discrete parts manufacturing industries. We are motivated by the production environment of Roketsan Missiles Industries Incorporation, operating at Turkish defense industry. Our objective is to minimize the total weighted completion times of the jobs in the system. We formulate the problem as a mixed integer linear program and find that our model could find optimal solutions only to small sized problem instances. For medium and large sized problem instances, we develop heuristic algorithms with high quality approximate solutions in reasonable solution time. Our proposed heuristic algorithm has hierarchical approach and benefits from optimization models and priority rules. We improve the heuristic method via best move with non-blocking strategy and design several experiments to test the performances. Our computational results have revealed that proposed heuristic algorithm can find high quality solutions to large sized instances very quickly.

This thesis focuses on the Ottoman buildings with a T-shaped plan and their meanings with respect to the central and centrifugal tendencies in the Ottoman context in the fourteenth, fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. The emergence of the multi-functional buildings of the T-type in the Ottoman realm is simultaneous with the burgeoning of a state in the early Ottoman frontier milieu, which is profoundly intermingled with the notion of gaza / whereas the demise of the use of the T-plan is coincident with the transformation of the Ottoman State into an empire. The tension between the centralization of the Ottoman State and the peripheral forces counteracting it is operative in the social as well as territorial repercussions inherent in the network of T-type patronage. In this respect, the thesis concentrates on the network engendered by the variations in the layouts of these buildings vis-&agrave / vis their geographical distribution and the identity of their patrons. Doing so, it is aimed not only to trace the claims to power expressed in diverse modes, but also to unveil the motive of the changes in the plan scheme and its halt in the sixteenth century.

This thesis introduces the traditional dwellings in Karacasu within the context of traditional residential architecture in Anatolia / and investigates their architectural and social characteristics. Karacasu is selected as a case-study for its preserved vernacular architecture, which dates back to the end of the 18th century and the 19th century. The architectural and social investigation of the traditional dwellings of Karacasu is based on studying the dwellings as residential and social unit. The spatial and social characteristics of the individual cases that are chosen from the historical domestic context of Karacasu are defined and discussed in reference to the existing conditions and also the changes and alterations that took place according to the functional necessities. These dwellings had social, functional and spatial changes as a result of the changing conditions and the requirements of modern life.

A multi-layered analysis on the morphological development of Ephesus in relation to the Temple of Artemis and an investigative wandering through the streets of this city in the era of Roman Empire highlights this thesis characterized by a consistent search for the significance of the notion of urban armature. From the standpoint of those who lived at that time, special attention is directed toward the colonnaded avenues as well as to their formal and social impacts within the city fabric. The thesis re-reads Ephesus within two main parts / first the urban form in relation to the topographical provision and sacred landscape provided by the site itself / and then from the ground level through a walking trip of the city as it appeared in the second century A.D. Crucial to this visual experience is the semantic quality of the environment at a collective level since the meaning of the experience would be useless without considering the meaning of signs and symbols within the environment. Thus, bounding ancient society and urban space at the phenomenological level, the small trip starts at the harbor and concludes at the Temple of Artemis, the irrefutable symbol of Ephesus and the most revered shrine in Asia Minor.

As competition in the business environment increases, knowledge management becomes a critical success factor. Firms should be able to gather, analyze and reuse knowledge to support their strategic decisions. Construction firms should also analyze information in hand (completed and on going project data) and make it a part of their learning mechanism. Post-project appraisal is an organizational learning mechanism aiming to form an organizational memory. Organizational memory is a remedy for organizational amnesia, which is a very common problem in the construction industry due to the project-specific nature of the industry and lack of systematic ways to manage knowledge. Particularly, information about risks and their consequences is an important piece of knowledge that the firms should refer to in the forthcoming projects in order not to do the same mistakes. v Risk management comprises of risk identification, analysis and formulation of risk response strategy to maintain an optimum risk-return structure in a project. It is agreed upon by many researchers that, although risk management is accepted as one of the critical success factors for construction projects, project participants generally do not have sufficient knowledge pertinent to risk management concept and the number of tools which facilitate the risk management process is rather low. Typically, companies carry out a risk assessment exercise at the start of a project and the obtained risk ratings are used to determine contingency. However, after the project is over, a final assessment is not usually carried out. The main idea in this study is that, in order to improve the risk assessment process in forthcoming projects, risk assessment should be a part of post-project appraisal. Risk events that actually happened may be classified according to their sources and impacts (monetary/nonmonetary) as well as the effectiveness of utilized response strategies. Consequently, companies may learn from what had happened in previous projects and prepare more realistic risk management plans in the future. The major objective of this thesis is to develop a project risk management information model for risk assessment using historical data in order to improve risk assessment process in forthcoming projects. The framework is modeled to ensure information continuity throughout the project life cycle by storing and reusing project information that resides in risk event databases. The applicability of the developed database system is tested on a real construction project and potential benefits are discussed.

