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AIM: To describe and quantify the range of non-interpretive tasks engaged in by consultant radiologists in Ireland today. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A multiple-choice electronic survey was circulated to over 200 Irish consultant radiologists and results were analysed. RESULTS: Responses were received from approximately 40% of the 267 full-time equivalent consultants in Ireland at the time of the survey. There was a wide sub-specialty mix, and responses from both clinical directors and those without designated administrative responsibility. Overall, the three most time-consuming activities were reported to be multidisciplinary meetings, vetting, and informal consultations. Non-interpretive tasks were estimated to account for 35% of the working week, with higher figures (up to 60%) for clinical directors. CONCLUSION: Consultant radiologists in Ireland spend a significant proportion of their time engaged in non-interpretive radiology; acknowledgement and scheduling of non-interpretive tasks will need to be supported by appropriate workforce planning. Non-interpretive skills will also need to be addressed during training to adequately prepare trainees for the reality of the workplace.

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The analysis of suicide notes is an integral part of understanding suicidal behaviour. To this end, Leenaars (1996, 1992) has developed the Thematic Guide to Suicide Prediction (TGSP) for profiling the psychological correlates of suicide. The utility of this tool in suicide prevention, however, is not known. This study applied the TGSP to suicide notes (n = 45), interpreted in the light of coroner's inquest papers, drawn from a Northern Irish population. The results yielded support for the existence of psychological suicidal correlates. Moreover, qualitative differences between depressed and not depressed notewriters and those with and without a previous suicidal attempt were identified. For example, depressed suicides were more likely to communicate difficulties in developing attachments, or to exhibit cognitive constriction than nondepressed notewriters. Analysis of age differences was limited because of the paucity of suicide notes (in this sample, written by individuals aged 65 years or older). This research has further helped to identify psychological differences that should be beneficial in the prevention of suicide. Such differences should be integrated into existing risk assessment schedules. It is also argued that the analysis of suicide notes should form one strand in an integrated research framework.

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BACKGROUND: The loss of three-dimensional visual depth cues has been thought to be the main hindrance to the acquisition of endoscopic skills. However, the "fulcrum effect" of the abdominal wall on the manipulation of instruments has not to our knowledge been previously investigated. METHODS: Subjects with no experience in endoscopy were required to make multiple defined incisions under laparoscopic laboratory conditions, within ten two-minute periods in the first study and 50 in the second. Eleven subjects operated under normal imaging conditions and 11 with the y-axis inverted. RESULTS: Subjects who operated with the image inverted made significantly more incisions and significantly more correct incisions than those working under normal conditions. This effect persisted over 50 trials. CONCLUSIONS: The fulcrum effect has a major detrimental influence on acquisition of endoscopic skills. Further work is required to investigate the role of image inversion in clinical endoscopic training.

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This study examines the effects of method of recall on the accuracy of adults' and children's eyewitness accounts. A filmed staged accident was used as test material and subjects questioned immediately after watching the accident. Eight pre-structured questions were asked. Children's representations are often poorly articulated and lack cohesion. Established information-gathering techniques should be tailored to allow children to provide evidence.

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In both adults and children, peripheral vision is poorer than foveal vision, but there is evidence that detection in peripheral vision is relatively poorer in children than it is in adults. That may contribute to the particularly high pedestrian accident rates of children. Two laboratory experiments investigated peripheral vision in men and women and in boys and girls aged 7, 9 and 11. Using an array of stationary lights, Expt 1 examined reactions to apparent movement (the phi phenomenon) in mid and extreme periphery; and, using film sequences of a moving car, Expt 2 included a comparison of foveal and peripheral fields. Overall there was little evidence to support the hypothesis that children have poorer peripheral vision than adults relative to their foveal vision. Nonetheless there were some experimental differences: in Expt 1, 7-year-olds made fewer detections, particularly in the extreme periphery; and, in both experiments, detections tended to be slower. The relatively complex car movements in Expt 2 were detected faster in foveal than peripheral vision. There were no sex differences. Children detected more movements on the left. In Expt 2 these detections were faster, and children made relatively more simulated road crossings when the car approached from the left (all adults 'crossed' in all trials).

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Three experiments examined whether age and sex differences in pedestrian accidents might be partly attributable to differences in the visual perception of peripheral stimuli. Primary schoolchildren and adults responded individually to the presentation of lights at retinal eccentricities of 2 degrees, 20 degrees and 40 degrees. Experiments 1 and 2 measured reaction times and Expt 3 measured subjects' expectations of foveal and peripheral events. There were no age or sex differences in expectations. Lights were detected fastest in the 20-40 degrees range. Movement times were not variable across eccentricities. As expected, adults' and 11-year-olds' detections were faster than eight- and six-year-olds'. A case is made for more problem-analytic and multi-theoretical research in the area of the child pedestrian accidents.

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