No description available.

The foundation for this study is based on prior research (Sproles & Sproles, 1990) that determined that learning styles are significantly related to consumer decision-making styles. Decision making involves a process of cognitive learning. Since the study was published, other studies have investigated these consumer decision-making styles. However, no additional studies have further investigated the relationship between learning styles and consumer decision-making styles for college students, especially first-year, first semester college students. Numerous studies have documented that students enter college as consumers but may lack basic knowledge and skills to make consumer decisions and avoid potential debt. The focus of the current study was to determine whether a relationship exists between beginning college students' self-reported mind styles, consumer decision-making styles, and shopping habits. To investigate this relationship, a purposive sample was targeted consisting of first-year, first semester college students. Three instruments were administered: the Gregorc Style Delineator, the Consumer Styles Inventory, and a Demographic Survey. A Chi-Square Test of Independence showed that there is a significant relationship between gender and self-reported shopping habits. Females tend to self-report purchases of clothing more frequently than males. Males tend to self-report purchases of food away from home and gas/auto expenses more frequently than females. No significant relationship was found between students' perception of family income and self-reported shopping habits, suggesting that these students purchase consumer goods frequently regardless of their perceived family income. A Chi-Square Test of Independence also revealed a significant relationship between gender and self-reported, dominant, Gregorc mind styles. Females were more likely than males to self-report their dominant mind styles as Abstract Random. Males were more likely than females to self-report their dominant mind style as Concrete Random. Although the current study's results did not support multiple consumer decision-making styles from previous studies using the Consumer Styles Inventory, an exploratory factor analysis revealed one, overall consumer decision-making style, Recreational/Hedonistic. A Mann-Whitney Rank Sum Test showed that there is a significant relationship between gender and the Recreational/Hedonistic consumer decision-making style. Females tend to be more recreational shoppers than males. A summary, discussion of the results, and recommendations for further research, practice, policy, and families are proposed. / Ph. D.

Bakgrund: Sjuksköterskeyrket är en profession med komplexitet där den professionella sjuksköterskan bör inneha kunskap och förståelse, färdighet och förmåga, värderingsförmåga och förhållningssätt, för att kunna leda och ansvara för en god patientsäker omvårdnad. Det examineras ungefär 5000 sjuksköterskor varje år i Sverige. Sjuksköterskestudenter som närmar sig examen upplever blandade känslor. Både en glädje över att snart vara färdiga sjuksköterskor, en oro över att inte besitta kompetens nog för rollen samt en osäkerhet inför att arbeta självständigt och att ansvara för beslut i patientrelaterade omvårdnadsfrågor. Efter två år i yrket väljer 30 % av de nyutexaminerade sjuksköterskorna att lämna yrket. Syfte: Syftet var att få en fördjupad förståelse av nyutexaminerade sjuksköterskors erfarenheter av sitt första år inom professionellt kliniskt arbete. Metod: Metoden som används är en litteraturöversikt som baseras på elva artiklar bestående av två med mixad metod, en av kvalitativ design samt sju med kvantitativ studiedesign med Benners (1984) teori från Novis till Expert som stöd som vid resultatdiskussion. Resultat: Den nyutexaminerade sjuksköterskans erfarenheter sammanfattas under fyra huvudteman: Rollförväntningar, Arbetskultur och Miljö, Utvecklande av kompetens samt Fokusskifte. Undertema till Rollförväntningar är Osäkerhet och Kaos. Undertema till Arbetskultur och Miljö är Introduktion och Handledning. De nyutexaminerade sjuksköterskorna hade förväntningar på rollen som sjuksköterska som ledde till en skrämmande erfarenhet i den kliniska verksamheten. Positiva erfarenheter hos de nyutexaminerade sjuksköterskorna var förenade med att ha en bra handledare och en stödjande arbetsmiljö. Efter att utövat professionen i nästan ett år upplevde de nyutexaminerade sjuksköterskorna en tillfredsställelse med utvecklingen av yrkeskompetensen. Under de första sex till tolv månaderna koncentrerade de nyexaminerade sjuksköterskorna sina krafter på lära känna den nya arbetsmiljön och erhålla acceptans från arbetskollegor. Vart efter trygghet i rollen växte, skiftade sjuksköterskan fokus från sina egna behov till patientens. Diskussion: Resultatet diskuterades med stöd av Benners teori. Resultatet visade på att flertalet av de nyutexaminerade sjuksköterskorna inte uppfattade sig redo att självständigt agera, hantera och organisera omvårdnaden och upplevde ett behov av mer empirisk erfarenhet för att hantera