Chaucer creates humour Essay Example for Free

Chaucer creates humour Essay The Merchants Tale is only rarely seen as humorous; most often it is noted for its darkness, its unrelieved acidity; it is said to offer a perversion of the courtly code.1 I disagree with this statement made by J. S. P. Tatlock. Chaucer was successful at creating humour within his narratives, which is partly why his works were, and still are, so popular. Humour can be achieved through a variety of elements including plot, characterisation, language, timing and circumstance. Chaucer used of all these, but largely drew upon the satirical portrayals of both the courtly love genre and religion within The Merchants Tale. The tale opens with The Merchant who is envious and astringent of all people that are of a higher class than he; therefore, in his narrative, he targets and satirizes the traditions of the knightly class, including the romantic conventions of courtly love often attributed to the upper classes.  Another of Chaucers tales is The Knights Tale which is about two knights and close friends, Arcite and Palamon, who are imprisoned by Theseus, duke of Athens. Whilst in prison they fall in love with the beautiful sister of Hippolyta, Emily (Emelye). The sense of competition brought about by this love causes them to hate each other. They eventually get let out of prison and fight each other to win the girl.  Arcite wins the battle, but dies before he can claim Emily, so Palamon marries her. The story introduces many typical aspects of knighthood such as courtly love and ethical dilemmas. The Merchants Tale begins with a description of Januarie who is presented, satirically, as A worthy knight. The Merchant however attempts to display to the audience that this knight is not worthy at all. He contrasts him to the knights in The Knights Tale. Theseus was tough, forceful, confident and young but Januarie is portrayed as old and fading, old and hoor. He is also shown as an exception to many knightly virtues, as he folwed al his bodily delit On women, thereas was his apetite. This portrayal of him shows the audience that he is in fact obsessed with women and sex. In the tale he attempts to gain himself a young wife, despite the warnings of his advisors. Chaucer uses the dialogue of the characters to explain to Januarie that a young wife will be difficult to keep happy at his age. He makes Januarie exclaim that She shal nat passe twenty yeer, certain Thanne shoulde I lede my lif in avoutrye,/ And go straight to the devel whan I die. Chaucer portrays him as a character envious of youth, so much so that if he cannot have a young wife he will have no choice but to sin. In other words, he must have a young wife for his own moral safety. This is not the image of a strong and powerful knight like Theseus. Januarie fails in the area of courtly love and ends up having his courtship mocked by the Merchant. This not only creates humour in the audiences eyes as we see how dim-witted Januarie really is, but it also creates sympathy for the character as he cannot help how he is portrayed. Another example of the use of satire is the whole incident with Damien, May and Januarie and the adultery issue. One could argue that May does not love Damien any more than she loves January. He could perhaps just be a suitable alternative for May to love. When she receives a love-letter from Damien, she disposes of it in the toilet (privy) which could show this lack of love for him. Therefore, her motivation for adultery could be seen as an action of revenge, as January assaulted May by marrying her, and not out of affection for Damien. This is satire on the whole theme of courtly love. This feeling of revenge on her part is further demonstrated in the cuckold scene. May deceives January in the garden and we, as the audience, cannot blame her for doing so. January built the garden so that he can have May sexually in the way he wants her. She feigns pregnancy and then steps onto Januarys back to have sex with Damien in the tree. She has been stepped on by January and now she gets to do the same to him. When Januarys sight is restored by the Gods, he rightfully accuses her of adultery. In response she acts impertinent and insulted: This thank have I for I have maad yow see/ Allas, quod she, that evere I was so kinde!'. This creates humour as the audience knows that Chaucer is satirising the idea of courtly love and cannot believe that Januarie is so dense that he believes Mays excuse.

Fantasy Movie Visual Effects Film Studies Essay

Fantasy Movie Visual Effects Film Studies Essay Film, the new form of storytelling, is one of the most entertainment sources in our daily life. It would be very hard to get a movie ticket at the weekends unless you got a reservation. Most of you have preferences to some genre, which keeps you turned on. Fantasy is one of the most fascinating genres, not only in film but in all the forms of art. It helps us to escape from the reality, from all our stress and tensions, for few hours. Most of the fantasy films are adapted from literature. Many would have waiting for your favorite fantasy novels movie release as I am waiting for the new Harry Potter film. You got many expectations for a film, might be wanted a great effects or waiting for your favorite part of the story. If your expectations are not fulfilled by the film makers you would probably disappointed. Film industry is an extremely competitive field with new technologies, creative ideas, and many more things. With the increasing number of new movies, film makers are trying very hard to impress the audience through new stories, visuals, and technologies. Two centuries ago, the famous short film, The Arrival of a Train made the audience to scream and ran out of the theater. The train was that much believable for those people, who were unfamiliar with films. But gradually people started to examine film very observantly. Film makers did everything they can do to make the film much more believable and try to give a new experience to the audience. It is very hard to trick them now, very hard to get their applause. As giant fishes always catch the attraction, some big pictures came and well received by the audience. They are not become success just because of its budget, definitely It would have all the right elements to be a film. In this 21st century, CGI and visual effects become one o f the key elements in films. Film makers are using these effects to impress the audience even the story doesnt demands it. Many films succeed while others become a big visual effects mess. Statement of the problem How much the fantasy film influence the development of visual effects Purpose Significance of the study Research questions 1: what is the influence of fantasy genre in film industry? 2: what is the significance of fantasy movies? 3: what is the role of fantasy films in the development of visual effects? CHAPTER 2: Background Fantasy: Fantasy can be defined as the boundless imagination or the liberation of mind from the reality. There is no limit, we can go anywhere, do anything, talk to animals, and if you want to fly a four headed dragon to the moon you can simply do that. Every single person in this world would have been in a fantasy world at least once in their life time, through their dreams or unbounded thoughts. Many wouldnt have recognized this as fantasy. Among those, some passionate and creative minds travelled lots of distance and found new wonderful stories. Those stories have reached in the real world, preserved for the generations through orally, and later inspired many to write fantasy literature. Fantasy Fantasy films: Fantasy films have been started since the birth of the medium itself. Watching these kind of movies in the silver screen must be a visual feast for the spectators. It would be a real challenge to make these kinds of films at the beginning stage of the film itself because of the visuals which these stories demands. It stands beyond reality so the film makers had to find some innovative cinematic techniques to create the hyper realism on the silver screen. Most of the early films were static shots that filmed an event or action with no editing or other cinematic techniques. They would have used only the ability of the camera to capture image rather than thinking about new cinematic techniques. But before the 20th century few filmmakers have found new filming techniques to create some special effects which give inspiration to others for the invention of many innovative special effects techniques in the following years. With a result of that many fantasy films had born in the silent era of film. The arrival of sound and color in film made an innovative change in the fantasy film genre, which helped the directors to take the viewers more deep inside the fantasy, through emotions and colorful visuals. Fantasy film genre: Sub genre: Sword and sorcery musical fantasy light fantasy dark fantasy History of fantasy film: Fantasy film, consists of the elements of magic, supernatural events, fantasy creatures, fantasy world, fairy tales and sorcery, have events which are unlikely to occur in real life. This film genre is considered to be different from science fiction film and horror film, although the genres do overlap. The limitations of the fantasy film genre are not well defined. Early period: In 1896, Georges Melies, a French film director, considered as the father of special effects, filmed the first fantasy film The Bewitched Inn. This film is about a man who goes through some series of dreadful experiences from an inn. The film runs two minutes, might be the longest running film of that time. Melies used the special effects technique called stop trick, which he accidentally discovered while filming street traffic in Paris. Besides stop trick, they also used some invisible wires to drift up the characters hat and clothes towards the wall. In 1898 Melies directed another fantasy film named The Astronomers dream (La Lune à   un mà ¨tre). This film is about the terrific things happening in an astronomers dream. It runs three minutes, lengthier than the previous one. They designed the set very well and it gives more strength to the three minutes narration. In terms of special effects this film mainly reliant on the stop trick but we can see the use of mechanical prop for the moon and a very short stop motion animation on the screen. His experiments were the stepping-stones to further advances in special effects. Again in the year of 1903 and 1904, Melies came up with two more great fantasy movies The Infernal Boiling Pot (Le Chaudron Infernal) and The Impossible Voyage (Voyage à   travers limpossible). In the film The Infernal Boiling Pot, Melies has shown two green goblins doing some incantation on a burning cauldron which have three girls in it. The film runs 2 minutes and they had hand colored each frame of the film to get a colored film. It helped to create more sinister atmosphere and to increase the impact on the audience. The impossible voyage is considered as one of the greatest film of Melies and the important fantasy film of the silent film era. It is an