Stress intervention measures should focus on stress prevention for individuals as well as tackling organizational issues. Achieving this will require further comparative studies, and new tools to evaluate the intensity of individual distress.

A literature search from January 1985 to April 2003 was conducted using the key words nursing, stress, distress, stress management, job satisfaction, staff turnover and coping to identify research on sources of stress in adult and child care nursing. Recent (post-1997) United Kingdom Department of Health documents and literature about the views of practitioners was also consulted.

Background: Stress perception is highly subjective, and so the complexity of nursing practice may result in variation between nurses in their identification of sources of stress, especially when the workplace and roles of nurses are changing, as is currently occurring in the United Kingdom health service. This could have implications for measures being introduced to address problems of stress in nursing.

Andrew McVicar

According to the results in this study, migrating from WCAG in Taiwan (based on WCAG 1.0) to WCAG 2.0 does not require a full revision of webpage design. In fact, WCAG 2.0 provides only principal guidelines instead of detailed guidelines as described in WCAG 1.0 to webpage designers as reference. With reasonable efforts, webpage designers can make their websites more accessible to users with disabilities.For websites that have not included any accessibility design elements, direct use designs

Web accessibilityWeb accessibility is the idea of a “barrier-free” web (Schmetzke, 2007). To achieve accessibility to the web, web administrators need to enable web content to be accessible to users at various levels and for different needs. In particular, people with disabilities can access the internet through specially designed equipments, technologies, and resources that are currently available. Web accessibility can be defined as the ability to acquire complete information from the web by anyone –The disabilities-related websitesThis study collects data from 108 disabilities-related websites. The content of these websites actually cover different categories of disability welfare, and special education and various associations for the disabled. Either governmental or non-governmental ones by nature, these websites provide useful information to people interested in helping these physically and mentally disabled or people with disability. While these websites are supposed to be the most informative for people with

Web sites provide diverse functions and services which are demanded by users with different characteristics. The application of various emerging technologies and the use of multimedia audio/visual effects can cause various tangible and intangible barriers to some users. Accessibility on the web has attracted research into various aspects of the topic (Abanumy et al., 2005, Fernando et al., 2009, Feys et al., 2001, Foley, 2003, Lazar et al., 2004, Liu and Song, 2005, Marincu and McMullin, 2004, Parmanto and Zeng, 2005, Williams and Rattray, 2003). Over the past decade, various standards and web guidelines have been developed by organizations around the world to ensure web accessibility (Abanumy et al., 2005).In order to assist government sectors in Taiwan in the development of accessible web sites, the Research, Development and Evaluation Commission (RDEC) referred to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) established by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Accessibility Initiative, 2005, Accessibility Initiative, 2008, Accessibility Initiative, 1999, Accessibility Initiative, 2008 and established the “Web Content Accessibility Guidelines” in Taiwan with specific objectives and strategies for the promotion of Web Content Accessibility. Through the combination of the “Web Accessibility Service” launched in June, 2003 (RDEC, 2003a, RDEC, 2003b), the single-license check tool (Freego) and repair tool developed in 2004 and 2005 (RDEC, 2010), and the “Human Check Manual for Web Accessibility” drafted in 2006 and 2007 (RDEC, 2006) Taiwan is aiming at facilitating more smooth web content presentation and user interface. This will in turn enable a more convenient browsing experience to internet users in Taiwan (RDEC, 2008).

The WCAG in Taiwan was established based on the contents of the WCAG 1.0. However, as the WCAG 2.0 was announced in 2008, check standards based on the WCAG 1.0 were facing revision in all aspects. Therefore, this study aimed at analyzing and comparing the differences between the WCAG 2.0 and the WCAG standards in Taiwan. Utilizing “human check” based on the WCAG 2.0 standard, this study assessed disabilities-related websites conforming to the WCAG standard in Taiwan. Results suggested that migrating from WCAG in Taiwan (based on WCAG 1.0) to WCAG 2.0 does not require a full range revision of webpage design. Suggestions given to disabilities-related websites in Taiwan for developing and providing more complete web accessibility included: (1) websites without accessible design should directly follow the WCAG 2.0 standard in developing web accessibility; (2) future promotion of web accessibility should include all educational institutes and related associations/organizations.

The primary purpose of this research was to explore a comparative analysis of the “Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)” standard in Taiwan and the international WCAG standards (WCAG 1.0/WCAG 2.0). The WCAG in Taiwan was established by the Research, Development and Evaluation Commission (RDEC), Executive Yuan in 2002. The WCAG 1.0 was established by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI, an organization that created the Web Content Accessibility system) of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), and became a W3C standard on May 5, 1999. The WCAG 2.0 became a W3C standard on December 11, 2008.

