Feminism Essays - Gender, Gender Studies, Behavior, Biology

Feminism Of what historic and contemporary concern is it that the architecture profession has been, and continues to be, strongly male dominated in Australia (currently 90% of registered architects in NSW are men). Ideally, what proportion of the profession should women occupy and why? From the start of human history, we always experience certain level of inequality between sexes. It can be seen everywhere around the world and is a concern to everyone, both men and women. This inequality is an important issue within the workforce of many professions, such as being an architect, landscape architect, city planners and designers within the built environment. Industrial revolution is the onset for women to become segregated from home, creating greater spatial division to impact on gender roles. There is common concept between the relationship of public and private space with male and female as described by Kate Lyons, PUBLIC ? Male ? Economic and Political ? WORK PRIVATE ? Female ? Reproduction and Domestic life ? HOME This model represents the suburbanisation occurring in the late 19th century and the early 20th century. Many suburban women are forced within their daily activities due to the constraints on accessibility and mobility in low-density suburbs and lead to a feeling of being isolated from the inner city. These constraints of this gender role affect the women's ability in the broader professions within the built environment, as they were restricted at home. "? Architects do not like to employ women in their offices; contractors do not like to build from their plans; people with money to spend do not like to entrust its expenditure to a woman." This is probably due to the fact that women are kept at home without 'knowing much' of the 'outside world'; the design professions have intrigued women into marginal roles. Architects and other similar professional fields "have perceived women not as profession but as passive clients." From these, women are users of the designed built environment as there are only few to have the opportunity to design them. This forces women to adapt to the way environments have been designed (by men). There is a concern where many women architects, landscape architects, planners, builders and designers such as Catharine Beecher, Louise Bethune. Eileen Gray, Julia Morgan, and others are not formally identified with professions. Many of their works have been credited to their male colleagues. Another concern is that there is a lack of sensitivity towards women's needs within the built environment. Design strategies and schemes often fail to consider women as a disadvantage group with exclusive needs, many of these needs are inadequately met or even un-met. This was evident in several Local Environmental Plans and Development Control Plans of the Sydney Metropolitan area that had not identified women as a disadvantage group to be included amongst the handicapped and elderly in design issue. Having considered women's issues within the built environment, in concluding one must ask are the fundamentals of professions of the built environment gender biased? Whilst the outcomes of these are gender biased, the fundamentals of planning require subsequent analysis in order to resolve the question. "? not only do men and women view a common world from different perspectives, they view different worlds as well." The issues raised are not subject to strictly to women, but men also experience them though with less intensity. In addressing these issues a gender sensitive environment will be beneficial to all. Bibliography: 1. Allen, J., Evidence and Silence: Feminism and the Limits of History in Feminist Challenges, 1986. 2. Freestone, R., Florence Taylor: The Lady Town Planner of Loftus Street in New Planner, Dec 1991. 3. Hanna, B., Florence Taylor's Hats in Architecture Bulletin, Oct 1986. 4. Hanna, B., Three Ferminist Analyses of the Built Environment in Architectural Theory Review, vol. 1, no.1, April 1996.

The aztec empire essays

The aztec empire essays The Aztec Empire was a great empire until it was conquered by people from foreign lands. I believe that the main reason that Aztecs were conquered so easily was because they filled their own heads with fear. Fear ran throughout the minds of all the Aztecs which led to their downfall. The Aztecs had great fear of the new people that had traveled to their land all the way from Spain. The Aztecs believed Cortez himself was a god coming back to claim their land. There greatest fear was that Cortez would take Montezumas ruling power away. The Aztecs were simple people who built empire throughout the lands of Mexico. The Aztecs were people of dark skin. They were laborers, they liked to work hard and produce lots and lots of agricultural food, who were very much so self dependent. They planted their own crops and produced food for the whole village. The Aztecs were greatly devoted to their gods. They had a certain god to praise for everything. They prayed and made sacrifices every year to the god of the crops so that they could have enough crops to feed the people. They would pray to the rain god whenever they needed rain to fall. The empire of the Aztecs spread all throughout Mexico. They were the dominant group covering almost all of Mexico. The Aztecs would make sacrifices to their gods for things like good crops, safety of the village, rain, a well hunt etc. The Aztecs were such simple people and that is what led them to be conquered so quickly and easily. The Aztecs got word that new people had arrived to their land. The people were like no other kind of people that they had ever seen before. The new people that had come to their land were so different that it began to spread fearful thoughts throughout the little villages of the Aztecs. The new people were Cortez and his men who had come from Spain in order to find treasures and other goods to send back to his king back home. The Aztecs described this ne ...

Organisational Behaviour 3 Leadership Assignment

Organisational Behaviour 3 Leadership - Assignment Example Tension exists because it is my first day at work as a manager in a new company, and Oli would be having his own apprehensions with the change. However, I have been assigned a specific task by my superiors that require cooperation and delegation to Oli, for this reason it is very important that we try to reduce tension. Oli has the type of personality that would be comfortable to accept challenges and share ideas best when he doesn’t feel tense. In this scenario, I tried to support Oli in an attempt to reduce tension and encourage Oli to share his ideas with me. The third step I took was to guide the ideas in the right direction through prioritizing, since Oli had several ideas it was important to sort them out in order of importance and urgency. I encouraged this through showing assertion and focusing on ideas that he passed through quickly like Computer Set-up and Getting Nortic cards. In conclusion I summarized all this work priorities in order of importance for him such as Coffee break , Nortic cards, computer set-up, and looking for an apartment. The key learning points for me from this scenario were that in order to get work done from my subordinates it is important that I empathize with them. I can accomplish this through reducing tension, delegating power through showing trust, encouraging communications and sharing ideas. There is a strong impact of personal life on work life, in this case instability in personal life of the subordinate was affecting his ability to stay focused on the job, so the importance of personal issues cannot be undermined. I also realized that compared to my business score, my leadership scores matters more to me because when my subordinates see me as a leader working towards their benefits good business results would automatically follow. The leadership insights of democratic leadership supports my decisions, a democratic leader

Research paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 3

Research Paper Example In the last work by Langston Hughes that is I, too were identified varied themes, symbols and metaphors. This paper intends to unravel the commonality of those themes, symbols and metaphors in the two short stories by the author, which are Father and Son and Cora Unashamed. As was traced in the poem I, too by Langston Hughes, the short story Father and Son by the same writer delineates the atrociousness and brutality of the Jim Crow rules, but in a more detailed and intricate manner. Father and Son is a story about a Georgia white man Colonel Thomas Norwood who keeps a black woman Nora for a mistress and fathers five children by her. The story reveals the psychological and social might of the Jim Crow laws. In the story, Colonel Tom is showed to harbor feelings of constrained affection and liking for his sons from Cora, as is natural for any man. However, his allegiance to the Jim Crow system is evinced to be more doughty and mightier than his commitment to the voice of human feeling s within him. He not only tends to publically deny his children from his black maid Cora, but considers an open profession of affection by his son Brat to be a mark of dishonor and disgrace. As in I, too, in Father and Son, Hughes exposes the absurdity and fickleness of Jim Crow laws, which allow a white man to get into the most intimate of relationships with a black girl and to father sons by her, yet, do not allow one to socially and legally recognize the relationships that such intimacies and acts entail. As in other works of Hughes, the register attributed to the black characters further exposes the bestial and subhuman level to which the blacks character are supposed to stoop in Jim Crow America, replete with invectives like nigger, darkie and yard-nigger. In Father and Son, Hughes elaborately shows the decorum and mannerisms which the black dependants were expected to follow in subservience to Jim Crow norms that he alludes to in I, too. The black slaves owned by Colonel Tom a re never allowed to enter his home from the front door or to roam about in his inner chambers, irrespective of their long service to him or their relationship to him. The blacks were always to approach his home from the backdoor and allowed to gather only in the kitchen. Like a dog, they were expected to maintain a respectable distance from and decorum with their white master. The story also reinforces the social status attributed to black characters in Hughes’ other works. All the black characters are shown to be serving in menial positions. Colonel Tom do tries to be good to his children by extending to them educational and other opportunities and facilities. However, the magnanimity of his concern for his children never dares to cross the boundaries marked by Jim Crow laws. The story also reveals the fear of marginalization of the whites, as in Hughes’ other works. When Brat, the youngest son of Colonel tries to rebel against the constraints of segregation and recla im his relationship with his father, the system comes crashing down on him and his brother. Cora Unashamed is one of the masterpieces of Langston Hughes. Though the writer predominantly repeats the themes, symbols and metaphors in the story with which he deals with in his

Impact of Modern Digital Technologies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Impact of Modern Digital Technologies - Essay Example However, modern digital technology has influenced it adopters and users both negatively and positively, considering that, the corporate world adopts technological advancement to improve quality of production and more so, efficiency and effectiveness in both production and communication. Digital Printing Industry The modern digital technology has revolutionized the printing industry from the ancient application of faded images and texts to come up with complete printed product. The printing industry has advanced technologically from the use of ancient dot matrix printers that were characterized with holes in a row, which fed the ream of printing papers to the digital printing. The old dot matrix printers were repeatedly accompanied by the challenge of jamming of printing papers. The impact of the modern digital technology in the printing industry is clearly depicted by the strikingly clear texts and images with the flexibility of a wide range of colors where digital printing can be ad vantageously used to display a wide range of products, ranging from photographs to marketing materials. Small companies and business entities in the printing industry are able to match up to the big names in the printing industry through the application of digital printing to come with less costly and high quality products. Big companies dominated the production of quality and large quantities of printing products at less costly products as compared to small business entities that had to incur huge costs to produce printing products of higher quality, thanks to the modern digital technology that has enabled them to compete fairly in the printing industry. Digital printing has replaced the making of photocopies that were of low quality and were not that clear enough for detailed representations. Adoption of digital printing can therefore be associated with the significant quality of printing and representation of detailed graphics. It has replaced the less quality printing products f rom the ordinary printing devices and photocopy machines, where the result could never achieve more quality that original copy. The old printing machines could never achieve much quality as the digital technology, since any slight depreciation in quality of the original copy was always highlighted by the printer. Digital technologies have the advantage of using original soft copy material unlike the physical hard copy whose quality can be compromised by handling complications such as creases, dust, and oil. However, companies operating within the printing industry have not fully embraced the digital printing technology, considering the rather huge costs involved in installing the digital printing devices. Large printing companies have been reluctant in installing newer printing devices that can produce large quantities at high speed. More over, in relation to huge costs incurred in installing high-speed digital printing devices, some companies in the industry generally have a slow p ace in innovation and adoption of new technologies other than the modern digital technology itself. Total digital printing represents two percent of the entire printing industry and it is projected to grow minimally in future, considering that there is limited modern digital printing equipment in the whole industry. Companies are reluctant to embrace digital printing technologies consideration the high capital costs incurred in

