Systems approach in landscape design: a studio work

Landscape architects design the environment, which is an organic part, an outdoor extension of the building, according to the various functions of buildings. One of the most important objectives in design is to create a strong organization which forms a whole by combining different parts. While creating this organization, it is essential to establish relationships, make the designed elements related and obtain a unique design product. This relationship can be established only with the systems approach. It is a difficult process. For this reason, it was aimed in this study to teach Landscape Architecture students how to achieve designs meeting both creative and user needs. Thus, students will learn how to create successful open spaces with the high level of use which is one of the most important problems nowadays. In this respect, this article has two purposes. The first purpose is to create a study diagram by suggesting the systems approach theoretically. Student works will be evaluated according to this study diagram. The second purpose is to investigate the contribution of the course conducted with the systems approach to the design education. In this study, the systems approach was explained to the students of the Department of Landscape Architecture at Karadeniz Technical University and they were made to design the residence and its immediate surroundings within the scope of the 3rd semester. Then, the effect of the systems approach on the creative and applicable designs of the students was determined with the survey study conducted. The results of this study reveal the importance of the systems approach for both design education and urban designers.     

Smart specialization in regional innovation systems: a quadruple helix perspective

This article explores Robotdalen, a smart specialization initiative in the region of Mälardalen, Sweden, and its impact on regional innovation systems (RIS). The Robotdalen initiative, with the goal to create a regional center for robotics, was established based on the triple helix innovation systems model of industry, university, and government interaction. This paper aims to understand the dynamic interactions of the smart specialization strategy in relation to the RIS. It also includes the perspective of the fourth helix, which contains civil society and users. To date, there has been a scarcity of research which explores the challenges of quadruple helix models from a micro perspective to understand their complexity. To address this, a single case study approach is taken, which includes a longitudinal perspective of 10 years (2007–2016). The analysis includes micro activities explored from a strategizing perspective. The research contributes by identifying three strategic practices that have evolved over time for Robotdalen. It also presents an empirical operationalization of the fourth helix, as well discusses the arrival of the fourth helix perspective.     

Ein neuer Zugang zum Konzept des Discounted Cashflow

A lot of papers have been published about the concept of discounted cash flow or DCF. In this paper we will summarize the recent development and review the main results. After showing the main weaknesses of the concept we will make a sketch of some promising ideas that can form the basis to overcome these weaknesses.     

Becoming a Slum: From Municipal Colony to Illegal Settlement in Liberalization‐Era Mumbai

This article argues that the transformation of a Mumbai neighborhood from municipal housing colony into illegal slum has been facilitated by the politically mediated deterioration and criminalization of its water infrastructure in the context of liberalization‐era policy shifts. These policy shifts hinge upon a conceptual binary that posits the unplanned, illegal and informal ‘slum’ as the self‐evident conceptual counterpoint to a planned, formal, ‘world‐class’ city. The story of Shivajinagar‐Bainganwadi problematizes this assumption by evidencing the deeply political and highly unstable nature of this binary — and thus insists upon an account of the shifting political and economic stakes imbued in these categories. The case of Shivajinagar‐Bainganwadi reveals that the neighborhood's emergence as an illegal slum has been mediated by the liberalization‐era politics that have come to infuse the neighborhood's water pipes — dynamics that have produced the illegality/informality of the neighborhood as a discursive effect.     

Price efficiency and trading behavior in limit order markets with competing insiders

We study price efficiency and trading behavior in laboratory limit order markets with asymmetrically informed traders. Markets differ in the number of insiders present and in the subset of traders who receive information about the number of insiders present. We observe that price efficiency (i) is the higher the higher the number of insiders in the market but (ii) is unaffected by changes in the subset of traders who know about the number of insiders present. (iii) Independent of the number of insiders, price efficiency increases gradually over time. (iv) The insiders’ information is reflected in prices via limit (market) orders if the asset’s value is inside (outside) the bid-ask spread. (v) In situations where limit and market orders yield positive profits, insiders clearly prefer market orders, indicating a strong desire for immediate transactions.     

Antecedents of trust in industrial districts: an empirical analysis of inter-firm relations in a Turkish industrial district

Structural features and institutional settings of industrial districts, rather than contracts as a co-coordinating mechanism, promote trust in exchanges between firms in industrial districts. Based on this assumption, the paper explores the antecedents of trust in a Turkish industrial district at three levels: institutional environment; institutional arrangements; and inter-firm exchanges. In relation to institutional environment, dominant institutions of the Turkish economy – mainly state and finance – and their policies that undermine the role of SMEs in economic development are studied. In this context a third institution, the ‘district association’ that has a vital role in promoting trust-based governance has been analysed. At the second level, formal and informal institutional arrangements that govern the web of exchanges between firms are surveyed. The third level of analysis is directed at entrepreneurs and their attitudes towards family, friendship, expertise and reputation are studied. The research site is the Merter textile district in Istanbul. Data for second and third levels of analysis has been collected through structured interviews and is analysed quantitatively. For institutions and institutional environment, data has been collected mainly by in-depth interviews and is supported by secondary data. Research findings show that informal institutional arrangements are more important than formal arrangements and reputation and expertise of the other firm is more important than family-friendship connections as antecedents of trust.