bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Changing surgical practice through feedback of performance data
Authors: Reilly Jacqueline , McIntosh Jean , Currie Kay
Published: March 2003

Background.  Changing health care practice is commonly attempted by feedback of performance data measured by clinical audit. However, empirical evidence of the effectiveness of clinical audit in changing practice is limited. Few studies have attempted to evaluate practice development or clinical outcomes within the conceptual framework of change theory. Several published studies have used passive feedback in an attempt to promote a change in practice. Sending information to health care workers on their performance is one of the simplest ways of attempting to change performance.

Aims.  To evaluate the impact on infection rates of the passive feedback of surgical wound infection rate data to nurses and surgeons within an empirical rational approach to change, and the active feedback of data within a normative re‐educative approach to change.

Methods.
 A prospective cohort study over a 3‐year period of all surgical patients undergoing clean elective surgery (n = 2241). Patients were monitored whilst an inpatient and up to 30 days postoperatively by an independent observer to determine surgical wound infection rates. The method employed was ‘gold standard’ surveillance, whereby patients were followed up into the community setting.

Interventions.  Interventions of feedback and withdrawal of feedback of infection rate data and introduction of guidelines for evidence‐based surgical practice within a change theory framework were monitored by the incidence of infection during the periods of the particular intervention.

Results.
 Although the feedback of infection rate data impacted on the subsequent infection rates, the reduction was not statistically significant. However, a significant reduction in the infection rates was achieved following the introduction of guidelines for best surgical practice (P < 0·05).

Conclusions.  The findings indicate that if change in practice is to be achieved by the feedback of performance data, then the process of feedback should be active and within a normative re‐educative approach to change.
The quest for ordinariness: transition experienced by midlife women living with chronic illness
Authors: Kralik Debbie
Published: March 2003

Aims.  This paper reports the findings of research that aimed to elucidate the meaning of midlife women's experiences of living with chronic illness.

Background.  A lack of awareness by health professionals of the context in which women must live with chronic illness often results in women feeling overwhelmed, alienated and without voice within the delivery of health care. This inquiry privileged women's voices.

Design.  The construct of ‘transition’ in chronic illness experience evolved from this collaborative and participatory research with midlife women living with adult onset chronic illness. Over a 1‐year timeframe, 81 women were asked to tell their stories of living with a chronic illness. These correspondence data were thematically analysed to provide storied accounts. Guided by feminist principles, women were empowered through research processes and have actively participated in the development of the transition construct.

Findings.  The research revealed that when women are first confronted with a chronic illness they appear to move through a complex trajectory that involves an ‘extraordinary’ phase of turmoil and distress; however, they may then make the transition toward an ‘ordinary’ phase that involves incorporating chronic illness into their lives. Transitions in chronic illness experience involve movement from extraordinariness to ordinariness and sometimes back again and were found to be processes that are nonlinear, sometimes cyclical and potentially recurring throughout a woman's life. Four major constructs emerged from women's narratives: How quickly life changes; extraordinariness: confronting life with illness; The illness experience as transforming and ordinariness: reconstructing life with illness.

Conclusion.  Nurses are in a position where they may make a difference to women who live with chronic illness. Understanding illness transitions offers a framework that will enable nurses to move beyond the bio‐medically orientated concepts of nursing practice, towards a holistic approach to the provision of nursing care.
Can a home‐based pelvic examination be used in assessing reproductive morbidity in population‐based studies? A Jordanian experience
Authors: Al‐Qutob Raeda , Mawajdeh Salah , Massad Diana
Published: March 2003

Can a home‐based pelvic examination be used in assessing reproductive morbidity in population‐based studies? A Jordanian experience

Rationale. Most estimates of reproductive morbidity in a community are derived from health service‐based studies. However, these numbers do not reflect the actual magnitude of the problem because of barriers to health care and differences in health‐seeking behaviour. As a result, this study uses an alternative method to measure reproductive morbidities amongst women in a Jordanian community.

Objective. To assess the validity of a home‐based pelvic examination in detecting signs of reproductive morbidity when compared with a clinic‐based examination.

Methodological design. Descriptive study in which women were randomly selected from the study area to participate in the study.

Research methods. Three hundred and seventy nine women, 18 years and above were randomly selected, and general and pelvic examinations were conducted in each woman’s home. Thirty‐two of these women were again randomly selected and consented to a second pelvic examination in a clinical setting.

Instruments. Two trained female obstetricians conducted the pelvic examination which included examination of the vulva, examination of the vagina and a bimanual examination.

