Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Professional awareness'

Today's information technology (IT) professional must go beyond their technical ability and obtain new leadership skills. Simultaneously obtaining business acumen, developing successful IT-business relationships, communicating effectively, and still being technical makes being an IT professional more challenging than ever. It is the viewpoint of this researcher that self-awareness is the foundational level skill set needed to foster the insights needed to adopt and apply these skills to increase success in the IT professional. Previous research has examined the relationship of self-awareness and it's impact on leadership effectiveness and even explores correlations with emotional intelligence and IT organizations success. However, gaps remain in the literature to the specific correlations of the value and perception of self-awareness within the IT professional, and what specific role self-awareness plays in IT professionals' success. The purpose of this research was to understand and quantify how IT professionals perceive the meaning of the word self-awareness, and the connection between self-awareness and increased effectiveness. A comprehensive survey was conducted with 164 IT and business professionals of different levels, different size organizations and different industries to formalize quantitative answers to these questions. Follow-up interviews were also conducted to gain further clarification of survey results. The results reveal that self-awareness was viewed positively and critical to the success of the IT professional regardless of gender, role, educational level or years in the industry. The data also showed that if more investment in self-awareness training where to incur, the importance of that skill would increase, and the importance of technical skills would decrease; provided they had an external influence ("sponsor") that provided feedback to invest in such skills. They had to have their awareness raised, to raise their awareness, and this effort had to be intentional. Self-awareness had direct positive correlations to improved relationship management. Study limitations and implications to the organization development field are also discussed.

ISBN 978-91-86739-62-1

The Professional Nurse in Relation to Academic Nursing Education

The increasing demands on the nurse’s competence in the society are reflected in laws and ordinances as well as in the transition of the nursing education to universities. The overall aim of this thesis was to illuminate, describe and understand nurses’ professional awareness in relation to academic nursing education.

The longitudinal studies I and II of the thesis included novice nursing students (n= 164/163), senior students (n=123/124), and nurses three to five years after graduating (n=83/82). Study III of the thesis covered a nationally random selection of nurses graduated during four different years before and after the implementation of the academic education (n=289). Study IV focused on senior students (n=155). The data were collected by means of three questionnaires: open questions where the respondents were asked to describe their views of a good nurse and a bad nurse (I); a scale for assessing the professional self in relation to others (modified Nurse Self Description Form) (II); and finally, a questionnaire designed to asses the nurses’ (III) and the students’ (IV) attitudes to and awareness of research within nursing (as developed in study III). The data were analysed by means of content analysis (I) and parametric and non-parametric statistical methods (II, III, IV), and factor analysis (III).

The result was that the characteristic of a good nurse ”to do good for others” emerged strongly and retained its dominant position throughout the education and beyond. ”To be competent and skilled” was also highly favoured and gained ground during and after the training. ”To have professional courage and pride” and ”to seek professional development” were considerably less prominent but increased slightly in importance over time (I). The professional self in relation to others in similar situations were generally rated as both strong among students and experienced nurses (II). Also in this respect there was an emphasis on the aspect of doing good for others. The professional self grew stronger over time in the areas of drive, objectivity, flexibility, ability to teach, ability to communicate and sociability, whereas the desire to contribute through research and knowledge mastery decreased over time (II). The process of developing into an experienced nurse, however, entailed increased awareness of the complexity of the nursing profession. The instruments for measuring attitudes to nursing research were validated through factor analysis, which generated seven factors termed ”research language,” ”need of research knowledge,” ”participation,” ”the profession,” ”meaningfulness,” ”study literature,” and ”developing–resources” (III). Nurses (III) as well as students (IV) expressed a positive attitude to nursing research and its application to the nursing profession. However, the nurses in particular stated that they seldom read scientific journals and seldom applied nursing research in their daily work.

