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How do nonstate organizations carry out their programs in political contexts hostile to civil society activity? This paper examines the case of refugee-supporting organizations in Turkey, which hosts over 3.6 million Syrians under a temporary protection regime. While the Turkish state has taken a central role in refugee reception, nonstate organizations have played a sizeable role in refugee support. Analyzing interviews with key personnel across 23 organizations in Istanbul, the paper finds that organizational capacity and organizational identity together explain variations in CSO-state relations. While high-capacity organizations that adopt a variety of "rights-based" and "needs-based" identities will cooperate with state institutions, lower-capacity organizations use comparable signifiers to justify selective engagement or avoidance of state institutions. The paper argues that analyzing how organizations negotiate their identities can help explain variations in CSO-state relations in restrictive contexts without relying on a priori assumptions about CSO alignment with or opposition to the state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to recent advancements in connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs), freeway traffic control (FTC) has become a trendy area of research. Combining CAVs and control measures has opened more efficient traffic flow possibilities. However, while there is extensive research on how traffic control and CAVs can enhance traffic flow performance, their safety benefits should be evaluated more comprehensively. It is challenging to distinguish their contributions to traffic flow safety. Studies on the safety of CAVs in traffic flow indicate that traffic flow safety improves with higher market penetration rates (MPR) of CAVs. However, this finding only sometimes aligns with the traffic flow performance effects of CAVs on freeways. This paper introduces a framework for assessing the safety effects of FTC strategies in mixed traffic scenarios involving human-driven vehicles and CAVs. The proposed framework is tested through a microsimulation-based case study in Istanbul, Turkey. The results show that, despite varying MPRs, the safety effects of CAVs and FTC methods do not consistently reduce the number of conflicts in the traffic flow context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought concepts, definition, and classification processes have been in the field of research for decades, and especially the effects of global warming and the resulting climate change have accelerated these researches. The most used procedure for drought categorization has been in the literature under the name of Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) with the recommendation of the World Meteorological Organization, and many modified versions of it have appeared in the open literature. Although conceptually the SPI is based on the probabilistic standardization index (PSI), some publications use the statistical standardization procedure (SSP) incorrectly. This paper lays out and explains the difference between the two types of standardization. In proper SPI applications, it is necessary to convert a given hydro-meteorological time series probability distribution function (PDF) to a standard (Gaussian) PDF with zero mean and unit standard deviation. SSP cannot accomplish this task, because the original PDF type remains the same after shifting and scaling applications. The comparison of PSI vs. SSP is provided along with their pros and cons. Accurate application of PSI is presented for annual Danube discharge, New Jersey temperature, and Istanbul/Florya precipitation records. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the whole world struggles with the COVID-19 pandemic, there are many different measures taken by countries. In this sense, the distribution of free masks to citizens between the ages of 20–65 in Turkey is one of the important measures taken against to spread of the pandemic. This distribution process is carried out through pharmacies and people can obtain their masks from any pharmacy in their area of residence. However, this situation may cause some pharmacies to be very busy, and thus social distance cannot be maintained and health and safety of the people may be threatened. In this paper, we aim to prioritize pharmacies so that only determined pharmacies in certain regions perform mask distribution process to prevent virus transmission. For this purpose, Esenler district is taken into consideration for a pilot study which is one of the risky regions in terms of virus spread in Istanbul, Turkey. Multi-criteria decision-making approach (MCDM) is used because of the necessity of handling many factors in decision-making process and the contradiction of evaluation factors in the prioritization of pharmacies. In order to best model the uncertainty in the decision process, the MCDM approach is applied in a fuzzy environment. In addition, spherical fuzzy AHP and VIKOR MCDM approaches are used as novel hybrid method in this paper. As a result of spherical fuzzy multi-criteria analysis, the pharmacies that need to provide free mask distribution in the Esenler region have been successfully identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, logistics is one of the most important tools in disaster relief operations. The logistic planning is essential and a key component in covering the initial needs in the immediate aftermath of any disaster. Planning is both necessary and practical, as it is generally possible to predict the types of disasters that should affect a