High turnover rate of employees in construction cause companies in the sector struggle against knowledge loss. Due to the high competition in the market, companies differentiate by keeping and increasing their intellectual capital generally acknowledged as the main source of competitive advantage. Knowledge Management (KM) is defined as any process or practice of creating, acquiring, capturing, sharing, and using knowledge, wherever it resides, to increase learning and performance by sustaining organisational knowledge. This study investigates the awareness of Knowledge Management (KM), applicability of KM tools and the role of intellectual capital assets to propose a roadmap for companies in the Turkish construction industry. For this purpose, the study employs a combination of a detailed literature survey, interviews with ten leading medium large-scale Turkish construction companies, and the analysis of previous KM research and tools. Results are analysed, possible barriers are determined, benefits are identified, KM techniques are discussed in terms of their applicability and a four-staged model framework is developed and discussed in order to assist the construction firms in KM.

This thesis focuses on the late period mosques of architect Sinan in terms of their structural systems, the relation with their environment, and the identities of their patrons. The links amongst the role of the patron, his or her status in the state, materials used in the mosques, location choice and the spatial distribution of the mosques are researched on the bases of these six late period mosques of Sinan. In this perspective, the social background of the Ottoman Empire in the sixteenth century is the first focal point of the thesis. The relations between the decadence of the institutions, the political conditions of the Ottoman Empire and the architectural production during the last quarter of the sixteenth century are examined in the second chapter of this thesis. In the third chapter these six late period mosques as the sampling case are described in detail and evaluated in terms of their bearing systems, construction materials, the site features and the relation with their patrons. Though, being one of the favorite subjects in the Ottoman architectural history, there are many research and interpretations on Sinan&amp / #8217 / s architectural style, works on late period mosques are limited and not specifically focused. In the fourth chapter of the study these limited interpretations are brought together and evaluated in the light of the background information supplied in the previous chapter of the thesis. In this framework, the aim of this study is not only to assess the late period works of Sinan as a tool to trace his architectural process, but also to unveil the relations with the identities of the patrons and locational and structural features of the mosques.

This study aims to analyze the istanbul Hilton, the izmir Grand Efes and the Grand Ankara Hotels, which are owned by the Pension Fund, during the 1950-1980 period that witnessed the formation process of modern tourism and tourism architecture in Turkey. As the first five-star hotels of their cities, these buildings provide the possibility of tracing the social transformation processes at the second half of the 20th century beyond their architectural properties that reflect and affect the zeitgeist of the period. In this manner, besides the architectural formation of the buildings, this thesis also aims to examine the participation of the hotels in social life and the relations of architecture with the changing city life and tourism. Moreover, this thesis offers historical perspectives about tourism architecture, about which adequate researches have not been provided yet. Chronologically, the first chapter formulates a general introduction. The second chapter issues the 1950s&amp / #8217 / Turkey and the istanbul Hilton Hotel. The third chapter issues the 1960s&amp / #8217 / Turkey and the izmir Efes Hotel and the Grand Ankara Hotels. The fourth chapter examines the critique of tourism that developed in the 1970s&amp / #8217 / social and political medium, and the last chapter is a general conclusion

Building cost indices are widely used in construction industry to measure the rate of change of building costs as a combination of labor and material costs. Cost index forecast is crucial for the two main parties of construction industry, contactor, and the client. Forecast information is used to increase the accuracy of estimate for the project cost to evaluate the bid price. The aim of this study is to develop time series models to forecast building cost indices in Turkey and United States. The models developed are compared with regression analysis and simple averaging models in terms of predictive accuracy. As a result of this study, time series models are selected as the most accurate models in predicting cost indices for both Turkey and United States. Future values of building cost indices can be predicted in adequate precision using time series models. This useful information can be used in tender process in estimation of project costs, which is one of the critical factors affecting the overall success of a construction project. Better cost estimates shall enable contractors to produce cash flow forecasts more acurately. Furthermore accurate prediction of future prices is very useful for owners in budget allocations / moreover can help investors to evaluate project alternatives adequately.

Partnering is in the agenda of many construction companies worldwide as it is an effective strategy that may increase competitiveness of partner companies and reduce risks retained by each party. In order for partnering to reach its expected benefits, partner selection is of vital importance. Similarly, there are some critical success factors (CSF) that should be taken into account by the parties in order to maintain a successful partnership throughout its lifecycle. The aim of this thesis is identification of factors that affect the partner selection process of the Turkish contractors as well as CSFs that are found important by the Turkish contractors. For this purpose, interviews are carried out with experts and a questionnaire is designed to collect necessary statistical data regarding the CSFs. The number of experts who answered the questionnaire is 49. Statistical analysis is conducted to reveal the perception of contractors about partnering in the Turkish construction industry. One of the findings is that Turkish contractors prefer establishing short-term partnerships in the form of project-based joint ventures rather than long-term strategic alliances. Results demonstrate that the most important factors while selecting the partners are experience and image of the company. Mutual trust between the parties, management support and commitment to win-win attitude are identified as the most important CSFs by the Turkish contractors. Finally, the results of the questionnaire are compared with those from other countries and certain strategies are proposed to practitioners for maximizing success of partnerships.