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AbstractThis article analyzes the practice of suretyship (kefalet), surveillance and taxation in early nineteenth-century İstanbul. It deals with how the practice of suretyship functioned to achieve social control; it provided shelter for some but at the same time marginalized others with little or no social status. This article also analyzes the extent to which the state maintained order through suretyship. In this way, it intends to capture where and how state and society interacted through social and state control mechanisms. To this end, this article takes into consideration two particular events, the Greek uprising of 1821 and the abolition of the Janissary Corps in 1826, and demonstrates a growing tendency towards impersonal relations in terms of governmental practices of surveillance. Briefly, it illustrates how suretyship changed over time and how a gradual transition took place from personal to impersonal relations as well as within governmental practices. Furthermore, this article provides examples of similar practices by focusing on an institutional development that involved the government systematically accumulating knowledge about the population. Finally, it explores taxation practices by the government in order to. show how the pre-modern (contractual) and the modern (statutory) state were not substitutes for each other, but rather shaped each other.

AbstractAflatoxins are toxic chemicals produced by the fungi Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus. In warm climates, these fungi frequently contaminate crops such as maize, peanuts, tree nuts, and sunflower seeds. In many tropical and subtropical regions of the world, populations are coexposed to dietary aflatoxin and multiple infectious pathogens in food, water, and the environment. There is increasing evidence that aflatoxin compromises the immune system, which could increase infectious disease risk in vulnerable populations. Our aim was to conduct a dose–response assessment on a noncarcinogenic endpoint of aflatoxin: immunotoxicological effects. We sought to determine a noncarcinogenic tolerable daily intake (TDI) of aflatoxin, based on the existing data surrounding aflatoxin and biomarkers of immune suppression. To conduct the dose response assessment, mammalian studies were assessed for appropriateness of doses (relevant to potential human exposures) as well as goodness of data, and two appropriate mouse studies that examined decreases in leukocyte counts were selected to generate dose response curves. From these, we determined benchmark dose lower confidence limits (BMDL) as points of departure to estimate a range of TDIs for aflatoxin‐related immune impairment: 0.017–0.082 μg/kg bw/day. As aflatoxin is a genotoxic carcinogen, and regulations concerning its presence in food have largely focused on its carcinogenic effects, international risk assessment bodies such as the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) have never established a TDI for aflatoxin. Our work highlights the importance of the noncarcinogenic effects of aflatoxin that may have broader public health impacts, to inform regulatory standard‐setting.

Bu çalışma, 27-28 Nisan 2018 tarihinde Uluslararası EMI Girişimcilik ve Sosyal Bilimler Kongresi'de sunulan "Türkiye'deki Bankaların Web Sitelerinin Performanslarının Çok Kriterli Karar Verme (ÇKKV) Yöntemleri ile Değerlendirilmesi" başlıklı yayınlanmamış bildirinin genişletilmiş halidir. ; The purpose of this paper is to measure the performances of commercial banks' websites in Turkey by using "Multi-Criteria Decision Making" (MCDM). The use of three MCDM methods (AHP, TOPSIS, VIKOR) consecutively constitutes the originality of this study. Based on the literature and expert opinions, 6 performance criteria (load time, page speed, markup, speed index, visitors, pageviews) and 5 website analysis tools were determined. First, the significance weights of the criteria were calculated with AHP (Analytical Hierarchy Process). Second, the data obtained in the 2-month period were analyzed by TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) and VIKOR (Vise Kriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje) methods. "Page speed" was found to be the most important criterion in performance of banks' websites. Most successful banks in terms of website efficiency are Garanti BBVA, Isbank and QNB Finansbank according to TOPSIS whereas QNB Finansbank, Garanti BBVA and Halkbank according to VIKOR results. It is observed that banks with high deposits and number of branches and employees do not show the same success in website performance. The results are expected to shed light on managers who want to set policies and strategies for digital banking applications ; Bu çalışmanın amacı, "Çok Kriterli Karar Verme" (ÇKKV) yöntemlerini kullanarak, Türkiye'deki ticari bankaların web sitesi performanslarını ölçmektir. Bu kapsamda üç ÇKKV yönteminin (AHP, TOPSIS, VIKOR) bir arada kullanılması, çalışmanın özgünlüğünü oluşturmaktadır. Literatüre ve uzmanların görüşlerine dayanarak, 6 performans kriteri (yükleme süresi, sayfa hızı, biçimlendirme, hız endeksi, ziyaretçiler, sayfa görünümleri) ve 5 web sitesi analiz aracı belirlenmiştir. Çalışmanın ilk aşamasında AHP (Analitik Hiyerarşi Süreci) yöntemi ile kriterlerin önem ağırlıkları hesaplanmıştır. İkinci aşamada, 2 aylık periyotta elde edilen verilerin TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) ve VIKOR (Vise Kriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje) yöntemleri ile analizi yapılmıştır. Bulgulara göre, "sayfa hızı" değişkeninin, banka web sitelerinin performans değerlendirmesinde en önemli kriter olduğu saptanmıştır. TOPSIS yönteminde Garanti BBVA, İş Bankası ve QNB Finansbank web sitesi performansında en başarılı Türk ticari bankaları olmuştur. VIKOR yöntemine göre ise QNB Finansbank, Garanti BBVA ve Halkbank en başarılı bankalardır. Mevduat hacmi büyük, şube ve çalışan sayısı yüksek olan bankaların, web sitesi performansında aynı başarıyı göstermedikleri gözlemlenmiştir. Elde edilen sonuçların, dijital bankacılık uygulamalarına yönelik politika ve strateji belirlemek isteyen yöneticilere ışık tutması beklenmektedir.