given location and the needs that such disasters will be likely to cause. Transport planning, reception and distribution of emergency supplies, type and quantity of the resources, the way of procurement and storage of the supplies, the tools of the tracking and means transportation to the stricken area, the specialization of teams participating in the operation and plan of cooperation between these teams, are some vital life-saving coordination roles after natural disasters are connected directly to logistic planning. Turkey is located in one of the most active earthquake and volcanic regions which causes to many major earthquake-prone, in the world with a majority of the population living in these earthquake-prone areas. Earthquakes are one of the major disasters that require emergency logistic planning strategies due to their devastating effects, the large-scale natural disasters could cause major problem on commodities such as food, medicine etc. In this paper, a game theoretical model for emergency logistic planning is developed. To do this a cooperative game model is constructed from a flow problem which occurred after an earthquake in Istanbul. Several solution concepts for maximizing the transferred commodity are given. The paper ends with a conclusion and outlook to future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Timely delivery of products to customers is the great importance for retailers in supply chain management. Vending machines are one of the most effective retail tools for consumers to get the product they want at any time. With the developing technology, retailers tend to establish distribution with vending machines to provide faster service to the consumer. At this point, one of the primary objectives is to make the location selection decisions for these vending machines. The most suitable location selection decision includes the evaluation of each alternative under the specified criteria in a problem where there are multiple alternative locations. The present paper proposes a novel modified Delphi-based spherical fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (SFAHP) integrated spherical fuzzy combinative distance-based assessment (SFCODAS) methodology to the vending machine location selection (VMLS) problem. After determining the main and sub-criteria hierarchically, the Modified Delphi method is used to consolidate the opinions of the experts regarding the criteria and integrate them into the study. The main and sub-criteria weights are provided by the SFAHP method. And the most suitable location is determined by the SFCODAS method by ranking among the alternative locations according to these weighted criteria. The case study of VMLS is presented for a retail firm in Istanbul. Sensitivity analysis is performed to measure the flexibility of the proposed methodology. To validate the applicability of the proposed methodology, comparison analysis is presented with the results of the spherical fuzzy weighted aggregated sum-product assessment (SFWASPAS) method. Finally, the conclusions and future directions are discussed in the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to expose the significant contribution of colour information to the classification of 3D points from dense aerial image matching. In this study, colour information was used to compensate for the lack of additional information in photogrammetric point clouds with the proposed automatic hierarchical rule-based classification approach. Two point-based classification approaches based on only spatial-based features and combining the use of spatial-based features and colour information were developed in order to classify photogrammetric point cloud data. The hierarchical rules were developed using the selected features for the proposed point-based classification approaches. Detailed parameter analyses for the developed rules were carried out in pilot areas. The photogrammetric point clouds from the Zekeriyakoy test site in Istanbul were automatically classified, and ground, building, and vegetation classes were acquired using only spatial-based features and using both spatial-based features and colour information. The contribution of the colour information was clearly seen in the vegetation points classified as buildings in woodland and urban areas, as well as in the ground points classified as vegetation in urban areas. The performed accuracy analysis of photogrammetric 3D point cloud classification with the combined use of spatial-based features and colour information verified the improvement of overall accuracy from 70 to 78% in comparison to the classification of only spatial-based features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the high necessity of medical face masks and face shields during the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare centers dealing with infected patients have faced serious challenges due to the high consumption rate face masks and face shields. In this regard, the supply chain of healthcare centers should put all of their efforts into avoiding any shortages of masks and shields as these products are considered as primary ways to prevent the spread of the virus. Since, any shortages in these products would lead to irrecoverable and costly consequences in terms of the mortality rate of patients and medical staff. Therefore, healthcare centers should decide on best supplier to supply required products, considering technical, and sustainability measures. Dynamicity and uncertainty of the pandemic are other factors that add up to the complexity of the supplier selection problem. Therefore, this paper develops a novel decision-making approach