The Low Cost Housing Pandemic Construction Essay

The Low Cost Housing Pandemic Construction Essay This research report has been compiled for the purpose of providing an efficient and effective solution to the glaring housing pandemic currently prevalent in South Africa. The South African government has to some extent, through the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP), realised their obligation as mentioned above; however, the desired results have not yet been achieved. It has been a daunting task for the government to provide housing to the large population of indigenous people, so young into a democracy. The aim of this research is essentially, to provide a solution to the perplexing problem of providing adequate housing as it is a fundamental human right, and it must be noted that the lack of success over the years in providing the said housing has caused an insurmountable amount of distress to affected communities and has put an enormous amount of pressure on the South African Government in terms of their obligations toward service delivery. Consequently, this compilation presents undoubted findings which imply that the government is being pressurized by the housing backlog within the KwaZulu- Natal Region, more especially on the area known as the Kennedy Road informal settlement which is part of the Suburb of Clare Estate and also includes the Umlazi B10 Housing Project and in turn they require suggestions on a more concrete approach to sustainably meet the demands placed upon them by the ever growing populous. One such suggestion that must be viewed with a keen eye is the relatively new and exciting initiative introduced by Moladi, which has already been used in countries such as India, Mexico and Nigeria with tremendous success. South Africa has been plagued by an almost unsolvable housing crisis. It must be noted that the specific goal of this research is to assist in exploring new alternatives to the conventional building methods employed by the Reconstruction and Development Programme, which will subsequently be proven, has fallen apart. Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Background-History of research According to Sayed Ally (2009:3), despite the fact that South Africa is 18 years into the great democracy of 1994, a large percentage of the indigenous population in this country have been subjected to deplorable and in actual fact, completely inexcusable living conditions. Sayed Ally (2009:3) further highlights that promises of improved housing conditions, better education and lower unemployment levels have not materialized to date, however, we cannot say that the struggle has been in vain as South Africa has progressed from being labelled as an apartheid state, to becoming one of the most developed countries on the African continent. Part of the stepping stones to this achievement have been through strategies based on the improvement of education facilities, black empowerment policies to level the plain fields of the previously disadvantaged, and housing initiatives such as the Reconstruction and Development Program (RDP). However, as mentioned by Sayed Ally (2009:4), we have not tasted the fruits of success, as implementation of some of these policies has failed to lift off the ground. This is blatantly evident as the presence of slums or shacks as it is referred to colloquially, have become the popular means of shelter for those underprivileged individuals who had trusted in the promises made by their ideal government. Although there have been attempts made by the government to replace the informal settlements with low cost housing, this process has been slow indeed. According to Majavu (2011:2) the department of performance monitoring and evaluation in the Presidency has warned parliament s human settlements portfolio committee that the Human Settlements Department is making slow progress on 2014 targets. The primary concern to the government should be to solve the housing problem by providing suitable shelter to all citizens in need of it. This is because people with homes to go to, have a sense of belonging. (Wikipedia, 2012) A roof over the head of an individual grants him the opportunity of maintaining his/ her human dignity! It is a fundamental right of any human being to have a house, and duly stated in Section 26 of the South African Bill of Rights. Sayed Ally (2009:4). If successful, the alternative provided by this research will provide assistance in resolving the ongoing housing problem in Kwazulu-Natal through the initiative discussed below, and hopes to provide not only shelter, but also employment as well as ease the burden of the government in providing adequate service delivery, thus making South Africa a better place for all those who live in it. 1.2 Problem Statement The problem to be investigated may be stated as:- Moladi (the concept of shell housing), an alternative to South Africa s conventional construction methods, once incorporated into the Governments low cost housing policy, may assist in overcoming the failures prevalent in providing low cost housing which are associated with the conventional construction methods, thereby providing permanent shelter to displaced South Africans. 1.3 Objectives The objectives of this study are: i. Comparing and identifying the traditional building methods in the construction of low cost housing, design-and-build and the provision of an excellent end product. ii. Identifying factors such as: innovative designs, workmanship, selection of inappropriate material, approval of defective products and the quality of staff. iii. To identify and propose appropriate alternative solutions to challenges regarding the lack of sufficient funds, the shortage of skilled labourers, a lack of resources, work flow control, time constraints and wastage. 1.4 Significance of this research study The above averments have one goal and that is to assist in the process of repairing the problems created by poorly constructed conventional method houses in the affected areas of Kwa-Zulu Natal. Sayed Ally (2009:13) points out that over the past 15 years, many companies were contracted to build low cost houses for the previously disadvantaged, however, till today we find homeless people living on the side of the road, or if they are lucky, to live in an informal settlement. The numerous cases of poorly constructed houses, corrupt contractors, and misuse of government funding has done little to help the man on the street. The government has even gone to the extent of hiring foreign companies such as Golden Nets International to complete the job, but even they produced inefficient homes which subsequently collapsed in bad weather. The research that follows herein below examines the impact that shoddy building techniques has had upon low-cost housing in South Africa, more so in Kwa-Zulu Natal. This would be done through the examination of factors such as design and workmanship. In addition, the anticipated outcome of this research is to see a change in the quality of low-cost housing projects as well as an improved product for house occupants. 1.5 Design According to Wentzel L (2010:3), most of the blame for inadequate building performance and low quality work is placed on the designer. This however puts a lot of pressure on the designer, pressure such as a lack of awareness of the building processes; or for failing to understand the latest technology and the performance of innovative materials; or the reluctance to delegate authority to project-based supervisors; or simply for not spending more time on these building sites. However, Barrie and Paulson (1984) mention that designers generally recognize that no human undertaken task produces absolutely perfect results. Therefore designers often specify not only the desired standard for the characteristics that define a product, such as dimensions or strength, but tolerance or ranges for acceptable variations from the standard. These standards therefore need to be maintained and quality of conformance monitored by the construction manager, who will also be held liable if quality standar ds drop. Wentzel L (2010:3). A proudly South African initiative otherwise known as Moladi, takes construction to an entirely new dimension. The speed and minimal costs involved, allow for the development of building a house a day Moladi.net (2012). The multi award winning Moladi construction system was founded in South Africa in 1986 as a method of building cast in place reinforced monolithic structures Moladi.net (2012). The Moladi technology was developed as a means to alleviate many of the cumbersome and costly aspects associated with conventional construction methods without compromising on the quality or integrity of the structure Moladi.net (2012). Managing director Mr Hennie Botes states that the Moladi system involves the use of a removable, reusable, recyclable and lightweight plastic formwork mould to produce a durable and permanent structure, which has been subject to numerous tests and independent reports. As the system is not pre-fabricated off the building site or dependant on skilled labour, the use of the Moladi system allows for local, unskilled labour to be employed, he stated Moladi.net (2012). Women, who have traditionally been either reluctant or discouraged from working within the male-dominated sector, are encouraged to participate in the non-labour intensive building process, Mr Botes added Moladi.net (2012). He explained further that the process involves assembling a mould the size of the designed house, with all the electrical services, plumbing and steel reinforcing located within the wall structure, which is filled with a South African Bureau of Standards approved lightweight mortar to form all the walls of the house simultaneously Moladi.net (2012). The method, he noted, eliminates the time and labour intensive work of chasing, beam filling, plastering and generates no waste. 1.6 Workmanship According to Wentzel L (2010:3), when human error occurs at the setting-out stage of the construction process (which is the first physical activity in the chain of activities), the result might be very costly and the ripple effect down the chain of activities maybe disastrous in terms of time constraints. Swain and Guttmann (1983), found four types of errors in the construction industry. They are: time, qualitative, sequence and quantitative errors, which can take place. Time errors occur when a task must be performed within a specific time. Qualitative errors are such errors which include right action on wrong object, wrong action on right object, wrong action on wrong object, information not obtained/ transmitted or substitution/ intrusion error. Sequence errors however occur when an activity is done or performed out of sequence. Quantitative errors are errors which are made in rates, prices, and mathematical errors. Wentzel L (2010:3) Wentzel L (2010:4) stated further that, when focusing on the issues such as the housing backlog, design faults, lack of skilled shortages and client manipulation, it is made clear that all these factors influence low-cost housing in South Africa currently. As mentioned above the Moladi Shell Housing concept, has been designed and manufactured to address the six key challenges that determine the successful implementation of low cost housing projects in developing countries. These challenges would be the lack of sufficient funds, the shortage of skilled labourers, a lack of resources, work flow control, time constraints and wastage Moladi.net (2012). Chasing, beam filling, plastering and wastage are eliminated, producing a fast track, cost effective, transferable construction technology Moladi.net (2012). (Moladi.net 2012:3) (Moladi.net 2012:3) (Moladi.net 2012:3) (Moladi.net 2012:3) 1.7 Limitations i. The research is conducted specifically on the construction processes of low cost housing units. ii. Research is angled at mass housing initiatives providing an alternative to the normal building techniques (using brick and block). iii. The research area is confined to the Kwa Zulu Natal (Clarestate and Umlazi) region. iv. The research was completed in a time frame of six months. Some of the limitations regarding Moladi are: v. Moladi systems cannot be used or are undesirable for use in boundary walls. They are primarily used for housing. vi. Moladi systems cannot be used to build cavity walls. However, it provides good thermal and water proofing properties. vii. Moladi systems cannot be used to do extensions to homes. Moulds for once of applications would not be cost effective. 1.8 Conclusion In conclusion, alternate building techniques form an integral component to the building industry; however, it is inflated significantly when examining low-cost housing. By analyzing objectives stated in this chapter, we can consequently draw conclusions about the building techniques that are currently used in the construction of low-cost housing in South Africa, in comparison to newer innovations and techniques that may better address the issue. Chapter 2 Literature review 2.1 Introduction Objectives were presented in the preceding chapter in order for the identification of possible problems that are related to workmanship qualities and poor design methods in the construction process in terms of the provision for low cost housing. Quality standards were also raised alongside time and cost factors, which affected design as well as workmanship at the same time. In order to place these submissions in proper perspective, this chapter will review the relevant literature that is currently available, particularly on shoddy building techniques and its impact on the low-cost housing sector. 2.2 Building techniques Building may refer to, any human-made structure used or intended for supporting or sheltering any use or continuous occupancy, or an act of construction (i. e. the activity of building. (Wikipedia, 2012). Building Techniques refer to different methods adopted in construction processes and phases which provide alternate options to conventional or traditional building methods. It also plays a substantial role in the low-cost housing sector because of the high demand for mass housing that has to be constructed over short contract periods. Low income housing refers to residences for persons or families with low annual household earnings. Its purpose is to provide places for people to live within their range of affordability. Quality is being severely compromised as more focus is being placed on quantity. 