Outcome measures. Strength of association between the presence or absence of physical signs of reproductive morbidity detected by the home‐based pelvic examination and the same signs identified by the clinic‐based examination, deemed in this study as the ‘truth’.

Results. The overall sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of the home‐based pelvic examination were 66, 86, 69 and 84%, respectively.

Study limitations. The sample size was small, so further studies are recommended to replicate the findings here.

Conclusions. Results suggest home‐based pelvic examinations can be used in population‐based studies for a comprehensive assessment of women’s reproductive morbidities.
Effectiveness of breast self‐examination nursing interventions for Taiwanese community target groups
Authors: Lu Zxy‐yann Jane
Published: March 2003

Effectiveness of breast self‐examination nursing interventions for Taiwanese community target groups

Background. Because of the increasing morbidity and mortality from breast cancer, the Health Department in Taiwan in 1992 has identified early detection of breast cancer as one of the national health objectives. The effectiveness of Breast Self‐Examination (BSE) in detecting breast cancer depends not only on frequency, but also on accuracy. This study explored the effects of nursing intervention on the BSE intention, BSE frequency and BSE accuracy among beauticians as community target groups.

Design. This study was comprised of two stages. In the first stage, 198 beauticians in Taipei County were surveyed. Those women with perceived barrier scores ≥15 points in the first stage were selected for the second stage with the quasi‐experimental design. The experimental group was provided with BSE instruction for the enhancement of BSE competence, personalized strategies to reduce barriers to BSE and monthly telephone reminders after BSE instruction class for 3 months. The study instruments were Champion's BSE questionnaire, Lashley's 15 BSE steps and BSE items of social norm referenced Lierman et al.

Results. The mean age of the 198 beauticians was 28 (±8·6), the mean year of education was 10 (±2·4) and 60% of participants were married. The results of the study indicate that the program significantly increased BSE frequency, BSE accuracy, perceived benefit of BSE, perceived competence in BSE and decreased perceived susceptibility to breast cancer and perceived barriers to practice BSE. Multiple regression analysis indicated that the perceived competency, susceptibility and social normative influence accounted for 25% of the variance in BSE intention. Perceived competency and social normative influence accounted for 15% of the variance in BSE frequency, while intention, social normative influence and perceived competency accounted for 21% of the variance in BSE accuracy.
The haemodialysis machine as a lifeline: experiences of suffering from end‐stage renal disease
Authors: Hagren Birger , Pettersen Inga‐Märta , Severinsson Elisabeth , Lützén Kim , Clyne Naomi
Published: March 2003

The haemodialysis machine as a lifeline: experiences of suffering from end‐stage renal disease

Aim. The aim of this study was to describe patients' experiences of suffering from end‐stage renal disease (ESRD).

Rationale. The rationale was to investigate how persons find meaning or make sense of their situation and how they experience suffering. The theoretical basis for the study was to view suffering at three levels. The first level was related to sickness and treatment. The second level was related to the care provided and the third level was related to each person's unique life experience and existence.

Method. Data were collected by interviews focusing on questions concerning daily life, needs, and expectations for the future. A qualitative interpretative content analysis was used. Fifteen patients between the ages of 50–86 participated in the study.

Findings. Two main themes were identified describing these patients suffering. The first theme, `the haemodialysis machine as a lifeline' consisted of three subthemes: `loss of freedom', `dependence on the caregiver', and `disrupted marital, family and social life'. The second theme `alleviation of suffering' consisted of two subthemes: `gaining a sense of existential optimism' and `achieving a sense of personal autonomy'.

Conclusion. This study indicated that, in the lives of patients on haemodialysis, the main areas of suffering were related to loss of freedom expressed as dependence on the haemodialysis machine as a lifeline and, the caregivers. This time‐consuming and tiring dependence affected marital, family and social life. Alleviation of suffering could be achieved by accepting dependence on the haemodialysis machine and maintaining autonomy by being seen as an individual by the caregivers.
Professional and organizational learning: analysing the relationship with the development of practice
Authors: Clarke Charlotte L. , Wilcockson Jane
Published: March 2003

Professional and organizational learning: analysing the relationship with the development of practice

Background. Organizational and professional learning are interrelated processes that underpin the contemporary drive for a quality evidence‐based delivery of health care in the United Kingdom (UK).

Design. A soft systems methodology was used to explore the pervasiveness of practice developments. Three case study sites were identified using matrix sampling and data collected through 29 individual interviews and two focus group interviews, with the interviews augmented with a tool designed to maximize analysis of the processes of developing practice.

