12.9: Measuring Employee Engagement
- Describe ways to measure employee engagement
Engagement is a challenge to measure. Unlike sales numbers, which are clear and straightforward, employee engagement has a number of factors that contribute to it making it a challenge to accurately gauge. For example, if an employer asked you to rate your job on a scale of 1–10 and you rate your job a 6, what exactly does that mean? Does that mean you enjoy going to work 60% of the time? Or are there four main things you dislike about your job, leading you to remove four points off the ten total?  However, there are certain indicators of employee engagement that are more measurable. It is important to track engagement in more empirical ways in order to paint a clear picture of a company’s employee engagement.
Components of Employee Engagement
Prior to measuring employee engagement, it is important to understand the components that work together to determine it. In the last section, we discussed the key players in engagement. There are measurable attributes each of these players can use to determine engagement.
Relationships
Relationships, for example, are a key component of engagement. This includes relationships between managers and employees as well as relationships between coworkers. The amount of feedback and recognition given at work is another measurable indicator of employee engagement. Feedback and recognition are both strong forms of communication. Feedback provides valuable information to an employee so they know what they should continue doing and what they need to improve upon. Recognition is a great way to praise an employee for doing their job well and motivate them to continue to perform at a high level. When an employee feels valued, they are more likely to be actively engaged at work.
Happiness
A person’s happiness also plays an important role in their overall engagement. When a person is happy at work, they are more productive [1] and bring a positive attitude to the work environment, making it more enjoyable for everyone.
Health and Wellbeing
Employee health and wellbeing, both physical and mental, also influences their engagement at work. Employees who feel challenged and supported to advance in their career field are more likely to perform well and embody the company brand in all they do.
All of these things influence an employee’s engagement as well as their overall job satisfaction. Employees who are highly engaged and satisfied with their jobs are less likely to seek out new employment opportunities, even for greater pay. They say you can’t buy happiness, and employees who are truly happy with their careers understand this and choose to stay because of it.
Measuring Employee Engagement
Interviews
A common way to measure attributes of employee engagement is through one-on-ones and interviews. For example, exit interviews are a great way to gain honest insight into employee engagement and job satisfaction, or lack thereof. Exit interviews are commonly used by companies to determine how to improve employee engagement. While exit interviews can provide useful information, they are conducted after an employee decides to leave an organization. Other ways to gain information, prior to an employee deciding to leave the organization, is through one-on-ones or walking chats. These types of employee interactions are essentially miniature interviews where managers, or the human resource team, conduct a short and sweet conversation with an employee with the intention of building relationships and providing and gaining feedback. [2] These in-person conversations help build rapport, and when they occur regularly, can help measure engagement and address any issues or concerns before they become a larger problem.
Pulse Surveys
Pulse surveys are another quick and easy way to gather data on employee engagement. Pulse surveys are designed to take a quick pulse of the organization by asking a small number of questions to measure engagement and job satisfaction. These surveys should be quick and easy to complete and widely distributed throughout the organization. Pulse surveys can be effective but impersonal at times. Collecting data and feedback is most effective when multiple forms of data collection are utilized (for example, using pulse surveys and walking chats). An employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) is another survey that some companies use to determine engagement. To determine the eNPS, employers need to ask a simple question: would you recommend working for your company or using the product/services they provide? Some companies argue that the answer to this question is the biggest indicator as to whether or not their employees are engaged. Other companies believe that the information is good to have, but do not believe it is a strong indicator of true engagement.
Using Engagement Data
Measuring engagement does not stop here. Collecting the data is important, but equally as important is actually doing something with the information collected. First and foremost, a company should review the data, analyze the information, and look for patterns and trends. After exploring all the information, the company needs to determine how they want to use the information to make improvements. One strategy is to hone in on a few key themes and create an action plan to effectively change and improve any large areas of opportunities identified during the data review process. Taking the time to collect the data, but not taking the time to do something with the data, is a waste of time and resources.
Let’s take a look at SewCool, which is suffering from high turnover and see what they can do to
While direct actions will vary based on company needs, your goal will be to improve the three components of employee engagement: relationships, happiness, and health and well being. Engagement efforts will be continuous; as your workforce and business environment change so will your employee needs.
Sources
Davies, Jack. “ Is Employee Net Promoter Score (ENPS) a Good Measure of Engagement? ” Qualtrics, October 9, 2018.
Robins, Alison. “ Employee Engagement: Seeing The Bigger Picture .” Officevibe. Accessed October 25, 2019.
Robins, Alison. “ How To Properly Measure Employee Engagement .” Officevibe, July 3, 2017.
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Social Market Foundation Publication Briefing.
" Accessed October 29, 2019. ↵
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1-on-1s for Engaged Employees: How Good Managers Run Them.
" Impraise. Accessed October 29, 2019. ↵
Contributors and Attributions
- Measuring Employee Engagement. Authored by : Freedom Learning Group. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
- Feedback Survey. Authored by : mohamed Hassan. Provided by : Pixabay. Located at : pixabay.com/illustrations/feedback-survey-questionnaire-3239454/. License : CC0: No Rights Reserved . License Terms : Pixabay License
- Interview Job Icon. Authored by : Tumisu. Provided by : Pixabay. Located at : pixabay.com/illustrations/interview-job-icon-job-interview-1018333/. License : CC0: No Rights Reserved . License Terms : Pixabay License


1.12: Rewrites - Workshop through Readings with Performers
The majority of your process will be rewriting and revising scenes along the way. As a director, make sure that your narrative is staying consistent and trust that your actors will ask questions or bring up consistencies that are out of character within the script. If you find your hero painted into a corner, don’t worry. If you don’t know how to solve the problem, neither will your audience and you have the ability to surprise them.
When rewriting or analyzing a scene, ask yourself these questions.
- Who wants what? From Whom? What happens if they don’t get it?
- Does the scene build to a climax and propel us into the next scene?
- Can the scene stand on its own dramatically? If not, how can it?
- Is the problem the character is trying to solve within the scene too easy to solve? If so, how can it be made more difficult?
- Is anything being explained and if so how can it be shown to the audience rather than told?
- Are there any parts of the scene that are not necessary to the story I am telling? If so, cut them.


8.3: Retention Statistics
Retention Statistics
Review the information from Gallup's Global Indicator for Employee Retention. What information stood out to you? What would you do as a manager to improve the numbers at your organization? Do you think you can accurately predict the likelihood of an employee looking or leaving?
Indicator: Employee Retention & Attraction
Employee Retention & Attraction
What We Measure
We measure employee retention and attraction trends, as well as employee perceptions of their current job climate, to help organizations more effectively retain and attract top talent.
Intent to Leave
To what extent are you currently looking for a different job than the one you have now?
Watching For or Actively Seeking New Job - 51%
Why Do Employee Retention Metrics and Attraction Research Matter?
Delving into employees’ openness to new job opportunities reveals their intent to leave (or stay at) their current organization.
As leaders seek to retain and attract talent, understanding more about employee perceptions of the job climate and why they choose to leave or join an organization is critical . Employers can evaluate how these details relate to their own culture to create strategies for curtailing turnover, attracting top talent and keeping their star employees from being wooed away.
State of the Global Job Climate
Would you say now is a good time or a bad time to find a quality job?
Notice that after reaching a record high in of 70% in mid-2022, U.S. employees' belief that now is a good time to find a quality job steadily declined to 2019 levels by mid-2023. Much like the cooling job market, this reversing trend may signify a return to "normalcy" after record hiring surges, or it may signal early signs of trouble ahead amid recession fears.
Likelihood to Recommend and Intent to Leave
Employees can be some of your best brand ambassadors or worst critics, influencing your potential customers and talent. Would your employees recommend your organization as a great place to work?
Employees who are watching for new job opportunities or actively looking for another job may be ready to leave your organization.
Top Reasons for Leaving a Job
Why are employees leaving their employer? We asked U.S. employees to identify their primary reason for leaving their previous job.
"Pay/Benefits" is the most common single reason employees left their job in 2023, despite that response decreasing the most since 2022 among all individual factors. Yet, "Pay/Benefits" was identified only 16% of the time as the primary reason people left their job -- meaning organizations need to focus on a different set of employee needs to prevent the other 84% of departures.
Looking at the top reasons in isolation can be misleading. When we classify all of the reasons people give for leaving an employer into larger categories, as shown in the table below, we see that the theme of "Engagement and Culture" is by far the most prominent (41%), followed by the theme of "Wellbeing and Work-Life Balance" (28%).
Together, these two areas of dissatisfaction make up 69% of the total reasons employees left their employer in 2023. That means four times as many people left their job due to "Engagement and Culture" or "Wellbeing and Work-Life Balance" reasons, compared with the number of people who primarily left for better "Pay/Benefits."
Attributes That Attract Employees to a Different Organization
Creating an inspiring employee value proposition is about more than fixing what is dissatisfying your workforce.
Effective employee attraction and retention strategies require both an understanding of what people are looking for in a great career and the follow-through of bringing that employee value proposition to life.
Below is a list of the top factors that attract people to their next job. Note the similarities between the reasons employees leave a job, as shown above, and the importance of the factors that most often attract them to an opportunity somewhere else.
