Districts Of Istanbul Research Articles

Site suitability analysis for green space development of Pendik district (Turkey)

Urban green amenities provide many environmental and social benefits that are important for urban landscapes, natural ecosystems and their services. Amenity-led development is at the centre of local policies and regional growth strategies in that it reduces the impacts of rapid urbanisation on environment and society. Therefore, planners and policy makers often seek to optimise benefits of urban green spaces through developing programmes and strategies for the green amenity-oriented development in different urban areas and regions. Land suitability analysis is a widely utilised methodology that can help to establish strategies for the development of urban green land. This paper follows an integrated approach for the suitability analysis of urban green land development through integrating fuzzy set model and analytical hierarchical process (AHP) with the GIS-based multi-criteria decision making process. Pendik district in Istanbul (Turkey) was selected for the case study. Geo-physical factors, accessibility, blue and green amenities, residential centres, agricultural suitability, and land use/cover of the study area were recognised as the key factors affecting urban green land suitability. The results showed that most of the sites fall within marginal and low suitability class. About 25 % of the area was low suitable for green land development and 9 % was highly suitable. Land in the southern part of Pendik had higher suitability while northern region resulted in lower suitability. With a better understanding of potential sites that are suitable for urban green development, this study is fruitful for optimising land use planning and decision support.

Physical Activity Patterns of Primary School Teachers in a District in Istanbul, Turkey

Abstract Background Physical inactivity (PI) is determined as the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality. Insufficient physical activity is prevalent in Turkey; approximately 4 in 10 adults are physically inactive and have less than 150 minutes of moderate activity per week. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of PI and the factors associated with it among primary school teachers in a district in Istanbul, Turkey. Methods This was a cross-sectional study conducted in a district in Istanbul, Turkey. Sample size was calculated as 434 assuming a PI prevalence of 70% with a 95% confidence level, margin of error of 0.05 and a design effect of 2. Twenty out of 39 schools were selected randomly. PI was assessed through using International Physical Activity Questionnaire short form. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the variables associated with PI. Results A total of 345 teachers participated in the study (response rate: 79.5%). Among the participants the mean age was 45.6± 8.3 and %74.1 were women. PI prevalence was 49.2% (95%CI: 43.6%-54.7%). PI was significantly associated with having chronic disease (OR: 1.8, 95%CI:1.0-3.0), having children (OR: 2.9, 95%CI:1.5-5.7), using motor vehicles for transportation (OR:4.1, 95%CI:1.5-11.0) and using elevators (OR:4.4, 95%CI:1.7-11.4). Among women, PI was significantly associated with having children (OR: 10.3, %95CI:1.2-87.1) and using elevators (OR: 8.4, 95%CI: 2.3-30.8). Conclusions Approximately half of the teachers were physically inactive. As having children is an important determinant of PI, we need to adopt appropriate conditions so that parents, particularly women can engage in physical activity together with their children. Active transportation and use of elevators should be encouraged. Special attention should be paid to adults having chronic diseases. Key messages PI is highly prevalent among school teachers, particularly among the ones who have chronic diseases. Strategies supporting parents especially women to engage in physical activity together with their children, encouraging active transportation and use of elevators should be implemented.

Are neighbourhood characteristics associated with physical activity levels in schoolchildren?

Abstract Background Moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) is an essential determinant of health for children. However 82% of children aged 11-17 years in Turkey are physically inactive. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of physical inactivity (PI) and sociodemographic and neighbourhood characteristics associated with PI among children aged 9-13 years. Methods The population of this cross-sectional study was 5-7th grade students attending schools in a district of Istanbul. Two schools from urban and two from semi-urban localities were selected in order to capture different neighbourhood characteristics. Sample size was calculated as 344 assuming a difference of PI prevalence of 15% between neighbourhoods, an alpha error of 0.05, a power of 80%. Data were collected by child and parent questionnaires. PI was defined as < 60 minutes MVPA per day within the previous week. Neighbourhood characteristics were evaluated as physical (walkability levels, structure of sidewalks, presence of yards/parks, traffic density) and social (characteristics of social networks, trust among neighbours). Factors associated with PI were analysed by logistic regression. Results A total of 334 students participated with a response rate 96%. The median age was 11 years and 52.9% were girls. The prevalence of PI was 79.3% (95%CI: 75.0-83.7%). Neighbourhood characteristics were not associated with PI (p > 0.05). PI was associated with ownership of mobile phones (OR: 1.96, 95%CI: 1.01-3.78), not being a member of a sports team (OR: 2.83, 95%CI: 1.21-6.58) and having ≤1 day of physical education classes at school (OR: 2.10, 95%CI: 1.08-4.09). Conclusions The prevalence of PI is very high among schoolchildren. School-based interventions as motivating children to participate in sports teams and having physical education classes >1 times per week could be achievable strategies to combat PI. There is a need to adapt objective methods for assessment of neighbourhood characteristics. Key messages PI is a prevalent public health problem among school children in urban and semi-urban environments. The effectiveness of increasing structured physical activity levels at schools by utilizing sports teams and physical education classes should be evaluated in future studies.

