The main purpose of the present study was to examine the possible factors that affect the adjustment to breakup of romantic relationships. Initiator status, certainty about the reasons of breakup, current relationship status, and perceived social support were examined in regard to adjustment to breakup. The sample of the study consisted of 397 participants (192 (48.4%) female, 205 (51.6%) male). At the beginning, the invited sample consisted of 561 (276 female, 285 male) participants / 164 of the participants who had not broken off their romantic relationship within the past two years were excluded. Data collection instruments of the study were demographic information form, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and Fisher&rsquo / s Divorce Adjustment Scale. One-way ANOVA and post-hoc test were conducted to determine the differences among initiator groups in terms of adjustment to breakup.Results showed that there were significant differences between the initiator and non-initiator groups and also between non-initiator and mutual decider groups. There wasn&rsquo / t significant difference between the initiator and the mutual decider groups. The results of t-tests showed that there was a significant difference between the groups who were certain about the reasons of breakup and those who were not in regard to adjustment to breakup. There was also significant difference between the groups who had another romantic relationship after the breakup and those who did not have regarding the adjustment to breakup. Besides these, bivariate correlation analysis indicated a significant relationship between perceived social support and adjustment to breakup.

ABSTRACT SOIL AND WATER ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES FOR AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION Maral, Nuh M. Sc., Department of Chemistry Supervisor: Prof. Dr. G. inci G&ouml / kmen May 2010, 108 pages In Turkey, usage of increasing amounts of fertilizers and pesticides by some unconscious farmers cause soil pollution and soil infertility for the crop production. Usage of water in excessive amounts and/or in poor quality for irrigation creates problems during the plant production. So in this study, soil and water samples were analyzed by using simple and reliable techniques for the soil and water quality in laboratories of METU and Soil Fertilizer and Water Resources Central Research Institute Laboratory in Ankara. The soil and water samples were collected using the standard techniques from Ankara, Bolu, &Ccedil / orum and Kirikkale. According to the soil test results, the textures of the soil samples are found as loam and clay loam. The total salt content of the soil samples are between 0.033 &ndash / 0.063 % (w/w), meaning they are low salinity soils (total salt less than 0.15 % w/w). The pH of the soil samples are between 7.86&ndash / 8.15, they are slightly alkaline. The phosphorus concentrations of soil samples are in a range 4.95 to 35.45 P2O5 kg/da. Some of the soil samples have too high phosphorus content (greater than 12 P2O5 kg/da). The potassium content of soil samples are found between 141&ndash / 286 K2O kg/da, so the soil is efficient for crop production. Lime content of the soil samples is between 1.04&ndash / 2.67 % (w/w) CaCO3. It means all of the soil samples are calcareous but it is not too high for the agricultural production. Organic matter content of soil samples are found between 0.83&ndash / 2.04 % (w/w). This means the soils are limited in their organic matter content for the crop production. Analysis of 22 water samples yielded EC values between 0.384 &ndash / 1.875 dS/m. Water samples have moderate to high-salinity (if EC values between 0.205 and 2.250 dS/m), yet these can be used for the irrigation of the crops. pH values of water samples are found between 7.18-8.10, meaning that they are slightly alkaline. Bicarbonate concentrations of 19 of the water samples are greater than 200 mg/L. These waters may not be suitable for irrigation of ornamental plants. All of the water samples, except water samples from G&ouml / lbaSi, have sodium absorption ratio (SAR) values between 1 and 9. Water samples with low SAR values, except water samples from G&ouml / lbaSi, can be used for irrigation of almost all soils with little danger of developing harmful levels of sodium. The Residual Sodium Carbonate (RSC) values of water samples Ankara G&ouml / lbaSi and Sincan-1 are greater than 2.50 meq/L and these water samples are not suitable for the irrigation. RSC values of Etimesgut, Sincan-2 and Kazan water samples are positive and lower than the value 2.00 meq /L. All the other water samples have negative RSC values so they are the safe to use for irrigation. It has been observed that development of practical field analysis techniques for all soil and water quality parameters may be possible with exception of micronutrient determination. For determining soil and water quality parameters in the rural areas there is a need to establish a small laboratory with necessary equipment and apparatus and training one or two farmers. With the experience gained in this study, some of these techniques may be adapted to the rural field applications, so soil and water may be tested by the farmers for better yields.