Shing-Han Li a 1, David C. Yen b, Wen-Hui Lu c, Tsun-Lin Lin a

The Kirschner and Karpinski (2010) paper examined differences between Facebook users and non-users but did not analyze actual time spent on Facebook (though their methods suggest this information was collected). It should also be noted the Kirschner and Karpinski (2010) study was conducted with a relatively small (N = 219) sample of mostly upper-level undergraduate (junior and senior) and graduate students. Lastly, the study by Kolek and Saunders (2008) examined student Facebook profiles and found there were no differences in overall GPA between users and non-users. It is important to note that “non-users” in the Kolek and Saunders (2008) study were those students from a randomly selected sample of the university’s student database that researchers could not find on Facebook. These students could have either been non-users or had privacy settings enabled to disallow searching, confounding the results of these findings.Previous studies of Facebook use and academic performance have also been limited in how student grades were measured. Until now, all studies have used self-reported, non-continuous measures. Students in the first sample in the Pasek et al. (2009) study were asked to report grades on an 8-point Likert scale with anchors for “Mostly F’s” to “Mostly A’s” and categories in between such as “A’s and B’s.” For the second and third samples, GPA was coded on a four-point scale from “D or less” to “A.” Kirschner and Karpinski (2010) used a five-point Likert scale (where 0 was 1.99 and below, 1 was 2.0–2.49, 2 was 2.5–2.99, 3 was 3.0–3.49, and 4 was 3.5–4.0). Kirschner and Karpinski (2010) also coded time spent studying on a 5-point Likert scale (where 0 was less than 1 h per week, 1 was 1–5 h, 2 was 6–10 h, 3 was 11–15 h, and 4 was 16 or more hours).

The author thanks the blind reviewers of this paper for their valuable and insightful feedback. He is also grateful for helpful input on the survey instrument from Shelia Cotten, Eszter Hargittai, and Chris Offutt. The author is grateful for help provided by Mike Abplanalp, Stephen Lee, Gerry Eisley, and Jill Mitchley in collecting and interpreting institutional-level data. Additionally, he thanks Rebecca Grossman for input on the results and Chris Offut for help with the title. He is grateful

Results from this study show that time spent on Facebook and checking Facebook were negatively related to overall GPA, while time spent on Facebook is slightly negatively related to time spent studying. These results do not completely align with Astin’s (1984) and Chickering and Gamson’s (1987) models of time on task; that is, while time spent on Facebook relates negatively to overall GPA, it does not relate in a meaningful way to time spent preparing for class. Furthermore, while the

Given the few studies available, as well as those studies’ conflicting findings and methodological concerns, it is important to add to the literature on Facebook use and grades by using expanded assessment measures to evaluate how much time is spent on Facebook and the relationship of time spent engaged in various Facebook activities to GPA. The current study serves to extend previous research by using multiple measures of frequency of Facebook use and frequency of engagement in various types of Facebook activities. The effect of gender, ethnicity and socioeconomic status are important variables when examining the outcomes of technology use, but only one of the previous studies on Facebook use and grades took those factors into account (Pasek et al., 2009). In this study, gender, ethnicity and socioeconomic status are included as control variables. Previous studies relied on self-report of student grades; however, this study will examine actual overall student grade point averages collected through the university registrar. In any linear model of Facebook use and grades, it is important to control for high school GPA (HSGPA), consistently found to be the strongest predictor of overall college GPA (DeBerard et al., 2004, Geiser and Santelices, 2007, Williford, 2009). In this study, HSGPA was included in the analyses in order to parse out the variance attributable to pre-existing differences in academic ability and also to place other predictors in context. Lastly, a continuous measure of time spent studying was used as an outcome variable.Astin (1984) stated that students reach academic goals because of the time and effort spent on activities designed to reach those goals, and Chickering and Gamson (1987) emphasized that the amount of time students spend engaged in academic work is highly related to academic success. Because students have a fixed amount of time available in any given day, and because time on task is an important factor in academic success, this paper posits that students who spend more time on Facebook will have less time to study and therefore will have lower grades. Research on Internet use has revealed that some online activities have a positive effect and some a negative effect on psychological outcomes; a similar pattern has also been detected related to technology use and academic outcomes (Bliuc et al., 2010, Cotten, 2008, Ellison et al., 2011, Gordon et al., 2007, Junco and Cotten, 2010, Junco et al., 2011, Morgan and Cotten, 2003, Pempek et al., 2009, Rizzuto et al., 2009). Junco’s (2011) findings confirmed that some Facebook activities were positively related and some negatively related to student engagement. Therefore, this study will also examine the extent to which Facebook activities relate to time spent studying and student grades.