FATİH-HARBİYE UYARLAMARI ETRAFINDA ROMANDAN TELEVİZYONA UYARLAMA MESELESİ

The novel, Fatih-Harbiye by Peyami Safa which was first published in 1931, describes the east-west conflict between two central districts of Istanbul. Safa presents the changes that Neriman the main character of the novel experienced during her commuting between Fatih and Harbiye. Safa addresses people who grew up in a kind of environment influenced by east culture and faced the conflict caused by the difference between east and west culture after the very first years of the proclamation of the republic. His message to these people is that accepting the western culture as a complete true would be wrong, and the adaptation to the west by ignoring the east culture could cause a massive disaster for their lives. He also added that it is possible to adapt west culture without denying the east one, and that would be the best way to do. In the TV series adaptations that were in 1990 and 2013, the novel was approached from two different perspectives. There are two types of adaptation: the method chosen for the first adaptation was transposition which is transferring the original text without making any changes; the second adaptation was presented using analogy method that is producing a new story from the original book. This study reveals the approach of viewers to the Fatih-Harbiye novel adaptations and discusses the expectations of the audience, ratings of the series and the effects of the changes between 1990 and 2013 in the social and cultural life to the novel. The novel, Fatih-Harbiye by Peyami Safa which was first published in 1931, describes the east-west conflict between two central districts of Istanbul. Safa presents the changes that Neriman the main character of the novel experienced during her commuting between Fatih and Harbiye. Safa addresses people who grew up in a kind of environment influenced by east culture and faced the conflict caused by the difference between east and west culture after the very first years of the proclamation of the republic. His message to these people is that accepting the western culture as a complete true would be wrong, and the adaptation to the west by ignoring the east culture could cause a massive disaster for their lives. He also added that it is possible to adapt west culture without denying the east one, and that would be the best way to do. In the TV series adaptations that were in 1990 and 2013, the novel was approached from two different perspectives. There are two types of adaptation: the method chosen for the first adaptation was transposition which is transferring the original text without making any changes; the second adaptation was presented using analogy method that is producing a new story from the original book. This study reveals the approach of viewers to the Fatih-Harbiye novel adaptations and discusses the expectations of the audience, ratings of the series and the effects of the changes between 1990 and 2013 in the social and cultural life to the novel.

EV SAHİBİ HALKIN SURİYELİ GÖÇMENLERE YÖNELİK TUTUMU: İSTANBUL; SULTANBEYLİ- KADIKÖY İLÇELERİ

In this thesis, it is planned to draw attention to socio-psychological chaos such as unrest, conflict and mismatch matters in the present and the future by examining local people’s prejudices, stereotypes, discriminations as the results of these cases in the context of threat perception related to psychological well-being. With regard to the actuality and importance of the subject, many studies have been carried out in the cities close to borders. However, it is essential to study this subject for a metropolitan city like Istanbul as well in order to Syrian refugees make four percent of the city’s population. It is believed that this thesis contributes meta analysis studies, Istanbul or Turkey based studies and interdisciplinary studies regarding to the subject. Sultanbeyli and Kadikoy districts in the Asian side of Istanbul is determined as areas of study from the point of view that prediction of threat shows some differences according to demographic structure. Survey study, sampling of 608 native inhabitants of districts in question; demographic form, Demirag and Hasta (2017)’s perception of threat scale, Social Contact Scale which was adapted into Turkish from Bogardus (1925) and Emotional Scale fro External Group (Stephan et al., 2003), have been applied with the methods of face-to-face interviews or filling forms sent through e-mail. The data obtained as a result of SPSS analysis shows that the threat percetion of local people against Syrian refugees differs according to demographic features, social contacts, mood states in Kadikoy and Sultanbeyli Districts of Istanbul.

