Northcentral University

About: Northcentral University is a education organization based out in San Diego, California, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Higher education & Educational technology. The organization has 348 authors who have published 376 publications receiving 3388 citations.

Emotional rescue: the role of emotional intelligence and emotional labour on well-being and job-stress among community nurses

Abstract: Aims To investigate the extent to which emotional labour and emotional intelligence are associated with well-being and job-stress among a group of Australian community nurses. The moderating role of emotional intelligence was evaluated as a key factor in the rescue of healthcare workers from job-stress, thus increasing job retention. Background Although emotional labour has been broadly investigated in the literature, the contribution of emotional labour and emotional intelligence to the well-being and experience of job-stress in a community nursing setting requires further exploration. Design This study used a cross-sectional quantitative research design with data collected from Australian community nurses. Methods Australian community nurses (n = 312) reported on their perceived emotional labour, emotional intelligence and their levels of well-being and job-stress using a paper and pencil survey in 2010. Results/Findings Results from structural equation modelling support the hypothesis that both emotional labour and emotional intelligence have significant effects on nurses' well-being and perceived job-stress. Emotional intelligence plays a moderating role in the experience of job-stress. Conclusion These findings provide additional evidence for the important effects that emotional labour and emotional intelligence can have on well-being and job-stress among community nurses. The potential benefits of emotional intelligence in the nurses' emotional work have been explored.

An Investigation of Hope, Academics, Environment, and Motivation as Predictors of Persistence in Higher Education Online Programs

Abstract: Predictors of persistence previously found useful in distinguishing successful from unsuccessful distance learners were assembled in a 60-item survey. The survey was completed by 259 learners enrolled in associate's, bachelor's, or master's level distance learning courses in accounting, business administration, information services, criminal justice, nursing, management, and education. The survey measured variables related to academics, environment, motivation, and hope as predictors of persistence, where persistence was defined as continuing beyond the first three classes in one of the three degree-granting programs. Persisters (N=209) tended to score higher on environmental measures of Emotional Support, Self-efficacy, and Time and Study Management than non-persisters (N=50). Surprisingly,highscoresonameasureofLearnerAutonomy (independentlearning) wereassociated withnon-persistence in the online programs. The findings were interpreted in the context of the cohort model used in the online programs attended by the students surveyed in the study. © 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Applying Constant Comparative Method with Multiple Investigators and Inter-Coder Reliability

Abstract: When qualitative research methods are used, data analysis may be completed by an individual or a group of two or more people. Researchers accustomed to completing independent data analysis may be surprised by the large amount of additional time and effort that working with a research group requires. Collaboration adds complexity to the work of data analysis and formulating findings, making a collaborative qualitative study more labor intensive (Miles & Huberman, 1994). Additional coordination and iteration are required for the qualitative coding process for creating themes, analyzing for meaning, and drawing conclusions. When members of a research team are geographically separated and working in a virtual environment, data analysis may be more challenging. However, the collaboration provides several benefits that derive from the additional perspectives provided by multiple researchers. In striving for consensus in the findings, the nuances in meaning brought by multiple researchers adds richness to the analysis by prompting deeper analysis. Inter-coder reliability (ICR) can be used to drive towards consensus but was found to be more suited for identifying nuance and significant meanings in the qualitative data. This paper explores the experiences of two geographically separated researchers who applied Constant Comparative Method (CCM), based on grounded theory. The researchers applied action research to formulate a deliberate 10-step method for coding data, creating meaning, and structuring an exploratory model that represents findings. Collaboration was facilitated through synchronous online video discussions and email exchanges to work through analysis activities between the two researchers. Literature Review Literature on qualitative research, and specifically on the CCM methodology used by the researchers performing this study, reveals a diversity of positions that reflect the richness of qualitative research (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). There are supporters and opponents to qualitative research in general and CCM in particular. This review begins with a basic explanation of the approach that differentiates qualitative research from quantitative; then explores the methods used in qualitative research to address issues common to quantitative researchers involving validity and reliability. Finally, the review will focus on the literature concerning advantages, disadvantages, and potential roles of ICR measures in CCM. Inductive Approach The original purpose of qualitative methods was to design a structured approach for generating new theory that purports to explain an experience or phenomenon for which current understanding is inadequate. Qualitative research uses inductive reasoning (i.e., developing explanations from information) rather than the deductive (i.e., using theory to predict outcomes based on information) to draw conclusions from data. It explores a deliberately selected set of data, such as interviews, observations, or video/audio logs, to identify patterns that can be linked causally in a model or theory (Thomas, 2003). Models generated by qualitative theory can be tested using quantitative methods to provide further support for the theory. Quantitative research uses existing theory to generate a question or hypothesis that can be tested empirically (Curry, Nembhard, & Bradley, 2009). Grounded Theory Grounded theory is a qualitative research method developed to facilitate discovering patterns in data (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). It uses a systematic approach to review participant views collected from an experience in order to allow patterns and themes to emerge over multiple passes through the data. Strauss (1987) further elaborated on the data analysis methodology, creating CCM, in which the researcher developed codes while reviewing transcripts or other verbatim data to identify constructs, and iteratively compared texts identified with the same code to ensure they were representative of the same construct. …

