in Turkey and Izmir Development Agency (IZKA) is one of them. IZKA is chosen as one of the first RDAs in Turkey, since Izmir has already experienced a RDA structure, under a non-governmental organization (NGO), and has an active civil society, where NGOs, chambers of commerce and industry, universities and other regional actors are ready to cooperate with a RDA in order to develop the region

Tuz Gölü Havzası’nın kuraklık analizi

06.03.2018 tarihli ve 30352 sayılı Resmi Gazetede yayımlanan “Yükseköğretim Kanunu İle Bazı Kanun Ve Kanun Hükmünde Kararnamelerde Değişiklik Yapılması Hakkında Kanun” ile 18.06.2018 tarihli “Lisansüstü Tezlerin Elektronik Ortamda Toplanması, Düzenlenmesi ve Erişime Açılmasına İlişkin Yönerge” gereğince tam metin erişime açılmıştır.Çalışma alanı olarak belirlenen Tuz Gölü Havzası, İç Anadolu Bölgesi'nde yer almaktadır. Tuz Gölü Havzası'nda yapılan literatür çalışmaları sonucunda "kuraklık" olduğu gözlemlenmiştir. Tuz Gölü Havzası'nın Köppen İklim Sınıflandırmasına göre iklim tipi; Kulu'da kışları ılık, yazları çok sıcak ve kurak bir iklim (Akdeniz İklimi), Aksaray, Karapınar ve Çumra ise yarı kurak step iklim tespit edilmiştir. Bu çalışmanın amacı Türkiye'deki iklim değişikliği sürecinde, Tuz Gölü Havzası'nda gözlemlenen kuraklığın, zamansal ve alansal karakteristiklerini ve şiddetini, De Martonne Kuraklık İndisi, Erinç Yağış Etkinliği İndisi, Thornthwaite İklim Sınıflandırması metotlarını kullanarak ortaya koymaktır. Çalışmada kullanılan indisler ile meteorolojik kuraklığa ait sonuçlar elde edilmiştir. Bu amaçla havzada homojen dağılım gösteren, uzun dönem ve kesintisiz verilere sahip olan Kulu, Aksaray, Karapınar ve Çumra meteoroloji istasyonlarının 1975-2016 yılları arasındaki ölçümleri ile; uzun yıllar yıllık ortalama sıcaklık, yıllık en düşük minimum sıcaklık, yıllık en yüksek maksimum sıcaklık ve yıllık ortalama toplam yağış verilerinin eğilimleri doğrusal trend yöntemi ile hesaplanmıştır ve kuraklık indisleri formülleri uygulanmıştır. Meteorolojik verilerden elde edilen bulgular ile Tuz Gölü Havzası'nda kuraklık analiz edilmiştir.The Salt Lake Basin, designated as the study area, is located in Central Anatolia Region. Drought has been observed as a result of the literature studies in Tuz Lake Basin. Type of climate according to Köppen Climate Classification of Tuz Lake Basin; in Kulu the climate in winter is warm, summer is very hot and arid (Mediterranean climate), in Aksaray, Karapınar and Cumra semi-arid steppe climate has been identified. The aim of the climate change process in Turkey this study, Tuz Lake's drought observed in the Basin, spatial and temporal characteristics and severity, De Martonne Drought Index, Erinç Precipitation Activity Index, Thornthwaite is to demonstrate using climate classification methods. The results of the meteorological drought were obtained with the indices used in the study. For this purpose, the measurements of Kulu, Aksaray, Karapınar and Çumra meteorology stations with homogeneous distribution in the basin and having long-term and uninterrupted data; long-term average annual temperature, annual minimum temperature, annual maximum temperature and annual average total precipitation data were calculated by linear trend method and the drought indices formulas were applied. The drought in the Tuz Lake Basin were analyzed with the results obtained from meteorological data

Effect of sandblasting with different size of aluminum oxide particles on tensile bond strength of resilient liner to denture base

