KIWIN(TM): From prototype to product for use.

2005 has seen the birth of the product KIWIN(TM)--an educational technology for nursing students in New Zealand involving web-based technology supported by Pocket PCs in the field. Nursing students use the technology to collect clinically relevant data at the point-of-care and transmit to a secure central server for storage using cradle synchronisation, WiFi or cellular wireless modalities. Later retrieval via the Internet enables collation of details, refinement of work, and construction with print-off of care reports to meet academic requirements.

Acquisition of the lateral inconsistency in involuntary behaviour of upper limbs in 12-year-old children during walking at moderate speed.

The aim of this work was to investigate possible lateralisation in the behaviour of periodic motion of the human upper limb, during normal walking at a comfortable speed of locomotion. Ten healthy pre-adolescent, strongly right-handed, 12-year-old males participated in the experiment. Participants were walking on a treadmill with a standardised velocity of 1.

The effect of effleurage massage in recovery from fatigue in the adductor muscles of the thumb.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of local effleurage massage on the recovery from fatigue in the small hand muscles.

Methods: This study was a within-subject repeated measure design. Twelve healthy, right-handed volunteer male subjects with a mean age of 25 +/- 2.

Mothering a hospitalized child: it's the 'little things' that matter.

This article reports one aspect of a phenomenological study that described the lived experience of mothering a child hospitalized with acute illness or injury. The significance for mothers that nurses do the 'little things' emerged in considering the implications of this study's findings for nurses in practice. Seven mothers whose child had been hospitalized in the 12 months prior to the first interview agreed to share their stories.

The effect of source to image distance on scattered radiation to the image receptor.

In performing experimental or theoretical studies of the effect of source to image distance on dose to the patient, it is conventional to assume that the dose to the image receptor should remain constant at each SID. However, if the proportion of scattered radiation reaching the image receptor depends on the SID, then this assumption will be invalid. In this paper, the effect of SID on the scatter fraction has been determined using a Monte Carlo simulation, using EGSnrcMP.

How well do members of the public deal with a distributive justice problem in health care?

Objectives: There is some debate about the appropriateness of involving the general public in decisions concerning the prioritising and rationing of health care resources. Doubt has been expressed about the public's ability to deal with these issues in a fair and rational way without taking refuge in ready-made official ideologies. This study considers the quality of discussion achieved by members of the public on this issue in terms of their ability to recognise the validity of conflicting arguments, to cope with the shifting positions created by these conflicts, and to avoid opting for simplistic ready-made solutions.

Bill and Monica: memory, emotion and normativity in Clinton's Grand Jury testimony.

We examine links between factual recall, emotion and constructions of normativity in narrative accounts, using as an empirical case President Clinton's descriptions of his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. We analyse those accounts in the sequences of talk in which they occurred, under Grand Jury cross-examination. Clinton's accounts of Lewinsky were part of how he attended to issues alive in court concerning himself, including his possible exploitation and abuse of power in an asymmetrical relationship; his motives, sincerity, credibility and intentions; and, indirectly, his fitness for office as President.

Principles of distributive justice used by members of the general public in the allocation of donor liver grafts for transplantation: a qualitative study.

Objective: To investigate the nature of public preferences in the allocation of donor liver grafts for transplantation.

Design: A qualitative study based upon the transcripts of four focus groups.

Setting: Derby, Derbyshire, UK.

Student and mentor perceptions of mentoring effectiveness.

The following is an account of a small pilot study conducted over a 3-month period which ascertained the views of staff nurses and students about the mentoring process. In particular, whether the possession of a teaching qualification influences the effectiveness of mentors. The research was conducted in a district general hospital in North Wales.

District nurses and home carers 3: project evaluation.

This article, the last in a series of three, discusses the evaluation of a project established to provide a programme of education for social services' home carers that focused on the development of skills relating to care work. This education was delivered by district nurses (DNs) to address a number of problems associated with the provision of personal care identified by the home carers and their DN colleagues. An action research framework was used to improve collaborative working between the staff of the two disciplines.

E-learning and educational diversity.

This article discusses the nature of electronic learning (E-learning) and argues for its centrality to educational diversity and the shift from teaching to learning. It is argued that E-learning is the new wave strategy that sits comfortably with other strategies developed for the 21st century. As such it challenges the traditional 'banking concept' of education, where the teacher is seen as the font of knowledge as long as students acknowledge this and are eager to absorb the teacher's vital knowledge.