In 1987, Chickering and Gamson proposed seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education, all of which were related to student engagement. They are: (1) student/faculty contact; (2) cooperation among students; (3) active learning; (4) prompt feedback; (5) emphasizing time on task; (6) communicating high expectations; and (7) respecting diversity. The fifth principle, “emphasizing time on task,” is important in conceptualizing the relationship between Facebook use and academic success. Specifically, Chickering and Gamson (1987) state that “time plus energy equals learning,” and there can be no substitute for time students spend engaged in academic work (p. 6). If indeed students are spending their time engaging with a technology such as Facebook, their available time to spend on academic tasks might be limited. Furthermore, Astin (1984) states that students reach academic goals because of the time and effort spent on activities designed to reach those goals. For instance, if getting good grades is an important goal, the amount of time students spend studying is a critical factor in reaching that goal. If student time is spent elsewhere—on Facebook, for instance—less time will be allotted to focusing on academic activities and grades may suffer as a result.Most of the research on the academic outcomes of technology use has been conducted at the primary or secondary school level and has found disparate results. As with the research on student engagement, a comprehensive review is beyond the scope of this paper; however, the following section highlights a number of studies illustrative of the mixed effects of technology use on academic outcomes. For instance, some studies have found a positive relationship between using technology with elementary and/or high school students and academic outcomes like standardized test scores and course grades (Shapley et al., 2010, Suhr et al., 2010, Tienken and Wilson, 2007). On the other hand, some studies have found a negative relationship between technology use and academic outcomes in these settings (Aypay et al., 2007, Waight and Abd-El-Khalick, 2007). Still other studies have found contradictory positive and negative results. In a review of the literature on interactive white boards (IWB), DiGregorio and Sobel-Lojeski (2010) found both positive and negative relationships between IWB use and academic outcomes such as learning measures, student attitudes, and motivation. The conflicting results found in these studies are quite possibly due to differences in the technologies being measured (for instance, laptops vs. IWBs) and to differences in how the technologies are used (for instance, using laptops for subject area practice vs. using them for the creation of content).While studies at the university level have also found contradictory results, they serve to further clarify how specific uses of technology may be related to academic outcomes. For instance, Bliuc, Ellis, Goodyear, and Piggott (2010) discovered that students who reported using discussion boards as tools to find answers—rather than improve their understanding of a topic—were utilizing that technology in ways that encouraged reproduction and task completion rather than deep learning; those students also had lower final course grades. Rizzuto, LeDoux, and Hatala (2009) found that using a course management system for required actions (like posting comments) was positively related to course test scores. Sapp and Simon (2005) found that more students in online courses failed to complete the course and had lower grades than students in matched face-to-face courses. In related research, Weatherly, Grabe, and Arthur (2003) found that students in a section of a psychology course who were provided lecture slides via a course management system had lower exam scores than a control section, presumably because of decreased attendance. Research on college students has largely focused on institutionally supported technologies like course management systems, while very few studies have examined the effects of technologies more commonly used by students, such as Facebook.

Even though there is professional and popular interest in how Facebook use affects student learning, not much research has been conducted on the topic (Abramson, 2011, Kamenetz, 2011, Pychl, 2008). Some studies have examined the relationship between Facebook use and psychosocial outcomes. For instance, Ellison, Steinfield, and Lampe (2007) found that there is a positive relationship between using Facebook and forming and maintaining social capital. Valenzuela, Park, and Kee (2009) found that civic participation, life satisfaction, and social trust were related to the intensity of college students’ Facebook use. In newer research, Ellison, Steinfield, and Lampe (2011) extended their previous study and found that engaging in social information-seeking behaviors on Facebook (to learn more about a person with whom the user already has a connection) was related to increased social capital, while using Facebook to maintain relationships and meet strangers was not.The construct of student engagement, defined as “the amount of physical and psychological energy that the student devotes to the academic experience,” was originally proposed by Astin in 1984 (p. 297). Astin’s (1984) theory of student engagement was based on five tenets: (1) Engagement refers to the investment of physical and psychological energy; (2) Engagement occurs along a continuum (some students are more engaged than others and individual students are engaged in different activities at differing levels); (3) Engagement has both quantitative and qualitative features; (4) The amount of student learning and development associated with an educational program is directly related to the quality and quantity of student engagement in that program; and (5) The effectiveness of any educational practice is directly related to the ability of that practice to increase student engagement.