Findings. The resultant model of developing health care practice includes three processes: using and creating knowledge, understanding and practice of patient care, and effecting development. The whole model was underpinned by professional and organizational learning in which `expert thinkers' engaged in double loop learning to reconceptualize care rather than just perpetuate existing patterns of care delivery.
Back to the bedpans: the debates over preregistration nursing education in England
Authors: Meerabeau Elizabeth
Published: March 2003

Back to the bedpans: the debates over preregistration nursing education in England

Aims of the paper. This paper aims to examine the recent debates in both the general and professional press over the future of preregistration education in England, in the light of the sociological literature on the professions, and the nature of nursing knowledge. The literature on the Project 2000 reforms, although by now well worn, will also be discussed briefly.

Background/Rationale. The bulk of nursing education in England moved into higher education in the 1990s. Unlike other higher education in England, it is not funded by the Department for Education and Employment, but commissioned by the National Health Service (NHS), to which it is expected to be highly responsive.

Design/Methods. This paper is based on a brief literature survey, plus policy documents and media reports.

Findings/Conclusion. It will be argued that the process of professionalization is not a straightforward one, and has its potential for reversals of fortune, and that nursing occupies a marginal place in higher education in England.
Disclosure of minor mental health problems: an exploratory theoretical study
Authors: Williams Brian , Healy David
Published: March 2003

Disclosure of minor mental health problems: an exploratory theoretical study

Aim. The aim of this study was to explore people’s experiences, concerns and beliefs about disclosing minor mental health problems by focusing on the ways in which such disclosures are interpreted.

Background. Approximately half of people with mental health problems do not seek help. The decision to consult represents just one aspect of the process of revealing one’s illness to others. People with mental health problems are known to be reluctant to reveal the existence of those problems through fear of how others might then view them.

Design. A qualitative approach was employed. In‐depth interviews were carried out with 47 users and nonusers of community mental health services. Interviews were tape‐recorded, transcribed and analysed.

Results. The data suggest that when people reveal minor mental health problems others interpret these in relation to a number of perceived contextual factors. These include perceptions of the severity and duration of any possible causes, the inner ‘strength’ of the person, the expected ability of the person to either solve or suppress the experience, and the form and context of the expression itself. The data presented included individuals who were seeking help for relatively ‘minor’ mental health problems (primarily depression and anxiety) and individuals who had no current mental health problems but routinely managed expressions of their own emotions. Throughout the data there appeared to be no distinct difference between these two groups other than one of the severity of psychological experience.

Conclusion. The key elements involved in the interpretation of people’s expressions of sadness were essentially the same as those involved in the interpretation of expressions of depression. An appreciation of these contextual factors influencing the interpretation and disclosure of minor mental health problems may aid the development of more person‐centred mental health services and inform the content of health education in the mental health field.
Pre‐ and post‐test evaluation of a project to facilitate research development in practice in a hospital setting
Authors: Clifford Collette , Murray Sarah
Published: March 2003

Pre‐ and post‐test evaluation of a project to facilitate research development in practice in a hospital setting

Background. This paper describes a project designed to facilitate the use of research in nursing practice in one acute hospital. A university team worked in collaboration with staff from the hospital to develop and evaluate the impact of development work designed to enhance knowledge and use of research in practice.

Design/methods. A research utilization questionnaire was administered as a pre‐test (stage 1); a development phase was implemented (stage 2) and a post‐test survey (stage 3) was administered to evaluate the impact of the development work. In stage 1, the total population of nursing and midwifery staff in the hospital (n=473) were targeted and 235 returned the questionnaire, giving a response rate of 50%. Data from the pre‐test and focus group discussions with staff were used to plan stage 2 of the project. The development stage involved an educational strand in which open learning research materials were made available to staff, who were also offered tutorial support in their learning. A second strand supported the development of clinical research projects and funds were identified for clinical staff to apply for project development awards to enable them to develop skills in research and development activity under the supervision of a research fellow. Stage 3 involved a post‐test survey of staff who had completed the questionnaire in stage 1 (n=81).

Findings. There were no significant differences in findings between the pre‐test and post‐test. Qualitative data from those involved in the clinical projects in stage 2 indicated factors impacting on the feasibility of undertaking research in practice.
Development of quality of nursing care in Thailand
Authors: Kunaviktikul Wipada , Anders Robert L. , Srisuphan Wichit , Chontawan Ratanawadee , Nuntasupawat Ramual , Pumarporn Orapun
Published: March 2003

Development of quality of nursing care in Thailand

Background. In Thailand there is a need to establish definitions of quality of nursing care and to determine how it is measured. There is an urgent need to focus more closely on indicators of nursing quality. In Thailand there is no agreed upon definition of quality nursing care or indicators by which to measure it.