2.3 Poor construction techniques and the R.D.P According to Mbonambi (2012:4), an article that appeared in the Mercury Newspaper, soil and mud tumbled down into the back walls of people s homes and water seeped through the walls and floors, this is what residents of Umlazi have experienced in their new RDP homes since moving in early in 2011. The article states further that some residents were afraid that their houses, in the Umlazi B10 housing project, would collapse and they would be injured or even killed. Some of the problems that contribute to the impending failure of the RDP programme are the use of inefficient labourers. In 2005, the Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel was taken on a tour to observe the good progress of RDP houses in Port Elizabeth, he was shocked when he saw that the millions of rands being spent by government were producing incomplete walls and door frames that were not according to size. (Sayed Ally: 2009:5) (Sayed Ally:2009:5) mentions further that this is one of many examples of the lack in competence of the labourers tasked with the responsibility of ensuring quality but efficient housing skills in the RDP programme. In contrast, the Moladi housing initiative does not require skilled labourers to build houses, in fact, it is mostly unskilled workers that are utilised, and more predominantly females are encouraged to be involved because of the simplicity and repetitive nature of the process Natasha Odendaal (2012:3) reported in the Engineering Newss print magazine that Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale stated that the rectification of substandard construction work on many of the low-cost housing projects throughout South Africa has left the State with a bill of about R50-billion. As a result of this, he again posed the question of whether it was time to establish a State-owned construction company to undertake the many housing projects in the country engineeringnews.co.za (2012). Having considered the above it can be deduced that, current building techniques are failing dismally. The minister was exasperated when he stated that inexperienced, less-than-credible shovel, wheelbarrow and bakkie brigade construction groups involved in the tenders for governments housing programmes were delivering shoddy workmanship and many of their constructions were falling apart. Black economic-empowerment was not a licence to deliver substandard or poor-quality work, he said engineeringnews.co.za (2012) Odendaal (2012:3). Sayed Ally (2009:5) avers that in addition to the higher costs and incompetent nature associated with RDP housing, the programme has been riddled with numerous counts of corruption on the part of project managers and other stakeholders involved. The development in the Mpumalanga region has reported that as many as 8000 houses were left incomplete after project managers filled their pockets and quietly exited the scene (SamaYenda, 2005). It is due to these factors that public perception has embraced a negative attitude to the process of low cost housing. As a mandatory requirement, the institution of a project of this magnitude would require efficient labourers, who have been trained on the job to produce the most efficient results. According to Tabane (2002:1), Gauteng pays 41 million rand for 8 RDP houses, the city of Gauteng paid 41 million rand (forty one million Rand) for 8 RDP houses this means that the eight RDP houses cost the Gauteng housing department a whopping R5-million each. It is just one of the startling findings uncovered by an investigation team appointed by Housing MEC Paul Mashatile. It is evident that various electronic as well as print media associations are publishing their discoveries regarding the ineffectiveness of the RDP, but still, it seems that rampant corruption and inefficiency on the path of government is ever present and in fact stalling the rate of success needed for the completion of the incumbent housing projects. Streek (2001;5) confirms that 7.5-million people are still without shelter, and between two and three million houses still had to be built to meet this need. Many of these people are living in informal settlements in urban areas, where 53.6% of the population live, whereas others share accommodation. The pace of housing delivery annually has declined from 300 000 in 1997 to about 200 000 the following year richardknight.homestead.com (2012) Streek (2001;5) states that the housing shortage is still desperate, he further states that, Minister of Housing Sankie Mthembi-Mahanyele says, we will be slowing down further we have to look at the quality issue and at tenure alternatives richardknight.homestead.com (2012). 2.4 Traditional and Alternate Building Techniques South Africa is a third world country that is in its crawling stages of development. Emphasis has been placed on the drastic changes that need to occur in order for South Africa to move forward. The government has not been able to provide any suggestions to enhance the condition of housing thereby elevating the plight of those poor South Africans who have no roofs over their heads. 2.4.1 Traditional Building Techniques Traditional bricks or blocks are moulded in a small mould and then laboriously stacked by an artisan and sandwiched with mortar to form a wall structure. The electrical and water pipes are positioned by grinding and chasing into the brick wall. The wall is then plastered to cover the pipes and services, as well as the brickwork, to create a level and smooth surface Moladi.net (2012). 2.4.2 Alternate Building Techniques Supplemented by evidence that appears throughout this dissertation, Moladi comes forth as the most suitable alternative to repair the in-competencies of traditional building techniques currently used for low-cost housing. Moladi follows an optimised and sequential process. This allows for the number of unskilled labourers, which are utilised effectively, to be predetermined according to the size of the house, area of formwork for the intended unit and volume of the mortar Moladi.net (2012). The speed of the construction is also taken into consideration to calculate the number of unskilled labourers on site, with larger units having additional unskilled labour to optimise construction time Moladi.net (2012). Table 2.4.2.1 as shown below outlines the model of operation of the two day building process in a summarised step by step format adopted by Moladi Moladi.net(2012). Table 2.4.2.1 OUTLINE OF THE MODEL OPERATION DAY ONE- START 11HOO FINISH 17H00 DAY TWO- START 07H00 FINISH 17H00 STEP 1: Moladi Formwork is delivered to site. Area= 74m Mass= 550kg Volume= 3m? Moladi Formwork panels are assembled by unskilled labourers to form the mould panels of the desired house plan. STEP 1: Moladi formwork panels are removed Moladi formwork panels are completely removed in 2 hours with 4 unskilled labourers STEP 2: Internal Formwork panels are erected Window frames and block-outs are positioned within the wall cavity Reinforcing bars are positioned within the cavity to engineer specifications STEP 2: Immediately after the formwork panels are removed, the walls are painted with a water based paint Oil or acrylic based paint can be applied after the walls can be cured or within 28 days. STEP 3: Door frames and black-outs are positioned within the wall cavity External formwork panels are erected to close off the wall cavity Erection is completed in 4 hours with 4 unskilled labourers STEP 3: The engineer certified roof is installed The windows and doors are installed Final finishing s such as sanitary ware and lighting are completed The structure is now ready for occupation STEP 4: The wall cavity is filled with Moladi aerated mortar by unskilled labourers The pour is completed in 2 hours with 4 unskilled labourers Moladi.net(2012) To evaluate the viability of Moladi s housing techniques against conventional building techniques, some of the salient features are listed below: I. Moladi provides cheaper housing in a faster time period than any other form of housing. II. Efficiency of production is maximized as each foreman will be educated to minimize costs by Moladi project managers themselves and thus transferring their skills. III. Reusable nature of Moladi framework system makes it ideal in reducing costs as well as meeting environmental standards. IV. The process is not dependant on skilled labour. V. Experience, expertise and track record of our contractors will come into valuable use as a large operation of this magnitude will require diversification of skills. VI. A fast, simple, adaptable and a low construction cost technological building system. VII. Highly suited for use in mass housing markets, without compromising quality. VIII. Utilizes indigenous materials to produce high standard permanent structures that are earthquake, cyclone and tsunami resistant Moladi.net (2012). 2.5 Conclusion The creation of Moladi houses are very simple and differs from the normal lengthy building process commonly associated with construction. Once the foundation has been laid, a lightweight plastic shutter framework system (Moladi) is erected and mortar is used to cast the house resulting in a one piece reinforced walling system. (Moladi.com 2012:3) In a matter of 10 days, a Moladi house can be completed. Such an inference may ease government s pressure and allow them to focus on other avenues that need their attention such as poverty, health care and education. Chapter 3 Research methodology 3.1 Introduction Chapter 2 presented an overview of existing literature. It was determined that there are various factors leading to problems concerning poor building techniques in housing construction more so, affecting the low-cost housing sector. These factors however, do not only reflect pessimism but in actual fact they bring about a sense of prosperity for the simple reason that South Africa itself, is undergoing substantial development and growth which takes time and will invariably lead to an upliftment of the lives of those who are inadequately accommodated. In order to test the quality of Building Techniques two research methodological approaches were employed namely Qualitative and Quantitative methods which will be presented and analyzed to substantiate the validity of this research. 3.2 Qualitative Research Methodology Qualitative research is a type of scientific research. In general terms, scientific research consists of an investigation that: I. Seeks answers to a question. II. Systematically uses a predefined set of procedures to answer the question. III. Collects evidence. IV. Produces findings that were not determined in advance. V. Produces findings that are applicable beyond the immediate boundaries of the study. Qualitative research shares these characteristics. Additionally, it seeks to understand a given research problem or topic from the perspectives of the local population it involves. Qualitative research is especially effective in obtaining culturally specific information about the values, opinions, behaviours, and social contexts of particular populations. (Qualitative research methods: A data Collector s field Guide 2012:1). 3.2.1 What are some qualitative research methods? The three most common qualitative methods, explained in detail in their respective modules, are participant observation, in-depth interviews, and focus groups. Each method is particularly suited for obtaining a specific type of data. I. Participant observation is appropriate for collecting data on naturally occurring behaviours in their usual contexts. II. In-depth interviews are optimal for collecting data on individuals personal histories, perspectives, and experiences, particularly when sensitive topics are being explored. III. Focus groups are effective in eliciting data on the cultural norms of a group and in generating broad overviews of issues of concern to the cultural groups or subgroups represented. (Qualitative research methods: A data Collector s field Guide 2012:2) The qualitative method as used in this research incorporates both questionnaires delivered by hand in association with standardised open ended interviews that were conducted. In order to gather theoretical and honest responses from the respondents emphasis is given to the method above. 3.3 Quantitative Research Methodology Quantitative research is a formal, objective, systematic process in which numerical data are used to obtain information about the world. (Burns Grove 2005:23) This research method is used: I. To describe variables; II. To examine relationships among variables; III. To determine cause-and-effect interactions between variables. (Burns Grove 2005:23) Quantitative research is generally made using scientific methods, which can include: I. The generation of models, theories and hypotheses. II. The development of instruments and methods for measurement. III. Experimental control and manipulation of variables. IV. Collection of empirical data. V. Modelling and analysis of data. Wikipedia.org (2012) This method has also been incorporated into this research. Quantitative research is utilized in order to achieve appropriate statistical outcomes, which would assist in ascertaining supplementary theoretical recommendations and subsequent conclusions. 3.4 Questionnaires A questionnaire is a series of questions asked to individuals to obtain statistically useful information about a given topic. When properly constructed and responsibly administered, questionnaires become a vital instrument by which statements can be made about specific groups or people or entire populations. Wikipedia.org (2012) Questionnaires are frequently used in quantitative marketing research and social research. They are a valuable method of collecting a wide range of information from a large number of individuals, often referred to as respondents. Wikipedia.org (2012) Adequate questionnaire construction is critical to the success of a survey. Inappropriate questions, incorrect ordering of questions, incorrect scaling, or bad questionnaire format can make the survey valueless, as it may not accurately reflect the views and opinions of the participants. Wikipedia.org (2012) According to Wentzel L (2010:31) the data which is collected by questionnaires may be qualitative or quantitative. Wentzel L (2010: 31) further mentions that questionnaires do however lend themselves more to quantitative forms of analysis. This is partly because they are designed to collect mainly very discrete items or packages of information, with either numbers or words which can be coded and represented as numbers. Wentzel L (2010:31) in addition mentions that this emphasis is also partly due to the larger scale of many questionnaire surveys, and their common focus is on representation, which encourages a numerical or quasi-numerical summary of results. 3.4.1 Types of Questionnaires a. Contingency questions A question that is answered only if the respondent gives a particular response to a previous question. This avoids asking questions of people that do not apply to them (for example, asking men if they have ever been pregnant) Wikipedia.org (2012). b. Matrix questions Identical response categories are assigned to multiple questions. The questions are placed one under the other, forming a matrix with response categories along the top and a list of questions down the side. This is an efficient use of page space and respondents time Wikipedia.org (2012). c. Closed ended questions Respondents answers are limited to a fixed set of responses. Most scales are closed ended. Other types of closed ended questions include: I. Yes/no questions The respondent answers with a yes or a no. II. Multiple choice The respondent has several option from which to choose. III. Scaled questions Responses are graded on a continuum (example: rate the appearance of the product on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the most preferred appearance). Examples of types of scales include the Likert scale, semantic differential scale, and rank-order scale (See scale for a complete list of scaling techniques Wikipedia.org (2012). d. Open ended questions No options or predefined categories