Compression hosiery in venous insufficiency: a natural nurse-led field.

The use of compression hosiery for the treatment and prevention of venous ulceration caused by venous insufficiency is commonplace in community practice. In recent years the role of the nurse in the management of these patients has grown supported by increasing levels of knowledge, nurse specialists and the implementation of nurse prescribing. The full list of compression hosiery items available on NHS prescription are included in the list of nurse prescribing items in the Nurse Prescribers' Formulary and the Drug Tariff.

Community nurses and social workers learning together: a report of an interprofessional education initiative in South Wales.

Collaboration between different professional groups and agencies is an essential element in the provision of high quality community care for people with complex health and social needs. There are, however, a number of barriers to effective interprofessional working. These include: the differing structures and operational philosophies of organizations; the differing languages and values of professional groups; professional and agency rivalries; and the fact that professional groups are, still, largely educated and trained in isolation.

The potential role of community pharmacists in care management.

The traditional dispensing role of the community pharmacist is increasingly being questioned and greater emphasis is being placed on the provision of advice. Introduction of the NHS Community Care Act provides an opportunity to consider the potential role of community pharmacists in care management and in carrying out assessment of individual need. This paper describes the introduction of Community Care training for community pharmacists in Derbyshire and the results of a study to evaluate assessment and referrals that the community pharmacists routinely carried out.

Mode of presentation and instructions in solutions to practical construction problems.

This study examined the effects of mode of presentation and instructions on the solution of five classical practical construction problems by 96 undergraduate men and 96 women. Visual presentation of practical materials was superior to verbal presentation in the solution of practical construction problems. When subjects were instructed to use either imaginative or memory-imagery strategies in solving problems, imaginative imagery produced more solutions.

Imagery in thinking and problem solving.

The possible role of imagery in thinking and problem solving was examined by giving 20 subjects a practical construction test (Maier's hat rack problem). 5 men and 4 women solved the problem. Posttest questioning indicated two distinct types of imagery were used to solve the problem, imagination or memory in imagery.

'It's the best of two evils': a study of patients' perceived information needs about oral steroids for asthma.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the sources of patients' knowledge about the potential side-effects of oral steroids prescribed to treat asthma. METHODS: Seventeen in-depth interviews were conducted with patients taking prescribed oral steroid medication (prednisolone) for asthma. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and the data organized according to common themes.

Nurses and whistleblowing: the ethical issues.

Whistleblowing - the public exposure of organizational wrongdoing - presents practical and ethical dilemma for nurses, and needs to be seen as part of a spectrum of increasingly confrontative actions against miscreant organizations by their employees. The ethics of whistleblowing can only be understood in relation to its moral purpose, whether that is to achieve a good outcome (a consequentialist view) or fulfil a duty (a deontological view). The consequentialist perspective is unable on its own to resolve problems arising from the balance of good and harm resulting from the act of whistleblowing (where considerable harm might be caused) or of responsibility for that harm.

Corporate moral responsibility in health care.

The question of corporate moral responsibility--of whether it makes sense to hold an organisation corporately morally responsible for its actions, rather than holding responsible the individuals who contributed to that action--has been debated over a number of years in the business ethics literature. However, it has had little attention in the world of health care ethics. Health care in the United Kingdom (UK) is becoming an increasingly corporate responsibility, so the issue is increasingly relevant in the health care context, and it is worth considering whether the specific nature of health care raises special questions around corporate moral responsibility.

Transcultural competence: the challenge for nurse education.

Several recent health policy directives highlight the need to overcome the health disadvantage and discrimination experienced by many members of minority ethnic communities. However, there is ample evidence to indicate that nurses frequently fall short of providing sensitive and appropriate care to minority ethnic patients. If these policy objectives are to be met, it is essential that nurse education provides students with the opportunity to develop transcultural competence.

The role of the personal tutor in the academic context.

This paper is the second of a series on the role of the nurse teacher and is based on a review of the literature and the personal experience of the authors. Identifying the most appropriate way to support students in both the academic and clinical setting has been a major concern for nurse teachers. The move of nurse education into the higher education arena has increased the diverse nature of the nurse teachers role and raised questions about the nature and function of the personal tutor in relation to students undertaking nursing courses.