Journalists&rsquo / commitment to an objective, impartial, balanced way of reporting and their respect for ethical norms are considered a vital prerequisite for democracy to be carried out. The general purpose of this thesis is to reveal whether established journalistic practices in Turkey are shaped through commonly acknowledged professional principles in a way that is compatible with democratic expectancies. In order to achieve this goal, a group of journalists were interviewed in the summer of 2003 who worked as parliament journalists at some time in their careers. They were asked several questions mainly concerning the factors that might have influence on the processes of news making with a special emphasis on the negative consequences of the complex structure of media-politics relationships. The analysis of the interviews reveals Turkish journalists&rsquo / views that journalism in Turkey is faced with serious problems and even may be characterized by a high degree of &ldquo / degeneration&rdquo / .

The thesis attempts to illuminate the construction process of the Middle East as a separate region. Within this context, it first seeks to find out what a region means. For this sake, the thesis outlines the historical development of the discipline of geography and the changing meanings of region in line with the disciplinary developments. Furthermore, it concentrates on the emergence of the region Middle East, its denomination and transformation along with changing international politics. Finally, the thesis evaluates the existence of the ethnocentric geographical term Middle East within the context of current global conditions.

This thesis investigates Bektashi responses to the abolition of religious orders in Turkey in 1925. In order to understand the immediate impact of the legislation among Bektashis, I analyze three series of articles and a novel written in that period, while also tracing the repercussions of similar narratives which were continued to be used by Bektashis in the subsequent decades. I, thereby, explore the ways in which Bektashis developed alternative narratives rationalizing and justifying the abolition of their religious order. Since its proclamation, Law #677 regarding the abolition of religious orders has been subjected to many different readings by both the decision-makers of that period and the dervishes who were affected by the Law. In this thesis, I try to give an empathetic account of Bektashi readings, and argue that it is impossible to present a homogeneous stance by Bektashis towards the abolition of their religious orders, since there is a great diversity in their perceptions of the legislation, which are shaped by Bektashi cosmologies. Bektashis&rsquo / responses range from their harsh criticisms of the state policy to their imaginative strategies for accommodating the legislation. While arguing that Bektashis&rsquo / strategies exhibit common patterns that take shape around the strategies which I identify as accommodation, I still point out the significance of grasping the subjectivity within these strategies. Thus, in this thesis, through the analysis of an historical event, I explore the ways in which Bektashis transform and accommodate &ldquo / the past&rdquo / for constructing and legitimizing &ldquo / the present&rdquo / .

The rapid developments occurred in the process of Turkey&rsquo / s participation movements into European Union brought also with themselves the first signs of the potential impacts which the European Union will cause to come into existence on the Turkish bureaucracy. The purpose of this study is to ascertain the role the European Union plays as an environmental factor in the formation of organizational culture. In order to realize the purpose of this thesis, a comparative survey was administered between the State Planning Organization (SPO) and the Turkish National Agency which was established as a department in SPO in 2002 and attained its autonomous body within the framework of legal arrangements and which is in a direct interaction with the European Commission in respect of working environment. The study has reached the conclusion that the Turkish National Agency has higher level of cultural characteristics than SPO in the framework of organizational culture. The reached findings support that the Turkish National Agency, although a state/public institution, is under the impact of EU which bring in differentiation. In addition, questionnaire results were compared with Turkish cultural characteristics in Hofstede&rsquo / s national cultural analysis and it was seen that some aspects of Turkish National Agency were also reflected those characteristics. As a result, the Turkish National Agency developed a &rdquo / hybrid&rdquo / structure under the impact of EU and Turkish bureaucracy, and this structure, which is the first sample of its own kind, will be a significant example for similar institutions which will possibly come into being in future.

Trough this thesis, it is aimed to study &quot / the conservative-democratic&quot / identity of the Justice and Development Party(AKP), which was established just before the November 3, 2002 elections and has still been running the country as the single party, in the context of the Turkish center-right tradition. Although the AKP comes from the political legancy of the National View Tradition (MG), it has presented itself as a new political formation at least aspiring to a centrist location in the political spectrum.Thus, the AKP puts itself in the political tradition inherited from the Progressive Republican Party, the Democratic Party, the Justice Party, and Turgut &Ouml / zal&#039 / s Motherland Party with an attempt to forge a synthesis between liberal and conservative trends within Turkey around a new social consensus. In this thesis, the components of the &quot / conservative-democratic&quot / rhetoric of the AKP is analyzed to shed light over its conceptualization of democracy, pluralism, social change and secularism.This thesis is presented through an over its rhetoric of &quot / change&quot / . It is argued that the conservative-democratic rhetoric of the party is characterized by ambivalent points, if not contradictions, which reflect the party&#039 / s ongoing search for a distinct position and identity and its aim of appealing to broader sections of the conservative electorate.

