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The construction industry in many developing countries is considered the main engine for economic growth. Quantification of the resilience of the construction industry in developing economies is essential for stakeholders and decision makers. Many researchers have attempted to quantify the construction industry's resilience in the context of developed economies; however, there is lack of established measures of such quantification in developing countries. This paper proposes a framework for the composition of an index that quantifies the resilience of the construction industry in developing countries. The proposed framework is demonstrated in the context of three developing countries: Rwanda, Egypt, and Turkey. The index is composed of measures such as the construction value added to a country's gross domestic product (GDP) and employment in construction. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is utilized for weighting and aggregation of the individual variables. Studying the causal relationship between construction growth and economic development from 1971 to 2022, results show that construction growth leads to economic development in each of the three countries. Results of the proposed index values indicate that the construction industry in each of the three countries demonstrated increased resilience by sustaining both its outputs and its employment generation aspect in the two years following the coronavirus pandemic in 2019. Quantification of the construction industry's resilience in countries where the construction growth leads to the economic growth would provide a crucial insight for stakeholders and decision makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new realm in spatial planning defies administrative boundaries and adopts larger territories than cities, which encompasses city clusters where cities can both compete and cooperate rather than compete as individual entities. In that regard, various approaches to the delineation of functional regions and "mega" regions have been proposed in time, based on population and employment, the urban landscape, or the interactions between regions in terms of intracity travel or migration flows. This paper proposes a methodology to delineate functional regions as well as megaregions based on the pattern of intercity freight flows and a composite economic indicator, exemplified by a case study of Turkey. A four-step delineation method is proposed in which population and trips are used initially to rank the cities and their hinterlands. Second, hierarchical clustering is carried out to delineate new clusters based on flows, and the resulting clusters are used to delineate functional regions for regional planning purposes. Third, a composite economic indicator (income and wealth index, IWI) is employed to refine and finalize the boundaries, thus ensuring the functional zones' homogeneity as economic clusters. In the last step, megaregions are pinpointed based on the cities of the functional regions using two criteria: IWI (≥0.4089) and GDP (TRY ≥18.3 million) in 2015. The defined regions represent a new geographical scale in regional planning that can aid the central government in addressing leading regional issues: for example, prioritizing governmental investments that are subsidized by national funds aimed at the alleviation of regional inequalities. A future study may focus on the effect of regional economic inequalities on internal migration flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, one of the most important urban planning and architectural projects of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's national program was the establishment and development of a new capital city called Ankara. During these formative years, Ankara underwent a major program of architectural urbanism and modernism that visually set the young republic apart from its recent Ottoman past. This paper will attempt to examine historical precedents in capital city planning via a cross-country analysis to that of Ankara; however, it will also highlight the extant literature and contribute to the argument that Ankara provides a unique experience in modernism, urbanism, and especially nation-building in the 20th century. Although Turkey's political and national direction has taken a new course in the early 21st century, the Kemalist strategy in communicating national identity and nation-building continues to be emulated and communicated in state-sponsored architecture in Ankara. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Turkey, which is a country with rapid population growth, has a housing problem with low-income groups, that particularly emerged due to urbanization. Different solutions have been used in an attempt to solve this problem, within the scope of social housing policies that the local or central governments have produced. However, social housing policies have been insufficient to solve the rapidly changing housing problem due to the social, political, and economic dynamics of Turkey. Some social housing policies have succeeded; however, some have accelerated the formation of illegal settlements. Although the most important component of this multidimensional process is generally the government, actors, such as users, architects, and construction companies, whose expectations and effects are different from each other are the components of the process. It is uncommon for the user to have a say in the design, or production, or both of a house. This is true for Turkey and many countries worldwide. This paper aims to achieve a centralized view of the production of housing for low-income groups in Turkey, which is quite complicated and problematic; and to draw attention to the potential of user participation that has not previously had a place in this process and to open the issue to discussion. First, a literature review will be conducted that focuses on discourses in the late 1960s and early 1970s, where user participation in low-cost housing production was on the agenda. Later, to revise the existing large framework in the context of Turkey, social housing policies that were developed by the governments to solve the housing demands of low-income groups will be briefly reviewed. Finally, the effect of user participation in the process of social housing for low-income groups in Turkey will be discussed through the best practices believed to be from three practical experiments. The aim is to raise awareness about user participation in low-cost housing production in Turkey which is not currently on the agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construction is considered as one of the highly fragmented, inefficient, and low-performing industries. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems have been used to overcome such problems. However, due to a number of technical and organizational barriers, ERP implementation is very challenging. The major objective of the research reported in this paper is to explore the critical success factors (CSFs) of ERP implementation in the construction industry in developing countries. In this respect, based on an extensive literature review, 14 CSFs were identified and a questionnaire survey was conducted to analyze the role of those CSFs on the performance of ERP implementation. The data is collected from 90 construction firms from Turkey. The statistical analysis results show that top management support and commitment, clear goals and objectives, project team competence, effectiveness of the project leader, and cooperation between team members are the most significant drivers of success. Factor analysis was also employed on the data and the findings suggest three dimensions, namely (1) human factors, (2) organization, and (3) technology. Findings of the research reported in this paper are expected to help senior managers and consultants implement ERP systems in construction firms in an effective manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The significant damage observed during recent earthquakes resulting from liquefaction of shallow saturated soil deposits beneath structures has illustrated the need for further research in the area of liquefaction-induced ground movement effects. This study used the shake table facility at the University of California, San Diego to evaluate the liquefaction-induced settlement of a shallow foundation founded on top of liquefiable ground conditions. To study the seismic performance of a shallow rigid foundation, two large-scale shake table tests were conducted using different input motions with varying peak accelerations. The experimental model comprised three soil layers and included a shallow foundation seated over an unsaturated crust layer underlain by saturated loose and dense layers. The model ground was based on similar subsurface ground conditions observed in recent earthquakes in New Zealand, Japan, and Turkey. The seismic response of the model foundation and the soil was captured through intensive instrumentation. The main purpose of this study was to better understand the contributing mechanisms in liquefaction-induced settlement of buildings during strong shaking. Results from this series of tests were used to explore different liquefaction mitigation countermeasures; this study served as a baseline for two follow-on shake table tests which are not discussed in this paper. Detailed discussions of the excess pore-water pressure generation and dissipation, and its effect on the contributing mechanisms of liquefaction-induced settlement are presented, along with the application of standardized cumulative absolute velocity as an intensity measure to estimate the amount of liquefaction-induced settlement. The flow velocity calculation due to hydraulic transient gradient indicated an upward flow in the loose layer, which explains the observed sand ejecta. Measured and estimated foundation settlements were compared using simplified procedures. The observed foundation settlement generally was higher than the estimated settlement. This series of large-scale shake table tests provides a unique benchmark for calibration of numerical models, and simplified procedures to reliably estimate liquefaction-induced building settlements. Future mitigation tests can be evaluated using the results of this baseline experimental study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to present the field investigation and performance assessment of the mosques and minarets constructed around the cities of Elaziğ and Malatya and their surrounding districts shortly after the earthquake (magnitude of MW=6.5–6.8 according to different institutions) that occurred at 8:55 p.m. local time on Friday January 24, 2020, in the Sivrice township of Elazığ, located in the southwest of the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. Mosques and minarets are special structures affected by earthquakes as other buildings too. Two types of mosques and minarets constructed using masonry and reinforced concrete constructional materials and technologies were investigated. A total of 20 mosques with minarets having either a masonry or reinforced concrete carrier system were extensively examined. It is concluded that a significant part of the collapsed and damaged mosques and minarets did not receive adequate engineering services and/or were constructed without following national guidelines. Also, it is thought that the absence of any codes or guidelines for these special structures is a major deficiency and leaves engineers in a difficult position during the design phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to define trends and dominant modes in annual instantaneous maximum flows (AIMF) covering the period 1961–2014 from 10 gauge stations located in different river basins in Turkey. To achieve this aim, discrete wavelet transform (DWT) and additive wavelet transform (AWT) in conjunction with the Mann-Kendall (MK) test are used and compared for the first time. Moreover, global wavelet spectrum (GWS) is employed to test the significance of the most effective periodic components. The sequential MK test is also used to determine the start or change points of trend in AIMF series. From the MK trend results, five stations showed a statistically significant (at a 5% level) negative trend for AIMF series and short-term periodic components (2 and 4 years) were found to be the most effective components, which are responsible for producing a real trend founded on the data series. The GWS analysis indicated that the most dominant components identified are significant. In addition, the MK- z values of the most effective periods derived from AWT generally showed a better agreement with MK- z value of original time series with higher correlation coefficient compared to those of DWT. The sequential MK graphs of the AWT-based time series also produced a better harmony with the sequential MK of the original data. Finally, the results showed AWT coupled with the MK provided a very efficient and accurate analysis for defining the most effective modes in the AIMF series and can be successfully used in any hydrological time series. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a study of the hydrodynamic stability of a submerged floating pipeline (SFP) under regular waves. Generally, pipelines submerged in water are constructed as the seabed type, using the immersed method. However, in the Turkey and Cyprus Project, which was completed in 2015, pipelines that traverse water depths of up to 1,500 m were constructed using the suspended method for offshore crossings to ensure economic feasibility. This study investigated the behavior and response characteristics of submerged floating pipelines using the buoyancy to weight ratio, the tendon anchoring method, and the wave incidence angle by finite-element analysis. When the influence of the waves increases as the SFP approaches the free surface, the SFP has large deformation due to the material properties of the pipe. Installed depth was very important because the effect of wave for SFP decreases according to increasing of the water depth. The proposed analysis method produced good results. It can be applied as an evaluation of global behavior in the design phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper investigates the structural performance of a seven-story reinforced concrete (RC) building that collapsed during the Van (Turkey) earthquake on October 23, 2011, using nonlinear static and dynamic methods. The selected RC building has two blocks and was designed according to the Turkish Earthquake Code (TEC) in 1975. The site investigation included sections and steel detailing and soil and concrete properties taken after the earthquake. The pushover and nonlinear time history analyses of the building were completed using the existing plan and test and observation data. It is concluded that the building collapses both analysis types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the past several decades, many studies illustrated the importance of socioeconomic factors on interregional migration in different countries. Interregional migration has had an immense impact on Turkey's population dynamics after the 1950s. This study aims at investigating the patterns of interregional migration in Turkey during the period of 2008 to 2010 using a hierarchical cluster analysis. First, the paper gives background information about interregional migration by providing the ratios of immigration and emigration with respect to the population and the characteristics of the regions between 2007 and 2010. Second, interregional immigration and emigration flows are investigated by the use of a hierarchical clustering analysis with different linkage techniques, e.g., single, complete, average, and others, which determine how the distance between two clusters should be defined to represent actual partitioning. Then, the best partitioning of the regions is selected based on a popular internal or unsupervised criterion, called cophenetic correlation. According to the results obtained by the single linkage that yielded the highest cophenetic correlation, the country's largest city, Istanbul, dominates the largest cluster of the country consisting of the regions from east to west both immigration and emigration flows. These analyses have shed light on the complex relationship of the interregional migration in Turkey. Regional inequalities can be overcome first by understanding this complex relationship of the interregional migration in the country. Then, under a national strategic development plan, public investments can be directed more to, and private investments can be encouraged in, underdeveloped regions via the tool of economic subsidies in order to create economic sustainability across the regions throughout the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to propose a decision support tool for contractors before the bidding stage to quantify the probability of delay in construction projects in Turkey by using the relative importance index (RII) method incorporated into fuzzy logic. For this purpose, 83 delay factors were identified, categorized into 9 major groups through a detailed literature review process as well as interviews with experts from the construction industry. The relative importance of these delay factors and groups was quantified by using the relative importance index method. The ranking of the factors and groups was demonstrated according to their level of effect on delay. A delay assessment model was proposed using the fuzzy set theory by taking into account the delay factors characterized in construction projects. The assessment model was developed using a commercial software product. The proposed methodology was tested in a real case study; and the probability of the delay of the project was evaluated by means of the assessment model after the required inputs were entered into the software. The factors and groups that contribute most to the probability of delays were discussed depending on the case study results. The assessment model results were found to be satisfactory. Finally, some recommendations were made in order to minimize and control delays in construction projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought forecasting is a critical aspect of water resource management, where droughts have substantial economic and environmental impacts. This study employs a Monte Carlo–based approach, complemented by statistical distribution fitting and trend analysis, to forecast future streamflows on long-narrow type drainage basins. Therefore, the Kızılırmak River Basin in Turkey, which is a long and narrow type, has been selected to test the suggested method. Historical data are used to determine the best-fitting distributions, ensuring reliability in the selection of future streamflow scenarios also using trend analysis. The study reveals valuable insights into potential drought occurrences over the next 25 years, aiding decision makers in implementing water management strategies. Based on the analysis results, it is expected that the drought frequency is increased up to 64.7%. Drought severity is classified into different categories, offering an understanding of drought characteristics. The findings contribute to effective water resource planning by aiming the assessment of future hydrological droughts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stability and structural performance of aged structures under extreme events are rarely investigated. The severe deterioration in current condition of aged bridges can trigger premature failures under regular floods or even mild earthquakes. A reliable bridge inspection program is required for condition assessment. Currently, Turkey, a seismically active country, does not have a regular bridge inspection program or management systems. This deficiency was highlighted by the collapse of the Caycuma Bridge in 2012, killing 15 people during a regular flood event. The main contribution of this paper is to identify the need for in-depth investigation of aging bridges by integration of bridge inspection data with bridge seismic fragility curves and to address the seismic vulnerability of these bridges with a high level of scour. In this scope, one of the inspected bridges has been selected to determine the loss of seismic load resistance attributable to floods. The investigation has included use of newly developed bridge fragility curves for Turkey and advanced nonlinear analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper conducts a catchment-scale analysis of extreme rainfall events of the reference (1961-1990) and three future climate periods (2013-2039, 2040-2070, and 2071-2100) for Rize Province, Turkey. The extreme value theory (EVT) is applied to analyze observational and projected extreme rainfall data including regional climate