The experience of being a peer outreach volunteer: Benefits and challenges

Peer outreach is an emerging form of non-professional consumer-delivered service in the context of psychiatric rehabilitation. This study identified the benefits and challenges of outreach provision as identified by a group of volunteer outreach workers. One on one semi-structured interviews were carried out with twelve members trained as peer outreach volunteers. Interview transcripts were analysed using a consensual qualitative research approach. Outreach workers typically experienced peer outreach as a positive experience both for themselves and for the recipients. Most found the training and support provided to be appropriate and sufficient. Nonetheless, peer outreach workers did encounter difficulties and sometimes felt need for more training and support. The findings have implications for the development of future peer outreach programs. There is scope for enhanced training and/or supervision and a need for further research to investigate ways to optimise peer outreach.

Gay men, intimate partner violence, and help-seeking : the incomprehensibility of being a victim

A recurring finding within the research on same-sex intimate partner violence (IPV) is that victims rarely seek assistance from police or other service providers. A study by William Leonard et al (2008: 47) in Victoria, Australia, found that around two thirds of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender victims did not report such violence. It also appears that men are less likely than women to seek help for IPV (Turell and Cornell-Swanson 2005:79–80), and for those that do, informal support networks are approached more often than formal services (Merrill and Wolfe 2000: 16; Farrell and Cerise 2006: 4).

(Un)doing gender : ways of being in an age of uncertainty

Children’s literature has conventionally and historically been concerned with identity and the often tortuous journey to becoming a subject who is generally older and wiser, a journey typically characterised by mishap, adventure, and detours. Narrative closure in children’s and young adult novels and films typically provides a point of self-realisation or self-actualisation, whereby the struggles of finding one’s “true” identity have been overcome. In this familiar coming-of-age narrative, there is often an underlying premise of an essential self that will emerge or be uncovered. This kind of narrative resolution provides readers with a reassurance that things will work for the best in the end, which is an enduring feature of children’s literature, and part of liberal-humanism’s project of harmonious individuality. However, uncertainty is a constant that has always characterised the ways lives are lived, regardless of best-laid plans. Children’s literature provides a field of narrative knowledge whereby readers gain impressions of childhood and adolescence, or more specifically, knowledge of ways of being at a time in life, which is marked by uncertainty. Despite the prevalence of children’s texts which continue to offer normative ways of being, in particular, normative forms of gender behaviour, there are texts which resist the pull for characters to be “like everyone else” by exploring alternative subjectivities. Fiction, however, cannot be regarded as a source of evidence about the material realities of life, as its strength lies in its affective and imaginative dimensions, which nevertheless can offer readers moments of reflection, recognition, or, in some cases, reality lessons. As a form of cultural production, contemporary children’s literature is highly responsive to social change and political debates, and is crucially implicated in shaping the values, attitudes and behaviours of children and young people.

Strolling through the (post)modern city: Modes of being a flaneur in picture books

The city and the urban condition, popular subjects of art, literature, and film, have been commonly represented as fragmented, isolating, violent, with silent crowds moving through the hustle and bustle of a noisy, polluted cityspace. Included in this diverse artistic field is children’s literature—an area of creative and critical inquiry that continues to play a central role in illuminating and shaping perceptions of the city, of city lifestyles, and of the people who traverse the urban landscape. Fiction’s textual representations of cities, its sites and sights, lifestyles and characters have drawn on traditions of realist, satirical, and fantastic writing to produce the protean urban story—utopian, dystopian, visionary, satirical—with the goal of offering an account or critique of the contemporary city and the urban condition. In writing about cities and urban life, children’s literature variously locates the child in relation to the social (urban) space. This dialogic relation between subject and social space has been at the heart of writings about/of the flâneur: a figure who experiences modes of being in the city as it transforms under the influences of modernism and postmodernism. Within this context of a changing urban ontology brought about by (post)modern styles and practices, this article examines five contemporary picture books: The Cows Are Going to Paris by David Kirby and Allen Woodman; Ooh-la-la (Max in love) by Maira Kalman; Mr Chicken Goes to Paris and Old Tom’s Holiday by Leigh Hobbs; and The Empty City by David Megarrity. I investigate the possibility of these texts reviving the act of flânerie, but in a way that enables different modes of being a flâneur, a neo-flâneur. I suggest that the neo-flâneur retains some of the characteristics of the original flâneur, but incorporates others that take account of the changes wrought by postmodernity and globalization, particularly tourism and consumption. The dual issue at the heart of the discussion is that tourism and consumption as agents of cultural globalization offer a different way of thinking about the phenomenon of flânerie. While the flâneur can be regarded as the precursor to the tourist, the discussion considers how different modes of flânerie, such as the tourist-flâneur, are an inevitable outcome of commodification of the activities that accompany strolling through the (post)modern urban space.

