The aim of this study is to understand the purpose, employment and place of specific materials in general, and &ldquo / light&rdquo / in particular, in architectural production. This thesis is a critical reconsideration of light as a building material, encompassing all the metaphorical connotations that the term suggests: light versus heavy / &ldquo / art form&rdquo / versus &ldquo / core form&rdquo / &ldquo / figuration&rdquo / versus &ldquo / tectonic&rdquo / ornamentation versus construction / craft production versus structural logic and abstraction versus materiality. All these binary oppositions combine to provide a conceptual framework for a contemporary interpretation of &ldquo / light architecture&rdquo / . Apart from its visual qualities, light plays an essential role in the production of architecture revealing the architectural form, function, mass, texture and context. When considered as an architectural material, light also has the ability to transpose the building into an &ldquo / art form&rdquo / as a monumental object, and to provide a dematerialized reality. When speaking of architectural materials, an analysis of the tectonic aspects of architecture is a prerequisite. It was Gottfried Semper&rsquo / s seminal work that first introduced the rich terminology of the material qualities in the products of architecture. The term &ldquo / textile&rdquo / , as an abstract procedure of Semper&rsquo / s theory, leads to a shift from primitive fabrics to contemporary modulation techniques and becomes a crucial element in the evaluation of such key words as &ldquo / dress&rdquo / , &ldquo / mask&rdquo / , &ldquo / skin&rdquo / , &ldquo / membrane&rdquo / and &ldquo / pure form&rdquo / . Following the theory of Semper, &ldquo / textile&rdquo / can be considered as a starting point for the conceptualization of these key words. Through specific examples associated with light, The Bosphorus Bridge, The Dogan Media Centre, The Kunsthaus Graz and the Image Mill, this study aims to analyze the historical and the traditional materials introduced by Semper together with the contemporary and the modern materials inserted by Bernard Cache and suggests the introduction of light as a modern and contemporary material that may be applied to the abstract procedures defined by Semper as &ldquo / textile&rdquo / , &ldquo / ceramics&rdquo / , &ldquo / tectonics&rdquo / and &ldquo / stereotomy&rdquo / . An in-depth reading of Semper and those that followed him: Kenneth Frampton, Harry Francis Malgrave, Karl B&ouml / tticher, Wolfgang Hermann, Bernard Cache and Carolina A. van Eck, will provide a conceptual framework for the evaluation of the material qualities of light design in architecture.

This thesis aims to set out an urban public design framework based on gender differences and experiences, in order to pay attention to the design of the open public spaces, parks in particular, to enhance them as places which are friendly to all people. In this manner two public parks were selected in Ankara to verify the theoretical framework and hypotheses set. The thesis study first makes a review of theoretical concepts of gender relations in public spaces and recreational areas. Then, it explains how an open public space is examined with respect to the three main headings, user profiles, use patterns and sense of safety felt by users. The case studies are Segmenler Park in the Gaziosmanpasa- Kavaklidere district and Ke&ccedil / i&ouml / ren Park in the Ke&ccedil / i&ouml / ren district, two public parks in two different sectors of the city with different cultural, economical and social structures. The concept of gender differences and effects of gender relations on the use patterns of a place and vice a versa, different needs and perceptions of men and women in public places and effective design solutions are studied in the second chapter. Then, two public parks are examined with the above framework. This is done first with respect to the mentioned component, and then with the data based on maps, photographs, personal observation and questionnaires which to find out the problems and characteristics of the users. Finally in the conclusion, the differences and needs of users and strengths and weaknesses of design and planning of the parks are evaluated to set specific design principles and solutions in the design of public parks.