model (RCM) outputs guided by two general circulation models (GCM) under SRES-A2 and RCP8.5 greenhouse gas scenarios. A new rapid and effective bias correction method is also developed and applied to adjust the climate models simulations. The EVT analysis results demonstrated significant differences between the model runs for both the reference and future periods with considerable spatial variability in rainfall extremes. Based upon the assembled mean results, approximately a 30% decrease in the median value of extreme rainfall events is projected over the study region for the near future, 2013-2039, and middle of the century. This change dramatically decreases to 15% of its historic value at the end of the century. The results from the implemented GCM-RCM combinations revealed that more intense rainfalls are produced by the combination forced by the RCP8.5 scenario. In addition, the results from goodness-of-fit tests among different distribution models showed that general extreme value distribution can be used appropriately to characterize the behavior of projected extreme rainfalls over the study region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All over the world, governments, policy makers, and practitioners are searching for proper routes and corridors to invest transportation infrastructures such as new railways, highways, and multimodal ways. Although it is one of the important steps of development, finding a suitable route for new transport infrastructure is a complicated and conflicting task for of various reasons. Possible social and environmental impacts on society and increasing cost and technical pressures on decision makers are some of these reasons. Taking into consideration aspects of different evaluation criteria, a geographic information system (GIS)-based multicriteria solution approach is proposed in this study. Potential high-speed rail (HSR) routes in Turkey are considered as a case study. After gathering and processing the related GIS data, weights are assigned to each criterion by using the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process in order to indicate their relative importance. Then, the additive ratio assessment method is applied to carry out the multicriteria (13 technical, social, and demographic criteria) evaluation and selection of the suitable alternatives (among 20 HSR routes) under given circumstances. It was found that the corridor from the west part of Turkey (from İzmir and Manisa) to the Marmara region (Kocaeli and İstanbul) had the highest priority, followed by the corridor from Ankara to Kayseri. HSR trains could potentially reduce the journey times to Kocaeli and İstanbul from İzmir and Manisa, as compared with driving, by 46% and 45%, respectively. The results of this study can be used to evaluate potential HSR corridors/routes or similar transport infrastructures in other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last 30 years, there have been various findings related to the effects of construction investments––especially housing investments––on the economic development of urban areas. However, the impact of public housing investments on economic development in rapidly and dynamically developing countries with high housing demand has not been sufficiently discussed. This article presents an examination of the impact of housing production as a public housing investment on the economic development of provinces at the macro level through the case of Turkey. In the study, we analyzed the impact of public housing investments on the economic development of the provinces in Turkey between 2004 and 2018. Since 2004, Turkey has pursued a policy of increasing public housing investments, and for this purpose, the structure of the Toplu Konut İdaresi Başkanlığı (TOKI––the Mass Housing Authority), which is a strong and autonomous centralized public institution, has changed. Despite the increase in public housing investment at the country level as a result of this policy, the effect of public housing investment on economic growth at the provincial level has not been determined. In this study, panel data analysis methods were applied, regression analyses were conducted, and the findings were evaluated. The findings of the analyses showed that, although housing investments (private sector) have had an impact on the development of the provinces at the macro level, public housing investment and production have not played a decisive role in the economic development of the provinces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A civil engineer who lacks motivation, may perform poorly in making decisions, which may in turn negatively affect the performance of a construction project. This study extends knowledge about individual-level motivation among civil engineers and the relationship between the motivation of civil engineers and their demographics (i.e., age, marital status, education, work experience, type of company, project value). A questionnaire survey was administered to Turkish civil engineers in order to collect data on their personal demographics and their perceptions of the importance of different motivators. The case of Turkey is investigated because a large number of Turkish contractors are major players in international markets. This paper argues that there are statistically significant differences in the perception of some motivators by civil engineers based on their demographics and that different individuals need to be motivated by different motivators. The study demonstrates the existence of a relationship between demographics and motivators, an area that is mostly ignored in the motivation literature. Higher executives in the construction industry, who understand this relationship, may be able to motivate their engineers individually rather than using blanket motivators for all engineers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study argues that businesses, as principal units of both the economy and the urban environment, show different performances in the postdisaster period that in turn affect the community-level recovery. To this end, the paper examines the long-term recovery process of businesses through empirical research in Adapazari, Turkey, which was greatly challenged by the 1999 earthquake. A total of 232 respondent firms there were selected through stratified random sampling. Data were gathered via questionnaire designed to identify the factors that determined their success during the recovery process. It is hypothesized that the recovery performance of businesses is affected by a number of factors that are categorized thus: internal factors, response capacity, and the extent of damage within the business recovery model. The findings of the study indicate that business recovery is associated positively with operating in the finance, insurance, and real estate (FIRE) sector, but negatively correlated with operating in the trade and service sectors, and with variables expressing the