adaptation of Jules Vernes play  Voyage à   travers lHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Voyage_à  _travers_limpossibleaction=editredlink=1HYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Voyage_à  _travers_limpossibleaction=editredlink=1impossible. The films running time is about 20 minutes, approximately five times longer than other films of that time. Most films prior to this one, mainly consist of one or two shots and they were short in running time, had not developed in a level to tell a complex story. The impossible voyage tells the story of, passengers boarding a train which takes them on an adventure to the sun and even under the ocean. This film had used the advantages of editing and we can see a dissolve effect between the scenes. Through these type lengthier films with great narration, gradually film turn out to be a medium of storytelling. After the great fantasy films from the special effects wizard Georges Melies, lots of movies had born in this genre. By the year of 1910 movies were gradually growing into full length movies, an average of 80 minutes of running time, along with the special and visual effects technologies, which encouraged the film makers to produce more complex fantasy films than the previously done projects. It also helped to expand the potential of the genre by strong narration and provided the fantasy ambiance to the audience. In 1903, Alice in Wonderland, an adaptation film based on the Lewis Carrolls fantasy novel Alices Adventures in Wonderland, came out. The film was directed by Cecil Hepworth and Percy Stow and it is impressive for its use of special effects, including Alices shrinking at the entrance Doors and stuck inside of White Rabbits home with her full height. Some of the films special effects were achieved through jump cut and trick photography. The film showed only a few portion of the novel, because many scenes were technically impossible to shoot at that time. However, the film would have been impressed the audience because it was the first time they had seen a visual representation of their favorite novel. Later in 1910 the film had been recreated by the  Edison Manufacturing Company  and directed by  Edwin S. Porter in the original name of the book. In this 10 minutes film, Edwin s Porter couldnt include all the Carrolls memorable characters from the novel. Again in 1915, W.W. Young an American film director made the third adaptation of this film with fifty minutes of running time. This version goes much deeper in to the Carrolls novel than prior films, even fifty minutes is not much enough to narrate Carrolls fantasy story.   In the year of 1910, the most influenced fairy tale of all time, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. HYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L._Frank_BaumFrank Baum, came into silver screen. This is the first adaptation film based on a novel which had been followed by its sequels. The story happens in a fantasy land called the Land of Oz and Dorothy and her friends are the characters in the story. There is no reliable proof about who directed this thirteen minutes film but many criticizers considered that Otis Turner might have done it. In the same year three more films in this series came out which are Dorothy and the Scarecrow in Oz,  The Land of Oz, and  John Dough and the Cherub, and all are considered to be  lost films. In 1914, three more films came out in this title, all directed by J. Farrell MacDonald and produced under The Oz Film Manufacturing Company. They are The Patchwork Girl of Oz,  the Magic Cloak of Oz, and  His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz, with an average ru nning time of 60 minutes. Later in 1925, another Oz movie was released by the name Wizard of Oz, directed by  Larry Semon. This film changed radically from the novel, introducing new characters and exploits. Along with a completely different plot, the film is all set in a world that is only barely recognizable as the  Land of Oz  from the books. All these Oz films had failed to make any impacts on the audience. Creating a fantasy world is a very difficult thing, if we couldnt make the audience to believe in the story, it all would look completely ridicules. Many film makers had failed to achieve this magic, thus make the genre to wait so long to get its triumph in motion picture. Other superb fantasy films in the early period were  Raoul Walsh  Ã‚  The Thief of Bagdad  and  Fritz Langs  Die Nibelungen both released in the year 1924. The Sound era: Technicolor and sound would be another great achievement in film history. Sound effects could make fear and anticipation in fantasy films or even play with viewers emotion in happy fantasies. Technicolor gave filmmakers the capability to create stunning special effects that impressed the viewers. The most famous film which made use of the magic of color and sound was the 1939 musical fantasy film The Wizard of Oz  directed primarily by  Victor Fleming. A sudden change from black and white to color gave more fantastic effects to the fantasy world and it allowed the filmmakers to deliver the full beauty of the visuals. The Land of Oz was very spectacular, complete with flying witches, wizards, talking trees and animals and many other fantasy elements. We could find many changes in the plot though the film was far more faithful to Baums original book than the earlier film versions. The Wizard of Oz  has considered as one of the best loved fantasy film of all time because of its st unning visuals and strong narration, and it became a true classic. This 103 minutes film was produced by  MGM and the budget was three million dollars, most expensive production up to that time. The film earned six million from the box office and thirteen million from television broadcast rights. That would have inspired many filmmakers to produce fantasy films. 1power of narration à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦taking the viewers along with the story.. Make them to feel the emotions of the characters Give the feel believable of hyperrealism Disney also effectively used a combination of color and sound in many of its fantasy films, both live action and animated. The makers of  The Wizard of Oz  might have been influenced by the success of  Walt DisneyHYPERLINK http://oz.wikia.com/wiki/Walt_Disney_PicturesHYPERLINK http://oz.wikia.com/wiki/Walt_Disney_Picturess  Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,  released in the year 1937, which proved that a fantasy film could attract an enthusiastic adult audience too, a trick that earlier Oz films had failed to achieve. Fantasy movies and the film industry: As a cinematic genre, fantasy has traditionally not been regarded as highly as the related genre of science fiction film. Undoubtedly, the fact that until recently fantasy films often suffered from the Sword and Sandal afflictions of inferior production values, over-the-top acting and decidedly poor special effects was a significant factor in fantasy films low regard. Even 1981s  Raiders of the Lost Ark, which did much to improve the genres reputation in public as well critical circles, was still derided in some quarters because of its comic book-like action sequences and tongue in cheek comedy. Since the late 1990s, however, the genre has gained new respectability, driven principally by the successful adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkiens  The Lord of the Rings  and J.K. Rowlings  Harry Potter  series. Jacksons  The Lord of the Rings  trilogy is notable due to its ambitious scope, serious tone and thematic complexity. These pictures achieved phenomenal commercial and critical success, and the  third installment  of the trilogy became the first fantasy film ever to win the  Academy Award for Best Picture. The Harry Potter series has been a tremendous financial success, has achieved critical acclaim, and boasts an enormous and loyal fan base. Following the success of these ventures, Hollywood studios have green lighted additional big-budget productions in the genre. These have included adaptations of the first and second books in  C. S. Lewis  The Chronicles of Narnia  series and the teen novel  Eragon, as well as adaptations of  Susan Coopers  The Dark Is RisHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Is_Rising_(film)ing,  Cornelia FunkesInkheart,  Phillip Pullmans  The Golden Compass, and  Holly Blacks  The Spiderwick Chronicles. Fantasy movies in recent years, such as the  Lord of the Rings  films, 2005s  Narnia  adaptation, and the first second and fourth  Harry Potter  adaptations have most often been released in November and December. This is in contrast to science fiction films, which are often released during the northern hemisphere summer (June August). All 3 installments of the  Pirates of the Caribbean  fantasy films, however, were released in July 2003, July 2006 and May 2007 respectively, and the latest releases in the  Harry Potter  series were released in July, 2007 and July 2009. The huge commercial success of these pictures may indicate a change in Hollywoods approach to big-budget fantasy film releases. Adaptation Themes, imagery, and visual elements Detailed study of developments in visual effects Case study 1 The lord of the rings trilogy My same philosophy applied to digital effects as to the overall design. I wanted the monsters to feel real right down to the dirt under the fingernails of a Cave Troll or the bloodshot, bulging eyes of Gollum.   Peter Jackson   The lord of the rings film trilogy, directed by Peter Jackson is an epic saga of J.R.R. Tolkiens Lord of the Rings books, become a milestone in the history of motion picture. The trilogies, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and  The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, all released in the year of 2001, 2002, and 2003 respectively.   