Turkish Social Research Articles

A Review of Cultural Heritage Education in Turkish Schools (1962–2011)

Cultural heritage preservation has formed a key component of Turkish Social Studies instruction since the curriculum first was introduced in the 1960s. In this article, we trace changes over time in the way cultural heritage has been presented to students in Turkey. For this study, Turkish Social Studies textbooks for fourth through seventh graders (ages 9–10 to 12–13) published from 1974 to 2011 were examined, including both their texts and illustrations concerning cultural heritage and the closely related topic of tourism. Over nearly four decades, the textbook presentation of cultural heritage has shifte­d from a national focus to a focus on world cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible. The textbooks illustrate the high value placed on monuments and artwork that demonstrate the accomplishments and progress of Anatolian civilizations, specifically, the Seljuk and Ottoman Turks. Notably, the textbooks emphasize the economic value of monuments and sites for tourism revenues.

Latent class analysis for measuring Turkish People's future expectations for Turkey

The aim of this study is to classify the Turkish People and measure the probability of their positive or negative expectations according to their 5-year expectations on Turkish Economy, Social Rights and Freedom, Rendering of the Public Services, Government Transparency and Turkey's Reputation. For this purpose latest data from the Turkish Statistical Institute's Life Satisfaction Survey 2011 was used and latent class analysis (LCA) was utilized on this data. For this study, unrestricted and restricted models of LCAs were performed, and it is observed that the three-class unrestricted model was found to be the best fit. Latent Class probabilities were interpreted and each class was named based on the calculated conditional probabilities.

Examination of Technology in Turkish Social Studies Curricula

Examination of Technology in Turkish Social Studies Curricula

Off-label and unlicensed oncology medicine use in Turkey: a retrospective analysis of computer records of the Turkish Ministry of Health

Objectives The use of off-label medications is very common. A study published in 2006 found that off-label use was most common for cardiac medications and anticonvulsants. The study also found that 73% of off-label use had little or no scientific support. Off-label use can lead to restrictions regarding reimbursement. Regulatory agencies have created incentives to extend indications for approved drugs in order to remove them from the off-label area. In our analysis, off-label or unlicensed use of oncology medicines was evaluated so as to provide an understanding of Turkey's perspective within this area of medical provision. Methods Unlicensed or off-label medicine use in Turkey is controlled by the General Directorate of Pharmaceuticals and Pharmacy (GDPP) of the Turkish Ministry of Health. Oncology medicines are imported for these types of uses. A computer search was performed of GDPP's database. A patient base using off-label oncology medicines applications in the years 2008, 2009 and first 6 months of 2010 was searched. Key findings Our study showed that the use of unlicensed or off-label medicine has been rising in recent years and there was a huge difference between incidence and applications in haematologic and breast cancers. Conclusions It can be said that awareness of off-label medicine use is increasing in Turkey, with physicians able to reach scientific literature immediately via the Internet. It might also be said that physicians and pharmaceutical firms may try to avoid the reimbursement procedures of the Turkish Social Security Institution by using GDPP off-label use procedures. It is necessary to evaluate off-label and unlicensed use procedures a bit more strictly. Further analysis will be required in the future.

The Influence of Global Education on the Turkish Social Studies Curriculum

Global education has been debated and studied for the last two decades because of the developments in the world. Although global education involves different approaches and conceptualizations, it has influences on educational systems and curricula across the world. Likewise, the recent curriculum reform in Turkey has brought global education into perspective. The purpose of this article is to analyze the influence of global education on Turkey's current social studies curriculum and to discuss possible revisions of the curriculum to empower global education in Turkey.

The Image of “Woman” in Turkish Political and Social Thought: On the Implications of Social Constructionism and Biological Essentialism

This article critically evaluates the writings of two well‐known intellectuals, Ismayıl Hakkı Baltacıoğlu (1886–1978) and Vâlâ Nureddin (Vâ‐Nû) (1901–1967), and seeks to assess the implications of social constructionism and biological essentialism for the formation of Republican woman’s identity as presented in the works of these authors respectively. The central aim of the article is to reveal and re‐appraise the patriarchal mentality underlying Turkish political and social thought by examining the connections between social constructionism and essentialism, as two main factors reinforcing gender inequality in the context of Turkish modernization and the nation‐building process. Firstly, it is argued that the works of both authors reflect the dominant gender structure in Turkey, grounded on the subordinate position of women. Despite their divergent positions, neither of the authors provides openings for gender equality. Baltacıoğlu advocates social constructionism emphasizing the socio‐cultural at the expense of the natural during the identity formation process while Nureddin supports a biologically essentialist world view based on the “allotted” nature of the female. Baltacıoğlu’s social constructionism leads to gender (in)equality based on “sameness,” within the contours of the public life whereas biological essentialism of Vâ‐Nû, signifies an ontological rejection of gender equality. Secondly, it is argued that both of the authors adopt a functionalist perspective emphasizing the reproductive function of women for men, family and nation and approach the issue of woman’s identity within framework of the tradition‐modernity continuum.

