Comparison of the University Students in Turkey and Central Asia with Regards to Their Characteristics of Thinking, Decision Making and Cognitive Closure

The aim of this study is to compare the Turkish, Uzbek and Kyrgyz university students with regards to their thinking and decision making styles and as well as their cognitive closure. 141 Turkish, 69 Uzbek and 89 Kyrgyz students at the Kyrgyz-Turkish Manas University participated in the study. As the data collection tool, the 15-point version of the thinking styles scale, decision making styles scale and the need for cognitive closure scale were used. The data were examined with the one-way variance analysis and the T2 test of Scheffe and Tamhane was applied to find the source of the difference in groups where a difference was determined. As a result of the study, significant differences were found between the Turkish, Uzbek and Kyrgyz students in 11 of the 13 thinking styles and in 3 of the 5 decision making styles. The highest difference in 3 sample groups was found for the need for cognitive closure. The importance of knowing the thinking and decision making styles of different cultures as a prerequisite for intercultural communication and cooperation was highlighted and some recommendations were made on this matter

Optimal control of light propagation through multiple-scattering media in the presence of noise

We study the control of coherent light propagation through multiple-scattering media in the presence of measurement noise. In our experiments, we use a two-step optimization procedure to find the optimal incident wavefront. We conclude that the degree of optimal control of coherent light propagation through a multiple-scattering medium is only determined by the number of photoelectrons detected per single speckle spot. The prediction of our model agrees well with the experimental results. Our results offer opportunities for imaging applications through scattering media such as biological tissue in the shot noise limit

Economic aspects of manure management and practices for sustainable agriculture in Turkey

Turkish livestock sector plays very important role in the Turkish GDP and the use of manure affects the environment but the farming sector want the farmers to employ the use of more integrated manure practice. The study assessed the economic impacts of integrated manure and chemical fertilizer used and the manure management practices sustainable for Turkish agriculture. Turkey is dependent on foreign countries not only for energy but for chemical fertilizers raw materials. High price of chemical fertilizers is one of the negative impact, manure substitution will lead to stable macro-economy, and environmental friendly economy and agricultural productivity will also impacts. To achieve these impacts, some manure practices suitable for sustainable rural development in Turkey was assessed

THE IMPORTANCE OF COLLABORATION AMONG BALKAN STUDIES IN TURKEY AND EUROPEAN UNIVERSITIES

The Balkans connect the two old continents and different civilizations. So it is aplace of mixed melting pot of different peoples and cultures throughout history.After the World War II disintegration of the former Soviet bloc gained momentum with the phenomenon of globalization, along with the need to build relations with other states in the Balkan countries. They started to hear. This situation is commonground brings together around the region and other European countries. European Universities and Universities of Turkey were founded research centers for theunique structure of Balkans. These centers have investigated, historical relations with each other countries, trying to establish new relationships in different areas. If they cooperation with together, they will improve its effectiveness and efficiency

A Scale to Assess Science Activity Videos (SASAV): The Study of Validity and Reliability

The purpose of the study was to develop an assessment scale for science activity videos that can be used to determine qualified science activity videos that can fulfill the objectives of activity based science education, help teachers to evaluate any science activity videos and decide whether to include into science learning process. The subjects for the study comprised a group of 47 science teacher candidates who were at their junior year in state university. In scope of a must course, each science teacher candidates were assigned an objective from K12 science curricula. Then, they were expected to seek for a science activity that can be conducted and recorded in form of 3-5 minutes long science activity video. The teacher candidates were asked to evaluate science activity videos developed by themselves for their classes, schools, and individual use through a scale to assess science activity videos. Science teacher candidates were given three weeks to complete the evaluation form, after which time they were returned to the researchers for assessment. The data from the scale were analyzed through descriptive and item analysis in terms of frequency, reliability and factor routines. The body of the scale covers 20 evaluation criteria in four major categories as technical features, narrator features, activity process, and security issues. The developed evaluation scale for science activity videos will provide a useful logical framework to help educators and/or trainers to identify adequate science activities in point of quality for their instructional purposes

Income Inequality and Its Measures: Evidence from OECD and European Countries

This paper is by nature an exploration study aimed to examine the measures of income inequality and is integrated with an empirical investigation of possible factors affecting the level of inequality. Recent data shows that the gap between poor and rich has been widening on an international scale. The way to solve this “sharing of created economic value” problem begins with the problem of how to measure inequality. Our literature review revealed different ways of measurement and how the concept of inequality was approached as well as it determines possible candidates for factors in empirical analysis. By making reference to De Maio’s findings (2007), most widely used methods of measurement are mentioned. A description of current situation in developed and developing economies based on most popular measure, which is Gini coefficient, is also provided.  Our empirical setting, to define factors influencing Gini coefficient, is employing data for 32 developed and developing OECD and EU countries in 2011 and 2012. We estimated an OLS model to the relation between Gini coefficients and several pre-identified regressors. We have found a linear relation with average income tax rate (taxrate) and with labor force participation rate (laborrate). The fact that public policies in taxation and labor force participation should be altered to cope with inequality is stressed in the paper

Selective coupling of optical energy into the fundamental diffusion mode of a scattering medium

We demonstrate experimentally that optical wavefront shaping selectively couples light into the fundamental diffusion mode of a scattering medium. The total energy density inside a scattering medium of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles was probed by measuring the emitted fluorescent power of spheres that were randomly positioned inside the medium. The fluorescent power of an optimized incident wave front is observed to be enhanced compared to a non-optimized incident front. The observed enhancement increases with sample thickness. Based on diffusion theory, we derive a model wherein the distribution of energy density of wavefront-shaped light is described by the fundamental diffusion mode. The agreement between our model and the data is striking not in the least since there are no adjustable parameters. Enhanced total energy density is crucial to increase the efficiency of white LEDs, solar cells, and of random lasers, as well as to realize controlled illumination in biomedical optics.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure