This study aims to analyze the increasing divorce rate in T & uuml;rkiye within the context of tradition and religion. The central question of the research is whether religion and tradition can resist divorce. Within the scope of the research, a new secondary dataset was prepared using the microdataset of the T & uuml;rkiye Family Structure Survey (TAYA) conducted by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT) in 2021, focusing on variables related to the relationship between religion, tradition, and divorce. The relationships between variables in this dataset were analyzed and interpreted using various statistical tests. Statistical tests were performed using the latest version of JASP (0.95.4). According to the research findings, religiosity and traditional practices have a significant protective effect on divorce. Strong significant differentiation relationships were found between independent variables, such as religiosity, traditional and consensual marriage forms, religious marriage, and consanguineous marriage, and dependent variables related to divorce. The research demonstrates that traditional attitudes and practices, along with religiosity, continue to have a strong and protective effect on marriages in T & uuml;rkiye. Given the general and steady increase in divorce rates in T & uuml;rkiye, this study finds that religious belief levels, family consent, and traditional acquaintance networks constitute statistically significant and strong protective barriers to divorce practices, while trends toward secularization and individualization legitimize divorce processes at a normative level.
This study aims to reveal T & uuml;rkiye's perceived attractiveness for digital nomads within the framework of destination attractiveness theory. In this context, it questions the theory's limitations while proposing the "Constructive Reverse Flow" approach as a response. A multiple qualitative design was employed, drawing on two data sources: (1) user evaluations of T & uuml;rkiye on the Nomad List platform and (2) semi-structured interviews conducted with 19 digital nomads who had visited T & uuml;rkiye. Using content analysis, eight main themes influencing the destination choices of digital nomads were identified: internet accessibility, cost of living, safety, social integration, transport infrastructure, climate, work opportunities, and cultural atmosphere. The findings indicate that traditional destination attractiveness theory has limited explanatory power in the face of this new type of tourist and that the experiences of digital nomads not only shape destination attractiveness but also contribute to the transformation of destinations. In this regard, the proposed "Constructive Reverse Flow" approach positions the experiences of digital nomads as a constructive feedback mechanism for destination planning processes. This study provides theoretical and practical contributions to the development of digital-nomad-friendly destination policies.
As a historical phenomenon, poverty has been shaped by economic and social transformations. In countries with a high youth population, such as T & uuml;rkiye, the level of economic development, labor market problems, and disruptions in the transition from education to employment create significant problems for young people. The study examined youth poverty through the experiences of unassigned teacher candidates. To this end, the economic and social deprivation, perceptions of poverty, coping strategies, and efforts to escape poverty of unappointed pre-service teachers were examined. The study is qualitative, and a phenomenological research design was used. The findings showed that poverty is not only caused by economic reasons, but that lack of social participation, lack of political proximity, lack of access to resources, lack of capability, and lack of time are also part of this phenomenon. As a result, it is emphasized that in the fight against youth poverty, education policies should be revised, solutions for the labor market should be developed, and solutions should be developed to ensure that the transition from education to work takes place on the same plane.
This study examines the intercultural communication and adaptation processes of Turkish aviation professionals working abroad, illuminating the challenges they face and the strategies they employ to navigate these complexities. Through in-depth interviews with 32 participants analyzed using MAXQDA software, the research identified eight key themes that significantly influence adaptation: cultural differences, material and social rights, security, xenophobia, international experience, language competence, duration of stay abroad, and personal traits. The study’s key findings emphasize the importance of cultural intelligence (CQ), language proficiency, and psychosocial resilience as crucial factors for successful adaptation, complemented by external factors such as material benefits and safety. Additionally, it underscores the valuable role of prior international experience and family support in enhancing adjustment capabilities, while xenophobia and security concerns are noted as substantial barriers to effective adaptation. These findings align with established theories, including Hall’s communication contexts and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, contributing to the literature on expatriate management and intercultural communication. Practical recommendations emphasize the need for pre-departure cultural training, host language support, family integration, and inclusive policies to mitigate xenophobia, thereby providing a robust framework to enhance intercultural adaptation in the aviation sector and guide future research on global labor mobility.