Leaders and managers should capture these types of insights for their organization through pulse surveys, exit surveys and stay interviews to assess their current employee experience and hone their employee value proposition.
What else draws employees to new opportunities? Below is the full list of factors that Gallup studies, ranked by importance, to reveal what matters most to employees who are considering taking a job with a different employer.
Source: "Gallup: Indicators" , Gallup website, 2024


15.3: Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard
by Thomas Gray
The curfew tolls the knell of parting day,
The lowing herd wind slowly o’er the lea,
The plowman homeward plods his weary way,
And leaves the world to darkness and to me.
Now fades the glimmering landscape on the sight,
And all the air a solemn stillness holds,
Save where the beetle wheels his droning flight,
And drowsy tinklings lull the distant folds:
Save that, from yonder ivy-mantled tower,
The moping owl does to the moon complain
Of such as, wandering near her secret bower,
Molest her ancient solitary reign.
Beneath those rugged elms, that yew-tree’s shade,
Where heaves the turf in many a mouldering heap,
Each in his narrow cell forever laid,
The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep.
The breezy call of incense-breathing morn,
The swallow twittering from the straw-built shed,
The cock’s shrill clarion, or the echoing horn,
No more shall rouse them from their lowly bed.
For them no more the blazing hearth shall burn,
Or busy housewife ply her evening care;
No children run to lisp their sire’s return,
Or climb his knees the envied kiss to share.
Oft did the harvest to their sickle yield,
Their furrow oft the stubborn glebe has broke;
How jocund did they drive their team afield!
How bow’d the woods beneath their sturdy stroke!
Let not Ambition mock their useful toil,
Their homely joys, and destiny obscure;
Nor Grandeur hear with a disdainful smile
The short and simple annals of the poor.
The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power,
And all that beauty, all that wealth e’er gave,
Awaits alike th’ inevitable hour.
The paths of glory lead but to the grave.
Nor you, ye proud, impute to these the fault,
If Memory o’er their tomb no trophies raise;
Where, through the long-drawn aisle and fretted vault,
The pealing anthem swells the note of praise.
Can storied urn or animated bust
Back to its mansion call the fleeting breath?
Can Honour’s voice provoke the silent dust?
Or Flattery soothe the dull cold ear of Death?
Perhaps in this neglected spot is laid
Some heart once pregnant with celestial fire;
Hands, that the rod of empire might have sway’d,
Or wak’d to ecstasy the living lyre:
But Knowledge to their eyes her ample page,
Rich with the spoils of time, did ne’er unroll;
Chill Penury repress’d their noble rage,
And froze the genial current of the soul.
Full many a gem of purest ray serene
The dark unfathom’d caves of ocean bear;
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert air.

Th’ applause of listening senates to command,
The threats of pain and ruin to despise,
To scatter plenty o’er a smiling land,
And read their history in a nation’s eyes,
Their lot forbade: nor circumscrib’d alone
Their growing virtues, but their crimes confin’d;
Forbade to wade through slaughter to a throne,
And shut the gates of mercy on mankind,
The struggling pangs of conscious truth to hide,
To quench the blushes of ingenuous shame,
Or heap the shrine of Luxury and Pride
With incense kindled at the Muse’s flame.
Far from the madding crowd’s ignoble strife,
Their sober wishes never learn’d to stray;
Along the cool sequester’d vale of life
They kept the noiseless tenor of their way.
Yet even these bones from insult to protect,
Some frail memorial still erected nigh,
With uncouth rhymes and shapeless sculpture deck’d,
Implores the passing tribute of a sigh.
Their name, their years, spelt by th’ unletter’d Muse,
The place of fame and elegy supply;
And many a holy text around she strews,
That teach the rustic moralist to die.

On some fond breast the parting soul relies,
Some pious drops the closing eye requires;
Even from the tomb the voice of Nature cries,
Even in our ashes live their wonted fires.
For thee, who, mindful of th’ unhonour’d dead,
Dost in these lines their artless tale relate,
If chance, by lonely contemplation led,
Some kindred spirit shall inquire thy fate,
Haply some hoary-headed swain may say,
“Oft have we seen him at the peep of dawn
Brushing with hasty steps the dews away,
To meet the sun upon the upland lawn.
“There at the foot of yonder nodding beech,
That wreathes its old fantastic roots so high,
His listless length at noontide would he stretch,
And pore upon the brook that babbles by.
“Hard by yon wood, now smiling as in scorn,
Muttering his wayward fancies he would rove;
Now drooping, woeful-wan, like one forlorn,
Or craz’d with care, or cross’d in hopeless love.
“One morn I miss’d him on the custom’d hill,
Along the heath, and near his favourite tree;
Another came; nor yet beside the rill,
Nor up the lawn, nor at the wood was he;
“The next, with dirges due in sad array,
Slow through the church-way path we saw him borne.
Approach and read (for thou canst read) the lay
Grav’d on the stone beneath yon aged thorn.”
THE EPITAPH.
Here rests his head upon the lap of Earth
A youth, to Fortune and to Fame unknown;
Fair Science frown’d not on his humble birth,
And Melancholy mark’d him for her own.
Large was his bounty, and his soul sincere,
Heaven did a recompense as largely send;
He gave to Misery all he had, a tear;
He gain’d from Heaven (’twas all he wish’d) a friend.
No farther seek his merits to disclose,
Or draw his frailties from their dread abode,
(There they alike in trembling hope repose)
The bosom of his Father and his God.
- Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard. Authored by : Thomas Gray. Located at : http://www.gutenberg.org/files/30357/30357-h/30357-h.htm#chap3 . License : Public Domain: No Known Copyright


3.14: Users of Accounting Information
Learning Outcomes
- Outline the variety of accounting roles internal and external to a business
The Focus of Financial Accounting: External Users
The most common external user of financial information is the investor, be it institutional or individual. If you are saving for retirement and your money is invested in mutual funds via a 401(k), you may in fact own a tiny fraction of FaceBook, or Home Depot, or any number of publicly traded companies. Or, you may have your own investment account on the side, picking your own stocks. However, most of the investors in the stock market are retirement funds and mutual funds, and those funds are run by people, like you, who need reliable financial information in order to make an informed decision.
The SEC requires public traded companies to undergo, at their own cost, an annual financial audit by independent Certified Public Accountant. A financial statement audit is the examination of an entity’s financial statements and accompanying disclosures. The result of this examination is a report by the auditor, attesting to the fairness of presentation of the financial statements and related disclosures. The audit report is included in the annual filing of form 10-K with the SEC and in the company’s annual report that includes the financial statements.
Similarly, lenders typically require financial statements for any entity to which they lend funds. Suppliers may also require financial statements before they will be willing to extend trade credit. For non-publicly traded companies, CPAs will often prepare statements under a standard of review that is less stringent than an audit, but that still gives the external user some level of confidence that the statements are prepared in compliance with GAAP.
| External Users (financial accounting) | Internal Users (managerial accounting) |
|---|---|
| Institutional investors | “C” Suite |
| Vendors | Budget office |
| Individual investors | Management |
| Creditors (lenders) | Finance department |
Internal Users of Accounting Information
While external users are waiting for historical data to be presented in the form of financial statements and all the related disclosures, internal users, mainly management of the company, are dipping in to the accounting data in real time. Production managers want to know what the product costs to build right now, and how much and how many to build to meet future demands and sales goals. Sales managers want to know both historical sales by quarter and by region, and what the predicted demand will be. Upper management wants to know profit margins, overhead costs by division and by function, and how the company is progressing against the plan (budget.)
Finally, the budget office often spans the gap between external and internal users by creating prospective financial reports (budget) and comparing those budgeted reports against actual results (the financial statements, audited or unaudited.)
All of these users, internal and external, have something in common: they are decision-makers seeking accurate, reliable, relevant information.
Practice Questions


11.2: What Is Kinship?
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- Jennifer Hasty, David G. Lewis, & Marjorie M. Snipes
- OpenStax
Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Identify kinship and explain how it is a sociocultural construction.
- Identify the importance of kinship in anthropology.
- Restate the important early works in the anthropological study of kinship.
- Distinguish between terms of reference and terms of address.
Social scientists commonly refer to social norms and behaviors—for example, as explored in Chapter 1, the ways that individuals are assigned to racial categories and what these categories mean about an individual’s place within that society—as sociocultural constructions . Such norms and behaviors create categories and rules according to social criteria (not biological truths) and thus vary across cultures. Kinship is also a sociocultural construction, one that creates a network of social and biological relationships between individuals. Through kinship systems, humans create meaning by interpreting social and biological relationships. Although kinship, like gender and age, is a universal concept in human societies (meaning that all societies have some means of defining kinship), the specific “rules” about who is related, and how closely, vary widely. Depending on the way kinship is determined, two individuals who would call each other cousins in one cultural group may not even consider themselves to be related in another group.
The common assumptions that kinship is static and created by biological relationships reveal the strength of sociocultural constructs in our lives. It is culture—not biology—that defines for us whom our closest relatives are. Biology relies on genetics, but kinship is determined by culture. One interesting and very familiar example of the sociocultural dimension of kinship is the practice of adoption, through which those who have no necessary genetic relationship to one another are considered both legally and culturally to be family. Biological relatedness is determined at the genetic level. This form of knowledge is detected through specialized DNA testing and typically has little meaning in our day-to-day lives except within legal and economic contexts where paternity or maternity may be in question. Otherwise, across history and cultures, including within our own society today, family are those we live with, rely on, and love. These individuals, whether or not they have a specific genetic relationship to us, are those we refer to using family terms of reference—my mother, my son, my aunt.
