bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Nursing home employment for nursing students: valuable experience or a harsh deterrent?
Authors: Happell Brenda 
Published: March 2003

Aim of the study.  The primary aim of the study was to examine the attitudes of undergraduate nursing students at the both the beginning and end of their nursing course. Background.  Throughout Australia there is increasing awareness of the ageing of the population and the widespread implications this will have for the future. The ramifications for the health system are expected to be wide and far‐reaching. For the nursing profession the increase in the number of aged people will increase the demand for nurses to practice within the aged care area. This raises serious concerns in light of the negative attitudes that Registered Nurses and undergraduate nursing students hold towards working with older people. Methods.

This paper reports the results of a longitudinal study of undergraduate nursing students at the start (
n

= 793) and at the end (
n  = 524) of their nursing education programme. Findings.  The findings support the literature in demonstrating that working with older people is the least preferred area of practice for students, and that its popularity actually declines during the education process. One interesting finding from this research suggests that part‐time employment of student nurses in nursing homes can further influence students' negative attitudes. Conclusions.  If nursing students are to continue working in aged care, strategies to address the potential detrimental impact need to be identified and developed as a matter of urgency.
The educational preparation of undergraduate nursing students in pharmacology: a survey of lecturers' perceptions and experiences
Authors: Bullock Shane , Manias Elizabeth 
Published: March 2003

Background.  Nurses have key responsibilities in the administration and management of medication therapy and client education. It is of some concern therefore that the literature indicates that nurses are inadequately prepared in this area. Aims.  This paper explores the perceptions and expectations of lecturers about teaching and learning pharmacology in preregistration nursing courses. Research methods.

Questionnaires were distributed to lecturers involved in teaching pharmacology to undergraduate nursing students during 2000. The questionnaire was distributed to all university campuses (
n  = 13) in Victoria, Australia, that are involved in undergraduate nursing education. The questionnaire was an adaptation of the survey instrument used in the Nursing and Medication Education [NAME] project and examined in this questionnaire: the integration of pharmacology teaching into nursing, range and depth of classroom‐based pharmacology teaching, approaches to teaching and learning, nursing practice in a clinical context, related importance of patient education and communication skills, and the appropriate professional background of academics teaching pharmacology to preregistration nursing students. Results.  There was great variation between institutions as to the number of hours devoted to pharmacology and when it was offered. A number of respondents indicated that they were dissatisfied with the preparation of graduates and their knowledge base in pharmacology. Limitations.  The study was limited by a low response rate of 34%. Conclusions.  A review of nursing curricula is required to improve the knowledgebase of nurses in pharmacology and to facilitate their skills in life‐long learning.
Ethical review of health service research in the UK: implications for nursing
Authors: Tod A.M. , Nicolson P. , Allmark P. 
Published: March 2003

Background.  This paper examines the current systems and structures for ethical review of health services research in the United Kingdom (UK). Past criticisms and the adequacy of recent governance arrangements for Ethics Committees in addressing these are discussed. The implications for nurses are then considered. Rationale.  This examination of the situation is prompted by the demand for more innovative research designs in health care evaluation, new regulations and guidance, and a climate of public anxiety regarding research conduct in the UK. Findings.  The evolution of Research Ethics Committees (RECs) has been slow and resulted in a lack in consistency. Criticisms made of RECs can be categorized into four main areas. New governance arrangements for RECs have emerged as potential solutions to these criticisms. This review identifies the limitations of the new governance arrangements in addressing past criticisms because of two factors. The first is insufficient funding. The second is confusion about the confidentiality and consent requirements of clinicians working in areas where research is conducted and on whom recruitment processes often rely. The current situation regarding health research ethical review has implications for nurses, whether they are working as researchers, members of Ethics Committees or clinicians where research is conducted. Conclusion.  The new governance arrangements may go some way to addressing past problems. However, investment in RECs is required. It is also important to realize that maintaining ethical probity in health service research is a tripartite concern. It is reliant as it is on the actions of Ethics Committees and clinical research partners as well as those of the researchers themselves.
User‐friendly technology to help family carers cope
Authors: Chambers Mary , Connor Samantha L. 
Published: March 2003

