Violent Trauma Research Articles

TheBal des Ardents(1393), Thomas of Woodstock (1397), and Richard II (1400): Three Medieval Conspiracy Rumours and the Scots’ Mine Play (1608)

Assassination vehicles in Elizabethan and Jacobean tragedies sometimes involve meta-theatrical court festival massacres: court performances embedded within full-length drama, resulting in violent death or trauma to characters in the play. During his career as a playwright (c. 1600-08), John Marston pioneered the masquerade-within as a popular subcategory of court festival massacre. Were such underhand festival appropriations wholly inspired by stage precedents? Or did they also occur in real life? Whether its deaths were accidental or resulted from a botched assassination plot, the 1393 Bal des Ardents was hugely culturally and politically influential. My researches identify the conspiracy rumours encouraged in the wake of the 1393 Paris disaster and two English conspiracies of 1397 and 1400 linked to court festivals, as key to a fresh approach to the meta-theatrical court festival massacre, and to interpretation of two plays traditionally discussed together, which refer to these English conspiracies, Shakespeare’s Richard II and the anonymous Thomas of Woodstock. My analysis supports a post-Elizabethan dating of Woodstock, and encourages the hypothesis that it could be the so-called Scots’ Mine Play of 1608, the lost Jacobean play thought by some to have ended Marston’s career as a playwright.

Cultural Trauma, Prophetic Discourse and the Sack of Rome in 1527

The aim of this article is to shed new light on the relationship between catastrophic historical events, cultural trauma and prophetic discourse, by making use of both historical and sociological analytical models. For this purpose, an exemplary case study has been found in the horrible and devastating sack of Rome in 1527. The destruction of Rome had been prophesied countless times, and in 1527 these prophecies seemed to have come true. How, then, did the prophetic discourse influence the ways in which the traumatic violence and breakdown of social order were perceived, experienced and remembered by various contemporaries? To answer this question, combining historical and sociological models in an original way, I will argue that trauma can—with great reward—be studied as a cultural construct, in which prophetic discourse can be interpreted as a template for framing the traumatic experience into a narrative.

When wounds travel

This article explores trauma as a form of ‘social wound’, entrenched in the intersections of local histories and social experiences of violence and displacement. Building on ethnographic accounts of displacement of Iraqis in Lebanon in the wake of the US occupation of Iraq (2003–2011), I ask: what happens when wounds travel across different social worlds and local histories of violence? The account presented tells the story of Hussein, an Iraqi refugee who escaped Iraq during the height of sectarian violence (2006–2007) and claimed asylum status as a torture victim in Lebanon. For displaced people like Hussein, the experiences of violence and uprooting were amplified by the uncertainties of everyday life in Beirut. His case shows that the selective sorting of refugees around questions of vulnerability and victimhood weaves further tensions into the social fabric of displaced peoples and their host communities. In contexts of layered histories of war, violence, displacement, and humanitarian interventions, which characterize much of the Middle East, wounds constitute the interstitial tissue of the social; they are what brings people together and what sets them apart. An ethnography of such ‘travelling wounds’ might account for the complex ways that discourses of trauma and histories of violence unravel in everyday encounters.

Providing surgery in a war-torn context: the Médecins Sans Frontières experience in Syria.

BackgroundSince 2011, civil war has crippled Syria leaving much of the population without access to healthcare. Various field hospitals have been clandestinely set up to provide basic healthcare but few have been able to provide quality surgical care. In 2012, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) began providing surgical care in the Jabal al-Akrad region of north-western Syria. Based on the MSF experience, we describe, for the period 5th September 2012 to 1st January 2014: a) the volume and profile of surgical cases, b) the volume and type of anaesthetic and surgical procedures performed, and c) the intraoperative mortality rate.MethodsA descriptive study using routinely collected MSF programme data. Quality surgical care was assured through strict adherence to the following minimum standards: adequate infrastructure, adequate water and sanitation provisions, availability of all essential disposables, drugs and equipment, strict adherence to hygiene requirements and universal precautions, mandatory use of sterile equipment for surgical and anaesthesia procedures, capability for blood transfusion and adequate human resources.ResultsDuring the study period, MSF operated on 578 new patients, of whom 57 % were male and median age was 25 years (Interquartile range: 21–32 years). Violent trauma was the most common surgical indication (n-254, 44 %), followed by obstetric emergencies (n-191, 33 %) and accidental trauma (n-59, 10 %). In total, 712 anaesthetic procedures were performed. General anaesthesia without intubation was the most common type of anaesthesia (47 % of all anaesthetics) followed by spinal anaesthesia (25 %). A total of 831 surgical procedures were performed, just over half being minor/wound care procedures and nearly one fifth, caesarean sections. There were four intra-operative deaths, giving an intra-operative mortality rate of 0.7 %.ConclusionsSurgical needs in a conflict-afflicted setting like Syria are high and include both combat and non-combat indications, particularly obstetric emergencies. Provision of quality surgical care in a complex and volatile setting like this is possible providing appropriate measures, supported by highly experienced staff, can be implemented that allow a specific set of minimum standards of care to be adhered to. This is particularly important when patient outcomes - as a reflection of quality of care - are difficult to assess.