Blood Promise Chapter Five

The rest of the trip passed uneventfully. Sydney never entirely lost that discomfort she seemed to have around me, but sometimes, while I was trying to figure out Russian television, she'd take the time to explain what was going on. There were some cultural differences between these shows and the ones we'd both grown up with, so we had that in common. Every once in a while, she'd crack a smile over something we both found funny, and I'd sense there was someone in there I could possibly be friends with. I knew there was no way I'd ever find a replacement for Lissa, but I think some part of me still longed to fill the void of friendship that had been opened up when I left her behind. Sydney napped throughout the day, and I began to think she was just an insomniac with bizarre sleep patterns. She also continued her equally odd treatment of food, hardly touching her meals. She always let me have the leftovers and was a bit more adventurous with Russian cuisine. I'd had to experiment when I first arrived, and it was nice to have the guidance of someone who, though not a local, knew a lot more about this country than me. On the third day of our trip, we arrived in Omsk. Omsk was a larger and prettier city than I'd expected of Siberia. Dimitri had always teased me that my images of Siberia looking like Antarctica were wrong, and I could tell that he was right-at least as far as the southern part of the region was concerned. The weather wasn't much different from what I'd have found in Montana this time of year, cool spring air occasionally warmed by sunshine. Sydney had told me when we got there, she'd get us a ride from some Moroi she knew. Several lived in the city, blending in with the large population. Yet as the day went on, we discovered a problem. No Moroi would take us to the village. Apparently, the road was dangerous. Strigoi often hung out near it at night, hoping to catch traveling Moroi or dhampirs. The more Sydney explained it, the more worried I became about my plan. Apparently, there weren't many Strigoi in Dimitri's town itself. According to her, they lurked on the town's periphery, but few lived out there permanently. If that was the case, my odds of finding Dimitri had dropped. Things got even worse as Sydney continued describing the situation. â€Å"A lot of Strigoi travel the country looking for victims, and the village is just an area they pass through,† she explained. â€Å"The road is kind of remote, so some Strigoi will stay for a while and try to get easy prey. Then they move on.† â€Å"In the U.S., Strigoi often hide in large cities,† I said uneasily. â€Å"They do that here too. It's easier for them to take victims without being noticed.† Yes, this definitely threw a wrench into my plans. If Dimitri wasn't residing in this town, I was going to have some serious problems. I'd known Strigoi liked big cities, but somehow, I'd convinced myself Dimitri would return to the place where he grew up. But if Dimitri wasn't there†¦ well, suddenly, the enormity of Siberia hit me. I'd learned Omsk wasn't even the biggest city in the region, and finding even one Strigoi here could be hard. Looking for him in any number of cities that might be larger? Things could get very, very ugly if my hunch proved wrong. Since setting out to find Dimitri, I'd occasionally had weak moments in which I half-hoped I'd never find him. The idea of him as a Strigoi still tormented me. I was also visited by other images†¦ images of the way he'd been and memories of the time we'd spent together. I think my most precious memory was of just before he was turned. It was one of those times when I'd sucked up a lot of the spirit-induced darkness from Lissa. I'd been out of control, unable to get a grip. I was afraid of becoming a monster, afraid of killing myself like another shadow kissed guardian had. Dimitri had brought me back to myself, lending me his strength. I'd realized then just how strong our connection was, how perfectly we understood each other. I'd been skeptical about people being soul mates in the past, but at that moment, I knew it was true. And with that emotional connection had come a physical one. Dimitri and I had finally given in to the attraction. We'd sworn we never would, but†¦ well, our feelings were just too strong. Staying away from each other had turned out to be impossible. We'd had sex, and it had been my first time ever. Sometimes I felt certain it would be my only time. The act itself had been amazing, and I'd been unable to separate the physical joy from the emotional. Afterward, we'd lain together in that small cabin for as long as we dared, and that had been amazing too. It had been one of the few moments where I'd felt he was truly mine. â€Å"Do you remember Victor's lust charm?† I had asked, snuggling closer against him. Dimitri looked at me like I was crazy. â€Å"Of course.† Victor Dashkov was a royal Moroi, one who had been friends with Lissa and her family. Little did we know that he'd secretly studied spirit for years and had identified Lissa as a spirit user before she even knew. He'd tortured her with all sorts of mind games that truly made her think she was going crazy. His schemes had fully culminated in his kidnapping and torturing her until she healed the disease that was killing him. Victor was now in prison for life, both for what he'd done to Lissa and because of his treasonous plans for rebellion against the Moroi government. He had been one of the few to know about my relationship with Dimitri, something that had worried me to no end. He'd even furthered our relationship by creating a lust charm-a necklace infused with earth and compulsion. The charm was full of dangerous magic that had made Dimitri and me give into our most basic instincts. We had pulled back at the last moment, and until our night in the cabin, I had believed our charm induced encounter to be the ultimate physical high. â€Å"I didn't realize it could get better,† I had told Dimitri after we'd actually slept together. I felt a little shy talking about it. â€Å"I thought about it all the time†¦ what happened between us.† He turned to me, tugging the covers up. The cabin was cold, but its bed had warm blankets. I suppose we could have put clothes on, but that was the last thing I wanted to do. Being pressed skin-to-skin felt too good. â€Å"I did too.† â€Å"You did?† I asked, surprised. â€Å"I thought†¦ I don't know. I thought you were too disciplined for that. I thought you'd try to forget it.† Dimitri laughed and kissed my neck. â€Å"Rose, how could I forget being naked with someone as beautiful as you? I stayed awake so many nights, replaying every detail. I told myself over and over that it was wrong, but you're impossible to forget.† His lips moved to my collarbone, and his hand stroked my hip. â€Å"You're burned into my mind forever. There is nothing, nothing in this world that will ever change that.† And it was memories like that that made it so hard to comprehend this quest to kill him, even if he was a Strigoi. Yet†¦ at the same time, it was exactly because of memories like that that I had to destroy him. I needed to remember him as the man who'd loved me and held me in bed. I needed to remember that that man would not want to stay a monster. I wasn't very excited when Sydney showed me the car she'd bought, particularly since I'd given her the money for it. â€Å"We're going in that?† I exclaimed. â€Å"Can it even make it that far?† The trip was apparently seven hours. She gave me a shocked look. â€Å"Are you serious? Do you know what this is? It's a 1972 Citroen. These things are amazing. Do you have any idea how hard it would have been to get this into the country back in the Soviet days? I can't believe that guy actually sold it. He's clueless.† I knew little about the Soviet era and even less about classic cars, but Sydney stroked the shiny red hood like she was in love. Who would have guessed? She was a car geek. Maybe it was valuable, and I just couldn't appreciate it. I was more into sleek, brand-new sports cars. To be fair, this car didn't have any dents or rust, and aside from an outdated look, it appeared clean and well cared for. â€Å"Will it run?† I asked. If possible, her expression grew even more incredulous. â€Å"Of course!† And it did. The engine sprang to life with a steady hum, and with the way it accelerated, I started to understand her fascination. She wanted to drive, and I was about to argue that it had been my money that bought it. Seeing the adoring look on her face, though, I finally decided not to come between her and the car. I was just glad we were leaving right away. It was already late afternoon. If the road was as dangerous as everyone claimed, we wouldn't want to be out there while it was dark. Sydney agreed but said we could get most of the trip in before sundown and then stay overnight at a place she knew. We'd arrive at our destination in the morning. The farther we drove from Omsk, the more remote the terrain became. As I studied it, I began to understand Dimitri's love of this land. It had a scrubby, barren look, true, but spring was turning the plains green, and there was something hauntingly beautiful about seeing all this untouched wilderness. It reminded me of Montana in some ways yet had a certain quality that was all its own. I couldn't help but use Sydney's crush on the car as a means of conversation. â€Å"Do you know a lot about cars?† I asked. â€Å"Some,† she said. â€Å"My dad's the Alchemist in our family, but my mom's a mechanic.† â€Å"Really?† I asked, surprised. â€Å"That's kind of†¦ unusual.† Of course, I was hardly one to talk about gender roles. Considering my life was dedicated to fighting and killing, I couldn't really claim to have a traditionally feminine job either. â€Å"She's really good and taught me a lot. I wouldn't have minded doing that for a living. Wouldn't have minded going to college, either.† There was a bitter note in her voice. â€Å"I guess there are a lot of other things I wish I could do.† â€Å"Why can't you?† â€Å"I had to be the next family Alchemist. My sister†¦ well, she's older, and usually it's the oldest kid who has to do the job. But, she's kind of†¦ worthless.† â€Å"That's harsh.† â€Å"Yeah, maybe. But she just couldn't handle this kind of thing. When it comes to organizing her lip gloss collection, she's unstoppable. But managing the kinds of networks and people we do? No, she'd never be able to do it. Dad said I was the only one capable of it.† â€Å"That's a compliment, at least.† â€Å"I guess.† Sydney looked so sad now that I felt bad for bringing it up. â€Å"If you could go to college, what would you study?† â€Å"Greek and Roman architecture.† I decided then it was a good thing I wasn't behind the wheel, because I probably would have driven off the road. â€Å"Seriously?† â€Å"You know anything about it?† â€Å"Um, no.† â€Å"It's amazing.† The sad expression was replaced by one of wonder-she looked nearly as enamored as she'd been of the car. I understood then why she'd liked the train station. â€Å"The ingenuity it took for some of that†¦ well, it's just unreal. If the Alchemists won't send me back to the U.S. after this, I'm hoping I'll get assigned to Greece or Italy.† â€Å"That would be cool.† â€Å"Yeah.† Her smile faded. â€Å"But there are no guarantees you'll get what you want with this job.† She fell silent after that, and I decided that coaxing her into this small conversation had been victory enough. I left her to her own thoughts of classic cars and architecture while my mind wandered to topics of my own. Strigoi. Duty. Dimitri. Always Dimitri†¦ Well, Dimitri and Lissa. It was always a toss-up over who would cause me more pain. Today, as the car lulled me into a daze, it was Lissa I went to, thanks largely to Adrian's recent visit in my dream. Early evening in Russia meant early morning in Montana. Of course, since the school ran on a nocturnal schedule, it was technically night for them too in spite of the sunshine. It was nearly curfew, and everyone would have to return to their own dorms soon. Lissa was with Adrian, over in his room in guest housing. Adrian, like Avery, had graduated, but as the only other known spirit user, he'd come to stay indefinitely at the school and work with Lissa. They'd just spent a long, exhausting evening working on dream walking and sat on the floor facing each other. With a sigh, Lissa collapsed back and lay down, stretching her arms over her head. â€Å"This is useless,† she groaned. â€Å"I'm never going to learn it.† â€Å"Never took you for a quitter, cousin.† Adrian's voice was as flippant as usual, but I could tell he was weary too. They weren't really cousins; that was just a term royals sometimes used with each other. â€Å"I just don't understand how you do it.