Evaluating Entrepreneurial Characteristics and States of Despair of Nursing Department Students

The aim of the study is to determine the entrepreneurial characteristics and hope and despair levels of students at the Near East University Faculty of Health Sciences. The research population comprises 296 students of the total research population of 310 students were interviewed. In the research, a descriptive survey model was used aiming to determine the entrepreneurial tendencies and despair levels of the students. A questionnaire form consisting of 3 sections, including introductory features, an entrepreneurship scale and Beck’ Depression Inventory were used as the data collection tool. In the second section of the questionnaire, an entrepreneurship scale devised by İşcan and Kaygın in 2011 was used to determine entrepreneurial tendencies of the students participating. Data collected were transferred to electronic media and analysed in a SPSS 21.0 statistical package program. The students generally scored a low Beck’s Depression Scale point and their despair levels were found to be low – in other words, their hope levels were high. The points scored on the scales overall alongside success needs and risk taking extents of students stating their income was higher than their expenditure was found to be statistically significant (p<0.05).


INTRODUCTION
In the changing nature of countries to be invested in, where competition is intense and environmental conditions become more difficult, achieving entrepreneurial behaviours such as changing work environment, creativity, decisiveness and risk taking skills are all important missions in the development of modern civilization.The importance given to successful youths by developing countries is evident from competitive brain drain.Assigning important job opportunities to youths, within all the changes in global human traffic, it is becoming more and more difficult for businesses to actuate and maintain an entrepreneurial nature in order to hold the successful human profile in hand.
Considering conditions in the TRNC (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus), among universities giving life to a small island, the Near East University, with its entrepreneurship qualities and awards for pioneering developments, being a globally-acclaimed quintessential university, is leading the positive change movement and is a propelling motivational force for our research.In order for universities to gain a fair share of an ever-expanding Ö. Nurluöz & S. Esmailzadeh / Entrepreneurial Characteristics and States of Despair of Nursing Department 4886 market, their constitutions must convert ideas produced within their research centres into enterprises and they must seek to benefit from them.Ozdevecioğlu & Cingöz (2009) defined the term entrepreneurship as the process of using certain opportunities in the best possible way, where resources and procedures are studied and exploited, while (İrmiş and Özdemir, 2011) defined it as recognising business opportunities and exhibiting the most effective risk management preparation whilst creating value by applying managerial skills.

Definitions of Entrepreneurship
As Acs (2017) notes all societies may have a constant supply of entrepreneurial activity, but that activity is distributed unevenly between productive, unproductive, and destructive entrepreneurship because of the incentive structure.To change the incentive structure you need to strengthen institutions, and to strengthen institutions you need to fix government or management.Bozkurt (2011) stated it was founding and developing a new business with the mission of raising profit in value and the period of earning enough as to allow for producing new merchandise or service, also supporting Ağca and Yörük (2006)'s definition highlighting economists entrepreneurship views, people combining resources, workers, materials and all other possibilities present for creating values higher than those at hand.According to Balaban and Özdemir (2008), the most striking aspect of a personalities entrepreneurial features is a pronounced desire for success.In personal success, the most fundamental tool for high motivation is the innate drive for success, (Kucuk,2009) when people are successful, their satisfaction feeling is high and they feel themselves contented, also these people with an extraordinary want for success don't like the ordinary and strive to create new things and ideas.Bozkurt and Alparslan (2013) advocate an entrepreneurs drive for independent endeavours whereas (Kaya et al, 2011), with similar beliefs, define an entrepreneur as a person striving for freedom, making critical decisions, moving comfortably and fulfilling dreams.O'Farrell (1986) in parallel notes that the entrepreneur and the capitalist are conceptually distinct; that it is useful to differentiate between the entrepreneurial and managerial functions; and that the essence of the concept is the initiation of entrepreneurial acts when the individual is behaving in an innovative way under uncertainty.Henry, Hill & Lietch, (2003) define entrepreneurship as the quality of getting people to believe in personal dreams and having the skill to convince them.Yılmaz and Sunbul (2009) defined entrepreneurs as individuals with vision, also supporting this statement with the claim that it is also possible to distinguish entrepreneurs as people

State of the literature
• A university's educational content and objectives play a crucial role in planning the future its graduates therefore guiding them towards real life and attributing entrepreneurial skills to their graduates are important.
• Entrepreneurship education is essential not only to shape the mindsets of young people but also to provide the skills and knowledge that are central to developing an entrepreneurial culture.
• University graduates should be motivated to implement new ideas and encouraged towards entrepreneurship.

