Writing in the Guardian, (Nobel prize winner) Schekman raises serious concerns over some journals’ practices and calls on others in the scientific community to take action. “I have published in the big brands, including papers that won me a Nobel prize. But no longer,” he writes. “Just as Wall Street needs to break the hold of […]
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Beware evidence-based evangelists
A colleague recently sent me a link to this piece in JAMA by RS Braithwaite, MD, MS that cautions against placing too much weight on some ‘evidence based’ decisions. When the term became popular (was it really 20 years ago) I often referred to many of its more vocal proponents as evangelists. I still think […]
12 o’clock boys
There is a documentary that premiered at the South by Southwest film festival in the United States about a renegade dirt bike group in Baltimore city called the 12 o’clock boys, a group that I saw riding around when I lived in Baltimore during my graduate studies. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/03/opinion/riding-with-the-12-oclock-boys.html?_r=0 I haven’t had an opportunity to see […]
Children again bearing the brunt of an internal conflict: Are enough regional resources available for advocacy to prevent conflict-related injuries?
Oxford Research Group, UK claims that more than 11 000 children have died as a result of the recent internal conflict in Syria – a conflict which thus far has resulted in more than hundred thousand deaths and over 2 million people displaced. [Link to news post: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-25055956]. The statistics collected by Oxford Research Group, UK […]
More on driving safety measures in Quebec
Perhaps it is because Quebec has no-fault car insurance – another of those wicked socialist ideas in the view of some of my American friends – but on many road safety matters it leads the pack in Canada. For much of Montreal, we still have no right turns on red lights or stop signs and […]
Public and political perception of risk: Injury prevention implications
Unfortunately in Australia in the last week, two men have died as a result of shark bites. The media response, which by no means is unique in these cases, has been overwhelming, with responses ranging from the call to kill the offending sharks (despite protestations of the family, for example see http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-12-01/search-for-shark-that-killed-bodyboarder-zac-young/5127228), and increasing the range of shark netting […]
Being king-hit: There is nothing “royal” about it
Following on from Monday’s blog re: glassing and mugging, today I would like to comment on another behaviour of concern for injury prevention: the king-hit. The king-hit has featured widely in recent Australian media, with newspaper coverage of the court trial of a young man accused of king-hitting a tourist in our nation’s capital emerging just four hours ago […]
Choking: Super scary when you are the victim
Today I am writing more of a sharing-scary-experience blog, and some of my findings after a quick stickybeak on the internet. Last night with my evening meal, I had corn as one of my 2-and-5 (for those outside Australia, a public health promotion encourages each Australian to eat two serves of fruit and five serves […]
Glassing and ‘mugging’: Sensational media or a huge problem for injury prevention?
Glassing – that is, assault with a glass implement – often involves an assailant smashing a glass into someone’s face, at which point the glass shatters and the victim is cut by the glass shards. In Australia, popular media has paid much attention to this issue, possibly in part due to the sensational nature of the […]
Irate rider’s bicycle safety update
As faithful readers will know, I am a long time cyclist, and a confirmed helmet wearer. I am even included among the many who have been ‘doored’ and I used a photo of my bloodied face in an editorial many years ago to promote helmet use. I recently wrote about the tragic deaths of several […]