Building on Castells' view that contemporary social movements are increasingly formed and spread through social media networks, this study examines PEGIDA as an empirical example of this process. Emerging from a Facebook group in Germany, PEGIDA rapidly expanded beyond national borders and, despite its dissolution after a decade, has come to symbolize right-wing populism in the German context. While the movement's mobilizing capacity declined over time, its political and social repercussions remained significant. Rather than addressing PEGIDA solely as a social movement, this study focuses on its influence on political discourse in Germany, drawing on in-depth interviews conducted with nine German Turks. The findings indicate that levels of awareness about PEGIDAvary accordingto demographic factors such as age and occupation; however, irrespective of socioeconomic background, all participants demonstrate a basic familiarity with the movement and perceive PEGIDA as a symbolic representation of right-wing populist discourse in Europe. Accordingly, the findings indicate that German Turks perceive PEGIDA as being directly linked to racism and Islamophobia, while indirectly associating it with feelings of threat and fear.
This study investigates the influence of individual and organizational characteristics on the adoption of financial technology among Indonesian micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Despite the growing availability of financial technology, Bank Indonesia reports that only 30-40% of MSMEs use formal financial services. This highlights a gap between the availability of technology and its actual use among MSMEs. This research examines MSMEs’ use of technology and investigates the impact of educational attainment and specific features, particularly size, on their preparedness to adopt it. Using PLS-SEM with SmartPLS4, this study analyses how the owner’s education level and the MSME’s size influence the MSME’s readiness to adopt financial technology. The findings indicate that marketing and customer payments are the primary areas of technology use, while adoption in accounting and financial recordkeeping remains limited. Simultaneously, optimism and innovation are adversely affected by firm characteristics; specifically, larger firm sizes correlate with greater pessimism and a greater reluctance among MSMEs to adopt technology in the financial sector. Moreover, insecurity is significantly correlated with business characteristics, indicating that larger MSMEs experience heightened uncertainty about technology adoption in the financial sector. This outcome signifies that the shift to digital financialization is a big, and challenging for them.
This study aims to examine the short-and long-run impacts of tax revenues on manufacturing value added in the German economy. In addition, GDP growth is treated as a control variable to provide a comprehensive assessment of the role of the tax structure in shaping manufacturing performance. The analysis uses annual data for the period 1991-2023 sourced from the World Bank. The stationarity properties ofthe variables are examined using Augmented Dickey-Fuller(ADF) and Phillips-Perron (PP) unit root tests, and due to the mixed order of integration, the ARDL bounds testing approach is employed. Short-and long-run dynamics are analyzed using the ARDL error correction model (ECM), while model stability is assessed using the CUSUM and CUSUMSQ tests. Structural breaks identified through stability tests are controlled by incorporating dummy variables into the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model. The empirical findings indicate that the share of tax revenue within GDP exerts a negative and statistically significant effect on manufacturing value added in the long run. Conversely, GDP growth positively influences manufacturing value added in both the short and long run. The negative and significant error correction term confirms that deviations from long-run equilibrium are corrected rapidly. Overall, the results suggest that while economic growth supports manufacturing performance in Germany, a higher tax burden may constrain production capacity in the long term.
This study examines the increasingly widespread bodybuilding-fitness culture and supplement addiction through the lens of the political economy of signs. The primary aim is to conceptualize supplement use as a form of addiction and to unpack the socio-cultural and economic mechanisms behind it. An ethnographic design was adopted; in-depth interviews were conducted with 14 male participants, and approximately two years of field observations in gyms were incorporated into the dataset. Analysis yielded four main themes: the economy of visibility; consumption discipline and the cycle of dependency; costs, sponsorships, and the informal market; and the aestheticization and minimization of risks. Findings indicate that supplement use is transformed into a form of addiction shaped by the desire to increase the body's sign value. The symbolic value attributed to bodily appearance leads participants to rationalize potential health risks in line with esthetic concerns. This process confers esthetic meanings on supplements and banned substances such as steroids and legitimizes an unregulated, informal market structure. Ultimately, the study demonstrates the conversion of the body into sign-capital within the economic- political order and shows how this conversion intersects with individual patterns of addiction.
