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Vote swapping in irresolute two-tier voting procedures
No full textWe investigate a specific type of group manipulation in two-tier elections, which involves pairs of voters agreeing to exchange their votes. Two-tier elections are modeled as a two-stage choice procedure. In the first stage, voters are distributed into districts, and district preferences result from aggregating voters' preferences district-wise through some aggregation rule. Final outcomes are obtained in the second stage by applying a social choice function that outputs one or several alternatives from the profile of district preferences. Combining an aggregation rule and a social choice function defines a constitution. Voter preferences, defined as linear orders, are extended to complete binary relations by means of some extension rule. A constitution is swap-proof w.r.t. a given extension rule if one cannot find pairs of voters who, by exchanging their preferences get better off (w.r.t. their extended preference over sets). We consider four specific extension rules: Nehring, Kelly, Fishburn, and Gardenfors. We establish sufficient conditions for the swap-proofness of a constitution w.r.t. each extension rule. Special attention is paid to majority constitutions, where both the aggregation rule and the social choice function are based on simple majority voting. We show that swap-proofness for majority constitutions pertains to a specific weakening of group strategy-proofness. Moreover, we characterize swap-proof majority constitutions w.r.t. each extension rule. Finally, we show that no constitution based on scoring methods is swap-proof.BILGI Research Development Innovation Programme; POlarization viewed from SOcial choice Perspective (POSOP)We are indebted to two anonymous reviewers and the associate editor for their valuable comments on two previous versions of the paper. This research has been partially funded by the BILGI Research Development Innovation Programme, POlarization viewed from SOcial choice Perspective (POSOP)
SEARCHING FOR THE OPTIMAL LEVEL: INFLATION AND PRICE VARIABILITY IN TURKEY
No full textThis paper explores the relationship between inflation and relative price variability (RPV) in Turkey for the period 2004-2017 to shed further light on the issue with relatively recent data. For this purpose, we use monthly price data for 12 main item groups and 414 specific items thereof. Analyses show that RPV for the period of interest exhibits large fluctuations, being particularly salient in the categories of communications and food. Regarding the underlying functional form, semi-parametric estimation results indicate a U-shaped relationship between inflation and RPV, where the latter reaches its minimum at an inflation level close to 8%
A critical review of machine learning for lignocellulosic ethanol production via fermentation route
Get PDFIn this work, machine learning (ML) applications in lignocellulosic bioethanol production were reviewed. First, the pretreatment-hydrolysis-fermentation route, the most commonly studied alternative, was summarized. Next, a bibliometric analysis was performed to identify the current trends in the field; it was found that ML applications in the field are not only increasing but also expanding their relative share in publications, with bioethanol seeming to be the most frequently researched topic while biochar and biogas are also receiving increased attention in recent years. Then, the implementation of ML for lignocellulosic bioethanol production via this route was reviewed in depth. It was observed that artificial neural network (ANN) is the most commonly used algorithm (appeared in almost 90% of articles), followed by response surface methodology (RSM) (in about 25% of articles) and random forest (RF) (in about 10% of articles). Bioethanol concentration is the most common output variable in the fermentation step, while fermentable sugar and glucose concentration are studied most in hydrolysis. The datasets are usually small, while the fitnesses of the models (R2) are usually high in the papers reviewed. Finally, a perspective for future studies, mostly considering improving data availability, was provided
Optimizing percutaneous pulmonary valve implantation with patient-specific 3D-printed pulmonary artery models and hemodynamic assessment
