About Collaboration, Interaction, and the Negotiation of Meaning in Synchronous Written Chats in L2-German

Open Access

Self-reported conflict management competence among nursing students on the point of graduating and registered nurses with professional experience

Objective: It has been shown that specific competence is necessary for preventing and managing conflicts in healthcare settings. The aim of this descriptive and correlation study was to investigate and compare the self-reported conflict management competence (CMC) of nursing students who were on the point of graduating (NSPGs), and the CMC of registered nurses (RNs) with professional experience. Methods: The data collection, which consisted of soliciting answers to items measuring CMC in the Nurse Professional Competence (NPC) Scale, was performed as a purposive selection of 11 higher education institutions (HEIs) in Sweden. Three CMC items from the NPC Scale were answered by a total of 569 nursing students who were on the point of graduating and 227 RN registered nurses with professional experience. Results: No significant differences between NSPGs and RNs were found, and both groups showed a similar score pattern, with the lowest score for the item: “How do you perceive your ability to develop the group and strengthen competence in conflict management and problem-solving, based on knowledge of group dynamics?”. RNs with long professional experience (>24 months) rated their overall CMC as significantly better than RNs with short (<24 months) professional experience did (p = .05). NSPGs who had experience of international studies during their nursing education reported higher CMC, compared with those who did not have this experience (p = .03). RNs who reported a high degree of utilisation of CMC during the previous month scored higher regarding self-reported overall CMC (p < .0001). Conclusions: Experience of international studies during nursing education, or long professional experience, resulted in higher self-reported CMC. Hence, the CMC items in the NPC Scale can be suitable for identifying self-reported conflict management competence among NSPGs and RNs

Using system dynamics for collaborative design : a case study

Background  In order to facilitate the collaborative design, system dynamics (SD) with a group modelling approach was used in the early stages of planning a new stroke unit. During six workshops a SD model was created in a multiprofessional group. Aim To explore to which extent and how the use of system dynamics contributed to the collaborative design process. Method A case study was conducted using several data sources. Results SD supported a collaborative design, by facilitating an explicit description of stroke care process, a dialogue and a joint understanding. The construction of the model obliged the group to conceptualise the stroke care and experimentation with the model gave the opportunity to reflect on care. Conclusion SD facilitated the collaborative design process and should be integrated in the early stages of the design process as a quality improvement tool.

Perceptions of Sustainability and Functional Aspects on Liquid Carton Board Packaging Materials versus Competing Materials for Juice Applications in Sweden

This research explores the downstream perceptions of liquid carton board versus competing materials in packaging applications for juice. The methodology used is focus groups. The context is sustainability and functional performance, and related potential implications for the beverage industry value chain. The purpose is to get a deeper insight and understanding of functionality in relation to juice beverage packaging. The results confirm that there is no optimal packaging for every juice product, but a multitude, depending on the distribution channel, retail outlet, customer preferences, and context of consumption. There are some general packaging preferences, but the main deciding criteria for purchase seem to be the product characteristics in terms of quality, taste, brand, price and shelf life. For marketing reasons, packaging has to be adopted to the product and its positioning, liquid carton board packaging seem to have some functional advantages in distribution and is considered as sustainable and functional among many consumers. Major drawbacks seem to be shape limitations, lack of transparency, and lack of a “premium look”. To improve packaging performance and avoid sub-optimization, actors in the beverage industry value chain need to be integrated in development processes.