Risky Times Research Articles

Intimate Partner Violence and Women's Health.

Intimate partner violence affects 15-71% of women over their lifetime, resulting in significant stress, negative health effects, and negative economic effects. Features include physical and sexual abuse as well as psychological abuse and controlling behaviors such as reproductive coercion or stalking. Intimate partner violence can occur in both heterosexual and same-sex relationships, though the risk may be higher in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning couples. Pregnancy remains an especially risky time for escalating abuse and also provides a window of opportunity for screening and intervention. Victims experience many consequences of abuse, including physical injuries, traumatic brain injury, and chronic conditions such as headaches, insomnia, pelvic pain, depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Homicide is an especially devastating consequence, with 40-45% of female victims killed by an intimate partner, and homicide remains an important cause of pregnancy-related death. Routine screening is recommended by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, and obstetrician-gynecologists (ob-gyns) should remain vigilant for signs of abuse in their patients. Often the cycle of abuse makes it difficult for women to break free, and ob-gyns should continue to provide supportive care regardless of a woman's readiness to leave an abusive relationship.

Which Cryptocurrencies Are Mostly Traded in Distressed Times?

This paper investigates the level of liquidity of digital currencies during the very intense bearish phase in their markets. The data employed span the period from April 2018 until January 2019, which is the second phase of bearish times with almost constant decreases. The Amihud’s illiquidity ratio is employed in order to measure the liquidity of these digital assets. Findings indicate that the most popular cryptocurrencies exhibit higher levels of liquidity during stressed periods. Thereby, it is revealed that investors’ preferences for trading during highly risky times are favorable for well-known virtual currencies in the detriment of less-known ones. This enhances findings of relevant literature about strong and persistent positive or negative herding behavior of investors based on Bitcoin, Ethereum and highly-capitalized cryptocurrencies in general. Notably though, a tendency towards investing in the TrueUSD stablecoin has also emerged.

Simulated elephant-induced habitat changes can create dynamic landscapes of fear

Landscapes of fear have become widely studied in the northern hemisphere, but are still largely understudied in the more complex, diverse carnivore-prey communities of Africa. Habitat changes brought about by a megaherbivore, the African elephant (Loxodonta africana), can modify the perceived landscape of fear by predation vulnerable prey species (impala Aepyceros melampus and warthog Phacochoerus africanus) in contrast with non-prey species (white rhinoceros Ceratotherium simum). We hypothesized that by opening up woody vegetation, elephants may modify perceived risk at a landscape-scale, but also at a fine scale by depositing escape impediments in the form of coarse woody debris. We experimentally tested this in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, South Africa, by simulating elephant-induced habitat changes on patch scale (opening up woody vegetation) and within-patch scale (deposition of coarse woody debris) and monitoring the herbivore visitation using camera traps. We compared visitation on the edge of grazing lawns (in proximity of dense vegetation) and the centre (open, highly visible patches), either with or without coarse woody debris and with or without fresh predator scat. We found that mesoherbivore prey species showed contrasting responses, with warthog avoiding plots close to dense vegetation and plots with coarse woody debris. Impala reduced their visitation to dense vegetation patches only during risky times, at night, especially in the presence of predator scat, but did not clearly avoid plots with coarse woody debris. Our study indicates that, in African savannas, the perceived landscape of fear is a highly dynamic phenomenon varying in both space and time and being species-specific. Elephant induced habitat changes may shape landscapes of fear in complex and contrasting ways.

Leveraging Positive Psychology to Support Smoking Cessation in Nondaily Smokers Using a Smartphone App: Feasibility and Acceptability Study.

BackgroundNondaily smoking is an increasingly prevalent smoking pattern that poses substantial health risks.ObjectiveWe tested the feasibility of using a smartphone app with positive psychology exercises to support smoking cessation in nondaily smokers.MethodsIn this prospective, single-group pilot study, nondaily smokers (n=30) used version 1 of the Smiling Instead of Smoking (SiS) app for 3 weeks while undergoing a quit attempt. The app assigned daily happiness exercises, provided smoking cessation tools, and made smoking cessation information available. Participants answered surveys at baseline and 2, 6, 12, and 24 weeks after their chosen quit day and participated in structured user feedback sessions 2 weeks after their chosen quit day.ResultsApp usage during the prescribed 3 weeks of use was high, with an average 84% (25.2/30) of participants using the app on any given day. App use was largely driven by completing happiness exercises (73%, 22/30) of participants per day), which participants continued to complete even after the end of the prescribed period. At the end of prescribed use, 90% (27/30) of participants reported that the app had helped them during their quit attempt, primarily by reminding them to stay on track (83%, 25/30) and boosting their confidence to quit (80%, 24/30) and belief that quitting was worthwhile (80%, 24/30). Happiness exercises were rated more favorably than user-initiated smoking cessation tools, and 80% (24/30) of participants proactively expressed in interviews that they liked them. App functionality to engage social support was not well received. Functionality to deal with risky times was rated useful but was rarely used. Within-person changes from baseline to the end of prescribed use were observed for several theorized mechanisms of behavior change, all in the expected direction: confidence increased (on a 0-100 scale, internal cues: b=16.7, 95% CI 7.2 to 26.3, P=.001; external cues: b=15.8, 95% CI 5.4 to 26.1, P=.004), urge to smoke decreased (on a 1-7 scale, b=−0.8, 95% CI −1.3 to −0.3, P=.002), and perceptions of smoking became less positive (on a 1-5 scale, psychoactive benefits: b=−0.5, 95% CI −0.9 to −0.2, P=.006; pleasure: b=−0.4, 95% CI −0.7 to −0.01, P=.03; on a 0-100 scale, importance of pros of smoking: b=−11.3, 95% CI −18.9 to −3.8, P=.004). Self-reported abstinence rates were 40% (12/30) and 53% (16/30) of participants 2 and 24 weeks post quit, respectively, with 30% (9/30) biochemically validated as abstinent 2 weeks post quit.ConclusionsA smartphone app using happiness exercises to aid smoking cessation was well received by nondaily smokers. Given the high nonadherence and dropout rates for technology-delivered interventions reported in the literature, the high engagement with positive psychology exercises is noteworthy. Observed within-person changes and abstinence rates are promising and warrant further development of this app.

Social network isolation mediates associations between risky symptoms and substance use in the high school transition.

The current study examined whether social status and social integration, two related but distinct indicators of an adolescent's standing within a peer network, mediate the association between risky symptoms (depressive symptoms and deviant behavior) and substance use across adolescence. The sample of 6,776 adolescents participated in up to seven waves of data collection spanning 6th to 12th grades. Scores indexing social status and integration were derived from a social network analysis of six schools and subsequent psychometric modeling. Results of latent growth models showed that social integration and status mediated the relation between risky symptoms and substance use and that risky symptoms mediated the relation between social standing and substance use during the high school transition. Before this transition, pathways involving deviant behavior led to high social integration and status and in turn to substance use. After this transition, both deviant behavior and depressive symptoms led to low social integration and status and in turn greater substance use. These findings suggest that the high school transition is a risky time for substance use related to the interplay of increases in depressive symptoms and deviant behavior on the one hand and decreases in social status and integration on the other.

Drunken driving and riding with a drunken driver: adolescent types at higher risk

The leading cause of death of adolescents in developed countries is injury. Alcohol is a major contributor to adolescent injury. Most of the injury deaths in youth are caused by traffic crashes. Driving under the influence (DUI) and riding with a driver who is under the influence (RUI) of alcohol increase the risk of road crash. The focus of this study is how adolescents’ risk of DUI and RUI differ in relation to their experience of parental control and peer pressure to substance use, other risky behaviours and leisure time activities. The analyses are based on data from the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs collected from 15- to 16-year-old Finnish adolescents in 2015 (n = 4049, response rate 88.7%). The study shows that problems tend to entangle in some adolescent groups in which DUI and RUI are also more common. Adolescents with higher probability of using various substances, of starting alcohol use at young age, of experiencing weak parental control, and high peer pressure are at higher risk of DUI and RUI. The results indicate that professionals and authorities handling underage DUI and RUI ought to consider adolescents’ situation as a whole.

Complex tactics in a dynamic large herbivore–carnivore spatiotemporal game

The spatiotemporal game between predators and prey is a fundamental process governing their distribution dynamics. Players may adopt different tactics as the associated costs and benefits change through time. Yet few studies have investigated the potentially simultaneous and dynamic nature of movement tactics used by both players. It is particularly unclear to what extent perceived predation risk mediates the fine‐scale distribution of large and dangerous prey, which are mostly driven by bottom–up, resource‐related processes. We built habitat use and movement models based on 10 years of monitoring GPS‐collared grey wolvesCanis lupusand plains bisonBison bison bisonin Prince Albert National Park, Canada, to investigate the predator–large prey game in a multi‐prey system. Bison did not underuse patches of high‐quality vegetation at any time during the seasonal cycle even though wolves were selectively patrolling these areas. Rather, in at least one season, bison engaged in complex tactics comprised of proactive responses to the long‐term distribution (risky places) and reactive responses to the immediate proximity (risky times) of their opponent. In summer–autumn, bison reduced the time spent in food‐rich patches as both the long‐term use and the immediate proximity of wolves increased. By demonstrating that wolf distribution triggers patch abandonment by bison, we provide a key element in support of the shell game hypothesis – where prey move constantly to avoid predators attempting to anticipate their location. In winter, a season of relatively high energetic stress, bison no longer abandoned food‐rich patches as predation risk increased, while no bison responses to wolves were observed in spring–summer. Our work demonstrates the highly dynamic and complex nature of the predator–large prey spatiotemporal game, a key trait‐mediated mechanism by which trophic interactions structure ecological communities.

What Impacts Feelings of Adulthood Among College-Attending and Non-College-Attending Emerging Adults Who Use Alcohol and Cannabis?

Emerging adulthood is a time of transition between adolescence and adulthood, and it also represents a risky time frame for substance use. Perceptions of adulthood, or an individual’s belief about how “adult” they are, is associated with a reduction in risky behavior. The current study evaluated factors that may be related to perceptions of adulthood—living situation, age, gender, financial independence, educational status, domains of adulthood—and the relationship between perceptions of adulthood and cannabis use and binge drinking. Among 558 emerging adults who used substances, higher perceptions of adulthood were associated with less binge drinking, older age, male gender, employment and financial independence, and living away from parents. Additionally, adulthood was associated with higher feelings of stability and a focus on both the self and others. Results emphasize the importance of beliefs about adulthood in the transition into more stable life patterns, including engagement in less risky behavior.

Predictors of Neonatal mortality in Neonatal intensive care unit at referral Hospital in Southern Ethiopia: a retrospective cohort study

BackgroundThe first one month of life; the neonatal period is the most risky time for child survival. In Ethiopia, neonatal mortality is unacceptably high, and the trend in reduction is slower as compared to infant and child mortality. The magnitude and associated factors of neonatal mortality in a tertiary care facility were not well documented. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine neonatal mortality and predictors among neonates admitted to neonatal intensive care unit of Wolaita Sodo University Teaching and Referral Hospital, South Ethiopia.MethodsA retrospective cohort study design was done among neonates admitted to neonatal intensive care unit of a University Teaching and Referral Hospital from 2015 to 2017. Data were collected using data extraction checklist from the medical registry. The main outcome was the occurrence of death within the first four weeks. The survival time was calculated in days between the date of admission and the date of death. Kaplan-Meier survival was used to depict the pattern of death in 28 days and Cox-Proportional model was used to identify the predictors of the neonatal mortality.ResultsA total of 964 neonates which contributed to 5889 neonates-days were included in the study. There were 159 neonatal deaths during the follow-up time. Overall, the neonatal mortality incidence was 27 per 1000 neonates-days. Predictors of neonatal mortality were: multiple birth, mothers who did not attend antenatal care visits, neonates born by cesarean section, not initiated breast feeding within 1 h of birth, neonates resuscitated, hyaline membrane disease and perinatal asphyxia.ConclusionNeonatal mortality at neonatal intensive care unit was high. Managing neonatal complications, initiating breast feeding within 1 h of birth, promoting antenatal care visits, improving quality of services and ensuring continuum of care are recommended to increase survival of neonates.

