Photography and christian mission: George Brown`s images of the New Britain mission 1875-80

In 1875, Methodist George Brown arrived in the Bismarck Archipelago to establish the New Britain Mission. Based in the Duke of York Islands, Brown's territory covered New Ireland and the Gazelle Peninsula of New Britain. The mission was one of the first to be photographed from its inception. The Australian Museum holds 96 plates from the first five years of the mission. Brown's photographs are a visual record of conditions and peoples of the time. Analysed in relation to Brown's writings they are indicative of the relationships and bonds established through photography both in the mission field and across wider scientific and church audiences. The methodology employed here also challenges the kinds of interpretations of photographs that can arise from visual analyses relying solely on the caption and the posing of the subject.

The impetus for the development of hospital in the home (HITH) programs: a literature review

Alternative health care delivery models such as Hospital in the Home (HITH) are proliferating in Australia and in most Western countries. Such models facilitate patients who would otherwise be hospitalised to be cared for in their own homes. This paper reports a review of the literature related to the development of HITH programs. It reveals that the driving force behind the implementation of acute care programs comes from political and managerial aims to reduce health care spending. Home is clearly an appropriate care option for certain acute patients however, there is no strong evidence to suggest that it suits everyone. Very little attention has been given to the patient's experience of home care and the ethical and social consequences are largely ignored.

Hospital in the home: constructions of the nursing role - a literature review

• Acute medical and nursing treatment in the home is increasingly seen as an alternative to hospitalization. Models such as hospital in the home (HITH) or acute home care are said to provide a safe, comfortable environment for patients that is conducive to healing.

• A review of the literature reveals the embryonic nature of the research and discussion related to this alternative care delivery model. In general, the benefits of hospital in the home programmes are presented in an uncritical manner.

• Medical practitioners have embraced the move to home care as a means of expanding the use of advanced technologies and improved drug regimes beyond the hospital walls.

• The nursing response has been mechanistic and recipe-like while advancing the HITH nursing role as an opportunity for speciality practice by virtue of the increased autonomy and independence required.

• This review demonstrates the influence of a professional mandate for specialization, and the ideological and scientific interests that have influenced the role of the nurse.

The trials and tribulations of team-nursing

Aim: The aim of this study was to review the team-nursing approach to care adopted by two general medical wards in a large private hospital. The delivery model of care was reviewed to determine the factors that enhance and/or hinder the timely delivery, continuity and communication of care.
Method: All nursing and ancillary staff who worked on two medical wards at a private teaching hospital were invited to participate in the study. Thirty eight participants from the two wards took part in focus group discussions, individual interviews and completed the Staff Continuity of Care Questionnaire. Findings: Findings indicated that achieving functionally sound teamwork is a complex task that is affected by the interplay of a number of organisational, patient and staff factors. Its smooth application is further affected by the uncertain and changing conditions on the wards, which are difficult to control and impact on the smooth delivery of patient care. The findings revealed strengths and weaknesses in teamwork, communication of care, documentation and discharge planning. The results also highlighted factors that enhance and hinder the smooth delivery of care. This paper details the factors that influence the delivery of care from the perspectives of nursing staff and makes recommendations to enhance the delivery of patient care using a team-nursing approach.

Saving human rights from its friends : a critique of the imaginary justice of Costas Douzinas

Costas Douzinas has argued that human rights arise from a universal but unconscious need for recognition of oneself by others as unique and whole. According to Douzinas, humans' activities and interrelationships are determined by their desires and human rights are a manifestation of those same deep characteristics. Because the basic desires are by their nature incapable of being satisfied, the aspiration for human rights is likewise doomed to frustration. Douzinas' analysis of human nature is derived from a reading of Jacques Lacan's theory of psychoanalysis in which an imaginary and a symbolic realm of experience are defined. Douzinas attempts a synthesis between the Lacanian imaginary and the ethical arguments of Emmanuel Levinas. It will be argued here that the synthesis proposed by Douzinas is itself doomed to failure and that Douzinas' negative approach to human rights and to justice should be rejected in favour of a positive approach.

On the fast track speeding nurses into the future: a two year Bachelor of Nursing for graduates of other disciplines

It has been suggested in nursing literature that a bachelor's degree should be the pre-requisite to professional nursing education and registration. The perceived advantages of graduates entering the nursing profession led faculty in the School of Nursing La Trobe University to introduce in 1997 an innovative two-year Bachelor of Nursing (BN) program, believed to be the first in Australia, for graduates of other disciplines. A problem-based learning (PBL) approach was selected to facilitate the teaching learning process. Data to evaluate the progress of the accelerated students were collected by examining their previous degree background, conducting a focus group discussion mid year and comparing the students' academic results with those completing the traditional three-year course. Findings indicate that students in the accelerated course were highly motivated but experienced significant stress. In part the stress emanated from the need to identify their own learning needs. However, despite their concerns most accelerated students scored at least as well both clinically and academically as traditional students. Moreover, in six of the seven final year subjects each group studied the accelerated students performed better.