Contribution of this paper to the literature
• Evaluations of average scores under the entrepreneurial tendencies scale showed that there was a general mood of uncertainty among students.
• Beck's Depression Scale scores amongst the students were generally low and their despair levels were low too but their levels of hope were found to be high.
• There is need for training of entrepreneurship skills in university nursing departments.

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who are enthusiastic in learning novel ideas and skilled in judging opportunities, and being visionary personalities, are determined to reach any set of future goals.

Evaluating Research on Entrepreneurship
Plenty of research concerning entrepreneurship has been carried out in literature and these research are mostly done at university level.According to Raposo and Paco (2011), the entrepreneurship education must begin before the period that many authors believe it should begin.Entrepreneurship education is essential not only to shape the mindsets of young people but also to provide the skills and knowledge that are central to developing an entrepreneurial culture.(Bourgeois, 2011) According to the Key Competence Framework of European Commission, the entrepreneurship key competence refers to an individual's ability to turn ideas into action.It includes creativity, innovation and risk taking, as well as the ability to plan and manage projects in order to achieve objectives.Developing mindsets, generic attributes and skills that are the foundations of entrepreneurship can be complemented by imparting more specific knowledge about business according to the level and type of education.
In our study, the Iscan and Kaygin scales we used with permission were devised in a study on both Kafkas University and Kirikkale University Economics and Managerial Sciences Faculty last year students in order to determine their entrepreneurial tendencies, provided all students in the year 2011 were seen as potential entrepreneurs.On evaluations of the findings, they arrived at the conclusion that, both in Kars and Kirikkale University, the students were part of significant activities of entrepreneurial nature, they possessed possibility of founding a business and they had business ideas.Bilge and Bal (2012), comparatively studied their foundation degree and undergraduate students' entrepreneurial tendencies.In the study, they evaluated the entrepreneurial tendency of university students in regard to gender and education years.The entrepreneurial tendencies of associate degree and undergraduate students were risk taking and claiming opportunity, with leadership senses and prospect focuses and the character of being adamant and having personal strength against external factors.In the study, they found that associate degree students possessed more and better entrepreneurial features in comparison to undergraduate students.Ekdoh and Edet (2011) conducted a study on final year economy, business, accounting and finance department students at Akwa Ibom and Nigeria Cross River universities.In the study it was stated that entrepreneurship educations positively effected the carreer goals of students in higher education and at the same time caused an increase in their knowledge level.Saravanakumar and Saravanan (2012), in a study at Anna Technology University in India, after completing the entrepreneurship education of 76 MBA students, evaluated their relevant qualities.The study was analysed in terms of their success, risk taking and governance focus features.In the study they conducted that an entrepreneurship education positively effects the students' skill levels and improves their entrepreneurial role.Korkmaz (2012), carried out his own research at Bulent Ecevit University to find out whether management students possessed an entrepreneurial personality or not, and also seeked to determine which factors, psychologic, demographic or familial, were involved in their entrepreneurial tendencies.Korkmaz concluded there were significant relationships between the students seeing themselves as entrepreneurial personalities with future business prospects and the mentioned psychologic, demographic and familial factors.