† â€Å"I don't know how to explain it. I just think about it, and†¦ well, it happens.† He shrugged and pulled out the cigarettes he always carried. â€Å"Do you mind?† â€Å"Yes,† she said. To my surprise, he put them away. What the hell? He'd never asked me if I minded if he smoked-which I did. In fact, half the time, I swore he did it to annoy me, which made no sense. Adrian was way past the age when guys tried to attract girls they liked by picking on them. He tried to explain the process. â€Å"I just think about who I want and sort of†¦ I don't know. Expand my mind toward them.† Lissa sat up and crossed her legs. â€Å"Sounds a lot like how Rose described reading me.† â€Å"Probably the same principle. Look, it took you a while to learn auras. This is no different. And you're not the only one with a learning curve. I'm only now finally moving past healing scratches, and you can bring back the dead, which-call me crazy-is kind of hard-core.† He paused. â€Å"Of course, some would argue that I am actually crazy.† At the mention of auras, she studied him and summoned the ability to see the field of light that shone around every living thing. His aura came into focus, surrounding him in a golden glow. According to Adrian, her aura was the same. No other Moroi had that kind of pure gold. Lissa and Adrian figured it was unique to spirit users. He smiled, guessing what she was doing. â€Å"How's it look?† â€Å"The same.† â€Å"See how good you are at it now? Just be patient with the dreams.† Lissa wanted so badly to walk dreams the same way he could. Despite her disappointment, I was glad she couldn't. Adrian's dream visits were hard enough on me. Seeing her would†¦ well, I wasn't entirely sure, but it would make this cool, hard attitude I was trying to maintain in Russia a lot harder. â€Å"I just want to know how she is,† said Lissa in a small voice. â€Å"I can't stand not knowing.† It was the conversation with Christian all over again. â€Å"I saw her the other day. She's fine. And I'll go again soon.† Lissa nodded. â€Å"Do you think she'll do it? Do you think she can kill Dimitri?† Adrian took a long time in answering. â€Å"I think she can. The question will be if it kills her in the process.† Lissa flinched, and I was a bit surprised. The answer was as blunt as one Christian might give. â€Å"God, I wish she hadn't decided to go after him.† â€Å"Wishing's useless now. Rose has got to do this. It's the only way we can get her back.† He paused. â€Å"It's the only way she'll be able to move on.† Adrian surprised me sometimes, but this took the prize. Lissa thought it was foolish and suicidal to go after Dimitri. I knew Sydney would agree if I told her the truth about this trip. But Adrian†¦ silly, shallow, party-boy Adrian understood? Studying him through Lissa's eyes, I realized he actually did. He didn't like it, and I could hear the hurt in his words. He cared about me. My having such strong feelings for someone else caused him pain. And yet†¦ he truly believed that I was doing the right thing-the only thing I could do. Lissa looked at the clock. â€Å"I've got to go before curfew. I should probably study for my history test, too.† Adrian grinned. â€Å"Studying's overrated. Just find someone smart to copy off.† She stood up. â€Å"Are you saying I'm not smart?† â€Å"Hell no.† He rose also and went to pour himself a drink from the fully stocked bar he kept on hand. Self-medicating was his irresponsible way of keeping spirit's effects at bay, and if he'd been using spirit all night, he would want the numbness of his vices. â€Å"You're the smartest person I know. But that doesn't mean you have to do unnecessary work.† â€Å"You can't succeed in life if you don't work. Copying from others won't get you anywhere.† â€Å"Whatever,† he said with a grin. â€Å"I copied all through school, and look how well I'm doing today.† With an eye roll, Lissa gave him a quick hug goodbye and left. Once out of his sight, her smile faded a bit. In fact, her thoughts took a decidedly dark turn. Mentioning me had stirred up all sorts of feelings within. She was worried about me-desperately worried. She'd told Christian that she felt bad about what had happened between us, but the full force of that didn't hit me until now. She was racked by guilt and confusion, continually berating herself for what she should have done. And above all, she missed me. She had that same feeling I did-like a part of her had been cut out. Adrian lived on the fourth floor, and Lissa opted for the stairs rather than the elevator. All the while, her mind spun with worry. Worries about whether she'd ever master spirit. Worry for me. Worry that she wasn't currently feeling spirit's dark side effects, which made her wonder if I was absorbing them, just as a guardian named Anna had. She'd lived centuries ago and was bonded to St. Vladimir, the school's namesake. She'd absorbed spirit's nasty effects from him-and had been driven insane. On the second floor, Lissa could make out the sounds of shouting, even through the door that separated the stairwell from the hallway. Despite knowing it had nothing to do with her, she hesitated, curiosity getting the best of her. A moment later, she quietly pushed the door open and stepped into the hall. The voices were coming from around the corner. She carefully peered around it-not that she needed to. She recognized the voices. Avery Lazar stood in the hallway, hands on her hips as she stared at her father. He stood in the doorway to what must have been his suite. Their stances were rigid and hostile, and anger crackled between them. â€Å"I'll do what I want,† she yelled. â€Å"I'm not your slave.† â€Å"You're my daughter,† he said in a voice both calm and condescending. â€Å"Though at times I wish you weren't.† Ouch. Both Lissa and I were shocked. â€Å"Then why are you making me stay in this hellhole? Let me go back to Court!† â€Å"And embarrass me further? We barely got out without damaging this family's reputation-much. No way am I going to send you there alone and let you do God knows what.† â€Å"Then send me to Mom! Switzerland's got to be better than this place.† There was a pause. â€Å"Your mother is†¦ busy.† â€Å"Oh, nice,† said Avery, voice heavy with sarcasm. â€Å"That's a polite way of saying she doesn't want me. No surprise. I'd just interfere with her and that guy she's sleeping with.† â€Å"Avery!† His voice rang out loud and angry. Lissa flinched and stepped back. â€Å"This conversation is done. Get back to your room and sober up before someone sees you. I expect you at breakfast tomorrow, and I expect you to be respectable. We have some important visitors.† â€Å"Yeah, and God knows we've got to keep up appearances.† â€Å"Go to your room,† he repeated. â€Å"Before I call Simon and make him drag you there.† â€Å"Yes, sir,† she simpered. â€Å"Right away, sir. Anything you say, sir.† And with that, he slammed the door. Lissa, ducking back behind the corner, could hardly believe he'd said those things to his own daughter. For a few moments, there was silence. Then, Lissa heard the sound of footsteps-coming toward her. Avery suddenly rounded the corner and stopped in front of Lissa, giving us our first good look of her. Avery was wearing a tight, short dress made of some kind of blue fabric that shone silvery in the light. Her hair hung long and wild, and the tears pouring from her blue-gray eyes had destroyed the heavy makeup she wore. The scent of alcohol came through loud and clear. She hastily ran a hand over her eyes, obviously embarrassed at being seen like this. â€Å"Well,† she said flatly. â€Å"I guess you overheard our family drama.† Lissa felt equally embarrassed at being caught spying. â€Å"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I was just passing by†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Avery gave a harsh laugh. â€Å"Well, I don't think it matters. Probably everyone in the building heard us.† â€Å"I'm sorry,† Lissa repeated. â€Å"Don't be. You didn't do anything wrong.† â€Å"No†¦ I mean, I'm sorry he†¦ you know, said those things to you.† â€Å"It's part of being a ? ®good' family. Everyone's got skeletons in their closet.† Avery crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. Even upset and messy, she was beautiful. â€Å"God, I hate him sometimes. No offense, but this place is so fucking boring. I found some sophomore guys to hang with tonight, but†¦ they were pretty boring too. The only thing they had going for them was their beer.† â€Å"Why†¦ why did your dad bring you here?† Lissa asked. â€Å"Why aren't you†¦ I don't know, in college?† Avery gave a harsh laugh. â€Å"He doesn't trust me enough. When we were at Court, I got involved with this cute guy who worked there-total nonroyal, of course. Dad freaked out and was afraid people would find out. So when he got the job here, he brought me along to keep an eye on me and torture me. I think he's afraid I'll run off with a human if I go to college.† She sighed. â€Å"I swear to God, if Reed wasn't here, I'd just run away, period.† Lissa didn't say anything for a long time. She'd gone out of her way to avoid Avery diligently. With all the orders the queen was giving Lissa lately, this seemed the only way Lissa could fight back and stop herself from being controlled. But now, she wondered if she'd been wrong about Avery. Avery didn't seem like a spy for Tatiana. She didn't seem like someone who wanted to mold Lissa into a perfect royal. Mostly, Avery seemed like a sad, hurting girl, whose life was spinning out of control. Someone who was being ordered around as much as Lissa was lately. With a deep breath, Lissa rushed forward with her next words. â€Å"Do you want to eat lunch with Christian and me tomorrow? No one would mind if you came to our lunch period. I can't promise it'll be, um, as exciting as you want.† Avery smiled again, but this time, it was less bitter. â€Å"Well, my other plans were to get drunk by myself in my room.† She lifted a bottle of what looked like whiskey out of her purse. â€Å"Scored some stuff of my own.† Lissa wasn't entirely sure what kind of an answer that was. â€Å"So†¦ I'll see you at lunch?† Now Avery hesitated. But slowly, a faint gleam of hope and interest appeared on her face. Concentrating, Lissa tried to bring up her aura. She had a little difficulty at first, probably worn out from all the practice with Adrian tonight. But when she was finally able to get a grip on Avery's aura, she saw it was a mix of colors: green, blue, and gold. Not uncommon. It was currently ringed in red, as often happened when people were upset. But right before Lissa's eyes, that redness faded. â€Å"Yeah,† Avery said at last. â€Å"That would be great.† â€Å"I think this is as far as we can go today.† On the other side of the world, Sydney's voice startled me out of Lissa's thoughts. I didn't know how long I'd been daydreaming, but Sydney had turned off the main highway and was driving us into a small town that fit perfectly with my backwoods images of Siberia. In fact, â€Å"town† was a total exaggeration. There were a few scattered houses, a store, and a gas station. Farmland stretched beyond the buildings, and I saw more horses than cars. The few people who were out stared at our car in amazement. The sky had turned deep orange, and the sun was sinking farther and farther into the horizon. Sydney was right. It was nearly nightfall, and we needed to be off the road. â€Å"We're only a couple hours away at most,† she continued. â€Å"We made really good time and should get there pretty quickly in the morning.† She drove to the other side of the village-which took, like, a minute-and pulled up in front of a plain white house with a barn beside it. â€Å"Here's where we're staying.† We got out of the car and approached the house. â€Å"Are these friends of yours?† â€Å"Nope. Never met them. But they're expecting us.† More mysterious Alchemist connections. The door was answered by a friendly looking human in her twenties who urged us to come inside. She only spoke a few words of English, but Sydney's translation skills carried us through. Sydney was more outgoing and charming than I'd seen her thus far, probably because our hosts weren't despicable vampiric offspring. You wouldn't think riding in a car all day would be tiring, but I felt exhausted and was anxious to get an early start in the morning. So after dinner and a little TV, Sydney and I went to the room that had been prepared for us. It was small and plain but had two twin beds covered in thick, fluffy blankets. I snuggled into mine, grateful for the softness and the warmth, and wondered if I'd dream of Lissa or Adrian. I didn't. I did, however, wake up to a slight wave of nausea rolling through me-the nausea that told me there was a Strigoi nearby.