states of being financially in trouble and taking more damage. A policy frame is provided for the integration of business recovery into community recovery by focusing on the predictors of business vulnerability and loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainability has become a major concern for the construction industry. There has been a growing emphasis on green buildings in the last decade. Renovation is critical in terms of improving the energy efficiency of the building stock. In this paper, the green building certification process of existing buildings in developing countries is investigated. A qualitative case study methodology has been employed to gain a better understanding of the critical success factors of the greening and certification process. In this respect, six leadership in energy and environmental design (LEED)-certified projects in Turkey are examined. A framework is used to analyze the components of this process, including the drivers, resources, green implementations, barriers, enablers, benefits, and impacts. Unavailability of approved materials, poor design of the buildings, and difficulties with the documentation process have been major barriers. The barriers have been overcome through the commitment of the owners, top management support, and collaborative working among project parties. The findings of this study are expected to guide construction professionals in certifying existing buildings in an effective manner. Similar studies may be conducted for existing buildings in different countries, where different regulations and conditions exist. The proposed framework can also be employed to investigate the certification process of new construction projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current national occupational safety and health (OSH) initiatives follow reactive approaches, i.e., if it breaks, fix it. Existing accounts, however, failed to improve national OSH performances substantially, which imposes the need for an in-depth and proactive (fix it so it will not break) investigation of national occupational fatality risks. Despite many studies examining the fatality risk of workers based on project-, company-, and/or behavior-related factors, the role of national conditions on the countrywide fatality risk of workers has not been explored. The present research leverages the national statistics of Turkey to examine their influence on construction workers' fatality risk through a machine learning–based prediction model. Several widely used machine learning methods were adopted for determining whether the upcoming month poses a significant fatality risk for construction workers or not based on national statistics of the previous month. According to analysis results, the gradient boosting decision tree algorithm yielded the highest prediction performance in terms of f1-score. The recently developed game theory–based Shapley Additive Explanations (SHAP) algorithm was used to identify whether and how national conditions affect countrywide fatality risk of construction workers. Findings illustrate that the share of the construction sector in employment, market demand, and labor shortage are the most significant national factors in determining the fatality risk. SHAP summary and SHAP dependence plots are further presented to provide decision makers with a clearer understanding of hidden relationships between fatality risk and national conditions. In addition, a framework that can be practically used by policy makers and governmental authorities is developed to help minimize national occupational fatality risk. Overall, predicting national fatality risk in the industry and identifying the national precursors of occupational fatalities contribute to the development of macrolevel safety improvements based on country-specific conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Occupational accidents are frequent in the construction industry, containing significant risks in the working environment. Therefore, early designation, taking preventive actions, and developing a proactive safety risk management plan are of paramount significance in managing safety issues in the construction industry. This study aims to develop a national data-driven safety management framework based on accident outcome prediction, which helps anatomize precursors of fatalities and thereby minimizing fatal accidents on construction sites. A national data set comprising 338,173 occupational accidents recorded in the construction industry across Turkey was used to develop a data-driven model. The random forest algorithm coupled with particle swarm optimization was used for the prediction and the interpretability of the proposed model was augmented through the game theory–based Shapley additive explanations (SHAP) approach. The findings showed that the proposed algorithm achieved satisfactory model performances for detecting construction workers who might face a fatality risk. The SHAP analysis results indicated that both company (such as number of past accidents and workers in the company) and worker-related (such as age, daily wage, experience, shift, and past accident of the workers) attributes were influential in identifying fatalities by detecting which workers might face fatal accidents under which conditions. A construction safety management plan was developed based on the analysis results, which can be used on construction sites to detect workers/conditions that are most susceptible to fatalities. The findings of the present research are expected to contribute to orchestrating effective safety management practices in construction sites by characterizing the root causes of severe accidents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Limiting individual transportation and increasing the share of public transportation has an important place in planning a sustainable transportation system in the urban environments of today. The most important goals for city governments include the ability to attract automobile users to public transportation. At this stage, there is a need for a public transportation system that aims to optimize the criteria of cost, safety, organization, and comfort. It is highly important to measure, assess, and improve the satisfaction of those who use public transportation for sustainable transportation. This study used an integrated quality function deployment (QFD) and multichoice goal programming approach to assess the satisfaction of people who use public transportation and to improve the transportation systems quality. The proposed approach was implemented for the tram system that is currently operational in Eskişehir in Turkey. According to the results that were obtained, with a low cost, it was seen that customer priorities could be met to a great extent as 93.1%. The results of the study are helpful for the decision makers to develop incentive policies regarding public transportation systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An