There has been a shortage of registered nurses in the United States for more than a decade, and an aging population is increasing this problem. This study was prompted by the number of associate degree nursing graduates at a Midwestern community college failing the NCLEX-RN licensure exam, which is required for employment. The purpose of this study was to explore associate degree graduate nurses' views of the effectiveness of classroom and clinical training on NCLEX -RN exam performance. Guided by the conceptual framework of Bigg's students' approaches to learning, which maintains deep learning is associated with achievement of learning outcomes, this qualitative case study investigated ways to improve success on the licensure exam. The central research questions examined the perceptions of what nursing school experiences contributed to NCLEX-RN success or failure. Semistructured interviews with 5 recent graduates who have been successful and 5 who failed the exam were conducted to gather the data. Triangulation and member checking were used to improve the quality of the data. The student perceptions were coded to identify emerging themes. The following themes that impact NCLEX performance were identified: extreme anxiety, fear of failure, faculty student relationships, and approach to learning. The findings revealed the need for additional faculty training in curriculum and instruction, reducing stress and building self-confidence. Based upon these findings, faculty were encouraged to participate in a 3-day professional development activity designed to improve their skills in preparing students to take the nursing examination. Possible social changes can benefit healthcare institutions, nursing graduates, and community by expanding the nursing workforce.

Engaging in regular exercise has multiple health benefits--for example, physical (Anshel, 2003; Penedo & Dahn 2005); mental (Stathopoulou, Powers, Berry, Smits, & Otto, 2006); emotional (Berger Pargman, & Weinberg, 2002); and social (Anshel, Reeves, & Roth, 2003; Dishman, 1994; Lox, Martin, & Petruzzello, 2003). Unfortunately, there are as many barriers to people exercising (e.g., time, cost, and accessibility) as there are benefits. Consequently, approximately two-thirds of individuals living within the United States do not engage in regular exercise (i.e., 3 days per week for at least 45 minutes; CDC, 2006). Multiple interventions have been implemented to help individuals initiate regular exercise (e.g., psychotherapy, physicians, and community programs), but none of them review how an individual alters his or her thoughts about exercise that could lead to initiation. Addressing an individual's beliefs about engaging in regular exercise will add to the understanding of how modifying thoughts can help lead to initiation. The purpose of the current study was to monitor the use of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)-style interviews to help three male participants who have had difficulties beginning and sustaining regular exercise explore their thoughts about exercise and potentially begin an exercise routine. In this dissertation, a comprehensive background is provided, outlining and explaining definitions affiliated with REBT, exercise, and mental health. Then a thorough literature review is provided, which outlines previous research on exercise interventions. In response to the specific research questions posed, the results of the current study indicate that using a variety of active directive REBT style interviews helped three men modify their beliefs about exercise and consequently improve their motivation to routinely engage in the behavior. Finally, limitations, implications, and directions for future research and practice are provided.

Changes have occurred within educational settings over the past 30 years, creating a more equal learning environment for women. Despite the fact that women aged 18-39 years now outnumber men within New Zealand universities, there is still evidence of inequality for pregnant university students.A qualitative case-study approach was used to explore and describe the stages and patterns of transition from being a university student to becoming a pregnant university student. Each woman demonstrated the complexity of the transitions. The pregnant body and becoming visible were factors that impacted on all five women who participated in this study. The case studies describe how pregnancy intervened in the experience of being a student.Various coping mechanisms were employed by these pregnant university students. The research suggests that they find balance through compartmentalizing aspects of their lives. They attribute educational and personal outcomes to luck. These strategies have enabled these women to aim for educational or personal success. Yet it remains clear that the university does not provide adequate support for these pregnant university students. Policies and resources need to be established to aid pregnant university students in this process of transition.