ABSTRACT THE EFFECT OF ASKING REFERENTIAL QUESTIONS ON THE PARTICIPATION AND ORAL PRODUCTION OF LOWER LEVEL LANGUAGE LEARNERS IN READING CLASSES &Ouml / zcan, Seda MA, Program in English Language Teaching Supervisor: Assist. Prof. Dr. Nurdan G&uuml / rb&uuml / z May, 2010, 84 pages This study aims at investigating the effect of asking referential questions on the oral participation and production of lower level language learners in reading classes. The main purpose of the study is to inquire whether the reticence of lower level language learners to participate in lessons due to their poor language ability could be overcome by asking questions that require their opinions and comments, rather than solely answering questions to display their comprehension. For this purpose an action research was conducted in a lower level preparatory class at Izmir University of Economics over a 4-week period. This action research included a preliminary investigation stage to discover the reasons for low level of participation in these classes and to come up with a hypothesis to solve the problem, and 3 reading lessons to test the hypothesis. During those 3 lessons students were exposed to both display and referential questions and the number of students and responses were calculated for both question types to collect quantitative data. In addition, the mean lengths (in words) of students&rsquo / responses to display and referential questions were calculated to find out the differences of students&rsquo / responses in terms of length between display and referential questions. The analysis of quantitative data indicates that lower level language learners participate more when asked a referential question. Additionally, referential v questions engender longer responses compared to the responses given to the display questions.

This master thesis comprizes of a comparative study between two neighborhoods in two different cities: Nezu-Tokyo and Ortakoy-Istanbul. Although two cities that have been chosen seem incomparable in many respects, the study scale &ndash / neighborhoodsprovide a deeper apprehension to understand the differences or similarities that the two cultures and their architecture share. In the master thesis, the main factors that form, constitute, and limit the neighborhoods, with the help of the photographical medium, will be analyzed. Japanese and Turkish Culture, despite the fact that they belong to different geographies, share a certain closeness and intimacy. In the two cultures, it is possible to observe that, there exists (at least within certain cultural areas) an attempt to protect internal harmonies against the effects of globalizarion. After experiencing the similar characteristics of urban space in these two neighborhoods, this study has focused on the creation of space, within the help of atmoshere and boundary concepts, within a theoretical frame drawn by an aesthetical approach. Although the cities that were chosen are very large in scale, the neighborhoods which were chosen still carry a local character, where citizens spend most of their time and closely affect their surroundings. It could also be claimed that, positioned between v architectural and urban scale, neighborhoods constitute the different faces of a city. In a neighborhood that posseses both traditional characters and effects of urbanization at the same time, we can observe the social habits and individual diversities, rules of a city planning and flux of different ingredients that form the metropolitan and daily life, and neighbor relations. In this regard, my intention, with the close-scope study of two neighborhoods, is to make a research to indicate the very distinct ways to create space and the ways in which everyday life is conveyed, within the context of two different cultures.

