The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of selected aspects of high fidelity simulation among students enrolled in a baccalaureate nursing program and the influence of these perceptions on students satisfaction and self-confidence in learning. In order to collect the necessary data, the Satisfaction and Self-confidence in Learning and Simulation Design Scale instruments were used. These instruments were completed by both sophomore and senior baccalaureate nursing students following simulation lab experiences. The majority of students surveyed was female of the Millennial Generation and averaged a GPA of 3.14. There were approximately equal numbers of sophomore and senior students, as well as students who had previous healthcare employment and those who did not have previous healthcare employment. The demographics of age, gender, and GPA had few significant relationships. The most significant relationships identified were between sophomore and senior students and those with and without previous healthcare employment. Generally, students perceived they were satisfied and were self-confident in learning through the use of simulation. They also agreed that all simulation design elements were used during their simulation experiences. Using multiple regression analysis, models were found that explained 68.3% of the variance in satisfaction in learning and 60.1% of the variance in self-confidence in learning through the use of simulation. The majority of the factors identified were elements of simulation design that require direct interaction with faculty. Based on these findings, the researcher concluded that simulation is an effective modality to teach the practice of nursing. Also, although most students were generally satisfied and self-confident in learning through the use of simulation, senior students and those with previous healthcare employment were less satisfied and less self-confident. The researcher recommends that schools of nursing expand their use of simulation as a clinical teaching experience, and that administration supports the development of faculty in the implementation of best practices in simulation.

The primary purpose of this dissertation was to examine the criterion-related validity of all 16 LTSI General and Specific Scales in relation to training transfer. Using an ex-post facto design the researcher analyzed secondary data that included measures of key transfer system variables, as captured by the LTSI scales, and individual training transfer as indicated by supervisory ratings. The dataset comprised of employees from diverse organizations who had participated in different types of organizational instructor-led classroom training programs. Confirmatory factor analyses supported the construct validity of the LTSI General and Specific Scales (N = 619). Hierarchical multiple regression analysis measured the unique impact of four sets of variables (i.e., secondary influences, motivation factors, ability/enabling factors, and work environment factors) on training transfer as measured by the difference score between supervisory pre- and post-training ratings indicating the frequency in which trainees utilized the behaviors on-the-job taught in training (N = 202). Results suggested that as a group the LTSI factors explained 10.3 percent of variance in training transfer. Performance outcome expectations emerged as the only significant predictor. Supplemental analyses controlling for the impact of supervisory pre-training rating scores and using supervisory post-training ratings as the dependent variable identified four significant predictors all stemming from the LTSI General Scales: two factors reflect training-motivation constructs (i.e., performance outcome expectation and transfer effort performance expectations), and the other two reflect work environment factors (i.e., performance coaching and openness to change). LTSI factors explained 10.3% of explained variance in training transfer. Overall, the results supported the notion that the transfer system as a complex of factors is important in explaining training transfer. However, the modest variance in training transfer explained by the LTSI factors in this study should be interpreted in light of the studys limitations. Avenues for future research are discussed.

This study investigated the impact participating in S.T.R.I.P.E.S., a leadership and extended orientation program, had on the philanthropic giving of recent alumni at a research university in the Southeastern United States. The dependent variable for this study was philanthropic giving to the institution during the three years immediately following graduation, as defined by their personal donations as recorded in cumulative giving by the universitys foundation. The goal of the study was to determine to what extent, if any, school leadership development, loyalty, and engagement taught through leadership and extended orientation programs influence the donation behavior of recent graduates. The target population for this study was defined as undergraduate program completers (obtained a bachelors degree) at large, public, research universities in the Southeastern United States. The accessible population for this study was defined as all recent alumni (100%) who graduated with a bachelor degree from one large, public, research University in the Southeastern United States in 2009, 2010, and 2011 (N = 12,511). Of this 12,511, there are 625 alumni who participated in the S.T.R.I.P.E.S. as indicated in their alumni record. Data analyses were conducted utilizing inferential statistics including Chi-Squared analysis, t-tests and analysis of variance (ANOVA). In addition, a Multiple Discriminant Analysis was conducted to assess if alumni could be correctly classified into donor vs. non-donor status. Results indicate that participation in S.T.R.I.P.E.S. has a positive influence on whether or not an alumna/us becomes a donor as a recent graduate. A greater proportion of S.T.R.I.P.E.S. participants (29.4%) are donors when compared to non-participants (15.2%). Participation in the program increased the likelihood that a recent graduate would become a donor. S.T.R.I.P.E.S. has a higher percentage of women, minorities and out-of-state participants than the general alumni population. A higher percentage of participants pursue additional degrees at the institution. S.T.R.I.P.E.S. participants have a higher percentage of donors who are female, although males gave a greater cumulative amount of money, gave more frequently and made larger average donations than females. Black/African Americans and Hispanics gave greater cumulative amounts than Whites. A predictive model exists regarding philanthropic giving by recent alumni.