A Psychological Counseling Study on Fear of Failure and Academic Procrastination with a Spiritually Oriented Cognitive Behavioral Group

This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of psychological counseling with an eight-session group study based on the spiritually oriented cognitive behavioral approach, which was developed to reduce high school students’ fear of failure and academic procrastination levels. The study uses an experimental design with a pretest-posttest control group. The sample group of the study consists of 20 female students (10 experimental and 10 controls) attending 11th grade at an Imam Hatip High School in the Üsküdar District of Istanbul during the 2018-2019 academic year. The experimental and control groups were applied the Error Making Anxiety Subscale of the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale and the Academic Procrastination Scale as the pre-tests and post-tests. Spiritually oriented cognitive behavioral psychological counseling was conducted in 90-minute sessions for eight weeks. The non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test has been used to determine whether a difference exists between the pre-test and post-test scores of the experimental and control groups. The non-parametric Wilcoxon signed-rank test has been used to test whether significant differences exist between the fear of failure and academic procrastination pre-test and post-test scores for both the control and experimental groups. As a result of the study, the psychological counseling with spiritually oriented cognitive behavioral group study was found to have an effect on fear of failure and academic procrastination. The results have been discussed last.

Polonya Mutfak Kültürü Yansıması ve Polonezköy Örneği

Culinary culture is one of the most important elements reflecting the lifestyle and eating habits of the communities living in the region. Societies create their own culinary culture with different traditions and customs and in this sense, they are affected by each other and develop their culinary culture in their region. Turkey, have done as the geographical location where centuries home to different cultures and culinary culture, has moved up to the present by improving their eating and drinking habits. Polonezkoy is one of the most beautiful examples of this and has been established in Polonezkoy which is the village of Beykoz district in Istanbul due to the migrations in 1842 and has become one of the places of interest in the national and international sense especially in terms of gastronomy and nature tourism with its different cultural structure. The aim of this study is to investigate the culinary interactions of Polish people living in Polonezkoy and Turkish people living together with and to determine whether the Polish culinary culture is sustainable. A semi-structured interview form which is one of the qualitative research methods, was used to collect the data and the obtained data were evaluated by descriptive analysis. It was seen that they wanted to ensure that the food they made to introduce Polish culinary culture to their generation at the same time and to introduce the food to tourists was sustainable and there was a positive culinary interaction for the Polish and Turkish people.

Determination of terrestrial radiation level and radiological parameters of soil samples from Sariyer-Istanbul in Turkey

Radiation directly or indirectly affects human health. So, it is significant to work out the concentration of environmental radioactivity. The natural terrestrial radiation concentration level consists of 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K concentrations. In this study, natural terrestrial radioactivity concentrations were examined in Sariyer district of Istanbul. 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K concentrations were determined using a high-purity germanium detector (HPGe). The soil samples were collected from 18 different points within the boundaries of Sariyer district. The mean 226Ra and 232Th concentrations in this study were 30.78 ± 2.26 Bq kg−1 and 45.57 ± 3.99 Bq kg−1 respectively. 40K concentrations were calculated as 863.70 ± 48.70 Bq kg−1. Also, radiological parameters were calculated and compared with limit value of world average.

Comparison of Attitudes towards Sex Education and Ethical Positions of Teacher Who Work with Intellectually Disabled Individuals

Bu araştırmada zihinsel yetersizliği olan bireylerle çalışan öğretmenlerin cinsel eğitime yönelik tutumları ile etik durumları arasında bir ilişki olup olmadığı incelenmiştir. Cinsel eğilimler doğru yönlendirilmediğinde olumsuz sonuçlara yol açabilirler. Zihinsel yetersizliği olan bireylerde cinsel eğitimin önemi bilinmektedir. Zihinsel yetersizliği olan bireylerle çalışan öğretmenlerin cinsel eğitime yönelik tutumlarına etki eden faktörlerin belirlenmesi ve olumsuz olanların ortadan kaldırılarak olumlu olanların desteklenmesinin bu alandaki sorunları aza indireceği düşünülmektedir. Bu bağlamda etik değerlerin önemi ortaya çıkmaktadır. İlişkisel desende tarama modelli bir çalışma olan araştırma kapsamında İstanbul’un 7 ilçesinde toplam 329 öğretmene ulaşılmıştır. Yapılan analizler sonucunda cinsel eğitime yönelik tutumlarında branş değişkenine göre özel eğitim öğretmenleri lehine tüm alt faktörleri kapsayacak şekilde, çevresinde zihinsel yetersizliği olan birey bulunma değişkenine göre çevresinde zihinsel yetersizliği olan birey bulunanlar lehine anlamlı fark bulunmuştur. Etik Durum Ölçeği verileri analiz edildiğinde öğretmenlerin idealizm alt boyutuna ilişkin hesaplanan ortalama puanları görecelik alt boyutu için hesaplanan ortalama puanından oldukça yüksektir. Cinsel eğitime yönelik tutumlarla etik durumlar arasında ise anlamlı bir fark bulunamamıştır.