No full textBackground: Percutaneous pulmonary valve implantation (PPVI) has emerged as a less invasive alternative for treating severe pulmonary regurgitation after tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) repair in patients with a native right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT). However, the success of PPVI depends on precise patient-specific valve sizing, the avoidance of oversizing complications, and optimal valve performance. In recent years, innovative adaptations of commercially available cardiovascular mock loops have been used to test conduits in the pulmonary position. These models are instrumental in facilitating accurate pulmonic valve sizing, mitigating the risk of oversizing, and providing insight into the valve performance before implantation. This study explored the utilization of custom-modified mock loops to implant patient-specific 3D-printed pulmonary artery geometries, thereby advancing PPVI planning and execution. Material and Methods: Patient-specific 3D-printed pulmonary artery geometries of five patients who underwent PPVI using Pulsta transcatheter heart valve (THV) ® were tested in a modified ViVitro pulse duplicator system®. Various valve sizes were subjected to 10 cycles of testing at different cardiac output levels. The transpulmonary systolic and regurgitation fractions of the valves were also recorded and compared. Results: A total of 39 experiments were conducted using five different patient geometries and several different valve sizes (26, 28, 30, and 32?mm) at 3, 4, and 5?L/min cardiac output at heart rates of 70 beats per minute (bpm) and 60/40 systolic/diastolic ratios. The pressure gradients and regurgitation fractions of the tested valve sizes in the models were found to be similar to the pressure gradients and regurgitation fractions of valves used in real procedures. However, in two patients, different valve sizes showed better hemodynamic values than the actual implanted valves. Discussion: The use of 3D printing technology, electromagnetic flow meters, and the custom-modified ViVitro pulse duplicator system® in conjunction with patient-specific pulmonary artery models has enabled a comprehensive assessment of percutaneous pulmonic valve implantation performance. This approach allows for accurate valve sizing, minimization of oversizing risks, and valuable insights into hemodynamic behavior before implantation. The data obtained from this experimental setup will contribute to advancing PPVI procedures and offer potential benefits in improving patient outcomes and safety. 2024 Odemis, AKA, Ali, Gumus and Pekkan.2023 B01 33653This project was partially funded by TUSEB (Project number: 2023 B01 33653). Acknowledgment
A Novel Decision-Making Framework Based on Interval-Valued Pythagorean Fuzzy AHP and CODAS: An Application to Healthcare Supplier Selection
No full textIntelligent and Fuzzy Systems - Intelligence and Sustainable Future Proceedings of the INFUS 2023 Conference -- 22 August 2023 through 24 August 2023 -- -- 299549Especially after the COVID-19 pandemics where market dynamics have changed dramatically, supplier selection has been one of the crucial subjects for almost every industry. After the pandemics, the healthcare industry has played a major role and gained even more importance in all over the world; therefore, selecting the best appropriate supplier has become more critical than ever. In this paper, supplier selection and evaluation problem is analyzed for a specific area of the healthcare industry, i.e. laboratory (lab.) equipments including test tubes and sample containers. Considering the vagueness and imprecise information in the decision-making environment, the problem is handled by considering five main criteria and 20 sub-criteria under fuzzy environment. In the study, a relatively recent extension of the fuzzy sets called as Pythagorean Fuzzy Sets (PFS), which provides more flexibility to the decision makers with membership and non-membership degrees, are utilized. This paper aims to contribute to the literature by proposing a novel fuzzy methodology integrating Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Combinative Distance-based Assessment (CODAS) method based on interval-valued PFS. Finally, sensitivity analysis is constructed in the paper. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
Convergence in renewable energy innovation and factors influencing convergence club formation
Get PDFInnovation and adaptation of renewable energy technologies significantly reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and increase energy efficiency. Understanding the convergence patterns in renewable energy innovation will enable policymakers to design policies to increase energy efficiency and renewable energy consumption and reduce CO2 emissions. This paper applies the convergence algorithm proposed by Philips and Sul to assess the convergence in renewable energy innovation for 90 countries covering the period between 1993 and 2018. This paper also examines the determinants/factors driving the convergence clubs of the countries using Probit and Logit regression. The convergence analyses suggest that there is no global convergence in renewable energy innovation. Findings highlight two convergence clubs: i) a club comprising more innovative countries and ii) another club that includes less innovative countries. We find that countries with higher income per capita, CO2 emissions per capita, research and development (R&D) investment, better environmental regulations and stronger institutional settings are more likely to be part of the innovative club. Countries should increase their R&D investment and environmental regulations and improve their institutional quality to increase their likelihood of belonging to a more innovative club. Furthermore, less innovative countries could promote policies to transfer renewable energy technologies from innovative countries