increasing number of housing clusters have emerged because of the reconstitution of Turkish metropolitan municipalities, supported by the arrangements made in land development plans. Turkish metropolitans are determined by the administrative borders, while the world metropolitans are determined by their functional urban areas. Here, we aimed to evaluate the clustering capacity of metropolitan municipalities by focusing on the distribution of the residential occupation permits. Exploratory spatial data analysis was used to determine the core provinces of housing. The Moran Index was used to investigate the increase of clusters and this was cross-checked with the Spatial Lag results. We improved the recent land-use changes from rural plots to urban service parcels over the presence of the land development plans, including the transactions. Across the limited period studied, grifted patterns appeared. Clustering provinces enhanced the detection of construction that boosted urban development. Furthermore, a meshwork was revealed. In most developing countries, finding diverse and not tempered data sets in official sources is still a big problem. Moreover, open-data sources were limited in this study. In the search to prove uncontrolled urban growth fueled by construction activities, our research established an alternative way to read the metropolitan area network using occupancy permits, where the lack of data cannot be compensated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes in precipitation and flow regimes may cause more catastrophic floods in the future. This study examines the trends in a subbasin of Bartin Stream in the Western Black Sea Basin, Turkey, and questions the influence of non-stationarity by performing flood frequency analyses on one stationary and nine non-stationary models by incorporating the covariates of time and annual precipitation as a linear function of their location and scale parameters. In this context, variabilities in annual precipitation, (AP), mean annual flow (MAF), and maximum daily flow (MDF), of five precipitation gauging stations and four streamflow gauging stations were examined using the Mann-Kendall and modified Mann-Kendall tests, and Sen's slope estimator. The breakpoints were identified in the series by employing homogeneity tests, and the relative changes before and after the shifts were analyzed. The modified Mann-Kendall showed a significantly increasing trend at Bartin precipitation station, with an increase of 0.69 mm/year , and significant decreasing trends at Cide and Ulus precipitation stations, with a rate of change 7.10 mm/year and 3.26 mm/year , respectively, at the 5% significance level. Moreover, significant downward trends were detected at Kocairmak station (MAF varied 0.33 m3/s/year and MDF varied 4.55 m3/s/year); at Kocanaz station (MAF varied 0.04 m3/s/year); and at Bayiryuzu station (MDF varied 1.49 m3/s/year). The greatest relative changes in MAF and MDF were found at Kocairmak station, which can be considered as an indicator of non-stationarity. Thus, a non-stationary frequency analysis of the MDF series at Kocairmak station was performed, and the best-fitting model was found to use the AP series as a covariate, the same as other streamflow stations in the basin. In all stations, the non-stationary design flood quantiles were estimated to be greater than the stationary ones by up to 30%, which should be taken into account, particularly for designing flood mitigation facilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents an investigation of the structural behavior of a masonry arch bridge in Turkey. An analytical study has been conducted to provide the geometry of the structure, using laser scanning. A point cloud describing the geometry was obtained and properly transformed into a format that is appropriate for structural analysis software (CAE). Then, nonlinear finite-element models were developed to simulate structural responses of the bridge. The goal of the article is to highlight the influence of both continuum and discrete approaches and related constitutive laws on the responses of the bridge. Thus, continuum damage laws and a discrete model consisting of unilateral contact–friction interfaces were developed. Different load cases were tested and a comparison between the results obtained from the different approaches was considered. The failure mechanisms and the ultimate strengths were derived, and core points of the models were highlighted. The output of this work shows how the different failure models predict the behavior of the masonry arches. It also shows that the three-hinge mechanism, which has been depicted in classical studies for single-span arch masonry bridges under a horizontal settlement of supports, may also be obtained for multiarch bridges. Similarly, downward, vertical settlement of supports may result in the development of two hinges, as in single-span arches. Finally, the beneficial influence of the backfill in limiting the failure in the arch is addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quality of the building stocks of most Middle Eastern countries is affected by earthquakes produced by the East Anatolian fault. On January 24, 2020, a medium-magnitude earthquake struck the Elazığ Province in eastern Turkey. The observed damage to structures was found to be excessive because of the poor-quality building stock of the region. In this study, the seismic behavior of the building stock of Elazığ after the January 24, 2020, Sivrice earthquake was discussed in detail. The reader was first provided with some insight regarding the Elazığ province. Next, the seismic behavior of the region and past earthquakes that occurred were examined to highlight the high seismicity of the region. Further, strong ground motion parameters and the hazards of the region were evaluated in detail, and the results of the reconnaissance studies were presented. Then, the reasons for the observed damage considering reinforced concrete and masonry structures were presented, and the field applications and past construction techniques were compared with the recent regulations established in 2018. Finally, rebuilding and resettlement activities after the earthquake were discussed in detail. From this study, it was found that the damages of structures in an earthquake-affected area can be attributed primarily to the design stage and improper control mechanisms employed during construction. Based on field investigations, poor-quality civil engineering applications on both reinforced concrete and masonry buildings were found to be fundamental factors that affected the seismic behavior of the considered structures. Rural regions were found to suffer extensive damage after the earthquake. The results suggest that excessive loss could have been prevented if required care were given to the construction practice. This study is expected to help improve the understanding regarding the seismic behavior of