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the bonding properties of sandblasted with different size of aluminum oxide particles denture base to silicone based soft denture liner. Methods: Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) test specimens were fabricated and then randomly assigned to 5 groups (n=15), according to the treatments applied, untreated (control, group 1), sandblasted with 50 µm Al2O3 (group 2), 60 µm Al2O3 (group 3), 120 µm Al2O3 (group 4), and 250 µm Al2O3 (group 5). The resilient liner specimens were processed between 2 PMMA blocks. Bonding strength of the liners to PMMA was compared by tensile test with the use of universal testing machine at a crosshead speed of 5 mm/min. The mean value and standard deviation of the specimens were statistically evaluated by 1-way ANOVA and post hoc Tukey-Kramer multiple comparisons tests (α=0.05). Results: The highest mean force value was observed in group 4 specimens, and the lowest mean force value was observed in group 2 specimens. The differences between groups 1 and 4 was found to be statistically significant (p=0.001). Nevertheless, there was no statistical difference in tensile bond strength between groups 1 (control) and groups 2, 3, and 5 specimens. Conclusion: Different particle sizes of aluminum oxide particles affect the bond strength of PMMA/resilient liner. Furthermore, 120 µm Al2O3 particles are the best particle size to improve strength of the bond. Keywords: Sandblasting, tensile bond strength, soft liner, aluminum oxide

Evaluation of epicardial fat tissue thickness and aortic stiffness in patients with gestational diabetes mellitus

Objective We aimed to assess the relationship between gestational diabetes mellitus and coronary artery disease by measuring epicardial fat tissue thickness and aortic stiffness in pregnant women diagnosed with gestational diabetes mellitus. Methods 28 pregnant women diagnosed with gestational diabetes mellitus and 25 pregnant women without gestational diabetes mellitus were included in the research. Body mass index, laboratory values, blood pressure measurements and obstetric history findings of the study population were recorded. All participants of the study population were evaluated with transthoracic echocardiography between 24 and 28 weeks of gestational period. The measurement of epicardial fat tissue thickness was taken and aortic stiffness index was also calculated. Results The age, gravidity, parity and obstetric history of the two groups were similar. Epicardial fat tissue thickness was found significantly higher in gestational diabetes mellitus group than control group (0.416 cm and 0.336 cm, respectively; p<0.001). However, no significant difference was found in aortic stiffness measurements of the two groups (p=0.079). Conclusion According to the results of our study, epicardial fat tissue thickness was found to be statistically significantly higher in pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus compared to the control group. The fact that no difference was detected in other cardiovascular parameters suggests that measurement of epicardial fat tissue thickness in gestational period may be a beneficial adjunctive tool in early detection of gestational diabetes mellitus

Effects of Er:YAG Laser Irradiation and Topical Fluoride Application on Inhibition of Enamel Demineralization

Objective:The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the Er:YAG laser and acidulated phosphate fluoride application on enamel solubility around orthodontic brackets via atomic absorption spectrometry.Materials and Methods:Twenty freshly extracted upper premolar teeth were divided into 2 halves. Each half was covered with a nail varnish, excluding 1 mm (width) of space around each side of the bracket base. Orthodontic brackets were bonded in the center of the isolated area. Four groups were generated. The first group was the control group, and no treatment was performed. In group II (F), only fluoride was applied. Groups III and IV were laser and fluoride combination groups. In Group III (LF), fluoride was applied to the laser-irradiated surface, whereas laser irradiation was performed on the fluoridated enamel surface in Group IV (FL group). Afterwards, samples were demineralized in an acidic solution for 96 hours, and calcium assessment was performed using atomic absorption spectrometry. Comparisons of the calcium ion release values of the groups were performed with Kruskal-Wallis and Tukey honestly significant difference post hoc tests. The statistical significance level was set at p < 0.05.Results:The least amount of calcium release was observed in the LF group (median, 112.7 ppm), while the parameter of the control group was the highest (median, 217.9 ppm). The differences between the control and F groups, control and LF groups, and LF and FL groups were statistically significant. No difference was recorded between the control and FL groups.Conclusion:Laser treatment followed by topical application of acidulated phosphate fluoride gel resulted in the lowest calcium dissolution from the enamel surface

Triglyceride-glucose index levels in patients with congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism and the relationship with endothelial dysfunction and insulin resistance