Integrative Approaches towards Immigrants: A Sample from a District of Istanbul

This study analyses the socio-economic situations being contended with the Syrian immigrants living in Beylikdüzü district in ?stanbul in terms of the analytic and industrial circumstances. This paper exposes the immigrants’ economic problems being interlaced with the education and Turkish language. To guide the analysis and interpretation of the quantitative data in this research, a random sampling was conducted to the Syrian immigrants. This survey is divided into two parts: (1) questions relative to the demographic status (age, gender, job, education and place); and (2) questions regarding the socio-economic exigency (labor markets, wage satisfaction, working hours, challenges in learning Turkish, accommodation possibilities and psychological needs) of the Syrian settlers. This study arrives at the following findings: Syrian immigrants are working with long working hours and low wages; Syrian families have been subjected many challenges such as shelter, basic food and basic goods; and Syrian migrants’ increasing number of accommodation problems. In conclusion, Syrian immigrants have an inconceivably wide range of problems from socio-economic to languages. However, these problems are not considered as hinders to achieve equality, equity, and social justice which everyone deserves.

Örgütsel Yabancılaşmanın Yordayıcısı Olarak Farklılıkların Yönetimi

Bu araştırmanın amacı, eğitim kurumlarında farklılıkların yönetiminin örgütsel yabancılaşmaya etkisini incelemektir. Araştırma nicel araştırma yöntemlerinden yordayıcı ilişkisel tarama türünde desenlenmiştir. Araştırmanın, evrenini İstanbul ili Sultangazi ilçesinde kamuya bağlı okullarda görev yapan 3521 öğretmen, örneklemini ise Sultangazi ilçesinde okul türüne ve okul büyüklüğüne göre belirlenen okullardan 371 öğretmen oluşturmaktadır. Verilerin toplanmasında ‘İşe Yabancılaşma Ölçeği’ ile ‘Farklılıkların Yönetimi Ölçeği’ ve demografik bilgi formu kullanılmıştır. Verilerin analizinde tanımlayıcı istatistiksel yöntemler olarak frekans, yüzde, aritmetik ortalama ve standart sapma kullanılmıştır. Araştırmada değişkenler arasındaki ilişkiyi belirlemek amacıyla Pearson korelasyon analizinden bağımlı değişkenin bağımsız değişkeni yordama düzeyini belirlemek için ise regresyon analizinden yararlanılmıştır. Araştırma sonucunda, farklılıkların yönetiminin örgütsel yabancılaşmanın yordayıcısı olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Farklılıkların yönetiminin yönetsel uygulamalar ve politikalar ile bireysel tutum ve davranışlar boyutlarının güçsüzlük, anlamsızlık, yalıtılmışlık ve okula yabancılaşma biçimindeki örgütsel yabancılaşma düzeyinin anlamlı birer yordayıcısı olduğu ancak örgütsel değerler ve normların güçsüzlük, anlamsızlık, yalıtılmışlık ve okula yabancılaşma düzeyinin anlamlı bir yordayıcısı olmadığı belirlenmiştir.

Impact of regular Breast Self-Examination on breast cancer size, stage, and mortality in Thailand.

Impact of regular Breast Self-Examination on breast cancer size, stage, and mortality in Thailand.

İLHAMINI KUR’ÂN’DAN ALAN ŞAİR, MEHMED ÂKİF ERSOY

Mehmed Âkif Ersoy was born in a district of Istanbul called Fatih, in a scholar’s house who was a member of the madrasah. He has grown with the Quran’s spirit and its spiritual atmosphere. He has graduated from the Halkali Veterinarian School and during his mission as a vet in Adana, he memorized the Quran completely by reading it over and over again. Later on, Âkif learned Arabic and studied Tafseer. During the Independence War, he set out and went from town to town and village to village to guide people with his sermons and advice. Along with his sermons, he has written poems and articles for newspapers and magazines to raise awareness and awaken the people. Mostly, he clarified the Quranic verses with poems and with this he made his sermons and advice a lot more effective and permanent. He gathered all of these poems in a work titled Safahat. While the poet who has taken his inspiration from the Quran, was explaining the verses with poems, sometimes he took a hadith or a Quranic verse as title and underneath he wrote what he understood from them. Sometimes while he was examining an issue, he gave the Quranic verses between the lines. Sometimes he did not give the verse directly but he referred to Quranic verses and their meanings in a style only an expert can understand. In this study, we will examine the verses that Âkif analyzed directly and referred to, and we will analyze how he interpreted these verses.

