Feryal Turan

Attitude‐behaviour relationship in environmental education: a case study from Turkey

This article reports a study on relationships between students’ environmental attitudes and behaviours in Turkey. The theories of reasoned action and learning have been used in this research. The data were obtained from grade‐eight secondary school students (N = 248) in the capital city, Ankara. Factor analysis result showed that there were three factor groups namely ‘general’, ‘economy’ based and ‘domestic’ attitudes and behaviours. Although students’ attitudes towards the environment were highly positive, their answers for behaviours were lower than those for attitudes. Recommendations are presented to improve students’ environmentally responsible behaviour.

Turkey: a pilot study of elder mistreatment in a convenience sample

ABSTRACT Attitudes towards elder abuse were explored through a survey on International Perspectives on Family Violence and Abuse in a Turkish convenience sample of 25 females and 14 males, ranging in age from 22 to 58. Participants gave examples of behaviors considered in their culture to be extremely abusive, moderately abusive, and mildly abusive from an adult child toward his or her older parent. Responses were coded into four major categories of abuse, each of which had several subcategories: psychological aggression (including the subcategories of verbal aggression, emotional abuse, disrespect, disobedience, power assertion, blame, and imprisonment), neglect (including physical neglect, psychological neglect, abandonment, and putting the older individual into a nursing home), physical aggression (including beating and hitting), and mistreatment related to goods and services (including economic demands, economic withholding, and labor). The most common examples of extreme abuse were neglect, particulary physical neglect, followed by physical abuse. At the moderate and mild levels, various forms of psychological aggression were most commonly mentioned. The only significant gender difference was that men listed more instances of verbal aggression as examples of extreme abuse than women. A positive correlation was found between age and the number of abandonment examples at the extreme level. Results were interpreted from a cultural perspective.

Middle East Perspectives on the Achievability of Peace

This chapter focuses on Middle Eastern perspectives regarding the achievability of world peace. The Middle Eastern region, although rife with national and transnational conflict, has undertaken many peacebuilding efforts, such as the Madrid-Oslo process, as outlined in this chapter. This chapter also briefly discusses conflicts in this area that have hampered peace. A sample of 398 respondents from Middle Eastern countries responded to two survey questions regarding the achievability of world peace. Responses were coded for agency, disengagement, and humanitarian engagement, as well as prerequisites for peace. Despite living in an area that has been conflict laden for thousands of years, respondents to the survey were largely optimistic regarding the achievability of world peace, offering many solutions they believed could bring about peace. Perhaps not surprisingly, there was also considerable recognition that war, hate, and violence are barriers to the achievement of peace. This chapter ends by discussing the region’s future in relation to the recent Arab Spring, mentioning important steps necessary to achieve peace and factors that must be taken into consideration in peace efforts.

Perspectives on Apology and Reconciliation in the Middle East

This chapter examines, within the ecological model, developed by Bronfenbrenner (1979) and later refined by (Belsky, 1993), the individual, social, and cultural factors that influence the attitudes toward apology and reconciliation in the Middle East. The sample consisted of 341 participants (males = 181, female = 159) from 12 countries: Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Oman, and Bahrain. In addition to demographic and military service history questionnaires, participants were asked to fill out the Personal and Institutional Rights to Aggression and Peace Survey (PAIRTAPS; Malley-Morrison, Daskalopoulos, & You, 2006). Three major categories were identified in responses to the apology item: the response (a) indicates that the effectiveness of the apology depends on the situation, (b) agrees with the idea that an apology will lead to reconciliation, or (c) disagrees with idea that an apology will lead to reconciliation. In addition, responses regarding reconciliation were categorized into three major categories: (a) reconciliation is possible by a specific means; (b) reconciliation is not possible; and (c) the participant does not know if reconciliation is possible.

Definition of Peace and Reconciliation in the Middle East

This chapter begins by providing a context for Middle Eastern definitions of peace and reconciliation, with particular attention to the control of the region by major powers exercising economic dominance, maintenance of client rulers during and beyond the Cold War, the relationship between Israel and the United States, and the role of two Zionisms – Christian Zionism and Jewish Zionism – in contributing to lasting conflicts in the Middle East. A sample of 601 participants from Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iran, Israel, Jordon, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates responded to the Personal and Institutional Rights to Aggression and Peace Survey (PAIRTAPS), including providing definitions of “peace” and “reconciliation.” Rather than viewing peace just as the cessation of violence, the majority of participants focused on structural requirements for lasting peace such as justice and fairness, as well as describing the benefits of peace. Reconciliation was commonly conceptualized as a process such as coming to terms, making agreements, compromising, and negotiating. This chapter concludes with a consideration of the extent to which circumstances in the Middle East are reaching the kind of tipping point in the balance of power leading each party to the conflict to believe that, on balance, it may have more to gain by the cessation of conflict than by its continuance.