Introduction: The risk of cardiometabolic diseases is increased in patients with hypogonadism. The triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index is a novel surrogate marker of insulin resistance and is associated with cardiovascular diseases. We investigated the TyG index levels and the relationship with endothelial dysfunction and insulin resistance in patients with congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (CHH). Material and methods: A total of 98 patients with CHH (mean age 21.66 ± 1.99 years) and 98 healthy control subjects (mean age 21.69 ± 1.21 years) were enrolled. The demographic parameters, TyG index, asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) levels were measured for all participants. Results: The patients had higher waist circumference (p &lt; 0.001), triglycerides (p = 0.001), insulin (p = 0.003), HOMA-IR (p = 0.002), ADMA (p &lt; 0.001), and TyG index (p &lt; 0.001) levels and lower HDL-C (p = 0.044) and total testosterone (p &lt; 0.001) levels compared to healthy control subjects. TyG index levels significantly correlated with the ADMA (r = 0.31, p = 0.003) and HOMA-IR (r = 0.32, p &lt; 0.001) levels. TyG index was also determinant of HOMA-IR levels (ß = 0.20, p = 0.018). Conclusion: The results of the present study show that patients with CHH had increased TyG index levels. Also, the TyG index is independently associated with insulin resistance in patients with CHH. Long-term follow-up studies are warranted to find out the role of the TyG index in determining cardiometabolic risk in patients with hypogonadism.

The influence of leadership behaviors on motivation and job satisfaction in working life: a field study

Örgütler; iş süreçleri, işgörenler, işler, yöneticiler, çevre, sermaye, hammadde vb. unsurlardan oluşan sistemlerdir. Bu sistem içerisindeki pek çok faktör iş ve üretim sürecini, dolayısıyla örgütü doğrudan etkilemektedir. İşgörenlerin motivasyonları ve iş tatminleri de çevrelerindeki pek çok faktörden etkilenebilmektedir. Bu faktörlerden biri de liderlerin davranış tarzları ya da liderlik tarzlarıdır. Bu çalışmada bankacılık sektöründe çalışan işgörenlerin liderlerinin liderlik tarzlarından motivasyonlarının ve iş tatminlerinin nasıl etkilendiği araştırılmaya çalışılmıştır. Bu amaçla yapılan çalışmanın evrenini İstanbul ili Avrupa yakasında faaliyet gösteren bankaların çalışanları, örneklemini ise bu bankalarda çalışan 300 kişi oluşturmuştur. Araştırma verileri anket yöntemiyle toplanmış, bu amaçla iş tatmin ölçeği, motivasyon ölçeği ve liderlik tarzları belirleme ölçeği kullanılmıştır. Araştırmanın verileri SPSS paket programıyla analiz edilmiştir. Araştırma sonucunda, dönüşümcü ve sürdürümcü liderlik özelliğinin işgörenlerin motivasyonunda, içsel ve dışsal tatminlerinde anlamlı ve pozitif yönlü bir etkisinin olduğu görülmüştür. Buna göre dönüşümcü liderlik özelliği arttığında işgörenlerin motivasyonlarında ve iş tatmin düzeylerinde artış sağlanabilecektir. Buna karşılık serbestlik tanıyan liderlik özelliğinin işgörenlerin motivasyon düzeyleri üzerinde anlamlı bir etkisinin olmadığı sonucuna ulaşılmıştır.Organizations are systems formed by factors such as work processes, Works, wage earners, managers, environment, capital, raw material, etc. A lot of factors in this system impact work and production period, thus directly affecting the organization. Motivation and work satisfaction of wage earners are also affected by a lot of factors in their environments. One of these factors is type of leaders’ behaviors or type of their leadership. In this study, it was aimed at analyzing not only leadership styles of leaders of wage earners in banking sector but also and how their motivation and work satisfaction are affected. For this purpose, universe of the study is formed by workers in banks European Side of İstanbul, whilst the sample is formed by 300 workers in banks. Data of research were collected by survey technique and work satisfaction scale, motivation scale and determining leadership style scale were used. Research data were analyzed by SPSS package program. At the end of study, it was seen that transformit and subscriber leadership styles had meaningful and positive-directional effect on motivations and internal and external satisfactions of wage earners. According to those, when transformit leadership style increases, it is possible that motivations and work satisfaction levels increase. Also, it was found that leadership styles that let freedom have no effects on motivation levels of wage earners

