Educational Mobility Essay Example for Free

Educational Mobility Essay The journal article is basically a report on the first study to longitudinally examine educational mobility among nurses. The reason for the study is that schools of nursing cite a lack of qualified nursing faculty as a primary barrier to program expansion. The main objective of the study therefore is to identify patterns in how nurses’ entry-level degrees and other individual characteristics correlate with the timing and achievement of subsequent advanced nursing education. The researchers used longitudinal analysis of data gathered as part of North Carolina’s licensing renewal process. They studied the educational mobility of newly graduated RNs with a variety of entry degrees in this state. They followed cohorts of new graduates who were licensed in 1984, 1994 and a special group in 2004, which is basically a longitudinal study of three decades. The results suggest among others that, more than 80% of all nurses in either cohort who attained a master’s degree in nursing or a doctorate in any field began their nursing career with a bachelor’s degree. Younger age at entry into nursing, male sex, and belonging to a racial or ethnic minority were associated with being more likely to pursue higher academic degrees. Based on their findings, they concluded that increasing the number of graduates with a bachelor of science in nursing degree, especially those who are men or members of a racial or ethnic minority will have the most immediate effect on increasing the potential nursing faculty pool. A Critique of the Research Process and Paper The hypothesis or research question was clearly articulated in the article when the authors introduced the issue of the lack of qualified faculty by schools of nursing as a primary barrier to program expansion. The researchers realized that an examination of the data could offer a much better understanding of how patterns in educational mobility have led to the current shortage, as well as some insight into how to address it. Since it was a longitudinal study of three decades, the literature review must not just be current, but also pertinent in order to address the research problem. In this study, the researchers used only two sources of data: cohort data from the North Carolina Center for Nursing database and data on national graduates from the National League for Nursing Division of Research: Nursing Data Book, 1984; Nursing Data Review, 1994; and Nursing Data Review, 2003. In terms of research design the researchers used longitudinal analysis (which is done over time) to explore patterns of educational mobility among RNs in North Carolina. In this type of research, longitudinal analysis is valuable and relevant because it profiles actual behavior and does not rely upon intentions or recall as in other types of conventional research such as cross-sectional research. However, as the authors admitted a disadvantage of this approach is that over time the nature of educational opportunity and access change so that what was true for nurses starting their career at a specific point in time may not be true for those starting in another time. In terms of selecting the sample and adequacy of the sample size, it was done in accordance to the sampling requirements of the longitudinal study. The first cohort initially consisted of all RNs who graduated from an entry-level program in North Carolina in 1983 or 1984 and were licensed in 1984. A second cohort initially consisted of all RNs who graduated from an entry-level program in North Carolina in 1993 or 1994 and were licensed in 1994. They also collected demographic data on a third cohort of 5,400 RNs who graduated from an entry-level program in 2003 or 2004 and were licensed in North Carolina in 2004. Using the database from the North Carolina Center for Nursing (NCCN) to get the raw data, the researchers were confident that as the first state agency dedicated to nurse workforce planning, the NCCN has 20 years of longitudinal data, including educational information, on the state’s nursing workforce. As far as ethical issues are concerned, there is no point or period in the study article that would suggest of any ethical issue raised by respondents. However, as longitudinal researches take a long time to finish, certain privacy may be raised by some respondents who do not want their past information to be dug up by researchers. For statistical analysis the researchers basically used descriptive statistics such as frequency, means, and certain non-parametric tests (chi-square) for testing significant differences between means computed from the data. Because of the relative characteristic of the statistical tests, the power of the non-parametric test is comparatively lower to that of parametric test. So it is difficult to determine why the authors decided to use non-parametric tests in this case. The findings of the authors do well in identifying the behavior and characteristics of nurses who will most likely fill the gap in terms of the shortage of qualified nursing faculty. Their data also suggests that the nursing shortage will not be remedied without having sufficient nursing faculty in place. While the number of RNs has increased in the past decade, their findings suggest that the demand for nursing faculty is not being met. This research is a longitudinal study only of a specific groups or groups of respondents. This study cannot be generalized and duplicated in other states or locale because of such study’s background. The presentation and style of presenting the research article to the average reader might be a bit overwhelming considering that, although a descriptive study, certain areas are complicated and have heavy technical descriptions. The figures such as charts, tables and graphs are also readable and accurate, albeit it takes time for an average reader to understand them. The articles is useful to nursing practice since it tries to address the issue of shortage of nurses due to the lack of qualified nursing faculty who hold master’s or doctorate degrees. The authors themselves tried to encourage all nurses to understand the value of an advanced formal education and the expectation to pursue it. The authors believe that the fastest way to increase the ranks of faculty nurses is to encourage more nurses to enter practice at the baccalaureate level as this academic route has been shown to make advancement for master’s and doctorate degrees more rapidly.