Background.  Increases in the older adult population are occurring simultaneously with a growth in new technology. Modern technology presents an opportunity to enhance the quality of life and independence of older people and their family carers through communication and access to health care information. Aim.  To evaluate the usability of a multimedia software application designed to provide family carers of the elderly or disabled with information, advice and psychological support to increase their coping capacity. Intervention.  The interactive application consisted of an information‐based package that provided carers with advice on the promotion of psychological health, including relaxation and other coping strategies. The software application also included a carer self‐assessment instrument, designed to provide both family and professional carers with information to assess how family carers were coping with their care‐giving role. Design.  Usability evaluation was carried out in two stages. In the first stage (verification), user trials and an evaluation questionnaire were used to refine and develop the content and usability of the multimedia software application. In the second (demonstration), stage evaluation questionnaires were used to appraise the usability of the modified software application. Findings.  The findings evidenced that the majority of users found the software to be usable and informative. Some areas were highlighted for improvement in the navigation of the software. Conclusions.  The authors conclude that with further refinement, the software application has the potential to offer information and support to those who are caring for the elderly and disabled at home.
The art of developmental care in the NICU: a concept analysis
Authors: Aita Marilyn , Snider Laurie 
Published: March 2003

Introduction.  The survival rate of infants born prematurely and hospitalized in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) has increased due to improvement of the technology in obstetrics and neona tology that allows saving preterm infants at earlier gestational ages. Preterm infants are hospitalized in a care environment which is quite different from the maternal womb. Therefore the application of developmental care in NICUs is critical to promote the development of preterm infants while they are hospitalized. Aim.  This concept analysis contributes to the body of knowledge in developmental care and clarifies its understanding as well as its involvement in neonatal practice and research. Methods.
Using the method of concept analysis of Walker and Avant, this article identifies the definitions and uses of the concept of developmental care, exposes its main attributes and introduces a model case representing the acknowledged attributes. The antecedents of the concept and consequences of the application of developmental care are discussed. Conclusion.  This concept analysis provides guidelines for nurses and health professionals to establish a ‘developmental care’ environment which is conducive for preterm infants. Moreover, it suggests conceptual and operational foundations of developmental care for clinicians and researchers in the neonatal field.
Parents' use of nonpharmacological methods to alleviate children's postoperative pain at home
Authors: Kankkunen Päivi , Vehviläinen‐Julkunen Katri , Pietilä Anna‐Maija , Halonen Pirjo 
Published: March 2003

Study background. Nonpharmacological methods are stated to be effective in alleviating children's postoperative pain when used as an adjuvant to analgesics. However, little is known about how these methods are used by parents at home. Purpose of the study. The purpose of this study was to describe parents' use of nonpharmacological methods at home in 1–6‐year‐old children's pain alleviation after minor day surgery. Methods. Mothers (n  = 201) and fathers (n  = 114) whose child had undergone day surgery in 10 Finnish hospitals between October 2000 and September 2001 filled in a questionnaire including a Visual Analogue Scale, Parents' Postoperative Pain Measure and a subscale consisting of 25 items measuring parents' use of several nonpharmacological pain alleviation methods with their children at home after day surgery. Results. The most frequently used nonpharmacological pain alleviation methods were holding the child on the parent's lap, comforting the child and spending more time with them. Differences were found in mothers' and fathers' use of these methods. In addition, several methods were used more with girls than with boys. Significant relationships were found between parents' use of nonpharmacological pain alleviation methods and children's pain intensity and pain behaviour. Conclusions. Parents used several nonpharmacological pain alleviation methods with their children. However, their implementation seemed to be gender‐related and limited to methods that were familiar to the parents from everyday life. The findings can be used in advising parents to use nonpharmacological pain alleviation methods at home after surgical procedures. Further research using experimental designs is needed into the effectiveness of these methods.
Identifying key factors using λ contribution analysis
Authors: Sibly Richard M. , Smith Robert H. 
Published: March 2003

1.  Key factor analysis is widely used as the first step in analysing census data to identify factors responsible for population change, but is generally considered to be flawed. The conceptual problems can be overcome by assessing the effects of variation in the life‐history parameters on population growth rate, λ. We refer to this as λ‐contribution analysis. The difference from key factor analysis is that now each life history parameter is weighted by the sensitivity of λ to that parameter. The rationale for this modification is that population growth rate is the best available measure of population change. 2.  The advantages of the new method are: that it correctly assesses the effects of life history parameters on population growth rate; that birth rates are included in the analysis in a natural way without making arbitrary assumptions about birth rate mortalities; that post‐reproductive individuals who do not contribute to population growth rate are zero‐weighted; and that the analysis can be applied to populations with overlapping generations. 3.  It is proposed that λ‐contribution analysis should replace conventional key‐factor analysis as the first step in a wider analysis of population change and density dependence. λ‐contribution analysis also links census studies of natural populations with the use of life‐table response experiments.
Variable mating patterns in Tasmanian native hens (Gallinula mortierii): correlates of reproductive success
Authors: Goldizen Anne W. , Putland David A. , Goldizen Alan R. 
Published: March 2003

