Learner identities in the context of undergraduates: a case study

Background This paper examines the idea of learner identity of marketing undergraduates in the light of the widening participation agenda and identifies the challenges faced by those who enter HE by non-traditional routes. Purpose The research investigates the links between marketing students’ learner identities and their socio-economic backgrounds, previous experience of education and subject choice. It is hypothesised that marketing students, having selected a degree in a specific business discipline, are aware of employability issues and may be committed to their learning, leading to stronger learning identities than those evidenced in the literature about similar post-1992 universities. Sample The sample is all undergraduate marketing students at a University in England (the pseudonym UE is used throughout). The total available population was 135 and, of these, 99 completed the questionnaire. Non-UK students were excluded from the sample and one part-time student was excluded. This resulted in a total of 83 completed questionnaires for analysis. A sample of six self-selected students participated in follow-up interviews. Design and methods The primary research consists of a questionnaire administered to undergraduate marketing students and follow-up semi-structured interviews with a small number of students. The interviews examined issues in more depth and sought individual narratives of educational experience, with particular regard to the study of marketing and future employment and examined whether subject choice was in any way affected by previous educational experience, family background or ideas about employability. Results Links between learner identity and socio-economic background, educational experience and subject choice are shown. Nearly half the sample is shown to have positive learner identities but no link was found between subject choice and students’ thoughts on employability. Conclusions One should not presume students at lower-ranked universities to have poor learner identities as they may just be different, given their backgrounds and expectations, or actually be very strong. One should not presume that students of business disciplines are necessarily more focused on employability than other students.N/

Comparative attainment of 5-year undergraduate and 4-year graduate entry medical students moving into foundation training

Background Graduate entry medicine is a recent innovation in UK medical training. Evidence is sparse at present as to progress and attainment on these programmes. Shared clinical rotations, between an established 5-year and a new graduate entry course, provide the opportunity to compare achievement on clinical assessments. To compare completion and attainment on clinical phase assessments between students on a 4-year graduate entry course and an established 5-year undergraduate medicine course. Methods Overall completion rates for the 4 and 5 year courses, fails at first attempt, and scores on 14 clinical assessments, were compared between 171 graduate-entry and 450 undergraduate medical students at the University of Nottingham, comprising two graduating cohorts. Percentage assessment marks were converted to z-scores separately for each graduating year and the normalised marks then combined into a single dataset. Z-score transformed percentage marks were analysed by multivariate analysis of variance and univariate analyses of variance for each summative assessment. Numbers of fails at first attempt were analysed aggregated across all assessments initially, then separately for each assessment using χ2. Results Completion rates were around 90% overall and significantly higher in the graduate entry course. Failures of assessments overall were similar, but a higher proportion of graduate entry students failed the final OSLER. Mean performance on clinical assessments showed a significant overall difference, made up of lower performance on 4 of 5 knowledge-based exams (as well as higher performance on the first exam) by the graduate entry group, but similar levels of performance on all the skills-based and attitudinal assessments. Conclusions High completion rates are encouraging. The lower performance in some knowledge-based exams may reflect lower prior educational attainment, a substantially different demographic profile (age, gender), or an artefact of the first 2 years of a new graduate entry programme

On the side of the angels: community involvement in the governance of neighbourhood renewal.

This article draws upon the authors’ experiences of community-led regeneration developed while members of the National Evaluation Team for the NDC Programme. The article continues the focus on urban regeneration adopted in a range of outputs from two of the authors over the last decade. In assessing how the term community has been defined by policy-makers and the challenges involved in empowering communities, the output was aimed at both academic and user communities. For its direct relevance to communities involved in regeneration, the article was awarded the 2006 Sam Aaronovitch Prize, awarded annually by the journal Local Economy

Tentative Draft: Program for Audits or Examinations of Savings and Loan Associations

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aicpa_guides/2444/thumbnail.jp

Nurse staffing levels revisited: a consideration of key issues in nurse staffing levels and skill mix research.

AIM: This paper revisits the published evidence relating to how nurse staffing levels impact on patient, nurse and service outcomes and considers the implications of this body of research for nurse managers in their quest to determine optimum nursing numbers. BACKGROUND: Within the context of the recognized global nursing shortage and particular local pressures within international health services, questions of appropriate nurse staffing levels and skill mix are once again becoming increasingly important. It would seem that the determination of optimum nurse staffing levels and skill mix is a central issue in relation to health service governance, service user involvement, as well as in the recruitment, retention and well-being of nursing staff across the service sectors. METHODS: A review of published evidence was carried out, applying key principles of the systematic method, in order to facilitate the identification of current factors and issues in nurse staffing levels research. The review did not seek to address a specific research question. The search covered 10 years from 1998 to 2008 and identified more than 500 relevant papers, giving a wide international perspective. KEY ISSUES: The majority of research in the field relates to the acute service sector and there are considerable similarities in issues that transcend international boundaries. Much of the research focuses on the impact on patients and nurses of 'poor' nurse staffing levels. More recent studies have explored the impact of nurse staffing levels on the service organization itself. However, while there may be an association between models of nurse staffing and outcomes, there is insufficient evidence to establish a causal relationship between these factors. In this context it is perhaps time to reconsider how nursing outcomes are defined and measured. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT AND CONCLUSION: Nurse managers, commissioners of services and workforce planners need to be cognisant of key issues and analyses in the consideration of nurse staffing levels. Not least of these is the need for a healthy degree of caution regarding the supposed objectivity, scientific basis, or evidence base, for rational calculation of optimum nurse staffing levels