The thesis mainly scrutinizes the evolution of European Social Dimension from the early period of the European integration to the Lisbon Summit of 2000 and the formation of the draft EU Constitution in 2003. While the focus is on the changing role of social policy at the European Union level during the period of welfare state transformation, the thesis tries to lay down the normative and discursive linkages constructed between the concepts of European Social Model and the Social Market Economy. Subsequent to the inquiry made into the theoretical foundations of the Social Market Economy and its practice in Germany, the thesis discusses how diverse European actors employ the concept, which is ambiguous in nature, as a comprehensive framework within which a European political identity that may be constructed around European Social Model could be grounded.

The main aim of this thesis is to examine the perspectives of the European public opinion on the issue of Turkish membership to the EU. That way the question whether Turkish accession can be managed in a similar way to that of other enlargements will be better enlightened. This thesis will examine how the general public perspective is shaped or changed in the post Helsinki era. In order to determine the general tendencies of public opinion of EU, on Turkey&rsquo / s accession / three approaches on the issue, British, French and German perspectives, as sample cases will be studied. In order to fully comprehend the subject, arguments and reasons cited against or for Turkish membership in various political parties/campaigns&rsquo / and non-governmental organizations, their reflections in written and visual media and recent opinion polls will be elaborated and compared as well as the official point of view on the matter.

This thesis investigates the dynamics behind the urbanisation processes in ex-rural areas where agricultural economy had collapsed. Being aware of local values marketable in tourism, applying tourism as an agent of change is a pervasive vision. This approach relies on strategies that highlight local resources to compete in the tourism market by making use of technical means of globalisation. It is expected that the process diversifies local economies in order to bring welfare to the entire local community. To this end, a great functional role is attributed to local NGOs (non-governmental organisations) and local governments on behalf of local democracy. Thus, a power process begins in the place subjected to tourism development. The actors in this power process can be effective at different scales like local, national and supra-national. This thesis maintains that the transformation in rural areas cannot be kept distinct from the political processes that result in the transformation of cities. Both transformations endeavour to solve system crises. The transformation in rural areas should be accepted as a process of class strategy that has both winners and losers itself. For this purpose, this thesis investigated the local agents of this class strategy, whereas it initiates the capital accumulation process in cities by the agents of either state apparatuses or market mechanisms. This investigation aims at the role of local non-governmental organisations and local governments in this process. An Aegean town which faced a rapid transformation along with tourism development is selected for the case study because the development was known as an autonomous local movement that was not based on a tourism development plan. The case study was based on qualitative data from deep-interviews with local community members and the actors of tourism development. According to the findings of the study, entrepreneurs that belong to mid-classes of big cities initiated and conducted the development process. These actors, who had more financial means and cultural capital than the local community, represented themselves and acted through local NGOs / then, they examined power in order to construct rationalities of the development in their own favour. These rationalities which were beyond capacities of local people did not result in participation of local people in the development process. Local people only affected the process of decision-making through property holdings. Consequently, capital accumulation process of this mid-class, the main actors of the development, was accelerated because local people sold or rented out their properties in the real estate market developed by the tourism. On the other hand, the local government formed a counter power striving to attract both national and supra-national big capital to the town in the process.

This is an attempt to analyze the evaluation criteria of tactual qualities on handheld product experiences by users. The study was conducted with the users selected from different work groups and different ages for exploring the meanings which are attributed to these tactual qualities by them. The thesis is expected to shed a light in the design studies by designers. After identifying the products and the participants, the tactual experiences were analyzed throughout the study to find out the keywords which are used to describe the tactual qualities through the experience. The evaluation criteria and the relationships between these criteria are expected to use as guidance. The guidance of these keywords, the approaches of the users to the tactual qualities tried to be clarified in order to acquire data for the design processes. The results showed that the tactual qualities are qualities which are mentioned by the participants. This means that the participants are aware of the tactual qualities. On the other hand, it was seen that expressing the emotional effects of the tactual qualities with words is hard for users. However, expressing the emotional effects is hard for users / some relations between the tactual qualities and between other qualities are conducted.