The study of kinship is central to anthropology. It provides deep insights into human relationships and alliances, including those who can and cannot marry, mechanisms that are used to create families, and even the ways social and economic resources are dispersed within a group. One of the earliest studies of kinship was completed by Lewis Henry Morgan (1818–1881), an amateur American anthropologist, in the mid-nineteenth century. Intrigued by the cultural diversity of the Haudenosaunee living in upstate New York, Morgan began to document differences in kinship terminology between cultural groups, based on historical accounts and surveys from missionaries working in other geographic locations. In Systems of Consanguinity and Affinity of the Human Family (1871), he defined three of the primary kinship systems that we still recognize today, identifying each with either descriptive kinship terms, such as “mother’s sister’s son,” or classificatory terms, which group diverse relationships under a single term, such as “cousin.” Although Morgan used different names, today we know these three systems as lineal kinship, bifurcate merging kinship, and generational kinship. The publication of his book marked the beginning of kinship studies in anthropology.
After Morgan’s research, anthropologists began a more methodical examination of kinship. W.H.R. Rivers (1864–1922) introduced the genealogical method in fieldwork in a 1910 article, “The Genealogical Method in Anthropological Query.” Using a series of basic questions about parents, grandparents, and siblings, Rivers approached the study of kinship as a systematic inquiry into the social structure of societies, seeking to understand how different cultures define family and family roles. Although he focused on small-scale societies, he argued that investigating kinship was a good way of establishing rapport with people and opening them up to sharing more detailed information about their lives regardless of the size of the society. Today, ethnographers continue to use a form of the genealogical method, through either face-to-face interviews or surveys, especially when doing fieldwork in small-scale societies. In this way, the ethnographer seeks to understand the sociocultural relationships in society and the ways that family affects those relationships.
In the 1920s, British anthropologists Bronislaw Malinowski (1884–1942) and A.R. Radcliffe-Brown (1881–1955) expanded the understanding of kinship as a social institution by studying the ways that kinship intersected with other institutions in society, such as inheritance, education, politics, and subsistence. Malinowski did fieldwork in the Trobriand Islands of Papua New Guinea, a matrilineal society where descent and inheritance were traced solely through mothers and grandmothers. In his work Argonauts of the Western Pacific (1922), he examined the functional role of kinship in Trobriand society, exploring how it works with other social institutions to address basic needs. Expanding kinship exploration beyond its early beginnings as a study of linguistic terminology only, Malinowski (1930, 19-20) says, “Kinship terminologies . . . are the most active and the most effective expressions of human relationship, expressions which start in early childhood, which accompany human intercourse throughout life, which embody all the most personal, passionate, and intimate sentiments of a man or woman.” He saw kinship as a driving force connecting individuals to each other by means of enduring bonds. A. R. Radcliffe-Brown also focused on kinship as a social institution in his study The Andaman Islanders (1922), but instead of looking at the function of kinship, Radcliffe-Brown examined the roles and statuses created for an individual by the practice of kinship.
Through these early studies in kinship, anthropologists began to better understand the diverse ways that cultural groups think about things like family and community. Kinship relationships determine both rights and obligations to other people. These connections contribute to the way a society functions and resolve problems associated with everyday life. In small-scale societies with low population density, kinship identity plays a significant role in most of the life choices an individual will have, while in larger-scale societies, kinship plays a smaller and more limited role. In all societies, however, kinship provides guidelines on how to interact with certain other individuals and the expectations that are associated with these relationships.
Cultures call attention to kinship relationships through the way people speak to and refer to one another. Anthropologists sort this kinship terminology into two categories: terms of reference and terms of address . Terms of reference are the words that are used to describe the relationship between individuals, such as “mother,” “grandfather,” or “father’s brother.” Terms of address are the terms people use to speak directly to their kin, such as “Mom,” “Uncle,” and “Grandpa.” Sometimes the same word is used as reference and address: “This is my father” and “Hello, Father.” These terms are important because they designate relationships between individuals that carry responsibilities and privileges that structure human societies.


3.1: The Reading-Writing Connection
Importance of Reading
Reading stands at the heart of the process of writing academic essays. No matter what kinds of sources and methods you use, you are always reading and interpreting text. Most of us are used to hearing the word “reading” in relation to secondary sources, such as books, journals, magazines, websites, etc. But even if you are using other research methods and sources, such as interviewing someone or surveying a group of people, you are reading. You are 'reading' the subjects’ ideas and views on the topic you are investigating. When you study photographs, cultural artifacts, and other non-verbal research sources, you are 'reading' them by trying to connect them to their cultural and social contexts and to understand their multiple meanings. Principles of critical reading, which we are about to discuss in this chapter, apply to those research situations as well.
The Reading-Writing Connection
Creating New Meanings
Reading and writing are not two separate activities, but two tightly connected parts of the same whole. That whole is the process of learning and the creation of new meaning. It may seem that reading and writing are complete opposites of one another. According to the popular view, when we read, we “consume” texts, and when we write, we “produce” texts. But this view of reading and writing is true only if you see reading as a passive process of taking in information from the text, and not as an active and energetic process of making new meanings and new knowledge. Similarly, good writing does not originate in a vacuum, but is usually based upon, or at least influenced by, other ideas, theories, and stories that come from reading. So if, as a college student, you have ever wondered why your writing teachers have asked you to read books and articles and write responses to them, it is because writers who do not read and do not actively engage with their reading, have little to say to others.
Engaging in a Dialog
As rhetorical processes, reading and writing cannot exist without the other. The goal of a good writer is to engage the readers into a dialog presented in their writing. Similarly, the goal of a critical and active reader is to participate in that dialog and to have something to say back to the writer and to others. Writing leads to reading, and reading leads to writing. We write because we have something to say, and we read because we are interested in what others have to say.
Reading what others have to say and responding to them helps us make that all-important transition from simply having opinions about something, to having ideas. Opinions are often over-simplified and fixed. They are not very useful because, if different people have different opinions that they are not willing to change or adjust, such people cannot work or think together. Ideas, on the other hand, are ever evolving, fluid, and flexible. Our ideas are informed and shaped by our interactions with others, both in person and through written texts. In a world where thought and action count, it is not enough to simply “agree to disagree.” Reading and writing, used together, allow us to discuss complex and difficult issues with others, to persuade and be persuaded, and, most importantly, to act.
Active Reading
Successful students approach reading with a strategy that helps them get the most out of their reading. These students read actively. They look for the main idea of the material, its themes, and for words they do not understand. The opposite of reading actively is reading passively. Passive readers simply skip over things they do not understand and have difficulty understanding the material as a result. In this course, we are going to practice active reading. You will find that active reading is more enjoyable, lets you understand more of what you have read, and leads to better test scores.
The first part of active reading is to read through the material once while making notes about anything you find interesting or important. It is okay to not understand everything the first time through. Make a note next to any words you may need to look up later. When you finish, stop for a few minutes and think about what you just read. What is your first impression? Did you enjoy it? Why or why not? What was the most memorable part of the reading? Did something in it surprise you? Take a few minutes to add these thoughts to the notes you took while reading.
Now, take a break and go do something else. Go for a walk, run an errand, or take care of some chores. Allow yourself to absorb what you read without thinking too much about it or worrying about what you did not understand. When you come back, use a dictionary to look up the definitions of the words you marked earlier because you were not sure what they meant. Look at any sections you did not understand the first time through and see if they make more sense now. If something is still unclear, review your notes and briefly read the material a second time. Any confusing parts will likely be much clearer now, and if they are not, talk to your teacher or a tutor about them.
Exercise 1 \(\PageIndex{1}\)
Video: 10 Active Reading Strategies//Study Smart Study Less by Ana Mascara. All Rights Reserved. License Terms: Standard YouTube license.
- As you watch the video, make brief notes of key ideas, as well as any words or concepts you don't understand well.
- Next, take a few moments to reflect on the video. Consider questions like: What was the most memorable part of the video? What is one new piece of information you learned? What questions do you have about the video?
- Review your notes. If you do not understand all of the main points, watch the video a second time. You don't have to watch the whole thing again – it's okay to just review sections that address the specific questions you have.
- Finally, add to or revise your initial notes. Were you able to answer your unresolved questions? Can you list the most important "take-aways" from the video? In other words, what are two or thre things from this video that you want to remember?
Print vs. Online Reading
In an online educational environment, you're probably going to do more reading than listening. You may do some of your reading in printed form – say, an assigned novel or textbook – but some of it might also be online in the form of a webpage and forums. Reading online isn't the same as reading in print, so you should practice some strategies that will improve your online reading comprehension and speed. And some of the tactics you learn about here will help you with any kind of reading you might do, not just the stuff that's online.
So what do we mean when we say that reading print is different from reading online?