Since its introduction to a handful of college campuses in 2004, Facebook has become nearly ubiquitous at universities. Recent data are reflective of this trend. For instance, in 2009 and 2010, researchers from the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project found that between 67% and 75% of college-aged young adults used social networking websites (Jones and Fox, 2009, Lenhart, 2009, Lenhart et al., 2010). In late 2010, an EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research (ECAR) study of 36,950 students from 126 US universities and one Canadian university revealed that of the 90% of students who used social networking sites, 97% said they used Facebook. This 97% reported activity on the site daily (Smith & Caruso, 2010). In another study, students reported devoting a lot of time to Facebook, spending an average of over 1 h and 40 min a day on the site (Junco, 2011).

Reynol Junco

AbstractBecause of the social media platform’s widespread adoption by college students, there is a great deal of interest in how Facebook use is related to academic performance. A small number of prior studies have examined the relationship between Facebook use and college grade point average (GPA); however, these studies have been limited by their measures, sampling designs and failure to include prior academic ability as a control variable. For instance, previous studies used non-continuous measures of time spent on Facebook and self-reported GPA. This paper fills a gap in the literature by using a large sample (N = 1839) of college students to examine the relationship among multiple measures of frequency of Facebook use, participation in Facebook activities, and time spent preparing for class and actual overall GPA. Hierarchical (blocked) linear regression analyses revealed that time spent on Facebook was strongly and significantly negatively related to overall GPA, while only weakly related to time spent preparing for class. Furthermore, using Facebook for collecting and sharing information was positively predictive of the outcome variables while using Facebook for socializing was negatively predictive.

The last decade or so has witnessed huge changes in the awareness, perception and tools of fandom. In terms of television and film, the enormous successes of Game of Thrones and the Marvel Cinematic Universe have introduced geek culture – and its brand of participatory fandom – to the mainstream. At the same time, the internet – and more specifically social media – has amplified fans’ voices, while also breaking down the boundaries between them and the artists they love/hate.

The ability of fans to shape and change the art they enjoy is nothing new. In 1893, the reaction to Arthur Conan Doyle killing off Sherlock Holmes was so intense that he eventually resurrected him ten years later. Historian Greg Jenner, author of forthcoming book Dead Famous (a study of the history of fame), has even tracked the characteristics of modern fandom back to the 1700s, when rival supporters of English theatre actresses would compete for dominance like Team Aniston or Team Jolie.  And to the 1920s, where fan groups would write thousands of letters to movie studios demanding their favourite actor be given better roles. “It was the same thing,” he says, “as Sonic the Hedgehog having weird teeth and people going, ‘No, that’s not the game I played as a kid, you need to fix it or I am not giving you any money.’”

he first two episodes of WandaVision, which arrive tomorrow on Disney Plus (the remaining seven will follow weekly), riff on the black and white classics The Dick Van Dyke Show and Bewitched with affection and precision. The gags are tame, corny, and adorable. Vision carries Wanda over the threshold, but after accidentally apparating through the front door, he leaves her on the threshold. That silly Vision! Housewife Wanda accidentally breaks a flying dish over her hubby’s head. Handy Wanda can zap it back together! In the episode’s set piece, Wanda and Vision forget Vision’s boss is coming to dinner (I can just picture the description in TV Guide) revealing that they have forgotten much else besides, including how they met, how they got there, and who they are. But these hints about what’s really going on don’t keep the episode from working on sitcom terms. The sequence climaxes with the boss’s wife (That ’70s Show veteran Debra Jo Rupp) opening the galley kitchen shutters to reveal Wanda whizzing dozens of pots, pans, and ingredients through the air. When a flustered Vision distracts her by belting out “Yakety Yak,” I giggled along with the laugh track, a chuckle earned by the pure sitcommery.

Share Share Comment TV, the cliché goes, is an escape, a trapdoor to a sunnier reality—or at least a different one. For us mere mortals, the escape is always metaphorical; our earthbound bodies don’t budge from the couch. But for the right superhero escaping into TV could be a more literal proposition. Scared and grieving, living in a grim and hopeless world, what’s to stop a reality-altering super being from waving her hands, scrunching her nose, and dropping into the seemingly safe confines of a 1950s sitcom? This is the premise of WandaVision, in which the Marvel Cinematic Universe gets serious about the small screen and deposits two secondary Avengers, Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), the sorceress known as the Scarlet Witch, and her husband Vision (Paul Bettany), a debonair android, into sitcom history, two superheroes adrift in TV Land.