ABSTRACT INVESTIGATON OF CHEMOPREVENTIVE PROPERTIES OF URTICA DIOICA L., IN MCF-7 AND MDA231 BREAST CANCER CELL LINES. G&uuml / ler, Elif Ph.D., Biological Sciences Department Supervisor : Prof. Dr. Mesude

Industrial Networks and Foreign Direct Investment: The Study of Taiwan¡¦s Steel Industry Abstract Facing the changing environment, many Taiwan businesses try to achieve economy of scale and develop their markets by taking foreign direct investment (FDI), especially under poor macroeconomic conditions in Taiwan and the driving force of cheap costs from developing countries. Conventionally, it is considered that big firms take FDI to bring their specific advantages into foreign markets. From the view of industrial networks, FDI is a method for firms to set up a linkage with foreign networks. They need not establish foreign networks by themselves. They can establish and utilize foreign networks through FDI. The steel industry is capital and technology intensive, and with high entry barriers in nature. The industrial networks are very important to a steel firm because it is very difficult to attain all the production resources. The key success factor is the competence to grasp the production resources so as to obtain cost advantages and synergy. In the past decade, facing lack of labor, increasing land cost, and market pull, the down-stream firms took FDI dramatically. The middle- and up-stream firms are also eager to do so. Because of the huge investment scale and other limitations, it is not easy for upstream firms to take FDI. Even China Steel Corporation (CSC) has overcome a lot of obstacles in the past decade and finally acquired ORNA Steel in Malaysia to establish a bridgehead in Southeastern Asia. From the view of industrial networks, this study tries, first, to investigate the network change of the firms of Taiwan¡¦s steel industry after taking FDI, and next examine the change of competitiveness and ways of attaining profit. We construct a model which divides them into four types of firms and their ways of attaining profits. They are: flagship type industry/profit sharing, clan type industry/profit shifting, lone knight type industry/profit capturing, stragglers type industry/profit disappearing. Then, we use this model to examine cases of Taiwan¡¦s up, middle, and down stream steel industry in a dynamic way. Finally, we propose some recommendations for the government and steel industry to improve the competitiveness of the steel industry.

Due to the prevalence of transnational marriages, the issues related to foreign spouses have become a focus of the government, a wide variety of related organizations, media and academia in Taiwan. Some people within these groups mentioned that the relevant issues were, in fact, over discussed. Actually, according to the statistics of the Ministry of the Interior, before the Interview System was established in 2004, transnational marriages were only 31.39% in 2003; most of the immigrants were foreign spouses (mainly females). The numbers were higher than those of foreign laborers, and even higher than the total numbers of aboriginal peoples. The foreign spouses have become the fourth group in Taiwan. As a result, studies on female immigrants are worthy of research. There has been less research concerning employment rights and demands, and in particular there¡¦s almost no quantification study. Because of the difficulties in determining vocabulary designed for the questionnaires and interviews with the foreign spouses, the employment demands can only be studied after receiving assistance from the related sections/departments of Kaohsiung County. The study aims to understand the professional trainings and employment demands of female immigrants as well as the remuneration, work hours and humiliation in Taiwan. Based on the collected literature reviews and the workshops on employment promotion, their work experiences and language preferences were understood. Surveys were carried out by 28 counselors of the Veterans Affairs Commission and the study subjects were foreign spouses in the 27 villages/townships of Kaohsiung County. Interviews were held at the Immigration Service Center of Kaohsiung County, and foreign spouses from China were excluded. 1180 questionnaires were sent and 932 were received. Valid questionnaires were 900. The study result shows that: there¡¦s significant influence of age, education level, number of children and husbands on the employment demands. 50% of the foreign spouses from China cannot write Chinese, the official language in Taiwan. Many of them have no knowledge that there are professional training and employment provided by the Service Center; there are no preferred training classes arranged by the Center in which they can participate, such as babysitter training. The present trainings were often merely cooking and housework courses. Regarding the humiliation their reaction is quite diverse; either it is absolutely agreed or disagreed with. Transportation is also a main problem. Almost all foreign spouses have a heavier workload in housework than the ordinary Taiwanese housewives. They work more than 8 hours a day and receive less remuneration. Proposals: (1) foreign spouses from China or Southeast Asia should be separated in the related researches; (2) foreign spouses from China should be differentiated between wife of veteran or non-veteran; the variation of their education level and age should be analyzed; (3) a Simplified Chinese should be designed for the foreign spouses from China; (4) try to avoid the humiliation; particularly the labor condition that is worse than the condition regulated in the Labor Law; (5) encourage enterprises to pick up the workers from home to the company in order to solve the problem of transportation; (6) open babysitter or nursing classes so that the care quality can be enhanced; if the related professional trainings can be continued, the lack of man power problem can be solved and (7) according to the Employment Services Act issued by the Ministry of the Interior that relates to courses lasting for 18 hours: the participants are mostly females at middle age or older; participating in courses is free of charge; and a living allowance can be applied for. But in the questionnaire, it indicated that a participating fee would be charged.