Chronology of reproductive investment determines predation risk aversion in a felid-ungulate system.

Fear of predators can behaviorally mediate prey population dynamics, particularly when predation risk influences reproductive investment. However, the costs of reproductive investment may mitigate predation risk aversion relative to periods when the link between reproductive output and prey behavior is weaker.We posit that intensity of reproductive investment in ungulates may predict their response to predation risk such that the sexes increase risk exposure during biological seasons that are pivotal to reproductive success, such as the fawn‐rearing and breeding seasons for females and males, respectively.We examined the activity patterns of sympatric white‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), a sexually segregated polygynous ungulate, and Florida panthers (Puma concolor coryi) in the context of the “risky times – risky places hypothesis” and the reproductive strategy hypothesis. We compared detection rates and diel activity overlap of both species using motion‐triggered camera traps positioned on (n = 120) and off (n = 60) anthropogenic trails across five reproductive seasons.Florida panthers were nocturnal and primarily observed on‐trail providing an experimental framework with risky times and risky places. Contrary to studies in other taxa inversely correlating prey reproductive investment to predation risk, the sexes of deer were more risk prone during sex‐specific seasons associated with intense reproductive investment.Our results suggest spatiotemporally variable predation risk influences sex‐specific behavioral decision‐making in deer such that reproductive success is maximized.

Risk-taking behaviours and timing to first motorbike collision in the Upper West Region of Ghana

IntroductionRoad traffic collisions kill more than many diseases in Sub-Saharan Africa with the youth, particularly those between 15–29 years, being the most vulnerable group due to their risk-taking behaviours. In Ghana, about six people die daily from road traffic collisions. This study examines the relationship between risky behaviours and time to first motorbike collision in northern Ghana with the aim of informing policy and contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). MethodsWe collected data from a representative sample of 818 respondents aged 18 years and older from three districts in the Upper West Region of Ghana. We fitted log-normal models to estimate time ratios and hazard graphs, which identified the most at risk group in timing to first collision. ResultsThe results show that limited knowledge of speed limit (TR = 0.75, P < 0.001), ever had alcoholic beverage (TR = 0.62, P < 0.01), know someone died of collision (TR < 0.64, P < 0.05), and male (TR = 0.37, P < 0.001) were significant predictors of time to first motorbike collision. Those in the 25–30 age group (TR = 0.41, P < 0.001) were more at risk compared with those less than 20 years. ConclusionThe implications of the study findings are that for Ghana to achieve target 3.6 of the SDGs, there is the need to intensify existing road safety campaigns on speed limits and alcohol abuse, while enforcing regulations against use of motorbike by unlicensed/under aged riders. It is also crucial to enforce helmet use, particularly among third party riders, who are often not the priority for road safety.

Diel predator activity drives a dynamic landscape of fear

AbstractA “landscape of fear” (LOF) is a map that describes continuous spatial variation in an animal's perception of predation risk. The relief on this map reflects, for example, places that an animal avoids to minimize risk. Although the LOF concept is a potentially unifying theme in ecology that is often invoked to explain the ecological and conservation significance of fear, little is known about the daily dynamics of an LOF. Despite theory and data to the contrary, investigators often assume, implicitly or explicitly, that an LOF is a static consequence of a predator's mere presence within an ecosystem. We tested the prediction that an LOF in a large‐scale, free‐living system is a highly dynamic map with “peaks” and “valleys” that alternate across the diel (24‐h) cycle in response to daily lulls in predator activity. We did so with extensive data from the case study of Yellowstone elk (Cervus elaphus) and wolves (Canis lupus) that was the original basis for the LOF concept. We quantified the elk LOF, defined here as spatial allocation of time away from risky places and times, across nearly 1,000‐km2of northern Yellowstone National Park and found that it fluctuated with the crepuscular activity pattern of wolves, enabling elk to use risky places during wolf downtimes. This may help explain evidence that wolf predation risk has no effect on elk stress levels, body condition, pregnancy, or herbivory. The ability of free‐living animals to adaptively allocate habitat use across periods of high and low predator activity within the diel cycle is an underappreciated aspect of animal behavior that helps explain why strong antipredator responses may trigger weak ecological effects, and why an LOF may have less conceptual and practical importance than direct killing.