Purpose. The purpose of this research was to develop a definition of quality of nursing care and to begin the process of defining quality of care indicator measures to evaluate the care given in acute care settings.

Methods. This descriptive study was conducted in Thailand. The process included two phases. The first phase used individual interviews and focus group discussion and the second phase included consultation with quality of nursing care experts. An interview guide was used to structure the interviews and the draft definitions of quality and suggested indicators were used when consulting with the experts in the second phase of the study.

Findings. The findings are organized into two sections: (1) definition of quality of nursing care and quality of nursing indicators; and (2) consultation with Thailand quality experts to refine the definition and quality of care indicators. The indicators were categorized into three groups: structure, process, and outcome.

Limitations. This descriptive study using qualitative method relied upon the opinions of various stakeholders. Their opinions may or may not have any direct relationship to the scientific literature related to quality. Many of the indicators need to be further refined.

Conclusions. The findings generally support the initial work done in the United States of America. There is a need to further refine the various Thailand indicators. This study is the first in Thailand that has attempted to address quality of nursing care.
Improving community mental health nurse targeting of people with severe and enduring mental illness: experiences from one English health district
Authors: Barr Wally , Cotterill Lesley , Hoskins Ann
Published: March 2003

Improving community mental health nurse targeting of people with severe and enduring mental illness: experiences from one English health district

Background. Successive governments have urged mental health service providers to target their attentions on people with severe and enduring mental illness (SEMI). However, community mental health teams (CMHTs) in general, and community mental health nurses (CMHNs) in particular, have been criticized for failing to meet this requirement. This paper reports selected findings from a wider study that assessed the impact of an initiative designed to facilitate service targeting: the establishment of registers of patients with SEMI in general practices throughout an English health district. The paper describes changes in the nature of community mental health nursing contacts with a sample of patients on these registers.

Methods. Six general practices were randomly selected from the 65 practices in the district and comparisons made between patients on the six mental health registers who either had, or did not have, community mental health nursing contact. These comparisons related to the year before the establishment of the registers, the year during which they were being established and the year following this.

Results. A total of 274 patients were included on the sample registers, with practices varying considerably in relation to proportions of mental health registered patients with community mental health nursing contact. Overall, the number of patients in contact with CMHNs was found to have decreased over time, except for those on level 2 of the Care Programme Approach.

Conclusions. No evidence was found to support the hypothesis that the establishment of the registers had improved CMHN targeting of patients with SEMI. However, findings were inconclusive because shortages of CMHNs and the disruption associated with widespread service reorganization meant the registers were never fully implemented in practices during the study period.
Inequalities in health care provision: the relationship between contemporary policy and contemporary practice in maternity services in England
Authors: Hart A. , Lockey R.
Published: March 2003

Inequalities in health care provision: the relationship between contemporary policy and contemporary practice in maternity services in England

Aim. The project Addressing Inequalities in Health: new directions in midwifery education and practice (Hart et al. 2001) was commissioned by the English National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting (ENB). Here, we draw on those research findings to consider current midwifery policy and practice in England.

Background. Little guidance on providing equality of care exists for midwives. The Code of Conduct [United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting (UKCC) 1992] makes no specific requirement for midwives to address issues of inequalities of health in their practice. Recent policy documents emphasize the need to work towards reducing inequalities and to target practice to `disadvantaged clients' without giving guidelines on how to identify and care for target groups.

Methods. In‐depth studies of midwifery education and service provision were conducted in three very different parts of England. Three months of fieldwork were undertaken at each site, comprising a series of interviews with midwifery educators, managers, students, midwives and service users. Focus groups were also held and observation of classroom sessions and midwifery practice undertaken.

Findings. A lack of clear and specific strategies concerning inequalities in health was evident at managerial level. Patchy knowledge of current policy was also evident amongst practising midwives. Specific projects with disadvantaged clients usually resulted from a particular midwife's personal interest or evident local need. All midwives emphasized the importance of `equality of care'. How this was operationalized varied, and `individualized' or `woman‐centred' care was assumed to encompass the concept. In the few examples where care was systematically targeted in accordance with policy directives, the midwife's public health role was increased.