It was a revolutionary movement in the visual effects film making. Both the book and film had given a new birth to the fantasy literature and film genre. The trilogy achieved commercial, critical and phenomenal triumph. Each film of the trilogy had nominated for the Academy Award for Best picture in the three consecutive years and finally the third chapter, The Return of the King won the best picture award, and becomes the first fantasy film ever to achieve this honor. It won a total of eleven Academy Awards including for the ground breaking visual effects, ties up with the classics Benhur and Titanic. Peter Jackson and crew created an entire digital world to give life to the Tolkiens middle earth. This film is the best example of high fantasy. The story happened in the Middle earth, the three films follow the quest of Frodo Baggins and the fellowship to destroy the One Ring to defeat the Dark Lord Sauron. In the final battle at Gondor, Ring has been destroyed and Sauron and his powers are vanquished. The story is rich with many fantasy elements such as, wizards, dragons, creatures, beasts, giant talking trees and many more .The success of the film showed the scope of fantasy films and encouraged many production companies to green light new fantasy oriented projects. Thus the first decade of the twenty first century got more than fifty fantasy films on the silver screen. All major behind the scenes works had done by the New Zealand based visual effects company WETA Digital. They would have assembled potential people from all fields of animation and visual effects to dedicate years of their lives to create stunning effects that fulfill this high fantasy, middle earth epic story. All three films got more three thousand effects shots. WETA Digital had used many visual effects technologies to create the effects and creatures. They have invented new technologies and changed some existing technologies to overcome the challenges in creating some scenes. One of the most exciting creatures in  the film is Gollum, who was born like a hobbit named Smà ©agol, but transformed into something far more frightening as a result of his encounter with the ring. For creating Gollum, they have used very advance motion capturing. Gollum would be the most sophisticated digital character seen at that time. Visual effects technologies The lord of the rings trilogy had used many ground breaking visual effects to create the fantasy. WETA Digital is the major effects studio behind the films, but some shorts are also given to the studio Digital Domain. WETA had used many technologies to achieve the effects. Here we are going to look through those technologies. Massive Creating the war scenes are one o the most challenges faced by the filmmakers. All films in the trio had more than one war sequence in which thousands of soldiers are fighting. Creating this kind of mass crowd is a big problem that had not been solved in film making. A research to develop a new technology to overcome this problem had conducted in WETA Digital by the technical director of the film Stephen Regelous. It resulted in the creation of new software called MASSIVE (Multiple Agent Simulation System in Virtual Environment). It can easily generate thousands or millions of agents that all act as individuals and can respond individually to its surroundings. These reactions affect the agents behavior, changing how they act and controlling motion captured animations to create a realistic looking characters. The software used fuzzy logic to achieve this kind of properties. This technology helped WETA to create the epic war sequences. This technology is a great contribution to the vis ual effects industry and later it used in many films. Subsurface scattering Creating the creature Gollum was another big challenge for the director. This character played a main role in the films. Gollum was brought into life by the combine efforts of computer animation and sophisticated motion capture technology utilizing fluid dynamics. They studied many kinds of anatomy to create realistic joint movement based on actual organic muscle and bone. For getting more realistic look they have applied sub surface scattering shader for the first time. WETA developed vast amounts of code to create Gollum, notes Peter Jackson. They developed new modeling codes, new skin codes, new muscle codes. He is amazingly life-like and we were able to give him a range of expressions from the evil of Gollum to the sympathy of Smà ©agol. Peter Jackson  

An Introduction To Political Cleavage Concepts Politics Essay

An Introduction To Political Cleavage Concepts Politics Essay The concept of a political cleavage is contested in important ways (Daalder 1966, Eckstein 1966, Dogan 1967, Zuckerman 1982, Bartolini Mair 1990, Neto Cox 1997), and whether cleavages exist in post-communist Eastern Europe might depend substantially on how the term is defined. Some authors who find that cleavages are weak or absent in the region use a rigorous definition of the term (Lawson 1999). It is argued here, however, that even when the definitional barrier is raised to a high level, political cleavages are in all likelihood present in the region(Whitefield 2002). Many studies have found a link between pre-communist historical legacies and institutional choice. For example Kitschelt argues that pre-communist experiences had an influence on the communist regime which ultimately has an impact on party cleavages. Indeed, he argues that pre-communist experiences can be distinguished rather easily, but the length of the political liberalisation phase in the 1980s and the significance of having had two or three rounds of free elections since 1990 may be disputable. While I do not believe that isolating these pre communist legacies is necessarily, I do believe that pre-communist legacies must be included in any analysis of post-communist social cleavages. I suggest that history is very important for the cases of Romania and Hungary. Furthermore, if we go back to Dalton, he insists that religious cleavage has followed the same pattern of decline as for the class cleavage. As he sees, one possible exception to the rule of declining social cleavages involves race and ethnicity. Nevertheless, even today, social, religious and ethic identities of citizens still have explanatory power in examination of voting behavior (Nieuwbeerta, 1998; Knutsen Scarbrough, 1995). The question on the relation between a countries social cleavage structure and political outcomes has become of extra relevance in Eastern European nations after the collapse of totalitarian regimes. Since the velvet revolutions in 1989 the political party structure in these nations had to be build almost from scratch, the question rises, according to Nieuwbeerta(1998), whether these new political systems developed in a way similar to how it is organized in Western nations. Therefore, to what extent are party systems in Eastern European nations based on major socio-economic cleavages in these nations? At first it is seems like that most newly founded parties in Eastern Europe represent such cleavages. For example in Romania and Hungary Social-Democratic and Liberal parties were created, as well as religious and nationalist parties. The concept of a political cleavage, however, is not universally regarded as useful by political observers of the post-communist world (White et al. 1997, Elster et al. 1998). Indeed, in a highly influential and controversial account published soon after the collapse of communist power, Fukuyama (1992) interpreted the event as an indicator of the end of ideological division across all modern societies, East European ones included. The collapse of communism could be seen as demonstrating either broad support for liberalism or, if we want to put the argument negatively, the absence of any alternative method of organizing modern society. From this perspective, although transition in the region would certainly have its winners and losers, the end of ideological competition meant that the political cleavages that had divided populations across industrial societies, most famously characterized by Lipset Rokkan (1967), were anachronistic. Differences among politicians and choices among vot ers would in this context be based on who could best do the job of delivering on liberal, market, and democratic policies(Whitefield 2002). But whether cleavages were envisaged or not, scholarly interest in the cleavage structures (or lack thereof) in post-communist states was often strongly grounded in pessimistic assessments of their putative effects on party competition and on the stability of these new democracies (Cirtautas 1994, Comisso 1997, Elster et al. 1998). According to these ideas, there are at least two important questions that should be answered. First, although the general shape of the cleavage structures of post-communism is better understood, the mechanisms for their formation are unclear or disputed. Most explanations of cleavages in more established democracies emphasize the importance of prior social organization in providing sources of interest and political allegiance among the public that allow coordination of voters and parties in structured and relatively stable ways (Sartori 1969, Przeworski 1985). Such prior social organization, however, was largely absent across Eastern Europe. Second, in order to speak with full confidence about the existence of cleavages, it is necessary to see stability and persistence in social and ideological divisions, but naturally these conditions are only weakly established empirically. There are also differing theoretical expectations about the stability of the social and ideological divisions in politics. Considerable volatility is evident in support for particular parties, and political parties themselves have often been short-lived, offering voters little opportunity to reward or punish them. But is this volatility of supply and demand for parties a sign of instability in the cleavage structure? For many countries, there is limited evidence available to test these possibilities because follow-up studies that might allow over-time comparisons have not yet taken place; however, it should be noted that where such evidence is available, it points to more stability than change in the structure of underlying social and ideological di visions, which strengthens claims about the existence of cleavages in the region and especially in Romania and Hungary. 2. The cleavage hypothesis If we want to understand the idea and the formation of cleavages, we should first find appropriate explanation. Party nationalisation might be explained as a consequence of the territorial structure of social or socio-economic divides (Lipset Rokkan, 1967). Caramani (2004, p. 15) addresses the centre-periphery and the urban-rural cleavage as territorial divides, connected to low levels of nationalisation. In contrast, functional cleavages, such as the economic cleavage in Western Europe, do not have a territorial character, so that parties organising along such cleavages are highly nationalised (cf. Caramani, 2004; Cox, 1999, p. 159). The explanation of party system structures by cleavages has been criticised though, because cleavages do not convert into parties as a matter of course, but this is produced by the political system itself (Zielinski, 2002, p. 187). Looking at Central and Eastern Europe, only a few scholars are looking for similarities of political divisions with social cleavages in Western democracies (Kitschelt et al., 1999). The view overwhelms that cleavages, especially if they are narrowly defined, are of limited relevance in the region (Elster et al., 1998, pp. 247-270). However, one social divide appears to be an exception to the rule: The ethnic divide is salient in Central and Eastern Europe (Evans Need, 2002) and helps many parties to mobilise their voters (Elster et al., 1998, p. 252). Ethnic minorities exist in almost all countries, and they vote in large numbers for their own parties. Furthermore, issues related to ethnicity help as well nationalist parties of the titular nation to mobilise their voters. The investigation of ethnic divides in order to explain party nationalisation degrees may yield promising results, as many of the ethnic minorities in Central and Eastern European countries are territorially settled. If such ethnic divides become manifest in party