The Effects of Perceived Social Support, Decentering, Meaning in Life on PostTraumatic Growth: among Sexual Violence Trauma Center Workers Who experienced Vicarious Trauma

The Effects of Perceived Social Support, Decentering, Meaning in Life on PostTraumatic Growth: among Sexual Violence Trauma Center Workers Who experienced Vicarious Trauma

The Chinese American Miracle: An Interview with Anchee Min

Anchee Min made her literary debut in 1994 with a memoir titled Red Azalea , which told the story of her growing up in China during the violent trauma of the Cultural Revolution. Her new memoir, The Cooked Seed , released on 7 May 2013, picks up her story of leaving the shocking deprivations of her homeland to arrive in Chicago without language, money, or a clear path. During the last thirty years in the United States, as she painstakingly taught herself English, Min found her literary voice and established herself as a best-selling writer. In addition to her two memoirs, she has published six novels, many about important women and key events in Chinese history. Anchee Min was born in Shanghai on 14 January 1957. The oldest of four children, she grew up during Chairman Mao Zedong’s rule over Communist China, which began in 1949 and lasted until his death in 1976. Her parents were teachers who, as Min writes in Red Azalea , “believed in Mao and the Communist Party, just like everybody else in the neighborhood.” Min describes herself in her first memoir as “an adult since the age of five” (3). She was in charge of her younger siblings and had no options other than to do well at school and distinguish herself as a young Communist, which she did, even publicly shaming one of her favorite schoolteachers. As a result of this revolutionary act, at seventeen Min was sent to work at the Red Fire Farm labor camp near the East China Sea. After three years, she was cast in a propaganda film produced by Mao’s wife, Jiang Qing, who was known as Madame Mao. Chairman Mao died before the film was completed, and Min was labeled a political outcast by association and forced to work menially for the film studio. She was determined to flee China for the United States, which she did successfully on 31 August 1984 with the help of a Chinese friend, actress Joan Chen, who was already in the country.

Trauma and stigma: The long-term effects of wartime violence on political attitudes

How does wartime violence affect public attitudes toward the government in the long run? In this paper, we examine whether violence against civilians during the Korean War continues to influence people’s attitudes toward the South Korean government more than half a century later. We find that wartime violence has clear long-term attitudinal effects. Using a difference-in-differences analysis that compares the cohorts born before and after the war, the findings indicate that people who experienced violence in their childhood (0–5 years) are less supportive of the South Korean government, especially the administration and the military, compared with those born in the same areas during the 5 years after the war. We argue that the gap between pre- and post-war cohorts is generated by the long-lasting trauma of wartime violence and the social stigma imposed on violence victims after the war.

Baltimore Health Department Helps Affected Citizens After Riots

Baltimore Health Department Helps Affected Citizens After Riots

Violence and Trophy Taking: A Case Study of Head and Neck Trauma in Two Individuals from the Gant Site (3MS11)

AbstractIn collaboration with Carrie V. Wilson, Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990 (NAGPRA) Director for the Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma, researchers at Indiana University undertook a comprehensive study of NAGPRA collections from the Gant site (3MS11), a pre‐Columbian village site in Mississippi County, Arkansas. Following non‐destructive, macroscopic analysis of skeletal material, evidence of violent trauma was identified in two young adult men from the site. In one individual, the trauma was likely perimortem, and the morphology and distribution of lesions were found to be consistent with trophy taking documented in the ethnohistory and archaeology of the region. In the second individual, the trauma was survived, indicated by lesions attributed to healing on the occipital squama and hyoid. The relationship between the violence identified in this study and other violence in the archaeological and ethnohistoric record of the region is discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A review of quantitative studies of South African youth resilience: Some gaps

