Migration and the 'children of the transition': unravelling the experiences of young, highly skilled Bulgarians in the UK

After years of European integration, Favell’s (2008a) ‘Eurostars’ have been joined by many, who perceive the freedom of movement as a right, rather than a privilege. The first and second wave of Eastern enlargement of the EU in 2004 and 2007 have thus changed the outlook of the European migratory regime, placing East-West migratory flows firmly at the centre of both public and academic immigration debates across Europe. This thesis aims to contribute to the growing literature on Central and Eastern European migration to the West by focusing on a relatively understudied group of people – young, highly skilled Bulgarians in the UK. Adopting a broad definition of the term ‘highly skilled’, the study focuses on university students and young professionals. The thesis draws on multi-sited ethnographic research with 37 young Bulgarians, born shortly before or after the democratic changes in 1989. Often referred to as ‘the children of the transition’, this group of people belongs to the first post-accession migratory flows from Bulgaria. By scrutinising young, highly skilled Bulgarians’ experiences of living, working and/or studying in the UK, the study focuses on what happens before, during and as a result of migration. More specifically, the thesis explores three interrelated aspects of the participants’ migratory experiences. Firstly, it analyses young Bulgarians’ pre-migratory context and the macro, meso and micro factors that underpin their decisions to choose Britain as a destination. Secondly, it looks at how they adjust to the host society and how they respond to processes of othering. The emotion-led approach focuses on the costs and benefits of migration as well as on the variety of everyday, counterbalancing strategies employed by young, highly skilled Bulgarians. Finally, the study scrutinises the implications that migration as a life event has upon their identities and plans for the future. Ultimately, the thesis argues that the tension created between migration as a project and as a reality unlocks a period of liminality, which impacts upon migrants’ identities and plans for the future. The exploration of the latter reveals the strong prominence of narratives of success with varying conceptualisations of return

Migration and the 'children of the transition': unravelling the experiences of young, highly skilled Bulgarians in the UK

After years of European integration, Favell’s (2008a) ‘Eurostars’ have been joined by many, who perceive the freedom of movement as a right, rather than a privilege. The first and second wave of Eastern enlargement of the EU in 2004 and 2007 have thus changed the outlook of the European migratory regime, placing East-West migratory flows firmly at the centre of both public and academic immigration debates across Europe. This thesis aims to contribute to the growing literature on Central and Eastern European migration to the West by focusing on a relatively understudied group of people – young, highly skilled Bulgarians in the UK. Adopting a broad definition of the term ‘highly skilled’, the study focuses on university students and young professionals. The thesis draws on multi-sited ethnographic research with 37 young Bulgarians, born shortly before or after the democratic changes in 1989. Often referred to as ‘the children of the transition’, this group of people belongs to the first post-accession migratory flows from Bulgaria. By scrutinising young, highly skilled Bulgarians’ experiences of living, working and/or studying in the UK, the study focuses on what happens before, during and as a result of migration. More specifically, the thesis explores three interrelated aspects of the participants’ migratory experiences. Firstly, it analyses young Bulgarians’ pre-migratory context and the macro, meso and micro factors that underpin their decisions to choose Britain as a destination. Secondly, it looks at how they adjust to the host society and how they respond to processes of othering. The emotion-led approach focuses on the costs and benefits of migration as well as on the variety of everyday, counterbalancing strategies employed by young, highly skilled Bulgarians. Finally, the study scrutinises the implications that migration as a life event has upon their identities and plans for the future. Ultimately, the thesis argues that the tension created between migration as a project and as a reality unlocks a period of liminality, which impacts upon migrants’ identities and plans for the future. The exploration of the latter reveals the strong prominence of narratives of success with varying conceptualisations of return

Tracheostomy in pediatric age - surgical techniques and complications

Introduction: With the recent advance in pediatrics the understanding of pediatric tracheostomy has deepened as well. The average number of tracheostomies performed annually on children has risen, which is also related to the development of anesthesiology and intensive pediatric care. Indications for the procedure have become more precise and new techniques are being introduced to diminish the risk of complications. The open tracheostomy technique in pediatric patients differs from the one performed on adults. The aim of the present study is to review the latest surgical techniques for tra­cheostomy in children.Materials and Methods: The information is collected as a summary of several articles using the key­words: tracheotomy, children, surgeon techniques, obstruction, and starplasty tracheotomy. The worldwide current experience of surgical techniques has been reconfirmed by Otorhinolaryngology clinic `Saint Marina` Hospital Varna.Results: The main objective of the surgical techniques for tracheostomy in children is to minimize the risk of early post-operative complications. The most common tracheotomy-related cause of mor­tality in children has been reported to be cannula obstruction, followed by accidental decannulation. The most common post-operative complications include pneumomediastinum, pneumothorax, sub­cutaneous emphysema, wound complications and bleeding. The surgical techniques generally applied are Open tracheostomy and percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy. However, over the last decades, a new design for open pediatric tracheostomy has gained superiority, known as Starplasty tracheosto­my, based on the geometry of a 3-dimensional Z-plasty.Conclusion: The search for a technique for pediatric tracheostomy with lowest possible risk of post­operative complications is still ongoing. In view of the research data gathered it can be concluded that Starplasty tracheostomy, being the most widely applied procedure in recent years, has proved to be a safe and trustworthy alternative to the traditional open techniques. This technique has been recog­nized as the most preferred and recommended type of tracheostomy in early childhood