ABSTRACT ADMINISTRATIVE AND SERVICE SATISFACTION WITH THE ERASMUS STUDENT EXCHANGE PROGRAM AT MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY FROM THE VIEWS OF STUDENTS AND COORDINATORS Bulut Sahin, Bet&uuml / l M.S., Department of Educational Sciences Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Hasan SiMSEK June 2008, 131 pages As a result of globalization, educational systems become more and more internationalized through mobility and exchange programs. The supra-natural organizations, such as European Union, have developed organized education programs to adapt to this transformation. Since 1987, the mobility of students and faculty throughout Europe has dramatically increased through Erasmus, which is the Program of European Union for higher education. Turkey, as a candidate country for European Union, became one of the participants of this program in 2004. Yet, the influence of the quality administration on such programs and customer satisfaction is relatively unexplored in Turkey. In this research, Middle East Technical University (METU), one of the leading universities in Turkey, is analyzed in scope of its effectiveness in the administration of Erasmus Program from the students&rsquo / and Erasmus coordinators&rsquo / point of view through questionnaires. Total Quality Management framework is used to design the research. The results of this study showed that students and departmental coordinators are generally more satisfied with the administrative services than communication, interaction with customers and academic issues.

ABSTRACT INCREASING WALKABILITY IN PUBLIC SPACES OF CITY CENTRES: THE CASE OF TUNALI HILMI STREET, ANKARA GHADIMKHANI, PARISA M.Sc., the Department of City and Regional Planning in Urban Design Supervisor: Assist. Prof. Dr. M&Uuml / GE AKKAR ERCAN May 2011, 204 pages Liveability and walkability have recently become one of the major policy topics in the agenda of many cities all over the world because of the negative effects of car-oriented urban developments that have impoverished physical, social, cultural, economic and environmental values of cities. In Ankara, however, the urban development policies based on the decentralization of the city centre and inner city, the impoverished public transportation services and infrastructure, the increasing car-dependent development and the neglect of pedestrians accessibility within the urban public spaces in last twenty years have decreased the walkability and therefore liveability of the city center. This thesis aims to investigate the notion of &lsquo / walkability&rsquo / in urban space, specifically in urban public space, and to identify the measures of &lsquo / walkability&rsquo / . By employing a case study method, it examines how far Tunali Hilmi Street (THS) - one of the major high streets and public spaces of Ankara - is a walkable street and identifies the positive and negative factors which effect its walkability capacity. The analysis on THS is carried out through six measures of the walkability: safety, orientation, attractiveness, comfort, diversity and local destination. Based on the findings of the investigation, this thesis gives recommendations which are practical and which can be implemented on the design of the case study area, as well as on the public spaces that are similar to THS in Ankara or other cities. Key words: Liveability, sustainability, walkability, public space, urban design, Ankara, Tunali Hilmi Street

This thesis addresses a gap in research on collaborative creativity. Prior research has investigated how groups of professionals, young people and children work together to co-create work, but the distinctive contribution of this thesis is a socioculturally framed understanding of undergraduates’ interdisciplinary practices over an extended period. Guided by a socioculturally framed theory of creativity, this thesis observed 4 students creating a 10 minute performance piece, and presents a longitudinal analysis of the co-creation process which occurred through a total of 28 meetings recorded over the course of a twelve-week term (24 hours of recordings in total). Specific episodes were selected from the full set of recordings, constituting 2 hours of recordings for in-depth analysis. Sociocultural discourse analysis was used to examine how social and cultural contexts constituted an ecology of undergraduate practice in interdisciplinary creative collaboration. Offering a new methodology, this discursive approach for studying context (Arvaja, 2008) was combined with interaction analysis (Kumpulainen & Wray, 2002; Scott, Mortimer & Aguiar, 2006) to analyse how moment-by-moment creative developments and contexts were resourced and constituted through dialogue, artifacts and physical settings. With implications for theory and practice, the analysis showed how the students’ collaborative contexts were constituted through dialogue, and how their emerging co- creative practice was mediated through multiple social and physical settings. It further evidenced how common knowledge was constructed through the process of collaboration, the value of peer feedback for fostering confidence, and students’ need for ‘silent witnessing’; for space to reflect and contribute to a long-term cumulative conversation. The thesis also discusses how resourceful the students were, in terms of negotiating unfamiliar and unpredictable co-creating activities. Evidence is provided for the collaborative value of creating and appropriating new tools to develop common knowledge, and for the significance of imagination as a psychological resource for building common knowledge about hypothetical future activities, showing how technology-mediated co-creating can be seen as a complex interactional accomplishment.

