Browsing by Author "O'Neil, Mary Lou"

Now showing 1 - 20 of 31

Citation Count: 3
Abortion services at hospitals in Istanbul
(Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2017) O'Neil, Mary Lou
Objective: Despite the existence of a liberal law on abortion in Turkey there is growing evidence that actually securing an abortion in Istanbul may prove difficult. This study aimed to determine whether or not state hospitals and private hospitals that accept state health insurance in Istanbul are providing abortion services and for what indications. Method: Between October and December 2015 a mystery patient telephone survey of 154 hospitals 43 public and 111 private in Istanbul was conducted. Results: 14% of the state hospitals in Istanbul perform abortions without restriction as to reason provided in the current law while 60% provide the service if there is a medical necessity. A quarter of state hospitals in Istanbul do not provide abortion services at all. 48.6% of private hospitals that accept the state health insurance also provide for abortion without restriction while 10% do not provide abortion services under any circumstances. Key conclusions: State and private hospitals in Istanbul are not providing abortion services to the full extent allowed under the law. The low numbers of state hospitals offering abortions without restriction indicates a de facto privatization of the service. This same trend is also visible in many private hospitals partnering with the state that do not provide abortion care. While many women may choose a private provider the lack of provision of abortion care at state hospitals and those private hospitals working with the state leaves women little option but to purchase these services from private providers at some times subtantial costs.
Citation Count: 19
The availability of abortion at state hospitals in Turkey: A national study
(Elsevier, 2017) O'Neil, Mary Lou
Introduction: Abortion in Turkey has been legal since 1983 and remains so today. Despite this in 2012 the Prime Minister declared that in his opinion abortion was murder. Since then there has been growing evidence that abortion access particularly in state hospitals is being restricted although no new legislation has been offered. Objectives: The study aimed to determine the number of state hospitals in Turkey that provide abortions. Study design: The study employed a telephone survey in 2015-2016 where 431 state hospitals were contacted and asked a set of questions by a mystery patient. If possible information was obtained directly from the obstetrics/gynecology department. I removed specialist hospitals from the data set and the remaining data were analyzed for frequency and cross-tabulations were performed. Results: Only 7.8% of state hospitals provide abortion services without regard to reason which is provided for by the current law while 78% provide abortions when there is a medical necessity. Of the 58 teaching and research hospitals in Turkey 9 (15.5%) provide abortion care without restriction to reason 38 (65.5%) will do the procedure if there is a medical necessity and 11 (11.4%) of these hospitals refuse to provide abortion services under any circumstances. There are two regions encompassing 1.5 million women of childbearing age where no state hospital provides for abortion without restriction as to reason. Conclusion: The vast majority of state hospitals only provide abortions in the narrow context of a medical necessity and thus are not implementing the law to its full extent. It is clear that although no new legislation restricting abortion has been enacted state hospitals are reducing the provision of abortion services without restriction as to reason. Implications: This is the only nationwide study to focus on abortion provision at state hospitals. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Citation Count: 3
The availability of emergency contraception from family health centers in Turkey
(Elsevier Ireland Ltd, 2022) O'Neil, Mary Lou; Aldanmaz, Bahar; Altuntas, Deniz
Reproductive health care, including contraception, is a fundamental aspect of any public health care system and it is important to reduce barriers to access to all forms of contraception, including emergency contraception. In recent years, the rhetoric of pronatalism in Turkey has come to dominate and raises questions about the availability of reproductive health care services, in particular contraception, from state run facilities. This study aimed to determine the availability of dedicated emergency contraception (EC) from government run Family Health Centers (FHCs) in Turkey. In 2019, a team of trained researchers called a random sample of 583 FHCs located in the largest cities in twelve regions across Turkey asking for dedicated EC. Dedicated EC is largely unavailable from government supported FHCs. Only 6.1% stated that they provided EC while 53.8% stated that it was not available and that they could provide no alternative. A further 28.3% declared that they could provide an alternative to dedicated EC that almost always consisted of oral contraceptives. We found statistically significant variations in response rate and availability among cities as well as the rate of referral to pharmacies. There is little access to EC from government sponsored health clinics designated to provide family planning services, which hinders access to an essential reproductive health care service that should be available to women everywhere.
