Purpose This paper aims to discuss unethical behaviors that small real estate agencies encounter in real estate brokerage practices, the factors that give rise to a trust issue and the potential of legal arrangements for offering a solution. Small real estate agencies, almost the only actor in the real estate brokerage industry until the late twentieth century, still strive to survive despite the globalized market, large corporations increasingly dominating the market, the increasing informality and the real estate portals offering certain brokerage services online. While all these developments put pressure on small real estate agencies, the industry’s unethical behaviors diminish their reliability. Despite the efforts to overcome this issue through legal arrangements, the extent to which these regulations will be successful is still a matter of intense debate. Design/methodology/approach In total, 85 small real estate agencies operating in Istanbul, Turkey, were posed semi-structured open-ended questions and asked to provide an opinion about the unethical behaviors they face and the potential of a legal arrangement to solve those problems. In the second stage, three focus group interviews were held with representatives from large real estate brokerage companies to make a comparison and they were also posed similar questions. The answers were evaluated using content analysis. Findings It was found that the unethical behaviors in the real estate industry could mainly be evaluated in two categories, i.e. those stemming from structural problems of the industry and those stemming from problems related to service delivery and that a legal arrangement could only solve the first category. Research limitations/implications The research is limited to small real estate agencies that operate in Istanbul, the heart of the Turkish economy and the biggest city of the country where intensive efforts are spent to integrate into the global order. Originality/value It is considered that categorization of the causes of problems encountered by the numerous small real estate agencies that struggle to survive in the market and an analysis of the root causes of unethical behaviors in the industry and a discussion on potential solutions that may be brought bylaws will contribute to the literature.

İlkim MARKOÇ, Candan ÇINARKentsel dönüşüm en çok gecekondu alanlarında gerçekleşmektedir. Bu süreçten en çok etkilenen grup ise gecekondululardır. Kentsel dönüşüm projeleri, mahallenin sosyal dokusunda değişime sebep olmasından dolayı pek çok sorunu beraberinde getirmektedir. Bu makalenin amacı, İstanbul'da bir dönüşüm alanı olan Sarıgöl'deki süreçte ortaya çıkan sorunları aidiyet kaybı, yerinden edilme ve sosyal dışlanma kavramları bağlamında ele almaktır. Bir çok çalışmaya göre sosyal dışlanma, aidiyet duygusu kaybı ve yerinden edilme süreçleri ile beraber gelişmektedir. Kentsel dönüşüm süreciyle birlikte farklı sosyo-kültürel ve ekonomik sınıflardan kişiler sosyal entegrasyon sağlanamadan bir arada yaşamak durumunda kalmaktadır. Alan çalışması için seçilmiş olan Sarıgöl, 1950'lerde yapılaşmanın başladığı bir gecekondu yerleşimidir ve günümüzde de Sarıgöl'de kentsel dönüşüm tüm hızıyla devam etmektedir. Alan araştırmasında derinlemesine görüşmeler yapılarak, değişen sosyal dinamiklerin analizi mahallelinin bu üç kavram için ifadeleri doğrultusunda gerçekleştirilmiştir. Kentsel dönüşüm sürecinin toplumdaki olumsuz etkilerinin azaltılabilmesi için mahallenin sadece fiziksel değil sosyal dokusu için de yenilikçi çözüm önerileri sunulmalıdır. Yeni gelenlerin mahalleye aidiyet duymalarını, kalanların ise sosyo-kültürel ve ekonomik farklılıkları aşmasını sağlayacak sosyal bağların kurulması ile sosyal ve ekonomik entegrasyon sağlanmalıdır. Anahtar sözcükler: Yerinden edilme; mahalle; Sarıgöl; aidiyet; sosyal dışlanma; kentsel dönüşüm. ÖZUrban redevelopment primarily occurs in shantytowns and the squatters are the most affected by it. The redevelopment projects can potentially lead to countless problems within the neighborhood due to the spill-over effect it has on the social fabric of a community. The main objective of this article is to analyze one of the redevelopment site, Sarigol, in Istanbul and three of those problems caused by the urban redevelopment: loss of social belonging, displacement and social exclusion. According to numerous studies, the fundamental cause of social exclusion, regarded as loss of the sense of belonging and physical displacement, is that prior to urban redevelopment, the members of various socio-cultural and economic social classes were living together without any social integration. The town of Sarigol, which was chosen for fieldwork, was established as a shantytown in the 1950's and today, urban transformation continues there at full speed. In this research, in-depth interviews have been conducted in Sarigol and the effects of a changing social dynamic were analyzed with regard to residents' responses on urban redevelopment within the context of those concepts. To absorb the negative effects of the process, innovative changes have to be presented both for physical and social fabric of the neighborhood. In order to provide the social and economic integration, social bonds which allow new comers to gain their sense of belonging and enable stabiles to overcome their socio-cultural and eco...

Third Places are spaces where people can participate in a social network by discussing everyday events with the community, apart from home or work, as Oldenburg (1989) defined. Coffee shops, libraries, parks, and open spaces are the third classically defined places by Ray Oldenburg. According to Oldenburg's definition, third places have the features which are objective, inclusive, communicative, accessible, having a regular visitor, prominent in social ties, providing fun, psychological comfort and emotional support. Along with developing internet technologies, virtual environments have emerged that match Oldenburg's definition. By creating profiles on social networking sites, people can follow or share topics of interest to them. Twitter, a social networking site (SNS), provides users with a virtual environment that allows them to talk and discuss with other users. This study aims to consider Twitter in the context of Oldenburg's Third Place Theory. In this context, firstly, the concept of third place is defined in the literature. Then, the usage areas of virtual media and social networking sites and the opportunities they offer to the people are revealed. As a case study, the extent to which the virtual environment provided by Twitter provides the opportunity for the Third-Place concept, and it conforms to the parameters defined by Oldenburg, was discussed. Twitter meets the eight features of Oldenburg's third place. In the context of long distances, economic crises, limited time and the opportunities offered by technology; it has been demonstrated that interest in the virtual environments for the third place and socialization needs of the people will increase gradually.

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This study aims to unfold the changing home phenomenon for all family members in the divorce process from different perspectives in the context of feeling like home again. This is a descriptive document review study. The data source of the research consists of articles published and the search made using the keywords divorce, post-divorce parenting, consequences of divorce, home-making practices, and post-divorce sense of belonging. Although the divorce process brings about physical and relational changes in the family structure and hence the home environment, all family members can overcome these painful times with minimum trauma and even have higher well-being than in the pre-divorce period. The children can continue a relationship of love and trust with their parents, and former spouses can withstand the burden brought by divorce much more quickly by feeling like home again.