The objective of this thesis is to analyze the concept of &lsquo / European identity&rsquo / within the context of the European Union (EU) in terms of constructivist approach. This thesis is based on the idea that European integration project needs a shared identity / it is essential means for the success and continuity of an &lsquo / ever closer Union&rsquo / . In this context, the aim of the thesis is to find out the answers to the questions of whether the EU has a European identity / whether a post-national European identity is viable and desirable / if so, which model of identity is more viable and desirable. Through adopting the constructivist approach the main argument of this thesis is that a European identity is as a process and project. The thesis further argues European identity as a &lsquo / thin&rsquo / identity is still in the process of formation and its uncertain content and &lsquo / future-oriented&rsquo / character is open to new codifications. Accordingly, the thesis contains three main parts / the viable and desirable post-national European identity / the EU&rsquo / s identity building strategies / the impact of European integration and the effects of identity-building strategies on both national and European identities since the 1950s to present.

This thesis aims to analyze the humour magazines L-Manyak and Lombak as constituting a shift in the tradition of humour magazines in Turkey. It evaluates these magazines in their historical, political and cultural contexts. It argues that regardless of their apolitical stance, these magazines have an attitude of symbolic resistance to the the signifying practices of the dominant culture, like a youth subculture. It discusses the humour style of these magazines in terms of their relationship with the neighbourhood of Cihangir / American underground comix, Punk subculture and Bakhtin&rsquo / s concept of grotesque realism. The study also analyzes the position of these magazines in the culture industry of Turkey and claims that their content have been gradually appropriated by the market and turned into convenient products for reconsumption.

The present study investigated the electronic medical record system (EMR) of Zonguldak Karaelmas University Hospital which is used for six years now. The advantages and disadvantages of an EMR system in comparison with paper medical records were evaluated based on the user&amp / #146 / s opinion. The recommendations for the development of EMR and more efficient use of the system are principle goals of this study. The purposes of this thesis include promoting the implantation of EMR by introducing the advantages and disadvantages from the user&amp / #146 / s point of view. The main source of information used in this analysis is gathered from a questionnaire. Hundred and twenty six users of EMR selected voluntarily and randomly from the hospital staffs are included in this survey. The hospital staffs including physicians, nurses, clinicians, administrative clerks and technicians were included in this survey. Implementation for certain medical tasks and efficiency of using these tasks in EMR are evaluated. The advantages and disadvantages of the system were surveyed from the user&#039 / s point of view. In spite of the fact that health care professionals understand the benefits of electronic medical records, barriers to the use of EMR are also important for the current impediments in EMR introduction. While the successful applications of EMR systems are evident in western word, the implementation of EMR to a hospital information system is a new topic in Turkey. There are mainly attempts to convert the paper-based medical record systems to the fully automated electronic record systems. Our study is a pioneering attempt to analyze the users&amp / #146 / opinion for a fully integrated EMR system in a Turkish academic hospital. The suggestions such as restricting the the access, improving the hardware, integrating to the internet are made for the improvement of the system in future.

Hasankeyf, located in Upper Mesopotamia, southeastern Turkey with its environs at the floodplains of Tigris, welcomed many cultures in different periods. It has a very unique status with its difficult topography and distinctive outlook where spatial urbanization in almost every period must have been extraordinary, as well. The aim of this thesis is to study the water distribution system, specifically its relation to natural and man-made environment, at the Upper city of Hasankeyf, in order to identify the impact of utilization of water on the urban structure, with a new perspective. The thesis tries to explain the designation of urban patterns and understand possible late settlement strategies in the light of cistern-incentive and available canal data collected at the Upper city. The identification of 185 cisterns and their various characteristics helps to make different analyses to establish links between the water system and settlement areas at macro and micro levels, which go hand in hand with mapping studies. Notwithstanding the abovementioned objectives, this study endeavors to find some common denominators with Roman water practices, which are considered to be comparable to those of Hasankeyf, thus unveil some clues for Hasankeyf water features. It now appears that water and urban settlement are two sides of a coin where water can not be treated as the sole determinant on the development of settlement patterns in which case the urban settlement also has impact on the water distribution at the Upper city.

This thesis looks at how European Single Currency (EURO) that began circulating on January 2002 as a legal tender will affect the European integration process. Because money has been accepted as one of the founding elements of a state for centuries, whether the Euro will be effective in the direction of a probable &ldquo / United States of Europe&rdquo / or not? Firstly, theoretical and historical roots of European integration are explained in the thesis as the basis of economic integration. The foundation, the stages and institutional mechanism of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) is looked at throughout the thesis with the theories of Regional Economic Integration and Optimum Currency Areas (OCA). The thesis reaches the conclusion that economic integration may gradually bring about the need for political integration in the EU, but not necessarily.