Nghiên cứu sự biến động sinh khối phiêu sinh thực vật và hàm lượng ôxy hòa tan để quản lý đàn cá trên kênh Nhiêu Lộc - Thị Nghè, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh

The study was conducted during one-year cycle, with six sampling periods in January, March, July, September and November 2015 to identify the phytoplankton and dissolved oxyen (DO) fluctuations at the Nhieu Loc - Thi Nghe (NL-TN) canal in spatial, temporal and tidal scales, thereby proposing solutions to manage the fish stock in the canal. The NL-TN canal is devided into three sections including downstream, midstream and upstream, with nine sampling stations. The collected samples represented the highest and lowest tide periods of the month. The results showed that the phytoplankton biomass reached highest value in upstream (5,2-6,1 gDW/m3) and lowest in downstream (4,4-4,9 gDW/m3); however, there is no correlation between high biomass phytoplankton and low DO in early morning in spatial scale. In terms of temporal aspect, phytoplankton biomass reached the highest in July (6.9 gDW/m3) and the lowest in September (3.5 gDW/m3); however, there is no correlation between phytoplankton and DO biomass over time. Therefore, the monitoring of phytoplankton biomass with the frequency of 2 months/time is not effective in predicting correlative fluctuations of phytoplankton indicator with DO deficiency for fish stock management. Considering tidal fluctuations, high and low tide levels had significant influence on the annual average phytoplankton biomass difference. Considering the DO aspect, DO shows the lowest level in the early morning of May at the low tide period, which coincides with the high mortality of fish stock in the canal at the beginning of the rainy season, posing a requirement for DO monitoring and management at the risky times with DO deficiency for fish stock management.

'Falls not a priority': insights on discharging older people, admitted to hospital for a fall, back to the community.

Falls are common among older people and a leading cause of injury-related hospitalisation. The immediate post-hospitalisation period is a risky time for further falls. This paper explores discharge strategies from the perspectives of older people hospitalised for a fall and liaison nurses assisting people to return home. Exploratory mixed methods were used. Semi-structured interviews with older people were conducted regarding their experience of the fall and discharge strategies. Quality of life, falls risk and functional capacity were measured by questionnaire. Liaison nurses were also interviewed. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and thematically analysed. Mixed-method synthesis occurred using role-ordered matrix analysis. Older people (n=13) and liaison nurses (n=6) participated. Older persons' quality of life was average and falls risk high. Thematic analysis revealed three key themes: 'falls are not a priority', 'information not given, or given and not retained' and 'reduction in confidence and independence'. Role-ordered matrix analysis identified differences between acute and rehabilitative hospital stays. Older people hospitalised for a fall present a unique opportunity for implementation of falls prevention strategies. However, hospitalisation is often a time of crisis with competing priorities. Timing and relevance are crucial for optimal uptake of falls prevention strategies, with the primary care setting well-placed for their implementation.

Risky times and risky places interact to affect prey behaviour.

Both short-term and long-term variation in predation risk can affect the behaviour of prey, thus affecting growth, reproduction, survival and population dynamics. Inferences about the strength of such 'risk effects' in the wild have been limited by a lack of studies that relate antipredator responses to the magnitude of direct predation, measure responses of prey to risk from complete predator guilds, and quantify risk in more than one way. Here, we quantify behavioural responses of a complete ungulate prey guild to long-term and short-term variation in risks from all of the large predators in Liuwa Plain National Park, with known patterns of direct predation. Our analysis allows the first direct test for interaction between responses to long-term and short-term risk in the wild, and reveals that prey vigilance responds strongly to locations with high long-term risk when short-term risk is high, but not when short-term risk is low. This result has broad ramifications for the design and interpretation of field studies of antipredator behaviour, its costs and its consequences for population dynamics.

