In this study, alternative solution of Kayraktepe Dam is investigated. Kayraktepe Dam was planned more than 30 years ago, but due to various reasons the construction could not be realized. In this study, an alternative feasible formulation was developed. Former Kayraktepe Dam was planned for multiple objectives: flood control, energy generation and water supply for irrigation. The newly developed formulation was designed to meet these objects as well.

Indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films were formed on glass substrates by sol-gel method. Coating sols were prepared using indium chloride tetrahydrate (InCl3&bull / 4H2O) and tin-chloride pentahydrate (SnCl4&bull / 5H2O) stabilized in organic solvents (acetylacetone and ethanol). First attempt was to synthesize ITO thin films using standard/unmodified coating sols. The effect of calcination treatment in air (300 &ndash / 600 &deg / C) and number of coating layer(s) (1, 4, 7 or 10) on optoelectronic properties (electrical conductivity and optical transparency), crystal structure and microstructure of ITO thin films were investigated. In addition, single-layer ITO thin films with optoelectronic properties comparable to multi-layered films were prepared by employing organically modified coating sols. Oxalic acid dihydrate (OAD) &ndash / a drying/microstructure control agent&ndash / addition to standard sol formulation was achieved. The rationale was to improve the optoelectronic properties of ITO films through enhancement in microstructure and chemical characteristics upon OAD addition. The effects of OAD content in the sol formulation and post-coating calcination treatment on electrical/optical properties of ITO films have been reported. Finally, the effects of post coating drying temperature (100 &ndash / 200 &deg / C) and time (10 &ndash / 60 min) on optoelectronic and microstructural properties of OAD-modified ITO thin films were discussed. Thin films have been characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD),x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and four-point probe measurement techniques. It was shown that film formation efficiency, surface coverage and homogeneity were all enhanced with OAD addition. OAD modification also leads to a significant improvement in electrical conductivity without affecting the film thickness (45&plusmn / 3 nm). Highly transparent (98 % transmittance in visible region) ITO thin films with a sheet resistance as low as 3.8&plusmn / 0.4 k&Omega / /sqr have been obtained by employing coating sols with optimized OAD amount (0.75 M). The optimum post-coating drying temperature (100 &deg / C) and drying time (10 min) was also determined for 0.75 M OAD-modified ITO thin films.

In this thesis, methods used at present in occupational health and safety management are analyzed and a model safety management system is developed. History, development and recent occupational safety regulations in the United States of America and European Union are introduced to give a sight on this subject in developed countries. The suggested model is evaluated with work accident data taken from a company and hazard and risk analysis methods are used to investigate these accidents. Preventive measures to eliminate and reduce the consequences of these accidents are recommended. Finally a model safety management system which can be used in all types of industry is developed.

A collection of hardware weightless Boolean elements has been developed. These form fundamental building blocks which have particular pertinence to the field of weightless neural networks. They have also been shown to have merit in their own right for the design of robust architectures. A major element of this is a collection of weightless Boolean sum and threshold techniques. These are fundamental building blocks which can be used in weightless architectures particularly within the field of weightless neural networks. Included in these is the implementation of L-max also known as N point thresholding. These elements have been applied to design a Boolean weightless hardware version of Austin’s ADAM neural network. ADAM is further enhanced by the addition of a new learning paradigm, that of non-Hebbian Learning. This new method concentrates on the association of ‘dis-similarity’, believing this is as important as areas of similarity. Image processing using hardware weightless neural networks is investigated through simulation of digital filters using a Type 1 Neuroram neuro-filter. Simulations have been performed using MATLAB to compare the results to a conventional median filter. Type 1 Neuroram has been tested on an extended collection of noise types. The importance of the threshold has been examined and the effect of cascading both types of filters was examined. This research has led to the development of several novel weightless hardware elements that can be applied to image processing. These patented elements include a weightless thermocoder and two weightless median filters. These novel robust high speed weightless filters have been compared with conventional median filters. The robustness of these architectures has been investigated when subjected to accelerated ground based generated neutron radiation simulating the atmospheric radiation spectrum experienced at commercial avionic altitudes. A trial investigating the resilience of weightless hardware Boolean elements in comparison to standard weighted arithmetic logic is detailed, examining the effects on the operation of the function when implemented on hardware experiencing high energy neutron bombardment induced single event effects. Further weightless Boolean elements are detailed which contribute to the development of a weightless implementation of the traditionally weighted self ordered map.

