Other Notables

Paul Williams Keynote Speaker on Health Policy, Restructuring and Elder Abuse

Recent data suggest that between 5 and 10% of Ontario seniors experience some form of financial, emotional, psychological or physical abuse. There is also a growing awareness that senior abuse is a global problem and the governments have a key role to play in preventing and redressing abuse. Paul Williams, Associate Professor in HPME, and Keith Norton, Chief Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, were keynote speakers at the Ontario Strategy to Combat Elder Abuse Provincial Stakeholder Networking Day at Queen's Park on March 3, 2004. Professor Williams' presentation, "My mother's keeper: the impact of health and social services restructuring on seniors and ethnocultural communities", examined the ways in which provincial government policies can either alleviate or aggravate risk factors for elder abuse including poverty, isolation, dependency, gender and ethnocultural minority status.

Middle-East Peace-Building Project Moves Forward With Professional Development

Professors Paul Williams (HPME) and Catherine Chalin (Public Health Sciences) traveled to the Middle East in March 2004 as part of a CISEPO mission in support of a Jordanian government initiative to establish a program of universal newborn screening for hearing loss, a health problem of major significance in the region. Led by Dr. Arnold Noyek, the Canada International Scientific Exchange Program (CISEPO) is a charitable NGO based at Mount Sinai Hospital and the University of Toronto which works across borders with Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian academics and clinicians and their institutions on collaborative, mutually beneficial projects. CISEPO's lead program is the Middle East Association for Managing Hearing Loss (MEHA). To date, more than 14,000 Arab and Israeli newborns have been tested for hearing loss, and hundreds of children have been supported in their habilitation with hearing aids, auditory therapy, and family and professional education.

Williams and Chalin are working with the Jordan University of Science and Technology, the University of Jordan, and the Royal Medical Services to assess the professional development needs of faculty who will be involved in the new screening program. A key objective is to design and implement appropriate educational modules which meet faculty needs. Modules on research design and approaches to health systems analysis are anticipated. Lessons learned from the Jordanian experience will be shared with Israeli and Palestinian partners as they also consider implementation of universal newborn screening programs. CISEPO will be awarded with the Red Cross Power of Humanity Award at a dinner on April 28, 2004 at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel. For more information about tickets or award nominations, please call Arthur Peters at 905-890-1203 ext. 213.

Call for Papers for Ryerson Conference on Knowledge Management

The International Conference on Intellectual Capital, Knowledge Management and Organisational Learning is being held at Ryerson University on October 29-30, 2004. Abstracts (500 word) are due by May 3, 2004. Click here (pdf) for details. Submissions are invited on the theory and practice of all aspects of intellectual capital, knowledge management and organizational learning. The conference is seeking quantitative, qualitative and experience-based papers from industry and academe. In addition to multiple streams of papers, the conference committee are inviting proposals for workshops and tutorials on topics related to KM and research methods applicable to this field. The conference is being chaired by Ken Grant, Director of the School of Information Technology Management at Ryerson University. Selected papers from the Conference will be considered for publication in the Electronic Journal of Knowledge Management. To register, see the Academic Conferences International website: www.academic-conferences.org/icickm2004/icickm2004-home.htm.

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Dr. Shabbir Alibhai Interviewed by Toronto Star

In an article in the March 15, 2004 Toronto Star, Metro Diary writer Joe Fiorito relates the story of an interaction in the emergency department between Dr. Shabbir Alibhai, a Muslim doctor, and Yo'av Kaplun, the Jewish son of a terminally ill patient. The two reflect on the importance of Dr. Alibhai's simple question, "Will your father require a kosher meal?" and how important the care provider's understanding of different religious faiths can be to patient and family members at the end of life. In addition to his position in HPME, Dr. Alibhai is a specialist in Geriatric Medicine at the University Health Network. He is co-author of "Ethical Issues in End-of-Life Geriatric Care: The Approach of Three Monotheistic Religions Judaism, Catholicism, and Islam" in the August 2003 Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

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