States of Despair Perceptions
When evaluating entrepreneurship features, the importance of assessing individuals' emotional conditions becomes clear.The existence of unfavourable expectations considering future prospects negatively effects their problem solving/coping methods and process of environmental conformity describes hope as an emotional element of the expectation of achieving a purpose.Studies of Beck (2004), Abramson et al (1989), Minkoff et al (1973), Durak & Palapiyikoglu (1994) describe despair as a set of negative expectations of the future.People in despair see themselves, the outsiders of our world and their future through a negative window, and feel that their lives are filled with complicated obstacles or struggles.As a results of this one can live in despair (Durak, 1994), or live in burnout feeling which may arise from injustice.(Bastas, 2016) Assessments of Beck's Cognitive Theory demonstrates despair as being fundamental to depression.Individuals predisposed to depression feel themselves inadequate, insignificant and faulty.They perceive life as full of obstacles and challenging strains, and they despair regarding their future.The youth that has parted with his close family and environment and has arrived at the university stage for the first time, attempts adapting to an unfamiliar city lifestyle.The endeavour of communicating with friends from different regions is matched with accommodation, economic and social struggles and the youth becomes worrisome concerning the future.
In their research, Marakoğlu, Çivi, Şahsıvar and Özdemir (2006) discovered that individuals living with their families were less likely to suffer from depression or start smoking than individuals living in accomodation or other places.A study by Ozmen et al. (2008) on the other hand, emphasised that hardships, redundancy, poverty or misery encountered during education further increased the despair levels among adolescents.Where Kashani, Soltys, Dandoy, Vaidya and Reid, 1991) arrived at the conclusion that educational problems will be related to despair, they also contended that sorrow, unfavourable expectations of the future and emotional disturbances such as negativity and pessimism were effective in despair.Students continuing their university education are thought to attribute different meanings to their experiences, suffer despair and distress about their future, and struggle solving problems causing distress, dragging them into despair.(Sahin, C. 2009).Reading other sources revealed that depression -as listed under mental disorders, is the most significant disorder threatening university students (Kaya et al., 2007;Celikel and Erkorkmaz, 2008).
Studies carried out show that despair or loss of hope may have serious or even degrading effects on the individuals health and well-being (Beck 2004, Abramson et al., 1989).Authors especially underline the concept of despair with suicide and depression alongside many other problems such as social desirability, problem-solving capacities, self-respect, physical health and self-confidence.Individuals in despair or depression due to despair display signs of reluctancy, weakness, lack of motivation, pessimism, lack of concentration and erratic lifestyle (Ceyhan, 2004).
O'Connor, Connery & Cheyne (2000) contends that rapid changes in modern social, cultural and economic conditions bring about an even more difficult period of adolescence, which is in itself a turbulent period in human psychosocial development.
Despite the individuals not having an objective and realistic reason, despair -closely linked with individuals' cognitive foundation and mode of information processing (Dincer & Derelioglu, 2005) -is characterised by attributing false meaning to experiences, expecting negative outcomes although not trying to achieve goals and consequently developing unfavourable expectations regarding the future (Abbey, 2006).Beck (2004) describe despairing individuals as people who believe that the physical, mental or social states they are in will not get any better, upcoming events concerning important subjects in their own lives will suffer bad developments, or they expect even that no good events will occur, and that nothing they do will change this fact.Also, Beck (2005) further distinguishes despair as an individuals negative perception of himself, the environment, life and future; whereas Henkel, Bussfeld, Moller and Hegerl (2002) regard despair as a structure associated with self-respect.
Self-respect, as commonly emphasised in despair theories, is viewed as a risk factor and for individuals with high self-respect levels, considering they are in a state of vulnerability against despair, may serve as a tampon against developing despair against unfavourable events.(Metalsky, Joiner, Hardin and Abramson, 1993).While this case expresses that self-respect plays a protective role against despair (Baumeister, Campbell, Krueger and Vohs, 2003), the negative self-perception at times of feeling worthless, inadequate and faulty leads the individual to denial, therefore causing a negative viewing of the future when faced with obstacles and difficulties.
In a study conducted among university students found they had fears of redundancy, not practicing their desired profession, disintegrating health, not completing their studies and being unsuccessful at work.(Ozyurt and Dogan, 2002) While Sahin's study (2009) found out that education faculty students presented low levels of despair.Some students suffered profound feelings of social, economic, educational and redundancy problems during these periods resulting in despair which negatively affected their mental health.Also, no significance was detected between maternal education level and despair.In these studies it was found that education faculty students didn't show very negative signs on future expectations, and results have similarity amongst mathematics teacher candidates (Sengul and Guner, 2012).Their motivation was high, their feelings and expectations levels about the future were low (Ucaner and Ozcelik, 2010); teacher candidates continuing their secondary education non-thesis master's program didn't show very negative expectations about the future (Ceyhan, 2004); students studying music showed low-level feelings and expectations concerning the future (Aras, 2011).Dereli and Kabatas (2009) showed that final year students in a health college had high levels of despair; whereas Ungüren and Ehtiyar (2009) evaluated despair in terms of educational satisfaction, success at school, income, gender, social relations; Celikel-Cam and Erkorkmaz (2008) determined that despair levels of students with lower success levels were significantly higher.When Ozcelik, Aktas and Ocakci (2014) studied the effect of occupational choice of first year university students on despair levels, the results showed that women despaired more than men and those who didn't choose their department and earned minimum wage or less were found to have higher despair levels.