low-quality structures, and it is expected to encourage developments that will help enhance the seismic capacity of existing buildings in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of assessment methods is essential for proper planning, improvement of the water system, and water economy in municipal water management. Thus, statistical model approaches can be used to evaluate the factors influencing water administration, understand their implications, forecast future use, and develop these systems accurately. The main purposes of this study are to reveal the current status of municipal water management in Turkey, assess the system with alternative regression models (with comparisons), and propose suggestions to managers as a decision support approach. Missing data imputation methods are practiced in order to improve the data set and model quality. According to the results, water extraction, income, and water treatment facilities are the most important issues in municipal water management. It is also seen from the modeling results that dams and treatment plants have a negative impact on municipal water use. In order to establish an adaptive municipal water management structure in Turkey, a number of management suggestions are proposed and assessed according to the models, which have intrinsic variable selection feature. Consequently, the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) may be practiced in short-term and cost-effective management planning. In long-term planning (with better model performance and high costs), elastic net and sparse least trimmed squares (LTS) may be preferred. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Voluntary turnover of key employees with scarce skills and tacit knowledge has a potential influence on the competitive advantage of construction organizations. Although much research has been conducted to find out causes of turnover intention, there is limited research in the construction context, particularly considering the influence of the psychological perspective. In this study, using data from 351 construction professionals in the Turkish construction industry and utilizing a three-way moderated moderation model, we examined the interaction effects of psychological factors, operationalized in terms of organizational identification and perceived external prestige, on turnover intention within the boundary of gender differences. Analysis of the responses demonstrates that considering organizational identification, perceived organizational prestige, and gender independently may lead to the underprediction of the turnover intention of employees in construction organizations. The results indicate that organizational identification and perceived organizational prestige have an impact on construction professionals' turnover intention in a condition boundary for gender differences. On this basis, this study may provide important insights for human resource practitioners in identifying potential employees that are likely to have lower turnover intention. It is also of relevance to managers in retaining valued professionals in construction firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The New Zigana Tunnel is, at 14.5 km long, the longest highway tunnel project in Turkey. In this project, it is planned to construct two service shafts to provide access to outside the tunnel and temporary ventilation. Service Shaft 2 (Ø = 2.60 m), which is 220 m in depth, was opened by the raise boring machine (RBM) method. In this study, the wall stability of Service Shaft 2 was investigated using empirical analysis, analytical analysis, and numerical simulation methods. To define the rock masses on the shaft route, the rock mass rating (RMR), Q, and geological strength index (GSI) classification systems were utilized as an empirical approach. The rock-support interaction and convergence-confinement methods were applied in the analytical analysis of wall stability. To determine the plastic zones that occurred around the unsupported shaft walls, 2D and 3D numerical simulations (FEM-based) were used. According to the results of empirical analysis, there is no need for support to ensure the stability of shaft walls. Conversely, the analytical and numerical methods exhibited more conservative results than other methods and suggested support application for stability. According to the convergence-confinement method and 2D FEM simulation, the plastic zone around the shaft walls developed after depths of 105 and 81 m, respectively. Finally, the results obtained from these analyses were compared with actual field situations, and their compatibility was investigated. It was concluded that, of these analysis methods, 2D FEM simulation is most compatible with the actual field data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Past research adopted the universalist assumption of the gendered organization lens and revealed the career challenges of female engineers with few practical implications. Because such assumptions may miss the importance of contextual differences and subtleties, there is limited knowledge about positive experiences. Recognizing the influence of organizational and industrial contexts that interconnect culture and societal structures, this study aimed to understand the work experience of female engineers in Turkey and how the phenomenon of positive social exchange between employer and employee may bring job satisfaction and work productivity. The novel application of social exchange theory provided a fresh theoretical lens for analyzing the narratives of 19 female engineers. Enriching the body of knowledge, three key themes that contrast with past studies are (1) career fit, (2) fair human resource practices, and (3) supportive leadership that informs positive social exchange. This study revealed that within the institutionalized gendered environment, a skilful combination of fairness and protective nuance of paternalistic culture not only complement the patrimonial culture but also enable female talents to perceive fair employment exchange and career fit. The observed phenomena in this study also lay a contextual foundation for innovative talent management that is transferable to nations with a collective culture. In addition to a refinement of theory to consider contenxual valence, the findings challenge negative connotations surrounding female commitment and career that encourages a re-examination of females' employment to reshape their work experiences in gendered construction firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because delays are common in construction projects, causes of delays are widely investigated in the construction-management literature. However, there is no consensus on the relative severity of various causes of delay because severity may change with respect to project characteristics, such as the type of project and/or procurement type. Public–private partnership (PPP) has been utilized extensively in recent