Tone as a health concept: An analysis.

STUDY DESIGN: Concept analysis. INTRODUCTION: This paper is a report on the analysis of the concept of tone in chiropractic. PURPOSE: The purpose of this paper is to clarify the concept of tone as originally understood by Daniel David Palmer from 1895 to 1914 and to monitor its evolution over time. METHODS: Data was sourced from Palmer's original work, published between 1895 and 1914. A literature search from 1980 to 2016 was also performed on the online databases CINHAL, PubMed and Scopus with key terms including 'tone', 'chiropractic', 'Palmer', 'vitalism', 'health', 'homeostasis', 'holism' and 'wellness'. Finally hand-searches were conducted through chiropractic books and professional literature from 1906 to 1980 for any references to 'tone'. Rodgers' evolutionary method of analysis was used to categorise the data in relation to the surrogates, attributes, references, antecedents and consequences of tone. RESULTS: A total of 49 references were found: five from publications by Palmer; three from the database searches, and; the remaining 41 from professional books, trade journals and websites. MAJOR CONCLUSIONS: There is no clear interpretation of tone in the contemporary chiropractic literature. Tone is closely aligned with functional neurology and can be understood as an interface between the metaphysical and the biomedical. Using the concept of tone as a foundation for practice could strengthen the identity of the chiropractic profession.

Duelling Ontologies: Might Vitalism Offer Balance and Value?

This article is part of a project investigating chiropractors' beliefs on the role of vitalism in their philosophical and practice approaches and how that might contribute to addressing current epidemics of non-communicable diseases. It aims to present atomism, reductionism, materialism and mechanism as fundamental ontologies in biomedicine and to examine what role these might play in its struggle to deal with these epidemics; to present vitalism as a fundamental ontology existing in chiropractic along with these ontologies of biomedicine; and to discuss how imbalances in the use of these ontologies and practices stemming from them might be contributing to difficulties in addressing these epidemics. The use of more balanced approaches by chiropractors involving not only mechanistic biomedical ontologies but also an increased focus on vitalism might offer value in addressing these epidemics and should be investigated.

Students' perceptions of the use of eportfolios in nursing and midwifery education.

ePortfolios have been introduced into many higher education degrees in the past decade in an effort to help students to link theory, practice and personal experiences. This pilot study used a survey to examine ePortfolio use from the perspective of undergraduate nursing and postgraduate midwifery students. Fifty-seven students from a regional Australian university completed an online questionnaire which contained questions about the following areas of ePortfolio use: understanding of the tool; psychological perceptions; challenges around use; assessment; outcomes of use; benefits; maintenance of the ePortfolio; and enhanced learning. The majority of respondents were female, undergraduate students, aged 21-30 years. Results indicated that many students found ePortfolio use frustrating; in particular, technological and logistical challenges in using ePortfolios were highlighted. Most students, however, noted ePortfolios could be useful repositories for documents, reflections and learning experiences. Undergraduate students were more likely than postgraduate students to see the positive potential of ePortfolio use. The findings, coupled with the literature, raise questions about the effectiveness of ePortfolio use in nursing and midwifery education and, particularly, whether ePortfolios have been implemented with misguided and misinformed good intention. Further research is required to better understand the logistical and technological aspects of successful implementation of ePortfolios and fully capitalise on their benefits for nursing and midwifery education.