The cost of being perfect : perfectionism and suicide ideation in university students

Objective: The aim of the study was to assess the relationship between dimensions of perfectionism and suicide ideation in a tertiary student population in Australia. Method: The methodology involved 405 students completing the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) which includes a subset of questions which can be used to assess suicide ideation, and the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale. Results: The presence of suicide ideation was associated with higher scores on total perfectionism and two perfectionism dimensions, and total GHQ scores. There were significant differences between participants with high levels of perfectionism and participants with moderate to low levels of perfectionism on a measure of suicide ideation. Neither gender nor age were associated with differences in the scores, with results indicating high levels of perfectionism may indicate a vulnerability to suicide ideation. Conclusions: Perfectionism is a valued attribute in high-achieving populations. The question needs to be asked, however, at what cost? The findings indicate that high levels of perfectionism may be associated with an increased vulnerability to suicide ideation. Future research is needed to gain a better understanding of the complex interrelationship between personality and temperament, environmental factors and self-destructive behaviour.

The cost of being ethical : evidence from Islamic equity funds

This paper examines the relationship between financial performance and ethical screening intensity of a special class of ethical funds that is rooted in Islamic values – Islamic equity funds (IEFs). These faith-based ethical funds screen investments on compliance with Islamic values where conventional interest expense (riba), gambling (maysir), excessive uncertainty (gharar), and non-ethical (non-halal) products are prohibited. We test whether these extra screens affect the financial performance of IEFs relative to non-Islamic funds. Based on a large survivorship-free international sample of 387 Islamic funds, our results show that IEFs on average underperform conventional funds by 40 basis points per month, or 4.8% per year (supporting the underperformance hypothesis). While Islamic funds do not generally perform better during crisis periods, they outperformed conventional funds during the recent sub-prime crisis (supporting the outperformance hypothesis). Using holdings-based measures for ethical screening intensity, results show IEFs that apply more intensive screening perform worse, suggesting that there is a cost to being ethical.

The experience of being an advanced practice nurse within Australian acute care settings : a systematic review of qualitative evidence

Background There is a vast amount of international literature which, although agreeing on the need for advanced practice nurse roles, simultaneously debates and discusses the difficulties with nomenclature, definition and subsequent implementation of such roles. Due to this ambiguity it is difficult to equally compare evidence in this field across different countries. A context-specific systematic review on the qualitative evidence of the experience of being an advanced practice nurse in Australia has not been undertaken previously, however it is imperative for nursing managers and leaders to understand the complexities of advanced nursing roles in order to effectively utilise and retain these experienced and valuable nurses. With the creation of a national nursing regulating authority in 2010, it is timely to explore in-depth the experience of being an advanced practice nurse from a national perspective. Objective To identify the experience of being an advanced practice nurse working in Australian acute care settings. Inclusion criteria -Types of participants Registered nurses working in advanced practice roles in acute care settings throughout Australia. -Phenomena of interest The experience of being an advanced practice registered nurse working in an Australian acute care setting, as reported by the nurses themselves. -Types of studies Interpretive qualitative studies including designs such as phenomenology, grounded theory and ethnography. -Search strategy A three step search strategy was used to identify published and unpublished studies. The search process was conducted from August to October 2011 and considered published and unpublished studies from 1990 to October 2011. -Methodological quality Studies were appraised for methodological quality by two independent reviewers using the Joanna Briggs Qualitative Assessment and Review Instrument. -Data extraction Data was extracted from the papers included in the review using the standardised Joanna Briggs Institute Qualitative Assessment and Review Instrument data extraction tool. -Data synthesis Research findings were pooled using the Joanna Briggs Institute Qualitative Data and Review Instrument. Results Three published studies and one unpublished dissertation were included in the review. From these four studies, 216 findings were extracted, forming 18 categories which were then analysed to create six synthesised findings. Six meta-syntheses under the headings of expert knowledge, confidence, education, relationships, negative experiences and patient centred experience were formed from the findings. Conclusions The synthesised findings confirm that the experience of advanced practice nurses in Australian acute care settings is complex and greatly influenced personally and professionally by the organisation as well as the unpredictable nature of working with people.

