Sculptures by the Sea and more on Lyssavirus

The Sculptures by the Sea complement the landscape.

I don’t know much about art, but I know I like public outdoor art exhibitions where dogs are welcome. And it turns out that Sculptures by the Sea is the world’s largest public outdoor art exhibition. So we travelled to Bondi Beach to view the sculptures there.

Phil wasn't sure about this one (Thomas Quale's "Comenavadrink and waddayalookinat".

Even without sculptures, the Bondi to Tamarama walk is stunning, especially early in the morning. And the thing we’ve discovered about sculptures is that once you start looking at them, every structure you come across on the bath seems like a sculpture. A simple rubbish bin between artworks prompts the question “is this a sculpture? What does it mean?”

Sculpture by Julie Collins and Derek John, "Evidence based research: crossing the line".

Unlike just about every other art exhibition I’ve been to, at Sculptures by the Sea, you don’t have to cloak your bag, photographs are encouraged and touching of works (at least some of them) expected.

Kerrie Argent's work, "Overconsumption" is meticulously constructed from bottle tops.

If you are in Sydney this weekend and looking for something nice to do, it’s well worth a visit – though I strongly recommend public transport or car pooling.

More information here.

Harrie Fisher, "Which way forward?"

In other news we were asked a question by Judy G about what to do if an animal is bitten or scratched by a bat. The NT’s Chief Veterinary Officer released information this week about Australian Bat Lyssavirus (ABL) being detected in the Northern Territory. I think the best resource (though NSW-centric) is the Department of Primary Industry’s guidelines (click here to view the PDF).

(One thing I found interesting is that the key differential diagnosis for bats showing clinical signs associated with ABL – seizures, tremors, paralysis, paresis, weakness, overt aggression, ground-dwelling or acting unusually – are rat lungworm and head trauma. Another reason for vets to be aware of rat lungworm infection).

Essentially if an animal is bitten or scratched by a bat, the bat – where possible – should be submitted for testing. If the body is NOT available for testing, vaccination of the animal against rabies is recommended. This is done under a permit system. The animal is also monitored for two years.

If an animal is bitten or scratched and the bat tests NEGATIVE, vaccination is not required. More details in the guidelines here. Excellent question!

Australian Bat Lyssavirus in the Northern Territory and Cat Protection releases information in Chinese

Take care when handling bats (and use gloves to minimise scratches)

The Chief Veterinary Officer of the Northern Territory, Dr Malcolm Anderson, announced that Australian Bat Lyssavirus (ABL) was detected in a fruit bat in Katherine in September last month.

It is only the second time ABL has been detected in the Territory (the first time was in 1997), although it is considered endemic throughout the Australian bat population. In Australia there have been three reported cases of ABL in humans, all fatal. Two cases have been reported in horses.

He reminded everyone that anyone handling or caring for bats should be vaccinated prior to exposure, and if you are scratched or bitten wash the wound thoroughly for at least FIVE MINUTES with soap and running water. Medical attention should then be sought immediately.

In the event that bat saliva contacts your mucous membranes (ie eyes, mouth, nose) flush the area with water and seek attention.

Anyone with this sort of contact should seek attention, whether vaccinated or not.

Finally, if the bat or bat’s body can be contained without putting yourself in further danger, put this in a box and contact the Centre for Disease Control or Department of Health in your area as the bat can be tested.

Further information is available here.

Meanwhile the Cat Protection Society of New South Wales has released an information sheet, in Chinese, about cat welfare and the benefits of desexing.

The project is the result of collaboration with University of Sydney Medica and Communications students Jiaying Zhou, Yunfei Qian and Xiaoqing Feng, and veterinarian Dr Eva Tang.

You can view and download the sheet here.

  

Dolphins visit Sydney

Bronte beach yesterday evening. Not exactly everyone's favourite beach weather but as it happened, the best time ever to go.

It has been a very busy week here at SAT HQ, research on two big projects is ramping up and the office, frankly, looks like a disaster zone. Yesterday, in an attempt to achieve work-life balance (bwahahaha) Phil and I went to meet up with a friend at Bronte Beach for a spot of fish and chips.