Economic Systems Essay

Within the activity parameters of the economy, there come the economic systems. Economic system may be defined as an array and the nature of the interactive forces of the economic activity in the pursuit of the broad national resources in methods and means that brings the most optimal allocation within the economic units. In studying this concept, it remains solely an important factor to put into consideration the aspect of the limited resources. This attribute in an important enterprise that work to define the situational mobility in the use of these resources by the members of the society. In terms of economic systems, the capitalistic and socialist economies have certain features that may be voted as advantages and disadvantages in relation to one another. Since the ages of industrial revolution, these two systems have been developed. In the American enterprise, they have remarkably been in application. To define capitalism firstly, it is the market economic systems in which the decision about the market are decentralized to the firms and economic units with only a complimented influence by the government in supply of the public goods such as justice and national defense. The provision of the products and services are a decision by the owners of the factors of production (firms) that make rational decisions about what to produce, how much, when and whom to produce for. There is private ownership of the factors of production by firms with the main goal being profit maximization. (Foley, Pyle, 2003) On the other hand, socialist economy is the case where the resource package of the economy is deemed to be owned solely by the central government. The economy depicts a well planned system, with equality and equity been the presumptive decisions. Capitalistic economy is based on political frontiers which dictate that the ownership of the factors used in production is in the hands of the firms which use various investments schedules to increase their profit. In the due to process to strike a balance between these two systems, it is important to analyze the efficiency precept of the capitalistic economy. At one level, through personal persuasion in the conscience of his personal interest within the economy, he/she will help to bring a success to the broad economy as a whole and consequently benefit one another. When people choose to act on personal grounds without government regulation, there is a higher creation in the wealth factor by them then the consequence laxity that may be brought about if the ownership of these resources is by the government. Respect to more efforts into the economic activity at the personal level, the living standards will consequently improve. (Barnett, 2005) Within the economic framework, are the firms who own the limited factors of production. The economic activities are broad and intense with various packages of commodities and services as output. The market itself is competitive in nature with the price determination under the control of the existing forces of the market supply as well as the demand. Price level defines the level of consumption of the products by the rational consumers. When the prices are up, the consumers lower the level of consumption with the opposite still holding. However, in the capitalistic system, the price is determined by these forces which are never exploitation to the consumers or a loss to the firms. The equilibrium point between the demand function and the supply yields the equilibrium price. Sheridan, 1998) Generally, the national resources that involve both natural and human resources are limited. Consequently, such limitation to the level of resources implies the need for maximum exploitation. However, the capitalistic system is evident in the efficient exploitation and the use of these resources. At one level, these resources are owned solely by the firms. With the high population of such firms against the little package of the existing resources, there is an optimal subdivision of such resources between the firms. In there bid to create wealth on personal dimensions, the firms involve themselves in persuasive activities aimed at optimizing the scale of the available resources. On another scale, this can be related to the motivational aspect developed to them as reasoned to them been the owners of the state resources. Through this ownership, they apply various economies of scales and investment pattern that are adapted to providing the most optimal and efficient scale of output. Private ownership of resources seeks to fight the weaknesses found in the state ownership where there is generally a suboptimal scale in such resource use. Consequently therefore, the capitalist system signifies efficiency through optimal allocation of resources (Nash, 2003) Within their operation, is the competitive market comprised of many producers. The operating system is dictated by the market forces. For an optimal point within the equilibrium, the level of supply should be consistently equal to the level of demand. The assumption of a rational consumer is still prevalent with them choosing the best quality of product against the equilibrium quantity of demand and the supply. With their competitive nature, the firms employ the use of various methods aimed at improving the competitive age of their product. High quality increases this competition. With this factor in their mind, the firms employ various tools for achieving its success. Firstly, firms within this market are highly involved in market research. With this implement, they are able to study the market requirements in correspondence to the demand. Either, the aspect of innovation is highly developed with intense research on product competing within the market. Due to the competitive nature of this market, the firms are able and willing to invest more in the innovation process of their products which helps to create a reasonable state on their competition portfolio. Consumer sovereignty is an equally important tool. At the market place, consumer sovereignty implies the capacity under which the consumers are willing to consume the most desirable level of commodity at the prevailing optimal prices without any external dictate by the producers. Consumer sovereignty is synonymous to reducing their exploitation. However, exploitation comes when the supplies/firms wants to take various sales advantages in the sales activity to the consumers through increase in the prices of products. Due to the market forces, the capitalist system attempt to safeguard the interest of such consumers through the equilibrium determination of the price factor (Gianaris, 1993) Either, capitalist economy is a remedy to the weakness of lack in equal distribution of he available resources by the socialist economy. At times, the distribution of such resources by the socialist economies may be suboptimal. The capitalist economies come in to safeguard the interest of the people in the case of failed equal resource distribution by the socialist economy. To conclude, the capitalist economic system is a fundamental displine that is credited with various efficiencies. Such efficiencies help to rationalize the resource factor, the product output and the consumption pattern within the economic layout.