- First, when you read something – let's say, a book – that's been printed by a reputable publishing house, you can assume that the work is authoritative. The author had to be vetted by a publishing house and multiple editors, right? But when you read something online, it may have been written or posted by anybody. This means that you have to seriously evaluate the authority of the information you're reading. Pay attention to who was writing what you're reading – can you identify the author? What are their credentials?
- Second, in the print world, texts may include pictures, graphics, or other visual elements to supplement the author's writing. But in the digital realm, this supplementary material might also include hyperlinks, audio, and video, as well. This will fundamentally change the reading experience for you because online reading can be interactive in a way that a print book can't. An online environment allows you to work and play with content rather than passively absorb it.
- Finally, when you read in print, you generally read sequentially, from the first word to the last. Maybe you'll flip to an index or refer to a footnote, but otherwise the way you read is fairly consistent and straightforward. Online, however, you can be led quickly into an entirely new area of reading by clicking on links or related content. Have you ever been studying for class and fall down a Wikipedia rabbit hole while looking for unfamiliar terms? You might have started by investigating the French Revolution, but half an hour later you find yourself reading about the experimental jazz scene in 1970s New York. You can't really do that with a book.
The Why, What, How of Reading Comprehension
Now that you've heard about how reading online differs from reading print, you should know that this has some really practical consequences for reading comprehension – how to understand and apply what you're reading. Improving your online reading comprehension will save you time and frustration when you work on your assignments. You'll be able to understand your course subject matter better, and your performance on your quizzes and exams will improve.
Consider the "why, what, and how" of reading comprehension:
- Why? Why am I being asked to read this passage? In other words, what are the instructions my professor has given me?
- What? What am I supposed to get out of this passage? That is, what are the main concerns, questions, and points of the text? What do you need to remember for class?
- How? How will I remember what I just read? In most cases, this means taking notes and defining key terms.
When you keep the "why, what and how" of reading comprehension in the forefront of your mind while reading, your understanding of the material will improve drastically. It will only take a few minutes but it will not only help you remember what you've read, but it will also help you structure any notes that you might want to take.
Purpose Of Academic Reading
Casual reading across genres, from books and magazines to newspapers and blogs, is something students should be encouraged to do in their free time because it can be both educational and fun. In college, however, instructors generally expect students to read resources that have particular value in the context of a course. Why is academic reading beneficial?
- Information comes from reputable sources : Web sites and blogs can be a source of insight and information, but not all are useful as academic resources. They may be written by people or companies whose main purpose is to share an opinion or sell you something. Academic sources such as textbooks and scholarly journal articles, on the other hand, are usually written by experts in the field and have to pass stringent peer review requirements in order to get published.
- Learn how to form arguments : In most college classes except for creating writing, when instructors ask you to write a paper, they expect it to be argumentative in style. This means that the goal of the paper is to research a topic and develop an argument about it using evidence and facts to support your position. Since many college reading assignments (especially journal articles) are written in a similar style, you’ll gain experience studying their strategies and learning to emulate them.
- Exposure to different viewpoints : One purpose of assigned academic readings is to give students exposure to different viewpoints and ideas. For example, in an ethics class, you might be asked to read a series of articles written by medical professionals and religious leaders who are pro-life or pro-choice and consider the validity of their arguments. Such experience can help you wrestle with ideas and beliefs in new ways and develop a better understanding of how others’ views differ from your own.
Active Learning When Reading
Many instructors conduct their classes mainly through lectures. The lecture remains the most pervasive teaching format across the field of higher education. One reason is that the lecture is an efficient way for the instructor to control the content, organization, and pace of a presentation, particularly in a large group. However, there are drawbacks to this “information-transfer” approach, where the instructor does all the talking and the students quietly listen: student have a hard time paying attention from start to finish; the mind wanders. Also, current cognitive science research shows that adult learners need an opportunity to practice newfound skills and newly introduced content. Lectures can set the stage for that interaction or practice, but lectures alone don’t foster student mastery. While instructors typically speak 100–200 words per minute, students hear only 50–100 of them. Moreover, studies show that students retain 70 percent of what they hear during the first ten minutes of class and only 20 percent of what they hear during the last ten minutes of class.
Thus it is especially important for students in lecture-based courses to engage in active learning outside of the classroom. But it’s also true for other kinds of college courses—including the ones that have active learning opportunities in class. Why? Because college students spend more time working (and learning) independently and less time in the classroom with the instructor and peers. Also, much of one’s coursework consists of reading and writing assignments. How can these learning activities be active? The following are very effective strategies to help you be more engaged with, and get more out of, the learning you do outside the classroom:
- Write in your books : You can underline and circle key terms, or write questions and comments in the margins of your books. The writing serves as a visual aid for studying and makes it easier for you to remember what you’ve read or what you’d like to discuss in class. If you are borrowing a book or want to keep it unmarked so you can resell it later, try writing key words and notes on Post-its and sticking them on the relevant pages.
- Annotate a text : Annotations typically mean writing a brief summary of a text and recording the works-cited information (title, author, publisher, etc.). This is a great way to “digest” and evaluate the sources you’re collecting for a research paper, but it’s also invaluable for shorter assignments and texts, since it requires you to actively think and write about what you read. The activity, below, will give you practice annotating texts.
- Create mind maps : Mind maps are effective visual tools for students, as they highlight the main points of readings or lessons. Think of a mind map as an outline with more graphics than words. For example, if a student were reading an article about America’s First Ladies, she might write, “First Ladies” in a large circle in the center of a piece of paper. Connected to the middle circle would be lines or arrows leading to smaller circles with visual representations of the women discussed in the article. Then, these circles might branch out to even smaller circles containing the attributes of each of these women.
The following video discusses the process of creating mind maps further and shows how they can be a helpful strategy for active reading engagement:
Video: How to Use a Mind Map by Two-Point-Four. Rights Reserved. Standard YouTube license.
In addition to the strategies described above, the following are additional ways to engage in active reading and learning:
- Work when you are fully awake, and give yourself enough time to read a text more than once.
- Read with a pen or highlighter in hand, and underline or highlight significant ideas as you read (but only the significant ideas--overhighlighting can be counter-productive).
- Interact with the ideas in the margins (summarize ideas; ask questions; paraphrase difficult sentences; make personal connections; answer questions asked earlier; challenge the author; etc.).
-
As you read, keep the following in mind:
- What is the CONTEXT in which this text was written? (This writing contributes to what topic, discussion, or controversy? Context is bigger than this one written text.)
- Who is the intended AUDIENCE ? (There’s often more than one intended audience.)
- What is the author’s PURPOSE ? To entertain? To explain? To persuade? (There’s usually more than one purpose, and essays almost always have an element of persuasion.)
- How is this writing ORGANIZED ? Compare and contrast? Classification? Chronological? Cause and effect? (There’s often more than one organizational form.)
- What is the author’s TONE ? (What are the emotions behind the words? Are there places where the tone changes or shifts?)
- What TOOLS does the author use to accomplish her/his purpose? Facts and figures? Direct quotations? Fallacies in logic? Personal experience? Repetition? Sarcasm? Humor? Brevity?
- What is the author’s THESIS— the main argument or idea, condensed into one or two sentences?
- Foster an attitude of intellectual curiosity. You might not love all of the writing you’re asked to read and analyze, but you should have something interesting to say about it, even if that “something” is critical.
 Most of your writing assignments—from brief response papers to in-depth research projects—will depend on your understanding of course reading assignments or related readings you do on your own. And it is difficult, if not impossible, to write effectively about a text that you have not understood. Even when you do understand the reading, it can be hard to write about it if you do not feel personally engaged with the ideas discussed.
This section discusses strategies you can use to get the most out of your college reading assignments. These strategies fall into three broad categories:
- Planning strategies to help you manage your reading assignments.
- Comprehension strategies to help you understand the material.
- Active reading strategies to take your understanding to a higher and deeper level.
 Or found yourself skimming through a detailed memo from your boss five minutes before a crucial meeting? The first step in handling college reading successfully is planning. This involves both managing your time, and setting a clear purpose for your reading.
Managing Your Reading Time
You will learn more detailed strategies for time management in Section 1.4, but for now, focus on setting aside enough time for reading and breaking your assignments into manageable chunks. If you are assigned a seventy-page chapter to read for next week’s class, try not to wait until the night before to get started. Give yourself at least a few days and tackle one section at a time.
Your method for breaking up the assignment will depend on the type of reading. If the text is very dense and packed with unfamiliar terms and concepts, you may need to read no more than five or ten pages in one sitting so that you can truly understand and process the information. With more user-friendly texts, you will be able to handle longer sections—twenty to forty pages, for instance. And if you have a highly engaging reading assignment, such as a novel you cannot put down, you may be able to read lengthy passages in one sitting.
As the semester progresses, you will develop a better sense of how much time you need to allow for the reading assignments in different subjects. It also makes sense to preview each assignment well in advance to assess its difficulty level and to determine how much reading time to set aside.
Tip:
College instructors often set aside reserve readings for a particular course. These consist of articles, book chapters, or other texts that are not part of the primary course textbook. Copies of reserve readings are available through the university library, in print, or online. When you are assigned a reserve reading, download it ahead of time (and let your instructor know if you have trouble accessing it). Skim through it to get a rough idea of how much time you will need to read the assignment in full.
Setting a Purpose
The other key component of planning is setting a purpose. Knowing what you want to get out of a reading assignment helps you determine how to approach it and how much time to spend on it. This helps you stay focused, especially when you are tired and would rather relax.
Sometimes your purpose is simple. You might just need to understand the reading material well enough to discuss it intelligently in class the next day. However, your purpose will often go beyond that. For instance, you might also read to compare two texts, to formulate a personal response to a text, or to gather ideas for future research. Here are some questions to ask to help determine your purpose:
-
How did my instructor frame the assignment?
Often your instructor will tell you what they expect you to get out of the reading:
- Read Chapter 2 and come to class prepared to discuss current teaching practices in elementary math.
- Read these two articles and compare Smith’s and Jones’s perspectives on the 2010 health care reform bill.
- Read Chapter 5 and think about how you could apply these guidelines to running your own business.
- How deeply do I need to understand the reading? If you are majoring in computer science and you are assigned to read Chapter 1, “Introduction to Computer Science,” it is safe to assume the chapter presents fundamental concepts that you will be expected to master. However, for some reading assignments, you may be expected to form a general understanding but not necessarily master the content. Again, pay attention to how your instructor presents the assignment.
- How does this assignment relate to other course readings or to concepts discussed in class? Your instructor may make some of these connections explicitly, but if not, try to draw connections on your own. (Needless to say, it helps to take detailed notes-- when in class and when you read.)
- How might I use this text again in the future? If you are assigned to read about a topic that has always interested you, your reading assignment might help you develop ideas for a future research paper. Some reading assignments provide valuable tips or summaries worth bookmarking for future reference. Think about what you can take from the reading that will stay with you.
Improving Your Comprehension
You have blocked out time for your reading assignments and set a purpose for reading. Now comes the challenge: making sure you actually understand all the information you are expected to process. Some of your reading assignments will be fairly straightforward. Others, however, will be longer or more complex, so you will need to plan how to handle them.
For any expository writing—that is, nonfiction, informational writing—your first comprehension goal is to identify the main points and relate any details to these main points. Because college-level texts can be challenging, you will also need to monitor your reading comprehension. That is, you will need to stop periodically and assess how well you understand what you are reading. Finally, you can improve your comprehension by determining which strategies work best for you and putting those strategies into practice.
Responding, Not Reacting, to Texts
As stated earlier in this chapter, actively responding to difficult texts, posing questions, and analyzing ideas presented in them is the key to successful reading. The goal of an active reader is to engage in a conversation with the text that he or she is reading. In order to fulfill this goal, it is important to understand the difference between reacting to the text and responding to it.
Reacting to a text is often done on an emotional—rather than on an intellectual—level. It is often quick and shallow. For example, if we encounter a text that advances arguments with which we strongly disagree, it is natural to dismiss those ideas out of hand as flawed and unworthy of our attention. Doing so would be reacting to the text based only on emotions and on our pre-determined opinions about its arguments. It is easy to see that reacting in this way does not take the reader any closer to understanding the text. A wall of disagreement that existed between the reader and the text before the reading continues to exist after the reading.
Responding to a text, on the other hand, requires a careful study of the ideas presented and the arguments advanced in it. Critical readers who possess this skill are not willing to simply reject or accept the arguments presented in the text after the first reading right away. To continue with our example from the preceding paragraph, a reader who responds to a controversial text rather than reacting to it might apply several of the following strategies before forming and expressing an opinion about that text.
Writing in the Reading Process
If you want to become a critical reader, you need to get into the habit of writing as you read. You also need to understand that complex texts often require multiple close readings. During the second and any subsequent readings, however, you will need to write, and write a lot. The following are some critical reading and writing techniques which active readers employ as they work to create meanings from texts they read.
Overall Strategies
- Read the text several times, taking notes, asking questions, and underlining key places. Look for “starring sentences,” or those phrases or passages that use language in creative, memorable ways to underline key points.
- Study why the author of the text advances ideas, arguments, and convictions, so different from the reader’s own. For example, is the text’s author advancing an agenda of some social, political, religious, or economic group of which he or she is a member?
- Study the purpose and the intended audience of the text.
- Study the history of the argument presented in the text as much as possible. For example, modern texts on highly controversial issues such as the death penalty, abortion, or euthanasia often use past events, court cases, and other evidence to advance their claims. Knowing the history of the problem will help you to construct a more comprehensive meaning of a difficult text.
- Study the social, political, and intellectual context in which the text was written. Good writers use social conditions to advance controversial ideas. Compare the context in which the text was written to the one in which it is read. For example, have social conditions changed, thus invalidating the argument or making it stronger?
- Consider the author’s (and your own) previous knowledge of the issue at the center of the text and your experiences with it. How might such knowledge or experience have influenced your reception of the argument?
Taking all these steps will help you to move away from simply reacting to a text and towards constructing an informed and critical response to it
Reading Responses
Writing students are often asked to write one or two page exploratory responses to readings, but they are not always clear on the purpose of these responses and on how to approach writing them. By writing reading responses, you are continuing the important work of critical reading, which you began when you underlined interesting passages and took notes on the margins. You are extending the meaning of the text by creating your own commentary to it and perhaps even branching off into creating your own argument inspired by your reading. Your teacher may give you a writing prompt or ask you to come up with your own topic for a response. In either case, realize that reading responses are supposed to be exploratory, designed to help you delve deeper into the text you are reading than note-taking, or underlining, will allow.
When writing extended responses to the reading, it is important to keep one thing in mind, and that is the purpose of writing a response. The purpose of these exploratory responses, which are often rather informal, is not to produce a complete argument, (with an introduction, thesis, body, and conclusion). It is not to impress your classmates and your teacher with “big” words and complex sentences. On the contrary, it is to help
you
understand the text you are working with, at a deeper level. The verb “explore” means to investigate something by looking at it more closely. Investigators get leads, some of which are fruitful and useful and some of which are dead-ends. As you investigate and create the meaning of the text you are working with, do not be afraid to take different directions with your reading response. In fact, it is important to resist the urge to make conclusions or think that you have found out everything about your reading. When it comes to exploratory reading responses, a lack of closure and the presence of more leads at the end of the piece is usually a good thing. Remember to always check with your teacher for standards and the format of reading responses.
Try the following guidelines to write a successful response to a reading:
- Remember your goal—exploration. The purpose of writing a response is to construct the meaning of a difficult text. It is not to get the job done as quickly as possible and in as few words as possible.
- As you write, “talk back to the text.” Make comments, ask questions, and elaborate on complex thoughts. This part of the writing becomes much easier if, prior to writing your response, you had read the assignment with a pen in hand and marked important places in the reading.
- If your teacher provides a response prompt, make sure you understand it. Then try to answer the questions in the prompt to the best of your ability. While you are doing that, do not be afraid of bringing in related texts, examples, or experiences. Active reading is about making connections, which will help the reader understand the text better.
- While your primary goal is exploration and questioning, make sure that others can understand your response. While it is OK to be informal in your response, make every effort to write in clear, error-free language.
- Involve your audience in the discussion of the reading by asking questions, expressing opinions, and connecting to responses made by others.
Talk about the Text
In addition to talking about the readings in class, talk with classmates, or a tutor, outside of class. This can help you clarify and deepen your understanding of the text.
Get into the habit of composing extended responses to readings. Writing students are often asked to write one or two-page exploratory responses to readings, but they are not always clear on the purpose of these responses and on how to approach writing them. By writing reading responses, you are continuing the important activities of critical reading, which you began when you compiled notes on the salient points of the text you are analyzing. You are extending the meaning of the text by creating your own commentary to it and perhaps even branching off into creating your own argument inspired by your reading. Your teacher may give you a writing prompt, or ask you to come up with your own topic for a response. In either case, realize that reading responses are supposed to be exploratory; they are designed to help you delve deeper into the text you are reading than mere note-taking or underlining will allow. Sometimes, parts of your reading responses may wind up in an essay you write.
Monitoring Your Comprehension
Finding the main idea and paying attention to text features as you read will help you figure out what you know. Just as important, however, is being able to figure out what you do not know and developing a strategy to deal with it.
Textbooks often include comprehension questions in the margins or at the end of a section or chapter. As you read, stop occasionally to answer these questions, on paper or, in your head. Use the questions and your answers to identify sections you may need to reread, read more carefully, or ask your instructor about later.
Even when a text does not have built-in comprehension features, you can actively monitor your own comprehension. Try these strategies, adapting them as needed to suit different kinds of texts:
- Summarize. At the end of each section, pause to summarize -- in your own words -- the main points in a few sentences. If you have trouble doing so, revisit that section.
- Ask and answer questions. When you begin reading a section, try to identify two to three questions you should be able to answer after you finish it. Write down your questions and use them to test yourself on the reading. If you cannot answer a question, try to determine why. Is the answer buried in that section of reading but just not coming across to you? Or do you expect to find the answer in another part of the reading?
- Do not read in a vacuum. Look for opportunities to discuss the reading with your classmates. Many instructors set up online discussion forums or blogs specifically for that purpose. Participating in these discussions can help you determine whether your understanding of the main points is the same as your peers’.
These discussions can also serve as a reality check. If everyone in the class struggled with the reading, it may be exceptionally challenging. If it was a breeze for everyone but you, you could seek out your instructor for help.
