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Representation of Turkey in the British print media: to be or not to be European
This research analyses the representation of Turkey in four British broadsheets (the Guardian, the Daily Telegraph, the Independent and the Times) as well as their Sunday sister papers between 2007-2013. Using the concepts of self and other as a theoretical basis, this research seeks to determine whether Turkey, a predominantly Muslim, secular and partially Westernised EU candidate, was represented as a part of the European Self or as an Oriental Other in British broadsheets during the time period specified. As well as defining modern Turkey’s unique position on the Self-other axis of Europe in the context of British quality media, the research examines how applicable Edward Said’s theory of Orientalism is to the Turkish example. Taking Turkey’s multifaceted national identity and Britain’s exceptionalist attitude towards Europe (as well as the British media’s prejudices about Islam) into consideration, the research goes on to demonstrate that the straight-forward, binary understanding of Self-Other relationships in Said’s Orientalism is not applicable to the Turkish example. Instead, the research utilises the concept of Nesting Orientalisms (created by Bakić-Hayden to explain the self-other relationships within Europe) in the analysis and concludes that Turkey was perceived and represented as an agreeable, useful yet still inferior Model Other in British media texts during the time period analysed in this study. The research, which consists of a quantitative content analysis conducted on 731 news items and a qualitative textual analysis conducted on 150 representative news articles, 60 editorials and 10 front-page stories, creates the most detailed map of Turkey’s coverage in the British print media to date as well as providing continuity to the existing relevant literature
Characteristics of pediatric multiple sclerosis: The Turkish pediatric multiple sclerosis database
Objective To document the clinical and paraclinical features of pediatric multiple sclerosis (MS) in Turkey. Methods Data of MS patients with onset before age 18 years (n = 193) were collected from 27 pediatric neurology centers throughout Turkey. Earlier-onset (<12 years) and later-onset (?12 years) groups were compared. Results There were 123 (63.7%) girls and 70 (36.3%) boys aged 4–17 years, median 14 years at disease onset. Family history of MS was 6.5%. The first presentation was polysymptomatic in 55.4% of patients, with brainstem syndromes (50.3%), sensory disturbances (44%), motor symptoms (33.2%), and optic neuritis (26.4%) as common initial manifestations. Nineteen children had facial paralysis and 10 had epileptic seizures at first attack; 21 (11%) were initially diagnosed with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM). Oligoclonal bands were identified in 68% of patients. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed periventricular (96%), cortical/juxtacortical (64.2%), brainstem (63%), cerebellum (51.4%), and spinal cord (67%) involvement. Visual evoked potentials (VEP) were abnormal in 52%; serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were low in 68.5% of patients. The earlier-onset group had a higher rate of infection/vaccination preceding initial attack, initial diagnosis of ADEM, longer interval between first 2 attacks, and more disability accumulating in the first 3 years of the disease. Conclusion Brainstem and cerebellum are common sites of clinical and radiological involvement in pediatric-onset MS. VEP abnormalities are frequent even in patients without history of optic neuropathy. Vitamin D status does not appear to affect the course in early disease. MS beginning before 12 years of age has certain characteristics in history and course