Abdulkerim Karaaslan

Determinants of housing demand in the Erzurum province, Turkey

Purpose - – The main aim of this study is to determine the factors that influence the housing demand of households in Erzurum, northeastern Turkey. Housing demand is generally affected by several factors including housing prices, individuals’ income, expectations and choices and so on, as a means of its demographic and socio-psychological contexts. Design/methodology/approach - – A questionnaire-based cross-sectional survey was carried out, in which the outcome variable had binary responses such as whether to invest in housing or not. A binary logistic regression analysis was performed to estimate the underlying data. Findings - – The questionnaire was conducted in 2,927 households living in Erzurum city center, and 47 per cent of the respondents claimed that they would consider investing in housing in the future. The estimation results reveal that demographic or socio-economic factors that may possibly influence housing demand of the respondents are as follows: household head’s and spouse’s occupation, monthly income, the number of individuals in the family and car ownership. Originality/value - – This paper involves the most comprehensive survey addressing the housing demand in the East Anatolian Region, Turkey. Additionally, this paper aims to contribute to the existing housing literature through establishing the statistical analysis of housing demand in an unstudied territory of the world.

Predictors of college students’ willingness to use social network services: The case of two Turkish universities

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine predictors of social network services use among college students at two Turkish universities, with particular emphasis on Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, and Instagram. Design/methodology/approach – A written questionnaire was administered to 822 college students from various faculties. The data obtained from the corresponding questionnaire were analyzed using ordered logit analysis and four different models were independently estimated with respect to social network services. Findings – Ordered logit estimation results revealed that frequency of log in to social network sites, time spent on social network sites, and following event alerts were three predictors that had significant impact on the frequency of all four social network sites’ use. Particularly; event participation, information sharing, following on top ranked topics, and purchasing a product through social media were the other additional predictors of college students’ willingness to use the ...