Istanbul Research Articles

Staging Theatre Historiography: The Afterlives of Ottoman Armenian Drama in Contemporary Turkish Public Theatre

In the last twenty years, memory has gained broader attention in Turkey's social, cultural and political arena. In line with this movement, independent and subsidized theatres produced plays engaging with Armenian history through diverse political and aesthetic agendas. Among these works, public and state theatre productions remained mostly invisible in theatre scholarship due to their ambiguous position that does not directly align with the framework of political theatre. This article examines the adaptation of the Ottoman Armenian playwright Hagop Baronian's Adamnapuyj aravelyan (1868) as Şark Dişçisi (The Oriental Dentist) (2011) by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality City Theatres (İBBŞT). While promoting confrontation with the past, Şark Dişçisi eliminates the crucial political insights of its source text and their ramifications for contemporary demands for historical justice regarding the 1915 Armenian Genocide. The intersection of revisionist theatre historiography and broader political dynamics in the adaptation process reveals the ambivalences of post-Genocide memory work in Turkey.

Evaluation of Foreign Visitors Turkish Cuisine Experiences on Tripadvisor, an Online Platform: The Case of İstanbul-Beyoğlu

The present study aimed to evaluate the Turkish cuisine experiences of foreign visitors through Tripadvisor, an online platform. In line with this purpose, 82 different food establishments with the concept of "Historical Turkish Restaurants, Esnaf Restaurants (restaurants where many dishes from Turkish cuisine are served and the customer prefers one of the options), and Kebap/Pide/Ocakbasi Restaurants (kebab restaurants that serve their customers at tables around a grill)" in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul Province and included in the Tripadvisor website were analyzed. The content analysis technique, one of the qualitative study methods, was employed in the study. The ranking was from the restaurants that received the most visitor reviews between 2021 and 2022 to the restaurants that received the fewest reviews in order to obtain the total number of reviews on the Tripadvisor website. Especially post-pandemic comments were analyzed to ensure that the data were up-to-date and evaluable. The research data is limited to positive foreign visitor comments in the most common seven different foreign languages between 2021 and 2022. The research resulted in a total of 3455 positive reviews of Turkish cuisine restaurants in the last year (2021-2022). In order of importance, these positive comments are grouped under the categories of taste, service, price, menu, quality, location, and hospitality. These also revealed that foreign visitors focused most on the "taste and service" categories. The absence of any other study examining the Istanbul-Beyoğlu region in previous online evaluation studies emphasizes the importance of this study. This study is thought to shed light on the studies to be conducted in the future, especially on Turkish cuisine.

Search for Gravitational Waves Associated with Fast Radio Bursts Detected by CHIME/FRB during the LIGO–Virgo Observing Run O3a

We search for gravitational-wave (GW) transients associated with fast radio bursts (FRBs) detected by the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment Fast Radio Burst Project, during the first part of the third observing run of Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo (2019 April 1 15:00 UTC–2019 October 1 15:00 UTC). Triggers from 22 FRBs were analyzed with a search that targets both binary neutron star (BNS) and neutron star–black hole (NSBH) mergers. A targeted search for generic GW transients was conducted on 40 FRBs. We find no significant evidence for a GW association in either search. Given the large uncertainties in the distances of our FRB sample, we are unable to exclude the possibility of a GW association. Assessing the volumetric event rates of both FRB and binary mergers, an association is limited to 15% of the FRB population for BNS mergers or 1% for NSBH mergers. We report 90% confidence lower bounds on the distance to each FRB for a range of GW progenitor models and set upper limits on the energy emitted through GWs for a range of emission scenarios. We find values of order 1051–1057 erg for models with central GW frequencies in the range 70–3560 Hz. At the sensitivity of this search, we find these limits to be above the predicted GW emissions for the models considered. We also find no significant coincident detection of GWs with the repeater, FRB 20200120E, which is the closest known extragalactic FRB.

