Introducing the notion of social context of collective trauma to ESTSS

Living amidst war and mass suffering while grasping the opportunity for professional growth, intertwined into my life perspective. Along the years, ESTSS provided a backdrop for my contacts with mental health colleagues from whom I learned, and among whom many became my friends. These rich experiences guided me towards promoting awareness within ESTSS of the importance of social context in which healing of traumatized populations is expected to progress. Each incident of organized violence leaves behind new scores of traumatized individuals and family members, among whom many will need support that may stretch their resources beyond reasonable limits. We need to acknowledge the hindering effects of living in such a social context and that many people that we meet as professionals may carry the burden of unresolved trauma, which should not go by unattended

Impact of displacement on the psychological wellbeing of refugee children

The war-related stress had a negative impact on the psychological well-being of all children in Croatia, but displaced and refugee children were especially affected. Although refugee children showed impressive resilience, particular attention should be devoted to children who had traumatic experiences immediately prior to displacement. These children either lived without their parents or with parents who had poor coping abilities while displaced; lived in families that had accumulated several stressful experiences; or were housed in large collective refugee centers. The children that had poorer coping capacities and lacked a supportive family environment displayed high levels of stress-related symptomatology throughout the entire refugee period, being at special risk for the development of further psychological difficulties. The findings reported in this study are the result of a five-year follow-up of the same group of refugee children. Data about children's coping abilities with displacement were obtained primarily from mothers and the children themselves

Cost of construction and specialist works for office-residential buildings

U radu je prikazano kretanje cijena građevinsko-obrtničkih radova stambeno-poslovnih građevina. Analizom su obuhvaćeni troškovnici građevinsko-obrtničkih radova pri izgradnji stambeno-poslovnih građevina u Republici Hrvatskoj. Ustanovljeno je da većinu troškova izgradnje takvih građevina čini petnaestak stavaka, te je daljnja obrada usmjerena na te stavke. Dobiveni podaci su statistički obrađeni i uspoređeni s podacima iz biltena Standardna kalkulacija radova u visokogradnji.Price variations of construction and specialist/finishing works for office-residential buildings is presented in the paper. The analysis is based on cost estimates for construction and finishing of office-residential buildings in the Republic of Croatia. It was established that most costs relating to construction of such buildings are covered by some fifteen items, which is why subsequent analysis was focused on these specific items. Data obtained during the analysis were statistically analyzed and compared with data contained in the Standard Calculation of Building Construction Works

Is there Anything Good about the COVID-19 Pandemic? Perceptions of the Positive Consequences at the Beginning of the Pandemic

The aim of this paper was to investigate the experience of possible positive consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and their connection with indicators of mental health and well-being, and to identify themes by which people describe the positive consequences of the pandemic. As part of a broader longitudinal project, participants completed a comprehensive online survey on various aspects of the pandemic. This paper presents the results obtained from 1,201 adult participants (50.1% women) on a quantitative measure of the experienced positive consequences, and on the qualitative answers to an open question about the positive aspects of the pandemic. The quantitative measure was created for the purposes of this research. Measures of sociodemographic factors, mental health (DASS-21) and well-being (WHO-5) were also used. The results show that participants experience positive consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic through three factors: Awareness of life values, More time for oneself, and New job opportunities. Awareness of life values was ranked as the most important, then More time for oneself, and finally New job opportunities. Participants who were more aware of these three aspects of the positive effects of COVID-19 also showed significantly greater subjective well-being and resilience, while associations with depression, anxiety, and stress were negligible or low. Women were more aware of changes in their life values than men, while men had a greater experience of new job opportunities. The results of the qualitative responses show that 83.4% of participants recognised some form of positive consequences of the pandemic on their lives, on the lives of other people, and on society. Analyses revealed seven themes: better family relationships, reflection and personal growth, social well-being, digitalisation of work and education, improved personal life, environmental effects, and competent pandemic management. Together, the results point to the importance of thinking about and exploring positive consequences of crisis events in the context of individual resilience and well-being

Analiza proizvodnje u tvornici proizvoda za odvodnju i kanalizaciju

U ovom radu analizirana je proizvodnja u tvornici proizvoda za odvodnju i kanalizaciju. Detaljno su opisani svi proizvodi (cijevi i cijevni sustavi), tvornica, te proizvodni program tvrtke Krah d.o.o. Razmotrena su i moguća unapređenja u daljnjem razvoju proizvodnje, kao što su pojava 3D printera, razvitak tzv. „pametnih cijevi“ i otkriće polietilena s boljim svojstvima

Social Contexts of Trauma and Healing

The social contexts in which the mass trauma of thousands of people occur and in which their recovery should progress have qualities that distinguish it in important ways from individualised trauma in which a person is a victim of a violent attack, rape or a traffic accident. Organised violence, such as wars, oppression by dictatorships and massive terrorist attacks are extreme cases in which hundreds or thousands of people are exposed to trauma in a short period of time. As such, it has multiple consequences that extend beyond the affected individuals and the symptoms they suffer. Although the symptoms may be similar, the social contexts in which individual victimisation and exposure to organised violence happen are very different. The social milieu in which the survivors of individual trauma and survivors of mass trauma are embedded is likewise different, with important consequences for recovery. Understanding the social context of the trauma helps create the right social intervention for healing at social and personal levels

Analiza otrova poskoka (V. ammodytes a) dvostrukom difuzijom

The results of double diffusion analysis of the native and dialyzed Ammodytes viper venom are presented. It is found that a group of antigens was lost from the native venom during dialysis procedure, another group being insoluble in distilled water was eliminated from the aqueous venom solution by filtration. The approximative number and characteristics of precipitation lines produced by the native venom or isolated venom fractions with the immune horse serum in agar-gel are reported.Izvedena je imunoprecipitaciona difusiona analiza toksina poskoka (Vipera ammodytes a.) u agar gelu (Sl. 1). Antigeni upotrebljeni u eksperimentima bili su: (1) sirovi otrov poskoka, antigeni otrova koji ne difundiraju kroz celofansku membranu (2), u vodi topivi dio (3), te u dejoniziranoj vodi netopivi antigeni iz nativnog otrova (4). Kao antivenin (S23) upotrebljen je koncentrirani imuni konjski serum. Iz rezultata difuzione analize vidi se, da se jedna grupa antigena (d) sirovog otrova gubi iz vodene otopine u toku dijalize, dok se iz dijaliziranog otrova mogu filtracijom odstraniti u vodi netopivi antigeni (i). Određen je približni broj precipitacionih linija odnosno antigenih komponenata u nativnom otrovu i iz njega izoliranim frakcijama

Development of evaluation indicators in psychosocial projects: balance between a creative challenge and research rigor

Evaluation of psychosocial and community oriented projects includes a series of procedures to determine if project outcomes are achieved by an activity planned to help reach an individual or socially relevant goal. Typically, various stakeholders have an interest in evaluation of psychosocial projects. These may include project staff and manager, donors, authorities, beneficiaries and the community. Sometimes their interest in evaluation seems to be in conflict, but clarification of interests can lead to complementary positions. Evaluation is basically a decision making tool about the future of a project. The basic assumption in evaluation is that it should identify observable or measurable outcomes (consequences, results) that can be used to demonstrate that the project is reaching the goal and objectives. One of the crucial elements in this process are evaluation indicators which need to satisfy several universal criteria, while their specific content and data collection method should reflect the specifics of the project under evaluation