Sine Yılmaz, Nevin Sanlier, Pınar Göbel, Büşra Açıkalın, Sule Kocabas and Akif Dundar
Staying at home for a prolonged period, the stress during COVID-19 quarantine may affect sleep quality, night eating behaviours of individuals. This paper aims to identify the…
Abstract
Purpose
Staying at home for a prolonged period, the stress during COVID-19 quarantine may affect sleep quality, night eating behaviours of individuals. This paper aims to identify the relationship between night eating behaviour, sleep quality, perceptions of health locus of control in women during the pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
An anonymous, Web based, cross-sectional study was conducted for the duration of a month (April-May, 2020). The study evaluated the nutritional habits of the participants. Anthropometric measurements were noted. Night Eating Syndrome Questionnaire (NESQ), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Multi-dimensional Health Locus of Control-A were used for data collection.
Findings
With a mean age of 33 ± 8 years, 529 women participated in the study. The mean NESQ score was 14.4 ± 4.7, PSQI score was 6.4 ± 2.9. Higher night eating scores were observed in participants with chance locus of control (CLC) perception when compared to participants with internal health locus of control (IHLC) perception (p < 0.05). Lower sleep quality was observed in obese participants compared to normal/overweight participants (p < 0.05). It was also found that night eating behaviours significantly predicted sleep quality (R = 0.36, R2 = 0.13; p < 0.01), explaining about 13.3% of total variance of sleep quality.
Research limitations/implications
Only internet users and women participated in the study, and the questionnaire form was applied online; the information was obtained in the form of the participants' own statements.
Practical implications
It was found that night eating behaviour significantly predicted sleep quality during the pandemic. It was also determined that the individuals with high chance locus of control perception had higher NES scores than the individuals with high internal locus of control perception.
Originality/value
The night eating behaviours significantly predict sleep quality, individuals with a high perception of CLC had a higher night eating score than individuals with high perception of IHLC during the pandemic.
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Departing from Turkish national debates around Islam, national belonging, and homosexuality during 2008–2011, this paper shows how “LGBT rights” discourses ultimately worked to…
Abstract
Departing from Turkish national debates around Islam, national belonging, and homosexuality during 2008–2011, this paper shows how “LGBT rights” discourses ultimately worked to position Muslim headscarf activists as against LGBT activists by rendering complex positions that do not follow easy “for vs. against” LGBT rights political formulas as “homophobic.” In return, this foreclosed potential solidarities differently injured citizens could have formed against increasing neoliberal state violence. I show that the multitude of Muslim women’s positions on the issue of LGBT rights complicates easy religious/secular binaries and illuminates how it is not only human rights discourses but also their “Western” critiques that travel transnationally. This story also contributes to current debates on postsecularism by illustrating how the same national context can house both liberal rights frameworks that can be used against pious Muslim subjects, and a monopolization of a definition of Islam for state power. Finally, I offer “politics of cruelty” and “right to sin” as alternative frameworks for imagining social justice outside of liberal rights-based politics.
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Shahrokh Nikou, Bibek Kadel and Dandi Merga Gutema
The choices that international students make regarding abroad study destination selection or leave the host country after graduation are influenced by a variety of factors that…
Abstract
Purpose
The choices that international students make regarding abroad study destination selection or leave the host country after graduation are influenced by a variety of factors that are both related to positive and negative aspects of the host country.
Design/methodology/approach
This study builds on the push-pull factor theory and examines the factors that influence international students' decision to choose abroad study destination (Finland) or leave the country after their graduations. The data were collected through an online survey of 195 international students currently studying in Finland and were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) technique. This method offers a flexible and robust approach to test relationships, particularly in situations where sample size and the conceptual model are small and complex.
Findings
The results show that international students' choice of study destination (Finland) is influenced by the host country's quality of life, academic excellence and economic factors such as salary and benefits. Unfamiliarity with the culture and language barriers have a negative impact on their decisions to stay in the host country after graduation.
Originality/value
By utilising a comprehensive analysis of both push and pull factors in relation to the host country, this study unveils a novel perspective in the field of international student mobility. The results provide insights to the institutional leaders and policymakers into how to attract and retain international students by focusing on the factors that matter most to international students. To attract more international students, higher education institutions (HEIs) should include career development activities, e.g. job fairs, language training, scholarships and internships in their curriculum. Moreover, it provides recommendations on how to create a welcoming and supportive environment that promotes academic excellence and career development.