This study examines the relationship between household consumption and happiness across countries. We compare the top 50 countries ranked by happiness with those ranked by average household consumption per capita and analyze the association between happiness and consumption through data patterns and cross-sectional regression models. Although the focus of the paper is on the top 50 countries ranked by happiness and consumption, we also extend our regression analysis to a broader group that includes low- and middle-income countries. We employ an ordinary least squares regression framework with log-transformed consumption and inequality (Gini index) as primary predictors. Our results indicate that higher household consumption is positively associated with happiness, but the relationship is complex and varies across country groups. Consumption plays a bigger role in influencing happiness in the top 50 consumption group and in the broader cross-country sample compared to the group of the 50 happiest countries. Notably, several countries with relatively low consumption levels display markedly high happiness outcomes, highlighting the importance of non-material factors such as social support, freedom, and institutional quality in influencing happiness. These findings suggest a need for policy frameworks that go beyond income and consumption to promote comprehensive well-being in a country.
Tax compliance refers to an individual's adherence to tax rules, which varies depending on internal and external factors. Tax literacy is a comprehensive concept encompassing tax knowledge, a positive attitude toward taxes, and the ability to apply tax practices effectively. This study examines the relationship between tax compliance and tax literacy, which is both an internal and sociological factor, through the lens of trust and fairness in tax administration, as well as tax resistance variables, using a structural equation model. The Tax Literacy Model (TaxLM) measures the relationship between tax compliance and all sub-dimensions of tax literacy, divided into cognitive, affective, and psychomotor sub-categories according to the learning stages. The study sample consisted of 778 taxpayers from 26 cities in the NUTS-2 subregion of T & uuml;rkiye. As a result of the research, it was determined that the affective dimension of tax literacy significantly impacts tax compliance through the intermediary variables of trust, fairness, and tax resistance. Additionally, the psychomotor dimension of tax literacy had an indirect effect on tax compliance via tax resistance, whereas the cognitive dimension had a minimal impact on tax compliance.
This study explores how dead body management was organized after the Kahramanmara & scedil;earthquakes on February 6, 2023, in T & uuml;rkiye, Turkey, using Actor-Network Theory (ANT). The research employed a qualitative, multi-method approach, including document analysis, field observations, discourse analysis, and in-depth interviews. 18 interviews with personnel from the Presidency of Religious Affairs (PRA) mainly served as tools for network tracing to identify key actors, actants, and organizational mechanisms, rather than as sources of individual stories. The results show that the PRA became the essential point in organizing the deceased through translation processes, supported by delegated flexibility and religious legitimacy. Material constraints, such as the condition and number of bodies, time pressure, and infrastructural damage, significantly influenced decision-making. The study also finds that volunteerism is socially valued but insufficient for the professional and emotionally intense task of managing dead bodies. By mapping the networked relationships involved in post-disaster death practices, this study emphasizes the importance of established protocols, inter-institutional collaboration, ethical standards for suspending rituals, psychological support for staff, and clear data-sharing processes. It presents a new ANT-based view of disaster governance and enhances understanding of how dead bodies serve as key actors in crisis management.
The 21st century has witnessed rapid and profound transformations that have reshaped working life. These changes significantly impact Generation Z, which is regarded as the workforce of the future. Transitioning into the workforce requires flexible career construction. This study examined Generation Z's career construction process and their attitudes toward working life. The research was conducted with third-year students enrolled in the departments of Labor Economics and Industrial Relations and Business Administration at Kocaeli University and Bursa Uluda & gbreve; University. Responses of 50 participants were analyzed through thematic analysis using MAXQDA qualitative analysis software, version 2024. The findings revealed that employment and career opportunities are the predominant factors influencing the deciding dimension of career construction. In the crystallizing dimension, family and friends play the most significant role, followed by the academic environment. In the exploration dimension, the primary sources of career-related information are family members and influential professionals. In the preparation dimension, students focus on academic activities, internships, work experience, courses, certificate programs, and training. This study examined attitudes toward the meaning of work. Participants emphasized their preference for a tolerant, peaceful, and sincere work environment and identified success, receiving the rewards of their efforts, and contributing to life as important values. They also attached great importance to work-life balance and opportunities for development. The most frequently mentioned attributes used to describe an ideal employee were responsibility, hard work, discipline, and loyalty. This study contributes to the existing literature by offering insights into young individuals' career development processes and their perspectives on the meaning of work.
