Human beings routinely help strangers at costs to themselves. Sometimes the help offered is generous—offering more than the other expects. The proximate mechanisms supporting generosity are not well-understood, but several lines of research suggest a role for empathy. In this study, participants were infused with 40 IU oxytocin (OT) or placebo and engaged in a blinded, one-shot decision on how to split a sum of money with a stranger that could be rejected. Those on OT were 80% more generous than those given a placebo. OT had no effect on a unilateral monetary transfer task dissociating generosity from altruism. OT and altruism together predicted almost half the interpersonal variation in generosity. Notably, OT had twofold larger impact on generosity compared to altruism. This indicates that generosity is associated with both altruism as well as an emotional identification with another person.

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A consideration of the nature of nursing and management is beneficial because it provides insights which can help practitioners in their transition from nurse to manager. In the past the relationship between nursing and management has been presented somewhat simplistically and this paper demonstrates that the situation is much more complex. If this complexity is recognized it can be taken into account and serve as a basis for removing barriers between these two key groups of personnel. Ultimately, this may lead to the collaboration and co-operation necessary to deliver the responsive services identified as targets in recent policy pronouncements.

Nursing has been subject to a succession of ideologies aimed at advancing practice, however, many of these approaches have been accepted in an uncritical way. In the second paper the similarities in the development of management thought are examined and the implications this has for nursing management explored.

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