Child trafficking is a term used to define situations where children are forced, coerced or tricked to migrate for the purpose of their future exploitation. The issue of child trafficking is a well established UK policy concern initially emerging in the seventeenth century. The issue re-appeared in the late nineteenth century influenced by the social purity movement. This generated an infamous media exposé which led to parliamentary debates and legislative changes. Child trafficking resurfaced as a UK policy concern periodically in the twentieth century as children were once again forced to migrate. At the start of the twenty-first century child trafficking is back on the UK national policy agenda following pressure exerted by international anti-trafficking networks and Non Government Organisations. This study examines the social construction of risk in current and historical child trafficking UK policy discourses. Interviews with key informants in the ports safeguarding sector are discussed, together with an analysis of policy documents and primary historical sources. The construction of risk in these child trafficking discourses appear in a specific format which is explained by drawing on the conceptual lens of melodramatic tactics. This analysis reveals how narratives of child trafficking tend to have a stereotypical tragic child victim, who is forcibly separated from their family, and in need of protection from dangerous criminals who aim to deceive and exploit them. The employment of these melodramatic tactics is a central feature of current UK child trafficking policy discourses. Research studies which situate migrant children as competent social actors illuminate accounts of triumph, and these contrast with the outrage-driven protest drama which has current and enduring appeal in UK child trafficking policy discourses. The implications of these findings are discussed in the context of current UK child trafficking policy and recommendations about future research with children on the move are also proposed.

Despite the enormous body of literature studying the typing errors of adults, children's typing errors remain an understudied area. It is well known in the field of Child-Computer Interaction that children are not 'little adults'. This means findings regarding how adults make typing mistakes cannot simply be transferred into how children make typing errors, without first understanding the differences. To understand how children differ from adults in the way they make typing mistakes, typing data were gathered from both children and adults. It was important that the data collected from the contrasting participant groups were comparable. Various methods of collecting typing data from adults were reviewed for suitability with children. Several issues were identified that could create a bias towards the adults. To resolve these issues, new tools and methods were designed, such as a new phrase set, a new data collector and new computer experience questionnaires. Additionally, there was a lack of an analysis method of typing data suitable for use with both children and adults. A new categorisation method was defined based on typing errors made by both children and adults. This categorisation method was then adapted into a Java program, which dramatically reduced the time required to carry out typing categorisation. Finally, in a large study, typing data collected from 231 primary school children, aged between 7 and 10 years, and 229 undergraduate computing students were analysed. Grouping the typing errors according to the context in which they occurred allowed for a much more detailed analysis than was possible with error rates. The analysis showed children have a set of errors they made frequently that adults rarely made. These errors that are specific to children suggest that differences exist between the ways the two groups make typing errors. This finding means that children's typing errors should be studied in their own right.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of muscle fatigue on shooting accuracy in male handball players. Sixteen elite young male handball players (age: 17.12&plusmn / 1.74 year / height: 185.26&plusmn / 7.17 / body mass: 78.93&plusmn / 11.07) volunteered to participate in the study. The study composed of laboratory and field test sessions. In the laboratory test, maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) obtained from treadmill running test, blood lactate concentration, heart rate monitoring at resting and every 3 minutes during running were measured. Running speed equal to 75% speed at VO2max values of participants was used as initial velocity for 30-15 intermittent fitness test (30-15IFT). In the field tests, after determined the optimum shooting velocity of each participant, they shots to each targets placed at the four corner of the handball goal 4 times, totally 16 times. Blood lactate concentration was measured from the earlobe of participant who completed shooting to target test session. Then, 30-15IFT was applied as fatigue protocol and at the end of the test, blood lactate concentration was measured again and participant repeated shooting to target test session immediately after fatigue protocol. During all shooting procedures, acceleration of wrist and speed of ball were recorded. Blood lactate concentration over 8mmol/L, v 90% of HRmax, respiratory exchange ratio&gt / 1 and exhaustion of participant accepted ending criteria for the tests. As a result, no significant differences were found between pre-fatigue and post-fatigue protocols in terms of accurate and inaccurate shots. Shooting consistency, ball speed, response time, X, Y, Z axis of wrist acceleration variables highly correlated each other in terms of shooting accuracy both in pre and post fatigue conditions. Shooting consistency has an effect on accurate shots. Ball velocity has effect on inaccurate shots in pre-fatigue condition. However, none of variable has effect on accurate and inaccurate shots in post-fatigue conditions. In pre-fatigue conditions, right to left motion of wrist (X axis) was the most important motion, back to forward motion (y axis) was became more important in post fatigue condition.

