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Banks v. Goodfellow [1870. LR 5 QB 549 (Eng.)] is almost 150 years old, yet still stands as authority for the principle that unsoundness of the mind will not rebut testamentary capacity where it does not affect the will itself. Readers of this journal would know that psychology has advanced greatly during this sesquicentenary, and yet the law relating to testamentary capacity has remained relatively stagnant. We review the present laws relating to decision-making for adults with impaired capacity, particularly in Queensland, and also review various models of gauging decision-making capacity in other jurisdictions. We argue that qualified experts should be enlisted to make determinations about testamentary capacity when questions of capacity arise. We also argue the case for the development of scientifically validated protocols to assess decision-making capacity in the testamentary context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted with 1097 employees (866 females, 217 males, 14 did not indicate gender) in a regional Health Service District who completed the Queensland Public Agency Staff Survey in 2002. Nurses' results on measures of organizational climate and psychological outcomes were compared with those of other employees in the Health Service District. Nurses reported less favourable outcomes on all but one of the organizational climate scales, and also were found to have more distress (strain), and lower levels of morale, Job Satisfaction and Quality of Worklife than others. Results were generally less favourable for nurses working in the large regional hospital and in mental health than for nurses in other facilities. The study has implications for recruiting and retaining nurses at a time when shortages within the profession are chronic.