Conclusion. In the absence of a co‐ordinated strategic vision driven by managers, practitioners find difficulty in prioritizing care and targeting resources to disadvantaged clients in line with policy directives. Tensions between policy and practice in the care of `disadvantaged' women clearly exist. Successful implementation of policy at practice level needs: commitment from managers; clarity of purpose in documentation; and provision of specific targets for practitioners. However, the latter should remain flexible enough for the delivery of care to be appropriate and sensitive to individual needs.
An analysis of the concept of equity and its application to health visiting
Authors: Almond Palo
Published: March 2003

An analysis of the concept of equity and its application to health visiting

Aims. The aim of this paper is to provide an in‐depth analysis of the concept of equity in the British health visiting service and thus facilitate understanding of the term. An attempt has been made to apply the analytical process to the context of health visiting.

Background. Equity has been discussed at some length in the health literature. Much of this including the health visiting literature discusses inequality and inequalities in health at the same time as discussing equity. Increasingly, poverty and inequalities have become accepted as determinants in poor health. It seemed appropriate therefore to analyse these topical and seemingly related concepts.

Methods. A well established method of concept analysis has been utilized to facilitate the process of analysis.

Results. Confusion between the meaning and application of the concepts of equity and equality was found. Much of the health visiting and health care literature related to addressing the needs of groups who experience inequality in terms of service provision, and access to services. Following an in‐depth critical analysis of the literature three critical attributes of the concept were identified: equal opportunity of access to services; a high standard of service for everyone; and unequal distribution of services to meet unequal need. These relate to two distinct forms of equity: horizontal and vertical equity. A definition of equity has been proposed.Maxwell’s (1992)framework is suggested as a means to evaluate equity in service provision and uptake.

Conclusions. Most of the literature examines equity at a macro level, that is service level. Nurses and health visitors are urged to examine the services that they are involved in to determine the level of equity that is achieved or not attained. Suggestions have been offered as to how this task may be undertaken. A definition has been proposed to stimulate debate and discussion about the concept within nursing contexts.
Supporting and policing mothers: an analysis of the disciplinary practices of health visiting
Authors: Peckover Sue
Published: March 2003

Supporting and policing mothers: an analysis of the disciplinary practices of health visiting

Aim. This paper draws on the notion of disciplinary power developed by Michel Foucault to discuss whether the professional practices inherent in British health visiting can be understood in terms of support or surveillance.

Background. The notion of disciplinary power embedded within Foucault's writings has been widely applied to the sociological analysis of health care professions. While a number of studies have focused on nursing practice, there has been little empirical work developing these ideas in the context of British health visiting.

Methods. A qualitative approach using interviews with 24 health visitors and 16 women who had experienced domestic violence was used. For reasons of confidentiality, the women were not matched to the health visitors. Data analysis was continuous with data collection and led to identification of a number of categories. The theoretical framework of feminist poststructuralism underpinned the analysis.

Findings: The women who participated in this research described their engagement in a number of disciplinary practices. These included the discursive production of themselves as good mothers, subjects and objects of the health visiting gaze, as well as their practices of resistance to health visiting work. Analysis of the health visitors' interview data provided further evidence concerning the exercise of disciplinary power in their everyday work of providing support and health care to women and children.

Conclusions. The paper highlights tensions within the health visitor's role between welfare and surveillance, as well as differences between lay and professional perspectives.
A discipline‐specific determination of high quality nursing care
Authors: Gunther Mary , Alligood Martha Raile
Published: March 2003

A discipline‐specific determination of high quality nursing care

Aim. The purpose of this study is to establish a framework for defining quality of care based in nursing's unique body of knowledge through identification of nursing actions associated with high quality care.

Rationale. Nurses are legally liable and morally responsible for the quality of the care they provide to patients. Yet the meaning of `high quality nursing care' remains ambiguous mainly because models used to define it are borrowed from other disciplines.

Design. Two frameworks, quality and nursing knowledge, guided the selection and review of this literature review. The third framework of learning domains, an educational theory, assisted in organizing the data gathered from the literature.

Findings. Attributes of high quality nursing care as perceived by both patients and nurses are described. Despite a professed philosophy of holism and humanism, nursing relies heavily on the industrially derived structure‐process‐outcome model with current emphasis on outcomes.

