Tokat City Research Articles

Evaluation of noise pollution caused by vehicles in the city of Tokat, Turkey

Noise pollution and its influence on environment and life quality of human beings may be considered as a hot topic in scientific research. Since there are no sufficient studies on noise pollution in Turkey, this study was carried out to determine motorway noise levels in Tokat city centre, located at the northern part of Turkey. Noise measurements were taken in the evening to determine noise pollution all over the city as motorway transportation noise. The equivalent sound levels - Leq- were measured at 65 points, between 17 and 19 p.m. in the city. High noise levels on these streets were observed throughout the city. At fifty of sixty-five measurement points (76.9%), noise values exceeded 65 dB(A), limit value according to Turkish noise control regulation, while at fifteen points (23.1%) this value was under this value. Statistical analysis revealed that, there were significant differences in noise levels amaong the streets (P < 0.05). The results showed that noise should be mentioned among the major environmental problems and studies aim at preventing it should have great priority. Keywords: Tokat, noise, motorway, noise pollution, survey.

An analysis of the factors affecting the food places where consumers purchase red meat

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to determine the socio‐economic factors affecting meat sales outlets, as preferred by the consumers of the city of Tokat, Turkey. This paper underlines the social and economic factors leading to healthy meat outlet preferences and focuses the attention of producers, policy makers, sellers and consumers on the issue, which will lead to the creation of a healthier and more aware society.Design/methodology/approachWithin the research, the sample size, preferred as 263, will deviate at a maximum of 6 percent from the main population at 95 percent importance level. The inquiries are proportionally dispersed between the quarters, considering the population, in accordance with the records of 2006. Surveys were carried out by way of direct interviews by the researchers. In the survey, particular attention was paid to ensure that the interviewee was the decision maker in regards to the purchasing of foods. Meat outlets (market places, butchers and hypermarkets) were chosen as the dependent variables of the model. The independent variables were the sex, age and educational background of the consumers, household size, place of residence, the status of the mother, income, price difference, quality difference, hygiene, freshness and the seller's image. The multinomial logit model was used to measure the effect of the independent variables on the dependent variable.FindingsAccording to the results of the research; such factors as age, household size, place of residence, status of the mother, income, price difference, quality difference, hygiene, freshness and the seller's image are deemed to be the variables affecting the consumers' meat outlet preferences.Practical implicationsStudies of this nature will be particularly beneficial for policy makers, producers and consumers in the sector and the researchers in the field. By extension, conducting such studies aimed at determining consumer habits from the perspective of Turkey, will ultimately help form consumer consciousness, protect consumer health and raise the sellers' income. Defining aptitude of consumers' demands, searching reasons for buying choices will be helpful for the food safety, hygiene and quality standards to become a matter of importance.Originality/valueThis paper underlines the social and economic factors leading to healthy meat outlet preferences and focuses the attention of producers, policy makers, sellers and consumers on the issue, which will lead to the creation of a healthier and more aware society.

Aluminium determination in environmental samples by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry after solid phase extraction on Amberlite XAD-1180/pyrocatechol violet chelating resin

A chelating resin, pyrocatechol violet (PV) immobilised on an Amberlite XAD-1180 support, was prepared and its use for the atomic absorption spectrometric determination of aluminium was investigated. The XAD-1180-PV resin was characterised by infrared spectrometry and thermal gravimetric analysis. The optimum pH value for quantitative sorption is 8–9, and desorption can be achieved by using 5.0–10.0ml of 2M HCl. The effects of diverse ions on the sorption and recovery of aluminium have been studied. The capacity of sorbent was 6.45±0.59mgg−1 Al XAD-1180-PV. Recoveries for aluminium from water samples were in the range 95–105%. The accuracy of procedure was confirmed by aluminium determination in certified reference materials. The method developed was applied with varying results to the analysis of natural water, haemodialysis fluids and microwave digested red wine samples from Tokat City.