Deconstructing student perception of incivility in the nursing education triad

This triangulated mixed methods study examines the construct of incivility in nursing higher education within the southeastern United States. A modification of the Incivility in Nursing Education (INE) survey (Clark, 2007) was administered to determine behaviors students identify as uncivil within the various contexts of the associate degree nursing educational environment – classroom and clinical area and among the nursing education triad – students, faculty, and nurses. Ten factors were isolated as a result of exploratory factor analysis. There was a statistically significant difference between beginning and graduating students’ perceptions regarding one factor, Abuse of Faculty Position. Beginning students described this factor as faculty showing favoritism and “not caring.” Graduating students described this factor as faculty being rigid and acting superior. There was a statistically significant difference between where beginning and graduating students perceived incivility occurred most frequently. Beginning students identified the classroom and graduating students identified the clinical area as venues where incivility appeared the most. Analysis of students’ open ended responses revealed differences in the uncivil behaviors found in the classroom and on the clinical unit. Themes emerging included the severity of consequences, harassment, and perpetrators. The consequences of incivility on the clinical unit had the potential to be more severe; there was more opportunity for harassment on the clinical unit where nurses, faculty, patients, peers, and staff were potential perpetrators. A comparison of programs with high and low levels of incivility was conducted through a content analysis of documents related to school mission, curricula, conduct codes, and faculty and by analyzing the open-ended responses on the INE. Findings revealed that programs with high perceived levels of incivility had extensive conduct codes with no student representation on appeals committees, required students to attend nursing classes during the summer, and had an environment which tolerated incivility with consequences focusing on punishment. Programs with low perceived levels of incivility had student representation on appeals committees, did not require attendance during the summer, and focused on dialoguing with those involved in uncivil behavior. Implications for nursing educators are discussed and suggestions for future research are identified

Investigating and comparing operationalizations of first-generation students: Similarities and differences in the characteristics, experiences, and one-year persistence of students across multiple levels of parental education

First-generation students have received considerable attention though the definitions and operationalizations used vary. Prior studies used dichotomous groups, treating students whose parents had little or no college education as homogenous in terms of first-year experiences and persistence. This study sought to determine if the inconsistencies in how first-generation is defined and operationalized influence our understandings of these students and their success. Findings revealed that the inconsistencies in how first-generation is defined and operationalized limits our understanding of these students and their success. Having at least one parent who completed a bachelor’s degree is an important dividing line for successful first-year experiences and is the criteria that should be used to define first-generation students. The results of this study challenge conventional assumptions about the distribution of social and cultural capital across multiple levels of parental education as having a parent who has some experiences in college or a parent who completed a two-year degree provides few benefits that translate into first-year experiences. Comparing students across multiple levels of parental education illustrated that operationalizing parental education as dichotomous masks important differences among students including the finding that students whose parents had the least education had the greatest number of interactions in characteristics that were associated with one-year persistence, and that students in the ‘middle’ groups—those that are excluded from first-generation status in some definitions—struggled the most in first-year experiences. First-generation students should be defined as those whose highest level of parental education is less than a bachelor’s degree. Using multiple parental education groups or degrees of first-generation status could help practitioners to connect students to resources efficiently. Practitioners are encouraged to assess new students’ noncognitive college readiness. Additional recommendations include adopting a mentoring approach to support first-generation students and connecting students with on-campus employment opportunities. Future research should use the community cultural wealth and intersectionality models to extend understanding of the strengths and culture associated with multiple levels of parental education and various social identities. Finally, future research should examine multiple levels of parental education at other institution types including two-year colleges

Creating Intentional Paths to Citizenship: An Analysis of Participation in Student Organizations

This study examines undergraduate students’ that graduated from a Midwestern university in May 2013 through December 2015 and their perception of their development of core competencies identified by Bok (2006), related to their participation in student organizations. The results indicated that students who participate in student organizations are significantly more likely to develop citizenship and other related skills and abilities. Furthermore, their degree of involvement, measured by the number of organizations they participate in, their level of involvement and the role students have within the organization can impact their development of competencies.

A genome-wide survey of Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) genes and their paralogues in zebrafish

BACKGROUND: The genomic organisation of the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) varies greatly between different vertebrates. In mammals, the classical MHC consists of a large number of linked genes (e.g. greater than 200 in humans) with predominantly immune function. In some birds, it consists of only a small number of linked MHC core genes (e.g. smaller than 20 in chickens) forming a minimal essential MHC and, in fish, the MHC consists of a so far unknown number of genes including non-linked MHC core genes. Here we report a survey of MHC genes and their paralogues in the zebrafish genome. RESULTS: Using sequence similarity searches against the zebrafish draft genome assembly (Zv4, September 2004), 149 putative MHC gene loci and their paralogues have been identified. Of these, 41 map to chromosome 19 while the remaining loci are spread across essentially all chromosomes. Despite the fragmentation, a set of MHC core genes involved in peptide transport, loading and presentation are still found in a single linkage group. CONCLUSION: The results extend the linkage information of MHC core genes on zebrafish chromosome 19 and show the distribution of the remaining MHC genes and their paralogues to be genome-wide. Although based on a draft genome assembly, this survey demonstrates an essentially fragmented MHC in zebrafish

ERC Recertification

Topics covered in this course include understanding contracts, how to negotiate, invoicing, and project delivery. This course will satisfy ERC requirements for one year following completion. Pre-registration for this course is required. To register, please send an e-mail to [email protected] with the subject line “Road School ERC Recertification.” Please include your name, agency, and telephone number. There will be an LPA Program update prior to the training

Conditions for Analysis of Native Protein Structures Using Uniform Field Drift Tube Ion Mobility Mass Spectrometry and Characterization of Stable Calibrants for TWIM-MS

Determination of collisional cross sections (CCS) by travelling wave ion mobility mass spectrometry (TWIM-MS) requires calibration against standards for which the CCS has been measured previously by drift tube ion mobility mass spectrometry (DTIM-MS). The different extents of collisional activation in TWIM-MS and DTIM-MS can give rise to discrepancies in the CCS of calibrants across the two platforms. Furthermore, the conditions required to ionize and transmit large, folded proteins and assemblies may variably affect the structure of the calibrants and analytes. Stable hetero-oligomeric phospholipase A2 (PDx) and its subunits were characterized as calibrants for TWIM-MS. Conditions for acquisition of native-like TWIM (Synapt G1 HDMS) and DTIM (Agilent 6560 IM-Q-TOF) mass spectra were optimized to ensure the spectra exhibited similar charge state distributions. CCS measurements (DTIM-MS) for ubiquitin, cytochrome c, holo-myoglobin, serum albumin and glutamate dehydrogenase were in good agreement with other recent results determined using this and other DTIM-MS instruments. PDx and its β and γ subunits were stable across a wide range of cone and trap voltages in TWIM-MS and were stable in the presence of organic solvents. The CCS of PDx and its subunits were determined by DTIM-MS and were used as calibrants in determination of CCS of native-like cytochrome c, holo-myoglobin, carbonic anhydrase, serum albumin and haemoglobin in TWIM-MS. The CCS values were in good agreement with those measured by DTIM-MS where available. These experiments demonstrate conditions for analysis of native-like proteins using a commercially available DTIM-MS instrument, characterize robust calibrants for TWIM-MS, and present CCS values determined by DTIM-MS and TWIM-MS for native proteins to add to the current literature database

Nodal signaling is required for closure of the anterior neural tube in zebrafish

Background: Nodals are secreted signaling proteins with many roles in vertebrate development. Here, we identify a new role for Nodal signaling in regulating closure of the rostral neural tube of zebrafish