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The paper aims to focus on the relationships among corporate social responsibility (CSR), overall service quality (OSQ), company reputation and affective commitment. It investigates whether service quality or CSR is the primer driver of affective commitment. Also, the mediating role of company reputation was examined.

Structural equation modelling analysis provided support for the hypotheses from a sample of 522 retail banking consumers in Turkey.

Findings show that both CSR and OSQ influence affective commitment through the mediator role of company reputation.

This study tests and confirms that corporate reputation plays a mediator role along the paths from CSR and OSQ to affective commitment. Also, this study expands the traditional view of CSR’s and OSQ effect on customers and suggests that CSR and OSQ do affect not only company reputation but also affective commitment.

This paper aims to identify the most popular travel information sources used among tourists and investigates how travel information selection differs across travel experience and gender.

This study used convenient and quota sampling strategy, questionnaires were distributed to 270 respondents at Sultanahmet and Grand Bazaar areas. A screening question was used to classify respondents.

First, past travel experience, travel agent, travel websites and hotel websites are generally the most frequently used travel information sources in destination selection due to conveniences and reliability. Second, first-timers prefer to use external information sources such as Facebook, guidebooks, travel agents and newspapers to gather information about destinations, whereas repeat visitors prefer to use internal information sources such as friends’ suggestions and past travel experience. Lastly, female visitors rely more on internal information sources such as friends’ suggestions and past travel experience. However, males prefer to use external information sources like Facebook, television, blog, travel agents, newspaper and guidebooks in choosing Turkey as a destination.

Because factors studied, travel information sources selected, number of respondents and questionnaire distribution area are limited, future studies can expand to a bigger area so more respondents could get more reliable results.

This paper could help tourism industries understand searching behaviours among different types of tourists better to promote businesses in convenient sources and reach target customers easily.

This paper fulfils an identified need to study how travel information searching behaviours differ among tourists.

The internet provides a wide range of technologies that enable health professionals to communicate with people. It ultimately may soon be the primary source for an individual searching for healthcare information, even for emerging economies such as Turkey. This study aims to examine how perceived benefits, perceived quality, and reliability of electronic health (e‐health) information affect intention to repeat e‐health information search behavior.

Through an announcement on one of the well‐known health web sites in Turkey, 376 out of 386 valid and complete responses were received via an online survey. The data were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis and multiple regressions analysis.

Results of the study indicate that the personal health issues component of perceived benefit has received the most consistent support as the factor that influences future health information search intention on the internet.

Research findings show that consumers use health web sites as a complementary tool rather than self‐diagnosing. Considering this, suggestions were made for web site designers to concentrate on information needs of consumers especially on personal health issues. Nevertheless, scope of data collection and focusing on intention rather than actual e‐health search behavior are the limitations of this study.

The internet was used by 45 percent of Turkish internet users for searching health‐related information approximately in 2009. So, how do these e‐health information seekers evaluate the benefits, quality, and reliability of e‐health information? Do benefits, quality, and reliability of e‐health information affect future e‐health information search intention? This study is unique in addressing all these questions for Turkish internet users.

This paper aims to propose and demonstrate a simple fiber optic sensor using a tapered plastic multimode fiber as a probe for measurement of calcium nitrate concentrations in de-ionized water.

The working mechanism is based on the observed increment in the transmission of the sensor that is immersed in calcium nitrate solution of higher concentration. The tapering of the plastic fiber is carried out by etching method using acetone, sand paper and de-ionized water.

Tapered fiber with diameter 0.45 mm gives the highest sensitivity of 0.028 mV/% due to better interaction between the evanescent field and the calcium nitrate solution with a good slope linearity of more than 98 per cent for a 1.07 per cent limit of detection in a straight probe arrangement. The use of calcium and nitrate ions within the sensing medium demonstrates the strong dependency of the sensor output trend on the electrolytic nature of the chemical solutions.

Demonstration of tapered plastic multimode fiber sensor probe for measurement electrolytic chemical solutions.

Construction projects are risky. However, the characteristics of the risk highly depend on the type of procurement being adopted for managing the project. A build‐operate‐transfer (BOT) project is recognized as one of the most risky project schemes. There are instances of project failure where a BOT scheme was employed. Ineffective rts are increasingly being managed using various risk management tools and techniques. However, application of those tools depends on the nature of the project, organization's policy, project management strategy, risk attitude of the project team members, and availability of the resources. Understanding of the contents and contexts of BOT projects, together with a thorough understanding of risk management tools and techniques, helps select processes of risk management for effective project implementation in a BOT scheme. This paper studies application of risk management tools and techniques in BOT projects through reviews of relevant literatures and develops a model for selecting risk management process for BOT projects. The application to BOT projects is considered from the viewpoints of the major project participants. Discussion is also made with regard to political risks. This study would contribute to the establishment of a framework for systematic risk management in BOT projects.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of globalisation on educational institutions in Turkey (to be specific, in the provinces of Amasya, Samsun and Tokat) by means of a series of inquiries carried out among secondary school administrators.

A qualitative method has been used in the study which attempts to lay bare the effects of globalisation on education via questions directed to school principals. A “configured questionnaire” has been employed as the method for collecting data, and all the administrators have been asked the same questions. The configured questionnaire form is made up of six open‐ended questions focusing on the effects of globalisation on education policies.

The findings gathered demonstrate that school administrators entertain different attitudes towards the effects of globalisation.

The most striking upshot is the finding that school administrators do have an awareness of the effects of globalisation, whether they hold a negative or positive stance towards the issue.