Invitation to Miss Deakin to celebrate the opening of the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia

Framed invitation to Miss Deakin (Ivy) to an evening reception to meet the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York to celebrate the opening of the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia at the Exhibition Buildings, 9 May 1901.

Students perceptions of learning outcomes from group-based, problem-based teaching and learning activities

Objective: A study aimed at exploring the variation in perceptions of learning outcomes reported by undergraduate nursing students enrolled in a problem-based learning subject in a pre-registration Bachelor of Nursing course (BN).
Method: Students were asked to respond to four open-ended questions which focussed on their learning outcomes in the different teaching/learning modalities of the subject. Data were analysed in two phases using a modified phenomenographic analysis. In the first phase a set of categories of description were developed from the student responses to questions related to the learning modalities. In the second phase the individual responses were classified in terms of the categories. Finally, correlations between the learning modalities were identified. In this paper the approach to analysis, the process of category identification and the correlations between the learning modalities will be described and the implications for further research and teaching will be discussed.
Results: The findings indicated that there were two distinct groups of student responses. Inward focussed students who described outcomes in terms of their own learning and students whose focus was outward i.e. describing learning in terms of patient care and how learning relates to that care. Another important result shows the relationship between the learning modalities and outcomes. From the students' perspective, the most sophisticated outcomes of the lectures and laboratories were ideas and skills to be used and applied in clinical settings. Whereas, the group-based activities in which clinical problems were presented to the students in the form of Situation Improvement Packages (SIPS) focussed their attention on the clinical setting which constituted a preparation for the realities of clinical practice.
Conclusion: The findings from this study indicate that students perceive their learning in the group based teaching/learning modality (SIPS) as effective in focussing them on the reality of their role in the clinical practice environment while lectures and laboratories provided the skills and knowledge required for this setting.

The questioning skills of clinical teachers and preceptors: a comparative study

Aim of the study. The purpose of this study, conducted as partial requirement for a Master of Nursing Studies Degree, was to explore, describe and compare the level of questions asked by clinical teachers and preceptors.

Background. Questioning is one of many teaching/learning strategies thought to facilitate the development of critical thinking skills which are integral to nursing practice. As such the type and number of questions asked have implications for student learning. Currently in Melbourne, Australia, many undergraduate nursing degree courses utilize both clinical teachers and preceptors to facilitate student learning in the clinical setting.

Design. A comparative descriptive design was used. Participants were given three acute care patient scenarios involving an undergraduate nursing student, as part of a questionnaire, and asked to identify the questions they would ask the student in relation to the scenario.

Findings. Data revealed that the clinical teachers had considerably more years of experience in their role and higher academic qualifications than did the preceptors. The clinical teachers also asked a greater number of questions overall and more from the higher cognitive level. Despite this, the findings suggest that both clinical teachers and especially preceptors need to increase the number of higher level questions they ask.

Conclusions. Based on the findings of this study, it is evident that there is a need for further comparative studies into the questioning skills of clinical teachers and preceptors. Also, these two groups require education about the importance of higher level questioning for student learning as well as how to ask questions generally.

Influence of preexercise muscle glycogen content on transcrptional activity of metabolic and myogenic genes in well-trained humans

To determine whether preexercise muscle glycogen content influences the transcription of several early-response genes involved in the regulation of muscle growth, seven male strength-trained subjects performed one-legged cycling exercise to exhaustion to lower muscle glycogen levels (Low) in one leg compared with the leg with normal muscle glycogen (Norm) and then the following day completed a unilateral bout of resistance training (RT). Muscle biopsies from both legs were taken at rest, immediately after RT, and after 3 h of recovery. Resting glycogen content was higher in the control leg (Norm leg) than in the Low leg (435 ± 87 vs. 193 ± 29 mmol/kg dry wt; P < 0.01). RT decreased glycogen content in both legs (P < 0.05), but postexercise values remained significantly higher in the Norm than the Low leg (312 ± 129 vs. 102 ± 34 mmol/kg dry wt; P < 0.01). GLUT4 (3-fold; P < 0.01) and glycogenin mRNA abundance (2.5-fold; not significant) were elevated at rest in the Norm leg, but such differences were abolished after exercise. Preexercise mRNA abundance of atrogenes was also higher in the Norm compared with the Low leg [atrogin: 14-fold, P < 0.01; RING (really interesting novel gene) finger: 3-fold, P < 0.05] but decreased for atrogin in Norm following RT (P < 0.05). There were no differences in the mRNA abundance of myogenic regulatory factors and IGF-I in the Norm compared with the Low leg. Our results demonstrate that 1) low muscle glycogen content has variable effects on the basal transcription of select metabolic and myogenic genes at rest, and 2) any differences in basal transcription are completely abolished after a single bout of heavy resistance training. We conclude that commencing resistance exercise with low muscle glycogen does not enhance the activity of genes implicated in promoting hypertrophy.