The purpose of this paper is to measure the performances of commercial banks' websites in Turkey by using "MultiCriteria Decision Making" (MCDM). The use of three MCDM methods (AHP, TOPSIS, VIKOR) consecutively constitutes the originality of this study. Based on the literature and expert opinions, 6 performance criteria (load time, page speed, markup, speed index, visitors, pageviews) and 5 website analysis tools were determined. First, the significance weights of the criteria were calculated with AHP (Analytical Hierarchy Process). Second, the data obtained in the 2-month period were analyzed by TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) and VIKOR (Vise Kriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje) methods. "Page speed" was found to be the most important criterion in performance of banks' websites. Most successful banks in terms of website efficiency are Garanti BBVA, Isbank and QNB Finansbank according to TOPSIS whereas QNB Finansbank, Garanti BBVA and Halkbank according to VIKOR results. It is observed that banks with high deposits and number of branches and employees do not show the same success in website performance. The results are expected to shed light on managers who want to set policies and strategies for digital banking applications. ; Bu çalışmanın amacı, "Çok Kriterli Karar Verme" (ÇKKV) yöntemlerini kullanarak, Türkiye'deki ticari bankaların web sitesi performanslarını ölçmektir. Bu kapsamda üç ÇKKV yönteminin (AHP, TOPSIS, VIKOR) bir arada kullanılması, çalışmanın özgünlüğünü oluşturmaktadır. Literatüre ve uzmanların görüşlerine dayanarak, 6 performans kriteri (yükleme süresi, sayfa hızı, biçimlendirme, hız endeksi, ziyaretçiler, sayfa görünümleri) ve 5 web sitesi analiz aracı belirlenmiştir. Çalışmanın ilk aşamasında AHP (Analitik Hiyerarşi Süreci) yöntemi ile kriterlerin önem ağırlıkları hesaplanmıştır. İkinci aşamada, 2 aylık periyotta elde edilen verilerin TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) ve VIKOR (Vise Kriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje) yöntemleri ile analizi yapılmıştır. Bulgulara göre, "sayfa hızı" değişkeninin, banka web sitelerinin performans değerlendirmesinde en önemli kriter olduğu saptanmıştır. TOPSIS yönteminde Garanti BBVA, İş Bankası ve QNB Finansbank web sitesi performansında en başarılı Türk ticari bankaları olmuştur. VIKOR yöntemine göre ise QNB Finansbank, Garanti BBVA ve Halkbank en başarılı bankalardır. Mevduat hacmi büyük, şube ve çalışan sayısı yüksek olan bankaların, web sitesi performansında aynı başarıyı göstermedikleri gözlemlenmiştir. Elde edilen sonuçların, dijital bankacılık uygulamalarına yönelik politika ve strateji belirlemek isteyen yöneticilere ışık tutması beklenmektedir.

Turkey's immigration policy is a controversial issue considering its legal, economic, social, and political and human rights dimensions. Formulation of an immigration policy goes hand in hand with political processes, where natives' attitudes play a significant role. On the other hand, as was the case in Turkey, radical changes made in immigration policy or policies lacking transparency may cause severe reactions by the host society. The underlying discussion paper aims to analyze quantitatively the effects of the existing 'open door' immigration policy on the economic integration of Syrian refugees in Turkey, and on the perception of the native population of refugees. For the analysis, semi-structured in-depth interviews and focus group interviews have been conducted. After the introduction, a literature review is provided, followed by theoretical background on the explanation of natives' attitudes towards immigrants. In the next section, a qualitative analysis of natives' attitudes towards Syrian refugees is presented with the subtopics of (i) awareness, general opinions and expectations, (ii) open-door policy and management of the migration process, (iii) perception of positive and negative impacts of immigration, (iv) economic integration, and (v) cultural similarity. Results indicate that, natives concurrently have social, economic and security concerns regarding refugees, while difficulties regarding security and economic integration of refugees stand out. Socio-economic characteristics of the respondents, such as the educational level and employment status, are not sufficient to explain the overall attitudes towards refugees, while they can be used to explain the awareness of the respondents and the priority of the concerns felt.