Exercise 1
Choose any text that that you have been assigned to read for one of your college courses. In your notes, complete the following tasks:
- Summarize the main points of the text in two/ three sentences.
- Write down two or three questions about the text that you can bring up during class discussion.
TIP
Students are often reluctant to seek help. They sometimes feel that doing that marks them as slow, weak, or demanding. The truth is, every learner occasionally struggles. If you are sincerely trying to keep up with the course reading but feel like you are in over your head, seek out help. Speak up in class, schedule a meeting with your instructor, or visit your university learning center for assistance.
Deal with the problem as early in the semester as you can. Instructors respect students who are proactive about their own learning. Most instructors will work hard to help students who make the effort to help themselves.
Contributors
- Adapted from EDUC 1300: Effective Learning Strategies . Provided by: Lumen Learning. Public Domain: No Known Copyright
- Adapted from Writing for Success . Provided by: The Saylor Foundation. L CC-NC-SA 3.0 .
This page most recently updated on June 5, 2020.


3.3.4: End Notes
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Baime. E. (2018). Fundamentals of tort law . Retrieved from: https://nationalparalegal.edu/Fundam...lsTortLaw.aspx .
Cornell Law School. (n.d.). Tort . Retrieved from: https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/tort .
Kionka, E. J. (2013). Torts (5th ed.). St. Paul, MN: West Academic Publishing . Retrieved from: https://lscontent.westlaw.com/images...t/Torts5th.pdf .
Baime. E. (2018). Fundamentals of tort law . Retrieved from: https://nationalparalegal.edu/Fundam...lsTortLaw.aspx .
CCBC Legal Studies (n.d.) Strict liability . Retrieved from: https://ccbclegalstudiesbusinesslaw....ict-liability/ .
Kionka, E. J. (2013). Torts (5th ed.). St. Paul, MN: West Academic Publishing . Retrieved from: https://lscontent.westlaw.com/images...t/Torts5th.pdf .
The OpenStax name, OpenStax logo, OpenStax book covers, OpenStax CNX name, and OpenStax CNX logo are not subject to the creative commons license and may not be reproduced without the prior and express written consent of Rice University. For questions regarding this license, please contact<EMAIL_ADDRESS>. Download for free at https://openstax.org/details/books/b...w-i-essentials .


7.7: Complications Related to Parenteral Medications and Management of Complications
Safe medication administration requires special attention to transition points where medication errors are more likely to occur. For example, many errors occur in the ordering and preparing phase. Many parenteral medications are considered high-alert medications because of the potential significant harm when used in error. Therefore, these medications require special safeguards to reduce the risk of error. ISMP (2014) lists IV medications classified as high alert. All parenteral routes of insulin (SC/IV) are considered high alert (ISMP, 2014). Specific safeguards may include:
- Know the safe dosage range for each medication you administer.
- Label all medications that are prepared away from the bedside and not in the original container.
- Refer to the ISMP lists for high-alert medications: do not crush, do not use any error-prone abbreviations or look-/sound-alike drugs and symbols.
- Never assume an ordered medication dose is the correct medication or correct dose. Know your medications.
In addition, complications may occur if medication is injected incorrectly, if incorrect equipment (needle or syringe) is used to prepare the medication, or if an error occurs in preparing (calculation, selection of the med), administration, or post-assessment of the patient receiving the medication. Additional complications may include nerve or tissue damage, medication being absorbed too fast or too slow, wrong location for the medication, pain, bleeding, or a sterile abscess (Perry et al., 2014).
Despite safe medication administration practices, an adverse reaction may happen to a patient for a variety of complex reasons and contributing factors (College of Nurses of Ontario, 2015). An adverse reaction, also known as an adverse event , is an undesirable effect of any health product such as prescription and non-prescription pharmaceuticals, vaccines, serums, and blood-derived products; cells, tissues, and organs; disinfectants; and radiopharmaceuticals. An adverse reaction may occur under normal use and conditions of the product. Reactions may be evident within minutes or years after exposure to the product and may range from minor reactions, like a skin rash, to serious and life-threatening events such as a heart attack or liver damage (Health Canada, 2012). For example, some IV bolus medications may cause a sudden drop in blood pressure or heart rate, or hives may result.
Table 7.11 lists five steps to manage an adverse reaction.
| Table 7.11 Managing Adverse Reactions to IV Medications | |||
|
Step |
Additional Information |
||
| 1. | Immediately stop the injection (or infusion) of the medication. Keep syringe of medication for further investigation of the reaction. | ||
| 2. | Assess and monitor vital signs. Alert other members of the health care team and ask for assistance as required. Provide reassurance to the patient about the event. | ||
| 3. | Notify responsible health care provider. | ||
| 4. | Perform interventions (CPR, O 2 support) as required. Ensure patient has a patent IV site for any required medications to manage the adverse reaction. | ||
| 5. | Document and report the event through PSLS or agency-specified reporting system. | ||
| Data source: Alberta Health Services, 2009; Clayton et al., 2010; College of Nurses of Ontario, 2015; Health Canada, 2012 |
Complications of Intravenous Medications
Complications may result from direct, continuous, or secondary IV medications. The complications are not specific to one medication. It is important for the health care provider to know which adverse event may occur with each individual medication. For example, the administration of an IV opioid (narcotic) medication could result in respiratory depression. Table 7.12 provides a list of possible complications and related interventions.
| Table 7.12 Possible Complications and Related Interventions | |||
|
Complications |
Related Interventions |
||
| Speed shock : A systemic reaction caused by the rapid injection of a medication into the circulation, resulting in toxic levels of medication in the plasma. Symptoms can include cardiac arrest, flushed face, headache, irregular pulse, shock, syncope, and tightness in the chest. | Use a peripheral IV site, if possible, to allow for maximum hemodilution before the medication reaches the heart/brain. Stay with the patient and observe for symptoms or changes in vital signs and level of consciousness during and after administration. Stop the injection immediately if the patient develops signs or symptoms of circulatory (drop in BP), respiratory (dyspnea), or neurological (decrease in LOC) deterioration during administration. | ||
| IV medication is incompatible with IV fluids: Results in chemical or physical changes in their composition. Precipitates may form, colour may change (e.g., IV fluid becomes cloudy in the IV tubing), or the change may not be visible. Therapeutic effect of the medication may be reduced, obliterated, or potentiated. Toxic substances may be formed. |
Always follow the guidelines in the PDTM. Do not mix medications in one syringe and only give one medication at a time. Never add medications to blood, blood products, or total parenteral nutrition. To avoid mixing of medications, ensure IV tubing and injection ports are flushed adequately between medication administrations.
Stop the IV medication and flush with normal saline. If unable to give an IV medication due to incompatibles, start a new IV site or a new IV system (prime a new primary and secondary line) to administer the medication. Document changes and notify physician. |
||
|
IV site shows signs of phlebitis or irritation: Injection of medication into a vein may cause inflammation or roughening of the endothelial lining, which can result in thrombus formation. Medication may also be inadvertently injected into surrounding tissue, resulting in tenderness, pain, tissue necrosis, or nerve damage.
Septic thrombophlebitis can result from poor aseptic technique. |
Monitor for signs and symptoms, such as redness, swelling, pain, blanching, and streaking. If these signs are present, stop infusion immediately. Discontinue access device and restart in another site. If required, provide extravasation care as per agency policy. | ||
| Data source: Alberta Health Services, 2009; Lynn, 2011 |
Reporting Medication Errors
Medication errors are the leading cause of preventable errors in Canada (ISMP Canada, 2014). A medication incident is “any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm while the medication is in the control of the healthcare professional, patient, or consumer. Medication incidents may be related to professional practice, drug products, procedures, and systems, and include prescribing, order communication, product labelling / packaging / nomenclature, compounding, dispensing, distribution, administration, education, monitoring, and use.” (ISMP Canada, 2014, p.8)
Most of the critical incidents reported to the ISMP occurred during administration of a medication, with the wrong quantity of medication. The top five medications were hydromorphone, desmopressin, epinephrine, heparin, and morphine. Opioids continue to be the top medication classes associated with harmful incidents reported. Most of the opioid-related deaths involved overdoses, overlapping drug toxicities, administration of opioids to people who should not have received them, and use of hydromorphone (ISMP Canada, 2014).
Overall, the top three contributing factors were communication, independent check processes, and insufficient knowledge (ISMP Canada, 2014). Table 7.13 lists areas for improvement to prevent IV medication errors.
| Table 7.13 Areas for Improvement to Prevent IV Medication Errors | |
| Area | Additional Information |
| Monitoring of patient after medication administration |
Be diligent in post-assessments of all IV medications. However, be particularly aware of high-alert medications, such as insulin, opioids, and anticoagulants.
Many incident reports state that timely observation by a health care provider or family member prevents a bad outcome. Many overdoses can be reversed if caught in a timely manner. |
| IV infusion pump errors |
Errors can include:
To decrease patient harm, hospitals need additional funding to purchase more IV pumps. |
| Health care technology |
Computer-prescribed order entry (CPOE), automated dispensing cabinets (ADC), and other tools seek to improve patient safety and decrease errors.