Since the 1980s, working hours and the workplace have largely moved away from the standard due to advancing technologies and flexibility practices. Because of these developments, one of the emerging forms of work, self-employed couriering, has rapidly increased its dominance in the labor market in recent years. Self-employed couriering, whose implementation continues to expand day by day, has frequently become the subject of scientific research due to its structure that differs from traditional forms of employment. This study focuses on identifying the profile, working system, and working conditions of self-employed couriers in Turkey through data obtained from the field and on the discovery of appropriate steps toward the ambiguity of status uncertainty and precariousness in this work line. The results of the qualitative field research reveal the insecure structure of self-employed couriering, which is often referred to as precarious in the literature, but also show that this classification is not absolute due to factors such as trade-offs and expectations of high income. However, the research findings clearly reveal the ambiguity surrounding the status of self-employed couriers and emphasize the need for concrete and innovative legal regulations that are internationally accepted with respectto status uncertainty in particular, as well as occupational health and safety, income and social protection, and job security, independent of the factor of insecurity.
Occupational safety experts lead individuals to work safely in their workplaces and try to monitor their health. In this context, occupational safety experts have great responsibilities in solving the safety problems that employees may face, especially health problems that may develop due to work. Within the scope of this study, the effectiveness of the mental workload of occupational safety experts on job stress and job satisfaction is discussed. In this context, it is aimed to explain the effects of mental workload on the job stress and job satisfaction of occupational safety experts; thus, it is estimated that as workload increases, job stress will increase and job satisfaction will decrease. This study, which tries to explain the relationship in question, and making suggestions for occupational safety experts is of great importance in terms of both their psychological and physiological health. At the same time, the fact that such a relationship has not been examined before reveals the original importance of the study. The study was conducted through an online survey distributed to 623 participants, who were occupational safety experts, using random sampling via ISG Katip, social media, and WhatsApp groups. The findings indicate that A-class experts exhibit higher job satisfaction than other categories. A strong positive correlation was found between mental workload and job stress (r=0.546; p<0.05), while a strong negative correlation was observed between mental workload and job satisfaction (r=-0.525; p<0.05). In addition, it was determined that there was a strong negative relationship between the participants' job satisfaction and work-related stress levels (r: -0.572; p<0.05). This result means that when the participants' job satisfaction increases, their work-related stress levels decrease.
The consumption of alcohol and alcohol-related disorders are increasingly becoming a significant public health issue worldwide. In this context, the purpose of this study is to use the Broken Windows Theory (BWT) to analyze alcohol dependence as a social and psychological issue and to reveal the factors that contribute to its development. The study group consisted of 14 participants (9 males and 5 females) residing in Malatya, T & uuml;rkiye. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews using a semi-structured interview form and analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings reveal that peer influence functions as the initial "broken window,"and the social normalization and promotion of alcohol use contribute to the onset of addiction. Furthermore, family dynamics intensify the issue, with intra-family conflicts and widespread alcohol use fostering further maladaptive behaviors. Additionally, alcohol is employed as a psychological escape mechanism for coping with stress, reinforcing continuous consumption. It was observed that individuals experience regret when their alcohol use becomes uncontrollable, and they engage in a struggle to overcome their addiction. In conclusion, the study highlights the critical role of peer influence, family dynamics, and stress management in shaping alcohol addiction, emphasizing the importance of targeted interventions aimed at these factors.
The widespread use of digital technologies and the increasing prevalence of internet usage in a globalized world have significantly influenced individuals' personality traits. In particular, the restriction of face-to-face interactions during global pandemics has led individuals to maintain their lives in digital environments. These developments have made it increasingly important to investigate the relationship between internet use and personality characteristics. This study aims to adapt the Online Narcissistic Personality Inventory (ONPI), developed by Chou and Farn (2015) based on the 40-item Narcissistic Personality Inventory by Raskin and Terry (1988), into Turkish and to examine its psychometric properties. The study sample consists of 397 individuals from diverse age groups and socio-demographic backgrounds. Data was analyzed using SPSS 30 and AMOS 30 software. According to the results of the exploratory factor analysis, the item factor loadings ranged from 0.466 to 0.812, and the total variance explained by the scale was found to be 58.36%. Confirmatory factor analysis results (Chi-square/df:2.584; RMSEA:0.063; NFI: 0.84; IFI: 0.90; TLI: 0.87; CFI: 0.90; GFI: 0.90) indicated that the scale exhibits a five-factor structure with 27 items. The internal consistency of the scale was high, with a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.93. Additionally, the item total correlations ranged between 0.326 and 0.700. The findings demonstrate that the Turkish adaptation of the Online Narcissistic Personality Inventory is a valid and reliable measurement tool.
