The purpose of the study were / to compare the effects of tennis specific and general rhythm training on the forehand consistency performance, rhythmic competence, tennis playing level and agility performance, and to examine the effects of different tempos on rhythmic competence of tennis players. 30 university students whose mean score of International Tennis Number (ITN) was 7.3 (SD=0.9) were divided randomly into three sub-groups: tennis group (TG), general rhythm training group (GRTG), and tennis-specific rhythm training group (TRTG). Measurement instruments were ITN, Agility Test, Rhythmic Competence Analysis Test (RCAT), and Untimed Consecutive Rally Test (UCRT). A Kruskal-Wallis Test was conducted to calculate possible differences between initial scores and to compare improvement scores of groups. A Mann-Whitney U Test was conducted to determine pairwise comparisons of groups for improvement scores and to analyze RCAT scores for different tempos. Results revealed that participants in both rhythm training groups (GRTG and TRTG) improved their forehand consistency performance and rhythmic competence significantly after training period. Results for the improvement scores indicated that there was significant difference in UCRT (3m) between TRTG and TG and in RCAT (50) between both rhythm training groups and TG. On the other hand, participation to additional rhythm trainings was unable to differentiate tennis playing level and agility performance of groups. There was no significant difference between rhythm training groups for all parameters tested. Results also revealed that synchronization of participants&rsquo / movements with the external stimulus was more precise at fast tempo than at slow tempo.

This thesis explains Defense Policy Making process and its effects on weapons procurement in Turkey. Main focus will be on the institutions which shape, to various degrees, Turkey&rsquo / s defense policy and weapons procurement decisions. Thesis analyzes institutions like the National Defense Ministry, Council of Ministers, General Staff, Parliament and the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries, and places them in a historical context. Following a historical background, functions and authorities of these institutions are analyzed from a perspective of Constitutional Law. Actual conduct of the legal process, relations of institutions with each other, and their behavior are also examined. In order to demonstrate the Defense Policy Making and weapons procurement processes, case studies that reflect different possibilities of outcomes are highlighted.

This thesis analyses the foreign policy of Russia towards Iran during Vladimir Putin&rsquo / s presidency. This thesis examines energy, security and regional issues in relation to the cooperation between these two states. Contrary to the view that Russia&rsquo / s relation with Iran is an example of strategic partnership, this thesis argues that Russia does not consider Iran as a strategic partner due to her own global ambitions. Russia just seeks to keep Iran under her sphere of influence. In fact, Russia&rsquo / s is not willing to consider Iran as a strategic partner due to the differences in state structures and national interests of these states. This thesis has six chapters. The first chapter is the introductory chapter. The second chapter gives a historical background on Russian &ndash / Iranian relations until Vladimir Putin&rsquo / s rise to presidency in 2000. The third chapter discusses the role of energy, while the fourth chapter analyses the importance of security issues and their effects on the dynamics of &ldquo / cooperation&rdquo / between Russia and Iran. The fifth chapter discusses regional dimension of Russia&rsquo / s relations with Iran. Final chapter is the conclusion.

This thesis aims to explore the challenges of ICT industries to have access to financial sources in Turkey. The specific subject of analysis is the Turkish software industry. First, it is identified that the global course of the science and technology policies and economic developments are intertwined and they are the major determinants of the current situation of high-tech sectors and their finance all over the world. The importance of finance is based on its association with the innovativeness of high-tech firms. The financial commitment is crucial for firms to sustain innovative activities before revenue generation. Today there is a widely used mainstream model of financial growth cycle defining the sources of finance and the specific needs of high-tech firms along their growth paths. Second, the historical course of finance in Turkey are analyzed and milestones of science and technology policies as well as the development of ICT industries are briefly discussed in order to exhibit the underlying structure of the present issues of high-tech sectors&rsquo / finance in Turkey. Later, the growth cycle model is implemented for Turkey to analyze the potential of financial sources for Turkish software firms with relevant quantitative data. It is seen that the interest of available financial sources towards high-tech sectors is limited and unconcerned. In addition, an inquiry for the finance of the software industry is also done through the analysis of interviews performed with managers of software firms and several funding organizations. Instabilities and uncertainties of the Turkish economy, underdevelopment of a national strategy on software and the lack of interest of available financial sources towards software industry are the major handicaps for the growth of software firms and the industry as a whole. A selective national industrial strategy on software is crucial for the true allocation of financial resources towards software firms.

This thesis is concerned with extrapolating some central issues of the so-called Kurdish Question in the Republic of Turkey by applying political anthropological theory and methodologies. It attempts to guage the political identities of five Kurdish University students and understand their perspectives on what constitutes and propogates Kurdish political discontents in the Republic. The following research questions have been addressed: How is Turkey&amp / #8223 / s Kurdish question (K&uuml / rt Meselesi) perceived and defined by Kurdish, post-graduate university students from a university in Ankara? How have individual experiences shaped the participants&amp / #8223 / political identities? What are the relevant macro-level factors informing their political identities and their perceptions of the Kurdish question? For the sample group studied, the Kurdish identity has been found to be a highly political and socially stigmatized identity in Turkey. According to the respondents, the Kurdish identity (both group and personal) and its political overtures have developed in an ongoing dialect with an everchanging official Turkish nationalist doctrine that is executed through a state outfit whose legitimacy is anchored largely in the legacy of Mustafa Kemal Atat&uuml / rk. The Kurdish Question itself represents a broad range of issues. According to these university students, these issues are beginning to be addressed in line with attempts at political liberalisation and democratisation in the country that are a part of the EU-accession process as well as a product of developing education and an ever-enlightened population. Despite this, the respondents are hesitant to believe in positive political change for the Kurds in Turkey as much discussion of the &amp / #8222 / Kurdish Question&amp / #8223 / remains focused on the outlawed PKK and ongiing conflict in the South East of the country. Kurdish discontents may also be seen to present and call for the recognition of a historical narrative which is divergent from the official line of state, a narrative which remains highly taboo at state and society levels.

The present study aimed to test the Response Styles Theory with Turkish preadolescents. Therefore, two phases were followed. In thefirst phase, psychometric properties of Children&#039 / s Response Styles Questionnaire (CRSQ) were examined. In the second phase, the relationship of response styles and problem solving way of children to their depressive symptoms with respect to grade and gender was tested. The sample consisted of 599 children and preadolescents(299 females, 300 males) with a mean age of 11.77 (SD = 1.53), from 4th and 7th grade levels. In this study, Children&#039 / s Depression Inventory (Kovacs, 1980), Children&#039 / s Response Styles Questionnaire (Abela, Vanderbilt, &amp / Rochon, 2000), Children&#039 / s Action Tendency Scale (Deluty, 1979), and a demographic form were used. Results of the study demonstrated that 7.5 % of the children and preadolescents reported to have depressive symptoms. Seventh graders&#039 / scores were higher than fourth graders for depressive symptoms. there was not any gender difference in depressive symptoms. Seventh grade females had higher scores on the Rumination Subscale of Children&#039 / s Response Styles Questionnaire (CRSQ) than fourth grade females and seventh grade males. Fourth graders scored higher on the Distracting Subscale of CRSQ than seventh graders. Problem solving was not found to be mediating or moderating the relationship between response styles (rumination and distraction) and depressive symptoms. It is concluded that both response styles and problem solving independently contribute to depressive symptoms in preadolescents. Findings were discussed in the light of the literature.

Caspian region&#039 / s hydrocarbon deposits constitute one of the significant reserves in the world. This has caused a competition among state and non-state actors in exploiting these resources since 19th century. After the Soviet demise, the newly independent states embraced the economic gains made possible with the existence of these reserves. However oil production may have negative implications on environment, ecological balance and biodiversity if carried out in an uncontrolled manner. This study aims to identify these negative impacts and measures taken to control this process. Measures taken on national, regional and international levels are analyzed to find out the extent of their effectiveness in protecting the environment during oil operations. National legal frameworks of each littoral state, impacts of civil society organizations, regional and international legal frameworks and efforts of international organizations are evaluated. Since most of these improvements are relatively new with no viable outcome at hand, the process rather than the results is focused on. The application of time, holism and action-orientation parameters to these improvements to find out the environmental effectiveness of each shows that there is a preliminary burgeoning awareness in matters of environmental protection yielding to more effective efforts than before. Yet the economic gains remain too significant a temptation for the states in the region to be sacrificed. In the cases where measures taken to protect the environment undermine these economic gains, environmental effectiveness is forsaken.

Focus of this thesis will be on the network and cluster strategies within and between technology-intensive organizations/firms and how to manage those networks in order to improve their outcome in the context of building or enhancing innovative advances, technological capabilities and/or competitiveness. World today is characterized by rapid transformations in all aspects of human&rsquo / s life where innovation, technological change and technological progress play the most significant role. Therefore, technology-intensive organizations by engaging in strategic alliances, clusters and networks tend to extract maximum benefits i.e. to enable entry into the international markets and to develop core competences. Even though clusters have become a highly popular strategy, many of them fail to realize their intended goals. Thus, this thesis will attempt to explore why choosing a clustering strategy can be beneficial, as well as to provide better understanding of such cooperation and requirements for success. Main focus will be on investigating if there are inter-firm and firm-university linkages among the actors located in a particular techno-park, and to diagnose if the close proximity contributed and eased development of the networks among the firms settled in the METU Techno-park and Bilkent Cyber-park. Results of the analysis showed certain extent of firm-university relationships and low level of inter-firm interactions. This further implied necessity of the policy interventions for enhancement of those interactions if the studied techno-parks are to become successful in the sense of the theoretical techno-park model, and if the tenant firms are to extract maximum benefits associated with cluster concept in theory.

The critical tradition in International Relations Theory has placed great emphasis on the metaphysical nature of sovereignty, the concept assumed to be pivotal to the modern states system. The present study offers an explanation for the metaphysics that characterizes the prevailing notion of sovereignty via insights provided by Bataille. The study focuses on the ontological implications to which Bataille&rsquo / s formulation of sovereignty gives rise. Underlying this endeavor is to probe into the ways in which these implications enrich our understanding of sovereignty. One of the most important achievements of Bataille&rsquo / s approach to sovereignty is that it does not treat sovereignty as merely an administrative and legal issue. This achievement is highly critical in the sense that it enables us to realize the metaphysical dimension of sovereignty. This metaphysics has an important potential to render the problematic points in sovereignty visible. Through the analysis of these points, this study elaborates on the historical development of political authority and state sovereignty. Taking the anthropological data provided by Bataille into account the study claims that with the emergence of modernity, there came into existence a new metaphysical representation of sovereignty.

This thesis attempts to provide a critical perspective on international efforts to prevent the financing of terrorism. The thesis argues that the fight against the financing of terrorism is a vital component of counter terrorism strategies and underlines the significance of international organizations in combating terrorist financing. The thesis examines the fund raising and movement activities of terrorist groups. Moreover, it analyzes the efforts of international organizations to combat terrorist financing and discusses the adequacy of these efforts. By arguing that international community&rsquo / s efforts are not adequate, the thesis makes some recommendations. Finally, the thesis tests to what extent neo-liberal institutionalist approach, which mainly concentrates on cooperation and regime formation regarding the global problems faced by the states, can explain the international fight against the financing of terrorism.