Astrophysical uncertainties in the gravitational-wave background from stellar-mass compact binary mergers

ABSTRACT We investigate the stochastic gravitational-wave background (SGWB) produced by merging binary black holes (BBHs) and binary neutron stars (BNSs) in the frequency ranges of Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO)/Virgo/Kagra and Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). We develop three analytical models, which are calibrated to the measured local merger rates, and complement them with three population synthesis models based on the cosmic code. We discuss the uncertainties, focusing on the impact of the BBH mass distribution, the effect of the metallicity of the progenitor stars, and the time delay distribution between star formation and compact binary merger. We also explore the effect of uncertainties in binary stellar evolution on the background. For BBHs, our analytical models predict ΩGW in the range [4 × 10−10 to 1 × 10−9] (25 Hz) and [1 × 10−12 to 4 × 10−12] (3 mHz), and between [2 × 10−10 to 2 × 10−9] (25 Hz) and [7 × 10−13 to 7 × 10−12] (3 mHz) for our population synthesis models. This background is unlikely to be detected during the LIGO/Virgo/Kagra O4 run, but could be detectable with LISA. We predict about 10 BBH and no BNS mergers that could be individually detectable by LISA for a period of observation of 4 yr. Our study provides new insights into the population of compact binaries and the main sources of uncertainty in the astrophysical SGWB.

Öğretmenlerin Eğitim Yönetiminde Karşılaştıkları Ayrımcı Tutum ve Davranış Algılarının Anlaşılmasına Yönelik Araştırma Bulgularının Değerlendirilmesi

In this research, it is aimed to evaluate the research findings aimed at understanding the perceptions of discriminatory attitudes and behaviors encountered by teachers in educational administration. This study was conducted in schools in Bağcılar district of Istanbul Province under the Ministry of National Education. The method of this qualitative study is case science (phenomenology) and the data were interpreted by descriptive analysis. The participants of the study consist of 16 teachers from different branches at kindergarten, elementary, middle and high school levels. A semi-structured interview form was applied with 4 open-ended questions delivered to teachers via Google Forms. The aim of the project is to damage the sense of justice of the teacher who is exposed / witnessed discriminatory behavior and to determine the negative reflection of this on his inner world from the primary mouth. The questions directed to the teachers were planned in the form of a semi-structured interview form, and the data collection tools were determined in this way. In the analysis of the qualitatively collected data, the data obtained were divided into codes and categories and classified using certain themes. Key Words: Teacher, Education Management, Discrimination, Research Finding

Öğretmenlerin Eğitim Yönetiminde Karşılaştıkları Ayrımcı Tutum ve Davranış Algılarının Anlaşılmasına Yönelik Veri Analizinin İncelenmesi

In this research, it is aimed to examine the data analysis aimed at understanding the perceptions of discriminatory attitudes and behaviors encountered by teachers in educational administration. This study was conducted in schools in Bağcılar district of Istanbul Province under the Ministry of National Education. The method of this qualitative study is case science (phenomenology) and the data were interpreted by descriptive analysis. The participants of the study consist of 16 teachers from different branches at kindergarten, elementary, middle and high school levels. In the findings obtained, it was concluded that discriminatory practices in schools undermine the teacher's sense of justice and merit, teachers take on a structure aimed at questioning their work ethics, and even experience an intense lack of motivation to want to leave school. According to the results obtained according to the gender distribution, it is observed that male teachers are discriminated more in schools where the managers are women. On the contrary, male administrators also show favor to female teachers in the opposite context. Especially in the education sector, it is very important for teachers to feel morale, motivation, work merit, a sense of equality in the sense of developing a sense of belonging to the institution. Based on these results, development can be achieved in areas such as sharing tasks fairly, having an objective point of view, and adopting the principle of equal distance in order to reduce discriminatory actions. Key Words: Teacher, Education Management, Discrimination, Data Analysis

Convolutional neural networks for the classification of glitches in gravitational-wave data streams

We investigate the use of convolutional neural networks (including the modern ConvNeXt network family) to classify transient noise signals (i.e. glitches) and gravitational waves (GWs) in data from the Advanced LIGO detectors. First, we use models with a supervised learning approach, both trained from scratch using the Gravity Spy dataset and employing transfer learning by fine-tuning pre-trained models in this dataset. Second, we also explore a self-supervised approach, pre-training models with automatically generated pseudo-labels. Our findings are very close to existing results for the same dataset, reaching values for the F1 score of 97.18% (94.15%) for the best supervised (self-supervised) model. We further test the models using actual GW signals from LIGO-Virgo’s O3 run. Although trained using data from previous runs (O1 and O2), the models show good performance, in particular when using transfer learning. We find that transfer learning improves the scores without the need for any training on real signals apart from the less than 50 chirp examples from hardware injections present in the Gravity Spy dataset. This motivates the use of transfer learning not only for glitch classification but also for signal classification.