Citation Count: 7
Being seen - Headscarves and the contestation of public space in Turkey
(Sage Publications Ltd, 2008) O'Neil, Mary Lou
[Abstract Not Available]
Citation Count: 2
Breaking the rules in interactive media design education
(Routledge Journals Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2009) Özcan, Oğuzhan; Yantaç, Asım Evren; O'Neil, Mary Lou
In today's interactive media design it is difficult for a designer to create aesthetic innovations and to break free from ordinariness. The most important factor limiting interactive media design aesthetics is that education seems to be more focused on following traditional rules of interaction design rather than innovative approaches. These rules limit creativity and often relegate design students to producing ordinary interface solutions. This is especially burdensome for us as teachers. In order to address this problem we developed an education model inspired by Lars von Trier's film Five Obstructions. We call this model 'breaking the rules'. In the 'breaking the rules' approach students produce within a range of probabilities design problem solutions in cases of total or partial visual/auditory/tactile obstructions. The most important outputs of the model are (1) to make design student think/look outside of the ordinary (2) to produce unusual solutions (3) to maximise design solutions with sound.
A comparative study of Turkhish and American activist theatre in the 20th century
(Kadir Has Üniversitesi, 2008) Unal, Ozum; O'Neil, Mary Lou
The essential goal of this project is two-fold: to gain a greater understanding of the role of activist theater in Turkey and in the U.S and discuss the need for activist theater. The research component of this project includes the historical context of activist theater and delves into its purpose in today?s world. The decades of the 1960s and 1970s saw the development of the Theater of the Oppressed and other activist theater movements that sought to creatively expose inequality. My project takes into account the historical setting of modern activist theater and then discusses the urgent need for these types of productions to continue to be staged today. -- Abstract'tan.
A comperative look at media literacy education in Turkey focusing on the shift to a more critical approach and new media updates in the curriculum
(Kadir Has Üniversitesi, 2016) Goysari, Merve; O'Neil, Mary Lou
This thesis aims to examine the changing approach towards media literacy education in Turkey. This change will be shown through an in depth comparison of the two course books of this lesson from years 2006 and 2015. The comparison shows a change towards a more critical approach. The newer version of the book blends new media elements throughout the book as a whole not just in one unit. The new book also aims to make the students more aware of the messages that are geared towards them from various media outlets on a daily basis. The newer version of the course is designed to encourage students to think more independently ask themselves the right questions and through tasks have a hands-on experience in creating media products. The comparison primarily aims to show the digital media the computer age and internet’s influence on the adapted curriculum also how this change affects the students and encourages them to think more independently.
Citation Count: 3
Competing frameworks of Islamic law and secular civil law in Turkey: A case study on women's property and inheritance practices
(Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd, 2015) Toktaş, Şule; O'Neil, Mary Lou
The article stems from empirical research conducted with a group of women living in Istanbul who have conservative life styles bounded by an Islamic worldview. It attempts to illuminate the negotiation and contestation between the official civil law and Islamic law. The findings demonstrate that women inherit and bequeath property in a social setting where their gender roles are defined by their adherence to Islam. We argue that in Turkey women's inheritance practices are not determined solely in accordance with the secular civil law but rather are the result of a complex and intertwined combination of legal sources where an Islamic worldview often leads to the adoption of Islamic law. In other words the application of the secular civil law in Turkey is limited by the common practice of Islamic law. Rather than follow the gender equality mandated by the civil law the inheritance practices of many Islamic women are constituted with a deference to some aspects of Islamic law creating a situation of legal pluralism in Turkey. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
A discourse analysis of the abortion debate in Turkey and the United States
(Kadir Has Üniversitesi, 2009) Komut, Sultan; O'Neil, Mary Lou
Bu tezin yazilis amaci Kurtaj meselesinin Amerika ve Turkiye'deki durumunu din ahlak ekonomi sosyal normlar kadin haklari gibi farkli yazili ve sozlu soylemleri kullanarak gozlemleme ve analiz etme yoluyla bu iki kulturu kiyaslamaktir. Turk toplumunun kurtaja bakis acisinin anlatildigi bolumde: ulkedeki hakim din olan Ýslamiyet ve din olgusunun getirdigi yaptirimlar odak noktasi olmustur. cunku din olgusu toplumun gelenek-gorenek inanc ve tutumlarini olusturmada kacinilmaz bir etkiye sahiptir.