Spatial analysis of Twitter sentiment and district-level housing prices

PurposeStudies have shown a correlation and predictive impact of sentiment on asset prices, including Twitter sentiment on markets and individual stocks. This paper aims to determine whether there exists such a correlation between Twitter sentiment and property prices.Design/methodology/approachThe authors construct district-level sentiment indices for every district of Istanbul using a dictionary-based polarity scoring method applied to a data set of 1.7 million original tweets that mention one or more of those districts. The authors apply a spatial lag model to estimate the relationship between Twitter sentiment regarding a district and housing prices or housing price appreciation in that district.FindingsThe findings indicate a significant but negative correlation between Twitter sentiment and property prices and price appreciation. However, the percentage of check-in tweets is found to be positively correlated with prices and price appreciation.Research limitations/implicationsThe analysis is cross-sectional, and therefore, unable to answer the question of whether Twitter can Granger-cause changes in housing markets. Future research should focus on creation of a property-focused lexicon and panel analysis over a longer time horizon.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest a role for Twitter-derived sentiment in predictive models for local variation in property prices as it can be observed in real time.Originality/valueThis is the first study to analyze the link between sentiment measures derived from Twitter, rather than surveys or news media, on property prices.

The Effect of Working Stress on Job Satisfaction: A Study on Bank Employees in Avcılar District, Istanbul

Many of the active organizations today, enter into competition by working with great ambition to reach a successful position in their sectors. One of the biggest factors that increase the productivity of the organizations is a successful employee profile. Working stress is one of the most important factors affecting the success and satisfaction of the individuals working in the organization. Organizational managers also need to increase their employees' job satisfaction levels in order to bring their organization to a good position in their sectors. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of working stress on job satisfaction. While the theoretical framework of the study was created with the concepts of stress and job satisfaction, the theoretical framework was supported by the surveys conducted at the bank branches of the Avcılar district in Istanbul. According to the results, the level of stress of the bank employees caused by the organizational policies and the level of job satisfaction resulting from the content of the work were found to be high. According to the results of the study, when the relationship between the work stress of the bank employees and job satisfaction was studied, it was seen that as their level of stress due to the structure of the work increased, their general job satisfaction and the sub-dimensions of internal and external job satisfaction decreased. It is also among the results that the internal job satisfaction levels decreased as a result of the increase in the stress levels caused by the organizational structure.

KIRSALDAN KENTE YENİDEN ÜRETİLEN KADININ KONUMU: İSTANBUL VE BARTIN ÜZERİNE BİR İNCELEME

This study was conducted to determine whether there is a change in the positions of women who migrated from the village to the city. As a sample of the study, the Deremescit neighborhood of Kocakoy, which belongs to the town of Amasra in the Bartin province, and the wo-men migrating from this district to Atasehir district of Istanbul, Yeni Camlica, were investigated. In the study, semi-structured interview te-chnique has been preferred. The reason why this method is preferred is that in the questions given to the interviewers, it is possible for the participants to go outside the questions and express their opinions. In this study, 6 women from 8 cities were interviewed. As a result of the study, it has been observed that the patriarchal family life which is rooted from the roots has continued to be integrated into the urban life even though the patriarchal large family life in the villages they migrated by women migrated to the modern urban life. As a result of this study, it was seen that the class grievances of women were continued in different ways.