using Measuring attractiveness through a categorical-based evaluation technique (MACBETH) and a new combinative distance-based assessment method to address the supplier selection problem during the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to high uncertainty, vague and incomplete information for decision-making problems during the COVID-19 pandemic, the developed decision-making approach is implemented under fuzzy rough numbers as a superior uncertainty set of the traditional fuzzy set and rough numbers. Extensive sensitivity analysis tests are performed based on parameters of the decision-making approach, impacts of weight coefficients, and consistency of results in comparison to other MCDM methods. A real-life case study is investigated for a hospital in Istanbul, Turkey to show the applicability of the developed approach. Based on the results of MACBETH method, job creation and occupational health and safety systems are two top criteria. Results of the case study for five suppliers indicate that supplier (A1) is the best supplier with a distance score of 3.308. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the effects of soil–structure interaction and site amplification on the seismic response of one of the towers of the Theodosian walls of Constantinople during the Kocaeli earthquake in 1999, that largely damaged it. The interacting system is first analysed in the frequency domain by the well-known replacement oscillator model, turning out that the effect of soil–structure interaction could be relevant. The complete system is then examined by the direct approach considering non linearity of the behaviour of both the structure and the soil. The failure mechanism detected from where stress and plasticization concentrate into the masonry panels is consistent with the out-of-plane mechanism of one of the tower façades triggered by the reference earthquake. The focus was then set on the effectiveness of some retrofitting interventions, including the lateral disconnection of the embedded sides of the tower from the surrounding soil, the soil treatment by grouted columns and the classical technique for masonry rehabilitation. Even though the latter choice is the most common one, retrofitting interventions concentrated into the soil could be effective as well. Their use should be properly considered when the scope of the intervention is the preservation of cultural heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the significant hazards in the event of a fire in high-rise residential buildings in cities is the length of time taken to completely evacuate a large number of occupants. On a city scale, it is important that a city's fire and rescue services are in place to minimize the consequences which can be incurred in any potential fire incident. The paper presents the methodology and results of a study that evaluates the city-wide vulnerability in high-rise residential building fires in the City of Istanbul, Turkey. In the context of fire and rescue service arrival to burning buildings, a high-rise building can be considered vulnerable if the fire and rescue service arrives at the building site only after the expected completion of evacuation of the building, thus unable to fulfill its intended purpose of saving the occupants. The study is based on comparison of an agent-based evacuation model of safe escape times for 1167 high-rise residential buildings against their fire and rescue service arrival times estimated using GPS data. This methodology can be used to inform the decision about optimal locations of a city's fire and rescue services. As an example, this study indicates that adding a single new fire station in the City of Istanbul can improve its preparedness for fire accidents by reducing the risk of its most vulnerable district by more than 26%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In natural disasters, having a capable network of collecting and distributing crucial items such as blood is one of the major concerns. However, due to damage to the infrastructure after disasters, mobile blood collecting facilities (blood mobiles) are usually required. This paper aims to decide the locations of mobile facilities in each period for collecting donated blood, plan the blood distribution from the fixed and mobile facilities to the main blood centers, as well as from blood centers to the hospitals and field-hospitals, under uncertain conditions. To do so, a multi-period, bi-objective mixed-integer mathematical model is developed under a multiple-scenario, aiming to minimize the unsatisfied blood demand as well as the total cost of the network. In the proposed model, the blood group compatibility matrix, failure rate of the facilities, and patients' urgency levels are considered. An augmented ε-constraint method is applied to solve this bi-objective model. Due to the complex nature of the proposed blood supply chain model, the Lagrangian relaxation approach is used to solve the proposed model. An expected Istanbul earthquake is considered, and the blood supply planning through the Red Crescent's European branch is performed utilizing the proposed model to examine its validity. According to the numerical results, the mobile facilities' locations in each period under each scenario are determined, the unsatisfied demand in each hospital and field-hospital for each blood type are reported, and the tradeoff between the supply chain costs and unsatisfied demand are discussed in detail. Finally, to illustrate the robustness of the proposed model, a detailed sensitivity analysis is performed. According to the study results, opening new blood centers near the