In this study, the &ldquo / Free Flexural (or Bending) Vibrations of Stiffened Plates or Panels&rdquo / are investigated in detail. Two different Groups of &ldquo / Stiffened Plates&rdquo / will be considered. In the first group, the &ldquo / Type 4&rdquo / and the &ldquo / Type 6&rdquo / of &ldquo / Group I&rdquo / of the &ldquo / Integrally-Stiffened and/or Stepped-Thickness Plate or Panel Systems&rdquo / are theoretically analyzed and numerically solved by making use of the &ldquo / Mindlin Plate Theory&rdquo / . Here, the natural frequencies and the corresponding mode shapes, up to the sixth mode, are obtained for each &ldquo / Dynamic System&rdquo / . Some important parametric studies are also presented for each case. In the second group, the &ldquo / Class 2&rdquo / and the &ldquo / Class 3&rdquo / of the &ldquo / Bonded and Stiffened Plate or Panel Systems&rdquo / are also analyzed and solved in terms of the natural frequencies with their corresponding mode shapes. In this case, the &ldquo / Plate Assembly&rdquo / is constructed by bonding &ldquo / Stiffening Plate Strips&rdquo / to a &ldquo / Base Plate or Panel&rdquo / by dissimilar relatively thin adhesive layers. This is done with the purpose of reinforcing the &ldquo / Base Plate or Panel&rdquo / by these &ldquo / Stiffening Strips&rdquo / in the appropriate locations, so that the &ldquo / Base Plate or Panel&rdquo / will exhibit satisfactory dynamic response. The forementioned &ldquo / Bonded and Stiffened Systems&rdquo / may also be used to repair a damaged (or rather cracked) &ldquo / Base Plate or Panel&rdquo / . Here in the analysis, the &ldquo / Base Plate or Panel&rdquo / , the &ldquo / Stiffening Plate Strips&rdquo / as well as the in- between &ldquo / adhesive layers&rdquo / are assumed to be linearly elastic continua. They are assumed to be dissimilar &ldquo / Orthotropic Mindlin Plates&rdquo / . Therefore, the effects of shear deformations and rotary moments of inertia are considered in the theoretical formulation. In each case of the &ldquo / Group I&rdquo / and &ldquo / Group II&rdquo / problems, the &ldquo / Governing System of Dynamic Equations&rdquo / for every problem is reduced to the &ldquo / First Order Ordinary Differential Equations&rdquo / . In other words the &ldquo / Free Vibrations Problem&rdquo / , in both cases, is an &ldquo / Initial and Boundary Value Problem&rdquo / is reduced to a &ldquo / Two- Point or Multi-Point Boundary Value Problem&rdquo / by using the present &ldquo / Solution Technique&rdquo / . For this purpose, these &ldquo / Governing Equations&rdquo / are expressed in &ldquo / compact forms&rdquo / or &ldquo / state vector&rdquo / forms. These equations are numerically integrated by the so-called &ldquo / Modified Transfer Matrix Method (MTMM) (with Interpolation Polynomials)&rdquo / . In the numerical results, the mode shapes together with their corresponding non-dimensional natural frequencies are presented up to the sixth mode and for various sets of &ldquo / Boundary Conditions&rdquo / for each structural &ldquo / System&rdquo / . The effects of several important parameters on the natural frequencies of the aforementioned &ldquo / Systems&rdquo / are also investigated and are graphically presented for each &ldquo / Stiffened and Stiffened and Bonded Plate or Panel System&rdquo / . Additionally, in the case of the &ldquo / Bonded and Stiffened System&rdquo / , the significant effects of the &ldquo / adhesive material properties&rdquo / (i.e. the &ldquo / Hard&rdquo / adhesive and the &ldquo / Soft&rdquo / adhesive cases) on the dynamic response of the &ldquo / plate assembly&rdquo / are also presented.

This thesis is an attempt to analyze the discourse of &ldquo / Valley of Wolves&rdquo / , a television serial which gained a significant popularity in recent years. To understand the serial&rsquo / s discourse I have first analyzed the general aspects of the narrative and approached to it as a televisual text. Concerning the political discourse two arguments, both connected to nationalism, is provided. First one concerns the psychology of the serial. Psychological mechanisms that the serial make use of is similar to Adorno&rsquo / s insights concerning fascism which may be formulated as &ldquo / acknowledgement of the weakness, identification with the victor&rdquo / . The serial interpellates weak ordinary citizens who are impotent in front of powerful conspirators, and invites him to identify with the hero who is able to save him from these malicious uncontrollable forces. Nationalism constitutes the kernel of this psychology. Nation is the community of simple-minded ordinary people free of conflict: its inner harmony is disturbed only by external forces through conspiracies. In that respect, the serial depends on the logic of conspiracy and xenophobia. Secondly, the serial overtly advocates &ldquo / deep state&rdquo / , that is the break-down between legality and legitimacy as far as &ldquo / the survival of the state&rdquo / is concerned. It has sympathy for traditional mafia, but it essentially backs up illegal activities on behalf of state. Thereby, irt articulates a nationalist mentality and carries some important features of the Turkish Nationalism.