Investigation of the Effects of Important Factors in Suburban Rail Route Determination with MCDM

Thorough evaluation of suburban rail route alternatives is essential for determining the appropriate route. Suburban lines provide transportation services to suburban areas; that is, they provide transportation services to distant points of the city where demand is high. In this study, five alternative suburban rail routes in the commuter rail standard, starting from the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge’s European exit and ending at Istanbul Airport, were determined as a sample corridor in the province of Istanbul. High-standard suburban rail routes and their infrastructure construction costs were determined, and route options were delineated according to their construction costs. Multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods were examined, including the application of the decision matrix method (DMM) and analytical hierarchy process (AHP) to rank the routes in terms of the factors examined in the study. These routes were ranked according to the construction costs and according to the DMM and AHP methods, and the results were compared. In the decision matrix application, geomorphological-geological, geotechnical, infrastructural, and environmental factors were considered in the evaluation and determination process. A solution was developed in which all aspects were weighted to indicate their relevance, and these factors contributed to the determination of the results. The AHP method was also applied, in which five criteria were included in the evaluation: geology (including geomorphology and soil properties), engineering structures, construction costs, population values addressed by the routes, and railroad length. In addition, the distances to the active faults were examined according to the Turkey Earthquake Hazard Map specified in the Turkish Building Earthquake Code (TBDY) 2018. Depending on the factors studied, the ordering of the routes was the same for all three methods.

Prospects for a Precise Equation of State Measurement from Advanced LIGO and Cosmic Explorer

Gravitational-wave observations of neutron star mergers can probe the nuclear equation of state by measuring the imprint of the neutron star’s tidal deformability on the signal. We investigate the ability of future gravitational-wave observations to produce a precise measurement of the equation of state from binary neutron star inspirals. Because measurability of the tidal effect depends on the equation of state, we explore several equations of state that span current observational constraints. We generate a population of binary neutron stars as seen by a simulated Advanced LIGO–Virgo network, as well as by a planned Cosmic Explorer observatory. We perform Bayesian inference to measure the parameters of each signal, and we combine measurements across each population to determine R 1.4, the radius of a 1.4 M ⊙ neutron star. We find that, with 321 signals, the LIGO–Virgo network is able to measure R 1.4 to better than 2% precision for all equations of state we consider; however, we also find that achieving this precision could take decades of observation, depending on the equation of state and the merger rate. On the other hand, we find that with one year of observation, Cosmic Explorer will measure R 1.4 to better than 0.6% precision. In both cases, we find that systematic biases, such as from an incorrect mass prior, can significantly impact measurement accuracy, and efforts will be required to mitigate these effects.

Noise in the LIGO livingston gravitational wave observatory due to trains

Environmental seismic disturbances limit the sensitivity of LIGO gravitational wave detectors. Trains near the LIGO Livingston detector produce low frequency (0.5–) ground noise that couples into the gravitational wave sensitive frequency band (10–) through light reflected in mirrors and other surfaces. We investigate the effect of trains during the Advanced LIGO third observing run, and propose a method to search for narrow band seismic frequencies responsible for contributing to increases in scattered light. Through the use of the linear regression tool Lasso (least absolute shrinkage and selection operator) and glitch correlations, we identify the most common seismic frequencies that correlate with increases in detector noise as 0.6–, 1.7–, 1.8–, and 2.3– in the LIGO Livingston corner station.

EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL APPEARANCE ANXIETY OF ADULT INDIVIDUALS ON FOOD PREFERENCE AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH ANTHROPOMETRIC MEASUREMENTS

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of social appearance anxiety of adult individuals who applied to a private nutrition and diet clinic in Istanbul province on their food choice and its relationship with anthropometric measurements.
 Method: Social Appearance Anxiety Scale (SAAS) and Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ) including questions on participants’ sociodemographic characteristics and nutritional status were performed face to face. Data were analyzed with SPSS v26 (IBM Inc., Chicago, II, USA) package program.
 Results: Mean age of participants was 40.03±12.12 years, mean body mass index (BMI) was 26.93±5.41kg/m², waist circumference was 88.97±18.17 cm., hip circumference was 101.66±17.52cm., waist/hip ratio was 0.88±0.09 cm., waist/height ratio was 0.53±0.10 cm. 197 participants were male and 313 were female. Females’ median total “SAAS” score (U=25352; p

The Seroprevalence of Leishmania Disease in Owned Dogs in Istanbul Province

Bu çalışmada İstanbul ilinde farklı ırk, yaş ve cinsiyette, sahipli ve evde bakılan köpeklerde Leishmaniosisin seroprevalansını hem İmmunokromatografik (SensPERT one step rapid Leishmania Ab) test yöntemiyle hem de ELİSA (Biopronix Leishmania 96) yöntemiyle belirlemek amaçlanmıştır. Ayrıca iki test yöntemi de güvenilirlik açısından sonuçlar kendi arasında karşılaştırılmıştır. Bu amaçla İstanbul ilinin Ataşehir, Kadıköy, Ümraniye, Şişli ve Beyoğlu ilçelerinde bulunan özel veteriner kliniklerine getirilen sahipli ve ev ortamında yaşayan 94 adet köpek örnek olarak alınmıştır. Alınan kan örneklerinin serumları çıkartılarak hızlı test kitleriyle Leishmania antikoru taranmış, kalan serumlarla da labaratuvarda ELİSA yöntemiyle çalışılmak üzere +40C’de bekletilerek yeterli numune oluştuğunda çalışma yapılmıştır. Doksan dört köpekten erkek sayısının 40 ve dişi sayısı 54 olarak belirlenmiş ve bunlardan 50 tanesi semptom gösterirken 44 tanesinde herhangi bir klinik belirti görülmemiştir. Örneklerde 3 yaş altında olan 58 köpek varken 8 yaş üstü 11 köpek örnek olarak alınmıştır. Test sonuçlarına göre her iki yöntemde de aynı sonuçların elde edildiği ve 1 vakanın pozitif reaksiyon verdiği tespit edilerek seroprevalans %1,06 olarak belirlenmiştir. Elde edilen seroprevalans oranı Türkiye’de (%0-%60) ve İstanbul’da (%0-%8,5) yapılan diğer çalışmaların arasında görülmüştür. Leishmania hastalığı için rezervuar olan köpeklerin asemptomatik olarak da bu hastalığı taşıdığı ve bu durumun ciddi tehlike arz etmesi sebebiyle enfekte köpeklerin tespitinin önemli olduğu düşünülmektedir. Bu nedenle düzenli olarak seroprevalans çalışmalarının yapılmasının ihtiyaç olduğu düşünülmektedir.

Robust control design for suspension system in LIGO

In this article, we present a relatively new state-space methodology, called synthesis, to design a robust controller for a subsystem of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory. In particular, we examine the quadruple pendulum subsystem, which is simplified for the purpose of the study to a two wire simple pendulum system. Structured and unstructured uncertainties are considered in the modelling, though the structured ones are incorporated in the unstructured framework based on a design philosophy presented in the literature. Incorporating weighting functions that emphasize the spectral band of the uncertainties as well as the band in which disturbances are to be attenuated, we design a robust control law using the coprime factorization technique of the paradigm.