Resilience (positive adjustment to hardship) relies on a socioecologically facilitated process in which individuals navigate towards, and negotiate for, health-promoting resources, and their social ecology, in return, provides support in culturally aligned ways (Ungar, Trauma Violence & Abuse 2013;14(3):255–266). In the light of international critiques of the conceptualisation and measurement of resilience, the aim of this study was to systematically review quantitative studies of South African youth resilience in order to consider to what extent such studies failed to address documented critique (Luthar et al., Child Development 2000;71(3):543–562). We argue that, for the most part, quantitative studies of South African youth resilience did not mirror international developments of understanding resilience as a complex socioecologically facilitated process. Furthermore, the majority of reviewed studies lacked a culturally or contextually sound measurement and contained conflicting operationalisations of resilience-related constructs. Essentially, the results of this study call for quantitative studies that will statistically explain the complex dynamic resiliencesupporting transactions between South African youth and their contexts and guide mental health practitioners and service providers towards more precise explanations and promotion of resilience in South African youth.

Trauma and Stigma: The Long-Term Effects of Wartime Violence on Political Attitudes

How does wartime violence affect public attitudes toward the government in the long run? In this paper, we examine whether violence against civilians during the Korean War continues to influence people’s attitudes toward the South Korean government more than half a century later. We find that wartime violence has clear long-term attitudinal effects. Using a difference-in-differences (DID) analysis that compares the cohorts born before and after the war, the findings indicate that people who experienced violence in their childhood (0- 5 years) are less supportive of the South Korean government, especially the administration and the military, compared to those born in the same areas during the 5 years after the war. We argue that the gap between pre- and post-war cohorts is generated by the long-lasting trauma of wartime violence and the social stigma imposed on violence victims after the war.

Mothers Are Not Obtainable with Magic: The Uncanny and the Construction of Orphan Children's Desires in Yim Pil-Sung's Hansel and Gretel

Employing the main motifs of the Grimms' version, Yim Pil-Sung's Hansel and Gretel explores the trauma that three orphans suffered in their experiences at an orphanage. The orphans' circumstances represent the symbolic dimensions of desertion, isolation and deprivation, while the children are also provided with extraordinary magic power. This dual construction of the orphans' situation generates the uncanny, which reveals something hidden underneath what is seen on the surface. What is buried is the trauma of abandonment and violence, and the ‘Happy Children's Home’ in the forest is where all the main characters face their traumatic past. The uncanny is also created by the children's surprising and thus disturbing power, which subverts the normal and familiar reality by which adults usually hold power over children. The children's power is ironic, in that it is unlimited to satisfy their material deprivation, yet so powerless and limited in that it cannot provide them with their ultimate need – parental love. While this film seems to construct the orphans' absolute need of parental love and the damage to their personalities without it, it is also a thought-provoking metaphor about the long journey of recovery from repressed childhood trauma.

Bilateral acetabular fracture. Two case reports with literature review

Bilateral acetabular fractures represent a challenge, even for experienced Orthopedic surgeons .We present two patients who had an isolated acetabular bilateral fracture, following a violent trauma caused by a traffic accident, which were treated in our department .The treatment strategy is planned by a team of surgeons. After a proper preoperative preparation and using a surgical treatment by postero-lateral Moore and Kocher-Langenbeck approach with internal fixation. Our clinical and radiological results were very satisfying.