Protocols and force functioning need to be developed to minimize potential errors and to identify potential gaps in the system process. |
| Reporting, analysis, and knowledge translation |
The collection and analysis of incident reports is the backbone to further improvements. Without a robust system, there cannot be the identification of contributing factors to medication incidents.
Always report near misses, adverse reactions, and medication errors to ensure investigation and improvement is initiated. In addition, shared learning and strategies are vital for safer health care. |
| Data source: Clayton et al., 2010; ISMP Canada, 2014 |
Critical Thinking Exercises
- List three types of complications and preventive measures for each one.
- Name two strategies to reduce the risk of harm from high-alert medications, and consider a method of sharing your strategies with your colleagues.


4.2: How do magnet and charter schools represent new visions of public education?
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By: jyaeg001
Learning Objectives
- Define the terms "magnet school" and "charter school."
- Explain how the school populations of magnet and charter schools are chosen.
- List the pros and cons of magnet and charter schools.
- Summarize what the research about these two forms of education reveals.
- Explain the concerns that teachers and parents should have about magnet and charter schools.
Introduction
In the early 1980s, the National Commission on Excellence in Education issued a report card for the public schools of the United States that showed a sharp decline in students’ achievement scores (Noll, 2005). As a response to the news that the United States was no longer a leading country in preparing its youth for the future, educational reforms were initiated in many public school districts. Magnet schools and charter schools were two approaches that stirred excitement among parents and many educators. Exactly what are these alternative forms of education termed magnet and charter schools? Who is allowed to attend magnet and charter schools? What do proponents and critics say about magnet and charter schools? According to the research, how to magnet and charter schools compare with traditional public schools and what are the implications of the research findings for parents and teachers?
What is a magnet school?
A magnet school is designed to do just what its name suggests: attract students. Within any student population, there are children with a variety of interests and career aspirations. Magnet schools offer specialized curriculums that appeal to particular student groups, such as young people who want to study in depth such areas as foreign languages, drama, computer technology, or advanced sciences. These schools are under the umbrella of a larger school district and may even be housed in an existing school that also offers a traditional curriculum (Villaverde, 2003). Magnet schools receive at least part of their funding from the sponsoring public school district. In addition, because magnet schools can assist in attracting racially mixed student populations from different socio-economic backgrounds, federal government grants related to desegregation are available to help support the costs of some schools (Villaverde, 2003).
Who is allowed to attend a magnet school?
The student population of magnet schools can be chosen in more than one way. The enrollment process often begins with the parents of an interested student filling out an application. Some districts choose students solely on the basis of a lottery that includes applicants from different income levels, neighborhoods, ethnic backgrounds, gender, and races. Other districts also have application requirements related to minimum academic achievement levels. Parents list their first, second, and third choice for magnet school attendance on their applications. Waiting lists are compiled for those students who do not receive immediate placement. With these restrictions, free choice is more accurately termed controlled choice (Archbald, 2004).
What is a charter school?
A charter school is a “publicly funded school that is typically governed by a group or organization under a contract or charter with the state…In return for funding and autonomy, the charter school must meet accountability standards” (National Center for Education Statistics, 2007, par.2). The charters list the school’s goals, details about the programs offered, specifics about student body selection, and the criteria that will be used for assessment (Buckley and Schneider, 2007). The charters have time constraints that typically range from three to five years. At the end of that time period, the charter-granting overseers, such as state officials, make a continuance decision based on how the terms of the charter have been met. A charter school may be founded by teachers or administrators within a school district, by a group of parents, or even by a private or community organization. Federal grants are available to assist with the initial costs, and funds also come from the school districts whose students are being served by the charter school (Peterson, 2003). Like magnet schools, most charter schools are focused on providing more effective, innovative programs than parents are offered in traditional public schools (Buckley and Schneider, 2007).
Who is allowed to attend a charter school?
Since charter schools receive state and federal funding, they need to meet the same diversity requirements as public schools and “reflect the social/ethnic makeup of their district” (Noll, 2005, p. 226). There is an application process that may require meeting certain other criteria, such as passing an audition if the charter school has a curriculum that emphasizes theatrical arts. Many schools have no restrictions and often choose the student population on the basis of lottery outcomes. Using the lottery is a way to fairly decide who gains admittance to these schools with much smaller enrollments than most public schools (Noll, 2005).
What do proponents say about magnet and charter schools?
1. Proponents of magnet and charter schools believe that these schools provide much-desired options for parents who are dissatisfied with the job that public schools are doing. Magnet and charter schools are especially appealing to those parents whose children are from lower socio-economic backgrounds and have been placed in schools with below average achievement statistics (Peterson 2003).
2. Magnet and charter schools encourage competition and make public schools more aware of and more involved in improving their curriculums, teachers’ performance, and administration procedures (Villaverde, 2003).
3. When compared with most traditional public schools, both magnet and charter schools offer better student-teacher ratios and smaller, more personal school environments that help prevent student dropouts and capitalize on students’ interests (Noll 2005).
Note
The director of the organization called Friends of Choice in Urban Schools stated about alternative schools that they “provide choices for parents, opportunities for teachers, and better schooling right now to some kids, rather than making them wait for yet another system-wide overhaul” (Buckley and Schneider, 2007, p. 285).
What do critics say about magnet and charter schools?
1. These special schools can drain school districts’ budgets and result in districts having less money to meet the needs of a much larger percentage of students (Peterson, 2003).
2. Magnet and charter schools have failed to attract diverse student populations that match the composition of the communities’ school districts, and the existing diversity requirements are not being enforced (Archbald, 2004).
3. The average achievement scores of students in magnet and charter schools are not higher than those of traditional public schools (Buckley and Schneider, 2007).
What does the research reveal about magnet and charter schools?
1. Use of public funds and effects on school districts : A Western Michigan University study (1998) concluded that "charter schools may not be living up to their promise of educational innovation and more effective use of public money” (Noll, 2005, p. 227). An extensive UCLA study of California charter schools (1998) in ten school districts found “no evidence that charter schools can do more with less” (Noll, 2005. p. 226). Marc Bernstein, a New York school district superintendent, explains that when money is taken from public school districts for the operation of charter and magnet schools, “there are but two choices: raise taxes or reduce programming. Either choice has serious consequences for public education” (Noll, 2005, p. 228).
2. Diversity of student populations in magnet and charter schools : A 2003 study of magnet schools across the nation was reported in Sociology of Education . The researchers examined the effect of magnet school choice on the socio-economic stratification in school districts with magnet school as compared with the socio-economic stratification in school districts without magnet schools. The study did not find a positive growth in the socio-economic redistribution of students as a result of offering magnet school choices (Archbald, 2004). Similar research findings of charter schools were reported earlier in a Minneapolis study (1997) and a Texas study (2002). The reason for this failure of specialty schools to redistribute students more equitably along socio-economic lines was believed to be due to parents’ reluctance to have their children bussed long distances and due to parents’ reluctance to “face the prospect of their child being in a small minority…parents were likely to sort themselves along racial/ethnic lines” (Buckley and Schneider, 2007, p. 122). A 2004 study of magnet schools reported in the Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk found that magnet schools did not significantly affect racial and class segregation because many magnet schools have entrance requirements that can only be met by students from higher income areas (Neild, 2004).
3. Achievement : Magnet and charter schools typically attract higher achieving students, so it could be predicted that achievement scores of students attending these schools would be higher than students in traditional public schools. However, a November 2004 report by the National Assessment Governing Board concluded from its testing of elementary students in public school and elementary students in charter schools that the average achievement scores of those students enrolled in charter schools were lower than those students in public schools (National Education Association, 2008). The UCLA study of seventeen California charter schools (1998), mentioned above, also did not find an increase in academic scores (Noll, 2005). Finally, in 2006, the Public Policy Institute of California studied the magnet and charter schools in the city of San Diego and concluded that “on the whole, there was no systematic improvement or deterioration in test scores from participating in a choice program” (Betts and Rice, 2006, p. 184).
Conclusion: What are the considerations for parents and teachers in relation to magnet and charter schools?
There are success stories among the many magnet and charter schools started across the nation, but the overall research findings concerning average achievement levels are not favorable to these school reforms. Parents may want to consider using their influence to encourage school districts to offer innovative educational programs for all students, rather than creating or encouraging separate schools. Teachers may need to voice their concerns about the financial resources that are siphoned from the school districts for these unproven schools that serve a small proportion of the community’s children. This outflow of tax dollars affects the curriculums that public schools can afford. Both parents and teachers should be concerned about the fact that specialty schools can further segregate children along racial, socio-economic, and ethnic lines since school choice can often mean choosing to attend a school with students of the same backgrounds. Rather than creating the diversity that was intended by these school reforms, school choice could actually foster the growth of the very prejudices that a free public education for all was meant to eliminate.
Exercise \(\PageIndex{1}\)
1. How do magnet and charter schools differ?
a. Charter schools have their own governing documents that specify assessment criteria.
b. Charter schools receive no public funding.
c. Magnet and charter school do not differ.
d. Charter schools always require IQ and achievement scores for admittance while magnet schools are always open to anyone in the district.
2. What does the research reveal about the diversity of magnet and charter school student populations?
a. The diversity meets existing stated requirements.
b. There is no diversity
c. The diversity of magnet and charter schools is identical with the school systems in the area.
d. The diversity in many charter and magnet schools does not match the diversity of the school systems in which they are located.
