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Throughout the world, today's students are being characterized as digital natives, the "net generation." This twenty-first-century student cohort is adept at multi-tasking and at using a variety of tools and resources including electronic search engines, blogs, wikis, visual images, videos, gaming platforms, and social networking. Current estimates suggest that teenagers spend an average of 30 hours a week online or in networking activities. They co-create knowledge, learn through active participation, exhibit a growing distaste for traditional transmission of information educational systems, and are anxious to communicate with their global peers. (Contains 7 notes.)

Highlights 12 "Rs" of substitute teaching, which create a conceptual framework that reflects both the professional demands and the practical realities of substitute teaching. The 12 Rs are: routines; responsibility; reasonableness; resilience; resourcefulness; retreat; research; respect; reward; readiness; relevance; and reflection. (SM)

(2011) Journal of Nursing Management 277-286 To identify the facilitators and barriers for health-care organizations to sustain Magnet Recognition, the exemplar of a professional practice environment and quality care. Recognition as a Magnet Hospital is the gold standard for acknowledging excellence in nursing. However, limited evidence exists to inform nursing management practices for sustainability. This qualitative study was conducted using a national convenience sample of 15 Chief Nursing Officers of Magnet Recognized hospitals in the USA. Key macrosystem facilitators included executive management and leadership themes about quality, people, education, and the nurse executive's commitment and intent. Barriers were executive management turnover and financial challenges. Infrastructure supports and resources for empowerment and quality and unit leadership practices were found to be essential for quality outcomes. The key theme at the microsystem level was moving nursing practice to managing outcomes from tasks; barriers were challenges with unit management turnover and development. Multiple factors at system levels were found to contribute to sustainability. Further research is needed on the concept of sustainability. The findings contribute to executives' armamentarium to inform management practice for the design of evidenced based organizational systems and programs for nursing excellence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines safe haven laws in the U.S. and how non-abandoning fathers may be protected when mothers abandon their children under a safe haven law. It cites state court cases and the effects of the Nebraska and Florida safe haven laws. The author believes that parental rights must be considered for safe haven laws to truly protect the best interest of an abandoned child. She concludes that the term "safe haven" should be limited in its definition and that laws must strengthen other child welfare protection programs like they do in Florida.

Background School-located influenza vaccination (SLIV) programs are a promising strategy for increasing vaccination coverage among schoolchildren. However, questions of economic sustainability have dampened enthusiasm for this approach in the United States. We evaluated SLIV sustainability of a health department led, county-wide SLIV program in Alachua County, Florida. Based on Alachua's outcome data, we modeled the sustainability of SLIV programs statewide using two different implementation costs and at different vaccination rates, reimbursement amount, and Vaccines for Children (VFC) coverage. Methods Mass vaccination clinics were conducted at 69 Alachua County schools in 2013 using VFC (for Medicaid and uninsured children) and non-VFC vaccines. Claims were processed after each clinic and submitted to insurance providers for reimbursement ($5 Medicaid and $47.04 from private insurers). We collected programmatic expenditures and volunteer hours to calculate fixed and variable costs for two different implementation costs (with or without in-kind costs included). We project program sustainability for Florida using publicly available county-specific student populations and health insurance enrollment data. Results Approximately 42% ( n = 12,853) of pre-kindergarten – 12th grade students participated in the SLIV program in Alachua. Of the 13,815 doses provided, 58% (8042) were non-VFC vaccine. Total implementation cost was $14.95/dose or $7.93/dose if “in-kind” costs were not included. The program generated a net surplus of $24,221, despite losing $4.68 on every VFC dose provided to Medicaid and uninsured children. With volunteers, 99% of Florida counties would be sustainable at a 50% vaccination rate and average reimbursement amount of $3.25 VFC and $37 non-VFC. Without volunteers, 69% of counties would be sustainable at 50% vaccination rate if all VFC recipients were on Medicaid and its reimbursement increased from $5 to $10 (amount private practices receive). Conclusions and relevance Key factors that contributed to the sustainability and success of an SLIV program are: targeting privately insured children and reducing administration cost through volunteers. Counties with a high proportion of VFC eligible children may not be sustainable without subsidies at $5 Medicaid reimbursement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]