Home Health Nurses: Are They Satisfied With Their Work Environment

Objectives. This study addressed the questions, (1) To what degree are home health nurses satisfied in their job? (2) What variable ranks as the most important for home health nurses\u27 satisfaction? and, (3) Is there a difference between job satisfaction of full time employment, part time, and per diem home health nurses? Methods. The data were collected from six home health agencies in the Hampton Roads Area resulting in a sample of (N = 72). The McCloskey and Mueller Satisfaction Scale developed in 1990 (MMSS) was used to measure home health nurses\u27 satisfaction. Results. The home health nurses\u27 satisfaction indicators were ranked from the highest to the lowest as follows: scheduling, praise and recognition, interaction opportunities, reward, control and responsibility, and professional opportunities. The overall mean global score of the MMSS was (3.54), which reflects marginal job satisfaction among home health nurses in the Hampton Roads Area. The overall mean score of the full time employed nurses was higher than the overall mean score of per diem and part time nurses. Conclusions. On the basis of the study findings, home health nurses are marginally satisfied with their work environment in the Hampton Roads Area

Libyan Secondary School EFL Teachers and Communicative Language Teaching: Attitudes, Beliefs and Constraints in Implementation

Abstract The communicative approach to language teaching is based on the theory of language as communication. According to Hymes (1972), language teaching is interpreted by learners as learning through communicative competence. Researchers, particularly in EFL secondary teachers’ classroom practices, have emphasized teachers’ concentration on using grammar translation (GTM) and audio-lingual (ALM) methods. However, most studies did not investigate teachers’ beliefs (as situated in their cultural context) and their classroom practice. Therefore, taking Libya as an example, the aim of this study is to find out whether EFL secondary teachers implement the CLT approach in their classrooms. A data collection triangulation method was utilized involving different research tools. Firstly, an evaluation of a questionnaire distributed to 24 participating Libyan teachers was carried out. Secondly, classroom observations of the same teachers were conducted, applying the communicative orientation of language teaching observation scheme (COLT). Here, the four categories derived from the literature on CLT are employed to determine whether the teaching methodology is communicative. Finally, the same teachers were interviewed to investigate their beliefs and attitudes concerning the CLT approach and its practicality. The results of the qualitative and quantitative data analyses indicated that teachers do not implement the CLT approach. This is due to several factors: low teacher language proficiency; over-reliance on textbooks; class size; time limitations; and lack of adequate training in classroom implementation. An analysis of challenges teachers encounter in implementing CLT and recommendations arising from the study constitute the final chapter of this research

Effect of land-use/land-cover change on the future of rainfed agriculture in the Jenin Governorate, Palestine

An article in International Journal of Global Environmental, Vol. 16, Nos. 1/2/3, 2017Land cover has been changed by humans throughout history. At the global level, population growth and socio-economic development have a significant impact on land resources. Recently, scholars added climate change as one of the major factors affecting land-cover transformation. In the West Bank of Palestine, the situation is more complicated, where geopolitical constraints due to the Israeli occupation and lack of control over land resources. In the West Bank, fertile land represents 16%, 87% of the cultivated land is rainfed, 11% is pastureland and 2% is irrigated. This paper focuses on the problems of agricultural land shrinkage by time and tries to reveal the major factors behind this change. The study area is Jenin, a major agricultural area in the West Bank, Palestine. Statistical data, aerial photos and related attribute data were analyzed by using GIS software. The study showed that urban growth is the major threat on agricultural lands

Preliminary stability analysis methods for PrandtlPlane aircraft in subsonic conditions

Purpose The present paper aims to assess the reliability and the limitations of analysing flight stability of a box-wing aircraft configuration known as PrandtlPlane by means of methods conceived for conventional aircraft and well known in the literature. Design/methodology/approach Results obtained by applying vortex lattice methods to PrandtlPlane configuration, validated previously with wind tunnel tests, are compared to the output of a “Roskam-like” method, here defined to model the PrandtlPlane features. Findings The comparisons have shown that the “Roskam-like” model gives accurate predictions for both the longitudinal stability margin and dihedral effect, whereas the directional stability is always overestimated. Research limitations/implications The method here proposed and related achievements are valid only for subsonic conditions. The poor reliability related to lateral-directional derivatives estimations may be improved implementing different models known from the literature. Practical implications The possibility of applying a faster method as the “Roskam-like” one here presented has two main implications: it allows to implement faster analyses in the conceptual and preliminary design of PrandtlPlane, providing also a tool for the definition of the design space in case of optimization approaches and it allows to implement a scaling procedure, to study families of PrandtlPlanes or different aircraft categories. Social implications This paper is part of the activities carried out during the PARSIFAL project, which aims to demonstrate that the introduction of PrandtlPlane as air transport mean can fuel consumption and noise impact, providing a sustainable answer to the growing air passenger demand envisaged for the next decades. Originality/value The originality of this paper lies in the attempt of adopting analysis method conceived for conventional airplanes for the analysis of a novel configuration. The value of the work is represented by the knowledge concerning experimental results and design methods on the PrandtlPlane configuration, here made available to define a new analysis tool

A review of condition monitoring techniques of the wind turbines gearbox and rotor

Gearbox and the blades are classified as the most critical and expensive components of the wind turbine. Moreover, these parts are prone to high risk failure when compared to the rest of the wind turbine components. Due to the global significant increase in wind turbines, a reliable and cost effective condition monitoring technique is essential to maintain the availability and to improve the reliability of wind turbines. This paper aims to present a comprehensive review of the latest condition monitoring techniques for turbine gearbox and blades which are considered as the crux of any wind energy conversion system