Interaction of human-induced factors with natural hazards results in diverse uncertainties and risks among the built environment. Impacts of disaster events experienced in Turkey have revealed the vulnerability of the social, economic, and physical environments along with the various insufficiencies of awareness, legislation, practice and building inspection concepts. The shift towards risk-based disasters policy among the international agenda influences the national disaster policies and efforts. Parallel to this, it is expected from practicing architects to enhance their capacities through disaster risk-based professional training programs in order to develop disaster resilient built environments. Building Inspection System (BIS) is one of the important components of risk reduction approach which ensures the safety of built environment and occupants. The effective BIS has important gaps and deficiencies within the administrative, legal, and technical structures which results in failure of building production process in Turkey. Among the other problems, the main concern related to the ongoing BIS is its fragmented and missing risk-based understanding. The critical analysis indicates the deficient points of administrative and technical issues within the BIS conducted with the certification and professional training model which are not consistent with shifting comprehensive disasters policy and risk-based understanding in Turkey, and proposing a holistic and risk-based certification and training model for practicing architects in Turkey which focuses on disaster resilient built environment development through the comparison of some international best-practiced training model examples with Turkish context. The proposed professional training model has a three-step knowledge acquisition levels (awareness-detailed knowledge-advanced knowledge) which aims to approach to the architectural built environment problems, develop awareness, build-up knowledge and support practice through the holistic disaster risk reduction understanding, and in addition to attend on the complementary and supportive strategies (such as building and environment, building and material, structure and construction contexts) between related issues.

The aim of this thesis is to propose a safety management framework for construction companies. A literature review was performed to identify significant factors that would improve safety performance. Two management tools are used within the scope of this study: the balanced scorecard and quality function deployment (QFD). Strategic goals are established for each perspective of the balanced scorecard: financial and cultural, employee, process and learning and growth. Afterwards, a questionnaire was prepared using the QFD approach. The goals in the financial and cultural perspective were defined as the needs of the organization related to safety (&ldquo / customer requirements&rdquo / in the original QFD approach). The goals in the remaining perspectives formed the actions that the organization could do to achieve its needs (&ldquo / product how&rsquo / s&rdquo / in the original QFD). Results of the questionnaire were used to form the final strategic goals in balanced scorecard. Safety performance measures and initiatives were defined for the accomplishment of the goals in the balanced scorecard.

In this study, the hydrology and physical, chemical and biological variables of a shallow lake system including the Lakes Mogan and Eymir between 1997-2005 were evaluated. In Lake Eymir, a biomanipulation study was conducted between August, 1998 &ndash / December, 1999. Upon biomanipulation, Lake Eymir shifted to clearwater state with submerged vegetation domination during 2000-2003. However, in 2004, the lake shifted back to algae-dominated turbid state since the buffer mechanisms provided by submerged plants were absent. In the summer of 2005, fish kills were observed due to algal bloom. However, due to increasing hydraulic residence time in the lake, internal processes became more important for nutrients. Lake Mogan faces seasonal and interannual water level fluctuations. During the low water levels experienced in 2001 and 2005, which coincided with the high hydraulic residence times, the in-lake phosphorus amount was controlled by internal processes rather than external loading. Moreover, results revealed that hydrology and submerged plants were important in the ecology of Lake Mogan. Furthermore, the relationship between the phytoplankton, zooplankton and the environment in Lakes Eymir and Mogan, which was predicted via Canonical Corresponding Analysis, revealed that nutrients and water transparency were both important for plankton communities. Both the top-down and bottom up effects were valid in Lake Eymir, while only the bottom-up effect and submerged plants were important for Lake Mogan. Finally, the present study provided a good example for the submerged plant dominated clearwater state triggered by biomanipulation, and the impact of hydrology on the ecology of shallow lakes.