Pathogenesis of measles virus infection The WritePass Journal

Pathogenesis of measles virus infection Introduction Pathogenesis of measles virus infection IntroductionSymptomsVaccinationSubacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis  ConclusionRelated Introduction Often dismissed in the developed world as a common childhood infection, measles are in fact a worrying contributor to childhood morbidity and mortality worldwide. In the UK alone, approximately 10% of cases result in complications requiring hospitalisation, 1 in 5,000 could be fatal [1]. This is much higher for the developing world where infection spreads rapidly in children that are living in close quarters, are malnourished and unable to avail of the vaccine. In 1994, under the national schools vaccination campaign all school children aged 5-16 were offered the mumps-measles-rubella (MMR) vaccine. An uptake of 92% under this campaign resulted in measles being all but eradicated from England and Wales [2]. Unfortunately a fall in immunisation uptake over the last decade, amid fears of a link between MMR vaccine and autism, now means that the number of susceptible children is such that measles are once again endemic in the UK [3]. Epidemics are prevalent throughout European countries including Italy, Austria Switzerland. Controlling a measles epidemic can be difficult, despite the availability of a safe and effective vaccine, as it is a highly infectious disease that spreads rapidly between susceptible individuals. Infection Spread The measles virus (MV) is single stranded RNA Morbillivirus from the paramyxovirus family that results in an acute infection of respiratory and lymphoid tissues. It is a highly contagious disease transmissible via respiratory droplets that can remain viral on surfaces for up to two hours [1]. Although it’s spread via the respiratory route and symptoms are well established little is actually known of the cellular events underlying the disease. Figure 1: Schematic diagram of measles structure [4] To better understand the process of infection and spread we must take a closer look at the measles virus (MV). MV is single negative-strand enveloped RNA Morbillivirus that contains 15,894 base pairs encoding 8 proteins. As shown in figure 1 hemagglutinin (H) and fusion (F) proteins are transmembrane envelope proteins and as such their primary role is to initiate infection. Antibodies to these proteins may render the virus inactive [4].   The RNA genome is encapsidated by the nucleotide (N) protein forming a ribonucleocapsid complex which acts as the substrate for transcription and regulation [5]. The large protein (L) and phosphoprotein (P) are also associated with the ribonucleocapsid complex and hence replication and transcription.   The matrix protein (M) links the ribonucleocapsid complex to the envelope proteins during virus assembly [6]. There are also two non-structural proteins, C V encoded within the P gene that act as regulators of infection by interacting with cellul ar proteins. As previously mentioned binding of H to susceptible cells is an important instigating step in measles pathogenesis. Three viral receptors for H are identifiable, CD46 a low affinity protein present on all nucleated cells, an undetermined receptor on epithelial cells and SLAM / CD150, a high affinity receptor present on subsets of lymphocytes, thymocytes, macrophages and mature dendritic cells (DCs). SLAM/CD150 is the preferential receptor for wild type strains of MV. Initially it was thought that MV infected respiratory epithelial cells which would in turn infect monocytes resulting in spread of infection to lymphoid tissues. However, this has been found not to be the case as monocytes only express CD46 low affinity receptors. Since then it has been demonstrated in vivo that lymphocytes expressing CD150 recpetors are the primary infected cells during measles in macaques [7]. However lymphocytes are not commonly found at respiratory epithelial cell surfaces hence MV target cells at transmission and throughout pathogenesis of MV are unclear. It is thought that professional antigen presenting cells (APCs) known as dendritic cells may have a dual role in mediating transmission of the measles virus [8]. Although the expected role of DCs is to capture and present MV antigens for degradation, some escape degradation and are actually protected by DCs for transportation to lymphoid tissues. Here they encounter and infect CD150+ lymphocytes allowing replication of the virus. From the primary lymphoid tissue, infected cells enter circulation. Infected peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) are evident in the blood 7-9 days after infection [9].   From here the infection spreads to distal lymphoid tissues and to the epithelial and endothelial cells of multiple organs. Less is known about receptors used to infect these cells. There is however a number of cell surface molecules that interact with MV and as such may play an important role in MV pathogenesis, including receptor clustering, fusion, entry, cell-to-cell spread or cytokine production.   These include DC-SIGN, Toll like receptor 2 (TRL2), neurokinin-1 and Fc-ÃŽ ³ receptor II. DC-SIGN (C-type lectin dendritic cell-specific ICAM-3 grabbing non-integrin) for example is credited with binding of MV to DCs. The role of which has been previously described for HIV1 [10] and has been demonstrated in MV infected macaques [7].   TRL2 interacts with H envelope protein to induce interleukin-6 (IL-6) wh ich in turn stimulates the expression of CD150. TLR2 interaction with CD46 also inhibits IL-12 production. Symptoms Measles typically have an incubation period of 7-14 days. During the prodrome period of day 4-7 characteristic clinical symptoms of measles appear which include fever (often 104 °F), cough, conjunctivitis and photophobia. Koplik spots, which are white buccal opposite the first and second upper molars, appear 2-3 days later followed by the maculopapular rash that lasts on average of 3-5 days [11] The rash is a manifestation of the adaptive immune response, and marks the start of viral clearance. Activated T cells and MV specific antibodies are present in circulation at this time and CD4+ and CD8+ cells have infiltrated sites of virus replication. Immunocompetent individuals will be successful in clearing the virus from these sites of replication and confer life long immunity to re-infection. Interestingly, MV appears to have a contradictory effect on the immune system with acute infections predominantly linked to periods of transient immunosuppression, often lasting weeks after the disappearance of characteristic symptoms [8]. It is these periods of immunosuppression that leaves an individual susceptible to many associated secondary complications and ultimately MV related deaths. The risk of complications may increase in densely populated areas, in children infected under the age of two, pregnant women, malnourished individuals particularly those lacking in vitamin A and in individuals who have existing immunodeficiency. Complications include respiratory complications such as bronchopneumonia and giant cell pneumonitis, neurological complications such as acute demyelinating encephalitis, subacute sclerosing panencephalitis and measles inclusion body encephalitis, gastrointestinal complications like diarrhoea or clinical hepatitis and vitamin A deficiency which may manife st as xerophthalmia a leading cause of blindness worldwide [1]. The mechanisms that result in immunosuppression are not clearly understood but a number of methods are hypothesised. For example, there is noted decrease in the numbers of T cells and B cells during the rash which for the most part is attributed to an increase in CD95 mediated and lymphocyte apoptosis [9]. This may contribute to lymphopenia, however lymphocyte numbers generally return to normal as the rash clears. It is also thought that suppression of lymphocyte proliferation may be associated with G1 arrest of the cell cycle after infection with MV [12].   Similarly T-cell proliferation may be suppressed as a result of direct inhibitory signalling by the H and F1-F2 membrane viral complex which when in contact with a cell will delay S phase entry of T cells by several days leading to accumulation of cells in the G0-G1 cell cycle phase [9]. Yet another mechanism of immune suppression is type 2 skewing of CD4+ T-cells. During infection of APCs with MV there is marked decrease in production of IL-12, which plays an important role in T-cell production of type 1 cytokines [12]. Altered CD4+T production leads T cells that fail to proliferate. Immunosuppression is characterised by lymphopenia, defective response to new antigens and a loss in the delayed type hypersensitivity responses to recall antigens. Vaccination A combined live attenuated mumps, measles and rubella (MMR) vaccine is the vaccine of choice against measles in more the 90 different countries worldwide. [13] Since its introduction in the 1970s the MMR vaccine has proven its capability to eliminate its target diseases from a number of countries. Following a national vaccination programme it was reported in 1996 that measles had all but been eradicated from the UK [2]. The US had similar success prior to this in 1993 [13] as did many other countries. Numerous strains of the MMR vaccine are produced worldwide, many of which are derived from the Edmonston strain [14]. Four non Edmonston strains including Leningrad 16, Shanghai-191, CAM-70 and TD-97 are also in use [13]. The virus is generally cultured in chick embryo cells. Most vaccines also include a small dose of antibiotic. A number of combinations of these virus, mumps virus and rubella virus are used to produce a commercial MMR vaccine. There are five commonly used MMR vaccines on the market today including M-M-R by Merck, Morupar by Chiran, Priorix by Glaxo-Smith Klein, Trimovax by Pasteur Merieux Serums and Triviraten Berna. Current US guidelines regarding vaccination with MMR recommend first dose at 12 months and a second dose to be administered before the age of 4, leaving at least 28 days between doses [15]. One dose and two dose vaccination strategies have been tried and tested in many countries [16, 17]. Although one dose strategies may achieve as much as 85% efficacy a second dose is essential to achieve eradication. Unfortunately erroneous claims linking the MMR vaccine to autism and Crohn’s disease have led to a decline in uptake of MMR vaccine and as a result countries like the US, Germany, Austria and Italy are once again facing a measles epidemic [18]. Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) is an incurable complication of measles virus that presents itself 1-15years following acute MV infection [1]. It is most common in boys who under the age of two become infected with MV and is a far less common when MV infection occurs in adulthood [12]. SSPE occurs at the rate of 10,000-300,000 in acute MV infections. A disease affecting the central nervous system (CNS), SSPE initially presents as subtle cognitive changes, progressing to overt cognitive dysfunction, motor dysfunction, seizures, organ failure and eventual death. Neurons are initially targeted but as the disease progresses infected oligodendrocytes, astrocytes and endothelial cells have also been noted. Histologically it is characterised by cellular inclusion bodies, loss of neurons, inflammation, glial activation and deterioration of the blood brain barrier [12]. High numbers of MV specific antibodies are found in both blood and cerebrospinal fluid of SSPE patients.   Conclusion Little is actually known of how MV may cause SSPE and other associated MV complications. Early studies using brain biopsies of SSPE patients did however show that infected neurons were unable to release budding virus. Since then extensive sequencing of such cells have lead to the conclusion that point mutations of envelope associated genes, namely as H, M, and F, could result in defective protein expression and therefore do not allow infected neurons to complete the viral process [19]. How this impacts on the development of SSPE is unclear. Pathogenesis of measles virus infection Introduction Pathogenesis of measles virus infection IntroductionInfection1. Attachment2. Fusion3. RNA replication and Assembly of viral particles4. Release of virusSpread1. Changes in lymphocyte number and function2. Shift in cytokine profile3. Impaired antigen presentationSymptomsImmunosuppressionVaccinationSubacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE)BibliographyRelated Introduction Measles is a highly contagious disease caused by an enveloped RNA virus of the genus Morbillivirus in the family of Paramyxoviridae (Griffin et al, 1994). It is a major cause of child morbidity and mortality, particularly in developing countries, despite the introduction of attenuated measles virus vaccines which have greatly reduced the incidences since the 1960s (WHO, 2009). The window period of infection for infants lies between the disappearing maternal antibody protection and vaccine administration (Manchester and Rall, 2001). In 2008, 164,000 measles deaths were reported and majority was children under five years old (WHO, 2009). Affected individuals combat measles by generating cell mediated immunity to clear the virus and humoral immunity to provide long-term protection (Manchester and Rall, 2001). However, measles virus (MV) induces immunosuppression during infection and for weeks after recovery, rendering infected individuals susceptible to secondary infections (Griffin et al, 1994). The evidence of immunosuppression caused was first recognized in 1908 when von Pirquet reported that children lost positive skin test for tuberculin antigen during MV infection (von Pirquet, 1908). Research has been carried in vitro and in vivo in order to define the pathogenesis pathways of MV. Immune responses to MV have been described on transgenic mice and cynomolgus monkeys models (Sato et al, 2007) suggesting that multiple potential mechanisms are linked to the virus-induced immunosuppression (Schneider-Schaulies et al, 2002). Infection Measles is transmitted via airborne exposure from coughing and sneezing or close contact with nasal and throat secretions. MV remains active in the air for up to two hours. It enters the body through the respiratory system and spread systemically by infecting lymphoid cells. Infection and spread is a complex process. The structure and proteins of MV are important determinants of virus tropism and pathogenesis (Yanagi et al, 2006). Measles virus consists of a non-segmented single negative-strand RNA genome (16,000 ribonucleotides) with a diameter of 150 to 300 nm. The outer envelope comprises with the inner matrix protein to form a lipid bilayer surrounding the viral genome. It encodes six structural proteins and two nonstructural proteins which are important for attachment of the virus to the host, replication and spreading of the virus in the body (Horikami et al, 1995). Table 1 briefly describes the functions and locations of structural components and Figure 1 illustrates the structure of a measles virus. Table 1: Locations and functions of Measles virus structural proteins Structural proteins    Locations Functions 1. Haemagglutinin(H) Both H and F proteins are surface transmembrane glycoproteins. They project from the lipid bilayer and traverse the internal matrix. Responsible for the initiation of infection. H protein: receptor binding and cell fusion F protein: cell fusion and viral entry. 