Investigation of the role of individual creativity of employees in the relationship of learning organization and business performance

This study aims to examine the role of individual creativity of employees in the relationship between the learning organization and business performance. Quantitative patterned research methods were used in the study. A survey method was used to collect first-hand data. The research sample consists of a group of 301 employees operating in various sectors and working in different positions in the province of Istanbul, Turkey. The questionnaire consists of appropriate scales to measure learning organization characteristics, individual creativity and business performance. Data analysis was carried out using statistical methods and regression analysis via SPSS 2.0 statistical program. Findings show that learning organization characteristics positively affect the individual creativity role of employees. In addition, it has been revealed that the individual creativity level of the employees has a positive relationship with the business performance. The mediating effect of the individual creativity variable in the relationship between the learning organization and the job performance has also been found. These findings highlight that the learning organization is an effective strategy in increasing business performance and that the individual creativity of employees is a critical factor in this process.

Nonlinearities in Fringe-Counting Compact Michelson Interferometers.

Compact Michelson interferometers are well positioned to replace existing displacement sensors in the readout of seismometers and suspension systems, such as those used in contemporary gravitational-wave detectors. Here, we continue our previous investigation of a customised compact displacement sensor built by SmarAct that operates on the principle of deep frequency modulation. The focus of this paper is the linearity of this device and its subsequent impact on sensitivity. We show the three primary sources of nonlinearity that arise in the sensor: residual ellipticity, intrinsic distortion of the Lissajous figure, and distortion caused by exceeding the velocity limit imposed by the demodulation algorithm. We verify the theoretical models through an experimental demonstration, where we show the detrimental impact that these nonlinear effects have on device sensitivity. Finally, we simulate the effect that these nonlinearities are likely to have if implemented in the readout of the Advanced LIGO suspensions and show that the noise from nonlinearities should not dominate across the key sub-10 Hz frequency band.

Structural Characteristics of the Earthquake-Prone Building Stock in Istanbul and Prioritization of Existing Buildings in Terms of Seismic Risk-A Pilot Project Conducted in Istanbul

ABSTRACT Earthquakes have caused catastrophic results in cities since the beginning of settled life, and the cumulative experience of these events has indicated that the lack of seismic resilience brings enormous economic losses and threatens human life. Consequently, the importance of seismic risk mitigation of earthquake-prone structures has arisen to reduce the primary and secondary losses resulting from seismic events in the last decades as developments in the earthquake engineering field occur. The first step for ensuring seismic resilience is the identification of risky buildings, which is a difficult challenge for metropolises like Istanbul since the building stock consists of over a million buildings. Applying code-based detailed assessments to so many buildings is not practical in terms of time and cost. Moreover, the current code-based detailed assessment methodologies such as Provisions for the Seismic Risk Evaluation of Existing Buildings under Urban Renewal Law (2019) and Turkish Building Earthquake Code (2018) provide discrete predictions for existing buildings as either risky or non-risky or satisfying life safety/controlled damage or not. However, a ranking system based on a reliable and realistic risk classification to prioritize the buildings is needed. Therefore, as a pilot project, nearly 23,000 reinforced concrete buildings in 37 different districts of Istanbul have been investigated by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) through PERA2019 performance-based rapid assessment methodology by considering the Design Level and Scenario-Based Earthquake cases. This is the most up-to-date and comprehensive site survey and analysis conducted in Istanbul up to now. In this paper, the characteristics of the building stock in Istanbul based on the conducted site work and the outcomes of the rapid seismic safety assessment efforts are summarized. Then, a discussion on the seismic risk evaluation of the existing residential buildings based on the prioritization of the examined buildings is presented through the results obtained for the Design Level and Scenario-Based Earthquake cases.

Investigation of greenhouse gas emissions from municipal solid waste management practices using an economic input-output life cycle analysis approach

The urban solid waste management is gaining attention due to ecological, economic, and demographic factors, emphasizing the importance of sustainable practices and infrastructure development. There are two main objectives of this work: developing an effective framework to predict the environmental impacts of alternative packaging waste collection rates and estimating the associated environmental emissions, energy consumption, and the materials required for goods and services for the case of Avcilar Municipality in Istanbul City, Türkiye. To achieve these objectives, an Economic Input-Output Life Cycle Assessment model was implemented to assess the impacts of all associated industrial sectors. The results showed that as the amount of packaging waste collection increases, the top two sectors that are responsible for the most emissions are Oil and Gasoline Production and Electricity Production and Supply sectors. In addition, the economic analysis results of the study show that as the packaging waste collection rate increases, the unit packaging waste collection cost decreases. The findings of this study provide valuable insights into the environmental emissions of packaging waste management strategies. Moreover, this study highlights the importance of packaging waste management in reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions and promoting more sustainable waste management practices. Policymakers and waste management stakeholders can utilize this framework to identify strategies that minimize environmental impacts and carbon footprints, thereby fostering a transition towards more sustainable waste management options.