high-demand sub-districts for faster testing and supply, increasing the hospitals' capacities, and usage of drones and helicopters for blood distribution are suggested can be considered as managerial insights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Number of tall buildings in metropolitan areas such as Istanbul increased dramatically in recent years. On the other hand, it is crucial to conduct condition assessment of such structures after an earthquake due to public safety and owner-need reasons. Structural health monitoring (SHM) enables condition assessment of structures before, during and after earthquake rapidly, remotely and objectively. SHM systems are mandatory to be installed on tall buildings in Turkey since 2019 because of their significant contribution to our understanding of dynamic behavior of tall buildings and our capability of condition monitoring. With the motivations and reasons mentioned above, three tall buildings in Istanbul have been monitored continuously by the research team led by the second author. In the first part of this paper, results from long-term monitoring of Building-3 are presented and also, identification of modal parameters before, during and after Mw 5.7 earthquake by different methods are discussed. Afterwards, a unique methodology on the development and updating of Timoshenko beam model of the building based on identification results is given. This methodology is able to estimate the accelerations of non-instrumented floors from instrumented floors; therefore, condition assessment of the building during an earthquake can be precisely performed by computing inter-story drift ratios. In addition to tracking modal values and calculating inter-story drifts, determination of wave propagation is explained as an alternative condition assessment tool. Lastly, in-house developed software platform for real-time monitoring of tall buildings is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study, presented in a pair of articles, defines a comprehensive methodological approach to the reconstruction of a traditional masonry-timber mansion building constructed in the 1880s of the Turkish house typology on Istanbul's historical peninsula area that was intentionally demolished in 1948. A historical process research was carried out in the first stage of the study, after which ground penetration radar measurements and an archeological excavation were carried out to determine any possible remains or ruins of the structure, and the original architectural features of the demolished building were ascertained from the obtained data. The proposed stages in the current paper can be considered a comprehensive approach to the determination of the authentic properties of demolished or destroyed buildings in historical areas, given that the methodology allows for the integration of construction features obtained separately and independently through different activities, such as excavations, georadar measurements and historical surveys. The result is a versatile approach to the complete and realistic reconstruction of historical buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate estimation of wind speed distributions is a challenging task in wind power planning and operation. The selection of convenient functions for describing wind speed distribution is a crucial requisite. In this paper, remarkable bi-parameter Weibull function is presented to estimate the wind energy potential. Weibull parameters based on different six estimation methods, namely graphical, method of moment, energy pattern factor, mean standard deviation, power density methods, and genetic algorithm are evaluated. Besides, the goodness of fit of the estimation methods is investigated via mean absolute error, root mean square error, normalized mean absolute error, Chi-square error, and regression coefficient. To plainly identify the best matching estimation method, Net Fitness test is also presented. Catalca in the Marmara region in Istanbul, Republic of Turkey, is selected to be the underlying site. The experimental results show the effectiveness of the estimation methods in modeling wind distribution but with relatively small differences in terms of performance. However, the genetic algorithm and energy pattern factor accomplish the best and worst matching estimation methods, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an increase in the number of people who have changed their country for compulsory reasons due to the wars experienced worldwide. This raises the problem of identifying the regions where these people, called refugees, will live in the countries. In this regard, we determine in this paper where the camps established for refugees living in Istanbul should be located. The presence of many quantitative and qualitative factors which should be handled in determining the best location has enabled this problem to have multi-criteria decision-making structure. In addition, the advantage of fuzzy logic is used to convert the evaluations taken from experts into available numbers and to include them in decision-making process. For this purpose, a novel model with the integration of Pythagorean fuzzy AHP and Pythagorean fuzzy WASPAS methods is proposed for the first time in the literature, to select the best location for the refugee camp. In addition, a comparative analysis is applied to determine the validity of the results obtained and the sensitivity analysis is applied to check the robustness of the model. As a result, the most suitable location for a refugee camp in Istanbul is identified reasonably with the proposed model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]