The paper is a review of literature on online learning and how it prepares the digital learners into the future work force. Factors contributing to the growth in online education are linked to changing social and economic structures. The College Board Commission on Access, Admissions and Success issued a call for 55% of America’s youth to obtain a postsecondary education credential by 2025 (Bonk, 2015). This is to support and strengthen the position of the United States to be more competitive in a global economy (Burnette & Conley, 2011). There are current questions about student success, open education, informal learning, online plagiarism and principally whether online learning successfully prepare the online student for the future work skills. Keywords: online learning, workforce, digital learners, future jobs

For years heath care workers have been dealing with environmental changes which have created turbulent, complex work environments. Turbulence has been considered a negative phenomenon. However Workforce Agility may be a positive response to Environmental Turbulence. Other disciplines are familiar with the term Turbulence and Workforce Agility but there is little research available on this concept despite the impact that they may have on patient outcomes.The purpose of this research was to identify the relationship between Environmental Turbulence, Workforce Agility and Patient Outcomes through the examination of four alternative theoretical models.This research was conducted using secondary analysis of the IMPACT data set (Verran, Effken & Lamb, 2001-2004). The data were reanalyzed in order to answer different questions than the primary study. Causal modeling with path analysis and regression analysis was conducted to answer the research questions. Three questions included the use of either a moderator variable or mediator variable.The setting for the IMPACT Study was acute care hospitals in the Southwestern region of the United States. For the IMPACT study, the sample consisted of patient care units from teaching and non-teaching hospitals. Subjects consisted of staff members who were employed on the patient care units.Data collected from the Registered Nurses were used for the secondary analysis because this research was interested in looking primarily at the nursing unit. The total RN staff assigned to patient care units who responded to the questionnaires was N=454. The total number of patients who responded to the survey was N=1179.In summary, the unit characteristics that were found to be Antecedents to ET were the sub-composites of Team and Complexity. Proxy variables, Collaborative Culture Agility and Experiential Agility, were successfully formed as a composite for WFA and were tested with the primary data. No mediators or moderators were shown; however, main effects of WFA and ET did have an impact on patient outcomes.

For the first time ever, there are four (soon to be five) generations of nurses working side‐by‐side in the workplace. Within the generational cohorts there are differences in age as well as dissimilarity in education, ethnicity, and work values. We examined the complex linkages between diversity among nursing workgroups, professional burnout and the mediating effects of conflict (relationship and task). Diversity was defined as the degree of relative difference or dissimilarity between an individual and other workgroup members on demographic attributes (age, education and ethnicity) and work values. Data were collected from a population‐based sample of 600 nurses (80% response rate) employed by two hospitals in British Columbia. Using latent variable modelling, the findings from this study show the importance of differences in work values in creating conflict, which in turn leads to burnout. To a lesser extent, differences in education also predicted nurses’ displaying a negative and distant attitude as well as having a reduced sense of personal accomplishment. Addressing work stressors associated with diversity is an important step in the management of the healthcare workplace, the development of a healthy workforce, and the retention of nurses (organizational and professional). Interventions are needed to effectively manage diverse workplaces and to nurture teamwork; these strategies are crucial to improving the workplace environment, the quality of nurses’ worklife, and possibly patient care.

The shortage of skilled workers is one of the greatest challenges facing the construction industry. The Construction Users Roundtable (CURT) surveyed facility owners on their workforce availability in the summer of 2001 and found that 82 percent of the respondents reported experiencing work force shortages on their projects, and 78 percent indicated that the trend had worsened over the previous three years. One promising solution to relieve the shortage of skilled workers is to provide adequate and effective training. Many research efforts on construction worker training have been conducted in the past decade in order to address the need and benefits of construction craft training. However, a quantitative analysis of construction craft trainings benefits and costs from the perspective of worker, project and company has rarely been carried out. Providing quantifiable analysis regarding the benefits and costs of training can help to solve the debate existing in the industry regarding the value of craft labor training and improve the effectiveness of craft training programs. The research investigated existing major datasets relevant with construction craft training developed by previous research. Meanwhile, as part of this research, a craft director training survey was administrated to measure training benefits in productivity, turnover, absenteeism safety and rework, as well as information such as core training subjects and common barriers for training. The primary objective of the study is to qualify the outcomes and effectiveness of strategies for construction craft training. Four secondary objectives are completed to help achieve the primary goal: (I) Identify the major characteristics of construction training and major factors affecting construction training; (II) Quantitatively measure the outcomes of construction training on the individual and project/company level; (III) Develop benefit-cost ratio models based on the survey administrated by the study as well as existing industry data; and (IV) Perform a skill affinity analysis to identify real multiskilling patterns among craft workers in order to adopt multiskilling training strategies in the construction industry.