The purpose of this study is to design, develop and evaluate an electronic performance support system (EPSS) for the crime scene investigation unit (CSI). For this purpose, a sequential explanatory strategy as a procedure of the mixed method design was used in analysis and evaluation of the EPSS. The research was composed of three main phases: analysis / design, development and implementation, and evaluation of the EPSS. In first phase composed of performance and cause analyses, the CSI Unit&rsquo / s existing information, and contributing causal performance factors based on Gilbert&rsquo / Behavior Engineering Model were explored. In performance analysis phase, official documentation of the CSI Unit was reviewed. As for cause analysis, the survey and focus group interviews were conducted to 1176 and 22 CSI officers, respectively. These data were analyzed using with both quantitative and qualitative methods to facilitate the selection of the most appropriate intervention and its components. Analyses results revealed that 14 basic influences grouped under the workplace and competency on human behavior impacted performance of the officers. Based on these results, an EPSS composed of intrinsic, extrinsic and external levels, and support components was designed and developed in the second phase. Having been implemented, the evaluation of the EPSS based on the Kirkpatrick&rsquo / Four Levels of Evaluation Model was conducted v to determine the overall impact, perceived benefits, and effectiveness of the intervention in third phase. In this phase, a survey, interviews, computer logs and a checklist were used so as to assess the accomplishment of the EPSS. While the survey and the checklist were administered to the 191 officers and 2 experts from the field, the interviews were conducted with 12 officers. Evaluation results admitted that the CSI officers&rsquo / reactions were very positive to the EPSS. While, an intrinsic support made a major contribution to their productivity, establishing standardization would be perceived as the major impact of the EPSS. Lastly, increasing identity and simplifying criminal justice system were the two main impact factors on the society that the system would influence positively.

This thesis analyzes EU&#039 / s education and training policy together with EU-Turkey relations and Turkey&#039 / s path in candidacy regarding the education and training policy. Treaty base of the European Union Education and Training Policy together with is chronological development and its institutions of ET policy, the benchmarks in education and training, strategic objectives and European Union and Education Youth Programmes will be discussed. Moreover, since Helsinki, Turkey&#039 / s legislative regulations and adaptations, institutional arrangement and changes, national and regional projects/campaign in line with the EU&#039 / s education objectives, programmes and funds benefitted will be examined with a case study, this thesis will be trace the impact of education and training action programmes on education in Turkey within the context of impact on personal and professional development, impact on institutional cooperation and capacity building.

This case study, of veterinary education at Glasgow between 1949 and 2006, was undertaken to provide an illustrative account of learning and teaching practices over time. Ultimately the aim was to inform discussions on curriculum reshaping in undergraduate veterinary education at Glasgow. A questionnaire was distributed to 2360 alumni, 513 students and 50 teachers, to obtain quantitative data on the availability and perceived usefulness of different educational methods and technologies, analysed using SPSS. Qualitative data were sought principally through ten student focus groups and interviews with over thirty current and former staff, theoretically coded using NVivo. Questionnaire responses (from 11.5% of alumni, 23.8% of students and 72% of teachers invited to participate) revealed that lectures, printed notes, tutorials, practical classes and clinical training were used consistently over time and rated highly by stakeholders, confirming the importance of didactic teaching methods coupled with discussion and practical hands-on experience. The focus groups with students highlighted their strong desire for earlier clinical training, with the recognition that a case-based approach resulted in more meaningful learning. The interviews with staff revealed that whilst all staff welcomed the opportunity for increased vertical integration, problem-based learning was rejected as a wholesale solution. Highlights of the school’s curricular innovations to date include the clinico-pathological integrated sessions, the lecture-free final year, and the introduction of a veterinary biomolecular sciences course that allowed for a seamless vertical integration in years 1 to 4. However, recent efforts to implement self-directed learning and assessment strategies have been hampered by the fact that these were isolated innovations set within a traditional teacher-centred paradigm. There was little support among stakeholders for undergraduate specialisation. There is still a perceived need for veterinarians to have omni-potential – if not to be omnicompetent. However, it is recommended that the current system of tracking be replaced with a more streamlined core-elective system, to allow students to pursue specific topics of interest in the later years of the course. Teachers and students cited attributes of ‘good’ teachers. These generally did not change over time, although technologies did change. Good communication appears to be central to good teaching, with an in-borne desire to enthuse and motivate students to learn for the pleasure of learning rather than the need to hurdle-jump examinations. Both teachers and students cited good teaching characteristics in terms of the teacher as authority and motivator, rather than as a facilitator of independent learning, reflecting the nature of the traditional, didactic course. There was little evidence of pedagogical change resulting from technological innovations. If anything, newer technologies compounded surface learning approaches and low level cognitive processing, rather than promoting deep learning and higher order thinking skills. Identified barriers to teaching innovations included lack of time, reward and support (for teachers and students). Future curricular innovation will require a substantial investment in the scholarship of teaching – rewarding staff for excellence in teaching, putting it on a par with research excellence, and ensuring the necessary support mechanisms and infrastructure are in place to ensure the success of a self-directed learning curriculum. A guided discovery learning curriculum is recommended, a compromise between traditional teaching and a fully problem-based curriculum. The study did not specifically focus on assessment, but it is recommended that learning, teaching and assessment practices should be constructively aligned.