Rebar carpet is an innovation that favors the working environment of the rebar workers and saves time. Reinforcement workers today are a vulnerable group. Heavy lifts and backbreaking postures are a part of their everyday work. It is already established that work with rebar carpets is both time-saving, economically beneficial and from a working environment point of view better than traditional reinforcement work. Despite all benefits it is used in rather few projects today. The purpose of this study is to identify how the construction industry embraces new innovations related to in situ concrete with post-tensioned reinforcement. The goals are to find out how designers, contractors and manufacturers are working to adopt rebar carpets in the construction process and to shed light on, factors affecting the adoption. The study is based on semi-structured interviews with designers, contractors and a representative of a rebar manufacturing company. Designers and contractors have not, generally speaking, been actively working to adopt rebar carpet. The governing factors for the use of rebar carpets is the designers and contractors knowledge and previous experience of rebar carpet. The contractors who have previous experience of rebar carpet can imagine using rebar carpet again and contractors with no previous experience believe that they need more knowledge of rebar carpet before they dare to try. Design engineers who have designed for rebar carpet before has it in mind when they design other projects. Designers who have no previous experience of rebar carpet demand more knowledge about how they can facilitate the use of rebar carpet.

The purpose of this thesis is to find out how gender roles are described in musical lyrics written for children. I used gender theories that describe how stereotypical gender roles are displayed in music and these theories were later compared with the songbooks I studied. The thesis is a qualitative study to detect masculine and feminine related differences in the texts. After having read, analyzed and compared over 200 songs I found that the stereotype notions of masculinity and femininity is reflected in songs. Society has transferred in this way normative values on to the children through the songs that teachers choose to sing in schools. / Syftet med denna studie var att ta reda på hur könsroller beskrivs i musiken och visorna för barn. Jag använde genusteorier som beskriver hur stereotypa genusroller uppstår och genom att pröva dessa teorier i relation med sångböckerna, försöka finna svar på mina frågor. Studien är en kvalitativ studie för att upptäcka skillnader mellan maskulinitet och femininitet i text. Efter att ha läst, analyserat och jämfört över 200 sånger fann jag att stereotypa föreställningar om vad som är manligt och kvinnligt återspeglas i visorna. De normativa värderingar som samhället har idag överföras på detta sätt vidare till barn genom de sånger vi väljer att sjunga i skolan.

Arbetet som ambulanspersonal är påfrestande, såväl fysiskt som psykiskt. Att vara fysiskt vältränad är säkerligen en fördel, men kan man vara vältränad även på det psykiska planet? Många studier har gjorts om ambulanspersonalens copingstrategier, men få har gjorts i Sverige. Studier gjorda utomlands har visat att några av de vanligaste copingstrategierna hos ambulanspersonal är socialt stöd, emotionell- och kognitivcoping. Denna studie har gjorts för att belysa relationen mellan socialt stöd och coping angående arbetsmiljöstressorer hos ambulanspersonal i Mellansverige. Författaren genomförde studien genom intervjuer av fyra kamratstödjare inom ambulansen. Resultatet visade att socialt stöd har en stor betydelse för ambulanspersonalen för att lägga upp copingstrategier i hanteringen av arbetsmiljöstressorer. Studien visar samma tendens hos ambulanspersonal utomlands.