politics, then the ethnic structure of a country will explain why the electoral strength of political parties varies across regions. If we take into account the cases with Romania and Hungary, the best example could be inter-war Transylvania- the large ethnic Hungarian and German minorities constituted approximately 40% of the population, and all of the minorities were either Catholic or Protestant. If we add to this figure the number of Romanians that belonged to the Greek Catholic Church, then approximately 70% of Transylvanias population belonged to a Western Christian denomination prior to the communist takeover. These figures are important because, as Kitschelt argues, these pre-communist legacies influenced the communist reform process. In the case of Transylvania and Galicia these cultural and religious differences had a marked impact on the regions during the communist period. Nevertheless, Transylvania has traditionally been perceived, even during the communist period, as ethnically, culturally and politically different from the rest of the country. Therefore in order to assimilate Transylvania, nationali sm was an important ideological component of Romanian communism, particularly under Ceausescu. He promoted a form of national populism characterised by pseudo-egalitarianism and the non-recognition of any kind of diversity'(Whitefield 2002). However, the existence of diversity across post-communist states in the content of political competition is not evidence for diversity in cleavage structures. Support for political parties may vary as a result of many factors, discussed below, that are not connected to cleavages. And even if partisanship appears to be rooted in ideological and social differentiation, this may not result from social and ideological divisions in the population but rather from party strategies(Whitefield 2002). According to the empirical investigation, that Whitefield and Evans had done, there is a relationship among social and ideological differences and partisanship that would be expected if political cleavages were present. Naturally, although economic differentiation was common to all countries (if not always to the same degree), not all social identities and differentiated social experiences were equally present in all states; in particular, the religious and ethnic composition of countries in the region varies markedly. As a consequence, we found that the connection of social division to ideological division also varies; religiosity appears to matter much more to social liberalism in Catholic than in Orthodox states; and issues of ethnic rights are more firmly socially rooted where minorities exist and where the sense of social difference between ethnic groups is more strongly felt. This variation in the nature of social and ideological division is important because it appears to rela te to the nature of divisions that emerge in support for political parties(Whitefield 2002). TABLE 1: Political cleavages in post-Communist Eastern Europe (Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary): social and ideological divisions to partisanship Social bases Ideological bases Romania 1. Age, region (Bucharest), education 2. Ethnicity (Hungarians) economic liberalism, pro/anti-West 3. Region (Transylvania) 1. Social political liberalism, economic liberalism, pro/anti West 2. Ethnic liberalism 3. Pro-West, Jews Bulgaria 1. Ethnicity(Turkish) 2. Age, Class( professionals vs. workers) 3. Religiosity 1. Economic liberalism, pro/anti-West 2. Ethnic liberalism 3. Nationalism, Gypsies Hungary 1. Age 2. Religiosity 3. Class (urban-rural), education/class, settlement size, denomination(Protestant) 1. Economic liberalism, pro/anti-West 2. Social political liberalism, Jews 3. Social political liberalism, nationalism 3. Politics between economy and culture- the case of Hungary In order to continue to analyze the formation of cleavages in Eastern European states, I will try to give example with Hungary. Before that, I would like to point out some of the most important theories of Stein Rokkan linked with the work of S. M. Lipset. As a consequence of the early death of S. Rokkan, his work, in spite its richness and extension, can not be regarded as finished. Here are the basic ideas: 1. Territory as a key concept of politics in a cross pressure between culture and economy, implying: the equal weight given to economic, political-territorial and cultural dimensions; the interaction between geographical spaces and socio-cultural membership spaces, between center formation and boundary building; the conceptual map of Europe with an West-East axis differentiating between economic conditions for state-building and a South-North axis between cultural conditions for nation-building. 2. The identification of four cleavages following the critical junctures of: the national revolution creating the center-periphery and the church-state cleavages; the industrial revolution creating the urban-rural and the labour-capital cleavages. 3. The cyclical movement of cleavages: towards a national-international divide. It is often forgotten that Rokkan does not end his cleavage sequence with the worker-owner conflict of the industrial revolution, but points to an intriguing cyclical movement: breakdown of a supranational order (Roman Empire) establishment of culturally and politically distinctive nation states conflict over national versus international loyalties. (Lipset-Rokkan 47-48) Although the last formulation relates to the communist cleavage within the labour movement (not relevant any more), but in his latest works he points to the centrality of a reformulated version of a center-periphery divide: that between homogenizing supranational standardization and cultural distinctiveness, roots, national identity. ( Rokkan- Urwin, Flora 1983: 434). 4. The different political impacts of a gradual, organic sequence of cleavages ( in most of North Western Europe) versus the cumulation of state and nation-building cleavages together with the rapidity of enfranchisement and sudden modernization. The second alternative especially in the case of the discontinuity of or threats to national independence implies difficulties in transition to mass democracy. (Hungary is directly mentioned by Rokkan in this latter context.) Territorial-cultural conflicts do not just find political expression in secessionist and irredentist movements, however, they feed into the overall cleavage structure and help to condition the development not only of each party organization but even more of the entire system of party oppositions and interests (Lipset-Rokkan 41). 5. The historical long term continuity of collective political identities coalitions and oppositions on the level of alternatives, of parties and of the support market to be mobilized. Parties do not simply present themselves de novo to the citizens at each election; they each have a history and so have the constellations of alternatives they present to the electorate. (Lipset-Rokkan). Emerging cleavages affect, however, former alliances and restructure the party system. Rokkan points also to the existence of a certain lee-way for parties to translate social cleavages. 6. The freezing of party alternatives with the final extension of suffrage (mostly in the twenties), implying the inclusion of the lower classes. In contrast to an expanding support market with a creative phase of parties (Cotta 102) accompanied by a mobilization along cultural and territorial cleavages, the mobilization on the basis of purely economic cleavages comes only afterwards (Rokkan 1980: 118). The stage of mass democracy brings about an ever more closed electoral market with a mobilization controlled by the already existing parties. 7. The special role of social democratic parties on the left side of the labour-capital cleavage. Due to their strength and domesticability, their ability to maintain unity in the face of the man forces making for division and fragmentation (Lipset-Rokkan: 46), social democratic parties and the class cleavage in itself played a stabilizing and homogenizing, cohesive influence in most West European party systems. In countries with a troubled history of nation-building, marked cultural cleavages reduced their potentials. But the very logic of pluralism in democratic capitalism helped their entry into national politics. These parties, having joined the nation contributed to the neutralization of the radicalizing effects of sudden industrialization. (Lipset-Rokkan: 46, 48, 50). 8. The radical rightist anti-system cleavage. The rising networks of new elites, such as the leaders of the new large bureaucracies of industry and government, those who control the various sectors of the communication industry, the heads of mass organizations, the leaders of once weak or low-status groups, and the like constitute the focus of protest of fascist-type parties, which: are nationalistic, they venerate the nation and its culture; are anti-democratic; want to unite their supporters as one single pillar lead by deeply felt convictions about the destiny and the mission of the nation. These xenophobic and racist parties may mobilize segments of the middle and lower classes. As to their emergence and chances of success, contrasts in the continuity and regularity of nation-building certainly played a role (Lipset-Rokkan 23, 24, 25). After we pointed out some of the most important ideas from the Lipset and Rokkan concept, now I will try to form several important assumptions: The evolution of the Hungarian party system confirms the classical sequence of European cleavage formation with the initial and decisive emergence of identity-based territorial and cultural divides followed later by the appearance of economic cleavages. Hungarian party competition seems to reflect and even to anticipate new developments of Western party systems. There are real historical alternatives expressing different conceptions of modernization, of nationhood and of geopolitical location represented by the parties. For Rokkan and Lipset, party alternatives and the party system itself freeze. In Hungary and in some other Eastern European countries, intervals, parties and party structure are unstable and fluid. But the alternatives contained in the cleavage structure are amazingly stable: not the party system, but the cleavage structure is frozen. In the formation process of the parties (1988-89), in the subsequent three elections from 1990 to 1998, the same cleavage sets have mattered and structured party competition, namely: the three cleavage families of Westernization vs. traditionalism, post-communism vs. anti-post-communism and pro-market commodification (winners) vs. welfare statist decommodification (losers). This special freezing of alternatives and cleavages has, however, taken place in the context of a very much open and available electoral market . This deviance from the Rokkan-Lipset freezing pattern is the unavoidable consequence of the long discontinuity of the party system, the lack of traditions of mass democracy and the unstable interest structure of civil society. Due to the strong economic, social