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In the open literature, there are numerous studies on the normal and extreme (flood and drought) behavior of wet and dry periods based on the understanding of the standard precipitation index (SPI), which provides a series of categorizations by considering the standard normal (Gaussian) probability distribution function (PDF). The numerical meaning of each categorization assessment is quite lacking in terms of future predictions of wet and dry period duration based on historical records. This paper presents a new approach for calculating possible formations of future wet and dry period durations based on historical records through an effective fractal geometric forecasting approach. The essence of the proposed methodology is based on the number of dry periods (steps) of non-overlapping monthly duration along consecutive broken line paths in the SPI classification for wet and dry period durations. It has been observed that the plot of periods on double logarithmic paper falls along a straight line against the number of such periods, implying a power function, which is the essence of fractal geometry. Extending the empirically derived straight line provides the number of periods that may occur in the future over a range of SPI levels. This methodology is referred to as SPI fractal (SPIF), and the classic SPI classification is converted into SPIF wet and dry polygons, which provide additional information about the drought period number within a valid polygonal area, compared to the classic SPI results. The wet and dry period features of any hydro-meteorology time series are constrained in SPIF polygons. The application of the methodology was carried out on monthly rainfall records on the European side of the Istanbul Florya meteorological station in Turkey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The linguistic Turkification of the dwindling Turkish Jewish community during the period of the Republic extended to its media outlets. The Şalom newspaper, published in Turkey since 1947, changed its language from Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) to Turkish in 1984. This article takes that change as the starting point for an examination of the place of the publication within the political framework of a nationalizing secular state as well as its recent Islamification. The paper's content is reviewed through its archives and interviews with columnists. Thus, the recent history of a Jewish newspaper in a secular Muslim country has been meticulously researched and analyzed so as to unpack the relationship between language and identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to achieve two goals: first, to evaluate the existing interest-free monetary policy tools in the major Islamic financial hubs of Malaysia, Pakistan and Bahrain and; second, to suggest how monetary policy tools in Turkey can be used in other countries. Design/methodology/approach: This study follows a qualitative research method based on literature review, comparison, evaluation and design. Findings: The policy rate cannot be used due to Shariah concerns. The reserve requirement depends on qard, and the reserves should be kept separately in the central bank. In terms of ijarah sukuk, Shariah concerns should be taken into account and a new structure, as displayed in Figure 3, should be followed. Government investment certificates can be used as an interest-free monetary policy tool. A genuine mudarabah interbank investments can also be used. Wadiah acceptance with no habitual gift can be used as well, and Tawarruq and central bank notes are not preferable due to Shariah concerns as well. Having said that, a Turkey-based tawarruq platform can be structured for others to use instead of applying to London. Originality/value: This paper's unique suggestion is to develop an interbank taqaruz market and a taqaruz method with the central bank. It is also unique for Turkey in the subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the contribution of big data in the transforming process of an IT firm to a learning organization. Design/methodology/approach: The authors adopted a qualitative research approach to define and interpret the ideas and experiences of the IT firms' employees and to present them to the readers directly. For this purpose, they followed a single-case study design. They researched on a small and medium enterprise operating in the IT sector in Düzce province, Turkey. This paper used a semi-structured interview and document analysis as data collecting methods. In all, eight interviews were conducted with employees. Brochures and website of the organization were used as data sources for the document analysis. Findings: As a result of in-depth interviews and document analysis, the authors formed five main themes that describe perception of big data and learning organization concepts, methods and practices adopted in transforming process, usage areas of big data in organization and how the sample organization uses big data as a learning organization. The findings of this paper show that the sample organization is a learning IT firm that has used big data in transforming to learning organization and in maintaining the learning culture. Research limitations/implications: The findings contribute to literature as it is one of the first studies that examine the influence of big data on the transformation process of an IT firm to a learning organization. The findings reveal that IT firms benefit from the solutions of big data while learning. However, as the design of the research is single-case study, the findings may be specific to the sample organization. Future studies are required that examine the subject in different samples and by different research designs. Originality/value: In literature, research on how IT firms' managers and employees use big data in organizational learning process is limited. The authors expect that this paper will shed light on future research that examines the effect of big data on the learning process of the organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on ethnographic research with the devout members of Gülen movement displaced in the aftermath of the coup attempt in 2016, this paper studies the existential crisis these formerly "proper Turkish citizens" have been experiencing after being targeted by the Turkish State. This existential crisis, as argued in this paper, is significantly informative in understanding how privilege-based ethical self-making emanates fragility. The paper, thus, both parallels Sunni-Turkish-ness with whiteness and provides a reading of ethical self-making processes the Gülenists developed vis-à-vis the notions of critique and comfort. It first looks closer at the two Islamic revivalist movements, Milli Görüş as the predecessors of Turkey's ruling AKP (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi/Justice and Development Party) and the Gülen Movement, their rivalry over claiming the canon and the ways in which they differ in their notions of politics, political Islam, and