Career development tips for today's nursing academic: bibliometrics, altmetrics and social media

© 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Aims: A discussion of bibliometrics, altmetrics and social media for the contemporary nursing scholar and academic researcher. Background: Today's nursing academic faces myriad challenges in balancing their daily life and, in recent years, academic survival has been increasingly challenged by the various research assessment exercises that evaluate the performance of knowledge institutions. As such, it is essential that today's nursing academic keep up to date with the core competencies needed for survival in a modern research career, particularly the intersecting triad of bibliometrics, altmetrics and social media. Design: Discussion paper. Data sources: Published literature and relevant websites. Implications for nursing: The rise of social media and altmetrics has important implications for contemporary nursing scholars who publish their research. Some fundamental questions when choosing a journal might be ‘does it have a Twitter and/or Facebook site, or a blog (or all three)’; and ‘does it have any other presence on social media, such as LinkedIn, Wikipedia, YouTube, ResearchGate and so on?’ Another consequence of embracing social media is that individual academics should also develop their own strategies for promoting and disseminating their work as widely as possible. Conclusion: The rising importance of social media and altmetrics can no longer be ignored, and today's nursing academic now has another facet to consider in their scholarly activities. Despite the changing nature of research dissemination, however, it is still important to recognize the undoubted value of established knowledge dissemination routes (that being the peer-reviewed publication)

The historical decline of tobacco smoking among United States physicians: 1949–1984

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Tobacco use became an ingrained habit in the United States (US) following the First World War and a large proportion of physicians, similar to the general population, were smokers. The period from 1949 to 1984 was a pivotal era of change however, as the medical profession, like the society it served, became increasingly aware of the dangers that tobacco incurred for health.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>An extensive review targeted all manuscripts published in academic journals between 1949 and 1984 that related to tobacco smoking among US physicians. The study was undertaken in 2007–08 with an internet search of relevant medical databases, after which time the reference lists of manuscripts were also examined to find additional articles.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 57 manuscripts met the inclusion criteria. From a research perspective, the methodology and coverage of smoking surveys ranged from detailed national investigations, to local medical association surveys, and journal readership questionnaires. From a historical perspective, it can be seen that by the 1950s many US physicians had begun questioning the safety of tobacco products, and by the 1960s and 1970s, this had resulted in a continuous decline in tobacco use. By the 1980s, few US physicians were still smoking, and many of their younger demographic had probably never smoked at all.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Although the quality and coverage of historical surveys varied over time, a review of their main results indicates a clear and consistent decline in tobacco use among US physicians between 1949 and 1984. Much can be learned from this pivotal era of public health, where the importance of scientific knowledge, professional leadership and social responsibility helped set positive examples in the fight against tobacco.</p

Electrical processes in heavy rain in the tropics

The thesis is based on research carried out in Sierra Leone over a period of several years. An asymmetric field mill and a 'wide-angle' shielded receiver have been developed for the measurement of electric field and precipitation current in tropical thunderstorms. A detailed field-mill theory is presented which analyses the effects of leakage currents, inadequate grounding, contact potentials, conduction current, 'pick-up' of fluctuating electric fields and noise in the amplifier. Principles are deduced for the optimum design of a precision field mill using either a phase sensitive detector or an asymmetric signal. Measurements of precipitation current and its response to step changes in the field show that turbulent diffusion of splash droplets probably constitutes an important, even dominant, electrical process in heavy rain. The response of precipitation current to a lightning flash, averaged over many flashes, is large and has a delay of a few seconds. From the analysis of various models considered as a mechanism to explain the results it is deduced that charge carried on splash droplets is being diffused upwards by turbulence, transported by wind and is itself precipitating into the rain receiver. An experiment was performed to measure the electric current due to evaporation. The results show that the current due to evaporation in the presence of an electric field is much smaller than that due to conduction in air. The observation of a 'warm' thunderstorm cloud is reported. A project was developed to make visual and electrical measurements simultaneously on the same cloud. A time lapse film of tropical clouds, together with some electric field measurements beneath them, are used to discuss the flow pattern associated with a tropical thunderstorm and the mechanism by which it becomes charged. Appendices include an analysis of the shielding effect of a vertical rod at ground potential, the description of some further instrumentation, including a data processing system designed by the author which uses a novel but effective method of detecting the occurrence of the peak of a signal, more detailed mathematical derivations of equations used in the main text and a filming schedule for the time-lapse photography

Too many Japanese university students are still smoking tobacco

Although campus-wide smoking bans are slowly spreading throughout Japan, the uptake of these measures has been suboptimal and many Japanese university students continue to smoke. Educational facilities are in an ideal position to set positive examples for tobacco control, and the time is now right for more Japanese universities to actively encourage their students as health promotion advocates and role models for healthy behavior

The historical decline of tobacco smoking among Australian physicians: 1964–1997

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Physicians occupy an important position as tobacco control exemplars and their own smoking habits are known to influence how effective they may be in such a role.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A comprehensive review of all published manuscripts describing tobacco usage rates and tobacco control activities in the Australian medical profession between 1964 and 1997.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Some of the earliest surveys revealed that around one-quarter of Australian physicians were smoking in the mid twentieth century, a rate which rapidly declined in the 1970s and 1980s, with reductions beyond that achieved by the general population.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Overall, our review suggests that not only do contemporary Australian physicians smoke at very low rates when compared internationally, but that an active professional community can also make a real difference to the lifestyle choices of its own members.</p

Exposure rate of needlestick and sharps injuries among Australian veterinarians

Background: Needlestick and sharps injuries (NSI) represent an important occupational health issue in veterinary practice. Little is known about the distribution and correlates of NSI among Australian veterinarians. Methods: A questionnaire-based NSI survey was mailed to 1094 veterinarians registered with the Veterinary Surgeons Board of Queensland during 2006. Results: A total of 664 surveys were returned from 1038 eligible participants (response rate 64.0%) with 56.8% being male, around one-third in the >50 years age group and about half aged 3150 years. Just over two-fifths were working in small animal practice only. Around three quarters (75.3%) reported suffering at least one NSI in the previous 12 months, while 58.9% reported suffering from at least one contaminated NSI during the previous 12 months, which crudely extrapolates to an exposure rate of 75.3 and 58.9 NSI per 100 person-years respectively. Risk factors for contaminated NSI were female gender, working in small or mixed animal practice, being less experienced, seeing more patients per week and working longer hours per week. The most common causative devices were syringes (63.7%), suture needles (50.6%) and scalpel blades (34.8%). Conclusion: The exposure rate of NSI is high for Queensland veterinarians and clearly remains a major occupational health problem. Current guidelines and strategies to reduce NSI in veterinary practice should be promoted, but appear to be adapted from human health care. Studies to understand why veterinarians have such high NSI rates are required to not only identify risk factors for NSI, but also to determine attitudes and beliefs about NSI. From these studies specific strategies for veterinarians can be designed and trialed to develop evidence-based guidelines and policies that are effective in decreasing the exposure rate of NSI in veterinary practice

Investigation of Substituted-Benzene Dopants for Charge Exchange Ionization of Nonpolar Compounds by Atmospheric Pressure Photoionization

Atmospheric pressure photoionization (APPI) using a dopant enables both polar and nonpolar compounds to be analyzed by LC/MS. To date, the charge exchange ionization pathway utilized for nonpolar compounds has only been efficient under restrictive conditions, mainly because the usual charge exchange reagent ions—the dopant photoions themselves—tend to be consumed in proton transfer reactions with solvent and/or dopant neutrals. This research aims to elucidate the factors affecting the reactivities of substituted-benzene dopant ions; another, overriding, objective is to discover new dopants for better implementing charge exchange ionization in reversed-phase LC/MS applications. The desirable properties for a charge exchange dopant include low reactivity of its photoions with solvent and dopant neutrals and high ionization energy (IE). Reactivity tests were performed for diverse substituted-benzene compounds, with substituents ranging from strongly electron withdrawing (EW) to strongly electron donating (ED). The results indicate that both the tendency of a dopant's photoions to be lost through proton transfer reactions and its IE depend on the electron donating/withdrawing properties of its substituent(s): ED groups decrease reactivity and IE, while EW groups increase reactivity and IE. Exceptions to the reactivity trend for dopants with ED groups occur when the substituent is itself acidic. All told, the desirable properties for a charge exchange dopant tend towards mutual exclusivity. Of the singly-substituted benzenes tested, chloro- and bromobenzene provide the best compromise between low reactivity and high IE. Several fluoroanisoles, with counteracting EW and ED groups, may also provide improved performance relative to the established dopants

Relating Baseball Seam Height to Carry Distance

AbstractPast work has shown large variation in the drag of baseballs. Little is known concerning the causes of variation in ball drag. Ball diameter, weight, seam height, surface roughness, and shape influence lift and drag, and therefore carry distance. The aim of this work was to quantify the effect of seam height and roundness on ball lift and drag, which, to our understanding, has never been done outside of a wind tunnel. A bespoke, non-contact, ball surface profiler, was used to measure ball radius, including seam height. The profiles were analyzed to describe ball roundness and seam height separately. Balls with three different seam heights were projected in an enclosed stadium 102-122 m (describing a typical fly ball). Redundant radar devices were used to measure launch angle, speed, and flight paths. High speed video was used to confirm launch angle and ball spin rate. Hit distance was verified with a physical tape measure. The ball's roundness influenced the effective height of a seam. Measurements of the non-seam area of a ball were necessary to characterize the seams of a ball. A strong correlation was observed between seam height and a ball's drag coefficient. Lift, however, was not sensitive to seam height or ball shape

Examining the dimensions and correlates of workplace stress among Australian veterinarians

Background: Although stress is known to be a common occupational health issue in the veterinary profession, few studies have investigated its broad domains or the internal validity of the survey instrument used for assessment. Methods: We analysed data from over 500 veterinarians in Queensland, Australia, who were surveyed during 2006-07. Results: The most common causes of stress were reported to be long hours worked per day, not having enough holidays per year, not having enough rest breaks per day, the attitude of customers, lack of recognition from the public and not having enough time per patient. Age, gender and practice type were statistically associated with various aspects of work-related stress. Strong correlations were found between having too many patients per day and not having enough time per patient; between not having enough holidays and long working hours; and also between not enough rest breaks per day and long working hours. Factor analysis revealed four dimensions of stress comprising a mixture of career, professional and practice-related items. The internal validity of our stress questionnaire was shown to be high during statistical analysis. Conclusion: Overall, this study suggests that workplace stress is fairly common among Australian veterinarians and represents an issue that occupies several distinct areas within their professional life

The Future in Their Hands: The Perceptions of Practice Educators on the Strengths and Challenges of “Generation Y” Occupational Therapy Students

Those born between 1982 and 2002 are termed “Generation Y”. This younger generation is thought to have unique characteristics, due to the societal and technological influences that they experienced in their formative years. In occupational therapy, this group has been found to have unique attributes that have impacted on practice education. This study replicated an earlier study to affirm or refute the existence of the Generation Y student in occupational therapy from practice educator perspectives. An Australian university previously developed and administered the survey tool. In this current study, the electronic survey was sent to all practice educators listed on the database of another Australian university. Of the 54 respondents, most considered that there is a Generation Y student. Using summative content analysis, categories were generated, which were collapsed into four main themes: (a) self-assured, go getters that are team players and easily bored; (b) demanding and motivated learners; (c) technologically savvy; and (d) no difference. Practice educators viewed Generation Y students as possessing unique attributes that may contribute significantly to the profession but that also present challenges in practice education. Acknowledgment of generational differences and the value of mentorship from older generations are indicated to maximize this generation’s potential