AIM
The aim of this study is to determine the relationship of entrepreneurial characteristics and perceptions hope and despair of nursing students at the Near East University, Faculty of Health Sciences.A relationship between entrepreneurship perceptions of the students and their despair levels were studied and any links were tested for significance.The measures and precautions about the relevant university departments were discussed in the study.
With the aim of investigating with a variety of variables, the questions leading the study were determined as below and the answers were attempted.
1. Concerning the nursing students' incomes and outgoings, is there a difference in entrepreneurial prospects?2. When considering nursing students' sex, is there a difference in entrepreneurial prospects?3. Is there a difference in handling despair as a feeling amongst nursing students?

MATERIAL & METHOD
In this section, the model, population and sample, data collecting means and the statistical methods and techniques used to collect and analyse the data are mentioned.

Research Model
A descriptive survey model was used in order to determine entrepreneurial tendencies and despair levels of the students."In a population consisting of a large number of members, the survey model, in order to obtain a general conclusion, either from the entire population or a group, is a screening regulation on a specimen or sample."(Karasar, 2011, p. 79)

Research Population and Sample
The research population consisted of students studying in the Nursing Department of the Health Sciences Faculty at the Near East University, situated in the county of Nicosia in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, in 2015-2016.In the study, with the aim of reaching the entire population, 296 students of a population of 310 were interviewed.Under these circumstances, with a 95% confidence interval, the sampling error was calculated to be 1.21%.
Of the students within the scope of the research, 72.97% were female and 27.03% were male.31.76% of the students were aged 18-20, 27.36% were aged 21-22 and 40.88% were aged 21 years or above.With regard to the high schools students graduated, 26.35% were science school graduates, 50.0%were high school graduates and 13.51% were vocational high school graduates.10.14% of students completed an associate degree.Of the students, 38.51% were first year and 61.49% were fourth year students.Concerning the mothers of the students within the scope of research, 16.89% worked in the private sector, whereas 5.07% of them managed their own business.Of the students included in the research, 65.54% had work experience whereas 34.56% had no work experience.58.45% of the students showed past entrepreneurial experiences whereas 55.07% had no work ideas.

Data Collecting Tools
A questionary form consisting of 3 sections, including introductory features, an entrepreneurship scale and Beck's Depression Inventory, was used as a data collecting tool.
In the first section of the questionary form there were 10 questions, prepared by the researcher and including the students gender, age, graduated high school and other introductory features.
In order to determine entrepreneurial characteristics of the students included in the research, an entrepreneurship scale developed by Iscan and Kaygin in 2011 was used in the second section.The scale is a 5 value likert scale with 28 entries.A validity and reliability study by Iscan and Kaygin found 6 sub-dimensions on the scale, self-confidence, novelty, need for success, control focus, risk taking and tolerance against uncertainty, and that their total variance was 51.75%.Cronbach alpha values of the sub-dimensions were figured to change between 0.61 and 0.79.(Iscan and Kaygin, 2011).A reliability analysis of the scale by the researcher revealed cronbach alpha values to change between 0.72 and 0.81.In light of these results, the entrepreneurship scale was concluded to be a valid and reliable scale in determining entrepreneurial tendencies of the students.
Beck's Depression Scale on section 3 was originally developed by Beck (1963) and was adapted to Turkish by Seber et al in 1993.The scale consists of 20 propositions with, in terms of keys, 11 were true and the remaining 9 were false.The participants' average scores from the scales were calculated as their despair scores.Propositions 1, 6, 12, 15 and 19 pertain to feelings about the future, whereas 2, 3,9,11,12,16,17,20 are about loss of motivation and 4, 7, 8, 14, 18 are on expectations of the future.