In recent years, a growing body of research has examined the issue of work–life balance (WLB). WLB initiatives have been developed by organisations, not only to aid employees in leading healthier and more satisfying lives, but to attract and retain talent. One area where WLB issues have not been examined in detail is from the perspective of Chinese immigrant women. As one of the largest and growing Asian ethnic groups, the WLB issues faced by Chinese women are especially worthy of being examined and addressed. The primary purpose of this research was to explore the WLB experience of Chinese women in administrative roles at Auckland University of Technology (AUT). It also aims to contribute to the body of knowledge on WLB issues for minority ethnic groups and investigated Chinese women’s coping strategies for integrating work with their non-work roles. An exploratory qualitative case study approach was adopted for this study in order to compare and contrast organisational initiatives and policies for WLB with women’s experiences. A triangulated research design was also employed to glean qualitative data by virtue of multiple methods including archival evidence such as publicly available documentation, secondary research on WLB and AUT’s WLB policies, and semi-structured interviews. This study involved 12 Chinese female administrative staff and three staff members from the Human Resource Department (HRD), the Asian Staff Network (ASN) and the AUT Branch of Tertiary Institutes Allied Staff Association (TIASA). Participants were recruited by utilising sources such as the Asian Staff Network (ASN) and the researcher’s network of contacts within AUT. The findings of the study indicated that Chinese women’s WLB experience and ways of handling work–family conflict (WFC) and family–work conflict (FWC) were affected by their experiences of immigration and cultural backgrounds. In particular, their family situation had a critical influence on the way they organised their households and arranged for childcare or eldercare. Child/elder care responsibilities, personal/family emergencies, and personal/individual sacrifice engendered tensions around their ability to integrate WLB. In addition, work factors such as heavy workloads, meeting deadlines, and working longer hours, and cultural barriers caused emotional stress and physical consequences. While informal support from managers and colleagues and the WLB policies offered by the university helped women address their WLB issues, some policies were underutilised. A variety of coping strategies such as family members, win-lose strategies, time management, building clear boundaries, changing mindsets, and demonstrating commitment were actively adopted by Chinese women as mechanisms to cope with tensions between their work and family lives. The implications of these findings are discussed in light of the theory and practice of WLB.

This qualitative field study investigated cross-site knowledge sharing in a small sample of multinational corporations in three different MNC business contexts (global, multidomestic, transnational). The results disclose heterogeneous "worlds" of MNC knowledge sharing, ultimately raising the question as to whether the whole concept of MNC knowledge sharing covers a sufficiently unitary phenomenon to be meaningful. We derive a non-exhaustive typology of MNC knowledge-sharing practices: self-organizing knowledge sharing, technocratic knowledge sharing, and best practice knowledge sharing. Despite its limitations, this typology helps to elucidate a number of issues, including the latent conflict between two disparate theories of MNC knowledge sharing, namely "sender-receiver" and "social learning" theories (Noorderhaven & Harzing, 2009). More generally, we develop the term "knowledge contextualization" to highlight the way that firm-specific organizational features pre-define which knowledge is considered to be of special relevance for intra-organizational sharing. (authors' abstract)

This qualitative case study examines the way in which six adult learners and their teacher in a university language classroom narrativise their identities while reflecting on experiences in and outside of the classroom. This study determined that the identity positions of the student participants were strongly influenced by notions of normative cultural, national and religious identity categories, as well as the students’ experiences in environments that were characterized by high-stakes grading, and “native speaker” norms. Drawing on poststructural identity theories (Norton, 1995, 1997; Gee, 2001) and anti-colonial and anti-racist scholarship (Kubota and Lin, 2009), this research contributes to the growing body of knowledge that addresses the effects of subjective notions of identity and structural power relations on the experiences of adult learners. Additionally, it outlines some possible actions for teachers and policy-makers to counter some of the structural inequalities that negatively impact the identity negotiation of students.