Unsettling Trends in Academia: A Review of the Predicament of Minorities and Members of the LGBTQ Community in Higher Educational Institutions in America

The current sociopolitical climate of the country (USA) is tumultuous and volatile. It is an era that recognizes and strives for change and open dialogue on topics that have otherwise been brushed under the rug. Such times call for open discussions on topics that may also be tabooed and bear a sense of unease and discomfort. Under this umbrella of racy and risky times emerged this study on the lived experiences and occurrences that have negatively impacted members of ethnic minorities and LGBTQ communities within academia. As an intellectual field that prides itself on its intensive research rigor and vitality, academia can no longer overlook this subject of workplace bullying in academia among faculty, staff, and students whose bullied experiences need to be addressed and shared by the main stream population so we can all move forward together and seek to find a resolve to the existing atrocities that the members from these minority groups currently face.

Human risk induced behavioral shifts in refuge use by elk in an agricultural matrix

ABSTRACTScientists increasingly acknowledge the influence that nonlethal effects of predation have on structuring wildlife‐landscape interactions. In landscapes dominated by human activities, wildlife can respond to human disturbance in a similar fashion to the risk of predation. Further, the risk allocation hypothesis suggests that individuals respond most strongly to risk when it is spatially and temporally predictable. We predict that individuals in agriculturally dominated landscapes will respond to potential risk from humans during hunting season by shifting their behavior to avoid agricultural areas during the day, instead retreating to refuge habitat. We predict that this shift to more nocturnal behavior will be strongest for elk (Cervus elaphus) adult female–calf pairs and will be influenced by the level of moon illumination. Using motion‐sensing cameras, we studied the response of elk moving between the Wainwright Dunes Ecological Reserve (a hunting refuge) and surrounding agriculturally dominated landscape in east‐central Alberta, Canada, to human disturbance in relation to sunrise and sunset. Elk became increasingly nocturnal with the onset of hunting, leaving the refuge following sunset and returning to the refuge earlier before sunrise. Further, elk became increasingly nocturnal in response to greater levels of moon illumination. Lastly, we found that adult female–calf pairs perceived greater risks associated with diurnal activity and exhibited the most nocturnal behavior relative to other demographic classes. Our results suggest that ungulate management based on traditional hunting seasons and times may be problematic as it creates strong cues for resident elk, allowing them to minimize risk by avoiding risky places at risky times in accordance with the risk allocation hypothesis. © 2017 The Wildlife Society.

Risky times: Hazard management and the tyranny of the present

This paper examines how the processes and practices of hazard management skew decision-making towards current concerns, shaping the treatment of the future in the present. We reveal how norms of science and policy combine to manage the complexity, uncertainty and intangibility inherent in working to long-term time horizons by defining, bounding and codifying how we understand the future. These processes, we argue, frequently but not inevitably, constrain the influence of long-term considerations, resulting in ‘hazardscapes’ where risks become embedded spatially, transferred temporally and difficult for future generations to reverse. We introduce the notion of a ‘tyranny of the present’ as a means to critique the ways in which the future is heard in risk management, that is, how the future is known, bounded, and incorporated, and the legacies that this may create. Overall, we highlight how more effective management of risks is not just a matter of better data or improved policy, rather that discourses of risk are subject to a ‘presentist’ bias, the underpinnings of which need to be better understood in order to make more effective decisions for future generations.

The Painful Sacrifice: The Epidemiology of Hand Injuries During the Holy Festivals in the Sultanate of Oman-A 10-Year Case-Control Study.

The human hand is an important functional and sensory organ. Its complex anatomy reflects its important functional capabilities. Many Muslim countries observe the holy festivals with a traditional sacrifice of an animal in order to share the meat (basic commodity) with beloved ones. During such festivals hand injuries have been reported to increase. This study aimed to compare cases and controls of hand injuries treated at the national trauma center in the Sultanate of Oman during a 10-year time period. This is a case-control retrospective review for 10 years in the Sultanate of Oman. The cases were all hand injuries registered and assessed at Khoula Hospital in the Sultanate of Oman during the 3 days of both holy festivals from January 2004 to December 2013. Controls were hand injuries registered and assessed at Khoula Hospital in the Sultanate of Oman during nonfestival days. Data were extracted and collected from the Emergency Department database. A descriptive and comparative analysis was done. There were 1091 cases reviewed in this study. Knife laceration was 2.4 more common during holy festivals than any other time. Extensor tendon injuries were 2.7 more common during holy festivals than nonfestival times. Thumb and index fingers constituted around 40% of the total injuries. Of all patients reviewed, 85% were treated and discharged home without admission. Holy festivals in the sultanate of Oman are risky times for hand injuries. Knife lacerations are more common during such times than any other times. Emergency and plastic services should be aware of the pattern of hand injuries during such times in order to prepare and plan services accordingly.