Forecasting Of Natural Gas Consumption By Artificial Neural Networks İn Konya Region

Tez (Yüksek Lisans) -- İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi, Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü, 2017Thesis (M.Sc.) -- İstanbul Technical University, Institute of Science and Technology, 2017Ülkelerin ekonomik ve sosyal gelişiminin en temel gereksinimlerinden biri olan enerji, toplumsal yaşamın sürdürülebilmesi için gerekli olan hemen hemen tüm süreçler için vazgeçilmez bir girdidir. Günümüzde dünyada tüketilen enerji, birçok farklı enerji kaynağından temin edilirken; petrol, doğal gaz ve kömür gibi fosil kaynaklar, bu kaynakların %87'sini oluşturmaktadır. Petrol, dünya birincil enerji tüketiminde en büyük paya sahip olurken, petrolden sonra kömür ve doğal gaz gelmektedir. Türkiye'de ise, birincil enerji tüketiminde doğal gaz birinci sırada yer alırken, doğal gazdan sonra kömür ve petrol gelmektedir. Tüketimini karşılayacak yerel doğal gaz rezervi ve üretimi bulunmayan Türkiye, gelişen ekonomisi ve sanayisi ile dünyanın önemli enerji tüketicileri arasında yer almaktadır. Doğal gazın Türkiye'de kullanımının yaygınlaşması ve ülke enerji talebinin giderek artış göstermesine paralel olarak, doğal gazın kullanım oranı ve kullanım alanları giderek artmış ancak yurt içi rezervler bu talebi karşılamada kısıtlı kalmıştır. Bu durum, Türkiye için doğal gaz ithalatını zorunlu hale getirmiştir. Doğal gaz temini noktasında tamamen dışa bağımlı olduğumuz ve depolama kapasitemizin çok düşük olduğu hususları göz önünde bulundurulduğunda doğal gaz sektörünün daha sağlıklı işleyebilmesi için tüketilen doğal gaz miktarının tahmini son derece önemli bir rol oynamaktadır. Talebin doğru bir şekilde tahmini, sektöre yapılacak yatırımları ve gaz alımı ile ilgili anlaşmaları, dolayısıyla sektörün gelişimini etkileyecek unsurlardan birini oluşturmaktadır. Bu çalışmada, yapay sinir ağları (YSA) kullanılarak Konya bölgesine ait günlük doğal gaz tüketim tahmini yapılmıştır. Yapay sinir ağları, örnekleri kullanarak olayları öğrenebilen ve çevreden gelen olaylara karşı nasıl tepkiler üretebileceğini belirleyebilen bilgisayar programlarıdır. Doğrusal olmayan karmaşık problemleri çözümleyebilme, kendi kendine öğrenebilme, genelleme yapabilme, eğitildikten sonra eksik veriler ile çalışabilme ve yüksek gürültü toleransına sahip olma gibi üstün özellikler, yapay sinir ağlarının geleneksel tahmin yöntemlerine göre tercih edilmesinin nedenlerinden bazılarıdır. YSA'nın öğrenebilmesi için örneklerin belirlenmesi ve bu örneklerin ağa gösterilerek istenen çıktılara göre ağın eğitilmesi gerekmektedir. Örneklerden öğrenmenin temelinde, herhangi bir olay hakkında verilen gerçekleşmiş örneklere bakılarak ilgili olayın girdi ve çıktıları arasındaki ilişkileri öğrenmek ve daha sonra oluşacak yeni örneklerin çıktılarını belirlerken bu ilişkileri kullanmak yatmaktadır. Çalışmada, Konya iline ait doğal gaz tüketimini etkilediği düşünülen 17 ayrı girdi değeri belirlenmiş ve kullanılmıştır. Doğal gaz tüketimine etki eden girdi parametreleri; doğal gaz kullanan abone sayısını temsilen bbs (birim bölme sayısı), meteorolojik parametreler, bu parametrelerden türetilmiş diğer önemli parametreler ve doğal gaz satış fiyatı olarak ele alınmıştır. Çalışmada kullanılan çıkış veri seti ise Enerya Konya Gaz Dağıtım A.Ş.'den temin edilmiş olup, 2005-2015 yılları arasındaki Sm3 cinsinden günlük doğal gaz tüketim miktarlarından oluşmaktadır. Konya iline ait olan 2005-2015 yılları arasındaki 11 senelik giriş-çıkış verisinin 10 senelik kısmı (2005-2014 yılları) ağların eğitilmesi için kullanılırken, 1 senelik veri seti (2015 yılı) test için kullanılmıştır. Test sonuçları R2, rRMS ve rMB olmak üzere üç ayrı performans kriteri ile ölçülerek Konya için en uygun yapay sinir ağ modeli bulunmaya çalışılmıştır. Bu kapsamda, öncelikle doğal gaz tüketimi üzerinde etkisi olan parametreler belirlenmiş ve bu parametreler ile doğal gaz tüketim miktarı arasındaki ilişki açıklanmıştır. Daha sonra, kullanılacak olan yapay sinir ağı mimarisi ve öğrenme algoritması belirlenerek birçok farklı deneme yapılmış ve en doğru sonuçları veren ağın bulunması için çalışılmıştır. Son olarak, yapay sinir ağlarıyla elde edilen ve yüksek başarım veren ağ sonuçları basit ve çoklu doğrusal regresyon model sonuçlarıyla karşılaştırılmıştır.Economic growth, along with accompanying structural changes, strongly influences world energy consumption. As countries develop and living standards improve, energy demand grows rapidly. The consumption of