Intentional injury and violence in Cape Town, South Africa: an epidemiological analysis of trauma admissions data

BackgroundInjury is a truly global health issue that has enormous societal and economic consequences in all countries. Interpersonal violence is now widely recognized as important global public health issues that can be addressed through evidence-based interventions. In South Africa, as in many low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), a lack of ongoing, systematic injury surveillance has limited the ability to characterize the burden of violence-related injury and to develop prevention programmes.ObjectiveTo describe the profile of trauma presenting to the trauma centre of Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa – relating to interpersonal violence, using data collected from a newly implemented surveillance system. Particular emphasis was placed on temporal aspects of injury epidemiology, as well as age and sex differentiation.DesignData were collected prospectively using a standardized trauma admissions form for all patients presenting to the trauma centre. An epidemiological analysis was conducted on 16 months of data collected from June 2010 to October 2011.ResultsA total of 8445 patients were included in the analysis, in which the majority were violence-related. Specifically, 35% of records included violent trauma and, of those, 75% of victims were male. There was a clear temporal pattern: a greater proportion of intentional injuries occur during the night, while unintentional injury peaks late in the afternoon. In total, two-third of all intentional trauma is inflicted on the weekends, as is 60% of unintentional trauma. Where alcohol was recorded in the record, 72% of cases involved intentional injury. Sex was again a key factor as over 80% of all records involving alcohol or substance abuse were associated with males. The findings highlighted the association between violence, young males, substance use, and weekends.ConclusionsThis study provides the basis for evidence-based interventions to reduce the burden of intentional injury. Furthermore, it demonstrates the value of locally appropriate, ongoing, systematic public health surveillance in LMIC.

Cannabis use and violence in three remote Aboriginal Australian communities: Analysis of clinic presentations

Anecdotal reports have linked cannabis use to violence in some remote Australian Aboriginal communities. We examine the relationship between cannabis use and presentations to local clinics for violence-related trauma at a population level. As part of a larger study, estimates of cannabis and alcohol use status were obtained for 264 randomly selected individuals aged 14-42. These estimates were collected from Aboriginal health workers and respected community informants using a previously validated approach. Clinic records for the sample were audited for physical trauma presentations between January 2004 and June 2006. One in 3 individuals (n = 88/264) presented to the clinic with physical trauma. Of these, the majority (65.9%, n = 58/88) had at least one presentation that was violence-related. Nearly 2 in every 3 of the total presentations for trauma following violence (n = 40/63) involved the use of a weapon. Hunting tools were most often used, followed by wooden or rock implements. Individuals who reported any current cannabis use were nearly 4 times more likely than nonusers to present at least once for violent trauma after adjusting for current alcohol use, age, and sex (OR = 3.8, 95% CI [1.5, 9.8]). Aboriginal individuals in these remote communities experience high rates of physical trauma and violence, often involving weapons. A comprehensive study is needed to explore the association between cannabis and violence. At the same time, an investment in local programmes is needed to address cannabis use and underlying risk factors for substance use and for violence.

Community and art: creative education fostering resilience through art

While creativity is discussed as a core competence for talented people around the world in the twenty-first century, its exhibition is determined by one’s character. Creativity and character education, therefore, should not be considered as separate matters, but the systematically related matters, and exhibition of creativity, can be carried away by character. The purpose of this study is to apply community-based education through art to elementary school students in an effort to enable the learners to experience the cultural facilities of their community and to cultivate their creativity and personality, thus fostering resilience in the face of the trauma of school violence. This study focuses on the importance of the experience of creating art, which can contribute to the building of a happy and safe school environment and to the cultural development of the community. First, school violence and trauma are initially investigated based on a literature review. Second, I discuss the important role of art projects to promote creativity and foster resilience. Third, community-based art education is developed and applied to elementary school students. Finally, it is concluded that community-based art education can encourage adolescents to cultivate a healthy personality and good creativity, ultimately helping them to become well-rounded. The development of practical community-based convergence education through art can contribute to establishing a happy school culture by promoting creativity and fostering resilience to the trauma of school violence.

Criminal Behavior and Repeat Violent Trauma: A Case-Control Study.

Repeat violent injury is common among young urban men and is increasingly a focus of trauma center-based injury prevention efforts. Though understanding risk factors for repeat violent injury may be critical in designing such interventions, this knowledge is limited. This study aims to determine which criminal behaviors, both before and after the initial trauma, predict repeat violent trauma. Gun, violent, and drug crimes are expected to increase risk of subsequent violent injury among victims of violence. A case-control design examined trauma registry and publicly available criminal data for all male patients aged <40 years presenting for violent trauma between April 2006 and December 2011 (N=1,142) to the sole Level 1 trauma center in a city with high rates of violence. Logistic regression was used to determine criminal behaviors predictive of repeat violent injury. Data were obtained and analyzed between January 2013 and June 2014. Regarding crimes committed before the first injury, only drug crime (OR=5.32) predicted repeat violent trauma. With respect to crimes committed after the initial injury, illegal gun possession (OR=2.70) predicted repeat victimization. Initiating gun (OR=3.53) or drug crime (OR=5.12) was associated with increased risk. Prior drug involvement may identify young male victims of violence as at high risk of repeat violent injury. Gun carrying and initiating drug involvement after the initial injury may increase risk of repeat injury and may be important targets for interventions aimed at preventing repeat violent trauma.