Abstract The primary purpose of this study was to determine whether or not selected demographic, academic, and institutional characteristics influence the decision of admitted transfer students to enroll in a research-extensive university in the southeastern region of the United States. The transfer student population is an untapped student population that could help benefit many universities. If these students are targeted like potential freshmen, then universities can increase their enrollment. Being able to identify the correct characteristics for potential transfer students would help conserve resources and maximize the incoming transfer student population. This study used the standards of a research-extensive university in the Southeastern region of the United States to identify transfer students who were admitted and either enrolled or did not enroll. A transfer student was defined as a student with at least 30 hours of college course work, a college-level English, a college-level math, and a minimum 2.5 GPA. The population came from the summer 2013-spring 2014 academic semesters. There were 12 independent variables provided by the Office of Enrollment Management and input into a computerized statistics program. Using logistic regression, the researcher was able to identify two characteristics that were statistically significant in correctly classifying enrollment status. Residence and having a higher education degree correctly classified 77.5% of the transfer student population. The other variables that were statistically significant were the variable multi-racial, transfer hours attempted, and transfer hours earned. The researcher recommended that surveys be conducted to determine why students complete a higher education degree and get admitted, but do not enroll in university. The researchers also recommended working with different ethnicities to determine why multi-racial students have a different enrollment pattern than the other ethnicities. Research also needs to be conducted concerning the role transfer parent alumni have on whether or not a student will or will not enroll after being admitted to the university.

Talent management has become a management priority among business leaders as a result of the transition from a commodity to a knowledge-based economy. Organizations are entering a new era affected by demographical challenges, increased globalization and a generation shift in the labor market that forces organizations to rethink how they attract, develop and retain talented employees. Research predicts that there will be a shortage on labor as a result of the baby boomers retirement in the coming years. Talent management strategies and processes linked to the business strategy is a key to organizational advantage. Organization´s most critical assets are the employees and by having the right people who perform in the right jobs is essential to get a sustainable organization. The concept of talent management is often ill defined and underdeveloped and talent management practice appears to vary widely among organizations. The purpose of this thesis is to get a deeper insight into the concept of talent management processes and framework. Through a single case study approach, this study explores how talent management practice and processes are implemented in a multinational knowledgebased company. The intention is to understand how line leaders and HR managers work with talent management activities by following a hermeneutic research method. A semi-structured interview method has been performed to collect the empirical data. The empirical findings show that many of the talent management activities are implemented in a sophisticated organizational process called the EMS (Employee management system). Employees are rated and evaluated based on their performance throughout the year. Line leaders are mainly accountable for employees’ development and growth in the organization. Findings also show that line leaders are mentors, coaches and a guidance to employees in the daily work. Findings show that HR managers support both leaders and employees in the work with talent management. HR managers’ responsibilities are to influence and coach the leaders in decision-making, in addition to work for employees’ well-being at the work. The organization has presently low turnover. This affects both the recruitment of new employees and hinders presents employee development. The competence level in the organization is estimated to be high and the organization struggle to store critical knowledge.

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the influence of selected demographic and perceptual characteristics on the culture and desirability of Distance Education among faculty at a research extensive university in the southeastern region of the United States. The study was conducted using a survey research design. The electronic survey was distributed to full and part time faculty of the College of Agriculture at Louisiana State University using faculty email addresses provided by the college. The survey instrument consisted of questions concerning demographic characteristics, perception of Distance Education, culture of Distance Education, desirability of Distance Education and extent of use of electronic resources by faculty in face to face and Distance Education courses. The overall mean culture score reported was a 3.4 placing this result into the neither agree nor disagree category. It was concluded that this faculty is ambivalent toward the concept of Distance Education as a viable means of instruction in a university environment. The researcher recommends that experience and expertise in Distance Education along with Distance Education instruction expectations are included in the job description for any new faculty hired within the college. It is also recommended that some form of compensation be offered to faculty responsible for Distance Education courses. This compensation should be in the form of incentives such as training, attendance at conferences or direct monetary compensation. The university must plan for the inclusion of this compensation in the budgeting process. The researcher further recommends that mandatory training programs are established within the college to allow for faculty to become more comfortable with using additional forms of technology both in their face to face and Distance Education forms of instruction. Additionally, the researcher recommends the establishment of open communication between the administration and faculty. This can be accomplished using face to face meetings involving department heads, faculty and administrators within the college and university in order to address faculty concerns regarding Distance Education.