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The purpose of this paper is to describe the variations in the ways that principals conceptualize their basis of power in schools.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe the variations in the ways that principals conceptualize their basis of power in schools.
Design/methodology/approach
Phenomenography was used as the research method of this study. The interviewees consisted of 16 principals, eight from public schools and eight from private schools.
Findings
The analysis of the interviews revealed eight ways of understanding a principal’s power basis. These potential power bases were: teachers’ sense of reciprocity; teachers’ sense of responsibility; organizational rules and regulations; principals’ deep knowledge and experience; in-service training; principals’ reputation for being fair and impartial; teachers’ sense of identification with their principal; and principals’ control over teachers’ employment. Participants from public and private schools held generally similar conceptions. The conception of in-service training remained limited to private school principals. The power basis of principals’ control over teachers’ employment was not emphasized but could still be perceived as a conception in certain statements by participants.
Research limitations/implications
Coercive power and legitimate power of reciprocity need to be investigated more thoroughly in the field of educational administration.
Practical implications
There is an urgent need for training for principals to raise their awareness of the adverse effect that coercive power has on teachers.
Originality/value
This study is the first known to explore variations in the ways that principals conceptualize their power basis.
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Ismael Jabi, Maryana Faour and Yahya Saleh
The main goal of this study is to investigate the impact of total quality management (TQM) on the three pillars (economic, environmental and social) of sustainable performance in…
Abstract
Purpose
The main goal of this study is to investigate the impact of total quality management (TQM) on the three pillars (economic, environmental and social) of sustainable performance in the Palestinian construction industry. More specifically, it first assesses the current implementation levels of TQM practices and the socio-economic and environmental sustainable performance metrics in the industry. Then, it specifies the correlational relationship between the implementation of the TQM practices and the sustainable performance in the construction industry in Palestine.
Design/methodology/approach
To this end, a quantitative research approach via a self-administered questionnaire approach was adopted, where six TQM practices have been obtained from the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA), with some adjustments made in accordance with their importance in the literature review. The targeted population is the construction firms in Palestine, where the data have been obtained from a sample of 66 supervisor engineers working in these firms through a quantitative questionnaire. Regarding the analysis of the conceptual framework and testing the proposed hypotheses, the structural equation modeling (SEM) has been adopted through Smart-PLS software.
Findings
The results indicate a positive and significant relationship between TQM practices and sustainable performance. More specifically, it has been found the levels of implementation of TQM practices and sustainable performance metrics were moderate. Also, it has been revealed that TQM practices positively impact the economic, environmental and social sustainable performance in the Palestinian construction industry.
Practical implications
Investigating the impact of TQM on sustainable performance in this unique challenging context provides a set of valuable implications that extend existing theories and practical guidelines for practitioners and policy makers in the construction industry. More specifically, the study highlights the TQM theory by proving its applicability and effectiveness in conflict-influenced and resource-limited contexts. It also contributes to the sustainable performance theory by integrating the three pillars of sustainable performance in the construction industry in a developing country. Practically, the study offers different stakeholders in this industry with practical actions and insights to facilitate the implementation of TQM to enhance sustainable performance.
Originality/value
This research bridges the gap between TQM and the three pillars of sustainable performance, especially in the construction industry in a developing country context with a unique particularity represented by complicated political instability, never-ending conflict and constrained-resources scarcity and access. This research also supports the TQM advocate’s argument that effective TQM deployment can dramatically improve sustainable organizational performance. Additionally, to the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study that addresses the impact of TQM and sustainable performance in the Palestinian construction industry and the one that adopted the PLS-SEM approach for analysis.
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Algimantas Fedaravičius, Sigitas Kilikevičius, Arvydas Survila and Saulius Račkauskas
The purpose of this paper is to present the aerodynamic analysis and external ballistics modeling used in the development of a rocket-target for short range air defence missile…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present the aerodynamic analysis and external ballistics modeling used in the development of a rocket-target for short range air defence missile systems.