Avoidance as an obstacle to preventing depression among urban women at high risk for violent trauma.

The impact of depression interventions is often attenuated in women who have experienced trauma. We explored whether psychological avoidance could explain this phenomenon. We synthesized two pilot randomized trials of problem-solving education (PSE) among a total of 93 urban mothers. Outcomes included depressive symptoms and perceived stress. Mothers with avoidant coping styles experienced an average 1.25 episodes of moderately severe depressive symptoms over 3 months of follow-up, compared to 0.40 episodes among those with non-avoidant coping (adjusted incident rate ratio [aIRR] 2.18; 95 % CI 1.06, 4.48). PSE tended to perform better among mothers with non-avoidant coping. Among mothers with non-avoidant coping, PSE mothers experienced an average 0.24 episodes, compared to 0.58 episodes among non-avoidant controls (aIRR 0.27; 95 % CI 0.05, 1.34). Among mothers with avoidant coping, PSE mothers experienced an average 1.26 episodes, compared to 1.20 episodes among avoidant controls (aIRR 0.76; 95 % CI 0.44, 1.33). This trend toward differential impact persisted when avoidance was measured as a problem-solving style and among traumatized mothers with and without avoidant PTSD symptoms. Further research is warranted to explore the hypothesis that psychological avoidance could explain why certain depression treatment and prevention strategies break down in the presence of trauma.

Elder Abuse: Evaluating the Potentials and Problems of Diagnosis in the Archaeological Record

AbstractThe elderly are the most neglected demographic in archaeology. In today's youth‐obsessed society, the elderly are consistently denigrated, particularly those perceived to be physically or mentally frail. A related and growing concern in contemporary populations is the physical abuse of the elderly, believed to be an escalating phenomenon. This study is the first to examine the risk factors, social context and patterns of trauma associated with elder abuse in the present, with the aim of providing diagnostic criteria to apply to past societies. The utility of skeletal evidence in the identification of violent trauma has been detailed in cases of child and intimate partner abuse, both modern and archaeological. Investigating the skeletal evidence for elder abuse is potentially more complex because of the confounding physiological effects of the ageing process, lack of clinical research and contemporary ageist attitudes towards older people. Within the clinical and bioarchaeological literature, there has been a tendency to dismiss injuries in older individuals as the product of accident or opportunistic violence. A proportion of elder members of past societies is likely to have been victims of abuse and family violence. While there are no pathognomonic skeletal features of elder abuse, multiple injuries to the bones of the following are indicative: cranium, maxilla‐facial region, dentition, cervical vertebrae, clavicles, ribs and spiral fractures to the humeri. Attention is also drawn to decubiti as indirect skeletal indicators of immobility and possibly neglect. Archaeological context is important to consider, including non‐normative burials or those indicating social marginalisation. Bioarchaeological evidence has the potential to provide a long‐term perspective on the care and treatment of past elders. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Isolated Carpal Dislocation Of The Trapezium

ABSTRACT Trapezium fractures and dislocations of the trapezium are both extremely rare injuries whether they occured with or without fractures of the surrounding bones. Specific radiological images can be difficult to help for the diagnosis. CT scan may be necessary for the diagnosis and adequate treatment. We are presenting an unusual case of volar and radial isolated trapezium dislocation concomitant second metacarpal basis fracture in which is treated by using open reduction and Kirschner wire fixation. In our case, isolated dislocation of trapezium was a result of violent and direct trauma. Different techniques have been proposed to achieve a stable fixation and the treatment outcomes. In our case, open reduction, Kirschner wire fixation and intercarpal ligament repair through dorsal approach are recommended for satisfactory outcomes in similiar cases.