Conclusions. Patient outcomes are the product of the service nurses deliver and are appropriate as defining criteria only when care is being evaluated from the patient's perspective. Defining quality from the nursing profession's frame of reference focuses on evaluating the services provided; that is, nursing actions and behaviours, linked to the use of nursing knowledge. High quality nursing equates with competence in the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains.
Confirmation and lucidity during conversations with a woman with severe dementia
Authors: Normann Hans Ketil , Norberg Astrid , Asplund Kenneth
Published: March 2003

Rationale.  Patients with severe dementia sometimes surprise the care providers because they seem to be much more aware of their situation and function much more adequately than usual. Such episodes are labelled ‘episodes of lucidity’ (ELs). The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics of the particular conversations with a woman with severe dementia when ELs occurred as compared with conversations when she was not lucid.

Methodological design.  A woman with a probable diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) was selected. Her Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) was estimated as 3. The first author met the woman for 4 hours five times over a period of 2 weeks.

Research methods.  The conversations were tape‐recorded and transcribed verbatim. The text was divided into 278 content units and analysed.

Findings.  Lucidity is promoted by supporting the patient in various ways, that is sharing the patient's view, repeating and reformulating the patient's utterance, reinforcing the patient by using positive utterances, not emphasizing errors and supporting the patient's language in various ways, and avoiding making demands. The relation between the patient and her conversation partner during ELs is characterized by confirmation and communion.

Conclusions.  This case study indicates that a supportive attitude in conversation with the patient with severe dementia promotes lucidity. A supportive attitude includes the avoidance on the part of the conversational partner making demands on the patient, confirming the patient as an important, unique and valuable person and creating communion. The connection between supporting and avoiding demands and lucidity/nonlucidity during conversation needs further study.
Exploring participation: older people on discharge from hospital
Authors: Roberts Kathryn
Published: March 2003

Background and aim.  User participation has been a widely researched and debated phenomenon in the formulation and implementation of health and social care policy and indeed wider public sector policy in the United Kingdom (UK), yet there remains a vast array of definitions of the term and great variety in the findings of empirical studies. The aim of this paper is to discuss the main findings of an empirical study in order to build upon existing evidence and interpretation relating to user participation in health and social care.

Method.  The study reported here was carried out in the UK and explored the extent to which older people were able and willing to assume an active role in the process of using health and social care. Hospital discharge and the period shortly afterwards was the process under investigation. This study used a multi‐method approach incorporating both quantitative and qualitative approaches; data from 260 questionnaires and 30 interviews were included.

Findings.  The majority of respondents felt that they had been involved in decisions regarding their discharge from hospital. All welcomed advice from professionals and some preferred service providers to make decisions on their behalf.

Discussion.  Arnstein's ladder of citizen participation is drawn upon in analysing the findings and notions of ‘partnership’, ‘relationship’, ‘communication’ and ‘paternalism’ are discussed.
Patterns of natal and breeding dispersal in birds
Authors: PARADIS EMMANUEL , BAILLIE STEPHEN R. , SUTHERLAND WILLIAM J. , GREGORY RICHARD D.
Published: March 2003

1.  Dispersal is of critical ecological and evolutionary importance for several issues of population biology, particularly population synchrony, colonization and range expansion, metapopulation and source–sink dynamics, and population genetic structure, but it has not previously been possible to compare dispersal patterns across a wide range of species or to study movement outside the confines of local study areas.

2.  Using resampling methods, we verified that statistically unbiased estimates of average dispersal distance and of intraspecific variance in dispersal distance could be extracted from the bird ringing data of the British Trust for Ornithology.

3.  Using data on 75 terrestrial bird species, we tested whether natal and breeding dispersal were influenced by a species’ habitat requirements, diet, geographical range, abundance, morphology, social system, life history or migratory status. We used allometric techniques to ascertain whether these relationships were independent of body size, and used the method of phylogenetically independent contrasts to ascertain whether they were independent of phylogeny.

4.  Both natal and breeding dispersal distances were lower among abundant species and among species with large geographical ranges. Dispersal distances and life‐history variables were correlated independent of phylogeny, but these relationships did not persist after controlling for body size. All morphometrical variables (wing length, tarsus length and bill length) were not significantly correlated with dispersal distances after correcting for body size or phylogenetic relatedness.

5.  Migrant species disperse further than resident ones, this relation was independent of body size but not of phylogeny. A significant positive relation was observed between breeding dispersal distance and long‐term population decline among migrants, but not among residents.

6.  The species living in wet habitats disperse further than those living in dry habitats, which could be explained by the greater patchiness of wet habitats in space and/or time. This relationship was observed only for breeding dispersal, suggesting that this habitat variable does not impose the same constraint on natal dispersal.
The benefit of large broods in barnacle geese: a study using natural and experimental manipulations
Authors: Loonen Maarten J. J. E. , Bruinzeel Leo W. , Black Jeff M. , Drent Rudi H.
Published: March 2003

1.In precocial birds, where the young feed themselves, the costs and benefits of brood size are still poorly understood. An experimental manipulation of brood size was employed to examine the effects of brood size on both parents and young in a wild population of barnacle geese [Branta leucopsis(Bechstein)] during brood‐rearing on Svalbard.

