Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Homelessness Research: Shaping Policy And Practice, Now And Into The Future, Dennis P. Culhane, Vince R. Kane, Mark Johnston

Dennis P. Culhane

Social Media Experiments: Scholarly Practice And Collegiality, Chris Gibson, Leah Gibbs

Chris Gibson

We draw out and seek to build on two key insights in Kitchin et al. (2013), namely the possibilities of social media for transforming knowledge production practices and for generating new spaces of collegiality and communality. Most promising are capacities to shape the terms of academic labour and to disrupt binaries of core/periphery, research/impact and academic/public.

Social Media Experiments: Scholarly Practice And Collegiality, Chris Gibson, Leah Gibbs

Leah Maree Gibbs

We draw out and seek to build on two key insights in Kitchin et al. (2013), namely the possibilities of social media for transforming knowledge production practices and for generating new spaces of collegiality and communality. Most promising are capacities to shape the terms of academic labour and to disrupt binaries of core/periphery, research/impact and academic/public.

Uptake Of Medicare Chronic Disease Items In Australia By General Practice Nurses And Aboriginal Health Workers, Elizabeth J. Halcomb, Patricia M. Davidson, Nicola Brown

Elizabeth Jane Halcomb Professor

The Australian health care system is currently in a state of reform and there is increasing pressure to provide care in community settings. Rising costs, demands and population ageing underscore the importance of adopting models of health care delivery to address changing epidemiological patterns. Population ageing and the increase of chronic conditions challenge models based on acute care. Changes to the Medicare benefits schedule have facilitated the development of a range of expanded nursing services in the general practice setting. In particular, item number 10997 was introduced to reimburse practice nurses and Aboriginal health workers (AHWs) for providing monitoring and …

Development Of A Clinician-Led Research Agenda For General Practice Nurses, Elizabeth J. Halcomb, Louise Hickman

Elizabeth Jane Halcomb Professor

Objective: This study sought to identify and prioritise research issues as perceived by Australian general practice nurses. In this context, a research priority refers to the most pressing research problems that necessitate exploration to improve clinical practice. Design: This paper reports the findings of a two-round Delphi study. Initially, focus groups identified research issues. Subsequently, an online survey facilitated ranking of these issues on a 5-point Likert scale. Setting: Australian general practices. Subjects: Twenty-five practice nurses participated in the focus groups and 145 practice nurses responded to an online survey. Main outcome measure(s): The main outcome measure was the prioritisation …

Practice Nurses Experiences Of Mentoring Undergraduate Nursing Students In Australian General Practice, Elizabeth J. Halcomb, Kathleen Peters, Susan Mcinnes

Elizabeth Jane Halcomb Professor

Internationally, the delivery of health services has shifted from secondary to primary care, necessitating an exponential growth of the nursing workforce and expansion of the nursing role in general practice. This growth, and the subsequent need to develop this workforce, has created a need to expose undergraduate nurses to general practice nursing as a viable career option. Concurrently, universities are struggling to find sufficient clinical places for their undergraduate students to gain clinical experience. It is logical, therefore, to increase the number of undergraduate nursing student placements in general practice. Through qualitative research methods, this paper seeks to explore the …

A Qualitative Evaluation Of New Zealand Consumers Perceptions Of General Practice Nurses, Elizabeth J. Halcomb, Kath Peters, Deborah Davies

Elizabeth Jane Halcomb Professor

Background An important consideration in health service delivery is ensuring that services meet consumer needs and that consumers are satisfied with service delivery. Patient satisfaction can impact on compliance with suggested treatments and therefore impact on health outcomes. Comparatively few studies have explored consumer satisfaction with nurses in general practice. Methods A sub-group of 18 consumers from a larger quantitative evaluation of consumer satisfaction with New Zealand general practice nurses participated in semi-structured telephone interviews. Interview data was analysed using thematic analysis. Results Four major themes emerged from the data. These themes highlighted that, despite confusion experienced by some consumers …

Clinical Placements In General Practice: Relationships Between Practice Nurses And Tertiary Institutions, Kath Peters, Elizabeth J. Halcomb, Susan Mcinnes

Elizabeth Jane Halcomb Professor

As a practice-based discipline a key component of undergraduate nurse education is clinical practice experience. The quality of clinical experiences has a significant impact on the students' ability to function competently post graduation. The relationship between higher education institutions (HEIs) and health service placement providers impacts upon the quality of clinical placements. In Australia, the growth of primary care nursing and the shortage of acute clinical places has prompted HEIs to explore the placement of students in general practice. Given the increasing attention being paid to non-traditional clinical placements, it is timely to explore how universities are establishing relationships and …

Quit In General Practice: A Cluster Randomised Trial Of Enhanced In-Practice Support For Smoking Cessation, Nicholas Arnold Zwar, Robyn Richmond, Elizabeth Halcomb, John Furler, Julie Smith, Oshana Hermiz, Irene Blackberry, Ron Borland