The art of being a fan : complicity and criticality in contemporary art and fandom

This practice-led research project aims to use contemporary art processes and concepts of fandom to construct a space for the critical and creative exploration of the relationship between them. Much of the discourse addressing the intersection of these spaces over the last three decades tends to treat art and fan studies as separate areas of critical and theoretical research. There has also been very little consideration of the critical interface that art practice and fandom share in their engagement with one another – or how the artist as fan might creatively exploit this relationship. Approaching these issues through a practice-led methodology that combines studio based explorations and traditional modes of research, the project aims to demonstrate how my 'fannish' engagements with popular culture can generate new responses to, and understandings of, the relationship between fandom, affect and visual art. The research acts as a performative and creative investigation of fandom as I document the complicit tendencies that arise out of my affective relationship with pop cultural artefacts. It does this through appropriating and reconfiguring content from film, television and print media, to create digital video installations aimed at engendering new experiences and critical interpretations of screen culture. This approach promotes new possibilities for creative engagements with art and popular culture, and these are framed through the lens of what I term the digital-bricoleur. The research will be primarily contextualised by examining other artists' practices as well as selected theoretical frameworks that traverse my investigative terrain. The key artists that are discussed include Douglas Gordon, Candice Brietz, Pierre Huyghe, Paul Pfieffer, and Jennifer and Kevin McCoy. The theoretical developments of the project are drawn from a pluralistic range of ideas ranging from Johanna Drucker's discussion of critical complicity in contemporary art, Matt Hills' discussion of subjectivity in fandom and academia, Nicolas Bourriaud's discussion of Postproduction art practices, and Jacques Rancière's ideas about aesthetics and politics. The methodology and artworks developed over the course of this project will also demonstrate how digital-bricolage leads to new understandings of the relationships between contemporary art and entertainment. The research aims to exploit these apparently contradictory positions to generate a productive site for rethinking the relationship between the creative and critical possibilities of art and fandom. The outcomes of the research consists of a body of artworks – 75% – that demonstrate new contributions to knowledge, and an exegetical component – 25% – that acts to reflect on, analyse and critically contextualise the practice-led findings.

Experience of being an advanced practice nurse within Australian acute care settings : a systematic review of qualitative evidence

Background Nationally and internationally, advanced practice nurses are working under various titles and in different contexts to address gaps within healthcare systems. Analysis of advanced practice roles in different countries has been undertaken, but due to variations in cultural, geographical and professional factors, it is difficult and perhaps ineffectual to compare roles between countries. Contextual factors may also affect the actual experience of being an advanced practice nurse. A systematic review was therefore undertaken of qualitative evidence on the experience of being an advanced practice nurse in Australia, to provide deeper understanding of the role in the defined context. Methods The review followed the method for qualitative synthesis as per the Joanna Briggs Institute. An extensive search was undertaken of databases and online resources to find published and unpublished studies. Papers from 1990 to October 2011 which met specified inclusion criteria were appraised using the Joanna Briggs Institute Qualitative Assessment and Review Instrument. Results Three published studies and one unpublished dissertation were included in the review. From these studies, 216 findings were extracted and these were formed into 18 categories. Six meta-syntheses grouped under the headings of expert knowledge, confidence, education, relationships, negative experiences and patient-centred experience were created. Organisational factors impact greatly on the experience, professionally and personally. Conclusions Heterogeneity of role titles makes synthesis a difficult process, but contextualising the population provides a pragmatic approach to informing the status of the advanced practice nurse discourse. The review identifies positive and negative experiences of being an advanced practice nurse in Australian acute care settings with overlapping and intertwining findings that reinforce the complexity of the role.

