Who says boys don`t read? They do in literature circles!

This article is about Literature Circles and its ongoing implementation at Parade College, where it is regarded as an innovative, flexible and inclusive strategy that motivates adolescent learners, particularly boys, to read for enjoyment, for independent learning, and for the enhancement of literacy knowledge, skills and capabilities.

In dialogue with A.D. Hope: dialogue three: politics and poetics of Australian literature

[Hope was largely responsible for the inclusion of Australian Literature as a separate subject of study in universities. Yet his role in debates on modernism in the Australian context was controversial and he remains one of the main figures who fought for a particular kind of poetry that he saw some modernist methods, experiments, and theories destroying. Dialogue Three aims to hear his side of the story as Hope has become, in many circles, the embodiment of what is euphemistically called ‘the dead white male,’ a title attributed to him long before his actual death in July 2000. Is it the case that Hope’s opposition to ‘free verse’ or his view that men and women know separate metaphysical worldviews or his poetic focus upon European philosophical and literary traditions are sexist, obsolete, or reactionary?
See Dialogue One for details of the following exchange.]

Children's literature matters

This volume is the product of the third conference of the Australian Children's Literature Association for Research held in Melbourne October 1999. The papers presented comprise an interesting cross section of current concerns about children's literature by the Australasian research community.

Readmission to intensive care : a review of the literature

Acutely ill patients are commonly found on general hospital wards; some of these are patients who have been recently discharged from an intensive care unit (ICU). These patients may require a higher level of care than other ward patients and, due to the acuity of their illness, are at risk of readmission to ICU. Research has indicated that patients readmitted to ICU have mortality rates up to six times higher than those not readmitted and are eleven times more likely to die in hospital. Numerous studies have retrospectively examined these readmissions but, despite this, there is still no clear indication of why ICU readmissions occur or what the common characteristics of readmitted patients are. This literature review examines the published studies on patients who have been readmitted to ICU. Further research is needed to explore why readmissions to ICU occur and the type of patient who is at greatest risk for readmission.

Confirming the position of a nasogastric tube what does the literature say?

Nasogastric tubes are a medical device that can be used for a number of purposes. The process of inserting them however can be complicated. Nurses must therefore use an evidence based approach to confirm the correct position of nasogastric tubes and there are three main techniques described in the literature to do so. To date, one group of authors has published the majority of the studies on these techniques. This paper reviews their work.

Substance use and its implications for the critical care nurses: a literature review

Background
Illicit drug use in Australia has been increasing and studies indicate that illicit drug users have a higher risk of accidents which may result in the user needing critical care. However, there is a significant gap in the literature specifically pertaining to the implications of drug use in critical care.

Aims
The primary objective was to examine the literature for the physiological effects of methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), cocaine and amphetamines in critically ill patients.

Methods
A comprehensive literature review was undertaken and a body systems framework was used to categorise the effects of these illicit drugs.

Results
The illicit substances addressed have potentially fatal and long-term side effects. For those users involved in accidents or trauma requiring intensive or critical care nursing, the mortality and co-morbidity risks are increased significantly. It is, therefore, important that nurses are able to recognise the specific physiological effects and possible complications that can occur with the use of each illicit drug.

Conclusion
Both nursing and medical staff need to have a thorough understanding of how illicit substances work and how they can affect the critical care patient and the care they are given.

Implementation, communication and the benefits of corporate codes of ethics in Taiwan and Turkey : a comparison across contexts

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the corporate codes of ethics (CCE) that are put in place by companies in Taiwan and Turkey.

Design/methodology/approach – This study examines the use of CCE among the top companies in Taiwan and Turkey. It is a replication of a study performed in Australia, Canada and Sweden and a follow-up study.

Findings – The empirical findings show many similarities with top companies in Australia, Canada and Sweden, but more importantly identify key differences distinctly unique to each of the two countries under investigation. Statistical analysis suggests that the implementation, communication and benefits of CCE are paramount to Turkish companies operating in a domestic environment where the aspiration to participate globally and join the European Union is high, whereas in Taiwan it is low in favor of more traditional business practices (similar to the Chinese concept of guanxi) that focus on individual relationships in favor of formalized regulatory frameworks (such as CCE).

Originality/value – This study makes a complementary contribution to the accumulated knowledge in the area of CCE, particularly given the cultural and historical differences these countries possess in comparison to each other and those previously studied and documented in the literature.

Underpricing of energy IPOs in Australia

The underpricing of initial public offerings (IPOs) has been discussed in the literature for over thirty years. Underpricing is the term used when the issue price of the shares of a company raising public equity capital and seeking to list on a stock exchange is below the closing price of the shares on the first day of listing. As such, underpricing theoretically allows subscribing investors the opportunity of making a return on the day of listing. The international evidence as examined in [4] and updated in [5] has documented that subscribing investors made handsome double-digit' (for example US IPOs - 15.7%, UK IPOs 12%, Turkish IPOs - 13.1 %, Greek IPOs -49.0%) or even triple-digit (for example Chinese IPOs 256.9%) statistically significant positive first day returns, on average. These studies are generally however of industrial company IPOs.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the underpricing returns of Australian energy IPOs from January 1994 to June 2007. Two previous studies into natural resource IPOs in Australia only made fleeting mention of energy IPOs because of the small sample sizes. [3] identified 2 solid fuel IPOs and 13 oil and gas IPOs (amongst 130 other natural resource IPOs) during 1979 to 1990 and advised average underpricing returns of 106.5% and 47.3% respectively for investors subscribing to these IPOs. [2] investigated 19 energy IPOs (amongst 96 other natural resource IPOs) from 1994 to 1999 and reported an average underpricing return of 8.3%.

The sample set of 134 used in this study is significantly greater than previous Australian studies. These 134 energy IPOs raised over $1.945 billion of public equity capital from January 1994 to June 2007. [3] reports on the importance of the natural resources sectors to Australia's economy and the fact that companies working in these sectors constitute around one third of the entities listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.

This study also follows a highly influential paper in the IPO literature by [I]. They argue that the lower the uncertainty about the value of an IPO, the lower the underpricing needed to attract subscribers. Given the linkage between uncertainty and underpricing, this study seeks to identify the factors that might influence uncertainty and hence underpricing.

The study found that the mean underpricing return for these energy lPOs is 22.8% and statistically significant. The model used to investigate variables that might help explain the level of underpricing in this industry sector is also particularly useful. An important finding in the study for new issuers, underwriters and subscribing investors is that those energy IPO firms that used underwriters had substantially lower underpricing. The other finding that larger issues are likely to have lower underpricing is consistent with prior industrial company IPO studies.