To sum up, the research in this thesis shows that students and nurses only to a moderate extent displayed the professional awareness that the academic nursing education aims for. The traditional image of a good nurse was the most clearly manifested form of awareness, whereas insufficient awareness was registered in areas related to own responsibility for research-based practice. The result indicates a need for further collaboration between the nursing education and the health care sector, as well as for academically highly qualified nurses as resource persons in nursing practice, to support quality development in nursing, and serve as role models for students.

Den professionella sjuksköterskan i relation till den akademiska sjuksköterskeutbildningen

Kraven på en professionell sjuksköterska har ökat i samhället vilket synliggjorts genom olika lagar och författningar samt akademiseringen av sjuksköterskeutbildningen. Det övergripande syftet med avhandlingen var att belysa, beskriva och förstå sjuksköterskors professionella medvetenhet i relation till den akademiska sjuksköterskeutbildningen.

Delstudie I och II, som var longitudinella, inkluderade sjuksköterskestudenter i början av utbildningen (n=164/163), i slutet av utbildningen (n=123/124) samt sjuksköterskor tre till fem år efter examen (n=83/82). Delstudie III genomfördes med ett nationellt slumpmässigt urval av sjuksköterskor (n=289) examinerade vid fyra olika tillfällen före och efter det att sjuksköterskeutbildningen blev akademiserad. Delstudie IV inkluderade sjuksköterskestudenter strax före examen (n=155). Data har insamlats med hjälp av tre frågeformulär: ett med öppna svar där deltagarna beskrev sin syn på en bra sjuksköterska (I); ett med en skala för bedömning av det professionella jaget i förhållande till andra (modifierad Nurse Self Description Form) (II); ett om sjuksköterskors (III) respektive studenters (IV) inställning till och medvetenhet om omvårdnadsforskning (utvecklades i delstudie III). Data analyserades med hjälp av innehållsanalys (I) och parametriska och icke parametriska statistiska metoder (II, III, IV) samt faktoranalys (III).

Karaktäristiskt för en bra sjuksköterska var (I): ”att göra gott för andra”, vilket framträdde starkt och bibehölls till stora delar från nybörjarstudent till erfaren sjuksköterska; ”att vara kompetent och skicklig” framträdde också starkt samt ökade under och efter utbildningen; ”att vara modig och stolt i yrkesrollen” samt ”att sträva efter professionell utveckling” framkom i betydligt mindre grad men med en viss ökning över tid. Det professionella jaget i relation till andra i liknande situationer skattades generellt som starkt från nybörjarstudent till erfaren sjuksköterska (II). Även här fanns en betoning av att göra gott för andra. Det professionella jaget stärktes över tid inom arbetsförmåga, objektivitet, flexibilitet, undervisningsförmåga, kommunikationsförmåga och social förmåga medan det försvagades inom vilja att behärska kunskap och vilja att bidra till ny kunskap (II). Utvecklingen till erfaren sjuksköterska visade på en ökad medvetenhet om sjuksköterskeyrkets komplexitet. Instrumentutvecklingen för att skatta inställning till omvårdnadsforskning validerades genom faktoranalys som genererade sju faktorer benämnda ”forskningsspråket”, ”behov av forskningskunskap”, ”delaktighet”, ”professionen”, ”meningsfullhet”, ”studera litteratur” samt ”utveckling – resurs” (III). Såväl sjuksköterskor (III) som studenter (IV) angav en positiv attityd till omvårdnadsforskning och dess tillämpning i sjuksköterskans arbete. Däremot angav framför allt sjuksköterskorna att de i ringa grad läste vetenskapliga tidskrifter samt i ringa grad använde omvårdnadsforskning i det dagliga arbetet.

Sammanfattningsvis framkom att studenter och sjuksköterskor endast delvis uppvisade en professionell medvetenhet relaterat till intentionerna i den akademiska sjuksköterskeutbildningen. Den medvetenhet som tydligast framkom kan relateras till den traditionella bilden av en bra sjuksköterska medan de områden som framträdde som bristfälliga kan relateras till de krav som ställs på ett professionellt arbete grundat på vetenskap och beprövad erfarenhet. Resultatet påvisar behovet av fortsatt samverkan mellan sjuksköterskeutbildningen och vårdverksamheten samt behovet av sjuksköterskor med högre akademisk utbildning som resurspersoner för utveckling av en forskningsbaserad patientvård.