sin roll som sjuksköterska. De nyutexaminerade sjuksköterskorna var i behov av stöd vilket även Benner beskriver i sin teori. Att uppleva stöd från arbetskollegor och andra sjuksköterskor med mer gedigen erfarenhet var ytterst viktiga faktorer för den nyutexaminerade sjuksköterskans hälsa och kompetensutveckling, men flertalet av studierna visade på att nyutexaminerade sjuksköterskor upplevde att de saknade stöd. Den nyutexaminerade sjuksköterskan koncentrerar sig på den egna utvecklingen samt att följa utstakade riktlinjer, vilket kan orsaka att patienten hamnar i bakgrunden för den nyutexaminerade. Det är först när den nyutexaminerade sjuksköterskan skaffat sig tillräckligt med erfarenheter och självförtroende hen skiftar fokus från sina egna behov till patientens. / Background: The nursing profession is a profession with complexity where the professional nurses must have knowledge and understanding, skills and abilities, judgment and approach, to be able to lead and be responsible for good and safe patient care. Approximately 5000 nurses graduate every year in Sweden. Nursing students approaching graduation experienced mixed feelings. Both a delight to soon be finished nursing while concern was expressed about not possessing the skills enough for the role, as well as an uncertainty to work independently and be responsible for decisions in patient-related health issues. After two years in the profession approximately 30 % of the newly graduated nurses choose to leave the profession. Aim: The aim was to gain a deeper understanding of how the newly graduated nurses experience their first year in the professional clinical work. Method: The method used is a literature review based on eleven articles consisting of two with mixed method, one of qualitative design and seven with quantitative study design with Benner's (1984) theory from Novis to Expert as support for discussion of the results. Results: Four major themes emerged: Role Expectations, Work Culture and Environment, Development of expertise and Focus shift. Subthemes to Role Expectations is Uncertainty and Chaos. Subthemes to Work Culture are Environment's Introduction and Mentoring. The newly graduated nurses had expectations about the nursing role that led to a terrifying experience in clinical practice. Positive experiences of the graduate nurses were associated with having a good supervisor and a supportive work environment. After practicing the profession for nearly a year, the newly graduated nurses experienced satisfaction with the development of the professional skill. During the first six to twelve months the newly graduated nurses concentrated their energy on getting to know the environment and receive acceptance from colleagues. When security grew in the nursing role, the nurse shifted the focus from their own needs to the patient's needs. Positive experiences of the newly graduated nurses were associated with having a good supervisor and a supportive work environment. Discussion: The results were discussed with Benners theory. The results showed that the majority of the newly graduated nurses did not perceive themselves ready to act independently, manage and organize care, and felt a need for more empirical experience to handle the nursing role. The newly graduated nurses stated a need for support from an experienced nurse, in which Benners agrees and describes in her theory. Experience support of colleagues and other nurses with more experience was extremely important factors for the newly graduates health and development of competence, but most of the studies showed that newly graduated nurses felt that they lacked support. As the competence increased the newly graduated nurse experienced that their previous focus on getting acceptance from colleagues was replaced by a focus on the patient and their care. According to Benners theory the newly graduated nurses concentrate on their own development and guidelines, which can cause the newly graduated nurse to lack focus on the patient.

Text in English / This study was designed to determine whether a relationship exists between self-reported mindfulness, self-consciousness, adjustment and academic performance in first-year university students. Additionally, the study aimed to assess the predictive quality of mindfulness and self-consciousness towards emotional adjustment (adjustment disorder symptoms, depression and anxiety) and academic performance, and to further determine the contribution of mindfulness and self-consciousness on adjustment to the predictability of academic performance. First-year students (N = 290) at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) at the Pretoria West and Ga-Rankuwa campuses completed the selfreported mindfulness measure, Mindfulness Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS) (Brown & Ryan, 2003), the Self Consciousness Scale- Revised (SCS-R) (Scheier & Carver, 1985), the Beck Depression Scale (BDI) (Beck et al., 1961) the Beck Anxiety Scale (BAI) Beck & Steer,1993) and the adjustment disorder checklist; based on DSM V, (Sadock, Sadock & Ruiz, 2014). Students’ year-end results for the first year of study were used to operationalize academic performance. Results of correlation analyses indicated a significant negative correlation between mindfulness and students’ emotional adjustment (adjustment disorder symptoms, depression and anxiety), a significant positive correlation between selfconsciousness and students’ emotional adjustment (adjustment disorder symptoms, depression and anxiety) as well as a significant negative correlation between adjustment disorder symptoms and academic performance. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to test whether mindfulness and self-consciousness significantly predicted students’ depression, anxiety and adjustment disorder symptoms. The results of the regression analysis indicated the two predictors explained 16% of the variance (F (1, 1773) = 29.66, P< 0.0001) (depression), 14% of the variance (F (1, 985) = 24.14, p < 0.0001) (anxiety) and 14% of variance (F (2, 292) = 23.87, p <0.001) (adjustment disorder symptoms). Furthermore, mediation analysis provided information regarding the impact of mindfulness and selfconsciousness on students’ academic performance. The impact of mindfulness and selfconsciousness on students’ academic performance (students’ marks) was found to be mediated by adjustment disorder symptoms. However, the Sobel test indicated a significant effect (0.03) for mindfulness and an insignificant effect (0.09) for self-consciousness. / Psychology / Ph. D. (Psychology)

This quantitative study examined relationships of attending a new student orientation program related to student retention and academic success. A research group of 464 students of Tarrant County College Northwest, a community college campus in Fort Worth, Texas, who voluntarily attended a 2-hour pre-semester new student orientation program was compared to a group of 464 students on the same campus who did not attend the program. Comparisons were made with regard to retention and GPA. Ethnic ratios of both groups are 4% Black, 26% Hispanic, 66% White, and 4% other ethnicities. Chi square data analysis was utilized to determine if statistically significant differences relating to student retention existed between the groups. The independent t-test was used to compare means of calculated GPAs between groups. A one-way ANOVA was used to compare the means of GPAs for ethnic sub-groups. The total group and the Black sub-group showed statistically significant higher levels of second-semester retention (total group p = .018; Black sub-group p = .008) and higher calculated GPAs (total group p = .016; Black sub-group p = .019). No statistically significant results were found among Hispanic students.

Abstract in English, Afrikaans and Xhosa / Critical thinking competencies are not only seen as crucial for success in higher education, but also for future personal and workplace success. These competencies are commonly cited as a graduate attribute or goal of higher education, and resulting research has tended to focus on exploring and measuring the development of critical thinking competencies in students within higher education. However, few researchers have explored the curriculum and practice of academic staff within higher education in relation to their influence on developing critical thinking competencies in students, or how they theorise about the development of these competencies as part of their professional practice. Within the South African context, there is a perception of a decline in the development of critical thinking competencies within the secondary school system. This has informed policy imperatives to improve access and success in South African higher education through additional support for students, as well as through research into the first-year experience. Within a constructivist paradigm, and adopting a qualitative approach, this study takes the first year of higher education as its context in order to explore the curriculum, assessment, pedagogical and andragogical practices of academic staff designed to develop critical thinking competencies in first-year students. The aim is to explore how academic staff construct their theory and practice in order to contribute to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in South African Higher Education. Phenomenological case study research methods, which draw on data collection through semi-structured interviews and document analysis, enabled a better understanding of the lived experience of academic staff within private higher education. Academic staff, as research participants, were able to describe deliberate actions taken in their teaching practices to facilitate the development and assessment of critical thinking competencies. The findings revealed that academic staff – while having no coherent, well-articulated construction of critical thinking competencies – feel that such competencies are essential for academic and future life success. This not only affirmed previous research reviewed, but aligned to the inclusion of explicit and implicit references to critical thinking competencies found in the