God Bless Baseball by Okada Toshiki

Reviewed by: God Bless Baseball by Okada Toshiki Kee-Yoon Nahm God Bless Baseball. Written and directed by Okada Toshiki. Under the Radar Festival. Japan Society, New York. 16 January 2016. A Korean-speaking man (Lee Yoon Jae) repeatedly loses his train of thought as he tries to explain to two women (Wi Sung Hee and Nozu Aoi) the rules of baseball. The terms that confuse the women are second nature to him: inning, strike, out, first base, home plate. But knowing something does not mean you can explain it. This idea, introduced in the comic opening, ran throughout Okada Toshiki’s God Bless Baseball, presented by the Japan Society as part of the Public Theatre’s Under the Radar Festival. Despite the everyday feel, reminiscent of a weekend morning at the neighborhood park, the performance underscored the difficulty of communication. Although none of the characters seemed to notice, the performance jumped between Korean and Japanese. A pair of projection screens displayed subtitles at all times in one of the two languages plus English, calling attention to the many levels of translation and approximation (Fig. 1). Added to this was the bizarre body language of the laborious choreography, the actors warping their bodies into uncomfortable positions in ways that turned the mundane act of explaining the sport into a strangely tense endeavor. Audiences familiar with Okada’s work in two previous invitations to Under the Radar would have recognized the hyper-colloquial language and defamiliarizing physicality as his signature. They marked the triptych of one-acts, Hot Pepper, Air Conditioner, and the Farewell Speech (2012), performed by Okada’s own theatre company chelfitsch, and Zero Cost House (2013), a collaboration with Philadelphia’s Pig Iron Theatre Company. The latter work was a decisive shift, overtly voicing social concerns (the Fukushima nuclear disaster) in contrast to the disillusioned apathy of earlier plays such as Five Days in March and Enjoy, both produced by American companies in New York in 2010. Whether in Japanese or in English translation, Okada’s hilariously contorted dialogue encapsulates contemporary youth culture even beyond a Japanese context. Jason Zinoman (2010), reviewing the English-language production of Enjoy for the New York Times, noted that Okada can “capture the way hipsters talk in Williamsburg, as well as in Tokyo.” God Bless Baseball, on the other hand, is about the specificity and untranslatability of cultural contexts. This was not only his most political production to date, but also painfully straightforward with its metaphors. Halfway through the performance, one of the women (Wi) stated without irony that everything onstage was “an allegory of reality.” The God Bless Baseball program (2016) noted that this international collaborative project explores “the relationship between Korea and Japan and both countries’ positions within the international state of affairs.” The work was commissioned by the Asian Arts Theatre in Gwangju, Korea, where it premiered in September 2015, followed by a run in Tokyo and then the United States. Now is both a risky and opportune time to take up this subject, as animosity escalates between the two nations, due especially to both neoconservative governments’ disastrous foreign policies on issues such as territory disputes and reparations for Korean “comfort women.” Although baseball seems [End Page 226] Click for larger view View full resolution Figure 1. Projection screens displayed subtitles at all times in one of the two languages plus English. (Photo: Courtesy of the Japan Society) [End Page 227] at first to be a dubious entry point, the performance adopted the sport’s slow pace and rhythmic waltz of defense and offense to bring clarity to the historically stormy relationship between Japan and Korea. Perhaps because of foreign presences, Okada’s characters rambled less. Instead, they calmly exchanged stories about baseball culture and the professional leagues of the two countries. There was no dramatic conflict; the questions and answers came at a leisurely pace because there was not much else to do to pass the time, besides half-hearted swings at practice throws and walks around the miniature diamond marked in white tape on the bare stage. (The only other set element was a large white installation suspended in the air upstage.) As they meandered, the characters...