In human service organizations it is important to enlighten the significance of human encounters. The aim of this study was to explore nursing students experiences of developing empathy and professional relationship in encounters with patients and next of kin during their education. Interviews with five nursing students were carried out. The method of analysing content analysis was used. One main theme and five subthemes were presented. The main theme was described as a process of developing courage and awareness. The students challenged themselves and their beliefs and through this they gained self-knowledge and courage. During periods of clinical practice the usefulness of theoretic knowledge became evident for the students. The developing of awareness and the gain of courage made them more secure in human encounters. The result of this study lead to a deeper understanding of the significant elements for nursing students development towards a professional relationship in human encounters.

The bully has been a figure in adolescent life for decades; however, the nature of bullying in the 21st Century has changed as it has moved to cyberspace. Bullying has taken on a new form termed cyberbullying. This quantitative survey design study examined Catholic school teachers’ legal understanding and perceptions of cyberbullying. In examining Catholic school teachers’ understanding of the law governing cyberbullying, their concerns about cyberbullying, their perceived responsibility in addressing cyberbullying, and their perceived ability to respond to cyberbullying, the study examined the human interactions that reflect not only legal responsibilities, but also ethical obligations as caring and just leaders in Catholic schools.

A survey instrument was distributed online to eight Catholic schools within the Diocese of St. Aquinas (a pseudonym). The study showed that Catholic school teachers had limited understanding of the law governing cyberbullying. Findings indicated that Catholic school teachers were concerned about cyberbullying and perceived a high level of responsibility in addressing cyberbullying, but did not perceive an ability to effectively respond to cyberbullying. The findings support the need for professional development programs to increase Catholic school teachers’ awareness of cyberbullying and provide comprehensive training on how to respond effectively. Findings also suggest re-examination of teacher preparation programs to provide training to teachers on how to recognize and effectively manage cyberbullying. Persistent attention to private school law and current case analysis should be an ongoing practice at the diocesan level with the intent to disseminate legal information and direction to Catholic school principals and teachers.

Although all organizations and institutions should consider accessibility when developing online content, inaccessibility is a recurring issue in recent literature pertaining to online learning environments (OLEs) and faculty accessibility awareness. The goal was to describe how online faculty gain knowledge regarding accessibility, to explore the lived experiences of online faculty who have worked with students who have disabilities, and to gain a better understanding of how faculty experience the process of accessibility implementation. The following research questions guided this study: How do faculty in OLEs experience encounters regarding accessibility for students who have print related disabilities? How do faculty in OLEs experience the journey of developing the skills needed to provide accessibility for students with print related disabilities? What aspects of accessibility and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) do faculty members practice in OLEs and what meaning do they ascribe to the lived experience of providing these accommodations? An interview guide was used to address the research questions. Participants were recruited from the Online Learning Consortium and Assistive Technology Industry Association for participation in phenomenological interviews, which were recorded and then transcribed verbatim. The transcripts of these interviews were analyzed to determine eight super-ordinate themes: Accessibility and usability awareness of online faculty; interactions and relationships between faculty, students, various departments, and outside organizations relating to SWDs and accessibility; different perspectives and experiences of faculty who teach courses within programs that have an emphasis on accessibility, AT, or working with people with disabilities; faculty experiences and perspectives of working with SWDs and providing accessible materials in OLEs; faculty training and experience with accessibility and people with disabilities; faculty autonomy within OLEs as it relates to creating accessible content; accommodations and accessibility features used in OLEs; as well as LMS accessibility and usability. The results of this study led to several implications regarding training and support services for faculty, students, other staff, and administration within online programs, best practices for implementing accessibility, as well as recommendations for future studies.