1.  The Tasmanian native hen (Gallinula mortierii) exhibits mate‐sharing by both males and females, with monogamy, polyandry, polygyny and polygynandry all occurring in a single population. 2.  Multivariate models are used to investigate the relationships between reproductive success and a number of aspects of group compositions and territories in a population of Tasmanian native hens studied at Maria Island, Tasmania, Australia, over five breeding seasons. 3.  Mating pattern did not remain a significant explanatory variable in most of the models of the factors affecting reproductive success, suggesting that the reproductive success of individuals is not affected by their mating pattern. The only exception was that mating pattern was significantly related to clutch size, because co‐breeding females laid combined clutches. 4.  Breeding success (per group, per breeding male and per breeding female) was most significantly related to the total length of edge between short pasture and tall, dense vegetative cover present in a territory. It is proposed that edges between short pasture and cover allow the Tasmanian native hens’ precocious chicks to be near good feeding areas while also remaining close to protective cover. 5.  Individual components of breeding success were most significantly related to different variables. The presence of water in the territory increased the probability that a group laid eggs. Clutch size was most affected by a group’s mating pattern. Hatching success increased with the number of adults in a group. Chick survival increased with the length of pasture/cover edge in a group’s territory. 6.  The probability that mate‐sharing by males occurred in a group was positively related to the total length of pasture/cover edge in the group’s territory. There was no such relationship for mate‐sharing by females. 7.  These models suggest that individuals do not incur any net costs from sharing mates and that such sharing may allow some individuals to breed in higher‐quality territories than those to which they would otherwise have access.
Fitness correlates of spur length and spur asymmetry in male wild turkeys
Authors: BADYAEV ALEXANDER V. , ETGES WILLIAM J. , FAUST JOHN D. , MARTIN THOMAS E. 
Published: March 2003

Summary

Tarsal spurs play an important role in intrasexual competition for females among male wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo). Thus variation in spur development may have important fitness consequences.
Fitness correlates of spur development were studied in a free‐living population of wild turkeys and it was found that heavier males and males with longer beards had longer spurs. Males that had longer spurs spent more time on display areas during the breeding season and less time moving among these areas compared to males with shorter spurs, independently of their body mass.
Otherwise ideally symmetrical spurs showed fluctuating asymmetry between left and right tarsi, the degree of absolute asymmetry decreased with spur length in adults, but not in subadults, and males that survived at least one winter had more symmetrical spurs compared to males that did not.
We conclude that if the ability to produce symmetrical spurs has a genetic basis, then spur length and spur asymmetry could reliably indicate individual quality and that these traits are under directional selection for increased size and symmetry in wild turkeys.
Cats protecting birds: modelling the mesopredator release effect
Authors: Courchamp Franck , Langlais Michel , Sugihara George 
Published: March 2003

1.Introduced predators account for a large part of the extinction of endemic insular species, which constitutes a major component of the loss of biodiversity among vertebrates. Eradication of alien predators from these ecosystems is often considered the best solution.2.In some ecosystems, however, it can generate a greater threat for endemic prey through what is called the ‘mesopredator release’. This process predicts that, once superpredators are suppressed, a burst of mesopredators may follow which leads their shared prey to extinction.3.This process is studied through a mathematical model describing a three species system (prey–mesopredator–superpredator). Analysis of the model, with and without control of meso‐ and superpredators, shows that this process does indeed exist and can drive shared prey to rapid extinction.4.This work emphasizes that, although counter‐intuitive, eradication of introduced superpredators, such as feral domestic cats, is not always the best solution to protect endemic prey when introduced mesopredators, such as rats, are also present.
Small‐scale spatial dynamics in a fluctuating ungulate population
Authors: Coulson Tim , Albon Steve , Pilkington Jill , Clutton‐Brock Tim 
Published: March 2003

1.The scale at which population dynamics are analysed is important, as results from analyses at different spatial scales can differ and affect interpretation.2.In this study, detailed census data collected over a 10‐year period from a population of Soay sheep (Ovis ariesL.) on the Island of Hirta in the St Kilda archipelago, Scotland, is used, together with cluster analysis, to distinguish a temporally stable spatial substructure.3.Structured demographic accounting of the variance in population change (SDA) is also used to analyse the dynamics of the whole population treated as (a) one unit; (b) one unit subdivided into three subunits; and (c) three independent units.4.Differences in survival, recruitment and dispersal rates are demonstrated between divisions of the population, which are probably associated with variation in grazing quality.5.If these groups were not coupled by dispersal and density‐independent entrainment, the population dynamics of the three groups would diverge, however, the dynamics of the three subunits are strongly correlated.
Repeated selection of morphometric traits in the Soay sheep on St Kilda
Authors: Milner J. M. , Albon S. D. , Illius A. W. , Pemberton J. M. , Clutton‐Brock T. H. 
Published: March 2003

