School of Historical and Philosophical Studies - Research Publications
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ItemNo Preview AvailableMobility and selection in Scottish university medical education, 1858–1886(Cambridge University Press (CUP), 1996-01)
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ItemNo Preview AvailableMatters of Priority: Herbert Mayo, Charles Bell and Discoveries in the Nervous System(Cambridge University Press, 2014)Between 1822 and the late 1830s a highly personal priority dispute was fought between the celebrated surgeon and anatomist Sir Charles Bell and his ex-student Herbert Mayo. The dispute was over the motor and sensory functions of the Vth and VIIth cranial nerves. Over the course of the 1820s and the 1830s, the competing claims of Bell and Mayo were presented in newspapers, journals, and textbooks. But by the time of Bell's death in 1842, Mayo had been discredited, a seemingly tragic footnote in the history of nervous discovery. And yet, with the benefit of hindsight, Bell's case was at best disingenuous. His success was not due to any intrinsic scientific merit in his argument, but rather his ability to create a narrative that undermined the credibility of Mayo. However, only when Mayo's public performances elided with Bell's descriptions did this ploy succeed. As a result, the dispute illuminates the importance of credibility to the creation of an idealised scientific medical practitioner.
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ItemA Tale of Two Objects: Electro-Convulsive Therapy, History, and the Politics of Museum Display(Australian and New Zealand Society of the History of Medicine, 2020)This essay offers a biography of two Electro-Convulsive Therapy (ECT) machines: the Bini-Cerletti machine used for the very first shock treatments and now housed in the History of Medicine Museum, Rome; and a machine from Adelaide based upon H.M. Birch's original design and used to give the first shock treatments in Australia. In discussing these objects, I take a number of steps. Firstly, a short history of ECT introduces the major debates around the therapy and its history. Secondly, the machines are positioned within this history. Thirdly, the machines 'function within the galleries is discussed. Finally, I ask how these objects might be presented in a way that better reflects their history and the history of psychiatry more generally.
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ItemEvaluation of a tertiary sustainability experiential learning program(Emerald, 2020-01-01)Purpose: This paper aims to describe the development, promotion and evaluation of sustainability learning experience database (SLED), a university-curated database of sustainability experiences to augment formal student learning. Its purpose was to encourage students to participate in experiential learning, to facilitate students’ critical appraisal of programs ostensibly designed to create sustainability and to, thus, develop students’ sustainability self-efficacy and employability. Design/methodology/approach: In total, 55 sustainability experiences were curated and placed into the SLED database, which was promoted to students in nine subjects. Supporting materials designed to assist critical evaluation, reflection on experiences and to build student employability were also developed. A comprehensive mixed-methods evaluation of the program was conducted. Findings: The quantitative evaluation revealed some changes in environmental behaviors, depth of critical sustainability thinking and graduate attributes. The qualitative evaluation revealed that students see the value of a university-curated database of experiences and provided ideas for improvements to the database. It also revealed examples of higher-order learning facilitated by SLED. Research limitations/implications: Recruitment and attrition of research subjects, common challenges in pedagogical research, were experienced. “Opt-out” is one response to this but it comes with ethical challenges. Originality/value: This exploratory study demonstrates the potential of SLED to build students’ sustainability efficacy and suggests ways in which it and similar programs can be developed for improved student and sustainability outcomes. Namely, the use of an online platform closely associated with existing learning management systems, higher-level institutional stewardship, closer curriculum integration and close partnering with credentialing programs.
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Item"Darwin's Delay": A Reassessment of the Evidence(University of Chicago Press, 2017-09-20)The suggestion that Darwin delayed publishing his species theory has long occupied a central part of his biographical storyline. The notion of a fretful delay reached a melodramatic apogee in Adrian Desmond and James Moore’s best-selling 1991 biography. Janet Browne’s acclaimed work downplayed the pathos but depicted a somewhat hesitant Darwin. In 2007 John van Wyhe upended this tableau, arguing that there was no evidence to support a secretive, fear-based delay. Contrary to vanWyhe, this essay suggests that Darwin was only selectively and strategically open about his belief in transmutation prior to his barnacle project. The 1844 appearance of the anonymously published Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation was one in a series of blows that prompted Darwin to reappraise the evidential requirements of his species theory. Nonetheless, much depends on how one interprets the barnacle project. Darwin’s decision to take on the whole group guaranteed its lengthy duration and effectively delayed his species work. The barnacle project could not be considered a necessary preparation, since it was not undertaken to address species theory problems. The evidence and insights Darwin gained from it were largely incidental and came after his decision to tackle the whole group. However, the credentialing motivations behind it were driven by field-generated self-doubts that are difficult to separate from fear. Darwin gained much-needed confidence from it and was far more open about his species theorizing afterward. The project helped Darwin becomethe authoritative figure he needed to be.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableRoyal ambitions: Creative writing and the Secret Rules of Courtship in the Medical Humanities(Australasian Association of Writing Programs, 2015)Recent years have the seen the call for a melding of the humanities with biomedicine in the quasi-discipline of the medical humanities. The forging of such partnerships offers authority, status and utility for disciplines like creative writing. We will argue, however, for caution. We identify two different strands within the medical humanities: the critical and the paramedical. The first strand requires disciplinary autonomy to carry out its task effectively. The second strand, however, often becomes subservient to biomedicine, asset-stripped for what is useful. We describe two case studies in the paramedical humanities where this process has occurred: the ‘Creative Writing and General Practitioner Wellbeing’ project, which used reflective writing to augment professional medical training and practice, with a view to enhancing GP wellbeing; and a description of a literature workshop facilitated by a medical practitioner for a medical humanities retreat in the United Kingdom. We argue that the problems identified are inherent to the paramedical humanities, a product, no less, of the history of biomedicine. Finally, we conclude that biomedicine needs the humanities, but not the medical humanities. Creative writing and other humanities disciplines should maintain their autonomy and, therefore, their integrity.
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ItemA Shadow of Orthodoxy? An Epistemology of British Hydropathy, 1840–1858(Cambridge University Press (CUP), 2003-04)