and political positions of the post-communist elites and surviving value orientations in the electorate, the definition of the rules of the game as a systemic issue (Offe 1991, Mair 1997) is expressed by the salience of a post-communism anti-post-communism cleavage family. It cannot be deducted from the Rokkan-Lipset scheme, and by its very nature, cannot become a long-enduring historical divide, but can be supposed to fade away. The taming of capitalism, the political regulation of the market with a political mobilization along a commodification decommodification axis is a crucial point of democratic consolidation and legitimacy. Following from the freezing of the Hungarian political cleavage structure in the phase of the dominance of the cultural-territorial and post-communist cleavage families, the increasing importance of this socio-economic divide is coupled with its absorption by or inclusion into the other two cleavage families. The post-1989 evolution of the Hungarian party system has brought about no political mobilization along the line of a classical labour-capital class cleavage. Finally, we should now indicate the main cleavages formed in Hungary, according to Mair: 1. The family of territorial and cultural cleavages Traditionalist forces stress historical continuity, Hungarian nationhood, favour community ove society, are for strong authority, strong church. Their value orientations are more particularist than universalist, they have an inclination to love the rural, even if they are urban Westernizers are outward-looking, for catch-up modernization, they favour individualism, multicultural diversity, they stress secularism and human rights. 2. The family of post-communist cleavages This set of cleavages has several dimensions an ideological dimension of anticommunism which can be based either on particularist national, religious identities or on the universalism of individual human rights and rationality; a political dimension expressed in the relationship to the Socialist Party looked upon as the successor party; a power dimension of competing elites and of the re-definition of the rules of the game outside and inside politics; a structural dimension reflecting the symbiotic dualism of the present society with a secto rooted in late communism and a sector of emerging capitalism iv; an emotional and biographical dimension with a population split into two halves: one half who feel they lived better in the last years of real socialism and another half thinking differently. 3. The family of socio-economic cleavages With economic transformation progressing and with an overwhelmingly materialist electorate this set of cleavages has become central in the society, but the early freezing of the party system structured along the above mentioned two cleavage sets is still complicating the clear translation of this divide into programmatic and public policy alternatives. 4. Old Theories vs. New Parties: Romania Post-communist party system Surprisingly, post-communist cleavages in Romania have been the spotlight of relatively little attention. Indeed, as Crowther writes: If skeptics are correct, Romania should stand out as a strong case for the inapplicability of social cleavage analyses. Because of the peculiarities of its pre-communist and communist past, Romania is often taken as an archetypical example of the post-communist countries dearth of civil society. Or, in other words, it is almost impossible to test the theory of Stein Rokkan or S.M. Lipset, without necessary sharing Crowthers point of view on the inapplicability of social cleavage analyses. Most recent works on the concept à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾post-communist cleavages commence with a few comments on Lipsets and Rokkans cleavage theory applied to the case of Central Europe. One of the most respectful professors from Bulgaria- Georgi Karasimeonov indicates that Lipsets and Rokkans cleavage theory was formulated on the special conditions and terms of a particular European western model. Karasimeonov contributions to the debate can be interpreted in the tradition of the analysis of the electoral behavior and party formation in transnational societies revealing at least four types of cleavages: residual (historical), transitional, actual and potential8. De Waele, seeks to clarify and categorize the relationship between the original theory of cleavages as it is applied to Western model and the post-communist experience undertaking his project with the view of three cleavages: 1. The first set of objective considerations influencing the emergence of the post-communist party system concerns the economic cleavage. De Waelle argues that the socio-economic cleavage (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾maximalist vs. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾minimalist) comes from the communist regimes successful orientation towards destruction of the capitalist economy. De Waele himself flags up this problem with his own definition: the term à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾maximalist is used to describe the adherents of a fast transition. In theory, the claim that the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾minimalist perspective is likely to have a socioeconomic basis has been highly dependent upon overall record of mixed progress with uneven and slow reform implementation. On the contrary, the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾maximalists represented the turning point for the post-communism. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾The maximalists launched new reform programs, a macroeconomic plan stabilization and structural reforms, an ambitious shock therapy for the Romanian economy, including the liberalization of prices and the foreign exchange market as well as the accelerati on of the privatization. 2. The second cleavage, the so-called à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾authoritariandemocratic divide, refers to the inability of a significant part of the society to renounce in discursive terms the communist legacy (although, in Romania this did not necessarily translate into a rejection of all kind of authoritarian attitudes). In many recent studies on authoritarian attitudes in postcommunist Romania, researchers have pointed the electoral success of Vadim Tudor in 2000, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾as a distinctly unpleasant surprise for many in the West. The case in point was the increase of supporters of a latent antipluralist attitude towards the European values arena. 3. The third cleavage line is between the communists and the anticommunists. The à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾old attitude, a so-called à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾pre-communist behavior was usually reactivated after the emergence of the new parties. Given the discontinuity of the transition, à gh concludes that the confrontation between the two groups led to the formation of a multi-party and the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾first generation parties. He also witnessed the fact that the new parties were formed à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾as second generation parties, and the third category, the so-called small à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾third generation appeared much later. In a similar way, Gill argues that it is difficult to establish the real significance of the cleavage between the two types. He also indicates there have been at least three referential ways to see post-communism: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾post-communism as a system, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾post-communism as a condition, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾post-communism as a situation. After this analysis of the main three cleavages that the Romanian post-communist system has experienced, it is almost impossible at this point to raise the discussion of a consolidated democracy. With politics in Romania still changing, the outlines of the three families of cleavages advanced in this article constitute a significant obstacle towards consolidation. 5. Conclusion Finally I would like to go back to some of the main points I have presented: The evolution of the Eastern European party system confirms the classical sequence of European cleavage formation with the initial and decisive emergence of identity-based territorial and cultural divides, with their dominance over socio-economic divides followed later by the appearance of economic cleavages. The salient manifestation of the cumulation of cultural and territorial cleavages in the part system corresponds clearly with the cyclical movement in the framework of the Rokkanian scheme demonstrating how globally the centrality of a national-supranational divide. The example with Hungarian party competition seems to reflect and even to anticipate new developments of Western party systems. There are real historical alternatives expressing different conceptions of modernisation, of nationhood and of geopolitical location represented by the parties. These alternatives are olde than the most of the Eastern European electorate, but they deviate from the mainstream in Western Europe. In the formation process of the parties (1988-89), in the subsequent three elections from 1990 to 1998, the same cleavage sets have mattered and structured party competition, namely: the three cleavage families of Westernization vs. traditionalism, post-communism vs. anti-post-communism and marketization, commodification (winners) vs. welfare statism. This special freezing of alternatives and cleavages has, however, taken place in the context of a very much open and available electoral market . This deviance from the Rokkan-Lipset freezing pattern is the unavoidable consequence of the long discontinuity of the party system, the lack of traditions of mass democracy and the unstable interest structure of civil society. The post-1989 evolution of the Hungarian and Romania party system has brought about no political mobilisation along the line of a classical labour-capital class cleavage. Instead, I have observed the following attempts for bringing the welfare statist decommodification cleavage in: coupling it with the post-communist cleavage, coupling it with the defence of national identity, coupling it with the religious cleavage, coupling (its radical variant) with an aggressive and racist social nationalism. After all, I still believe that formation of cleavages in East Europe, according to the thesis of Lipset and Rokkan, is almost impossible to apply to these countries. However, the cases which I in detail discussed (Hungary and Romania), are the best example for the existing of cleavages in Eastern European states. Therefore, indicates that even the model of Lipset-Rokkan was more applicable for Western European countries, especially because of different economical and political development, the existing of cleavages in East Europe was possible even before 1989, and the model is still useful nowadays.