This thesis seeks to examine the &lsquo / parties of power&rsquo / in the Russian Federation between 1991 and 2008. The thesis also discusses the political party system and political party development in post-Soviet Russia. The thesis focuses mainly on the United Russia party and compares it with the former &lsquo / parties of power&rsquo / in the Russian Federation. The main argument of the thesis is that as compared to the previous &lsquo / parties of power&rsquo / , which were affiliated mainly with the prime ministers without achieving party consolidation, the United Russia party has been successful in consolidating its party development and achieved a central status in the Russian political system. The thesis has seven chapters. The introductory first chapter is followed by the second chapter that examines &lsquo / parties of power&rsquo / in post-Soviet Russia, along with the political party system and the stages of political party development in the Russian Federation. The third chapter explores Russia&rsquo / s Choice party. The fourth chapter deals with Our Home Is Russia party. The fifth chapter focuses on the United Russia party. The sixth chapter discusses the new role of the United Russia in Russian political system after 2007 State Duma elections. The last chapter is the conclusion of the thesis.

In this study, the particular identification process of Gypsiness is discussed on the basis of socio-economic conditions. Certain occupations, i.e. scrap-dealing, belly-dancing and musicianship are selected in the case of Gypsy/Roma community from Tepecik, Izmir as key markers of identity. Whether there is an organic relation between the long lasting occupational positions of Gypsy/Roma and their self-identity perception and if so, how it is perceived by each occupational category is considered as significant in the analysis of Gypsiness and its diverse interpretations. In addition to the discussion of identity with references to certain socio-economic conditions, cultural and social codes significant in identification are discussed. Particular perceptions towards the Kurdish group, the Gorgio group, as well as the &quot / Gypsy&quot / group are also considered as key markers in identity formation process of Gypsy/Roma. In this context, a field study is conducted in Tepecik, Tenekeli neighborhood using in-depth interviews.

In today&rsquo / s cities, surveillance become a more common and internalized tool for control that spreads to everyday life with the assistance of new technologies. Numerous surveillance techniques for security reasons such as electronic surveillance on computers or phones, cameras in public and private spaces, fingerprint and eye scans at doors, investigations, credit cards, travel cards become an ordinary part of a modern individual. The study&rsquo / s point of departure is the question of whether people willingly accept being surveilled for their security or not, in Turkey context. The main argument however is the relation between surveillance-security phenomena and women. It is aimed to question how space, security and surveillance are gendered, whether surveillance increases women&rsquo / s security or not and whether women perceive surveillance as a beneficial tool for their everyday life security. The awareness of women on surveillance techniques, the scale of surveillance, the purpose of it and the relation of it with power mechanisms are also other debated issues. The argument is developed on security and surveillance perceptions of single living and employed women in Istanbul. The consequences of surveillance on public space, the cities in neo-liberal era and the policies that magnify fear and threat and as a result, the inescapable potential of surveillance and spatial segregation are also other subjects matter.

The main aim of this thesis is to assess the institutional arrangements shaped with a perspective of &ldquo / good governance&rdquo / in provision of urban services with reference to the shift of the World Bank&rsquo / s approach to the problem of poverty after 1990s. In spite of the change in the World Bank&rsquo / s perspective, there remain significant problems related with the expected reflection of these institutional arrangements to the practice through certain process and stages of the implemented projects. Regarding this fact, thesis seeks to determine not only the reasons of these problems but also ways for solving them to attain effective provision of urban services. In this thesis, also, as an institutional comparative assessment, some implemented service projects of the World Bank in Turkey are examined by stressing on the institutional dimension of the project objectives. At last, thesis makes suggestions about the unsuccessful dimensions and reveals the roles of institutions in the achievement of projects by using the institutional assessment method for the institutions whose institutional capacity has been developed or the institutions created within the World Bank projects implemented in Turkey. This will be achieved by the evaluations on projects with the outputs of institutional assessment and the research on factors for the achievement of the projects. The results obtained with this thesis study are noteworthy for the evaluation with a new perspective of the projects implemented in Turkey not only by the World Bank but also by other international institutions quite increased in number in recent years.

