This page provides links to the findings of a research study undertaken by Richard Lakeman in June-July 1996.
These findings were
presented at:
Lakeman, R. (1996). The
internet: Facilitating and international nursing culture. (Conference
Proceedings). (pp. 261-282). Auckland: ANZCMHN
and published in:
Lakeman, R. (1996). Psychiatric nursing. The Internet: facilitating an
international nursing culture for psychiatric nurses. Computers in Nursing,
16(2), 87-9.
The internet has become a "hot topic" in recent years.
We are told that we are at the beginning of an "information
age" (Gates, 1995, p.20) in which information will be more
highly valued than natural resources. The internet has been described
as the precursor to the "information superhighway" (Gates, 1995, p. 3).
Whether one dismisses the internet as "megahype" (Roszak, 1986)
or a poor substitute for speech and other forms of human contact
(Coney, 1996) its impact is undoubtedly beginning to be felt in
nursing circles. There has been a veritable scramble to publish
articles outlining the benefits of the internet to nurses (Tomaiuolo, 1995; Sparks, 1993; Taira, 1993; DuBois and Rizzolo, 1994; Edwards, 1995)
which add to the plethora of lay literature on internet usage
(Crumlish, 1996; Hahn, 1996).
Absent thus far has been any analysis of how psychiatric nurses
actually use the internet, how those that do have learned the
skills needed to make themselves understood and what these experienced
internet users project the impact of the internet will be on psychiatric
nursing culture. This was the subject of a research project the
author undertook using the internet in July of 1996 (Lakeman,
1996). However before exploring and discussing the findings it
is worthwhile to outline what the internet is and to define some
of the internet jargon that users of the internet must necessarily
encounter and which are used throughout the discussion of research
findings.
The internet is essentially a collection of networks and computers
all over the world which share information, or at least some information
using specific protocols. In order to communicate via the internet
a physical connection must be made. The network of computers in
a hospital or university may be linked directly to the internet
via fibre optic cables. The individual at home will probably need
to dial in to an internet provider using a modem to form a physical
connection. In order to make such a connection each computer or
network must share a common language or protocol. Once a connection
has been made and a protocol for communication is established,
application software is necessary to communicate in a meaningful
way with other computers. Huang and Alessi (1996) describe these
as the form layer of communication on the internet. This is an
apt metaphor as these applications govern how and in what form
communication will take place. Common applications also share
protocols which govern how communication can take place.
Application programs are burgeoning in numbers and established
applications are constantly being refined and upgraded. The following
are some of the more common applications on the internet that
are mentioned by respondents in the research:
Electronic mail (e-mail) provides a means for sending typed
text messages to other users on the internet. Each user has a
unique email address for example "rlakeman@inhb.co.nz".
E-mail is the most widely used application on the internet. Because
messages are sent as text email application programs do not have
to depend on expensive hardware. It is easy to quote messages
and send multiple copies of messages to others using e-mail. It
is also possible to send an email message to a computer with instructions
asking the computer to search a database, send files or subscribe
to a mailing list.
Figure 1 - Not Available An e-mail message in an e-mail
application program called Eudora . An e-mail message is composed
of an address, optional subject, optional file attachment and
message. "Carbon copies" (Cc) may be sent to others
as well as "blind carbon copies" (Bcc) when the user
does not want the main recipient to know that the message has
been forwarded to others.
Figure 1 illustrates an outgoing e-mail message to a computer
known as a "list-server", with the instructions required
to subscribe the author to a psychiatric-nursing discussion group
(the group which the author used to obtain data for this research
project). Once subscribed to a discussion group the user is able
to receive all the e-mail sent to the list by subscribed members
as well as post messages to the list.. E-mail application programs
have become increasingly sophisticated and it has become relatively
easy to attach files such as pictures or sounds as well as the
traditional text.
World Wide Web (WWW). The WWW is made up of pages which
can include text, graphics, animations, video clips and sounds.
They may even include forms which the user can fill out and more
recently extensions have been added which allow programs to be
loaded which can run alone or interact with other software residing
on the computer. Documents can contain hypertext links which specify
another page to go to or an action to perform if part of the page
is clicked with a mouse. Figure 2 provides an example of a WWW
page in which the underlined words and pictures provide links
to other pages. Clicking on the map of New Zealand will take the
user to the pages of the New Zealand government. Application programs
known as browsers, for example,. "Netscape", "Microsoft
Explorer" or "Mosaic" are needed to access the
WWW. These browsers often provide means to access information
which is on the internet but not on the WWW. Accessing resources
on the internet has become increasingly easy with the newer browsers,
which enable the user to send and receive email and use all the
other applications described below simply by clicking on words
or pictures.
Figure 2 - Not Available An example of a World Wide Web
document viewed using Netscape, a popular web browsing program.
File Transfer Protocol (FTP) applications allow a user
to connect to another computer and receive (download) or send
(upload) files. These might include software or documents. Using
the WWW the user can also receive files via FTP by clicking on
hypertext links.
Telnet applications allow a user to connect to another
computer and simulate a terminal of the remote computer. For example
a user may "telnet" to a university library and access
the library catalogues as if one were using the catalogues on
site.
Gopher is an application which has largely been superseded
by the WWW. It allows users to browse information in a hierarchical
menu format similar to file directories on a computer. A request
for information is made by simply clicking on a menu item.
Internet Relay Chat (IRC) allows users to connect to a computer (server) and list topics of discussion (channels). The user may join or open a channel that interests them. Messages may be typed and sent to others on the same channel. These are received immediately, so channel members can chat to each other in real time.
Newsgroups (also known as Usenet) are public discussion
groups on particular topics. A user may subscribe to a particular
newsgroup using newsgroup application software (illustrated in
figure 3). The user may read or send messages to the newsgroup.
Figure 3 shows a group of messages posted to the nursing newsgroup
"sci.med.nursing". As with email discussion groups,
messages relating to a particular topic are known as "threads".
The user may highlight an article or thread to read or reply
to.
Figure 3 - Not Available An example of a newsgroup application
program called Free Agent
Other chatting applications. Numerous chatting applications exist which allow groups running the same software to interact with each other in real-time. At a most basic level this might include sending typed text to each other in a similar way to IRC. Users may also talk to each other voice to voice or on video if they have the appropriate hardware. Applications may also include facilities for browsing the WWW together, working collaboratively on a "virtual blackboard", sending and receiving files, or engaging in a moderated discussion.