Organizational Citizenship Levels of Physicians in Public Hospitals

The aim of this study is to define organizational citizenship levels of physicians working in public hospitals. The population of the study consists of the physicians employed in the hospitals run by the Ministry of Health in Istanbul. The Organizational Citizenship Level Scale was used for the collection of data. It was found that the participants’ organizational citizenship levels were the highest in the “conscience” subsection and the lowest in the “praising the organization” subsection. Findings of this study provide clear information for the decision-makers and hospital managers in developing working conditions of physicians in public hospitals.     

Differences in Handwritings of Schizophrenia Patients and Examination of the Change after Treatment

The aim of this study was to analyze the differences between the handwritings of schizophrenia patients and healthy subjects in addition to the changes that occurred in schizophrenia patients' handwriting in response to the treatment. The test subjects were 29 schizophrenia patients and 29 healthy individuals with the same age, gender, and dominant hand. The changes in the handwritings were examined according to 14 different parameters. On the day of admittance, the percentage of extra letters was 16.7%, and after 7–10 days of hospitalization, it rose to 33.3%. The percentage of skipped words decreased from 29.2% to 16.7% after 7–10 days of hospitalization, and to 10% after 3 weeks. The letters written by schizophrenia patients are significantly larger in height and width compared to the control group. The schizophrenia patients showed a higher incidence of crossed-out letters, adding extra words, missing punctuation as well as missing words.     

Handmade Guns in Trabzon, Turkey

Abstract:  A wide variety of handmade firearms have been involved in criminal cases in the city of Trabzon, Turkey. Although they are often very similar to commercially manufactured firearms in terms of design, loading and locking mechanisms, and cocking and firing arrangements, these guns are constructed from cheap materials and are not safe for firing. Handmade firearms manufactured in the Black Sea region of Turkey, particularly in the city of Trabzon, are similar to pistols manufactured by Browning, Luger, Star, Smith and Wesson, Berretta, and MAB. A total of 201 handmade guns referred to the Criminal Police Laboratories for examination from 2003 to 2005 were evaluated with respect to type, number of barrels, size and caliber, rifling, design, mechanism, operability, legality, and similarity to commercial models. We found that most of these handmade guns resembled commercial models in several aspects.     

Polarization and the environmental movement in Turkey

Environmental civil society organizations in Turkey have been drawn into the deep cultural and religious divide that characterizes Turkish society more broadly. Turkish environmental organizations are viewed by the Islamist leaning government as proxies for secularist opposition forces and not as independent voices truly committed to environmental protection. Interview data from fifty environmental leaders and Turkish state officials are analyzed to demonstrate how effective civil society functioning in the environmental sphere has been undermined by these deep partisan divisions. Local environmental struggles create one area of opportunity where environmental advocates can bridge the divide and work in collaboration with conservative government supporters.     

The Europeanization process and Kurdish nationalism in Turkey: the case of the Democratic Society Party

This study aims at analyzing the impact of the European integration process on Kurdish nationalism in Turkey by focusing on the Democratic Society Party (Demokratik Toplum Partisi, DTP) as the major pro-Kurdish political party in Turkey between 2005 and 2009. It argues that the Europeanization process in Turkey, which accelerated in the post-Helsinki period, has brought about some important consequences concerning the recognition and expression of Kurdish identity. The study examines Europe's impact on the DTP through analysis of party documents and interviews with party representatives, in order to investigate the meaning and use of the European integration process in the DTP's sub-state nationalist ideology. This analysis shows that, although the Europeanization process in Turkey has somewhat broadened opportunity structures for Kurdish sub-state nationalist politics, overall the EU's impact on the DTP's nationalist politics has remained indirect and limited.     

Democratization and the politicization of religious civil society in Turkey

In this article, we explain how the political opportunity structure characterized by official secularism and state regulation of religion has shaped the politicization of religiously oriented civil society in Turkey. The ban on religious political parties and strict state control over religious institutions create constraints for the expression of religious interests. However, due to changes in laws regulating the civil society sector and rule by a religiously sympathetic political party, religious groups use associations and foundations to express their interests. We observe that, in this strictly controlled opportunity structure, religiously oriented Muslims have framed their religious interests in the political realm parallel to those of the dominant political party, the Justice and Development Party (AKP). Through a study of non-governmental organizations we document the rhetoric religious groups use to frame their position on several key issues: religious freedom for the majority religious group, methods of resolving issues related to minority populations, and the Ottoman heritage of charitable service.     

A Systematic Study to Understand the Effects of Particle Size Distribution of Magnetic Fingerprint Powders on Surfaces with Various Porosities

This study intends to design magnetite (Fe₃O₄)‐based magnetic fingerprint powders with different particle size distributions. It also investigates the influence of particle size distribution on the visualization of latent fingermarks with as little background staining as possible on the surfaces with various porosities in a systematic way. Two strategies were used to prepare the magnetic fingerprint formulations for this study: milling of coarse magnetite particles for different durations, and mixing of sieved fine particles with different size ranges with coarse particles. Particle size analyses of the prepared magnetic powders, optical microscopy‐based roughness analysis of the surfaces and SEM measurements of the visualized fingerprints and representative powders were performed. Mag2 of the formulations prepared through milling and Mag5 and Mag6 of the formulations prepared through sieving and mixing were more successful in the development of latent prints than the rest of the solutions.     

Gezi Park Protests in Turkey: A Party Politics View

One year on from the widespread protests in Turkey, the question of why small environmental protests against the building of a shopping mall on Gezi Park in the centre of Istanbul turned into the biggest example of mass civil movement in the republic's history remains unanswered. This article suggests that one can easily detect signs of instability and social unrest in the country long before these mass demonstrations took place. By analysing the evolution of the Turkish party system over the past decade, I argue that the political upheaval in the country is the result of a crisis of representation. This has two aspects: a high degree of polarisation has left certain segments of society unrepresented, while the AKP government has ceased to maintain the balance between responsiveness and responsibility.