Organizational Learning Essay -- Business Management

Introduction The business environment today is no longer just corporate but global. Businesses both local and multinational are being forced (by globalization and changes in technologies) to broaden their learning agenda to address the full range of challenges to meet and exceed the expectations for a sustainable global village. Learning is garnering new or modifying existing knowledge, skills, behaviours or values and it is more of a process because it is contextual and builds upon and is shaped by what we already know. Learning as a process involves the change in organizational behaviour as a result of new knowledge or experience. Peter Sange (1994) described organizational learning as being focused on the practice of five principles which will not only create a desired future for the organization, but give it the edge it needs to survive it today’s fast growing and highly competitive work environment. These five principles are mentioned below: 1. Systems thinking: organizations should endeavor to view the business environment as a ‘whole system’ which has parts and focus on building relationships with these parts to promote concord with the system rather than working against it. This helps the organization create long-term solutions to challenges. 2. Team learning: organizations should encourage team leaning to enhance the feeling of synergy and productiveness. Team learning impacts positively on individuals as their knowledge bases are broadened and a certain bond is built which creates a more conducive work environment through mutual respect. This is geared towards achieving organizational objectives, collectively. 3. Shared vision: there is a need for every part of a system to understand the reason for its existence. O... ...anizational learning and knowledge. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Smith, M. K. (2003) 'Learning theory', the encyclopedia of informal education, [online] Available from www.infed.org/biblio/b-learn.htm, accessed 6th April 2012 Atherton J S (2011) Learning and Teaching; what is learning? [Online] available from http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/whatlearn.htm, accessed 6th April 2012 Senge, P. et al. (1994) The Fifth Discipline Field book: strategies and tools for building a learning organization [online] available from: http://www.solonline.org/organizational_overview, accessed 7th April 2012 Child, J. Organisation: Contemporary Principles and Practice (2005), Blackwell Publishing Website http://systems-thinkers.org/index.php/resources/resource/reviews/the_fifth_discipline_fieldbook_strategies_and_tools_for_building_a_learning .

Is college worth it? Essay

In the article, â€Å"Are Colleges Worth the Price of Admission? † by Andrew Hacker and Claudia Dreifus, the authors did research on several colleges around the country to see whether our investment on higher education is really worth the money that we pay for it. The authors believe that universities are the ones responsible for the doubling of tuition costs compared to what they used to be , and not fulfilling the most important objective to student’s which is: â€Å"to challenge the minds of young people† (180). In the article, Hacker and Dreifus outline some things they think would help improve  some of the problems in the college system and a few universities that they like, and tell us why these schools have won their favor. Being an incoming freshman at Grambling State University, I’ve been able to see some of the issues universities can have from budget cuts, to problems with the G- men football team. The main problem I’ve had here were with professors who’ve gotten ahead or above themselves because of their level and tenure. I do agree, however, with Hacker and Dreifus when they said some professors â€Å"have no reasons to improve their teaching† (181). Some of my professors at  Grambling State University are wonderful, were some aren’t as wonderful. Some professors come to class when they get ready, look in their book and write some on the board and talk the whole class time without really teaching us anything. I believe all teachers, no matter what their tenure level is have to remember their main role as a teacher. I agree that it is frustrating if you’re attending a college that expects you to pay a tuition that the college isn’t worth. Hacker and Dreifus reinforce that college is suppose to be a fun journey were you live, get new ideas, and information. In the article â€Å"The New Liberal Arts†, Sanford J. Ungar thinks that a liberal education is what Americans should try to get, not deny. Ungar made 7 points addressing the 7 misconceptions made in his article. The first misconception â€Å"A liberal arts degree is a luxury that most families can no longer afford. â€Å"Career education â€Å"is what we now must focus on† (190). Ungar argues with that misconception by saying jobs are actually looking for people who are educated in liberal arts instead of on specific subject because it produces better broader thinking. The second misconception says  students are having a hard time finding a job because â€Å"who wants to hire somebody with an irrelevant major like Philosophy or French? (191). Ungar quickly argues that not only are liberal art students are having a hard time finding jobs, but everyone else is also because of the failing economy. The third misconception says liberal arts are irrelevant for low-income and first-generation college students. Ungar says,† Its ignorant to think just because a student is first generation don’t mean they can’t receive the same education. † The fourth misconception says that a student should focus on the stem fields because â€Å"that’s where all  the action is† (192). Ungar argues this by saying that sometime the liberal arts take part in the broadcast parts of sciences and mathematics. The fifth misconception says it’s the liberal democrats, who got this country into trouble in recent years. Ungar argues that liberal education really doesn’t have anything to do with politics. The sixth misconception says America is the only country in the world that clings on to old form of post secondary education. Ungar argues this misconception by saying people from other countries are coming to the United States to admire our education like China. Finally the seventh misconception  says that the â€Å"cost of American higher education is spiraling out of control, and liberal-arts colleges are becoming irrelevant because they are unable to register gains in productivity†. Ungar argues this by saying if you choose a small liberal arts school you’ll get more one on one with professors which will lead to more thinking from students. So why does any of this matter? We as college students are putting a lot of money, time, and effort into our education. We should get our money’s worth, and enjoy the experience of it all while we can whether we chose liberal arts major or an S. T. E. M major program. Were not all individuals attending these colleges, but a 1 / 2 generation who all want to make it and be successful in life so it matters! Work Cited: Dreifus, Claudia and Hacker, Andrew. â€Å"Are Colleges worth the Price of Admission? † They Say/I Say: The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing. 2nd ed. Ed. Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein, and Russel Durst. New York. W. W. Northon, 2012 179-188. Print Sanford J. Ungar. â€Å"The New Liberal Arts† They Say/I Say: The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing. 2nd ed. Ed. Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein, and Russel Durst. New York. W. W. Northon, 2012 190-196. Print POWERED BY TCPDF (WWW. TCPDF. ORG).