In Canada, 20% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions result from burning fossil fuels to heat homes, buildings, and water. Solar thermal technologies convert the sun’s energy into emission-free heat. The Drake Landing Solar Community (DLSC) in Okotoks, Alberta uses a Central Solar Heating Plant (CSHP) with Seasonal Storage to achieve an astounding annual reduction of 89 % in fossil fuel consumption and more than 5 tonnes in GHG emissions per home. This thesis examines: (1) the role for solar thermal technologies in Canada; and (2) what social, economical, and environmental factors are critical to the implementation and ultimate success of the DLSC. The former was examined through a literature review and the latter through a qualitative case study. Data was collected from published articles, media reports, conference proceedings, and in-person interviews in Okotoks. International markets have shown strong solar thermal growth, yet Canada lags significantly despite its powerful solar resources and readily available technology. Europe has demonstrated that strong policies with ambitious targets have a critical role in the implementation of solar technologies. A review of recent public opinion polls demonstrates Canadians value the environment and would favour such policy developments. The case study sought to understand the roles and motivations of the municipality, home builder group, and homeowners. The municipality exhibited tremendous leadership when it embarked on a path towards sustainability that included controlled growth based on ecological limitations and investment in solar thermal technology for municipal buildings. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities was instrumental in exposing Okotoks and the home builder group to the CSHP successes in Europe. The flexibility and innovation of the home builder group provided conventionally-styled homes, which were able to seamlessly incorporate the technologies of the DLSC. For the homeowners, critical components of the success of the project included: a means to participate in environmental change, increased community cohesion due to aligned values; and price stability for their heating costs. Additionally, all of the homeowners interviewed stated that they would be willing to pay extra to support the technology, which indicates that future projects may require less subsidization. / Thesis (Master, Environmental Studies) -- Queen's University, 2009-02-03 14:08:18.825

This qualitative case study examines the way in which six adult learners and their teacher in a university language classroom narrativise their identities while reflecting on experiences in and outside of the classroom. This study determined that the identity positions of the student participants were strongly influenced by notions of normative cultural, national and religious identity categories, as well as the students’ experiences in environments that were characterized by high-stakes grading, and “native speaker” norms. Drawing on poststructural identity theories (Norton, 1995, 1997; Gee, 2001) and anti-colonial and anti-racist scholarship (Kubota and Lin, 2009), this research contributes to the growing body of knowledge that addresses the effects of subjective notions of identity and structural power relations on the experiences of adult learners. Additionally, it outlines some possible actions for teachers and policy-makers to counter some of the structural inequalities that negatively impact the identity negotiation of students.

There is widespread recognition of the importance of organizational learning to organizational performance and innovation. Recent research suggests that the use of analytics can play a critical role in enhancing organizational learning. However, the relationship between marketing analytics and organizational learning has not yet been well studied. More specifically, research is needed to help understand how analytics, marketing analytics in particular, facilitate organizational learning to develop a systematic, theoretical explanation of the relationship between organizational learning and marketing analytics. This phenomenon is studied in the very rich context of the health care industry. This research uses a case study to examine how organizational learning involving intuiting, interpreting, integrating, and institutionalizing can be facilitated by marketing analytics. Health care organizations are using marketing analytics to adapt to the changes in their rapidly changing environment. A conceptual framework has been developed to illustrate how marketing analytics capabilities in the organization are used to facilitate organizational learning. This study also provides recommendations on how health care organizations can enhance organizational learning with marketing analytics to improve their business performance.

Changes have occurred within educational settings over the past 30 years, creating a more equal learning environment for women. Despite the fact that women aged 18-39 years now outnumber men within New Zealand universities, there is still evidence of inequality for pregnant university students.A qualitative case-study approach was used to explore and describe the stages and patterns of transition from being a university student to becoming a pregnant university student. Each woman demonstrated the complexity of the transitions. The pregnant body and becoming visible were factors that impacted on all five women who participated in this study. The case studies describe how pregnancy intervened in the experience of being a student.Various coping mechanisms were employed by these pregnant university students. The research suggests that they find balance through compartmentalizing aspects of their lives. They attribute educational and personal outcomes to luck. These strategies have enabled these women to aim for educational or personal success. Yet it remains clear that the university does not provide adequate support for these pregnant university students. Policies and resources need to be established to aid pregnant university students in this process of transition.