The 9 th London Trauma Conference (#LTC2015) and London Cardiac Arrest Symposium (#LCAS2015) built on the previous meetings with an emphasis on innovation, research, and enthusiasm for the medical care of major trauma, cardiac and critically ill patients. From the 8-11th December 2015 delegates from over 20 countries attended The Royal Geographical Society for the four days of the conference. The opening two days of the conference focussed on current issues in major trauma, with air ambulance and pre-hospital critical care on day three, and the London cardiac arrest symposium returning as the fourth and final day. Concurrent breakaway sessions ran alongside the main conference including; trauma haemorrhage research, paediatric trauma, and masterclasses on cardiac ultrasound and resuscitation, thoracotomy, REBOA, and an introduction to ECLS and ECMO. The major trauma programme consisted of two days of lectures, keynote lectures and short 'quickfire' sessions. Professor Tim Coats opened the conference by talking about the role of the highly performing trauma unit in trauma networks -outlining the problems of maintaining high levels of care in systems which increasingly bypass to major trauma centres but bring severely injured irregularly to trauma units. Professor Kjetil Søreide then addressed the topic of iatrogenesis in trauma, giving examples from different points in the patient pathway. The prevention of iatrogenesis is based on acceptance of it's presence and then promoting prevention with a culture of safety, training and focus on the team approach. Dr Matt Thomas finished up by summarising the landscape of research in trauma over the previous year, as well as outlining what can be expected in the year ahead. The following sessions approached key issues in neurotrauma, opened by a seasoned London Trauma Conference speaker Mr Mark Wilson. He spoke on current early neurological imaging, with mobile CT scanning already a reality in mainland Europe and the trialling of near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) as a potential pre-hospital imaging modality. Professor Geoffrey Raisman followed with a fascinating talk on spinal cord regeneration, outlining how nerve regeneration to replace damaged portions has already been trialled with some success. He related a moving case where olfactory nerve fibres were used to repair spinal cord injury with one of the ultimate medical triumphs -making a paraplegic patient walk again. Professor Andrew Maas then lectured expertly on why he sees head injury as a silent epidemic with potentially life-changing consequences. Dr Markus Skrifvars closed the session with a sobering presentation on the link between alcohol consumption and the vast number of traumatic brain-injured patients that are intoxicated when they present. Lunch was followed by Professor Karim Brohi, who delivered a talk on the early immune response to trauma and novel potential approaches to ameliorate this genomic storm. Other speakers in the afternoon included Professor Marc Turner delivering his vision for the trauma ...

This special issue of The Contemporary Pacific features a selection of artists and academics who have emerged in the wake of Albert Wendt’s pioneering (and occasionally polarizing) career as the Pacific’s most prominent poet, novelist, essayist, academic, and painter. The contributors conscientiously grapple with both the possibilities and the problematics that his work has opened up for them. Taken as a whole, this special issue marks out the space of a contemporary Oceanic imaginary and politics that our contributors have been able to discover, revisit, claim, contest, expand, and depart from—all as a direct consequence of Wendt’s having traveled there first. This introduction delineates the significance of Wendt’s critical and creative legacy in Oceania by providing a brief précis of Wendt’s literary, institutional, cultural, and political achievements. It articulates the vision of this collection: that our generation of artists and scholars, and subsequent generations of Pacific public intellectuals must begin or purposefully continue to (a) draw on both scholarship and art as equally valid sources of critical and creative perception for the consolidation and invigoration of social and political analysis in Oceania, and (b) foster a sense of intellectual history to successfully navigate the ongoing challenges of representation by and for the Pacific.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract