<p> One important new global sociological phenomenon of the 21st century is the rise of elite single professional women worldwide, who have important roles as trailblazers. The Civil Rights and Women's Movements disrupted historical power systems and altered race relations, the workplace, women's lives, marriage patterns, and transformed retirement for this generation of retirees. Empirical research about always single, child-free professional women (ASCFPW) is scarce due to their minority status and the social bias toward married women; The lived experience of this minority population is often overshadowed in studies by the greater percentage of single-again women&mdash;widowed, divorced, or separated women with very different life experiences&mdash;with whom they are traditionally grouped in research. Simultaneously this population is increasing and can be role models for majority women who become single again as they age. The respectful acronym and neutral terminology of ASCFPW (always single, child-free, professional woman) is used; traditional research labels of "never married" and "childless" are negative, and ostracizing, therefore eschewed in this report. </p><p> This qualitative, multiple case investigation focuses on the lived retirement transition for seven ASCFPW in the first five years of retirement. How does the sense of self of the ASCFPW evolve from her career to a meaningful retirement lifestyle that integrates service, activism or creative praxis (activism in the arts, or a woman's unique creative strategy for service to her community) while embracing her new learning and evolving identity? How does the loss of professional identity at retirement impact the ASCFPW whose career was a significant part of her sense of self, salient roles, and life focus? </p><p> Their partial life history interviews reveal intelligent, engaged women who excelled in their careers then create a meaningful retirement lifestyle that includes community service, social activism, or creative praxis. Their narratives' data yield meaningful findings to add to existing older women's retirement literature on wholistic retirement planning, career patterns, professional identity versus work identity, the sense of self, new learning, and other surprises. Both transformative learning theory and adult development models are discussed as relevant. Recommendations for future research and retirement education curriculum are included. </p>

<p>Researchers have developed strategies used in nursing programs to promote cultural awareness (Hunter &amp; Krantz, 2010). Minimal research has focused on the graduating associate degree-nursing students to determine if a relationship existed between the use of an integrated cultural curriculum and the nursing student&rsquo;s level of cultural awareness (Kardong-Edgren &amp; Campinha-Bacote, 2008, Sealey, Burnett, &amp; Johnson, 2006). The associate degree-nursing program accreditation, statistical, and benchmark reports mandated the integration of diversity content, local, national, and worldwide perspectives in the curricula (NLN, 2008). Additionally societal and cultural patterns must be integrated across the entire nursing school curricula (Board of Registered Nursing, 2012, section 1426-e7). A correlational approach was implemented to determine if relationships existed between the integrated cultural curriculum and level of cultural awareness in graduating associate degree nursing students in a large metropolitan area, such as in Los Angeles (Sealey et al., 2006). The Cultural Awareness Scale (CAS) was used to survey the participants. Based on the findings of the 51 participants surveyed in this study, the cultural awareness level may be attributed to several factors, including the integrated cultural curricula. The nursing student&rsquo;s learning style, perception of faculty, personal experiences, and cultural encounters may also contribute to the cultural awareness level. Analysis of variance results revealed no statistically significant difference on the CAS total or subscale scores based on gender, age, and ethnicity. The outcome of this study may encourage academic affairs leaders to emphasize cultural awareness as a significant student-learning outcome for nursing educational programs. </p>

<p>Nurse educator perspectives about knowledge, awareness, skills, and attitudes regarding documentation, as a component of health information technology can offer important data on the links between achieving safe and quality patient outcomes. A classic grounded theory approach was used to explore nurse educator faculty perceptions of issues and strategies related to teaching effective patient care documentation. The current problem with teaching nursing documentation among nurse educators surfaced during the interviews with nurse educators and the specific problem was identified in the study from the views of study participants. This study included two main purposes: (a) to explicate the issues and strategies of nurse educators teaching of nursing documentation while transitioning from paper-based to an electronic health record format, and (b) to generate an explanatory theory of teaching nursing documentation and its negative or positive influences of student learning of the competency. In-depth interviews with observation were conducted among sixteen nurse educators from a baccalaureate nursing program. A grounded theory of internalizing accountability emerged as the core variable/core category through classic grounded theory data collection and analysis in a simultaneous fashion. Four sub-categories and components also emerged and include (a) progressing levels, (b) reflecting on conflicting roles of nurse educators, (c) accepting transitioning, and (d) engaging and empowering through leadership. As a result of the analysis of the study findings, conclusions in this study filled the current gap in the literature through development of a new theory of internalizing accountability with future use in undergraduate and graduate nursing education. </p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to determine whether student outcomes are a function of participation in different modes of delivery in an Opticianry program at the community college level. First, the intent was to determine whether differences in instructional delivery methods and background characteristics impact student performance in an Opticianry program. The three instructional delivery methods were traditional face-to-face instruction, online delivery, and a hybrid format where students take theory courses online and attend face-to-face laboratories on campus. A second objective was to determine the role of background variables such as student age, which was the age when entering the Opticianry program classified in three categories: Young Adults (18-24), Middle Age (25-33), and Older Adults (34 &amp; >). </p><p> To meet the purpose of the study and its driving questions, a non-experimental explanatory research design relying on survey data collection strategies was used. Data collection was conducted during a six-week period using an online survey available through Survey Monkey. The survey was used to identify instructional delivery method, perception of job preparedness, and perception of program quality. A two-way ANOVA was used to analyze the relationship between independent variables (delivery method and age) and a dependent variable (GPA, national certification score, workplace preparation score, and quality of instruction score). Two hundred and eighty six graduates of the Hillsborough Community College Opticianry Program from 2006-2012 were contacted for participation. </p><p> One hundred and twelve graduates completed the survey representing a response rate of 39%. The results indicated no significant difference in the outcomes of Opticianry program graduates related to instructional delivery method or age. Based on the overall results in the study, the overall conclusion is that students in the Opticianry program should achieve similar outcomes whether they complete the program online, on campus, or in a hybrid format. </p><p> The results of the study provide support for the idea that it is possible to provide equivalent technician preparation using a variety of instructional delivery methods. The study adds to a limited body of knowledge about the impact of participation in online or hybrid courses compared to traditional courses in technical preparation. The outcomes provide support that distance education is a promising strategy for increasing access to adult learners seeking flexible opportunities for technical preparation. The results should also reduce the reluctance of institutions offering career and technical education programs, to offer complete programs via distance learning in fear that distance students will not achieve program outcomes equivalent to face-to-face students. The study has generated positive comparative evidence of student performance as a function of instructional method, and documented students' evaluative perspectives about their occupational readiness and program quality.</p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of California, San Francisco, 2008. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-06, Section: B, page: 3518. Adviser: Jyu-Lin Chen.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Lehigh University, 2008.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2008. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-05, Section: A, page: 1752. Adviser: Steven R. Aragon. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 128-132) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1989. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 153-159).

Thesis (PH.D.)--Michigan State University. Educational Policy, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Aug. 11, 2009) Includes bibliographical references (p. 276-287). Also issued in print.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of California, San Francisco, 2008. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-09, Section: B, page: 5320. Adviser: Patricia Benner.