Does government support for private innovation matter? Firm-level evidence from Turkey and Poland

The aim of the project is to analyze government support for innovation in a comparative perspective by first examining the main existing instruments of financial support for innovation in Turkey and Poland, and secondly to assess their effectiveness by applying recent econometric techniques to firm-level data for both countries obtained from the Community Innovation Survey (CIS). Comparing Turkey to Poland is both meaningful and promising from a policy-analysis point of view. Both countries are comparable in terms of levels of economic development and technological capabilities, i.e. the ability of their economies to create knowledge and exploit it commercially. Both have undergone deep market-oriented reforms in the last decades - Turkey since 1980, Poland since 1989 - resulting in a significant catching-up of their economies. However, as the possibilities for further growth based on structural change and eliminating obstacles to business are shrinking, the problem of building a knowledge-based economy comes to the fore

Ultrasound evaluation of metabolic syndrome patients with hepatosteatosis

Objective: The exact incidence of hepatosteatosis in patients with metabolic syndrome (MetS) is unknown; also there is no valid, simple and inexpensive method to evaluate and follow-up for patients with MetS. In our study, we aimed to demonstrate the frequency of hepatosteatosis, and whether demonstrate presence and degree of steatosis using liver ultrasonography may provide additional benefit for evaluating and following-up in MetS patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Methods: One hundred and twelve patients with MetS were included to the study. Patients divided into three groups; control group (n= 36) consisted of patients without hepatosteatosis, group 1 (n=43) consisted of patients with grade 1 hepatosteatosis. Finally, group 2 (n= 33) consisted of patients with grade 2 hepatosteatosis. The relationship between the presence and degree of the hepatosteatosis and MetS parameters were analyzed.Results: The incidence of hepatosteatosis was found 69.4% in patients with MetS. There were significantly differences in HOMA-IR, AST, ALT and GGT levels among control group and group 1 (p<0.05 for all). There were also significantly differences in waist circumference, fasting blood glucose, fasting insulin, HOMA-IR, AST, ALT, GGT, ferritin, CRP, sedimentation, uric acid and microalbuminuria levels among control group and group 2 (p<0.05 for all). Blood pressures and lipid profiles were similar among all groups (p>0.05 for all). Besides, there were significantly differences in waist circumferences, fasting insulin, HOMA-IR, GGT, uric acid, CRP levels among group 1 and 2 (p<0.05 for all).Conclusion: Our study indicates that MetS related parameters; especially insulin resistance, were significantly different in patients with hepatosteatosis compared to patients without hepatosteatosis. Because of the different measurment of waist circumferences among groups, we recommend to use liver ultrasonography and waist circumference together to evaluate and follow-up for MetS patients with hepatosteatosis. J Clin Exp Invest 2013; 4 (2): 153-158Key words: Fatty Liver, metabolic syndrome X, ultrasonograph

Evaluating effectiveness of public support to business R and D in Turkey through concepts of input and output additionality

It is the purpose of this paper to examine the impact of direct public support granted to business R&amp;D not only on the R&amp;D expenditures of enterprises (would the recipients of incentives have carried out the same amount of R&amp;D expenditures even in the absence of subsidies?) but also on the output of R&amp;D expenditures of these enterprises (would the recipients of R&amp;D subsidies have recorded growth rates -or exported or hired people- to the same extent if they had not received these subsidies?) We will use enterprise-level data for the Turkish economy over the period 2003-2006 –a time span where a substantial increase occurred in funds aimed at supporting business R&amp;D– and a semi-parametric matching technique to examine the effectiveness of R&amp;D incentives given to private R&amp;D as far as their effects on R&amp;D expenditures (input additionality) and output of R&amp;D activity (output additionality) is concerne

Root Canal Morphology and Anatomy

Success in root canal treatment depends on the proper application of all procedures of root canal treatment. This wholistic approach includes leakproof crown restoration, following ideal instrumentation, irrigation and hermetic obturation. Therefore, the first step of root canal treatment begins with understanding the tooth morphology in detail. The teeth vary according to their localization at the jaws and the gender and race of people. Detection of the extra canals, canal curvatures, isthmuses and lateral and accessory canals plays an important role in the success of root canal treatment. With all this, the academic knowledge and proficiency of the dentist and/or endodontist enable tooth morphology to be more clearly understandable

Examining User Access Options for eGovernment Services During a Crisis from a Digital Inequality Perspective

City governments incorporate ICTs into government services to improve citizen participation and access to those services. Too much dependence on technology, however, can lead to concerns about creating a digital divide between different groups of citizens. The potential for digital inequality is a critical issue that can be exacerbated by insufficient attention being paid to vulnerabilities across communities. Given that socio-economically vulnerable populations are the ones who need government services the most, especially during disaster events, it is critical to investigate the extent to which digital inequality is an issue for technology-based government services. With this in mind, this paper analyzes the use of different technology-enabled access options for a representative eGovernment service system, the New York City 311 service system, in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Two sets of socio-economically distinct locations in New York City are compared, using average income as a proxy for vulnerability, to draw conclusions about potential inequalities in such a system during a crisis

Characterizing 311 System Reactions to a Global Health Emergency

Communities are complex, multi-dimensional systems that react to crises in a variety of different ways. Based on the municipal services provided to a community, 311 calls can be used as indicators of the different dimensions of that community’s reaction to a crisis situation. To improve Citizen Relationship Management, municipalities can analyze and even augment their 311 systems to capture specific types of information about an ongoing crisis. New York City did this by adding specific category types and descriptors to their 311 system, in response to the evolving COVID-19 pandemic. This paper provides an initial look at the 311 data for New York City and the variety of community behaviors that it is able to capture as a reaction to the pandemic and the associated actions taken by the authorities to respond to the situation

Foreign direct investment and technology spillovers in the Turkish manufacturing industry

Technology spillovers from foreign to domestic firms in emerging economies are considered to be the most important channel through which Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) influence the host economy. Empirical evidence about the existence, magnitude and direction of FDI-related spillovers in these countries is contradictory pointingto the necessity of conducting more econometric studies using firm-level data. We conduct an econometric analysis to assess the impact of FDI-related horizontal technology spillovers on output growth of domestic firmsin the Turkish manufacturing industry over 2003-2006. Whena broad definition of foreign ownership is adopted,our findings suggest that horizontal spillovers occur from foreign to local firms in the sectorof activity. Export-oriented firms do notbenefit from these spillovers in contrast to firmsproducing mainly for the domestic market. However, when foreign ownership is defined according to whether the minority or majority of capital is detained by the foreign partner, horizontal spillovers seem to originate from foreign firms with majority or full foreign ownership while no such effect is associated with minority-owned foreign firms