To Kill A Mockingbird Essay: Gender Roles and Feminism -- Feminism Fem

Gender Roles and Feminism in To Kill a Mockingbird When the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, was written by Harper Lee, the Southern United States was still clinging tightly to traditional values. Southern societies pressured men to behave as gentlemen, and women were expected to be polite and wear dresses. These stringent gender roles were adhered to in small southern towns because they were isolated from the more progressive attitudes in other areas of the United States. Harper Lee documents the life of one young girl growing up in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama. Jean Louise Finch, also known as "Scout," is a young girl searching for her identity. Scout, a young tomboy, is pressured by adults who insist she should conform to the traditional role of a southern lady. Harper Lee establishes and promotes Jean’s masculinity through the use of nicknames, fighting, and masculine clothing, while contrasting her with women that fit the stereotypical female model. Â   In traditional society, parents name children according to their gender. Common names for boys include John, Robert and James, whereas Elizabeth, Sarah, and Cathy represent standard names for girls. The author gives her main character two common female titles, Jean Louise. Many southern females have two first names which reinforces their role in society as a Southern Belle, or a traditional southern lady. Lee contrasts this extremely feminine name with her masculine label, Scout. "'Scout, I'm [Jem] tellin' you for the last time, shut your trap or go home - I declare to the Lord you're gettin' more like a girl every day'" (52). It seems interesting Lee assigns Jean Louise such a manly name. Although the nickname accurately describes her personality, it does not seem a... ...she describes the pompous women. The author uses the women's conversations to emphasize the reasons Scout remains a tomboy and refuses the traits of Maycomb females. Harper Lee provides the reader with several examples of typical Maycomb females. She establishes Scout's masculinity with fighting and explains her demeanor by contrasting it with the typical female adults of the novel. The author also allows Jean Louise to wear masculine clothing and gives her a manly nickname. Therefore, the author favors Scout's unique personality and implies women do not have to act in a stereotypical manner. The book might inspire young girls to become independent and create their own unique personalities. To Kill a Mockingbird emerges as an important novel that contradicts female society and suggests that girls should not feel pressure to act in scripted "womanly" roles. Â  

Childhood Influences Impact the Writing of F. Scott Fitzgerald Essay

Childhood Influences Impact the Writing of F. Scott Fitzgerald On Wednesday February 12 of 1890 F. Scott Fitzgerald's parents were married in Washington D.C. Six years later on September 24, 1896 Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born at his home 481 Laurel Ave. in St. Paul, Minnesota. His two infant older sisters had died from a violent influenza so that by the time Fitzgerald came along Mollie Fitzgerald had become the proverbial nightmare that known as an overprotective mother. Fitzgerald's mother was no traditional mother though, for she was known for her eccentricities. These eccentricities disturbed young Scott's life, "Fitzgerald later described his mother as 'half insane with pathological nervous worry'" (Bruccoli 15), but nothing worried anyone in the family so much as his father's failure to hold down a job. It was because his father lost his job as a wicker furniture manufacturer and salesman the family was forced to move from St. Paul to Buffalo in April of 1898, where his father began work for Proctor and Gamble. In January of 1901 the family moved from Buffalo to Syracuse where Edward had been transferred by his employer and where, on Sunday July 21, 1901 Scott's younger sister Annabel was born. Just two years later the family was back in Buffalo and just five years after that the family had returned to St. Paul and Grandma McQuillan's money. Grandma, born Louisa McQuillan, was a widow. Her husband Phillip Francis McQuillan was a man of Irish ancestry who had been a successful business man and grocer and when he died at age 43 he left behind a good $500,000 dollars to the family. Because of their financial problems the Fitzgerald family was often reliant on family money to survive. The Fitzgera... ...-occupation with glamour describe some of the main themes of his writing and indeed were some of the main themes of his childhood. Works Cited Bruccoli, Matthew J. Some Sort of Epic Grandeur. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, 1981 Caudle, Bill. "F. Scott Fitzgerald Walking Tour of St. Paul, MN". January 8, 2003. September 9, 2003 <http://home.att.net/~caudle/fscotwlk.htm> Prigozy, Ruth. "The Fitzgeralds". F. Scott Fitzgerald Society. September 9, 2003. <http://www.zeldafitzgerald.com/fitzgeralds/index.asp> The Board of Trustees of the University of South Carolina. "Quotations". January 28, 1997. University of South Carolina. September 9, 2003 <http://www.sc.edu/fitzgerald/quotes/quotes1.html>

Wilbur and Orville Wright and the First Airplane Essay -- dream, aircra

In 1903, I can only imagine that the single thought inside of both Wilbur and Orville Wright’s minds was to get their airplane off the ground. Because of their dream of heavier-than-air flight, mankind has gone from a flight of 120 feet, in an aircraft designed largely out of wood, using bicycle drive technology (World Digital Library, 2013), to a spacecraft that is about to leave our solar system (Voyager I). To quote American author, Napoleon Hill (1992), â€Å"Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.† When we stop to consider how far we have come in just over one hundred years, is it even possible to conceive what air travel might look like a hundred years from now? From the Wright Flyer to the aircraft we fly today, they all started as a dream that later turned into a design. NASA is not sending astronauts into space at the moment, but that has not stopped the engineers at NASA from working on advanced aerodynamic designs and technologies that would help us achieve the dream of traveling farther, faster and higher. Improved materials such as carbon-fiber give an aircraft lighter weight, improved performance and lower fuel consumption. NASA’s newest design in carbon-fiber is called â€Å"PRSEUS† (Pultruded rod, Stitched, Efficient, Unitized Structure), a material that will be stronger than current carbon-fiber technology and will greatly reduce the need for rivets and other fasteners that lead to structural fatigue. NASA believes this new material will help Boeing achieve its goal of an aircraft of blended wing design (Sloan, 2011). Boeing has stated that tests for strength and performance on PRSEUS have exceeded their expectations . Boeing is using this new material in their X-48B, a small scale functional ble... ...lying cars: Radical concept design aims high. BBC Future. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20130523-radical-flying-car-model-unveiled TheCrit. (2008, June 30). Boeing develops anti-gravity propulsion. Retrieved from http://thecrit.com/2008/06/30/boeing-develops-anti-gravity-propulsion/ Vogel, J. (2013, May 03). The warp speed of today: Boeing's x-51a waverider . Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIbW8-Ow50I Wiki. (n.d.). Scramjet. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scramjet Wise, J. (2006, June 05). Introducing the airplane of the future. Popular Mechanics. Retrieved from http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/aviation/news/2932316 World Digital Library. (2013, July 16). Telegram from Orville Wright in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, to his father announcing four successful flights. Retrieved from http://www.wdl.org/en/item/11372/

Children With Sickle Cell Disease Health And Social Care Essay