This thesis re-evaluates the exhibition space as a site of &ldquo / indeterminacy&rdquo / defined by the dialectical interaction of architectural space and art object. The ways in which different forms of space-object interactions are constructed, and the architectural tools used to accommodate the exhibition event will be the departure points of this investigation. In this respect, the cases of Dia Beacon, Tate Modern and Stazione Leopolda will be analyzed and the means of &ldquo / indeterminacy&rdquo / will be elucidated by using the conceptual tools of &ldquo / isolation&rdquo / , &ldquo / unification&rdquo / and &ldquo / transformation&rdquo / . With the aid of these three cases, the aim of this study is to comprehend the architectural potentials in exhibition practice, which functions in extreme conditions of constantly altering states, environments and relations.

The racemic homoallylic and homopropargylic alcohol derivatives were resolved by applying chemoenzymatic method using various lipase type enzymes i.e., PS-C II, Lipozyme, CAL-B. The enantiomeric excess values of the resultant alcohols were determined by HPLC. These enantiomerically enriched homoallylic and homopropargylic alcohols were subjected to N-propargylation and N-allylation, respectively, by SN2 and modified Mitsunobu reactions. During the course of all reactions, stereochemistry of the chiral centers were under controlling according to the known reaction mechanisms. The resultant chiral N-tosylated enyne derivatives afforded the corresponding chiral fused cyclopenta[c]pyridinone derivatives (69, 73, 75 and 77) with acceptable chemical yields and excellent diastereoslectivity depending upon the conformational effect on the complete remote stereochemical control for the newly generated chiral centers. The chemoenzymatic applications done with biocatalysis (lipases) and the Pauson-Khand reaction are involved in &ldquo / Green Chemistry&rdquo / approach.

This study is an attempt to understand the politics of international film festivals and how it translates into local forms of colonialism. Theroretical review of this study focuses around the politics of festivals particularly through Iranian Cinema in the international frame. Inclusionary/exclusionary mechanisms of film festivals, the notion of national geographic effect and how they formed the canonization of Iranian cinema will be discussed. The thesis has also analyzed an Iranian film Kandahar as a case study with the notion of Orientalism to demonstrate how colonizing gaze organized in festival circuit has been internalized by a national filmmaker.

The &ldquo / German Question&rdquo / was on the agenda of the international community from the last quarter of the nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century. Following the end of the World War II, due to the existence of a Soviet threat, the incorporation of West Germany into the liberal-democratic institutions of the western world was the principal issue to be dealt with. Following the reunification of Germany and the end of the bipolar international structure, the &ldquo / German Question&rdquo / was revisited. The German insistence on the early recognition of Croatia and Slovenia and German participation in the Kosovo War brought questions whether Germany has become more assertive and on the way to return to the power politics. This dissertation will analyze German foreign and security policy in the post-Cold War era in order to understand whether Germany has shifted from its civilian and multilateral orientation or has made small adjustments in its policies to adapt to the new international structure. In approaching the issue, the study attempts to link the theoretical and practical aspects under the guidance of a conceptual framework provided by realist, neorealist and constructivist approaches. Through contextualizing the coexistence of realist, neorealist and constructivist factors in German foreign and security policy, the dissertation argues that although Germany has made some small policy adjustments to adapt to the new international structure, German foreign and security policy has not shifted from its civilian and multilateral orientation.

In my doctorate thesis, I have discussed the notion of the experience of the ethical and its political consequences. In this context, I have pointed to the central strategy of Kantian ethics that is called transcendental strategy. Transcendental strategy relies on a concept of causality, which unlike the causality that governs the laws of nature, arises from freedom in its cosmological meaning. I have discussed Heideggerian challenge to this concept of causality from an ontological point of view that gives rise to totalitarian political consequences. In relation to Heideggerian challenge, I have argued that Derrida&rsquo / s critique of Heidegger gives rise to democratic political consequences that reconcile the origin of ethics with fiction through utilization of the transcendence of transcendentality. Thereby, I have argued that experience of the ethical for Derrida induces to similar political consequences with holistic pragmatism.

In this thesis I analyze the evolutionary ethics and propose a new perspective that develops on the notion of altruism. The view of evolutionary ethics, especially the sociobiological account, has some problems. The most important philosophical problem is the &ldquo / is-ought&rdquo / problem which refers to the question as to whether moral propositions can be inferred from factual statements. In order to overcome this problem I suggest a different reading of the notion of altruism namely &ldquo / altruistic behavior practice&rdquo / that refers to norms, habits and repeated actions that provide the sustainability of society. The notion of altruistic behavior practice is presented and evaluated with the help of Alasdair MacIntyre&rsquo / s and John Dewey&rsquo / s moral philosophy. The moral views of these two philosophers are based on human practices and habitual formations in society. In this respect, evolutionary ethics and the notion of altruism are re-established on the basis of human practices and habitual modes of socialization.