Academic espionage: dysfunctional aspects of the publish or perish ethic.

There are many dysfunctional manifestations relative to the tenure and promotion process. These are disruptive to academic life. Much of this is encouraged by the university because of their publish or perish ethic. Excellence in classroom teaching and success in the field of clinical and human endeavours are not highly valued in deliberations to grant tenure and advancement in academic rank. Research and publications are the major yardsticks upon which a faculty member is judged. This prevailing perspective poses a dilemma for many nursing faculty who have high clinical workloads and have not been socialized for academic survival. The pressures to publish and research can be achieved in a realistic and non-stressful way. Three aspects seem to be particularly relevant to facilitate this achievement; these are: anticipatory planning, balancing the workload, and understanding the interpersonal dimensions of collegiality.

Student unrest: a challenge for nurse educators.

Nursing students, like their college counterparts, are beginning to revolt against hierarchical authority and to claim a more active part in their educational planning. Nurse educators can no longer assume that their students will never revolt; they must face up to the challenge of developing strategies for proper management of student unrest. The authors propose some ways to deal with the complex issue of student unrest. These suggestions are made with emphasis on faculty-student relationship and the curriculum. Improved faculty-student relationships, proper utilization of student peer influence and student involvement in curriculum planning are some of the strategies proposed in this paper.

A conceptual approach to the development of motivational strategies.

Teachers in both general and professional education are well aware of the importance of motivation as the basis of effective teaching. Heidgerken maintains that a major problem that faces nursing educators is to select the right type of motivation and to know how to effect motivation. The authors propose a conceptual model for developing strategies to deal with motivational problems. This model is an application of Vroom's value/expectancy theory and Rotter's social learning theory, and is based on the premise that nursing faculty are in strategic positions to enhance student motivation for learning by manipulating variables that are believed to influence motivation. These suggested strategies include: enhancing student's need value by rewarding them with rewards that they value the most; increasing student's perceptions of a strong link between performance and rewards; providing students with consistent and clear role perceptions; improving student satisfaction towards learning.