3. If you were a parent facing the choice of placing your child in an existing charter school, what question would the research findings lead you to ask the charter school principal in order to safeguard your child?
a. What recreational programs are offered for my child?
b. How many teachers are employed by this school?
c. How do achievement levels of this charter school compare with the achievement levels of the existing public schools?
d. Are the parental monthly payments automatically deducted or is a tuition bill sent?
4. If the school district where you were working planned to open a charter school, what question would the research findings lead you to ask at the school board budget meeting?
a. Will the charter school have penalties for uniform dress code violations?
b. What career training will the charter school offer students?
c. How will the district's administrators make sure that the charter school follows all the rules and regulations of the school district?
d. How will the loss of money to this new charter school's operation impact the current school district's programs?
- Answer
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1. a
2. d
3. c
4.d
References
Archbald, D. (2004). School choice: magnet schools and the liberation model. Sociology of Education , 77 (4), 283-310.
Betts, J. and Rice, L. (2006). Does School Choice work: Effects on Student Integration and Achievement . San Diego, CA: Public Policy Institute of California.
Buckley, J. and Schneider, M. (2007). Charter Schools: Hope or Hype? Princeton, NJ: Princeton University.
National Center for Education Statistics. (2007). Contexts of elementary and secondary education: school choice. Retrieved September 14, 2008 from nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/2007/section4/indicator32.
National Education Association. (2008). Charter schools. Retrieved September 15, 2008 from www.nea.org/charter/index.html
Neild, R. (2004). The effects of magnet schools on neighborhood high schools: an examination of achievement among entering freshmen. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 9 (1), 1-21.
Noll, J. (2005). Taking Sides: Educational Issues. Dubuque, IA: McGraw-Hill/Dushkin.
Peterson, P. (2003). The Future of School Choice . Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution.
Villaverde, L. (2003). Contemporary Education Issues: Secondary Schools. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.


21.10: Polyamides and Polyesters- Step-Growth Polymers
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Objectives
After completing this section, you should be able to
- write an equation to represent the formation of nylon 66 from adipic acid and hexamethylenediamine.
- write an equation to represent the formation of nylon 6 from caprolactam.
- predict the structure of the step‑growth polymer formed from the reaction of two given monomers.
- identify the monomers needed to prepare a step‑growth polymer of a given structure.
- write an equation to describe the formation of a polyester, such as poly(ethylene terephthalate), from a given diol and diester.
- write an equation to describe the formation of a polycarbonate from a carbonate and a bisphenol.
Key Terms
Make certain that you can define, and use in context, the key terms below.
- chain‑growth polymer
- polyamide
- polyester
- step‑growth polymer
Study Notes
You may wish to review chain‑growth polymerization in Section 8.10 and Section 14.6. In this section we discuss another important class of polymerization kknow as step‑growth polymerization.
As you can see from the equation given in the discussion on forming condensation polymers, Dacron is formed from two monomers, one of which possesses two carboxylate groups and the other two hydroxyl groups.
It is also possible to form a polyester using two monomers that each possesse one carboxyl group and one hydroxyl group. An example is the polymer formed between lactic acid and glycolic acid. This polymer has been used to produce absorbable staples that provide surgeons with a convenient method of closing incisions made during operations on the bladder or intestines, or during hysterectomies. Two advantages of this polyester in such applications are, first, that it begins to hydrolyze in the body after six to eight weeks, and then, that the products of the hydrolysis are both compounds normally present in the body.
Step-Growth Polymerizations
Step-growth and chain-growth are two broad classes of polymerization methods. Sections 8.11 and 14.7 discussed how chain-growth polymers usually start with a single alkene containing monomer, which is unreactive until an initiator is added. The initiator converts one monomer molecule into a reactive intermediate (radical, cation, anion) which is capable of reacting with another monomer forming a C-C bond and creating a new reactive intermediate. This reactive intermediate reacts with another monomer and the process is repeated as a chain reaction to form a polymer.
The process of step-growth polymerizations are fundamentally different than in chain-growth. In step-growth polymerizations, monomers are generally linked by a carbon-heteroatom bond (C-O & C-N) formed in non-sequential steps. Often, the reactions used to link these monomers include multiple nucleophilic acyl substitutions. Step-growth polymerizations usually use two different monomers, neither of which would undergo polymerization on its own. The two monomers are multifuntional and complementary to each other, such that each provides the other with a reactive partner. In this section, we will be focusing on monomers which are difunctional , meaning they contain two of the same reactive functional group. A step-growth polymerization starts with two complementary functional groups on different monomers reacting to form a dimer. Because both monomers were difunctional, each retains a reactive group and can react with additional complementary monomers.
In fact the difuctionality of the monomers, allows step-growth polymers to grow in two directions at once. First, two complementary monomers react with each other to form a dimer. Assuming that monomers react at roughly similar rates, when one end of the dimer reacts again it will likely find another dimer and form a tetramer. Then when the tetramer goes to react again it will most likely find another tetramer and form an octamer. This process is repeated allowing the polymer to grow in two directions at the same time.
Virtually all fibers are made from some form of polymer. In particular, silk and wool are composed of a naturally occurring protein polymer. The monomers of proteins are called amino acid residues . These residues are connected by amide linkages which are also called peptide bonds . Many of the early efforts of polymer chemistry were to artificially create fibers which mimicked the properties of silk and wool.
Polyamides
The first fully synthetic polymer fiber, nylon-6,6, was produced in 1938 by the company DuPont. The lead chemist of DuPont's work was Wallace H. Carothers, who reasoned that the properties of silk could be mimicked by constructing a polymer chain created with repeating amide bonds, just like the proteins in silk. Nylon-6,6 was created by first reacting 1,6-hexanedioic acid (adipic acid) and 1,6-hexanediamine to give a salt which was then heated creating multiple amide bonds through nucleophilic acyl substitution. The product of this particular reaction is a polyamide called nylon-6,6. The numbers of the name indicate how many carbons are contained in each monomer. The first “6” stands for the number of carbons in the diamine monomer while the second number indicated the number of carbons in the dicarboxylic acid. Simply by varying the number of carbons in each monomer, a wide variety of nylon polymers can be made .
Nylons are among the most widely used synthetic fibers—for example, they are used in ropes, sails, carpets, clothing, tires, brushes, and parachutes. Known for their high strength and abrasion resistance, nylons can be molded into blocks for use in electrical equipment, gears, bearings, and valves. The strength of nylon fibers comes, in part, from their ability to form strong hydrogen bonding intermolecular forces with each other in much the same fashion as proteins.
Polyesters
Esterfication, via nucleophilic acyl substitutions, can also be used to form the primary linkages in step-growth polymers.  After the initial reaction, the ester product contains a free (unreacted) carboxyl group at one end and a free alcohol group at the other. Further esterification using a step-growth polymerization, produces a polyester. The most important polyester, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), is made from the reaction of 1,4-benzenedicarboxylic (terephthalic acid) and 1,2-ethanediol (ethylene glycol) monomers.
Polyester molecules make excellent fibers and are used in many fabrics. A knitted polyester tube, which is biologically inert, can be used in surgery to repair or replace diseased sections of blood vessels. PET is used to make bottles for soda and other beverages. It is also formed into films called Mylar. When magnetically coated, Mylar tape is used in audio- and videocassettes.
Polycarbonates
Beyond carboxylic acid derivatives, virtually any reaction which involves reactive species on two different molecules can be used to perform a step-growth polymerization.  A carbonate acts like a double ester and can undergo a type of double transesterification reaction with two alcohols to form a new carbonate containing compound.
In effect, a carbonate is difunctional and can be reacted with a diol to form polymers containing repeated carbonate groups in their structure called polycarbonates. An example of a polycarbonate is the polymer, Lexan, which is created when diphenyl carbonate and bisphenol A (a diol) are reacted together.
Bisphenol (BPA), primarily used to make polycarbonate, is one of the highest-volume chemicals produced in the world, with over six billion pounds made each year. Because polycarbonate is used to make plastic bottles, the lining for food cans, and the lining for beverage cans there has been much concern about trace amounts of BPA leaching from the containers and being ingested. A study conducted in 2003 and 2004 by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention found trace amounts BPA in the tissues of 93% of people in the United States. Consequently, this has led to many beverage companies switching to non-polycarbonate polymers.
When drawing the polymer product of a step-growth polymerization, it is important to first identify the reaction which forms the repetitive linkage between monomers. In this case, the reaction is anucleophilic acyl substitution btween a carboxylic acid and an amine to form an amide. In total, the bracket structure of a polymer shows two versions of the linkage formation. The first is clearly shows connecting the monomers to form the dimer making up the repeating unit in the polymer. The second version involves bonds going out of the bracket and represents how the linkage repeats throughout the polymer.
1) The connect two monomers to make a dimer using the indicated reaction.
2) Beak the same bonds as before ecepptt the bonds for the final connection will be shown going away from the dimer.
3) Place brackets around the dimer and put an italicized lower case "n" in the lower right.
Example \(\PageIndex{1}\)
Solution
Exercises
1)
2)
Solutions
1)
2)