Social work on the edge: not knowing, singularity and acceptance

Social work has never been an easy task. Fraught with uncertainty, social workers are charged with making sense of the present and predicting the futures of people, places and events that represent perpetual possibility. As aspects of perception come into view, their appearance is shaped by structures and status states of individual and collective creation that afford security, yet limit and restrict. This conceptual paper explores the act of ‘knowing', considering it to be an active process, shaped by emotion and bound by contingent and expectant contexts that limit the possibilities of the future, through the collective self-imposition of ideas of knowing and of how the world works. It is suggested that emancipation from limited understandings and subjugated positions lies in an acceptance of that which cannot be known, together with an enhanced connection with who we are, enabled and supported by social work's core values. The paper's intent is to stimulate debate of an alternate future that enables and emboldens us to reach beyond organisational and self-imposed limitations that serve to reproduce disadvantage and social injustice. In doing so, it takes a reflective, psycho-social approach that offers a space for critical and transformative thought - the starting point for transformative, value-based, practice

Comparing the traditional and Multiple Mini Interviews in the selection of post-graduate medical trainees

Background: The traditional, panel style interview and the multiple mini interview (MMI) are two options to use in the selection of medical trainees with each interview format having inherent advantages and disadvantages. Our aim was to compare the traditional and MMI on the same cohort of postgraduate applicants to the Department of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery at the University of Toronto.Method: Twenty-seven applicants from the 2010 Canadian Residency Matching Service selected for interview at the University of Toronto, Department of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery were included in the study. Each applicant participated in both a traditional interview and MMI.Results:  Traditional interviews marked out of a total maximum score of 570.  On the traditional interview, scores ranged from 397-543.5 (69.6 - 95.3%), the mean was 460.2. The MMI maximum score was out of 180. MMI scores ranged from 93 – 146 (51.7 - 81.1%) with a mean of 114.8. Traditional interview total scores were plotted against MMI total scores. Scores correlated reasonably well, Pearson Correlation = 0.315 and is statistically significant at p = 0.001. Inter-interview reliability for the two interview methods was 0.038, with poor overall agreement 0.07%.Conclusions: MMI and traditional interview scores are correlated but do not reliably lead to the same rank order.  We have demonstrated that these two interview formats measure different characteristics.  One format may also be less reliable leading to greater variation in final rank.  Further validation research is certainly required.Key Words: Multiple mini interview; medical education; traditional interview; postgraduate admission

Comparing the traditional and Multiple Mini Interviews in the selection of post-graduate medical trainees

Background: The traditional, panel style interview and the multiple mini interview (MMI) are two options to use in the selection of medical trainees with each interview format having inherent advantages and disadvantages. Our aim was to compare the traditional and MMI on the same cohort of postgraduate applicants to the Department of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery at the University of Toronto.Method: Twenty-seven applicants from the 2010 Canadian Residency Matching Service selected for interview at the University of Toronto, Department of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery were included in the study. Each applicant participated in both a traditional interview and MMI.Results:  Traditional interviews marked out of a total maximum score of 570.  On the traditional interview, scores ranged from 397-543.5 (69.6 - 95.3%), the mean was 460.2. The MMI maximum score was out of 180. MMI scores ranged from 93 – 146 (51.7 - 81.1%) with a mean of 114.8. Traditional interview total scores were plotted against MMI total scores. Scores correlated reasonably well, Pearson Correlation = 0.315 and is statistically significant at p = 0.001. Inter-interview reliability for the two interview methods was 0.038, with poor overall agreement 0.07%.Conclusions: MMI and traditional interview scores are correlated but do not reliably lead to the same rank order.  We have demonstrated that these two interview formats measure different characteristics.  One format may also be less reliable leading to greater variation in final rank.  Further validation research is certainly required.Key Words: Multiple mini interview; medical education; traditional interview; postgraduate admission

The utilization of tilting-filter photometry in airglow and auroral research

This thesis describes the application of tilting-filter photometry to the study of the airglow and aurora. Previous South African photometric research is reviewed. Optical instrumentation and techniques used in airglow and auroral research are reviewed. The transmission characteristics of narrowband interference filters are discussed. The analogue meridian-scanning tilting-filter photometry system used at Sanae, Antarctica is described. Shortcomings of this system have been identified, and modifications have been made to improve its spatial and temporal resolution. Details are given of the computer-controlled digital photometry system which replaced the analogue system. Equations are derived for the conversion of raw photometric data (analogue chart deflections or digital photon counts) to absolute emission intensities. The accuracy of the intensities obtained depends on the absolute calibration of the photometer, the transmission characteristics of the filter used to isolate the spectral feature of interest, and the effects of atmospheric extinction and scattering. The influence of these factors on observed emission intensities is discussed. Various models used to determine atmospheric correction factors are reviewed. It is shown that atmospheric correction factors can have a significant effect on both emission intensities and intensity ratios. The procedure used to determine the transmission characteristics of interference filters is described, as is the procedure used to cross-calibrate secondary light sources. The transmission characteristics of the filters and the brightnesses of the light sources were both found to have changed appreciably with age. The observation of a magnetospheric substorm at Sanae (L ≃ 4) is used to illustrate the use of a meridian-scanning tilting-filter photometer system in auroral research. The ratio I(557.7)/ I(391.4) observed at Sanae was found to be lower than expected, as were the OJ airglow emission intensities. A prototype digital photometer system was used aboard a ship, to observe the airglow in the region of the South Atlantic Anomaly. Significant N₂⁺ lNG emissions at 391.4 nm were measured, confirming the presence of discernable particle precipitation in the region. The 0I557.7 and 630.0 nm intensities measured from the ship were found to be lower than expected. This, combined with low airglow and auroral intensities measured at Sanae, is a cause for concern. It is recommended that further checks be made regarding the brightness of the calibration sources

HCC incidence after hepatitis C cure among patients with advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis: A meta-analysis

Background and aims: HCV cure reduces but does not eliminate the risk of HCC. HCC surveillance is recommended in populations where the incidence exceeds 1.5% per year. In cirrhosis, HCC surveillance should continue after HCV cure, although it is uncertain if this should be indefinite. For patients with advanced fibrosis (F3), guidelines are inconsistent in their recommendations. We evaluated the incidence of HCC after HCV cure among patients with F3 fibrosis or cirrhosis. Approach and results: This systematic review and meta-analysis identified 44 studies (107,548 person-years of follow-up) assessing the incidence of HCC after HCV cure among patients with F3 fibrosis or cirrhosis. The incidence of HCC was 2.1 per 100 person-years (95% CI, 1.9-2.4) among patients with cirrhosis and 0.5 per 100 person-years (95% CI, 0.3-0.7) among patients with F3 fibrosis. In a meta-regression analysis among patients with cirrhosis, older age (adjusted rate ratio [aRR] per 10-year increase in mean/median age, 1.32; 95% CI, 1.00-1.73) and prior decompensation (aRR per 10% increase in the proportion of patients with prior decompensation, 1.06; 95% CI, 1.01-1.12) were associated with an increased incidence of HCC. Longer follow-up after HCV cure was associated with a decreased incidence of HCC (aRR per year increase in mean/median follow-up, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.79-0.96). Conclusions: Among patients with cirrhosis, the incidence of HCC decreases over time after HCV cure and is lowest in patients with younger age and compensated cirrhosis. The substantially lower incidence in F3 fibrosis is below the recommended threshold for cost-effective screening. The results should encourage the development of validated predictive models that better identify at-risk individuals, especially among patients with F3 fibrosis