Citation Count: 1
Effects of gender on credit card usage among university students in Turkey
(Academic Journals, 2011) Ucal, Meltem Şengün; O'Neil, Mary Lou; Cankaya, Serkan
In recent years much has been written about credit card usage among university students. Despite a vast number of studies little has been written about credit card usage among university students in developing countries. This research surveyed university students in Turkey in an attempt to understand their uses of credit cards. In particular we examined the impact of gender on credit card use. The literature on the impact of gender on credit card usage is a bit unsettled and this study seeks to add another dimension to the research in this area. Using both parametric and nonparametric measures we sought to isolate gender and tested whether or not it affects the ways that young people in Turkey use credit cards. The importance of this research centers on the portrait it provides of credit card usage among young people in a developing country as well as to pointing the factors that may influence future credit card use.
Citation Count: 13
Gender and the Wage Gap in Turkish Academia
(Routledge Journals Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2015) Ucal, Meltem Şengün; O'Neil, Mary Lou; Toktaş, Şule
Turkey maintains one of the lowest female labour force participation rates in Europe but also boasts an above average number of female professors. Turkey is well above the European average (15 per cent) with approximately 28 per cent of full professorships being occupied by women. Despite these seemingly positive indications do men and women in Turkish academia earn the same wages? This study explores whether or not there exists a gendered pay gap in Turkish academia. Using data collected from a survey of more than 700 Turkish academics we observed that there is a gendered wage gap that disadvantages women but only at the highest pay levels found at private universities indicating the existence of intra-class inequality where men and women despite occupying the same class position are compensated differently.
Citation Count: 6
How Do Women Receive Inheritance? The Processes of Turkish Women's Inclusion and Exclusion from Property
(SOOKMYUNG WOMENS UNIV, 2013) Toktaş, Şule; O'Neil, Mary Lou
This article employs Turkey as a case study to explore the relationship between property ownership inheritance and women's empowerment. In Turkey as in much of the world men dominate ownership of property. This is despite the fact that women have had equal rights to own and inherit property since 1926. With the establishment of the Republic in 1923 came a series of reforms one of which replaced Islamic Sharia law with a secular civil law that was based on the Swiss Civil Code. The new law among other things guaranteed equal rights of property and inheritance regardless of gender. In an attempt to understand the tangled relationship between property and women's empowerment we conducted interviews regarding inheritance practices among ideologically secular wealthy women in Istanbul. For these women and their families the logic of wealth distribution is deeply informed by a commitment to equality between children with little regard for gender. Even in those cases where strict equality in terms of sameness was not employed the goal was for an overall balance and fairness between recipients. Despite the fact that inheritance law provides for equality most of the families employed interuivos transfer
Citation Count: 8
How do women receive inheritance? The processes of Turkish women’s inclusion and exclusion from property
(Research Institute of Asian Women, 2013) Toktaş, Şule; O'Neil, Mary Lou
This article employs Turkey as a case study to explore the relationship between property ownership, inheritance, and women’s empowerment. In Turkey, as in much of the world, men dominate ownership of property. This is despite the fact that women have had equal rights to own and inherit property since 1926. With the establishment of the Republic in 1923 came a series of reforms, one of which replaced Islamic Sharia law with a secular civil law that was based on the Swiss Civil Code. The new law, among other things, guaranteed equal rights of property and inheritance regardless of gender. In an attempt to understand the tangled relationship between property and women’s empowerment, we conducted interviews regarding inheritance practices among ideologically secular, wealthy women in Istanbul. For these women and their families, the logic of wealth distribution is deeply informed by a commitment to equality between children with little regard for gender. Even in those cases where strict equality in terms of sameness was not employed, the goal was for an overall balance and fairness between recipients. Despite the fact that inheritance law provides for equality, most of the families employed intervivos transfer, gifts among the living, to distribute their family wealth. Perhaps most interesting, and in contrast to the literature, is the fact that these women do not express any sense of empowerment derived from their status as property owners. Rather education and career proved more important.