curriculum and assessment documents. Recommendations for professional development responded specifically to these findings. / Kritiese denkvaardighede word nie net as wesentlik vir sukses in hoër onderwys beskou nie, maar ook vir toekomstige sukses, op persoonlike vlak en in die werkplek. Hierdie bevoegdhede word algemeen aanvaar as dié van ‘n gegradueerde of as oogmerk in hoër onderwys. Gevolglik was ondersoeke geneig om te fokus op die verkenning en meting van die ontwikkeling van kritiekedenkbevoegdhede by studente binne die hoër onderwys. Min navorsers het egter die kurrikulum en praktyk van akademiese personeel binne die hoër onderwys met betrekking tot hul invloed op die ontwikkeling van kritiekedenkbevoegdhede in studente verken nie, of hoe hulle teoretiseer oor die ontwikkeling van hierdie bevoegdhede as deel van hul professionele praktyk. Binne die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks is die persepsie dat die ontwikkeling van kritiekedenkbevoegdhede binne die sekondêreskoolstelsel afneem. Dit het bygedra tot beleidsimperatiewe om toegang en sukses in die Suid-Afrikaanse hoër onderwys te verbeter deur bykomende ondersteuning aan studente te gee, asook deur die eerstejaarervaring te ondersoek. Binne ‘n konstruktivistiese paradigma, en deur gebruik te maak van ‘n kwalitatiewe benadering, neem hierdie studie die eerste jaar van hoër onderwys as konteks ten einde die kurrikulum, assessering, pedagogiese en andragogiese praktyke van akademiese personeel wat ontwerp is om kritiekedenkbevoegdhede by eerstejaarstudente te verken. Die doel is om na te volg hoe akademiese personeel hul teorie en praktyk saamstel ten einde by te dra tot die Kundigheid in Onderrig en Leer in Suid-Afrika se Hoër Onderwys. Fenomenologiese gevallestudienavorsingsmetodes wat steun op die inwin van data deur middel van semigestruktureerde onderhoude en dokumentontleding, het gelei tot beter begrip van die geleefde ervaring van akademiese personeel binne privaat hoër onderwys. Akademiese personeel, as navorsingsgenote, kon optrede beskryf wat doelbewus in hul onderrigpraktyke geneem word om die ontwikkeling en assessering van kritiekedenkbevoegdhede te fasiliteer. Die bevindinge het getoon dat akademiese personeel – sonder koherente, goed geartikuleerde konstruksie van kritiekedenkbevoegdhede – voel dat sulke vaardighede wesentlik is vir akademiese en toekomstige sukses in die lewe. Dit het nie net vorige navorsing bevestig nie, maar gestrook met die insluiting van eksplisiete en implisiete verwysings na kritiekedenkbevoegdhede binne die kurrikulum- en assesseringsdokumente. Aanbevelings vir professionele ontwikkeling het spesifiek op hierdie bevindinge reageer. / Ubuchule bokucinga nzulu abubonwa kuphela njengecebo elibalulekileyo lokuphumelela kwimfundo ephakamileyo, bukwabonwa njengecebo lokuphumelela komntu kwizinto zakhe nakwindawo axelenga kuyo. Obu buchule bukholisa ukuchazwa njengenjongo yemfundo ephakamileyo, kwaye uphando lweziphumo luthande ukugxininisa ekuqwalaseleni nasekulinganiseleni ukuphuhliseka kwezakhono zokucinga nzulu kubafundi bemfundo ephakamileyo. Noxa kunjalo, bambalwa abaphandi bolwazi abakhe baqwalasela ukusetyenziswa kwekharityhulam ngabahlohli bemfundo ephakamileyo malunga nefuthe ekuphuhliseni izakhono zokucinga nzulu kubafundi, okanye iingcingane zophuhliso lokuphuhliseka kwezi zakhono njengenxalenye yomsebenzi wabo. Kwimeko yoMzantsi Afrika kukho imbono yokuba ziyaphelelwa izakhono zokucinga nzulu kwinkqubo yemfundo yezikolo zeesekondari. Oku kukhokelele ekusekeni iinkqubo zempumelelo kwimfundo ephakamileyo ngokunika inkxaso eyongezelelekileyo kubafundi, nangokuphanda ngamava abafundi abakunyaka wokuqala. Ngokujonga kwinkalo ethi imfundo yinkqubo yokusebenza, nangokusebenzisa indlela yophando lomgangatho, esi sifundo sithatha unyaka wokuqala wemfundo ephakamileyo njengemeko nendawo yokuqwalasela ukusetyenziswa kwekharityhulam, uhlolo, ukufundiswa kolutsha nasebekhulile ngabahlohli ekuphuhliseni izakhono zokucinga nzulu kubafundi bonyaka wokuqala. Injongo kukuqwalasela ukuba abahlohli bayiqulunqa njani ingcingane nokusebenza ukuze kuncediswe kubungcali bokufundisa nokufunda kwimfundo ephakamileyo yoMzantsi Afrika. Iindlela zophando zeemeko ezithile, ezifumana iinkcukacha zolwazi ngokuqhuba udliwano ndlebe oluphantse lwangqongqo, nangokuphengulula imibhalo, kwanceda ukuba kuqondakale ngcono amava abahlohli bemfundo ephakamileyo yabucala. Abahlohli abangabathathi nxaxheba kuphando baye bakwazi ukuchaza izenzo ezingqalileyo ezenzelwe ukuphuhlisa nokuhlola izakhono zokucinga nzulu. Okufunyanisiweyo kwadulisa ukuba abahlohli – lo gama bengenasakhelo sibambekayo nesinokuchazwa gca sezakhono zokucinga nzulu – bayaqonda ukuba ezi zakhono zingundoqo kwimpumelelo kwezemfundo nakubomi obuzayo. Oku akwanelanga nje ukungqina okuvezwe luphando lwangaphambili, koko kongeze kosele kuthethwa ngqo okanye mayana, kwimibhalo yekharityhulam nohlolo, malunga nezakhono zokucinga nzulu. Iingcebiso zophuhliso zisabele ngqo koko kufunyanisiweyo. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Phil.(Education in the subject Curriculum Studies)