Transcranial Doppler scanning ( TCD ) is a critical technique which can place kids with reaping hook cell disease at high hazard for shot ( Deane et al. , 2007 ) .This non-invasive imagination technique uses an ultrasound investigation, that produces high frequence sound waves to mensurate intellectual blood flow. In this survey, cubic decimeter will be looking at the undermentioned everyday hematologic and biochemical research lab trials, hemoglobin, reticulocytes, white count, lactate dehydrogenase, aspartate aminotransferase and creatinine in 250 reaping hook cell disease ( SCD ) affected kids with in the age group of 3-16years who attend the Brent Sickle and Thalassaemia Clinic at Central Middlesex Hospital in May 2010 to May 2011. My purpose is to utilize the above listed research lab trials to place all kids who are at hazard of enduring from the complications of SCD like vaso-occlusive hurting crisis, acute chest syndrome, infections, stroke to multi organ failure. TCD is perf ormed one time a twelvemonth at one-year reappraisal assignments on all kids with reaping hook cell disease to find if they are at hazard of developing any SCD complications. During this survey any kid identified to hold unnatural hematologic and biochemical research lab trials listed supra will hold a TCD regardless of whenever it was done. If the TCD identifies that any kid with those unnatural hematologic and biochemical parametric quantities is at a high hazard of developing complications of SCD particularly stroke, so the current National Health Service ( NHS ) intervention program for kids with SCD must be changed to supply an even more robust intervention plan.The significance of this survey hence is to better hereafter pattern and attention for kids with SCD. This will intend that any SCD affected kid with those unnatural hematologic and biochemical parametric quantities will be referred for TCD regardless of whether they have had their annual scan in a pursuit to better the ir wellness and wellness attention direction. Prevention is better than remedy.2. IntroductionHemoglobinopathies are a broad group of diseases impacting the production and or the maps of hemoglobin. ( Kirkham F.J, 2007 ) . They are one of the most common familial upsets worldwide and can be really terrible, if non fatal. They are classed into two groups: Haemoglobin discrepancies which arise from an change in the hematohiston concatenation, for illustration, Sickle hemoglobin ( Hb S ) Thalassaemias which arise from reduced production of the normal hematohiston concatenation. ( Kirkham F.J, 2007 ) SCD is one of the most common familial upsets impacting the hemoglobin molecule of ruddy blood cells ( Kirkham F.J, 2007 ) . SCD is an autosomal recessionary disease, intending a individual needs two faulty cistrons to hold the disease ( Kirkham F.J, 2007 ) . There are several reaping hooks cell diseases: homozygous reaping hook cell anemia or disease ( HbSS ) and heterozygote conditions including Hb SC and Hb S? thalassemia ( Kirkham F.J, 2007 ) . HbSS is responsible for the most terrible complications seen in reaping hook cell disease ( Kirkham F.J, 2007 ) . The prevalence of SCD is highest among people of African, Afro-Caribbean, Arab and Mediterranean lineage ( Kirkham F.J, 2007 ) It is widespread in the United States, impacting over 70,000 Afro- Americans and impacting about 12,500 people in the UK ( Howard et Al ; Kirkham et al. , 2007 ) . Sickle cell is progressively going common in the UK as a effect of migration ( Howard et al.,2007 ) . The life anticipation in SCD is between 42 and 53 old ages for work forces and 48 and 58 old ages for adult females. This low life anticipation is likely to increase as the wellness service have put in topographic point national showing programmes, instruction for parents and wellness professionals and better directions attention. Complications SCD is a multi-organ upset with a assortment of complications. The most common complications include, vaso-occlusive hurting crisis, acute chest syndrome, infections, shot, priapism, leg ulcers, cholecystitis, acute splenic or hepatic segregation to multi organ failure. ( Gladwin et al, 2008 ) . Vaso-occlusine hurting crises is due to sickle cells blockading vass in the microcirculation taking to ischemic harm in the castanetss, the lung, the kidneys and in the tegument ( leg ulcers ) , ( Gladwin et al, 2008 ) . Stroke is an of import complication as it is a major cause of mortality and morbidity in SCD kids. ( NHS Standard and Guidance, March 2009 ) . It has been reported as a taking cause of decease in both kids and grownups. Infarctive shot is seen chiefly in kids whereas hemorrhagic shot is normally seen in the 20-29 age groups, ( Ohene-frempong et Al, 1998 ) . The grounds for this age division are non good understood. ( Kirkham F.J, 2007 ) . By the age of 10, about 6 % of SCD kids are affected by ischemic shot ( .Kirkham F.J, 2007 ) . It is caused by the progressive narrowing of the center, distal and anterior carotid arterias providing blood to the encephalon consequences in shot ( Deane et al, 2007 ) . However, grounds for this progressive narrowing are yet to be established ( Deane et al, 2007 ) , but recent surveies suggest an association between high degrees of plasma free hemoglobin ( PTH ) from hemolysis, quickly devouring azotic oxide ( NO ) , which may ensue in events suppressing blood flow. ( Nelson et al, 2006 ) . Even though it is a really serious complication in SCD kids, it can be preventable. ( Quinn et al 2004 ) , if these kids are identified. Transcranial Doppler scanning ( TCD ) has been shown to place patients at high hazard of shot ( Deane et al, 2007 ) . TCD is an ultrasound that measures blood flow speed in the intracerebral vass. ( Bulas et al, 2000 ) . It is non invasive, reasonably expensive and a painless process that is good tolerated in kids. ( Bulas et al, 2000 ) . This high hazard of shot brought approximately by The Stroke Prevention Trial in Sickle Cell Anaemia ( STOP ) survey. This survey was perfomed by a group of scientist in 1996. It showed that high blood speeds as measured by TCD in the in-between intellectual arteria ( MCA ) , the distal internal arteria ( dICA ) and the bifurcation were associated with an increased hazard of shot. . ( Bulas et al, 2000 ) . These kids with high blood flow speeds were so on a regular basis transfused to cut down the hazard of shot [ new ref Adams RJ. , 1998 ] . The STOP survey has has proven important consequences on TCD as an valuable wellness technique in forestalling shot hazard in kids. ( Adams RJ. , 1998 ) given Furthermore, an experimental survey by Fullerton et Al, 2004 on SCD kids in California showed that there was a diminution in shot after the debut of TCD with contraceptive transfusion preventative steps were taken. . ( Rees et al, 2008 ) . Many surveies have shown the benefits of mensurating high blood speeds on TCD and subsequent transfusion to cut down hemoglobin S can cut down the hazard of shot. ( ) . Based on these surveies, National counsel from the NHS Sickle and Thalassaemia testing programmes recommended the usage of TCD scans all over the state. The guidelines proposed that by 2010, 99 % of reaping hook cell Centres in England should offer one-year TCD scans to kids with SCD from age 2 to 16 old ages. The scan consequences are classed into classs depending on the clip averaged maximum average speed ( TAMMV ) of the in-between intellectual arteria or the intracranial internal carotid arterias or the bifurcation of the two arterias, ( Standard and Guidance, March 2008 ) . TAMMV values & A ; lt ; 170 cm/s are normal, 170-199cm/s are conditional and & A ; gt ; 200cm/s are important forecasters of shot. ( Standard and Guidance, March 2008 ) . However, studies in the UK have shown that many kids do non hold entree to TCD scans ( Rees et al 2008 ) . Therefore it is imperative to place kids at high hazard for shot so that effectual preventative steps are taken. In this survey, based on cardinal hematologic and biochemical modus operandi trials we aim to happen research lab parametric quantities which can be used as showing tools for shot and be used in placing those kids most likely to hold an unnatural TCD scan. If these labaoratory paramaters can place SCD kids at increased hazard for shot it may take to recommendations for future pattern to include precedence for TCD scans to be given to these kids.TreatmentIn the UK, the National Health Service ( NHS ) has developed local guidelines for the intervention and direction of SCD, including: a combination of antibiotics, hurting slayers, fluids and ruddy cell transfusion when required. ( Kirkham F.J, 2007 ) . Hydroxyurea, an unwritten anticancer drug is besides used in some SC D patients to forestall painful crises ( Frenette et al, 2007 ) . Hydroxyurea works by increasing fetal hemoglobin F ( Hb F ) degrees which prevents the polymerization of the deoxygenated HbS in ruddy cells, therefore diminishing the frequence of painful crises ( Hoffbrand et al, 2001 ) . Reports from Howard et al 2007 and Frenate et Al 2007 besides explain that Hydroxyurea improves ruddy cell hydration, diminishing the