This thesis aims to search the contribution of strategic spatial planning to the establishment of democratic governance structures. Within this aim / it discusses strategic spatial planning with respect to its procedural and organizational characteristics and the notion of governance with respect to the issue of participatory democracy. Additionally / it argues that strategic spatial planning includes some conditions including that enhance the development of democratic governance. In doing these / it both covers a theoretical framework and a case study. In the theoretical framework / it encompasses the traditional and contemporary planning approaches in a comparative way and it studies the circumstances that have triggered the emergence of contemporary planning approaches by concentrating on the notions of democracy, participation and dialogue. The theoretical part also discusses the democracy models with respect to different participation patterns, the characteristics of strategic planning and different models of governance. Within these issues / on the theoretical ground, the study presents the components of strategic spatial planning, participation, dialogue and action which enhance the emergence of democratic governance mechanisms. In the case study part / Ankara Strategic Spatial Planning Experience is presented by an insider&rsquo / s point of view by extracting the theory from within the practice. The case study assesses each phase of the planning process within a consideration of the notions of participation, dialogue and action and in the context of organizational structure, dialogical process and action plans. In addition to all / this study embraces action research approach since it has been the research methodology implemented in the case which has fostered the formation of democratic governance mechanisms. The study assesses strategic spatial planning as an interactive approach which challenges participatory democracy while contributing to the emerging governance structures in space. The theoretical research and the case study analysis shows that strategic spatial planning approach enhances the establishment of democratic organizational structures, dialogical processes and inter-institutional relations. Also, the application of a strategic spatial planning approach in Ankara Strategic Spatial Planning Process has triggered cooperation among different governmental and sectoral levels and different spatial scales. Additionally, it has reinforced the construction of social and political capacities of stakeholders. The participatory practice that strategic spatial planning has yielded has had an integrative effect for the organizational structure in space. In conclusion, as the result of broad participation and establishment of dialogical processes, Ankara strategic spatial planning process served as an integrating device for the development of inter-sectoral and inter-institutional relations within dialogue and collaboration among actors. Thereby, as a result of the theoretical research and the case study it is concluded that strategic spatial planning approaches are likely to foster the establishment of democratic governance structures. However / there are some local circumstances that may affect the strategic spatial planning processes to develop an effective organizational structure. The local circumstances including lack of participation culture, active citizenry, the bureaucratic structure, the existing political structure in the locality are some significant factors that affect the process. Hence / this thesis argues that strategic spatial planning processes embrace prominent conditions including / participation, dialogue and action that have an important affect on the formation of democratic governance structures. Nevertheless, the local circumstances have an important weight on the process and its expected results.

The &Ccedil / ukurova Region (Cilicia) is an alluvial plain enriched by the rivers of Seyhan and Ceyhan, surrounded by the Taurus mountain range in the North and West and the Amanos Mountains in the east / and stretching from the skirts of the Bolkar-Aladag massif to Mediterranean Sea at its southern most extension. The region is thus an inaccessible marginal zone except only reachable through several mountains passes from the Anatolian Plateau or from the sea through the harbour towns. The research subject of this thesis is to evaluate the region and the changes in the settlement pattern, covering the time period from the Middle Bronze Age (ca. 1900-1650 B.C.) to the end of Late Bronze Age (ca. 1200 B.C.) by using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to analyse archaeological survey data. Data sets are collected from old and recent archaeological surveys and spatially analysed under a set of parameters (density and proximity) in order to define the habitation patterns throughout the mentioned time periods. An effort was made to challenge the theory that settlement pattern changes were resulted from the impact of the Imperial Hittite policy in the LBA, and some alternative suggestions are presented.