Perspectives of Protest in the Middle East

The freedoms of assembly and association are mentioned as individual rights in various international legal documents. They are recognized as cornerstones of a functioning democracy, and much has been written about these rights as they are understood and pertain to western democratic societies. With the aim of expanding our understanding beyond the west, this chapter focuses on perspectives on protest held by persons living in 12 Middle Eastern countries. Given the diversity within and among these states, a brief comparative overview of their demographics follows a discussion of protest and freedom of assembly as global concepts. The wave of protests that recently occurred throughout the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region is examined, as these protests are active examples of the thoughts shared by survey respondents. Analysis of the qualitative survey data collected from nationals of each state revealed that the majority of respondents are pro-protest (91 %). They view protest as a socially sanctioned right, a human right, and a moral responsibility. Men were more likely than women to portray protest is a moral responsibility. Persons with military service were more likely to view protest as a socially sanctioned right, while persons with no military service most often cited the goal of protest as peace. Seventy-five percent (75 %) of respondents were in favor of exercising pro-social agency in response to police violence against nonviolent protesters and gave examples of personal initiative, activism, and legal action as ways they would respond to the police in such instances.

Views on National Security in the Middle East

Unlike much of the rest of the world, government policy toward national security in the Middle East has generally been determined by decisions made by countries outside of the region. The Middle East, a term sometimes considered “Eurocentric” (Adelson 1995; Koppes 1976), is used to designate a region of countries at the intersection of Africa, Asia, and Europe. The region includes between 20 and 40 countries, including at least the following: Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Jordon, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen (see www.mideastweb.org for more information). The countries comprise a diverse mosaic of languages, traditions, and histories and are difficult to characterize as a group.

Definitions of War, Torture, and Terrorism in the Middle East

The term “Middle East” was conceived in 1902 by Alfred Mahan, a United States Navy flag officer, to describe an area covering a large region in northeastern Africa and southwestern Asia (Adelson 1995). The term was created by outsiders for military purposes, not by the people living there. Today, the Middle East is considered to include nineteen territories: Armenia, Afghanistan, Bahrain, the Gaza Strip, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, the West Bank, and Yemen (CIA World Factbook 2011). The Middle East is a diverse region with various ethnicities, tribes, government systems, religions, sects, political ideologies, landscapes and weather, economic situations, traditions, and histories. Living in these 16 countries are Jews, Christians, and Muslims, along with adherents of other older religions, such as the followers of prophets Abraham and Noah. The area is also rich in the variety of ethnic groups, which include Arabs, Kurds, Turks, Persians, Indians, and European and Eastern Jews, among others (Owen 2004). Religious sects and movements include Sunnis, Shiites, Reform Jews, Orthodox Jews, Christian Orthodox and Maronites (in Lebanon), and Christian Copts (in Egypt). There are nationalistic movements among Arabs, Iranians, Turks, Egyptians, Pakistanis, and others.

Perspectives on Invasion in the Middle East

The Middle East is the birthplace of several civilizations that have greatly influenced the growth of human knowledge in various scientific, philosophical, and artistic fields (Black 2003). In addition, the Middle East is the cradle of the three major world religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The term “Middle East” itself was conceived in 1902 for military purpose by Alfred Mahan, a flag officer in the United States Navy (Adelson 1995). The contemporary region of the Middle East is generally considered to consist of sixteen countries: Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen (CIA World Factbook 2011).

Yoksulluğa dayalı sosyal risklerin azaltılması: Ankara-Yeni Hayat Mahallesi pilot proje uygulaması

“Yoksulluga Dayali Sosyal Risklerin Azaltilmasi: Ankara-Yeni Hayat Mahallesi Pilot Proje Uygulamasi” baslikli bu projenin amaci, yerel halkin katilimini saglayarak, yoksullugun yarattigi sosyal riskleri minimum duzeye indirecek politika ve programlarin gelistirilmesine yardimci bir veri tabani saglayacak sosyolojik bir degerlendirmeyi ortaya koymaktir.Bu amac dogrultusunda ortaya konulan survey calismasinda, proje alani icinde yasayan halkin yoksullugu ve yoksunlugu sosyolojik olarak; sosyo-demografik, ekonomik, kulturel ve sosyal iliskiler baglaminda ele alinmaktadir. Bu degerlendirme sonucunda sosyal riskleri azaltmaya dayali alt-projeler gelistirilerek degisik cozum onerileri ortaya konulmaktadir.Arastirma birimini Altindag Ilcesi Yeni Hayat Mahallesi haneleri olusturmaktadir. Veriler hane reisi ve hane bireyleri duzeyinde gorusme formlari araciligiyla toplanmistir. (Aim of this Project titled as” Mitigation of Social Risks Related to the Povety: Pilot Project Implementatin in Ankara- Yeni Hayat” is to provide the participation of local people to determine the politics to mitigate social risk related to poverty. In order to do this, with this Project, sociological analysis of data that are obtained from survey is evaluated.With regard to this aim, the suvey conducted in this Project makes a sociological examination of poverty and deprivation of people in Yeni Hayat in context of socio-demographic, economic, cultural, and social relations. At the end of this evaluation, by developing sub-projects to mitigate social problems, various kinds of solution propositions are made.Unit of research is households of Yeni Hayat district. Data are gathered by interview Schedule that applied to both head of household an done member of family who can give information about his/her own family)