adhesion of reaping hook cells to the endothelium and act as a azotic oxide giver, doing this drug rather good to utilize. A multi-centre survey of hydroyurea ( MSH ) in 299 grownups with SCD showed important benefits of utilizing this drug as patients had less one-year painful crises ( Charache et al.,1995 ) . A follow-up survey nine old ages on showed that these patients had a better quality of life ( Steinberg et al. , 2003 ) . Despite its clinical benefits, many patients are disbelieving about it being a chemotherapeutic drug and are hence disquieted about the lo ng term side effects ( Frennete et al. , 2007 ) . Bone marrow organ transplant can bring around SCD. About 175 HLA matched sibling grafts have been reported with greater than 80 % disease free patients holding a quality life ( Howard et al. , 2007 ) , nevertheless, troubles lie in happening a blood-donor lucifer and there is a hazard of decease associated with this procedure due to high doses of chemotherapy and radiation ( Frenette et al, 2007 ) . A possible remedy for SCD is cistron therapy, where infixing a normal cistron will convey about production a normal hemoglobin or shift of the faulty cistron. This is presently being investigated in research surveies as there are frights over the safety of genomic interpolation ( Sadelain et al, 2006 ) . Present surveies have shown that prenatal and neonatal showing for hemoglobinopathies in England has led to early sensing of affected kids, therefore, cut downing the post-natal and childhood morbidity and mortality ( Old J M 2007 ) .3. HistoryHaemoglobin ( Hb ) is an Fe incorporating protein, which carries O from the lungs to the organic structure ‘s cells and tissues ( Hoffbrand et al, 2001 ) . After 3-6months of age Hb A is the dominant hemoglobin, with little measures of hemoglobins F and A2 ( Hofbrand et el, 2001 ) . Normal hemoglobins in grownup human blood are as follows: HbA: ?2 I?2 ( 96-98 % ) HbF: ?2?2 ( 0.5-0.8 % ) Hb A2: ?2?2 ( 1.5-3.2 % ) Sickle cell disease is caused by a permutation at place 6 of a individual amino acid in the DNA sequence of the ? hematohiston concatenation ( fig. 1 ) . The minor alteration of glutamic acid for valine, as illustrated in figure 1, consequences in an altered hemoglobin discrepancy known as the Sickle Hb ( Hb S ) ( Hoffbrand et al, 2001 ) , which reduces the endurance of ruddy cells and causes irreversible sickling of ruddy cells at low O conditions ( Hoffbrand et al, 2001 ) . Consequently SCD patients endure a assortment of symptoms runing from anemia, terrible bone hurting ( referred to as sickle crisis ) , stroke, acute thorax hurting, to multi organ harm ( Gladwin et al, 2008 ) .Amino acidproglugluNormal ?- concatenationBase composing CCT Joke Joke Base composing CCT GTG JokeSickle concatenationprovalgluFig 1. Showing a individual base alteration in the he DNA sequence, where A ( A ) is replaced by T ( T ) . This permutation consequences in an amino acid alteration from glutamic acid to valine in the 6th place. ( Adapted from Hoffbrand et Al, 2001 ) . Normal ruddy blood cells are flexible and round in form. Their flexibleness and form allows them to go freely through little blood vass, known as capillaries ( Hoffbrand et al, 2001 ) . ) . Hb S is indissoluble when exposed to low O environments and may organize polymers which may change the ruddy cell membrane from a biconcave form to a sickle form. In oxygenated environments, sickled molded cells can alter back to the biconcave form ; nevertheless frequent form alterations may do lasting harm doing some cells to stay sickled. ( Hoffbrand et al, 2001 ) . Furthermore, these sickled cells circulate at a slower rate compared to normal ruddy cells and tend to go stuck, therefore barricading vass in the microcirculation and doing infarcts of assorted variety meats ( Hoffbrand et al, 2001 ) .DiscussionSurveies in the last two decennaries were more focused on direction of the return of cerebrovascular diseases ( CVA ) . Recently the focal point is now on forestalling the happening of a fir st CVA ( Ohene-frempong et Al, 1998 ) . Hemolytic anemia is associated to many complications of SCD ( Lezcano et al, 2006 ) . Assorted surveies have linked low Hb, and hemolytic markers such as Retics, LDH, AST and creatinine to cerebrovascicar diseases such as shot. ( Kato et al, 2007 ) . Incidence of ischemic shot is higher in SCD kids impacting about 6 % by the age of 10years ( Howard et al, 2007, Deane et Al, 2008 ) . It is associated with an occlusive vasculopathy impacting the distal, proximal and anterior arterias ( Bulas et al, 2000 ) . The narrowing of these vass may develop over months to old ages before symptoms of a Stroke may happen ( Adams et al. , 1997 ; Bulas et Al, 2000 ) . Designation of hazard factors for shot is of import because it offers the possibilities of forestalling it. Clinical surveies have identified some research lab trials as hazard factors for shot. ( Kirkham et al, 2007 ) , but none has strong anticipation when compared to TCD ( Ohene-frempong et Al, 1998 ) . Surveies by Adams et al 1998 and Lezacano et Al 2006 have shown that the disposal of regular blood transfusion therapy in kids with unnatural TCD measurings reduces both plasma hemoglobin and serum LDH degrees. LDH has long been associated as a marker of intravascular hemolysis by Neely et Al, 1969. Surveies by Ballas et Al, 1991 and Kato et Al, 2006 found serum LDH the dominant biomarker in intravascular hemolysis and besides strong correlativities of LDH with hemolytic markers such as hemoglobin, retics and AST in grownups with SCD. A recent survey by O'driscoll and co-workers done at King ‘s College Hospital in London in 2007 reported that high serum LDH in kids with SCD correlatives to abnormal TCD measurings. This determination suggests that LDH can be a important biomarker or a hazard factor for shot in kids with SCD. They besides reported important correlativities between LDH, Hb, Retics and AST. Furthermore, Rees et Al in 2008 found important correlativities between unnatural TCD consequences and Hb, Retics, AST and age. These happening were used to develop an index which can be used to place kids with SCD probably to hold unnatural TCD values. The survey by O'driscoll and co-workers is the first survey which demonstrates that a high serum LDH degree in SCD kids has strong correlativities with unnatural TCD measurings. Therefore in this survey we aim to utilize LDH as one of the research lab parametric quantities and farther validate the survey at Kings in the patient population at CMH. Extra showing factors for shot are hence needed. With this attack in head, Hb F, Hb S and WBC will besides be analysed in this survey. The importance of WBC arise from observations that high leucocytes is associated to terrible complications of SCD and from findings by Platt et al.,1994 that leucocytosis is a hazard factor in clinically open shot and in acute thorax syndrome ( Ohene-frempong et Al, 1998 ; Mark et al. , 2008 ) . High WBC is reported to correlate significantly with shot ( Frenette et al, 2007 ) , therefore a good parametric quantity to mensurate in this survey. Hb F is said to cut down the hemolysis, thereby cut downing the hazard of shot in kids ( Kato et al, 2007 ) . The genotypes, HBSS and HBSC kids will be assessed to see which group is more at hazard for shot. The current theories of complications of SCD particularly with respects to cerebrovascular disease are largely focussed on hemolysis and the bioavailability of NO. ( Kato et al, 2007 ) . Chronic hemolysis leads to the release of plasma Hb which sucks up NO. NO is a vasodilative, hence less NO in the microcirculation upsets the balance between vasoconstriction and vasodilation which consequence in endothelial disfunction ( Kato et al, 2007 ) . More surveies in understanding hemolysis and the function played by NO will assist in understanding SCD complications and cut down its badness in the hereafter. ( Kato et al. , 2007 ) . Several surveies has suggested that, there is a nexus between shot and hemolysis and that shot is associated with low hemoglobin and compensatory reticulocytes. ( Kato et al.,2007 ) . With that attack, we aim to mensurate the undermentioned research lab parametric quantities: Hb, Retic, AST, Creatinine and LDH and correlate them to abnormal TCD measurings.Future PROSPECTSRecommendations for future pattern to include precedence for TCD scan given to kids who have been identified with these research lab parametric quantities so that primary stroke can be avoided and preventative steps such as, transfusion or exchange transfusion is given. This will so better their attention.