Writing Assignments: A Relatively Emotional Experience of Learning to Write in one Baccalaureate Nursing Program

This article specifically reports findings from an interdisciplinary case study that explored classroom experiences of learning to write across one baccalaureate nursing degree program in Canada. A combination of rhetorical genre and situated learning theories and institutional ethnography methods were used to help document student and instructor experiences of learning to write two recurring writing assignments called the scholarly paper and journal of reflective practice, which students composed in each semester of their program. Data included 38 classroom/student observations, 22 assignment instruction documents, and 39 voluntary, semi-structured interviews with 34 students and 5 instructors from 4 courses. Interviews focused primarily on perceived enablers and constraints during the process of learning to compose these two recurring genres. Findings revealed that learning to write was a dynamic relational and emotional experience for students as well as instructors. Enablers and challenges were directly influenced by the student/instructor relationship and the degree of competitive/cooperative relationships in the learning environment. Factors that enabled students’ learning to write included peer mentoring programs, where lower-year students learn to write from upper-year students, and instructional rapport with nurse educators and professional nurses, where students learn to write content from a nurse with experience in the content area. Challenges to students’ writing included developmentally inappropriate assignment design and writing supports, inconsistent instructor preferences and expectations, students’ inability to identify and articulate their own writing needs, and students’ tendency to apply the same writing style or strategies to different, evolving genres across the years. An unexpected finding was that students across all years self-reported reading deficiencies that impeded their ability to read assignment descriptions and to differentiate genres. The importance of this surprise finding is that it appeared to have an adverse affect on self-directed learning and students’ desire to communicate with instructors about learning to write the scholarly paper or journal of reflective practice. The article concludes with a discussion of ways that relational cultural theory and narrative pedagogy have better potential than rhetorical genre theory to explain the emotional dynamics that constellate around writing assignments and why the student-instructor relationship is a critical component to writing-to-learn/learning-to-write approaches, especially in writing intensive curricula like this one. Participants’ suggestions for improving writing assignments and instruction are in the appendix. Résumé Cet article présente les résultats d\u27une étude de cas interdisciplinaire qui a examiné les expériences d’apprentissage de la rédaction dans les cours d’un programme de baccalauréat en sciences infirmières, au Canada. Une combinaison de théories sur le genre rhétorique et l’apprentissage contextualisé, et de méthodes ethnographiques en établissement a été utilisée afin de documenter les expériences d’apprentissage des étudiantes et des formatrices en ce qui concerne la rédaction de deux types récurrents de travaux, le texte scientifique et le journal de pratique réflexive, que les étudiantes composaient chaque semestre au cours du programme. Les données comportaient 32 observations en classe, 22 documents de consignes pour les travaux et 39 entrevues semi-structurées avec 34 étudiantes et 5 enseignants volontaires de 4 cours. Les entrevues portaient principalement sur les facteurs facilitants et les défis perçus lors du processus d’apprentissage pour composer selon ces deux types récurrents d’écrits. Les résultats ont révélé que l’apprentissage de rédaction à travers les quatre années était une expérience relationnelle et émotionnelle pour les étudiantes et les formatrices. Les facteurs facilitants et les défis ont été influencés directement par la relation étudiante/formatrice et le degré de relations compétitives/coopératives dans le milieu d’apprentissage. Les facteurs qui ont facilité l’apprentissage de la rédaction incluaient les programmes de mentorat par les pairs, où les étudiantes des premières années apprennent à rédiger avec des étudiantes des dernières années, et les rétroactions des infirmières formatrices et des infirmières professionnelles, où les étudiantes apprennent à rédiger du contenu avec le soutien d’une infirmière qui a de l’expérience dans le domaine. Les défis à la rédaction étaient notamment les préférences et attentes différentes de la part des enseignantes, l’incapacité de l’étudiante à identifier et articuler ses propres besoins en matière de rédaction, et la conception des exigences et des consignes à la rédaction inappropriée pour le stade de développement. Un résultat inattendu a révélé que des difficultés de lecture auto déclarées par des étudiantes nuisaient à leur capacité de lire les descriptions des travaux et de différencier les types de travaux. Ce résultat étonnant est important puisqu’il semble avoir eu un effet défavorable sur l’apprentissage autonome et sur le désir des étudiantes de communiquer avec les enseignantes pour apprendre à rédiger un texte scientifique ou un journal de pratique réflexive. L’article conclut avec des suggestions pour améliorer la rédaction des consignes et une discussion sur l’apport de la théorie relationnelle culturelle pour aborder la question des dynamiques émotionnelles et relationnelles changeantes dans l’apprentissage de la rédaction de travaux au baccalauréat en sciences infirmières

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From Shattered Assumptions to Weakened Worldviews: Trauma Symptoms Signal Anxiety Buffer Disruption

The fundamental assertion of worldview-based models of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is that trauma symptoms result when traumatic experiences cannot be readily assimilated into previously held worldviews. In two studies, we test the anxiety buffer disruption hypothesis, which states that trauma symptoms result from the disruption of normal death anxiety–buffering functions of worldviews. In Study 1, participants with trauma symptoms greater than the cutoff for PTSD evinced greater death thought accessibility than those with subclinical or negligible symptoms after a reminder of death. In Study 2, participants with clinically significant trauma symptoms showed no evidence of worldview defense though death thoughts were accessible. These results support the anxiety buffer disruption hypothesis and suggest an entirely new approach to experimental PTSD research