The After-Life of Eurovision 2003: Turkish and European Social Imaginaries and Ephemeral Communicative Space

Save for Israel, no other nation participating in the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) challenges popular notions of what it means to be “European” (geographically and/or culturally) to the extent than does Turkey. As the nation begins a long process toward membership of the European Union (EU), debates have flared (often in the print and broadcast media) over the “European-ness” of Turkey. It is interesting to note that, along with the third place achieved by the Turkish soccer team in the 2002 World Cup, the ESC victory in 2003 put the nation on the international “popular culture map” as never before. In this paper, the authors will analyze and discuss coverage in the international and Turkish press of Turkey's victory in the 2003 ESC and the extent to which a discursive space was opened in which the idea of Turkish “European-ness” (or “non-Europeanness”) was addressed and debated.

Sustainable development, international cooperation and local authorities

The author is a Professor of Local Government and Urban Studies at the Faculty of Political Science , Ankara University and Eastern Mediterranean University. He served as Director of the Ernst Reuter Center for Urban Studies as well as Director of the Center for Environmental Studies, Ankara University for many years. His numerous publications include The Politics of Rapid Urbanization: Government and Growth in Modern Turkey (New York , Holmes and Meier, 1985), Housing and the Urban Poor in the Middle East: Turkey, Egypt, Jordan and Morocco (Tokyo, IDE, 1986), Urban Management in Turkey (Ankara, Turkish Social Science Association, 1988), Urban Poverty in the Third World: Theoretical Approaches and Policy Options Tokyo (IDE, 1988). Dr Keleş has been a correspondent of Ekistics since 1965. He is a member of the World Society for Ekistics (WSE) and has also served as a member of its Executive Council. The text that follows is a slightly edited and revised version of a paper presented at the WSE Symposion "Defining Success of the City in the 21st Century," Berlin, 24-28 October, 2001.

Turkish Social Anthropology Since the 1970s

Turkish Social Anthropology Since the 1970s

The Effect of Dominant Discourses on the Vitality of Judeo-Spanish in the Turkish Social Context

This study examines Judeo-Spanish in the light of language death/shift/revival theories (Dorian, 1981; Dressler, 1988; Dressler & Wodak-Leodolter, 1977; Fishman, 1991; Gal, 1979). It focuses on the Turkish Jews living in Istanbul who form the largest Jewish community in Turkey. Judeo-Spanish came into close contact with Hebrew, French, Turkish and, recently, English. The analysis focuses on the dominant Eurocentric discourse each language carried and their influence on the present linguistic situation in the Turkish Jewish community.

TÜRKİYE’DE İNŞAAT SEKTÖRÜNDE YAŞANAN İŞ KAZALARI VE MESLEK HASTALIKLARI – (2007-2011 dönem analizi)

Occupational Accidents and Occupational Diseases are among the factors that cause the emergence of the insurance concept that forms the basis of Social Security Systems. Occupational Accidents and Occupational Diseases, which are included in the occupational risk group as one of the oldest branches of the Social Security system, pose a threat not only to the insured and businesses, but also to the actuarial balance of the Social Security Systems. The increase in the acceleration in work accidents and occupational diseases not only harms individual and social health, but also negatively affects working life, and also imposes an economic burden on Social Security Systems. The loss of workincome and social life of the casualty, the material and moral effects of the accident on the community, the damages it causes to the working life and businesses, as well as the effects on Social Security Systems reveal the necessity of examining work accidents and occupational diseases separately under each heading. In this study, the effects of work accidents and occupational diseases on the Turkish Social Security System were examined in terms of events in the construction sector.

Aspects of Turkish Kinship and Social Structure

This preliminary study seeks to demonstrate that a culture, using the term in its generally accepted anthropological sense, may modify and change through historic processes, while the social structure associated with it, again employing a term about which there is ethnological agreement, may remain as an historic constant. The reasons for this may presumably be found in the quality of the culture and in the nature of the social system. Modern Turkey offers one of those paradoxical situations, not uncommon in the world today, of industrialized urban life existing side by side with the folk culture, in Redfield's sense, resident in a rural peasant population. It is estimated that 75%o of the Turkish population in Turkey falls into the rural and villagedwelling category (Robinson, 1955-56), a fact which might suggest some discontent or unrest emanating from a majority in some measure politically and economically exploited by a sophisticated urban minority. Some societies, as is well known, find such a situation too great a burden with the result that disintegration and social upheaval come about. But in the Turkish case, the general adaptation to historic circumstances has been such as to keep alive a highly resilient social structure, one which exhibits surprisingly little cracking even if the cultural fabric has been modified again and again. Turkish life, in short, both today and yesterday, exhibits a fairly rigid social structure in a marginal, hence readily modifiable and adaptable, social culture. Both geography and history have produced Turkish cultural marginality. Istanbul may be a gateway to the Balkans but it,