I am also not convinced about the need to publish required in this context.

‘l’his is ;t much necdcd

<I third edition so shortly after the second (1980), area. Another chapter looks at six main aspects of
particularly as the changes are mainly directed at the absessmcnt of students which, ,dthough not in
Ihr organisation of the material rather than its depth, gives a very useful overview. ‘The last t\1;o
c’ontcnt. chapters consider the educational process in which
the teacher is involved and thr roll> anct thr prrfor-
mancc of the teacher practitioner.
‘I’hc hook is interesting and ti\cly and should
motivate nurses to consider referring to other texts
Theoretical Nursing from the suggested further reading tist or the hiblio-
Afaf Ihrahim Mel& graphy. It is cheap and attractively prcsentcd,
Lippincott although the typclsc-ript is small and disappointing in
1985 1:1!,.25 quality.

‘l‘his book has as its concern the role of theorv

dcvctopmcnt in the development of nursing know-
Irdgc. ‘I’hc rradcr is offered an opportunity to
considrr from an evolutionary stance, theory devel-
opm<,nt in general. American nursing theory devrl- Basic Statistics For Nurses 2nd Edn
opmcnt over the past thirty years in particular, plus Rebecca Grant Knapp
the t.hance to consider future developments in this Wile\
arc;,. 1984’ 1,15.95 -118 pp illuh
‘l‘hc tcvt is divided into five sections designated to
hc r(.ad scqurntially or sectionally. The fifth part of ‘I‘hc increasing demand tar nursing research makes
the tc~t is devoted to some of the writings that have this textbook, specifically aimed at helping nurses
‘protided significant milestones in the shaping of the and those in allied professions to understand stat-
throrctical progress in nursing’. istics, a welcome addition to an? nursing library.
.l‘l~c book is intcrcsting and thought-provoking While covering a wide range of topics. the chief
bitt IS sometimes irritating in that the reader opting strength of this book is that it is designed to
10 read the text from beginnin! to end is confronted encourage confidence in the novice by explaining in
with a certain amount of repention. simple terms how- and why different statistical
It is unlikely to attract general interest in the methods arc applied to nursing rcsenrch data.
nursing iirld in this country because of its almost Numerous exrrcises art‘ supported by a wealth of
total t.oncrntration upon the American experience. diagrams, charts, tables and ~~samplcs. Arcaas
It fill doubttcss appeal to those nurses in academic covered include: descriptive statistics, sampling, pro-
arca, who have a particular interest in this field, and bability. variance, correlation. regression and c,hi
ah a us&l rcfrrence hook. square. There is a useful chapter on selecting appro-
priate statistical tests.
It is a pity that the ‘brief discussion’ on the value
of computers presented in the last chapter appears
tacked on as this is an important element of any
research methods course. ‘I’he few references given at
The Teacher Practitioner the end of selrcted chapters do little to point the
P Jarvis and S Gibson reader in the direction of other useful statistics
Croom Helm books.
AT6.!,5 119 pp illus At k’l5.95 this paperback is expensive, yet it is
worth reading as a basic guide and companion to
This short text will be most useful for all nurse statistics and research methods courses for nurses.
practitioners involved in the teaching of others. It
achieves its aim of providing information and ideas
about teaching and learning in situations involving
one student or a small group of students.
The eight chapters are short, concise and give Aging: The Health Care Challenge
considerable up-to-date information on the roles of Carole Bernstein Lewis
the teacher practitioner, the teaching and learning F A Davis
transaction and designing a learning programme. 1985 US$24. I.5 386 pp illu\
‘Three of the chapters concentrate on the principles
of adult learning and the different teaching skills It is very refreshing to read a hook about rehabilit-