energy from all sources increases and fossil fuels continue to provide most of the world's energy. While oil remains the world's dominant fuel with the largest share in the global primary energy consumption, it is followed by coal and natural gas. But in Turkey, natural gas comes first in primary energy consumption, followed by coal and oil. With a rapidly growing economy, Turkey has become one of the fastest growing energy markets in the world. In parallel with the widespread use of natural gas in Turkey and the increasing demand for energy, the utilization rate and consumption areas of natural gas have increased steadily, but the domestic reserves have been limited in meeting this demand. This situation has made natural gas imports compulsory for Turkey who has limited natural gas reserves and storage capacity. Turkey imports nearly 99% of the natural gas it consumes. So it is crucial to predict the natural gas consumption for our country who follows a foreign dependent policy to yield natural gas and whose storage capacity is very limitted. True prediction of the natural gas demand becomes one of the most important elements which affects the investments to be made in the sector and agreements on gas purchasing. In this manner, there are many demand forecasting methods which are used for the natural gas consumption. In this study, the daily natural gas consumption of Konya region has been predicted by artificial neural networks (ANN). Artificial neural network is a useful tool which is used to solve complex, especially nonlinear decision problems, optimization, process control, forecast and many others. ANNs are computer programs that can learn how to use events and how they can generate responses to events that surround them. The ability to solve non-linear complex problems, self-learning, generalization, working with missing data after training, and having high noise tolerance are some of the reasons for choosing ANNs compared to traditional estimation methods. An artificial neuron consists of five main components which are the inputs, weights, summation function, activation function and the outputs: The inputs are the information coming from the outside world to the cell, and they do not perform any mathematical operation but transfers the data to a forward step. In this study, 17 inputs which are thought to affect the natural gas consumption of Konya region have been determined and used. Input parameters affecting natural gas consumption; bbs representing the number of natural gas clients, meteorological parameters, other important parameters derived from meteorological parameters, and natural gas sales price. The weights represent the importance of the information its effect on the cell coming from input. The learning process on the networks is achieved by changing the weights. In this study, Levenberg - Marquardt (LM) learning algorithm was chosen for the training of artificial neural networks. The summation function multiplies the input values by their weights and provides the net entry to the network. The net entry comming from the summation function is processed to determine the output to be produced as response for this net input by the activation function. In this study, Logarithmic Sigmoid activation function was used in the hidden layer while Pure-linear activation function was used in the exit layer. Finally, the output value is given as the output of the model which is determine by the activation functions after the learning process ended. The output data set used in the study was obtained from Enerya Konya Gas Distribution Inc. and consists of daily natural gas consumption amounts (mainly used for space heating, water heating and cooking) in Sm3 between 2005 and 2015. The ANN architecture was determined as feed-forward network and several trials were conducted to develop the best network model suitable for this architecture. To train the neural networks, 10-year part of the 11-year input-output data between 2005 and 2015 belonging to Konya province was used while the one-year data set (2015) was used for testing. Test results were measured with three different performance criteria which are R2, rRMS, rMB and the most suitable ANN model for Konya was investigated. After the parameters affecting natural gas consumption were determined, the relationship between these parameters and the daily gas consumption values was explained. Finally, ANN results were compared with the linear regression and multi linear regression model results.Yüksek LisansM.Sc