Elizabeth Jane Halcomb Professor

Background This study will test the uptake and effectiveness of a flexible package of smoking cessation support provided primarily by the practice nurse (PN) and tailored to meet the needs of a diversity of patients. Methods/Design This study is a cluster randomised trial, with practices allocated to one of three groups 1) Quit with Practice Nurse 2) Quitline referral 3) GP usual care. PNs from practices randomised to the intervention group will receive a training course in smoking cessation followed by access to mentoring. GPs from practices randomised to the Quitline referral group will receive information about the study and …

Teaching Thesis Writing, Policy And Practice At An Australian University, Janice Skillen, Emily Purser

Emily R Purser

As an indicator of serious engagement in an academic discourse, thesis writing enjoys universal recognition. While its importance in higher education is unquestioned, the need to teach students how to write a thesis (let alone what method to use) has been less generally accepted. In Australia, explicit instruction in thesis writing was rare until quite recently, but is now widespread and becoming almost mandatory. This paper briefly explains the shift and describes how the teaching of thesis writing is approached at the University of Wollongong. UoW’s major provider of academic skills instruction – Learning Development – supports student learning across …

Teaching Academic Literacy: Testing The Transferability Of Sound Pedagogic Practice, Emily Purser, Janice Skillen

Emily R Purser

No abstract provided.

Good Practice Guidelines: Leading Teaching Teams, Alisa Percy, Gerry Lefoe, Jeannette Stirling, Rosemary Beaumont, Kathy Rudkin

Jeannette Stirling

1.The University of Wollongong is committed to providing an excellent teaching and learning experience for its staff and students. The University recognises that: a. the leadership of the Subject Coordinator can facilitate the development of a community of practice; b. an effective community of practice can result in a significant reduction in the overall time required for effective subject coordination; c. communities of practice entail a culture of respect, participatory engagement and collegiality where teaching and teachers are valued; d. teaching teams inspire teachers when they function as communities of practice; and e. the teaching team is a key site …

Ward Rounds: Developing A Collaborative Best Practice Model Of Interdisciplinary Teaching For Multidisciplinary Practice, Patrea Andersen, Noel Tait, Kenneth Walsh, Pauline Gaetani, Alison Jones, Angela Brown

Alison L Jones

Ward rounds are an everyday occurrence in clinical practice. They provide the means for assessing patient care needs and communicating these within a multidisciplinary team. The literature demonstrates poor ward round practice contributes to poor patient care outcomes (O'Hare, 2008). Garling (2008) identifies that there is a need to change current practise and facilitate more effective interdisciplinary communication. This presentation reports collaborative research between The Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District (ISL HD) and The University of Wollongong. Using a Practice Development methodology, the aim of the research is to develop and test a best practice model for conducting ward rounds …

Do Australian Adolescent Female Fake Tan (Sunless Tan) Users Practice Better Sun-Protection Behaviors Than Non-Users?, Melinda Williams, Sandra C. Jones, Peter Caputi, Donald C. Iverson

Sandra Jones

Objective: To determine differences in sun-protection behaviours, and incidence of sunburn, between Australian adolescent female fake tan users and non-users. Design: Cross sectional survey. Method: 398 adolescent females aged 12 to 18 years participated in a survey at public venues, schools, and online. The main outcome measures were self-reported fake tan usage in the past 12 months, frequency of sunburns and habitual sun-protection behaviours. Setting: Surveys were completed in New South Wales, Australia. Results: The prevalence of self-reported use of fake tanning products in the past 12 months among Australian adolescent females was 34.5%. Female fake tan users were significantly …

Non-Advertising Alcohol Promotions In Licensed Premises: Does The Code Of Practice Ensure Responsible Promotion Of Alcohol?, Sandra C. Jones, Melissa Lynch

Sandra Jones

Introduction and Aims. Binge drinking is a major public health issue in Australia, particularly among young people. There has been a considerable focus on alcohol advertising, among both researchers and policy makers, resulting in efforts to bring about some level of regulation of unacceptable advertising practices. However - despite the existence of a Code of Practice for Responsible Promotion of Liquor Products which provides 'a framework of practices which are considered acceptable and reasonable' for licensed premises - there are few, if any, data on the nature and extent of promotions which could arguably fall under either 'acceptable' or 'unacceptable' …

The Case Study Methodology In Place Management Research And Practice, Gregory Kerr, Gary Noble, John Glynn

John J Glynn

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to assist those in the relatively new field of place management to undertake sound and appropriate research for which there is a current need. Approach: This paper identifies and provides an interpretation of key terms associated with research in the social and behavioural sciences and then recommends the case study methodology as being appropriate for research in place management. Findings: Based on a review of the literature this paper offers a viewpoint about the meaning and application of the terms ‘methodology’, ‘methods,’ ‘ways’, ‘strategies’ and ‘approaches’ when they are applied to research. Research …

A Multifaceted Approach To Distributed Communities Of Learning And Practice, Helen Hasan, Kate Crawford

Helen Hasan

In the electronic age, locally-driven regeneration of the concept of community could be enabled by a flexible, multifaceted model where new information and communication technologies are the catalyst. However technology, no matter how advanced, is far from providing the complete answer and it is essential to take an integrated socio-technical approach to this issue. This paper reports on two cases that are part of ongoing research into distributed communities, framing them as phases of an activity system in expansive learning cycles in the context of a program of innoyatiye learning. This research d!monstrates that such communities are viable. with a …