2.Social dominance of the family unit, the amount of vigilance behaviour of the parents, the growth of the goslings in the family unit and an index of body condition for female parents during moult were all positively correlated with brood size.

3.When brood size changed as a result of natural events (i.e. predation or adoption) or experimental manipulation, rates of dominance, parental vigilance, gosling growth and female parent condition changed in a similar direction to the observed relation between the variable and brood size in unchanged broods.

4.After fledging, the fast‐growing goslings in large broods survived better during autumn migration, while there was no apparent net cost in survival or next‐year breeding for the parents.

5.Via a direct effect of brood size on dominance of the family unit, large broods were beneficial for both parent and young in a situation where there was strong intraspecific competition for the available food resources.

6.This study provides a clear demonstration of a causal relationship between brood size and various components of both gosling and adult fitness and is of direct relevance to the phenomenon of adoption and the evolution of brood size in this species.
A simulation model of foraging behaviour and the effect of predation risk
Authors: Ward Jane F. , Austin Roger M. , Macdonald David W.
Published: March 2003

1. The effect of predation risk on the distribution of animals foraging in a patchy environment was explored using a simulation model based on the work of Bernstein, Kacelnik & Krebs (1988, 1991), extended to incorporate predation risk.

2. Modelled foragers consume prey within patches, having different prey densities, at a rate that depends only on prey density and interference from other foragers in the patch. Prey density remains constant (no depletion). A forager leaves a patch if its intake rate drops below its estimate of the average intake rate available in the environment. This estimate is continually updated by taking a weighted average of current intake and the previous estimate, giving a simple learning process. Decisions on whether to leave are made at regular intervals and a forager leaving a patch may arrive at random at any other patch.

3. Simulation results were sensitive to the computational scheme used to represent estimates of average intake rate in the environment and to the way in which foragers’ decisions were distributed over time, illustrating the need for careful formulation of such models.

4. Predation risk was modelled as a cost that reduced effective intake, and could be distributed uniformly or skewed to patches of high prey density. The effects of different levels and distributions of predation risk on distribution of foragers were examined using model parameters broadly appropriate to hedgehogs (Erinaceous europaeus L.) foraging for earthworms (Lumbricus spp.) and risking opportunistic predation by badgers (Meles meles L.). The distribution of foragers with respect to prey density took an ‘ideal free’ form for zero or uniform risk, and was domed when cost of predation risk was relatively high and concentrated in the richer patches, as might be the case when predators and foragers share a common food resource.
Searching for mechanisms of synchrony in spatially structured gamebird populations
Authors: Cattadori Isabella M. , Merler Stefano , Hudson Peter J.
Published: March 2003

1. Time series data on five species of gamebird from the Dolomitic Alps were used to examine the relative importance of dispersal and common stochastic events in causing synchrony between spatially structured populations.

2. Cross‐correlation analysis of detrended time series was used to describe the spatial pattern of fluctuations in abundance, while standardized time series were used to describe both fluctuations and the trend in abundance. There were large variations in synchrony both within and between species and only weak negative relationships with distance.

3. Species in neighbouring habitats were more likely to be in synchrony than species separated by several habitats. Species with similar density‐dependent structure were more likely to be in synchrony.

4. In order to estimate the relative importance of dispersal and environmental stochasticity, we modelled the spatial dynamics of each species using two different approaches. First, we used estimating functions and bootstrapping of time series data to calculate the relative importance of dispersal and stochastic effects for each species. Second, we estimated the intensity of environmental stochasticity from climatic records during the breeding season and then modelled the dispersal rate and dispersal distance for each species. The two models exhibited similar results for rock ptarmigan, black grouse, hazel grouse and rock partridge, while contrasting patterns were observed for capercaillie.

5. The results suggest that environmental stochasticity plays the dominant role in synchronizing the fluctuations of these galliform species, although there will also be some dispersal between populations.
Increased risk of predation as a cost of high growth rate: an experimental test in a butterfly
Authors: Gotthard Karl
Published: March 2003

1. Life history theoreticians have traditionally assumed that juvenile growth rates are maximized and that variation in this trait is due to the quality of the environment. In contrast to this assumption there is a large body of evidence showing that juvenile growth rates may vary adaptively both within and between populations. This adaptive variation implies that high growth rates may be associated with costs.