Crisis Management Practices In Accommodation Enterprises: Sample Of Istanbul Fatih District

İşletmeler çeşitli faktörlerden kaynaklanan nedenlerle kriz yaşayabilirler. Bu krizler yaşanırken de rutin dönemlerde uygulanan yönetim yaklaşımlarının dışında bazı uygulamalarda bulunurlar. Bu uygulamaların yeterliliği işletmelerin kriz durumundan en az hasarla çıkabilmesini, hatta krizden avantaj elde etmesini sağlayabilir. Türkiye turizmi 2014 yılında ağırladığı turist sayısı ve elde ettiği turizm geliri bakımından rekor kırmıştır. 2015 yılının ikinci yarısı itibariyle ise terör olaylarının tekrar patlak vermesi ve bazı politik sorunlar sebebiyle şiddetli bir kriz yaşanmıştır. Bu kriz sebebiyle 2016 yılında Türkiye Turizmi bir önceki yıla oranla hem turizmden elde edilen gelir hem de ağırlanan turist sayısı gibi verilerde yaklaşık %30 düşüş yaşamıştır. Bu çalışmanın amacı söz konusu kriz sürecinde İstanbul’un Fatih ilçesinde faaliyet gösteren 3, 4, ve 5 yıldızlı oteller ile özel belgeli konaklama tesislerinin uyguladıkları kriz yönetimi yaklaşımları ele almaktır. Araştırma nitel bir araştırma özelliği göstermekte olup, verileri ilgili işletmelerin genel müdürleri ile yapılan yarı yapılandırılmış görüşmelerle elde edilmiştir. Araştırma süresince 22 işletmeyle görüşme yapılmıştır. Araştırma sonucunda Krizin işletmeler için sürpriz olduğu, işletmelerin herhangi bir kriz yönetim planlarının olmadığı görülmüştür. İşletmelerin kriz anı ve sonrasında, kriz öncesine göre daha aktif bir kriz yönetimi gerçekleştirdiği anlaşılmıştır. Krizin bazı olumsuz etkilerinin hala sürdüğü gözlemlenmiştir

Management of wastewater in rural districts of Istanbul metropolitan municipality.

Decentralized systems play a big role in wastewater treatment in rural areas. The aims of this study are to address the wastewater treatment and disposal problems for rural districts of Istanbul, to discuss the efficiencies of currently operated systems and to offer new appropriate wastewater treatment systems for small communities having a population up to 5,000. The management and final disposal alternatives for sludge generated in septic tanks are also discussed within the scope of this study. A sequencing batch reactor (SBR) system serving 2,500 people and a hybrid constructed wetland system serving 500 people are presented as case studies. A thorough evaluation based on the capacity and performance of the existing wastewater treatment systems in rural districts revealed that a number of these systems are not operating at their optimum. Improperly constructed sewer lines receive a lot of infiltration and inflow (I & I) after rainfall events, decreasing treatment performance and causing operational difficulties. Natural treatment systems such as constructed wetlands prove a viable alternative in these communities, especially for villages with populations less than 500 people.

Prevalence of obesity and overweight among primary school children in a district of Istanbul, Turkey

Objective: We aimed to investigate the prevalence of obesity and overweight and their relationship with environmental factors among children aged 5-10 years in a primary school in an Istanbul district. Materials and Methods: The data of this cross-sectional study were collected from a random selection of 177 students and their families. Students’ heights and weights were measured in a standardized way for calculating their body mass index. The World Health Organization growth reference was used for the definition of obesity and overweight status. Results: The prevalence of obesity and overweight was 12.4% and 20.9%, respectively, with no difference between girls and boys. A significant increase in the percentage of obesity and overweight was observed with increasing age (p = 0.001). Having an obese or overweight father (p = 0.001) and a working mother (p=0.003) were associated with an increase in childhood obesity. Conclusion: The findings of this study imply that obesity or overweight among primary school children is associated with increasing age, having an obese or overweight father and having a working mother. State organizations, schools, physicians and other healthcare professionals must work together to encourage children and their families to adopt healthy lifestyles and to improve their awareness of obesity

Prevalence and PCR Sensitivity Comparison of Toxoplasma gondii, Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus in Salads and Appetizers Consumed in Istanbul

This study was conducted to investigate incidence of Toxoplasma gondii, Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus in 100 samples of salad and appetizers (50 salad and 50 appetizer samples) collected from retailers located various districts of Istanbul. Conventional microbiological methods and PCR procedures were used for Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus while only PCR procedures were used for the analysis of Toxoplasma gondii. Also PCR specifity and sensitivity for all the positive samples were calculated. According to the results, Listeria monocytogenes was detected in 9 samples (9%) and Staphylococcus aureus was detected in 36 (36%) samples while all the samples were negative for Toxoplasma gondii. PCR sensitivity results were quite specific and accurate for both Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus. It was concluded that salad and appetizers may be seriously threat consumers‘ health microbiologically if they are processed under poor hygienic conditions.