Learning/work: Turning work and lifelong learning inside out

CONFINTEA VI took place against the background of an uneven and contradictory social and economic impact of globalisation. This impact registered globally and locally, in both the political North and South, drawing new lines of inequality between “core” and “periphery”, between insiders and outsiders of contemporary society. Financial turmoil in the world has exacerbated levels of poverty and insecurity. The question is how work-related education and conceptions of learning might promote greater inclusion and security for those whose livelihoods are most severely affected by globalisation. The Belém Framework for Action implicitly recognises that lifelong learning and work cannot be discussed outside broader socio-economic and political contexts. The authors of this article draw substantially on research from around the world and argue for the re-insertion of “politics and power” into both the theory and practice of “lifelong learning” and “work”.     

Beyond Boomer Meets NextGen: Examining Mentoring Practices among Pennsylvania Academic Librarians

A survey to assess mentoring experiences and attitudes towards work of Pennsylvania academic librarians was conducted in September 2006 with questions concerning mentoring experiences, work experiences, and attitudes towards work. Results of the survey are analyzed for differences among those librarians responding, especially generational differences, and implications for professional associations when developing mentoring programs are discussed.     

Automaticity of exercise self-regulatory efficacy beliefs in adults with high and low experience in exercise self-regulation

Guided by social cognitive theory (SCT), we investigated whether exercise self-regulatory efficacy beliefs can be activated nonconsciously in individuals experienced and inexperienced in exercise self-regulation, and whether these beliefs are automatically associated with exercise self-regulation processes. The study used a 2 (Exercise Self-Regulation Experience Group) × 3 (Prime Condition) between-subjects design in which individuals experienced and inexperienced in exercise self-regulation were randomly assigned to receive subliminal, supraliminal, or no priming of exercise self-regulatory efficacy beliefs. Participants completed hypothetical diary entries, which were assessed for exercise self-regulatory efficacy and self-regulation expressions using content analyses with a SCT coding system and the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) text analysis program. For both exercise self-regulation experience groups, self-efficacy priming led to more expressions of low exercise self-regulatory efficacy and dysfunctional exercise self-regulation strategies compared with the control prime. For participants experienced in exercise self-regulation, supraliminal priming (vs. control priming) led to more expressions of high exercise self-regulatory efficacy and functional exercise self-regulation strategies. For the experienced groups, priming led to automaticity of exercise expressions compared with the control condition. For inexperienced participants in the subliminal prime condition, priming led to automaticity of self-regulatory efficacy beliefs and work-related goals compared with the control condition. Automatic activation of exercise self-regulatory efficacy and exercise self-regulation processes suggests that self-regulation of exercise behavior can occur nonconsciously.     

现在我明白

每个人都有远行出走的冲动,一半是为了更好的生存,否则别无选择;另一半是为了逃避已经很好的生活,他们的选择恰恰太多。     

Blood Pressure,Fitness, and Lipid Profiles of Rural Women in the Wellness for Women Project

Purpose: This study examined whether rural women, who had a high prevalence of prehypertension and hypertension upon enrollment in a wellness program, would also have a high prevalence of other cardiovascular disease risk factors such as low fitness and/or dyslipidemia. Methods: Data were analyzed from 225 rural women, ages 50-69, enrolled in a healthy eating and activity clinical trial. Cardiovascular health histories, fitness measures, blood pressure, and fasting blood serum samples were collected following standardized protocols at rural research offices. Chi-square and MANOVA were performed to examine differences in health characteristics, lipids, and fitness across blood pressure categories. Results: Fitness indicators of estimated VO_2max, 1-mile walk time, and resting heart rate differed between the blood pressure groups, with those in the prehypertensive and hypertensive groups having less desirable profiles than those in the normotensive group. Triglyceride levels of 150 mg/dL or greater, were observed in 36%, 32%, and 16.7% of women who had hypertensive, prehypertensive, and normal blood pressures, respectively. Conclusions: The need for routine blood pressure screenings by practitioners is reinforced by finding that rural women screened via PAR-Q and/or physician clearance had a high prevalence of prehypertensive and hypertensive blood pressures, in addition to low fitness and nonoptimal triglycerides. Practitioners need to provide counselling based on results and refer to other providers as appropriate.Key Words: blood pressure, lipids, fitness, rural women     

Collaborative Development and Evaluation of an Online Nursing Course

Institutions of higher education acknowledge that online learning represents a growing segment of the modern learning environment, and most students have mastered basic computer skills. However, reluctance to engage in online learning remains among both faculty and students. This article presents a case study of three schools of nursing that collaboratively developed and implemented an online undergraduate-nursing course. The article discusses the challenges that were encountered by faculty and students. The faculty used the distance education literature to address these challenges related to technological, institutional, and pedagogical aspects of online learning, as well as the recruitment and retention of online learners. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the course. The paper concludes with suggestions to overcome the challenges of online learning, such that faculty and students receive the inherent rewards.     

Competence in nursing informatics among nursing students and staff at a nursing institute in Sweden

BACKGROUND: Information technology (IT) has slowly been implemented in many health-care organizations (i.e. hospitals). The use of computers has advanced to home care and long-term facilities. Consequently, it is important that nurses are able to demonstrate competence and feel confident in the use of IT. Yet, research has reported that nursing students have varying degrees of competence and experience with IT. AIMS: The purpose of this study was to ascertain nursing students' and nursing educators' self-reported attitudes, skills and experiences using IT. METHODS: Data were collected through a written survey distributed and completed by 247 nursing students (45 of whom were registered nurses who participated in extension courses) and 52 staff members from the nursing faculty at a university in Sweden. RESULTS: Two-thirds of the students and 92% of the nursing educators had access to the Internet from their homes. Of the students, 71% identified their IT skills as being sufficient for their current or future work as a registered nurse. Nurse educators were less confident in the students' ability, reporting that only 29% of nursing students had sufficient IT skills. Comparatively, 48% of the nursing educators believed that they themselves had sufficient IT skills for their role as a nurse educator. CONCLUSIONS: It is important that nursing students have basic IT skills and are familiar with e-mail, word-processing and various databases on the World Wide Web. Findings indicate that participants had a deficit in these skills, suggesting the need to integrate IT into the nursing curriculum.     

Differentiation and social segregation of UK higher education, 1996–2010

Policies to expand higher education (HE) in the UK have emphasised the importance of widening participation by under-represented groups. However, the attention has shifted from who participates in HE (and who does not) to the different institutions attended by students from different backgrounds. Researchers have typically investigated this issue by comparing rates of entry to different types of university. This paper proposes an alternative approach; it uses concepts of social segregation, hitherto applied mainly to secondary schools, to analyse UCAS data on the social and demographic characteristics of entrants to HE. It estimates indices of segregation between HE institutions, and between subject areas within institutions, for selected cohorts of entrants to full-time undergraduate courses between 1996 and 2010. Levels of segregation during this period have been relatively high in relation to ethnicity and independent schooling, lower in relation to age and lowest in relation to gender, disability and social class. Most indices show stability over time, with a decline in the segregation of non-white ethnic groups and a small increase in segregation of independent school students. Levels of segregation differ across the four UK home countries, and tend to be highest in England.