2. Here, I explicitly evaluate the often‐proposed trade‐off between growth rate and predation risk, in a study of the temperate butterfly, Pararge aegeria (L).

3. By rearing larvae with a common genetic background in different photoperiods it was possible to experimentally manipulate larval growth rates, which vary in response to photoperiod. Predation risk was assessed by exposing larvae that were freely moving on their host plants to the predatory heteropteran, Picromerus bidens (L.).

4. The rate of predation was significantly higher in the fast‐growing larvae. An approximately four times higher relative growth rate was associated with a 30% higher daily predation risk.

5. The main result demonstrates a trade‐off between growth rate and predation risk, and there are reasons to believe that this trade‐off is of general significance in free‐living animals. The results also suggest that juvenile development of P. aegeria is governed by a strategic decision process within individuals.
Spatial patterns of diversity in the sea: bryozoan species richness in the North Atlantic
Authors: Clarke Andrew , Lidgard Scott
Published: March 2003

1. We have examined large‐scale geographical patterns in species richness for continental shelf bryozoan assemblages in the North Atlantic. Bryozoans are common and often abundant benthic organisms, but they have not previously been examined at this scale of resolution.

2. Assemblage species richness was estimated by sample species richness. This was highest at intermediate depths (10–75 m) at all latitudes where there were sufficient data, but there was no statistically significant variation with depth for the overall data set (all latitudes pooled). Mean assemblage species richness showed no significant variation with latitude, although the highest individual values were generally from lower latitudes. There is thus as yet no convincing evidence for a latitudinal cline in the alpha diversity of North Atlantic bryozoans.

3. Pooling of data into bins of 10 degrees of latitude, or into biogeographic provinces, to estimate regional species richness revealed significant undersampling. Two independent techniques to correct for this undersampling revealed a latitudinal cline in the regional species richness of North Atlantic bryozoans, with a peak around 10–30°N, and a steady decrease in richness north to 80°N.

4. Two measures of beta diversity (Whittaker and Jaccard) revealed relatively high turnover, presumably related to habitat heterogeneity within regional bins or to significant environmental variation across bins. There was a tendency for beta diversity to be higher at lower latitudes, as would be expected from a combination of a latitudinal cline in regional diversity with a mean assemblage species richness invariant with latitude. Null models were used to clarify the expected relationship between the two measures of beta diversity, and these indicated a strong influence of species‐abundance structure in the North Atlantic bryozoan data.
Dispersal sinks and handling effects: interpreting the role of immigration in common brushtail possum populations
Authors: Clinchy Michael , Krebs Charles J. , Jarman Peter J.
Published: March 2003

An evaluation of the potentially adverse effects of measurement must be made before concluding that one is dealing with a ‘dispersal sink’.

 We conducted a spatially and temporally replicated removal experiment on common brushtail possums (Trichosurusvulpecula) in uniformly suitable old‐growth eucalypt forest in south‐eastern Australia, that was designed to address the question: does immigration ‘rescue’ populations from extinction?

 Despite taking precautions to minimize potential harm, analyses indicated some evidence of an adverse effect of handling on the survival of pouch‐young and strong evidence of effects on adult survival. In addition, symptoms of stress associated with handling observed at our site, corresponded to symptoms reported in connection with the long‐term (15 + years) trapping study on possums conducted by Efford et al. in the Orongorongo Valley (OV) of New Zealand.

 Initial projections from a demographic model indicated that the resident population at our site was not replacing itself (births < deaths), suggesting that the site was a dispersal sink. This was inconsistent with the fact that the site was in prime habitat. Moreover, the measured rate of true immigration in response to experimental removals was not sufficient to maintain the population density. Using data from Efford (1998), our model confirmed his suggestion that the OV site also appears to be a dispersal sink for possums, despite being in prime habitat.

 When otherwise undiagnosable deaths among adults were assumed to be due to handling and ‘right‐censored’ (excluded), the projection was that the resident population at our site was stable (r ≅ 0), and therefore not in need of ‘rescue’ by immigration. Similarly, when survival estimates for the OV site were corrected by the same amounts, the projection was that the population at that site was also stable.

 Most vacancies created by our experimental removals were filled by neighbouring residents that expanded their ranges into the removal areas. We suggest that the artificial ‘removal’ of residents as a consequence of deaths due to handling, may often induce an influx of such apparent immigrants, thereby giving the impression that immigration is ‘rescuing’ populations from extinction.