Degradation of crystal violet over Fe-ZSM-5 zeolite catalyst by heterogeneous fenton-like oxidation and/or sonication

Bu çalışmada, Crystal Violet (CV)'nin sulu çözeltisinden, heterojen Fenton reaksiyonu ile oksidasyonu, iyon değişimi ile hazırlanmış bir FeZSM-5 zeolit katalizörü üzerinde incelenmiş ve CV'nin heterojen Fenton reaksiyonu ile oksidasyonuna ultrasesin (sonikasyonun) katkısı araştırılmıştır. Bu bağlamda, ilk önce hazırlanan katalizör muhtelif tekniklerle karakterize edilmiş, daha sonra bu katalizör varlığında CV'nin heterojen Fenton reaksiyonu ile oksidasyonuna sıcaklık, pH, H2O2 miktarı, katalizör miktarı ve boya başlangıç derişimi gibi parametrelerin etkileri incelenmiştir. Tüm deneyler süresince alınan örnekler UV-spektrofotometresi ile analizlenerek renk giderimi ölçülmüş, kimyasal oksijen ihtiyacındaki (COD) azalma COD kitleri kullanılarak saptanmıştır. Optimum koşullarda (0.005 g/dm3 boya derişimi, 3 mM H2O2, 0.15 g katalizör/0.15 dm3 boya çözeltisi, 333K ve boya başlangıç pH 7.0) %92 renk giderimi ve %47lik COD giderimi elde edilmiştir. Ayrıca, CV'nin ultrasonik bozunması da incelenmiş ve bozunmayı etkileyen faktörler (ultrasonik cihaz tipi, güç) araştırılmıştır. Bununla birlikte sonikasyonun heterojen Fenton reaksiyonu ile boya oksidasyonuna etkisi üzerinde de durulmuştur. Ultrasonik banyoda sonikasyonun renk giderimine olumlu katkısı olmuş, sonikasyon ile heterojen Fenton reaksiyonun birlikte kullanımı renk giderimini %96'ya yükseltmiştir. CV'nin başlangıç renk giderim hızı -rCV,o=7.3 e-14.7/RT CCV,o0.7 CH2O2,0 denklemi ile tanımlanmış olup burada R=8.314 J/molK, CCV,o ve CH2O2,0 mol/dm3 birimindedir

Bir sınıf projesi olarak neoliberal emeklilik reformu: Şili ve Türkiye örnekleri.

The purpose of the thesis is to demonstrate the validity of David Harvey’s argument that neoliberalism is a class project in relation to the transformation of pension systems in the countries of the South that have been forced by the International Financial Institutions since the 1980s. The proposed reform has tried to be justified by a discourse that has emphasized the need for sustainable pension systems in the face of population ageing while population ageing has indeed been one of the most important demographic problems of primarily the countries of the North. Even though the neoliberal pension reform has aimed to reduce the role of the state, the practice has affirmed Andrew Gamble’s argument that a strong state is needed to sustain the free market economy in pensions which is capable of making necessary pro-capital redistributions as also Harvey underlines and managing the social and political implications of the relevant transformations. Two important achievements of the neoliberal pension reforms from the perspective of capital have been the redefinition of the pension issue from an important political question to an age-based technical on the one hand, and the opening up of the pension “sector” to capital accumulation through its commodification. The thesis will focus on the pension transformation in Chile and Turkey in order to understand the political and economic context and contradictions of the process in line with the main arguments of the thesis.Ph.D. - Doctoral Progra