Citation Count: 1
‘I am here’: women workers’ experiences at the former Cibali Tekel Tobacco and Cigarette Factory in Istanbul
(Routledge, 2017) Selen, Eser; O'Neil, Mary Lou
This study presents oral history research which investigated the experiences of surviving women workers from the former Cibali Tekel Tobacco and Cigarette Factory in Istanbul Turkey. For most of its history the factory was home to thousands of workers many of who were women and at times outnumbered men two to one. While the site is now known for the university that it houses photographs and archival records from the early twentieth century reveal the centrality of women in the process and production of tobacco and cigarettes until the factory completely shut down in 1995. Using oral history methods we recorded the memories of 17 women who worked in the factory. A multi-faceted analysis reveals the gendered nature of the space at the time as well as the importance of the factory as a place in the lives of these women. © 2017 Informa UK Limited trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
The integration of Turks into American culture
(Kadir Has Üniversitesi, 2011) Yıldırım Dayı, Gonca; O'Neil, Mary Lou
The United States has been the land of opportunities and dreams for Turkish settlers since the nineteenth century. Since Turks first began immigrating to the U.S in 1820 almost 300000 Turkish immigrants have arrived in the country according to the immigration and Naturalization Service. This number proves that there has been mass immigration there. Besides this it shows that there are factors which push Turkish settlers to live and work there for an extended period of time. in this study the different waves of Turkish immigration are focused on since the factors which push and pull immigrants are directly related to the time period in which the immigration occurs. Moreover the sociological perception of immigration period in which the immigration occurs. Moreover the sociological perception of immigration this respect settlers' observations of America are applied to the six stages models of assimilation by Elliott Barkan to determine if the Turks have assimilated or integrated into the American way of life.
Invisible navigation (or impossible?)
(2013) O'Neil, Mary Lou; Özcan, Oğuzhan
This article introduces an experimental artwork on moving mobile interfaces. It aims to answer the question: Is it possible to navigate a part of a large image composition, moving a smaller interface of a mobile device in a certain direction such as left and right, back and forth or up and down? The article then outlines the new concept of "Invisible (or impossible) Navigation" and discusses the output of artistic practices which address the "Labyrinth of Art".
Citation Count: 15
"It was as if society didn't want a woman to get an abortion": a qualitative study in Istanbul Turkey
(Elsevier Science Inc, 2017) MacFarlane, Katrina A.; O'Neil, Mary Lou; Tekdemir, Deniz; Foster, Angel M.
Introduction: In 1983 abortion without restriction as to reason was legalized in Turkey. However at an international conference in 2012 the Prime Minister condemned abortion and announced his intent to draft restrictive abortion legislation. As a result of public outcry and protests the law was not enacted but media reports suggest that barriers to abortion access have since worsened. Objectives: We aimed to conduct a qualitative study exploring women's recent abortion experiences in Istanbul Turkey. Study design: In 2015 we conducted 14 semi-structured in-depth interviews with women aged 18 or older who had obtained abortion care in Istanbul on/after January 1 2009. We employed a multimodal recruitment strategy and analyzed these interviews for content and themes using deductive and inductive techniques. Results: Women reported on a total of 19 abortions. Although abortion care is available in private facilities only one public hospital provides abortion services without restriction as to reason. Women who had multiple abortions in different facility types described quality of care more positively in the private sector. Unmarried women considered their marital status when making the decision to seek an abortion and reported challenges obtaining comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services. All participants were familiar with the Turkish government's antiabortion discourse and believed that this was reflective of an overarching desire to restrict women's rights. Conclusion: Public abortion services in Istanbul are currently limited and private abortion services are accessible but relatively expensive to obtain. Recent antiabortion political rhetoric appears to have negatively impacted access and service quality. Implications: This is the first qualitative study exploring women's experiences obtaining abortion services in Turkey since the proposed abortion restriction in 2012. Further research exploring the experiences of unmarried women and abortion accessibility in other regions of the country is warranted. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Citation Count: 10
Linguistic Human Rights and the Rights of Kurds
(Univ Pennsylvania Press, 2007) O'Neil, Mary Lou
[Abstract Not Available]
Citation Count: 0
Motherhood Citizenship and Rights: Illegal Abortions in Turkey
(Routledge Journals Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2019) O'Neil, Mary Lou; Komut, Sultan
[Abstract Not Available]
Citation Count: 3
The not so new Turkish woman: A statistical look at women in two Istanbul neighborhoods
(2009) O'Neil, Mary Lou; Güler, Fazil
Using survey data gathered from nearly 400 women living in two Istanbul neighborhoods this article explores issues of work education family and feminism. In addition to presenting the findings we argue that there is a continued gap between the ideal of the Republican woman and the actual practices of this group of Turkish women. The picture of these Turkish women that emerged from this survey is that of women still largely in the grips of an ideal born in the early days of the Turkish Republic. However it also became clear that there also exist rifts between belief and practice in the lives of these women: they seem to believe in many facets of the Republican woman while at the same time the practices they engage in belie some aspects of this belief. Ultimately it seems that in some respects they are in the process of constructing their own idea of a Turkish woman while at the same time some aspects of these women's lives remain deeply bound by traditional notions of gender.