Collecting Data
After the preparation of the questionnaire, for its application on the student population, permission was obtained from the Near East University Rectorship and ethical committee.Following the required permissions the study was conducted in the 2015-2016 educational year fall term by interviews.With the aim of convincing the students to respond sincerely and truthfully to the questions on the form, the students were informed about the importance of the research, the name writing being optional, the confidentiality of the gathered information and the fact that it would only be read by the researcher.

Data Analysis
The data collected from the questionnaire was conveyed to the electronic media and was analysed using the SPSS 21.0 statistical package program.
Firstly, the introductory features of student participants, their entrepreneurial and Beck's Depression Scale responses were analysed for distribution with frequency analysis and descriptive statistics regarding the subdimension scores from the scales were calculated.
In order to determine the hypothesis tests to be used when comparing the students' introductory features with their respective entrepreneurial tendencies and Beck's Depression Scale scores, the data set was examined for accord with normal distribution.The test verified scores from both scales' conform to normal distribution.
The Levene test was used to test the homogenicity of variance and they were in fact homogenous.In accord to this, parametric hypothesis tests were used.When comparing students' indtroductory features with their corresponding entrepreneurial tendencies and Beck's Depression Scale scores; the t test in cases when the category number of the independent variant was two and a variance analysis when the category number of the independent variant was above two were used.Also, the correlation between the stundets' entrepreneurial tendencies and their Beck's Depression Scale scores were tested using the Pearson correlation analysis.

FINDINGS
In this section the students' entrepreneurial tendencies and Beck's Depression Scale scores were evaluated for differences among their respective entrepreneurial tendencies in light of introductory features and their Beck's Depression Scale scores and also, for a presence of relationships among entrepreneurial tendencies and Beck's Depression scale points.
Table 1 shows that the students' entreprenership scale general average score is 81.44±23.96and that the minimum score and maximum score are 28 and 139 respectively.It was determined that students scored an average of 11.29±4.51from the self-confidence sub-dimension, 18.21±5.84from the creativity sub-dimension, 14.82±5.13from the success need sub-dimension, 17.80±6.57from the control focus sub-dimension, 14.37±5.01from the risk taking sub-dimension and 4.95±2.15from the tolerance against uncertainty sub-dimension.The averages of subdimension scores under the entrepreneurship tendency scale show that security, creativity, success need, control focus and risk taking statements reflect a general uncertainty, with a part of students agreeing and a part disagreeing.Statements under the tolerance against uncertainty sub-dimension present a general disagreement response.
Students who involved in the research scored an average Beck's Depression Scale score of 4.87±3.93.The lowest score was 0, whereas the highest score was 17.From Beck's Depression Scale sub-dimensions, the feelings about the future sub-dimension average score was 0.87±1.20, the motivation loss average was 2.27±2.24and the expectations about the future sub-dimension averaged at 1.78±1.40.The students' general Beck's Depression Scale scores were found to be low and their levels of despair were determined to be low also.2. show that the comparison between income and entrepreneurship scale scores follows that the scores students with higher income than expenditure scored from the scale generally, and from the success need and risk taking sub-dimensions particularly, were found to be statistically significant (p<0.05) when compared to the remaining students.Scores in self-confidence, novelty, control focus and tolerance against uncertainty sub-dimensions in relation to income levels yielded no statistical significance (p>0.05).Allthough students with an income rate higher than expenditure scored higher from these sub-dimensions in comparison to the rest of the students, this differencewas not determined to be statistically significant.

