Browsing by Author "Akar, Ezgi."

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    Occupational safety dynamics in onshore LNG receiving terminals :|a systems modeling approach
    (Thesis (M.S.)-Bogazici University. Institute of Environmental Sciences, 2019., 2019.) Akar, Ezgi.; Saysel, Ali Kerem.
    In onshore LNG receiving terminals (LNGRTs), any unsafe condition and/or act that may cause fire and explosion during LNG processes may lead to major occupational accidents that may endanger people, equipment and the environment. Hence, to prevent accidents, determining factors that result in unsafe condition and/or act is crucial. LNGRTs are complex systems of interacting elements of managerial and employee decisions pertaining to occupational safety. Accordingly, in this study, based on system dynamics approach, a dynamic simulation model is developed to unravel the dynamic feedback structures that operate over time and can reveal unsafe conditions and/or acts, which signal probabilities of major occupational accidents. To gain insight into the system, besides literature review, fieldwork is done in a major onshore LNGRT. The model structure comprises the activities of LNG processing, equipment maintenance and repairing, employee training, where the management’s time allocation decision under specific resource constraints is the fundamental driver. The model simulates for 5 years and is validated first structurally then behaviorally. Subsequently, system behaviors are analyzed by applying several scenarios and policies on the model. Though these analyses, the model behaviors reveal that possibility of major occupational accidents increases by decrease in allocated labor time for maintenance that increases unsafe conditions and by decrease in allocated labor time for training that increases unsafe acts. The model can also be used as an experimental platform to test the influence of several factors on safety, such as; schedule pressure, incident learning, equipment reliability, turnover rate, overwork, and occupational experience of employee.
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    The anatomy of an online social community network
    (Thesis (Ph.D.)-Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in the Social Sciences, 2018., 2018.) Akar, Ezgi.; Mardikyan, Sona Kunuzyan.
    The emergence of Web 2.0 has revolutionized the ways of communication on the Internet and has allowed people to form their virtual worlds involving online communities and social networks. People have started to generate their contents, share them, and communicate with each other in these communities and networks. In parallel to the generation of huge amount of contents in these platforms, these communities and networks have become valuable data sources for businesses. It is the fact that analysis of user content in online communities and social networks allows businesses to enhance their business value and achieve their goals. In this sense, to create and manage these communities successfully, managers need to understand how to motivate community members and keep them frequently involved. Therefore, this study employs social network analysis to map and understand the network structure of an online community and to detect sub-communities in it. Additionally, it explores and identifies user roles in an online community and proposes a research model that investigates members’ usage intentions of the community. The research model also analyzes the moderating effect of these investigated user roles on members’ usage intentions of the community. In this manner, this study combines various theories for a better understanding of what roles exist in online communities, what roles members prefer to adopt, what usage intentions members have by presenting a four-phase methodology. Additional to theoretical implications, the study also guides managers to develop motivational strategies to keep their members continually satisfied in online communities.