Discrimination of educational outcomes between differing levels of critical care programmes by selected

Objective: This study was designed to prioritise educational outcomes for three levels of postgraduate speciality critical care nursing programmes.

Background: Postgraduate speciality education has proliferated within Australia over the past 20 years. However, there is little agreement regarding the expected characteristics, or relevant priorities, of these characteristics of graduates successfully completing these programmes of study.

Method: This study used a mixed-method approach comprising two phases. Initially a survey was mailed to volunteers between March and June 2005 to obtain priorities in educational outcomes for graduates of critical care programmes. This was followed by a stakeholder focus group in May 2006 to refine expected outcomes.

Results: Survey respondents rated educational outcomes that described professional and legal aspects of practice to ensure safe patient care as highest priority for programme graduates. Although most educational outcome statements were considered important for graduates from all levels of courses, increasing levels of practice was described for increasingly higher levels of programmes from Graduate Certificate to Masters Degree.

Conclusion: This study provides an emerging description of the priorities of critical care nursing programmes, with priority given to professional and legal aspects of practice. Further delineation of priorities is necessary to inform ongoing educational development.

The influence of leisure preference, life priority and making time on regular participation in leisure time physical activity

Using an attitude-behaviour theory approach this study examined the direct and indirect influence of preference, life priority and time allocation on regular participation in leisure-time physical activity (LTPA). The crosssectional study used self-report questionnaires to collect data from a random sample of 250 people aged 19 to 87 years living in an Australian city. The findings suggest that people’s regular participation in LTPA is not directly influenced by their preference for it. Rather, making LTPA a high life priority and allocating time for LTPA are intervening factors that explain the relationship. The outcomes emphasise the importance of encouraging the formation of a preference for physical activity in young children. They suggest all levels of government and the leisure profession emphasise work/life balance by prioritising LTPA, educating people about time management and helping them to develop time management skills.

Camera trapping: a contemporary approach to monitoring invasive rodents in high conservation priority ecosystems

Invasive rodent species have established on 80% of the world's islands causing significant damage to island environments. Insular ecosystems support proportionally more biodiversity than comparative mainland areas, highlighting them as critical for global biodiversity conservation. Few techniques currently exist to adequately detect, with high confidence, species that are trap-adverse such as the black rat, Rattus rattus, in high conservation priority areas where multiple non-target species persist. This study investigates the effectiveness of camera trapping for monitoring invasive rodents in high conservation areas, and the influence of habitat features and density of colonial-nesting seabirds on rodent relative activity levels to provide insights into their potential impacts. A total of 276 camera sites were established and left in situ for 8 days. Identified species were recorded in discrete 15 min intervals, referred to as 'events'. In total, 19 804 events were recorded. From these, 31 species were identified comprising 25 native species and six introduced. Two introduced rodent species were detected: the black rat (90% of sites), and house mouse Mus musculus (56% of sites). Rodent activity of both black rats and house mice were positively associated with the structural density of habitats. Density of seabird burrows was not strongly associated with relative activity levels of rodents, yet rodents were still present in these areas. Camera trapping enabled a large number of rodents to be detected with confidence in site-specific absences and high resolution to quantify relative activity levels. This method enables detection of multiple species simultaneously with low impact (for both target and non-target individuals); an ideal strategy for monitoring trap-adverse invasive rodents in high conservation areas.

Do social values influence levels of conservation effort in threatened species? The case of two Australian chats

This research aims to understand why one of two almost identical subspecies of the Australian yellow chat Ephthianura crocea has received significantly higher levels of local and institutional support than the other despite both having the same conservation status and taxonomic distinctiveness, factors commonly thought to influence conservation effort. Using a qualitative multiple case study approach we explored how a range of social factors, including stakeholder attitudes and institutional, policy and operational aspects, might have affected conservation efforts for the two taxa. Our results suggest that the conservation trajectories of these two subspecies have diverged since their identification as threatened species in 2000 because of differences in the social landscapes within which they persist. For one subspecies local advocacy was kindled initially by the small number of local endemic bird species but developed into a strong emotional engagement, resulting in increased local awareness, government funding, and effectiveness of conservation action. The other subspecies has had to compete for attention with approximately 200 other threatened taxa occurring in its region. No individual advocate has accorded this subspecies a high priority for action, and none of those responsible for its conservation have seen it or acknowledged an emotional attachment to it. Our findings confirm that initiation of conservation effort is strongly tied to the social values of individuals with power to take action, regardless of legislation.