Existing literature indicates that social backgrounds influence occupational choices, making them a crucial consideration for economic and human capital policies. The gig work has emerged as a popular alternative form of labor, with individuals leveraging technologies to seek and perform tasks. Gig workers play a vital role in advancing socio-economic agendas in many countries, prompting the introduction of various policies to nurture the ecosystem. Given its novelty, research on the characteristics of gig workers remains limited. With big data and machine learning analytics, it is now possible to integrate traditional approaches with new techniques in research. In this study, we aim to investigate the gig workforce by pursuing two objectives: to identify the profiles and job-seeking patterns of gig workers and to determine their work and earning behaviors within a selected segment of the gig economy. We employ a combination of data analytics and empirical surveys, focusing on data from Malaysia. Specifically, this study examined over 400,000 user profiles on the nation's gig economy platform eRezeki via unsupervised machine learning(clustering) and association rule miningto unveil behavioral and demographic patterns. K-means clustering divided gig workers into groups according to their demographic and skill traits, and association rule mining indicated frequent job preference and income patterns related to user attributes. Afurther300 Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, and Putrajaya delivery riders were also given guided questionnaires to complement and validate the platform data. This study contributes in two ways. It enhances the understanding of the talent profiles of gig workers in relation to national strategies for the gig economy. Furthermore, it illustrates the potential and complementary roles of data mining and empirical surveys in conducting research. We discuss several implications for future research.
The Kahramanmara & scedil; earthquakes of February 6, 2023 in T & uuml;rkiye displaced the socially embedded structure of spaces due to significant material losses and human fatalities. The earthquakes destroyed symbolically valuable and emotionally comforting "lived spaces". The displacement of the taken-for-granted world likely transformed individuals' emotional states, perceptions of space, and perspectives toward social relationships. This study aims to develop a valid and reliable scale to measure adults' perceptions of social life after the earthquake (Post-Earthquake Social Life Perception Scale, PESLPS). The study sample consisted of individuals residing in the container cities of Kahramanmara & scedil; and Hatay. The results indicated that the final scale comprises 10 items across three dimensions (perception of container city, emotional state, and social relationships), explaining 51.62% of the total variance. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the three-factor structure with acceptable fit indices (chi 2/df = 1.536; RMSEA = .037; SRMR = .0531; TLI = .921; CFI = .946; GFI = .976). The Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficients were adequate, with a value of .889 for the entire scale. These findings demonstrate that the PESLPS possesses acceptable levels of validity and reliability. Given T & uuml;rkiye's susceptibility to earthquakes, developing such a scale presents significant societal benefits.
This study aims to reveal the language-based challenges migrants face in accessing and utilizing healthcare services, as well as the solution strategies they adopt, based on qualitative research conducted with 57 migrants from Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, and Iran who migrated to Turkey. The data were collected in Eski & scedil;ehir over a 10-month period in 2023. The findings resulted in the emergence of four main themes. The first theme, fragile independence, illustrates how migrants attempt to overcome language barriers through personal initiatives, such as using translation tools or self-medication. The second theme, solidaristic dependency, highlights how migrants rely on informal networks, family members, or paid interpreters to access healthcare services and demonstrate solidarity. The third theme, isolation, uncovers the processes of exclusion, withdrawal, and silencing experienced by migrants who lack linguistic, social, and economic resources. The experiences reflected in these three themes lead migrants from different backgrounds to perceive intergroup inequality driven by language barriers, which is encapsulated in the final theme, hierarchy. This study makes an original contribution by demonstrating that language functions not only as a key social determinant of health but also as a mechanism of power that actively produces, maintains, and reinforces social and structural inequalities within and among migrant communities.