years, and the number of public construction works worldwide that adopted the PPP has increased gradually. However, the delay causes specific to PPPs have not been investigated deeply. Moreover, the perceptions of different stakeholders on causes of delay in PPP projects have never been investigated, although the perception difference between stakeholders is considered an important issue in delay management. In this study, the perceptions of three key stakeholders—namely, consultants, the private sector, and the public sector—on delay causes in build–operate–transfer (BOT) projects performed in Turkey, which is one of the leading countries in terms of number of PPP projects and the total value of PPP projects, were investigated. The delay causes specific to BOT projects were evaluated by conducting a workshop to determine the causes of delay in the Turkish market. The identified delay causes were evaluated using the analytical hierarchical process (AHP) by 11 participants who represent consultants, the private sector, and the public sector. The correlations between the respondents were evaluated using Pearson's correlation coefficient and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. This study showed that the most important delay causes are related to the uncertainties and changes. In particular, private sector participants emphasized the importance of certainty on political and governmental issues and minimization of changes in design to avoid delays in BOT projects. In contrast, the respondents from the public sector proposed that a detailed feasibility study and preliminary plan should be prepared and the transfer stage should be planned carefully. Finally, different perceptions were observed among the stakeholders at the stages where the collaboration of the stakeholders is limited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Central and eastern parts of the Black Sea Region in Turkey are pivotal in production of hazelnut and tea. The soils are vulnerable to leaching of nutrients and water erosion, and the need of mapping and assessment of possible risks is growing. Information about soil hydraulic properties is required for this purpose; however, it has been scarcely determined in the area. This study aimed to contribute in filling the gap. Arable land of eight provinces (Sinop, Samsun, Ordu, Giresun, Trabzon, Gümüşhane, Rize, and Artvin) was investigated using 3,400 disturbed soil samples from the surface layer. Intersections of grid squares 2.5 × 2.5 km were sampled and analyzed. Ten models of pedotransfer functions available in the literature were tested for estimation of field capacity (FC), wilting point (WP), and available water capacity (AWC). The reliability of estimations was tested and evaluated on available data from five testing localities (382 samples). Finally, the values of FC, WP, and AWC were estimated by the ^-Nearest code with satisfactory reliability, and spatial distribution maps of these properties were created using the geographic information system (GIS) technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Post-earthquake operations, such as search and rescue and damage assessment, require efficient and effective surveying technologies to rapidly capture the "as-damaged" state of buildings. Recent research has shown early feasibility of methods for compilation of as-damaged building information models (BIM) from as-damaged point cloud data and "as-built" models. Yet research efforts to develop and rigorously test appropriate methods are seriously hampered by the obvious scarcity of access for researchers to earthquake-damaged buildings for surveying specimens and hence the lack of terrestrial laser scanning data of post-earthquake buildings. Full-scale or reduced-scale physical models of building components can be built and damaged using a shaking table or other structural laboratory equipment, and these can be scanned, all at reasonable cost. However, equivalent full-scale building samples are unavailable. The solution is to synthesize accurate and representative data sets. A computational approach for compiling such data sets, including BIM modeling of damaged buildings and synthetic scan generation, is proposed. The approach was validated experimentally through compilation of two full-scale models of buildings damaged in earthquakes in Turkey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Design alternatives in construction projects are compared with concurrently taking various criteria into consideration, such as costs, functionality, and constructability. This case study introduces a comparison process based on lifecycle costing (LCC) between two design alternatives in an irrigation project, the Seyhan River Yedigöze İmamo?glu Irrigation Project, being implemented in the southern region of Turkey. Decisions related to irrigation projects in Turkey are important because of their effect on the agricultural development and because of the high amounts allocated from the national budget for their implementation. In this regard, comparing the design alternatives properly during the design development stage is critical to exploring the superior design. The aim of this case study is to show how considering only the facility initial construction costs, while ignoring LCC, may lead to wrong decisions, through the example case of an irrigation project undertaken in Turkey. Comparison of two different design alternatives has revealed that Design Alternative 2 (pipe network and concrete covered open main channel of 15.812 km) is superior to Design Alternative 1 (pipe network and concrete covered open main channel of 57.562 km) from the perspective of LCC and such technical criteria as constructability, operation easiness, and water saving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to present an integrated method in a probabilistic manner for seismic performance assessment of Turkish residential buildings, which can be used as a tool to estimate earthquake losses due to structural damage. In particular, the objective is to determine the performances of different types of residential buildings for predicting the potential seismic loss in terms of casualties (death toll) for a highly populated city in northwestern Turkey. The main phases of this study are seismic hazard, building performance in terms of fragility functions, and loss in terms of damage states of buildings and total number of casualties. To quantify the regional hazard, a probabilistic seismic hazard assessment approach is adopted. For different types of building structures, probabilities of satisfying predefined performance levels for a given hazard level are determined using appropriate fragility curve sets produced by using local characteristics. The results are expressed as expected losses in 50 years in terms of number of casualties obtained as a function of the estimated performance of building types under concern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]