In the context of East Turkestan concentration camps human rights İssues in the people's Republic of China
Get PDFÖZET: 1949 senesinde Çin Halk Cumhuriyeti’nin özerk bir bölgesi olduğu ilan edilen Sincan Uygur Özerk Bölgesi’nde (Doğu Türkistan'da) mukim insanlar, tarih boyunca Çin hükûmetinin sert ve hukuksuz politikalarına maruz kalmışlardır. Bölgede uygulanan din, dil, kültür, eğitim, nüfus, ekonomi gibi alanlardaki politikalar, Doğu Türkistanlılara yönelik nesillerdir süren bir asimilasyona dönüşebilmektedir. 2017 senesinde kurulan Sincan Mesleki Eğitim ve Öğretim Merkezleri’ne “terörizm ve aşırıcılıkla mücadele” kapsamında rızaları gözetilmeksizin alınan Doğu Türkistanlılar, bu bağlamda, sıkı bir “eğitim”den geçirilmektedirler. Eğitim içeriğinde Çince, mesleki beceriler ve hukuk dersleri gibi bir müfredatı olan bu kurslar, dikenli tellerle çevrili yüksek duvarlar ve gözetleme kuleleri bulunan arazilerde bulunmaktadır. Bu merkezler iç ve dış mekânsal özellikleri ve “tutukluların” gündelik yaşamları göz önüne alındığında bir “eğitim yuvası” olmaktan çok toplama kampı karakteri göstermektedir. Doğu Türkistanlılar, bu kamplarda fiziksel ve psikolojik olmak üzere zalimane, insanlık dışı ya da küçük düşürücü muamelelere uğramaktadırlar. Bölgede, sistematik olarak zorla doğum kontrolleri, zorla çalıştırmalar, çocukların ailelerden koparılması, “ikiz aile” projesi ve benzeri gibi politikalar sürdürülerek Doğu Türkistanlılara yönelik ciddi hak ihlallerinde bulunulmaktadır. Bu tez çalışması kapsamında, Çin Halk Cumhuriyeti’nin, Doğu Türkistan’da başta Uygur Türkleri olmak üzere azınlıklara karşı, mezkûr kamplarda ve dahi dışında sürdürülen hak ihlalleri hususunun değerlendirilmesi hedeflenmektedir.ABSTRACT: Citizens living in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (East Turkestan), which was declared an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China in 1949, have been exposed to the harsh and unlawful policies of the Chinese government throughout history. Policies in the fields such as religion, language, culture, education, population and economy implemented in the region could turn into an assimilation for East Turkistanis that has been going on for generations. East Turkestanis who were admitted to the Xinjiang Vocational Education and Training Centers, without their consent, which were established in 2017 within the scope of "fighting terrorism and extremism" undergo a strict "training" in this context. These courses, which have a curriculum such as Chinese, vocational skills and law courses, are located in fields with high walls and watchtowers surrounded by barbed wire. Considering these centers‘ interior and exterior spatial features and the daily lives of the "detainees", they shows the character of a concentration camp rather than a "school". The people of East Turkestan are subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, both physically and psychologically, in these camps. In the region, serious rights violations are committed against the people of East Turkestan by systematically continuing the policies such as forced birth control, forced labor, separation of children from their families, the "twin family" project et cetera. Within the scope of this thesis, it is aimed to evaluate the rights violations of the People's Republic of China against minorities, especially the Uyghur Turks, in East Turkestan and even outside the aforementioned camps
Gendered Self-Views Across 62 Countries: A Test of Competing Models
Get PDFSocial role theory posits that binary gender gaps in agency and communion should be larger in less egalitarian countries, reflecting these countries’ more pronounced sex-based power divisions. Conversely, evolutionary and self-construal theorists suggest that gender gaps in agency and communion should be larger in more egalitarian countries, reflecting the greater autonomy support and flexible self-construction processes present in these countries. Using data from 62 countries (N = 28,640), we examine binary gender gaps in agentic and communal self-views as a function of country-level objective gender equality (the Global Gender Gap Index) and subjective distributions of social power (the Power Distance Index). Findings show that in more egalitarian countries, gender gaps in agency are smaller and gender gaps in communality are larger. These patterns are driven primarily by cross-country differences in men’s self-views and by the Power Distance Index (PDI) more robustly than the Global Gender Gap Index (GGGI). We consider possible causes and implications of these findings. © The Author(s) 2022