Design/methodology/approach
A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis of the airflow around the rocket-target was carried out to estimate the drag, which was needed to develop a mathematical model for external ballistics of the rocket-target. Field-experimental testing was conducted to compare the model results to the data obtained experimentally using various additional measurement techniques such as global positioning system (GPS) coordinates marking of the crash and launch sites, air defence surveillance radar tracking and installing equipment for telemetric data capturing and transmission.
Findings
Various ballistic parameters such as the velocity and trajectory of the rocket-target were obtained taking into account the CFD analysis results and internal ballistics data. The field-experimental testing showed a good agreement between the model results and the results obtained by the experimental techniques.
Practical implications
The presented computational models and the experimental techniques could be used in future developments of similar aircraft.
Originality/value
This paper presents a research approach for developing a rocket-target. The results of the research were used as a basis for developing a rocket-target for short range air defence rocket systems. The developed rocket-target was successfully implemented in practice.
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A.G. Gel and E. Şatıroğlu
In parallel with industrialization and population growth, the need for housing areas in developing countries has also increased. Diminishing green areas in cities due to unplanned…
Abstract
In parallel with industrialization and population growth, the need for housing areas in developing countries has also increased. Diminishing green areas in cities due to unplanned urbanization led people to search for new residential areas where they can meet with green and can satisfy their social and cultural needs.
Trabzon city is located on the East Black Sea coast of Turkey. By virtue of the concentration of settlement in the city center and the problems it has caused, the residential areas have been directed to the eastern parts of the city. Kaşüstü is one of Trabzon's new and popular residential and commercial areas. As the study area, 3 different site areas in Kaşüstü region located in the Yomra district in the east of Trabzon were determined.
In this study, it was aimed to determine the outdoor facilities and opportunities of different housing estates in Kaşüstü region. Outdoor activities, types of usages, preferences and requests of users in these areas were identified. Thus, outdoors in different housing estates in the same region and the usage types of these places were compared. In addition, new suggestions and alternatives for outdoor usage have been developed.
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Ayuba Napari, Asad Ul Islam Khan, Muhittin Kaplan and Hasan Vergil
Owing to the growing evidence of crypto asset connectedness and correlation with traditional financial assets, this study sought to determine if there is a time-varying…
Abstract
Purpose
Owing to the growing evidence of crypto asset connectedness and correlation with traditional financial assets, this study sought to determine if there is a time-varying correlation and/or connectedness between the stablecoin market and the currencies of emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) with significant cryptocurrency penetration.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses a probabilistic principal component analysis (PPCA) to create stablecoin and EMDEs currency returns and volatility indices for EMDEs with significant cryptocurrency penetration. We then employ a time-varying correlation and time-varying parameter vector autoregressive (TVP-VAR) connectedness measures to document the time-dependent correlation and connectedness between the EMDE currencies and the stablecoin market.
Findings
The result points to a spillover of return shocks from the EMDE currencies to the stablecoin market prior to and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This is indicative of a flight-to-safety role of stablecoins for EMDE currencies. This calls for increased attention to the stablecoin market by money market investors and monetary authorities.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the growing cryptocurrency and finance literature by empirically examining the level of connectedness between stablecoins and emerging market currencies. Knowing the relationship (correlation) and shock spillover (connectedness) between the stablecoins and the EMDE currencies will be valuable to currency investors’ diversification and hedging strategies, and to macroeconomic policymakers in designing and implementing regulation.
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Ecological architecture consciousness has started spreading out with the idea that the limited resources that remain on the world in 21st century due to the damage caused by…
Abstract
Ecological architecture consciousness has started spreading out with the idea that the limited resources that remain on the world in 21st century due to the damage caused by humans should be used economically. Energy saving consciousness should be executed in all stages from the design of the building to its construction and use. The number of buildings in the world that have been built with this consciousness continues to increase. Many technological applications have been put forth in order to ensure that a building supplies its own energy. This new situation contributes to the decreasing of the energy need of the building while also making significant savings in the Gross National Income of developing countries such as Turkey which are dependent to other countries for energy. When the contribution of ecologic designs to the country economy is considered, it is expected that the government and local administrations increase incentives especially for government buildings thereby leading the way. The objective of this study is to examine the energy consumption of Kadir Has City Stadium built in the city of Kayseri and to question the contribution of the local administration in terms of ecologic approach. It is expected that the study will make a contribution so that the local administrations will support all the stages of government buildings from the design to construction.