Meslek Yüksekokulları

Experiences with emergency distance education: A dilemma between face-to-face education and distance education in tour guiding

2024-07-22T15:31:16Z

Experiences with emergency distance education: A dilemma between face-to-face education and distance education in tour guiding Ozdemir, Meltem Altinay; Tombas, Zeynep Universities switched from face-to-face to emergency distance education as a solution to the crisis during the Covid-19 pandemic. This enabled face-to-face students to experience distance education. This study examined these experiences for tour guiding education. Distance education was available in tour guiding departments at a few T & uuml;rkiye universities before the pandemic, and this was a discussion topic in academic. However, emergency distance education presented a dilemma for students: distance education or face-to-face education. Thus, the research includes students in the face-to-face tour guiding departments. A qualitative, phenomenological approach was employed to collect data using semi-structured interviews and an online questionnaire. Data were analyzed using thematic content analysis. The findings revealed that students preferred face-toface education while being uncertain about the pros and cons of distance education. However, this decision should be underlined as not definitive. The study emphasizes that distance education is ineffective for tour guiding education due to the absence of practical courses, which are crucial for tour guiding, as well as effective communication. The study provides theoretical insights into the educational strategies used in tourism during crises and offers practical implications for enhancing distance education in higher education institutions.

37 years after the chernobyl

2024-07-03T15:32:01Z

37 years after the chernobyl Gunay, Osman; Yalcin, Caner; Guray, R. Taygun; Karakurt, Didem Avci; Tantoglu, Ezgi; Basdemir, Safa This study aims to assess the artificial and natural radiation dose levels in certain districts of Kocaeli province within the Marmara region, 37 years after the Chernobyl nuclear accident, and evaluate the current status prior to potential nuclear leakage events from Zaporijya or other nuclear power plants. Radioactive concentrations of Th-232, U-238, K-40 and Cs-137 were determined using HPGe gamma spectrometry in 26 soil samples collected from the region of interest. The average concentrations were found to be 22.35 Bqkg(-1) for U-238, 26.36 Bqkg(-1) for Th-232, 368.34 Bqkg(-1) for K-40, and 2.44 Bqkg(-1) for Cs-137. Furthermore, the study revealed an absorbed dose rate of 41.73 nGyh(-1), an annual effective dose equivalent of 51.18 mu Svy(-1), and an excess lifetime cancer risk of 0.00018.

Vibrational Genetic Algorithm-Based Deployment of Wireless Sensor Networks With Heterogeneous Nodes in Irregularly Shaped Areas

2024-05-23T15:31:24Z

Vibrational Genetic Algorithm-Based Deployment of Wireless Sensor Networks With Heterogeneous Nodes in Irregularly Shaped Areas Birtane, Sibel; Sahingoz, Ozgur Koray; Korkmaz, Hayriye Over the past few years, there has been a significant emphasis on improving the capabilities of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) by making advancements in communication protocols, energy efficiency, optimal deployment, data analytics, and integration with emerging technologies, such as the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence. The deployment of WSN nodes can greatly enhance the effectiveness, scalability, and capability of different systems, resulting in cost reductions, enhanced performance, and improved safety in which the deployment of WSN involves determining the best positioning of sensor nodes to attain maximum coverage and connectivity while minimizing the number of nodes needed. WSNs often face challenges in deploying nodes effectively and Genetic Algorithms (GAs) offer a valuable approach for tackling this problem due to their ability to efficiently search large and complex solution spaces, such as those of complex network design, taking into account various constraints and objectives, which are common characteristics of real-world WSN deployment scenarios. The objective of this study is to use a new method, called the vibrational genetic algorithm, which can be used to optimize the placement of sensor nodes more efficiently. Apart from the other research, it is preferred to use heterogeneous sensor nodes to increase the coverage rate in an irregularly shaped area. The results of the experiments demonstrate that the proposed model offers an effective solution for achieving maximum coverage in application theaters that are more realistic and complex.

Occurrence of sulfate-reducing bacteria in well water

2024-05-03T15:31:23Z

Occurrence of sulfate-reducing bacteria in well water Ustunturk-Onan, Miray; Tuccar, Tugce; Ilhan-Sungur, Esra Bacteriological studies of well water mainly focus on aerobic and facultative aerobic coliform bacteria. However, the presence of obligate anaerobic bacteria in well water, especially sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB), possible causative agents of some diseases, is often ignored. In this study, the presence of SRB and coexisting anaerobic bacteria with SRB in sulfate-reducing enrichment cultures obtained from 10 well water samples in Istanbul was investigated. A nested polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis strategy was performed to characterize the bacterial community structure of the enrichments. The most probable number method was used to determine the SRB number. Out of 10, SRB growth was observed in only one (10%) enrichment culture and the SRB number was low (<10 cells/mL). Community members were identified as Desulfolutivibrio sulfodismutans and Anaerosinus sp. The results show that SRB coexist with Anaerosinus sp., and this may indicate poor water quality, posing a risk to public health. Furthermore, Anaerosinus sp. found in the human intestinal tract, may be used as an alternative anaerobic fecal indicator. It is worth noting that the detection of bacteria using molecular analyzes following enrichment culture techniques can bring new perspectives to determine the possible origin and presence of alternative microbial indicators in aquatic environments.