Stress in New Graduate Nurses: Can They Sweat It? A Correlational Study of Exercise and Stress in New Graduate Nurses

Stress in new graduate nurses has been a known issue in nursing for decades. The number of new graduate nurse turnover rates has reached up to 50% within the first three years of practice, according to some studies. Most new graduate nurses who choose to leave their job, or even the profession, cite stress as a major factor. Methods: Single point correlation survey of new graduate BSN students in Southern California (n=32). Results: Initial results showed a statistically significant difference between those who exercised three to five hours per week, versus though who exercised more than five hours per week. However, this difference was not seen on the final analysis. All but 3 of the respondents reported that their shift schedule impacted their desired exercise routine. Recommendations: Stress, and ways to mitigate it, in new graduate nurses remains a priority to address in new graduate nurses. Education on factors that can mitigate stress, such as exercise, may be beneficial, but expectations for their work-life balance also need to be addressed with new graduate nurses

Generational Differences in Use of Social Media in Today’s Workplace

This study examined the use of social media at work. Undergraduate students and professors were surveyed to try to find a generational relationship between the younger generation’s view of using sites such as Facebook while working and how some participants from an older generation perceived it. We also examined the effects of Facebook outside of work and whether or not postings made there could jeopardize a position at work. The results from our survey and research conclude that social media is an increasing problem because it serves as a distraction and predict that with increasing individual use of social media it will become more of a problem at work if it is not properly managed by the employer

Self-tracking modes: reflexive self-monitoring and data practices

The concept of ‘self-tracking’ (also referred to as life-logging, the quantified self, personal analytics and personal informatics) has recently begun to emerge in discussions of ways in which people can voluntarily monitor and record specific features of their lives, often using digital technologies. There is evidence that the personal data that are derived from individuals engaging in such reflexive self-monitoring are now beginning to be used by actors, agencies and organisations beyond the personal and privatised realm. Self-tracking rationales and sites are proliferating as part of a ‘function creep’ of the technology and ethos of self-tracking. The detail offered by these data on individuals and the growing commodification and commercial value of digital data have led government, managerial and commercial enterprises to explore ways of appropriating self-tracking for their own purposes. In some contexts people are encouraged, ‘nudged’, obliged or coerced into using digital devices to produce personal data which are then used by others. This paper examines these issues, outlining five modes of self-tracking that have emerged: private, communal, pushed, imposed and exploited. The analysis draws upon theoretical perspectives on concepts of selfhood, citizenship, biopolitics and data practices and assemblages in discussing the wider sociocultural implications of the emergence and development of these modes of self-tracking

A new lean change methodology for small & medium sized enterprises

SMEs find it difficult to implement productivity improvement tools, particularly those associated with Lean Manufacturing. Larger companies have more success due to greater access to resources. To provide the SMEs with a way to implement Lean sustainably, the European project ERIP develops a new lean change methodology for SMEs. In this paper the methodology is explained and three test cases show the strength of the methodology. The method is a sequence of achieving management and company support, starting with data analysis and identifying problems and consequently solving these problems. Within the workshops, training of employees is conducted. The three test cases show that even through limited efforts, a good productivity improvement can be achieved in a sustainable manner

Exercising Servant Leadership

{Excerpt} Servant leadership is now in the vocabularyof enlightened leadership. It is a practical, altruistic philosophy that supports people who choose to serve first, and then lead, as away of expanding service to individuals and organizations.The sense of civil community that it advocates and engenders can facilitate and smooth successful and principled change. Ancient schools of thought about great men and more recent (sometimes overlapping) explanations form an ever-growing literature on leadership. In modern times, three broad categories have encompassed related theories: approaches have explored the traits (1940s–1950s) then behaviors or styles (1950s–1960s) of successful leaders; examined the contextual nature of leadership and the role of followers (1960s–1970s); and investigated what interactions of traits, behaviors, and situations (as well as group facilitation) might allow people to transact or transform for excellence (1980s). At the risk of simplifying, notwithstanding a few notable exceptions, these perspectives have been hierarchical, linear, male, Newtonian, pragmatic, and, above all, concerned with the leader as an individual

Using tablets to support self-regulated learning in a longitudinal integrated clerkship.

The need to train physicians committed to learning throughout their careers has prompted medical schools to encourage the development and practice of self-regulated learning by students. Longitudinal integrated clerkships (LICs) require students to exercise self-regulated learning skills. As mobile tools, tablets can potentially support self-regulation among LIC students.We provided 15 LIC students with tablet computers with access to the electronic health record (EHR), to track their patient cohort, and a multiplatform online notebook, to support documentation and retrieval of self-identified clinical learning issues. Students received a 1-hour workshop on the relevant features of the tablet and online notebook. Two focus groups with the students were used to evaluate the program, one early and one late in the year and were coded by two raters.Students used the tablet to support their self-regulated learning in ways that were unique to their learning styles and increased access to resources and utilization of down-time. Students who used the tablet to self-monitor and target learning demonstrated the utility of tablets as learning tools.LICs are environments rich in opportunity for self-regulated learning. Tablets can enhance students' ability to develop and employ self-regulatory skills in a clinical context

An educational paradigm for teaching computer forensics

Teaching Computer Forensics to students at postgraduate and undergraduate levels is a challenge. Creating an assignment that is both realistic and also helpful to students when pursuing careers in this competitive area is also a demanding task for the lecturer. A problem-based learning (PBL) strategy has been used to increase the employability of the students, by designing a real-world problem for the students to solve. It can be shown that this enhances the employability skills of the students when it comes to finding jobs. The coursework is based around a case study. To add an extra dimension to the assessment we involved final year Law students from the School of Humanities, Law Department, to act as jury members and also to help to cross-examine the postgraduate students while they presented their findings in the role of an Expert Witness. This created at the same time a valuable exercise for the legal students in the context that evidence presented in courts is increasingly computer-based evidence. This paper discusses the preparation of the evidence files, how employability is enhanced by the use of a PBL approach to teaching, the process of evaluating the results of the students work and concludes with an overview of the student experience for all students involved