Australian Catholic University

About: Australian Catholic University is a education organization based out in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 2721 authors who have published 10013 publications receiving 215248 citations. The organization is also known as: ACU & ACU National.

Reworking the appraisal framework in ESL research: refining attitude resources

Abstract: The Appraisal framework within Systemic Functional Linguistics as a robust tool in language teaching and research has attracted a great deal of interest in recent years. Since its establishment as the most complete account, the framework has been used in a variety of contexts, resulting in a number of refinements, tuning its applicability for specific research purposes such as studies of the evaluative language in research article abstracts, biology experiment reports, wine appreciation and student narrative writing. This article proposes additional refinements, particularly to the system of Attitude, informed by research into the deployment of evaluative resources in spoken discourse by postgraduate students in small group discussions in English and in Vietnamese. The refinements were required to account for the range of evaluative language used in discussions of topics including personal experiences of living and studying in Australia, academic experiences at Australian universities, and opinion about one’s professional standing. These refinements contribute to the ongoing development of the Appraisal framework and provide a resource for enhancing the effectiveness of expressions of evaluative stance for speakers of English as a second or additional language.

The impact of interruptions on medication errors in hospitals: an observational study of nurses

Abstract: Aim To explore interruptions during medication preparation and administration and their consequences. Background Although not all interruptions in nursing have a negative impact, interruptions during medication rounds have been associated with medication errors. Method A non-participant observational study was undertaken of nurses conducting medication rounds. Results Fifty-six medication events (including 101 interruptions) were observed. Most medication events (99%) were interrupted, resulting in nurses stopping medication preparation or administration to address the interruption (mean 2.5 minutes). The mean number of interruptions was 1.79 (SD 1.04). Thirty-four percent of medication events had at least one procedural failure, while 3.6% resulted in a clinical error. Conclusions Our study confirmed that interruptions occur frequently during medication preparation and administration, and these interruptions were associated with procedural failures and clinical errors. Nurses were the primary source of interruptions with interruptions often being unrelated to patient care. Implications for nursing management This study has confirmed that interruptions are frequent and result in clinical errors and procedural failures, compromising patient safety. These interruptions contribute a substantial additional workload to medication tasks. Various interventions should be implemented to reduce non-patient-related interruptions. Medication systems and procedures are advocated, that reduce the need for joint double-checking of medications, indirectly avoiding interruptions.

Oppression and exposure as differentiating predictors of types of workplace violence for nurses

Abstract: Aims and objectives. To extend a model of the antecedents of workplace bullying to apply to a wider range of types of workplace aggression, including bullying and several types of violence, among nurses. Background. Research that has focused on workplace bullying has found that the Demand-Control-Support model, negative affectivity and certain demographic factors play important roles as antecedents of bullying. Design. A cross-sectional design. Methods. A validated questionnaire was sent to the work addresses of all nursing and midwifery staff in a medium-to-large hospital in Australia. A total of 273 nurses and midwives returned their completed questionnaires. Ordinal regressions were conducted to assess the antecedents of workplace aggression across bullying and violence. Results. Aspects of the Demand-Control-Support model and job tenure significantly predicted particular forms of violence, while negative affectivity and work schedule were significant for bullying. Conclusions. The patterns of the results suggest key mechanisms that characterise certain forms of violence and distinguish between bullying and types of violence across the range of workplace aggression. In particular, oppression and exposure appear to differentiate types of workplace violence. Relevance to clinical practice. The study suggests ways in which nursing and hospital managers may act to reduce the likelihood of certain forms of aggression, particularly violence, from occurring.

Heed, A Missing Link Between Trust, Monitoring and Performance In Knowledge Intensive Teams

Abstract: This longitudinal study aimed to explain performance differences of knowledge intensive project teams. Team level data gathered at three measurement moments were used. Antecedents of performance studied were: trust in team members, trust in supervisors, monitoring by team members and monitoring by supervisors. Heedful interrelating, a concept developed by Weick and Roberts (1993) was expected to mediate between trust in team members, monitoring by team members and team performance. Correlation analysis and structural equation modelling were employed to analyse the data. The results show that heedful interrelating of team members, built on a combination of trust and monitoring by team members and trust in supervisors is an important factor in promoting team performance.