Virgo detector characterization and data quality: results from the O3 run

The Advanced Virgo detector has contributed with its data to the rapid growth of the number of detected GW signals in the past few years, alongside the two Advanced LIGO instruments. First during the last month of the Observation Run 2 (O2) in August 2017 (with, most notably, the compact binary mergers GW170814 and GW170817), and then during the full Observation Run 3 (O3): an 11 months data taking period, between April 2019 and March 2020, that led to the addition of 79 events to the catalog of transient GW sources maintained by LIGO, Virgo and now KAGRA. These discoveries and the manifold exploitation of the detected waveforms benefit from an accurate characterization of the quality of the data, such as continuous study and monitoring of the detector noise sources. These activities, collectively named detector characterization and data quality or DetChar, span the whole workflow of the Virgo data, from the instrument front-end hardware to the final analyses. They are described in detail in the following article, with a focus on the results achieved by the Virgo DetChar group during the O3 run. Concurrently, a companion article describes the tools that have been used by the Virgo DetChar group to perform this work.

The Quality Issues in Higher Education of Turkey: Insights from the Experiences of Faculty Members and Students at State Universities

The purpose of this study is to determine the quality indicators of higher education in Turkey, with the focus on the perspectives of faculty members and students, and to analyze their views regarding the quality status of state universities. Despite numerous studies addressing quality in higher education, there appears to be a paucity of research employing a mixed methodology that integrates the perspectives of both faculty and students. The aim of the present study is to fill this gap in the literature. This research employs a mixed-methods design, incorporating both quantitative and qualitative approaches, in an explanatory sequential parallel pattern. Utilizing a stratified random sampling method, our sample comprises 390 faculty members and 450 university students. The data were analyzed using the SPSS 25 program. For the qualitative aspect of the study, interviews were conducted with thirty faculty members employed at state universities in the provinces of Ankara, Istanbul, Kayseri, Kırıkkale, Kırşehir, and Yozgat. This qualitative data was then analyzed using a "descriptive analysis" technique via MAXQDA software. The quantitative results revealed diverging expectations and perceptions related to the quality of higher education among faculty members and students. Meanwhile, the qualitative section of the study identified several indicators of higher education quality, including: university capacity, university function, internationalization, academic staff, student experience, differences in quality between universities and disciplines, the impact of region/city/district on higher education, mission differentiation, university division, ideal university concept, sense of belonging, transformation, marketization, and competition categories.

Evaluation of rapid seismic safety assessment methods on a substandard reinforced concrete building stock in Istanbul

Exposure, hazard and vulnerability are the components of seismic risk, and knowledge on the vulnerability of the existing buildings is vital to properly assess their risks in seismically active regions. Unfortunately, it is not easy to assess the vulnerability of individual buildings realistically in large building stocks, particularly for regions where the buildings do not comply with the current and previous code regulations. In this study, for assessing the accuracy, applicability and cost-effectiveness of available rapid seismic safety assessment procedures for individual reinforced concrete buildings in huge building stocks, five second stage and three rapid visual screening methods are examined in a comparative manner. For this purpose, these eight methods are used to assess the seismic risks of actual service buildings of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, which had been previously evaluated by the third-level detailed code-based seismic performance assessment procedures. Furthermore, comprehensive site works have been conducted to compute the average time required for collecting data on each parameter necessary to use the investigated rapid assessment methods. Finally, the most cost and time-effective, and highly accurate rapid assessment method among the examined ones is selected to be applied to a vast amount of structures in Istanbul to prioritize them in terms of their seismic risks and plan the large volume mitigation interventions through a realistic and efficient approach.