Open Source: A Metaphor for E-Learning

Abstract: Introduction Metaphors have proven to be a highly useful tool in the development of theories in the social sciences (Hartzell, 2004; Kendall & Kendall, 1993; Levassuer, 2004; Wang, 2004). At a minimum, they provide a convenient means by which to create a taxonomy; the first step towards description, then prediction and finally to understanding (Kerssens-van-Drongelen, 2001; Lewis & Grimes, 1999; Lynham, 2000). At a practical level, metaphors become essential elements that comprise the everyday language among specialists (Cook-Sather, 2003). For example the statement, "The computer is down," indicates the functional or operational status of a computer (including its programs or software) as opposed to a spatial relationship or orientation. Those familiar with the jargon share this common understanding (Gozzi, 2000). However such common understandings are the exception, not the rule. The term information superhighway as a metaphor for the Internet has been substantially replaced by cyberspace as a metaphor (Barta-Smith & Hathaway, 1999). But are they the same? And will cyberspace be replaced by yet another metaphor when wearable computers move from the realm of the exotic to the realm of mass-produced commodity? These types of questions are of great practical import for educators. Widespread acceptance of online education (as a format of distance learning) has implications far beyond enrollment patterns. It signals underlying, significant changes in how a substantial number of institutions, educators, and their clientele perceive three key factors that essentially frame how online education is implemented: instructional practices (design and delivery), instructional platforms (educational technologies in the broadest sense) and instructional philosophies. The paradigm shift is exemplified by the term e-learning (often used interchangeably with online education and distance learning). The confluence of web-based technologies; continued advances in digital storage; processing and media; and the ongoing boutique approach to software development are at the heart of e-learning. The confluence produces education and learning that become more ubiquitous and more engaging. What emerges is the proverbial "whole that exceeds the sum of its parts." An adroit way to begin to comprehend the "whole" would be to use a proven approach in the social sciences: identifying an appropriate metaphor that promotes common understanding about e-learning. There is nothing revolutionary about such an effort. At the turn of the 20th Century theorists in educational administration adopted a mass production metaphor for public education and subsequently set in motion instructional practices, platforms, and philosophies that remain firmly entrenched today (Dever & Barta, 2001) although new paradigms using naturalistic models such as chaos theory and complexity theory are being considered (Evers & Lakomski, 2001). So here at the turn of the 21st Century educators are presented with this thing known as e-learning where education is delivered online on a mass customized basis using various electronic media. e-learning is often touted as a means to reduce institutional expenses, increase institutional revenues, or both (Harvey, 2004; Moallem, 2004; Porter, 2003). In addition, e-learning applications initiatives by higher education institutions are considering the open source software/product where the software/ product is freely available for delivering education online (Coppola & Neelley, 2004). Siemens (2003) suggests that the benefits of the open source model are increased quality, greater stability, superior performance, and improved functionality. Reduced vendor reliance, reusability, reduced costs, auditability (users validating security), reliability, and rapid fixes to bugs/problems are among other benefits open source model can offer. Regardless of what is real about e-learning versus what is hype, there is a need to identify a metaphor that may be used to better understand e-learning (Kaplan, 2004; Terrio, 2002; Umbach, 2001). …

Discussion Board: A Learning Object

Abstract: This paper argues that a discussion board as an integral part of e-learning is a learning object worthy of scrutiny. It explores how current praxis and theory on learning objects can be used to improve the development and application of discussion boards. Implications for discussion board as learning objects are discussed. They include: (1) accessing learning objects via discussion boards, (2) using and sharing learning objects via discussion boards, (3) creating a cycle of composition and decomposition of learning objects via discussion boards, and (4) using computer agents to improve access and communication of the data archived in discussion boards. Recommendations for future research are made.