Self-Efficacy and Postpartum Teaching: A Replication Study

Postpartum depression (PPD) occurs in 13% of new mothers internationally, but many do not receive treatment. In the Western world, hospital-based perinatal nurses have extended contact with new mothers and are in a unique position to teach them to recognize symptoms of and seek treatment for PPD. In this replication study framed by self-efficacy theory, teaching new mothers about PPD was predicted by a nurse’s self-efficacy related to PPD teaching, expectations for teaching from supervisor, PPD continuing education, teaching experience on other topics, and experience with observing other nurses teaching patients about PPD. The results of the study demonstrate the importance of the climate created by the nursing supervisor in which teaching about PPD is expected and facilitators of effective patient teaching are available.     

EFFECT OF CLASS SIZE,GRADES GIVEN,AND ACADEMIC FIELD ON STUDENT OPINION OF INSTRUCTION

This study reviewed the effect of class size, grades given, and academic field on student opinion of instruction. Data analysis showed that there were no significant correlations between variables of the three groups: (a) class size and student opinion of instruction; (b) grades given and student opinion of instruction, and (c) college and national academic field rankings and student opinion of instruction. These results leave teacher effectiveness as the most likely variable to explain ratings of student opinion of instruction.     

The Accessibility and Usability of College Websites: Is your Website Presenting Barriers to Potential Students?

Thirty community college websites were evaluated for compliance with federal web accessibility standards found in Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d). Two typical sites were tested for usability by individuals with visual impairments, individuals with reading-related learning disabilities (LD), and a control group of individuals without disabilities. Ten additional sites were selected for Simulated Target Group usability testing. Testing revealed that less than 1% of pages evaluated met Section 508 web accessibility standards. Over half of the users found the online admissions application process frustrating, and less than a third of all users could complete the online application without assistance. The Simulated Target Group usability testing encountered similar usability issues across the additional 10 community college websites examined. All four evaluation techniques found that community college websites fared poorly in both accessibility and usability. However, many of the issues could be addressed without significant effort.     

Distance Education Testing: Meeting the Demands of Today's Adult Education Consumer

The Distance-Education Testing Center at Greenville Technical College uses both traditional and technology-based exam protocols. It serves as an outstanding example of how automated testing opportunities are being successfully provided to thousands of “virtual campus” students who have elected to engage in e-learning as an alternative to conventional classroom instruction.     

Women's path into science and engineering majors: a structural equation model

The intent of this study was to investigate the adequacy of Weidman's (1985 Weidman, J. C. 1985. “Undergraduate socialization: A conceptual approach”. In Higher education: Handbook of theory and research, Edited by: Smart, J. C. Vol. V, 298–322. New York: Agathon Press.  [Google Scholar], 1989 Weidman, J. C. 1989. “The world of higher education: A socialization-theoretical perspective”. In The social world of adolescents: International perspectives, Edited by: Hurrelmann, K. and Engel, U. 87–105. New York: W. de Gruyter.  [Google Scholar]) theoretical undergraduate socialization model as an empirical-based causal model pertaining to women's career path choice into a science or engineering (SE) major via structural equation modeling. Data were obtained from the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (1996–2001) from the U.S. Department of Education. Results indicate that Weidman's model was somewhat supported. Results from the evaluation of the causal model suggest that women's path into an SE major was influenced by both collegiate and non-collegiate factors, with 1st-year college grades and high school math grades being the dominant indirect influences.     

Mapping the literature of health care chaplaincy

Objective:

This study examined citation patterns and indexing coverage from 2008 to 2010 to determine (1) the core literature of health care chaplaincy and (2) the resources providing optimum coverage for the literature.

Methods:

Citations from three source journals (2008–2010 inclusive) were collected and analyzed according to the protocol created for the Mapping the Literature of Allied Health Professions Project. An analysis of indexing coverage by five databases was conducted. A secondary analysis of self-citations by source journals was also conducted.

Results:

The 3 source journals—Chaplaincy Today, the Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy, and the Journal of Pastoral Care and Counseling—ranked as the top 3 journals in Zone 1 and provided the highest number of most frequently cited articles for health care chaplaincy. Additional journals that appeared in this highly productive zone covered the disciplines of medicine, psychology, nursing, and religion, which were also represented in the Zones 2 and 3 journals. None of the databases provided complete coverage for the core journals; however, MEDLINE provided the most comprehensive coverage for journals in Zones 1 and 2, followed by Academic Search Complete, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and ATLA. Self-citations for the source journals ranged from 9% to 16%.

Conclusions:

Health care chaplaincy draws from a diverse body of inter-professional literature. Libraries wishing to provide access to journal literature to support health care chaplaincy at their institutions will be best able to do this by subscribing to databases and journals that cover medical, psychological, nursing, and religion- or spirituality-focused disciplines.

Highlights

• Health care chaplaincy is a broadly inter-professional field that draws from and contributes to medical, nursing, psychological, and religion or spirituality literature.
• Two of the three source journals were sponsored by professional chaplaincy organizations.
• Journals and books were cited with almost equal frequency.

Implications

• For full coverage of the health care chaplaincy literature, librarians should consider searching in databases beyond MEDLINE, for example, CINAHL and Academic Search Complete, to assure comprehensive coverage.
• Health care chaplaincy researchers and educators considering publication will find the study useful for identifying relevant journals from related disciplines.

     

The relationships among manager communication openness,nonverbal immediacy,and subordinate motivation

The relationship between managers' communication behaviors (openness and nonverbal immediacy) and subordinates' motivation were examined. Wharton MBA candidates were videotaped participating in an organizational simulation to resolve interpersonal conflict. Subordinates completed self‐report measures regarding openness and motivation; independent coders rated managers' nonverbal immediacy behaviors. Analysis indicated that communication openness was positively and significantly related to motivation, while nonverbal immediacy and motivation was slightly related although not significantly. The positive, yet tentative relationship between openness and immediacy, indicated that these variables occur together. Results of the multiple regression reveals that openness was more predictive of motivation, while immediacy had a more indirect impact.