Evaluations of Table
Moreover, the relationship of participant gender to their entrepreneurial scale sub-dimension scores yielded no statistical significance (p>0.05).Even though female students, from the self-confidence, novelty, control focus, risk taking sub-dimensions on the scale, scored higher than the males, this difference is not statistically significant.It was also determined that entrepreneurial tendencies and the ages of the students were not statistically significant (p>0.05).Sub-dimension scores of the students in the 21 or above age group, even when found to be higher than those of the other groups, were not statistically significant either.The students educational years were compared with their entrepreneurship levels and fourth year students entrepreneurship scores were discovered to be higher than the first year students, however this difference was not statistically significant (p>0.05).The differences between the students' scores from the scale in general alongside sub-dimensions of the scale and their last graduated school type, the quality of having work experience and the possession of a business idea found not to be statistically significant (p>0.05).T tests on the comparison between gender of the students and their Beck's Depression Scale scores revealed that the difference amidst the general scale scores of the males and females included in the research and the sub-dimensions of future prospects and loss of motivation were statisitically significant (p<0.05).Female student scores obtained from the scale in general and future prospects and loss of motivation sub-dimensions were found to be higher than male student scores.The difference of scores from the sub-dimension expectations of the future in relation to gender was determined not to be statistically significant (p>0.05).
Furthermore, age groups of the student participants, their educational years, income rates, work experiences and state of business idea possessions were compared with their Beck's Depression Scale scores no statistical significance was uncovered (p>0.05).
In Table 4., the Pearson correlation analysis results for determining correlation amongst sub-dimension scores under Beck's Depression Scale and sub-dimension scores under the entrepreneurship scale of students included in the research, Beck's Depression Scale sub-dimension of loss of motivation scores and the entrepreneurship scale sub-dimension of tolerance against uncertainty scores were concluded to have a statistically significant correlation (p<0.05).Besides this correlation being positive and a weak correlation, as loss of motivation scores increase, tolerance against uncertainty scores also increase.Otherwise, as loss of motivation scores decrease, tolerance against uncertainty score also decrease.

CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION
The university's educational content and objectives play a crucial role in planning of the future postgraduation and the guidance of life and view-points on entrepreneurship.The data collected from the questionnaire were conveyed to electronic media and analysed using the SPSS 21.0 statistical package program.Firstly, the students' introductory features, distribution of responses to the entrepreneurial scale and Beck's Depression Scale were determined using frequency analysis and defining statistics relating to scores from the sub-dimensions under the scales were calculated.
For comparison of the students' introductory features with their entrepreneurial tendencies and Beck's Depression Scale scores, the hypothesis test to be used was determined by the conformity of the data set to normal distribution, whcih was tested using the Kolmogrov-Smirnov test.The Kolmogrov-Smirnov test revealed that scores belonging to each of the two scales conform to normal distribution.The Levene test was used to test homogenicity of variance and the variance was proved to be homogenous.In light of this variance homogenicity therefore, parametric hypothesis tests were used throughout the research.
In comparing the introductory features of the students to their corresponding entrepreneurial tendency and Beck's Depression scale scores; the t test was used where the independent variable category value was 2, and variance analysis was used where the independent variable category value was above 2. Additionally, any correlation linking students' entrepreneurial tendencies with their Beck's Depression Scale scores was tested using the Pearson correlation analysis.
Evaluations of the sub-dimension score averages under the entrepreneurial tendencies scale showed that (concerning statements on security, novelty, need for success, control focus and risk taking sub-dimensions) there was a general mood of uncertainty among students.The tolerance against uncertainty sub-dimension responses were negative in general.Beck's Depression Scale scores amongst the students were generally low and their despair levels were low too.In other terms, their levels of hope were high.
While the study concluded that female students were more hopeful in regard to the future than male students, in their studies, Kilic et al, (2012), discovered a significance between creativity features and gender that males possessed more creative traits when compared to females.Considering the fact that female students has been more hopeful for the future in comparison to the male students.On the other hand we can say that male students also feel prepared for their occupation with positive expectations, optimistic thoughts and no doubt of not being able to find a job.They are eager, motivated to develop themselves further.Entrepreneurial aspirations are key in increasing social welfare, avoiding redundancy and balancing economic growth.For this reason, university graduates should be motivated especially to implement new ideas and encouraged towards entrepreneurship.Students should be trained with entrepreneurship skills in every university department.

Table 1 .
Descriptive statistics for entrepreneurship scale and Beck's Depression Scale scores of the students

Table 2 .
Comparison of income and entrepreneurship scale scores of the students

Table 3 .
Comparison of sex of the students to their Beck's Depression Scale scores

Table 4 .
Correlation between Beck's Depression Scale scores and entrepreneurship scale scores of the students