1. Long‐term studies allow the outcomes of repeated selection events to be monitored. Here, we investigate phenotypic selection in successive winter mortality events in the Soay sheep of St Kilda, Scotland, between 1985 and 1996. Selection of three quantitative morphometric traits, body weight, hindleg length and incisor arcade breadth, was investigated in different sectors of the population. 2. Evidence from fitness differentials of positive directional selection for large size was repeatedly found in lambs and adult females. Selection in the opposing direction was only found in one year in lambs. 3. Selection gradients showed that in most years when significant selection occurred, body weight was the focus of direct selection, whereas selection of hindleg length and incisor breadth was indirect, arising from their correlation with body weight. 4. Selection was strongest in years of low over‐winter survival and almost absent in years when survival was high. Intensity of selection was greatest in lambs, emphasizing the differences in selection pressure experienced by different sectors of the population, in addition to the temporal variation in selection pressure due to population density and environmental conditions. 5. Despite repeated positive selection of body weight, no evidence of a change in the population mean was found over the course of the study.
Snowshoe hare demography during a cyclic population low
Authors: Hodges K. E. , Krebs C. J. , Sinclair A. R. E. 
Published: March 2003

1.Snowshoe hare (Lepus americanusErxleben) populations were studied in south‐west Yukon during the low phase of the 10‐year population cycle. Food availability and predator abundance were manipulated in a factorial design to determine the importance of each factor in hare dynamics during this phase.2.Food was abundant during the low phase, and snowshoe hares were not food limited.3.Survival of hares was higher than at any other phase of the cycle, and predators were scarce, but >75% of hare deaths resulted from predation.4.Food addition resulted in higher hare densities and better body condition than on control sites. There were no observable effects of food addition on population rate of increase, recruitment, survival or age structure.5.Mammalian predator reduction resulted in higher hare densities, higher survival, better body condition and an older age structure. Relative to control populations, recruitment was lower and population rates of increase similar.6.The joint manipulation of food addition + predator reduction had greater positive effects on hare density and body condition than either single factor manipulation. Survival was better than on control sites, and the age structure was older than on control sites. Population rates of increase were similar, but recruitment was higher on the control areas.7.We conclude that snowshoe hare dynamics at the low of the cycle are dominated by the interaction of food and predation. Risk of predation also had indirect effects on snowshoe hare age structure and body condition.
Gyrfalcon predation on ptarmigan: numerical and functional responses
Authors: Nielsen Ólafur K. 
Published: March 2003

Summary1. Gyrfalcon predation on ptarmigan during the breeding season was studied in north‐east Iceland 1981–97. The ptarmigan population went through a complete 10‐year cycle of numbers with a 4·3‐fold difference in density between high and low years. The yearly number of occupied gyrfalcon territories was correlated with ptarmigan density with a 3‐year time‐lag. Total falcon numbers in late summer (territorial adults + fledglings) showed a 2‐year lag with ptarmigan numbers. Variability in falcon density was significantly less than that of ptarmigan. It is suggested that the factors contributing to the time‐lag between the two populations are the year‐round residency of falcons on nesting territories, and late maturity (2‐ to 4‐year‐old). Mean brood size and the proportion of the territorial falcon population breeding successfully showed no relation to ptarmigan numbers.2. Ptarmigan density in spring was an important factor determining composition and variability in the diet of gyrfalcons during the breeding season. Alternative prey for falcons included waterfowl, alcids and waders. Adult ptarmigan featured highly in gyrfalcon diet in all years. The functional response curve to changes in ptarmigan density was slightly convex or close to linear and showed relatively little change in the average number of ptarmigan killed per individual predator over the range of ptarmigan densities observed.3. The impact of gyrfalcon predation on the ptarmigan population and ptarmigan density was in opposite phases, and the predation rate peaked during the decline and the low phase of the ptarmigan cycle. This suggests that gyrfalcons accelerate decline, accentuate the amplitude and affect the length of the low phase of the ptarmigan cycle. The following factors seem to promote the destabilizing effects of predation by gyrfalcons: they are resident specialist predators, they show a delayed numerical response to changes in ptarmigan density and a high utilization of this prey at all phases of the ptarmigan cycle.