Negative parental responses to coming out and family functioning in a sample of lesbian and gay young adults

Parental responses to youths' coming out (CO) are crucial to the subsequent adjustment of children and family. The present study investigated the negative parental reaction to the disclosure of same-sex attraction and the differences between maternal and paternal responses, as reported by their homosexual daughters and sons. Participants' perceptions of their parents' reactions (evaluated through the Perceived Parental Reactions Scale, PPRS), age at coming out, gender, parental political orientation, and religiosity involvement, the family functioning (assessed through the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales, FACES IV), were assessed in 164 Italian gay and lesbian young adults. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated to assess the relation between family functioning and parental reaction to CO. The paired sample t-test was used to compare mothers and fathers' scores on the PPRS. Hierarchical multiple regression was conducted to analyze the relevance of each variable. No differences were found between mothers and fathers in their reaction to the disclosure. The analysis showed that a negative reaction to coming out was predicted by parents' right-wing political conservatism, strong religious beliefs, and higher scores in the scales Rigid and Enmeshed. Findings confirm that a negative parental reaction is the result of poor family resources to face a stressful situation and a strong belief in traditional values. These results have important implications in both clinical and social fields

HIV-positive parents, HIV-positive children, and HIV-negative children’s perspectives on disclosure of a parent’s and child’s illness in Kenya

HIV disclosure from parent to child is complex and challenging to HIV-positive parents and healthcare professionals. The purpose of the study was to understand the lived experiences of HIV-positive parents and their children during the disclosure process in Kenya. Sixteen HIV-positive parents, seven HIV-positive children, and five HIV-negative children completed semistructured, in-depth interviews. Data were analyzed using the Van Kaam method; NVivo 8 software was used to assist data analysis. We present data on the process of disclosure based on how participants recommended full disclosure be approached to HIV-positive and negative children. Participants recommended disclosure as a process starting at five years with full disclosure delivered at 10 years when the child was capable of understanding the illness, or by 14 years when the child was mature enough to receive the news if full disclosure had not been conducted earlier. Important considerations at the time of full disclosure included the parent’s and/or child’s health statuses, number of infected family members’ illnesses to be disclosed to the child, child’s maturity and understanding level, and the person best suited to deliver full disclosure to the child. The results also revealed it was important to address important life events such as taking a national school examination during disclosure planning and delivery. Recommendations are made for inclusion into HIV disclosure guidelines, manuals, and programs in resource-poor nations with high HIV prevalence

Phylogenetic Relationships of Tribes Within Harpalinae (Coleoptera: Carabidae) as Inferred from 28S Ribosomal DNA and the Wingless Gene

Harpalinae is a large, monophyletic subfamily of carabid ground beetles containing more than 19,000 species in approximately 40 tribes. The higher level phylogenetic relationships within harpalines were investigated based on nucleotide data from two nuclear genes, wingless and 28S rDNA. Phylogenetic analyses of combined data indicate that many harpaline tribes are monophyletic, however the reconstructed trees showed little support for deeper nodes. In addition, our results suggest that the Lebiomorph Assemblage (tribes Lebiini, Cyclosomini, Graphipterini, Perigonini, Odacanthini, Lachnophorini, Pentagonicini, Catapiesini and Calophaenini), which is united by a morphological synapomorphy, is not monophyletic, and the tribe Lebiini is paraphyletic with respect to members of Cyclosomini. Two unexpected clades of tribes were supported: the Zuphiitae, comprised of Anthiini, Zuphiini, Helluonini, Dryptini, Galeritini, and Physocrotaphini; and a clade comprised of Orthogoniini, Pseudomorphini, and Graphipterini. The data presented in this study represent a dense sample of taxa to examine the molecular phylogeny of Harpalinae and provide a useful framework to examine the origin and evolution of morphological and ecological diversity in this group

A qualitative investigation into the HIV disclosure process within an intimate partnership: ‘the moment I realized that our relationship was developing into something serious, I just had to tell him’

Objectives. This study sought to elucidate the process through which people living with HIV (PLWH) in the United Kingdom disclose their status to an intimate partner (IP). Design. A qualitative cross-sectional survey design was used. Method. A total of 95 PLWH took part. They were presented with a series of open-ended questions enquiring into their last experience of disclosing to an IP. The data was analyzed using thematic analysis. Results. Disclosure became a salient issue when the discloser acknowledged their relationship as meaningful. A decision to tell was mostly made in order to build a foundation for the evolving relationship. Once the decision was made, it was enacted via one of two mechanisms (self-initiated or opportunistic) and partners’ reported reactions fell within one of four main reaction types. In the long-term for couples that remained together, disclosure was understood to have brought them closer. However, for both those whose relationships remained intact, and for those whose relationship had since broken down, sexual difficulties associated with being in a sero-discordant partnership pervaded. At a personal level, the experience resulted in increased confidence in living the diagnosis, and an increased sense of disclosure mastery. Conclusions: Disclosure is a highly nuanced process. In particular, it was found to be largely characterized by the IP relational context in which it was occurring. The clinical and theoretical implications of these findings are discussed. In particular, these findings highlight a need for the provision of long-term support to PLWH in negotiating their relationships throughout the process