This dude wasn't camera shy. He's not posing either - he was checking out our chips.

We fought our way through peak hour traffic wondering if it were such a good idea to venture east.

It was a tad windy, a smidge overcast and a touch dark…on the up side it’s never been easier to score a park. Only the really hard-core, wet-suited surfers were braving the water.

And when we were sitting down enjoying potato scallops, we noted some action in the waves…a pod of dolphins rode in on the waves and played around in front of us.

This might be a good pic to zoom in on. I promise they are there.

Naturally I was under-lensed but just to prove it happened, here they are. Not being a beach-dweller and only visiting sporadically I’ve never seen dolphins visit a Sydney beach before. Spectacular.

Truly awesome.

Are you an elite performer?

Most Cavaliers aren't elite performers, but they can surprise you.

We’ve been doing some research on perfectionism and failure in veterinary students, and came across a fantastic paper entitled “Veterinary Students as Elite Performers” which provides insight into why the vet degree is so challenging.

But first this concept of veterinarians as elite performers. I tend to associate the word “elite” with the concept of an elite athlete. While there are many sporty vets around some of us (ahem) aren’t so gifted. Do you need to be a marathon runner or pole vaulter to be a good vet? [It would give you impressive stamina].

No. (Phew). What the authors mean is this:

“Elite performers are judged by proficiency standards, face performance consequences that may include loss of life for client or self, must have excellent coping skills for unanticipated situations, and are expected to engage their talents and competencies at specific moments regardless of external distractions or competing demands.”

You know. Emergency room doctors, surgeons, the bomb squad etc.

There is significant competition for places in veterinary schools, allowing these schools to select the best performers. You would think, then, that veterinary degree programs would be a hotbed of excellence and produce only elite performers. But it doesn’t follow.

As the authors state, “by their very nature…these same programs may be ill-suited to promote high levels of performance among these elite achievers, particularly in areas where performance is dependent on non-technical competency and personal growth.”

Human nature gets in the way. High-achieving students are, according to the literature, strongly motivated to a) maintain an appearance of POSITIVE social comparison (ie doing well compared to their peers) and b) avoid any chance of NEGATIVE social comparison (ie doing worse than their peers).

But what happens when you immerse high achievers with their academic equals? Some will have to do better or worse. Much energy is spent comparing oneself – look, she knows so much more/puts in more hours/got a high distinction. Evening questioning oneself “I am not as smart as them – should I even be here? I feel like an imposter!”

Having been through vet school, I can tell you that these thoughts can be overwhelming at times. The result is that one can adopt an “external locus of control”, ie worrying about how others are performing and how one self is performing in comparison, rather than worrying about what one can control (one’s own performance in its own right). Of course all this additional worry is detrimental to one’s own performance – so the “OMG they are so much smarter than me” effect is a somewhat self-fulfilling prophecy. Again, speaking from experience, it can be a powerful force.

The authors looked at characteristics of vet students and found that in general there is a high level of anxiety in vet students, that they were inadequately equipped to deal with adversity, they placed a high value on positive social comparison (which is one reason for getting quite emotive about grades), their fear of failure resulted in passive behaviour in professional settings, they were prone to depression and procrastination, and – despite all this – self confidence levels were quite high.

As a teacher I am painfully familiar with the reluctance of veterinary students in particular to participate in class discussions, concerns about group work and helping peers succeed and resentment of peer success (documented in the study). But until I read this I never really understood why.

There’s no easy fix. The authors recommend providing very well defined learning goals and expectations to “allay the sharp fear of failure”, creating learning environments that create group achievement and creating opportunities for personal growth and development. Surely also recognising this tendency to compare ourselves is an important step.

If you’re interesting in reading more about elite performance, check out our review of Mathew Syed’s book here: 

http://www.smallanimaltalk.com/2014/08/how-to-become-expert.html

Reference

Zenner D, Burns GA, Ruby KL, DeBowes RM & Stoll SK (2005) Veterinary students as elite performers: preliminary insights. Journal of Veterinary Medical Education 32(2):242-248.