2. Fusion proteins (F) 3. Nucleoprotein (N) Surround the RNA strand Form a ribonucleocapsid. 4. Phosphoprotein (P) Both P and L proteins are associated with the ribonucleocapsid The ribonucleoprotein complex acts as RNA polymerase and is responsible for RNA replication and transcription. 5. Large polymerase protein (L) 6. Matrix protein (M) Attaches to the inner surface of the envelope Assembly of the viral particles. Virus budding. Adapted from (Yanagi et al, 2006) The nonstructural protein C and V are encoded on the P gene by RNA editing and alternative translation. Patterson et al (2000) showed that C and V proteins functioned as virulence factors in CNS measles infection using YAC-CD46 transgenic mice. In addition, C protein is capable to inhibit viral transcription and enhancing MV particles assembly. These proteins have shown to be involved in inhibition of interferon production (Naniche et al, 2000). The infection process involves four steps: 1. Attachment When measles virus enters the respiratory tract, the initial infection begins with viral attachment to host cellular receptors by the haemagglutinin (H) protein. The most studied receptors are CD46 and signaling lymphocytic activation molecule (SLAM/ CD150) (Ferreira et al, 2010). CD46 is a complement regulatory molecule and is present on all nucleated human cells whereas SLAM is only expressed on thymocytes, mature dendritic cells and T and B lymphocytes (Hsu et al, 2001). Other cell surface proteins such as moesin and substance P receptor were also proposed in MV binding (Kehren et al, 2001). The primary target for early stage infection has not been clearly defined. It was originally thought that respiratory epithelial cells were firstly infected (Griffin, 2001) but following the discovery of SLAM, some studies suggested that SLAM-positive immune cells should be the initial targets (Yanagi et al, 2002). Leonard et al. (2008) suggested the presence of a basolateral epithelial recept or (EpR) is necessary for entry of MV into respiratory epithelium and infection of the epithelial cells is required for shedding and transmission. Figure 1: a) Structure of a measles virus   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   b) Measles virus genome   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   c) Membrane fusion and replication of measles virus in a cell   Take from the wed-site nature.com/nrmicro/journal/v4/n12/box/nrmicro1550_BX1.html (Moss Griffin, 2006) 2. Fusion The interaction of both H and F proteins with human receptors is important for the virus to gain access into the host cell. Fusion (F) protein mediates the fusion of viral envelop with cell membrane. Figure 1 (c) demonstrated the fusion process. When the tetramer H protein binds to its receptor, it generates a conformational change within the F protein which is composed of two subunits F1 and F2 linked by a disulphide bond. The activated F protein inserts the hydrophobic fusion peptide into the target cell membrane and provides entry of the viral genome into the host cell interior (Weidmann et al, 1999). 3. RNA replication and Assembly of viral particles The polymerase allows replication and transcription of the genome within the cell. The negative sense RNA is copied into a complementary positive strand which, in turn, acts as a template for the negative strand. Viral components are translated in the cell and are assembled at the cell surface (Yanagi et al, 2006). 4. Release of virus MV leaves the host cell in a budding form (Yanagi et al, 2006). Spread The viremic spread from the respiratory tract is carried out by infected immune cells including monocytes, dendritic cells, B and T cells which travel through the local lymphatics and are transported to the secondary lymphoid tissue where further viral replication occurs. A secondary viremia occurs when infected cells enter the circulation and viral replication continues in the endothelia and epithelia of other organs including skin, gastrointestinal tract, liver, kidney and central nervous system (Ferreira et al, 2010). A systemic spread is favored by the immunosuppression following infection. Multiple mechanisms are involved in the development of immunosuppression and a brief description below focuses on some of the important pathways. 1. Changes in lymphocyte number and function Lymphopenia of B and T cells during viremic and post-clinical recovery stages is demonstrated by many studies. Bieback et al. (2002) showed that MV can bind to Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 on monocytes, inducing SLAM expression and interleukin-6 (IL-6) production. In addition, binding of SLAM can induce Fas (CD95)-mediated apoptosis of uninfected CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. The extracellular composition of CD46 is characterized by four short consensus repeat (SCR) and a STP domain. SCRs 2, 3 and 4 are binding regions for C3b and C4b, thereby preventing them from causing autologous complement lysis. The attachment of MV to SCRs 1 and 2 alters the normal signaling pathway resulting in down-regulation of CD46, eventually leading to increased C3b-mediated complement lysis (Manchester and Rall, 2001). MV also inhibits lymphoproliferation by causing cell cycle arrest in the G0/G1 phase in dividing lymphocytes (Niewiesk et al, 1999) and interferes with NF-kB signaling pathways and anti-apoptotic B cell lymphoma 3 (Bcl-3) proteins (Bolt Berg, 2002). Furthermore, Nucleoprotein of MV binds to the Fc-gamma receptor on antigen presenting cells and impairs their ability to stimulate T cell proliferation (Hehren et al, 2001). Figure 2 summarized the main pathways leading to immunosuppression. Figure 2: Mechanisms of immunosuppression following measles virus infection Adapted from (Moss et al, 2004) 2. Shift in cytokine profile Early evasion of the innate immune responses is the interference of interferon-alpha/beta signaling pathways (Naniche et al, 2000) due to inhibition of STAT1 and STAT2 phosphorylation by proteins V and C. However, IFN-gamma production is not affected in the acute phase of measles (Takeuchi et al, 2003). Cross-linking of CD46 by MV and direct binding of MV to CD46 on monocytes and dendritic cells inhibit the production of IL-12 (Karp et al, 1996) and hence suppress macrophage activation, T cell proliferation and delayed-type hypersensitivity (Atabani et al, 2001). The loss of IL-12 also decreases type 1 cytokines TNF-alpha and IL-2, leading to transition to type 2 cytokines IL-4, IL-5 and IL-10 by CD4+ T cells (Moss et al, 2002). Th1 to Th2 shift leads to a change of cell-mediated immunity to a dominant humoral immunity which is not sufficient to combat new infections (Kemper et al, 2003). 3. Impaired antigen presentation Dendritic cells are critical for the antigen presentation to naà ¯ve T lymphocyte. MV infected dendritic cells fail to undergo differentiation to become mature effector cells and some of them are susceptible to Fas-mediated apoptosis (Servet-Delprat et al, 2000). Marttila et al (2001) reported that antigen processing of other viruses such as rubella virus and coxsackie B4 virus is compromised in MV-infected human mononuclear cells, suggesting impaired antigen presentation to T cells. Symptoms The clinical presentation is induced by the immune responses. The initial encounter of the virus activates the innate immunity with high levels of IFN-ÃŽ ³ and IL-8 but it is not efficient to clear the virus, leading to rapid multiplication of virus (Sato et al, 2008). Figure 3 illustrates the timeline of viremia and appearance of symptoms. Figure 3: Pathogenesis of measles virus and immune responses of host. Obtained from http://pathmicro.med.sc.edu/mhunt/mump-meas.htm (Hunt, 2008) The early symptoms of measles, listed below, usually appear after an incubation period of 10 to 12 days and last for 2 to 4 days due to inflammatory reactions affecting the respiratory tract and conjunctiva (Griffin, 1995). Fever Malaise Coryza Cough Small white spots in the oral cavity (Koplik’s spots) Conjunctivitis Rash The appearance of maculopapular rash reflects the immune complex formation in the skin. It correlates with viremia and onset of adaptive immune responses. The rash starts on the face and upper back after 14 days of exposure and spreads to the entire body over the next 3 days and finally fades after 5 to 6 days indicating that Cytotoxic T lymphocytes destroy infected host cells and clear the virus. Measles antibodies also appear in the circulation around this time with IgM at day 10 and IgG at day 14. They reduce measles viral load through serum neutralization. IFN-ÃŽ ³ and IL-8 levels decrease at convalescent as cytotoxic T cells decline (Heffernan and Keeling, 2008). Immunosuppression The most important pathologic feature of measles virus is immunosuppression. Most measles-related deaths are caused by secondary bacterial and viral infections. Malnourished children with weakened immune system and vitamin A deficiency are at high risk of developing complications which include blindness, diarrhoea, bronchitis, encephalitis, ear infection and pneumonia. Patients with impaired cell-mediated immunity may not develop the rash and they are susceptible to giant cell pneumonia (Manchester and Rall, 2001) Vaccination There is no antiviral therapy for measles although medications can reduce complications. Vaccination is currently the best method to prevent the disease. The first MV called Edmonston strain was isolated in 1954 on primary human kidney cells and it was subsequently adapted to chicken embryo fibroblasts and become the progenitor for currently used attenuated live vaccines. Composition of vaccines is important to elicit long-term protective immunity but not immunologic reactions and clinically significant immunosuppression. Measles vaccine is now usually given as part of a trivalent combined vaccine, MMR which is also against mumps and rubella (Hilleman, 1999). The World Health Organization has recommended infants should have the first administration of measles vaccine at 9 to 12 months because immunity requires Th1-type response. For countries with high measles transmission, a second dose should be given at age 15 to 18 months (WHO, 2009). Vaccination campaigns are effective in promoting the use of vaccination and reducing measles deaths. Between 2002 and 2008, measles vaccination has significantly reduced 78% of measles deaths from an estimated 733 000 in 2000 to 164 000 in 2008. However, many developing countries, particularly parts of Africa and Asia, still suffer from this preventable infection due to the poor access to vaccinations and lack of facilities to properly store vaccines (Manchester and Rall, 2001). Ohtake et al (2010) has reported a spray drying method was successful to produce heat-stable measles vaccine powders. However, further tests are required to demonstrate the feasibility of these dry vaccines. Molecular epidemiology is a useful tool to monitor measles and genomic study of measles virus can provide insight in the development of new and safe vaccines (Ohtake et al, 2010). The World Health Organization is making an effort to monitor outbreaks and increase immunization coverage and hopefully can ev entually eradicate the virus in the future. Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) SSPE is a fatal disease caused by a persistent infection with a defected form of measles virus in the brain. The common mutated components are the matrix (M), the fusion (F) and the haemagglutinin (H) proteins. Mutations can be point mutations, deletions and biased hypermutations and are mostly found in the M gene (Gutierrez et al, 2010). SSPE has a slow progression and usually develops in an interval of 5 to 10 years after the initial infection. It is very rare. Incidence rate varies between countries but the average is about one per million. Age and sex of infected individuals can affect the frequency of SSPE. Infection before the age of 2 years is associated with higher occurrences and boys are 2 times more likely to acquire SSPE (Gutierrez et al, 2010). The development of SSPE is caused by an imcompleted eradication of MV due to inadequate cell-mediated responses caused by genetic polymorphisms (Yentur et al, 2005) and high level of IL-4 but low levels of IL-12. These cytokines favour humoral response and predispose to viral replication (Hara et al, 2006). MV enters neurons by binding to host receptors CD46 and CD9 using the F protein. It replicates inside the cells and spreads to neighbouring neurons by neurokinins synaptic receptors (Makhortova et al, 2007). In addition, sequence analysis of viral RNA showed that the virus was entered from one point and disseminate throughout the brain. The defective structural envelope proteins assist them to escape from the immune system as the mutated M, F and H proteins failed to assemble and bud out the cells. Thus, the viral particles are not recognized for many years. However, inflammatory responses are finally triggered when the virus damages the host DNA and induces apoptosis (Oldstone et al, 2004). Histological examination of the brain tissue shows evidence of widespread demyelination, infiltration of immune cells and blood brain barrier damage. Glia cells and astrocytes may be activated with increased expression of MHC class II molecules and tumor necrosis factor-ÃŽ ±. Appearance of inclusion bodies in brain tissue is also common (Akram et al, 2008). Patients are often diagnosed based on presentation and clinical findings of electroencephalography, magnetic resonance imaging and CSF serology (Koppel et al, 1996). SSPE has four clinical stages (Table 2) and most patients died within 3 years of diagnosis (Gutierrez et al, 2010). Table 2: Clinical stages of SSPE Stage Clinical manifestations I Personality changes Behaviour abnormalities II Seizures Motor decline III Rigidity Progressive unresponsiveness IV Coma Akinetic mutism (Loss of ability to speak and move) Adpated from Gutierrez et al, 2010 Word count: 2421 excluding references and plagiarism statement. Bibliography Akram M, Naz F, Malik A et al. (2008) Clinical profile of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis. J Coll Physicians Surg Pak. 18, 485-488. Atabani SF, Byrnes AA, Jaye A et al. (2001) Natural measles causes prolonged suppression of interleukin-12 production. Journal of Infectious Diseases,184, 1-9. Bolt G Berg KB (2002) Measles virus-induced modulation of host-cell gene expression. Journal of General Virology,83, 1157-1165. Ferreira CSA, Frenzke M, Leonard VHJ et al. 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