The Behavioural Response of Australian Fur Seals to Motor Boat Noise

Australian fur seals breed on thirteen islands located in the Bass Strait, Australia. Land access to these islands is restricted, minimising human presence but boat access is still permissible with limitations on approach distances. Thirty-two controlled noise exposure experiments were conducted on breeding Australian fur seals to determine their behavioural response to controlled in-air motor boat noise on Kanowna Island (39°10′S, 146°18′E). Our results show there were significant differences in the seals' behaviour at low (64–70 dB) versus high (75–85 dB) sound levels, with seals orientating themselves towards or physically moving away from the louder boat noise at three different sound levels. Furthermore, seals responded more aggressively with one another and were more alert when they heard louder boat noise. Australian fur seals demonstrated plasticity in their vocal responses to boat noise with calls being significantly different between the various sound intensities and barks tending to get faster as the boat noise got louder. These results suggest that Australian fur seals on Kanowna Island show behavioural disturbance to high level boat noise. Consequently, it is recommended that an appropriate level of received boat sound emissions at breeding fur seal colonies be below 74 dB and that these findings be taken into account when evaluating appropriate approach distances and speed limits for boats

What surgeons want in operating rooms

The wishes of surgeons for their operating rooms (ORs) are similar in principle to those of other workers for their work place - to be able to do their work accurately, productively, safely, and with satisfaction. To determine these wishes 40 Australian surgeons were asked what changes they would like in their operating rooms. From their responses there were 349 separate comments defined. Each comment was labeled with a keyword which was used to sort them into categories using a spreadsheet. Within each category labels were modified as appropriate and sorting was repeated several times until the groupings appeared stable. Feedback was sought from participants after circulating the collated results by email. Not surprisingly, there were problems in many areas - equipment, lighting and OR planning. Altogether there were 36 different categories of comment, with half of them having six or fewer respondents. The analysis clarified the problems of surgeons, and yielded some that were not expected. The results provide a useful tool for informing equipment designers and administrators of necessary changes. Further research with a larger number of subjects, and perhaps a prompt list, may yield additional significant information

A checklist for components of operating room suites

Planning an operating room (OR) is a complex process, and it is common to find that essential items are overlooked. A checklist may be one measure for preventing this. An example of this is presented.M. Patki

Surgical heuristics

Journal compilation © 2008 Royal Australasian College of SurgeonsHeuristics are rules of thumb. Rarely described in surgical or other publications, they are an essential part of safe and expert performance. This study translates such implicit or procedural knowledge into explicit or declarative knowledge, with a view to improving both training and retraining of surgeons in the steps of dissection. Tools used include ordinary observation accompanied by introspection, and study of operative videos. Validation of the value of such heuristics is yet to be achieved

Gripping the difficult gall bladder during laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Journal compilation © 2009 Royal Australasian College of SurgeonsGrasping a tense, inflamed gall bladder during laparoscopic cholecystectomy for acute cholecystitis is often a problem. Although many surgeons have developed techniques to deal with this, the published work lacks information about how to manage this problem. To collate experience about how to deal with this we interviewed 20 experienced Australian surgeons and compiled a repertoire of tactics that might help deal with this clinical situation. Most surgeons indicated that they deflated the gall bladder using a needle and suction as a preliminary step. Most respondents also described the use of a specific type of forceps for the task. Various manoeuvres, such as displacement of the gall bladder with forceps, dislodging an impacted stone to make it easier to grasp, the use of a retraction suture through the gall bladder were described. The various tactics are summarized in the paper. A range of strategies applied by experienced surgeons for the task of gripping a difficult gall bladder has been documented in this paper. The variety of approaches suggests that surgeons should be prepared to flexibly apply different approaches to this task.Michael Patkin and David I. Watso