Simple Conjugations for Tomber (to Fall) in French

One of the most used verbs in the French language,  tomber  means to fall. This could be used for a physical fall or for something like falling in love (tomber amoureux). When you want to say fell or falling, a conjugation is required and that is the subject of this French lesson. The Basic Conjugations of  Tomber Tomber is a regular -er verb, which does make it easier because it follows the conjugation rules for the majority of French verbs. Words like rà ªver (to dream) and monter (to go up) use the same endings and with each of these you study, the new ones become a little easier. The indicative mood is the most common. It includes the basic present, future, and imperfect past tenses youll need for most conversations. Using the chart, you can study  tombers conjugations by finding the subject pronoun and the corresponding tense needed for your sentence. As an example,  je tombe  means I am falling and  nous tombions  means we fell. Present Future Imperfect je tombe tomberai tombais tu tombes tomberas tombais il tombe tombera tombait nous tombons tomberons tombions vous tombez tomberez tombiez ils tombent tomberont tombaient You might find it easier to memorize these conjugations if you practice them in context. Luckily, there are plenty of opportunities to do so with a verb like  tomber. An interesting expression you may like is  tomber dans les pommes  and its not used for to fall into apples like you may expect. The Present Participle of  Tomber As a regular verb, the  present participle  conjugation of tomber  is really easy. Simply add -ant  to the verb stem and you have  tombant. Tomber  in the Compound Past Tense Passà © composà © is the French compound past tense. Its main component is the past participle tombà ©, though youll also need an auxiliary verb. In this case, its à ªtre. To form it, conjugate  Ãƒ ªtre  into the present tense appropriate to the subject, then add the past participle. This produces phrases like  je suis tombà ©Ã‚  for I fell and  nous sommes tombà ©Ã‚  for we fell. More Simple Conjugations of  Tomber Its a good idea to add a few more basic conjugations of  tomber  to your vocabulary. Each has their own use and will only increase your French fluency. The subjunctive, for example, implies uncertainty to the act of falling.  The conditional  is used when the act is dependent on conditions. Both  the passà © simple  and  the imperfect subjunctive  are found in formal French writing. Subjunctive Conditional Pass Simple Imperfect Subjunctive je tombe tomberais tombai tombasse tu tombes tomberais tombas tombasses il tombe tomberait tomba tombt nous tombions tomberions tombmes tombassions vous tombiez tomberiez tombtes tombassiez ils tombent tomberaient tombrent tombassent All formality is lost when using  the French imperative. Here, you can skip the subject pronoun and simply use the verb so you can be as assertive and to the point as possible. Imperative (tu) tombe (nous) tombons (vous) tombez