critique. Although critique and self-critique are integral components of ethical self-formation processes, Gülen movement takes a somewhat inconsistent approach in implementing them to the heteronomous layers of self. Meaning, that while self-critique is an essential part of ethical self-making, critiquing the movement itself, the state, nation, and ancestors (as they were imagined) are not seen as ethical acts. It concludes with an analysis of how this discrepancy results in a sporadic distribution of ethical self-formation, leading to an existential crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Kurdish-populated Southeastern Turkey, oil theft carried out by Kurdish villagers who live near the oilfields in Diyarbakir are sometimes criminalized. But often, the matter is resolved by the state-owned oil company's engineers and technicians. This paper argues that rather than an exterior problem, oil theft and its management are central to the governance of the colonial and militarized petro-geographies of Turkey's Northern Kurdistan. The governance of kaçak oil, I argue is a technology of rule that is predicated in a moral economy of debt, reciprocity, negotiation, and collaboration that reproduces state territoriality and sovereignty. Yet the relations around oil and oil infrastructures, not only operate as technologies of governance, but also become the means through which Kurdish villagers reappropriate such infrastructures through acts of misuse and sabotage, which in turn, expose the fragility of state power. In arguing so, this paper situates kaçak oil as a distinctively political commodity whose management both reinstates the contours of the sovereign state and proper citizenship as well as a site where Kurdish actors redefine the limits of colonial state power by refusing the relations of indebtedness imposed by a violently benevolent state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of motivational interviewing based on the trans‐theoretical model promoting physical activity in older adults. Methods: A randomized controlled trial study was conducted with 117 older adults (intervention group: 58, and control group: 59) between April and November 2019. The data were collected via a questionnaire, trans‐theoretical model scales, the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly, the Katz Activities of Daily Living scale and a pedometer. The 24‐week intervention consisted of regular motivational interviewing. The control group received usual care at the family health centre. Results: Following the intervention, the Intervention Group showed significant improvements Exercise Processes of Change Scale, Exercise Self‐Efficacy Scale and Perceived Benefits of the Decisional Balance Scale for Exercise. There was a significant difference between the groups in terms of stages of change. In the Intervention Group, 81.5% were in the contemplation stage in the pre‐test, while in the post‐test, 70.4% had transitioned to the action stage. In contrast, in the control group, 62.5% were in the contemplation stage initially, but in the post‐test, only 9.3% had reached the action stage. The mean number of step counts increased significantly in favour of the Intervention Group, as did the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly total score. Conclusion: The trial indicated that after the trans‐theoretical model‐based motivational interviewing, the stages of change among the older adults improved, as did their exercise behaviours. It is recommended that the trans‐theoretical model and motivational interviewing be used by nurses to improve healthy lifestyle stage behaviours in older adults. Summary statement: What is already known about this topic? Physical immobility ranks fourth among the leading risk factors for mortality globally.Older adults constitute the age group which leads the most sedentary life in society and is most affected by physical inactivity.In Turkey, one out of every two people undertakes insufficient physical activity, and this rate increases with advancing age. What this paper adds? Nurse‐led motivational interviewing based on the trans‐theoretical model was effective in increasing the physical activity levels of the older adults. The implications of this paper: It is recommended that the trans‐theoretical model and motivational interviewing should be used by nurses to improve healthy lifestyle behaviours in older adults.It is recommended that studies be conducted to assess the effectiveness of interventions aimed at promoting physical activity in older adults via both qualitative and quantitative methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This work aims to evaluate the relationship between the fear of hypoglycaemia, treatment adherence, and the quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and its determinants. Methods: This descriptive and cross‐sectional study sample recruited 1060 T2DM outpatients in a health centre between January and July 2022. The Hypoglycemia Fear Survey (HFS), Type 2 DM Treatment Patient Compliance Scale, and the 5‐Level EuroQol 5‐Dimension (EQ‐5D‐5L) were used for data collection. Results: There was a positive correlation between age, duration of T2DM, and the scores obtained from the HFS and its subscales (p < 0.001). There was a positive, moderate correlation between the total HFS score and the TCS (p < 0.001). There was a negative correlation between the scores obtained from the HFS and the EQ‐5D‐5L (p < 0.001). The multiple regression analysis showed that the quality of life scores of the patients were significantly predicted by hypoglycaemia fear, duration of T2DM diagnosis, and age. (F = 91.691, p < 0.001). Hypoglycaemia fear, duration of T2DM diagnosis, and age explained 38.1% of the quality of life of patients. Conclusion: We determined that the increase in hypoglycaemia fear resulted in a decrease in treatment adherence. Besides, hypoglycaemia fear increased with increasing age and duration of T2DM diagnosis. Summary statement: What is already known about this topic? In a limited literature, it has been reported that patients with diabetes experience hypoglycaemia fear. However, almost all of these studies focus on the hypoglycaemia fear in type 1 diabetes mellitus patients. What this paper adds? There was a positive correlation between the level of treatment adherence and hypoglycaemia fear in patients with T2DM. It was observed that adherence with treatment declined because of the increased fear of hypoglycaemia in patients with T2DM.Hypoglycaemia fear increased with increasing age and duration of T2DM diagnosis.Hypoglycaemia fear, duration of T2DM diagnosis, and age explained 38.1% of the quality of life scores of patients. The implications of this paper: This study reveals a new perspective on hypoglycaemia fear, treatment adherence, and the quality of life scores in patients with T2DM and its determinants.In nursing practice, it was determined that it is important to control hypoglycaemia fears to increase the treatment adherence and quality of life of T2DM patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]