The passage of indeterminacy in the intensification of being

The passage of indeterminacy in the intensification of being is a digital video projection by Daniel McKewen. The work used digital visual effects and experimentation with time-based video synchronisation to manipulate images of celebrities plundered from the internet and television. The result was a sequence of images that served as both portrait of the constructed nature of screen-based imagery, as well as portrait of the pop culture audience that consumes such constructions.

Barbara's story : a thematic analysis of a relative's reflection of being in the intensive care unit

Aim The aim of this reflective account is to provide a view of the intensive care unit (ICU) relative’s experiences of supporting and being supported in the ICU. Background Understanding the relatives’ experiences of ICU is important especially because a recent work has identified the potential for this group to develop post-traumatic stress disorder, a condition that is normally equated with the ICU survivor. Design A thematic analysis was used in identifying emerging themes that would be significant in an ICU nursing context. Setting The incident took place in two 8-bedded ICUs (Private and National Health Service) in October. Results Two emergent themes were identified from the reflective story – fear of the technological environment and feeling hopeless and helpless. Conclusion The use of relative stories as an insight into the live experiences of ICU relatives may give a deeper understanding of their life-world. The loneliness, anguish and pain of the ICU relative extends beyond the walls of the ICU, and this is often negated as the focus of the ICU team is the patient. Relevance to clinical practice: Developing strategies to support relatives might include the use of relative diaries used concurrently with patient diaries to support this groups recovery or at the very least a gaining a sense of understanding for their ICU experience. Relative follow-up clinics designed specifically to meet their needs where support and advice can be given by the ICU team, in addition to making timely and appropriate referrals to counselling services and perhaps involving spiritual leaders where appropriate.

Active aging: Exploration into self-ratings of "being active," out-of-home physical activity, and participation among older Australian adults living in four different settings

We examined whether self-ratings of “being active” among older people living in four different settings (major city high and lower density suburbs, a regional city, and a rural area) were associated with out-of-home participation and outdoor physical activity. A mixed-methods approach (survey, travel diary, and GPS tracking over a one-week period) was used to gather data from 48 individuals aged over 55 years. Self-ratings of “being active” were found to be positively correlated with the number of days older people spent time away from home but unrelated to time traveled by active means (walking and biking). No significant differences in active travel were found between the four study locations, despite differences in their respective built environments.The findings suggest that additional strategies to the creation of “age-friendly” environments are needed if older people are to increase their levels of outdoor physical activity. “Active aging” promotion campaigns may need to explicitly identify the benefits of walking outdoors to ambulatory older people as a means of maintaining their overall health, functional ability, and participation within society in the long-term and also encourage the development of community-based programs in order to facilitate regular walking for this group.

The doctrine of necessity and the detention and restraint of people with intellectual impairment: Is there any justification?

In Australia, the legal basis for the detention and restraint of people with intellectual impairment is ad hoc and unclear. There is no comprehensive legal framework that authorises and regulates the detention of, for example, older people with dementia in locked wards or in residential aged care, people with disability in residential services or people with acquired brain injury in hospital and rehabilitation services. This paper focuses on whether the common law doctrine of necessity (or its statutory equivalents) should have a role in permitting the detention and restraint of people with disabilities. Traditionally, the defence of necessity has been recognised as an excuse, where the defendant, faced by a situation of imminent peril, is excused from the criminal or civil liability because of the extraordinary circumstances they find themselves in. In the United Kingdom, however, in In re F (Mental Patient: Sterilisation) and R v Bournewood Community and Mental Health NHS Trust, ex parte L, the House of Lords broadened the defence so that it operated as a justification for treatment, detention and restraint outside of the emergency context. This paper outlines the distinction between necessity as an excuse and as a defence, and identifies a number of concerns with the latter formulation: problems of democracy, integrity, obedience, objectivity and safeguards. Australian courts are urged to reject the United Kingdom approach and retain an excuse-based defence, as the risks of permitting the essentially utilitarian model of necessity as a justification are too great.