Social media usage is a large aspect of the 21st-century lifestyle for university students, and alcohol consumption is a concerning part of university students’ culture. Many previous studies have explored the influence of social media on alcohol consumption in university
students, though no causal relationship has been identified. This research aimed to investigate the influence of social media content on alcohol consumption by examining whether students encounter alcohol-related content, how they engage with social media, whether social media influences their drinking and the situations in which they drink. Participants were invited to complete an online survey. Data was analysed using simple descriptive statistics. Findings indicate that students accessing social media viewed minimal alcohol-related content. This suggests that social media may not have as big an impact on the drinking behaviour as thought. Findings also illustrated that of the students who drank alcohol, the majority reported only occasional drinking (less than once a week), highlighting the low engagement in alcohol consumption amongst these students. The low response rate may account for this, as it is a possibility that, by chance, those who have a higher engagement with alcohol were not responders to the survey. Despite the limited alcohol consumption among the participants, there was a 50-50 split in participants who felt that alcohol related content impacts alcohol consumption and those who did not. The small response rate was a limitation of the study, and a larger study with a higher response rate would have allowed inferential statistical analysis and may have revealed more generalisable findings. Although this study’s analysis did not seek to infer a causal relationship, the findings align with previous studies, such as Atusingwize et al.’s (2022) study, which found that social media use is positively associated with alcohol consumption. This research contributes to existing literature by providing new insights into the drinking habits of students at the University College Jersey. The implications are that it is important to ensure support systems are in place for students to ensure they do not form negative relationships with alcohol. Additionally, a larger research project that is longer in time can connect with more participants and provide more meaningful results.
Disciplinary Power and Nurse Identity: A Foucauldian Analysis of Student Nurse Education in Jersey from 1924-2016
The purpose of this study is to explore how students’ nurse identity has developed over the years and the particular role that disciplinary power has had in shaping it. The research focus was the School of Nursing in Jersey from 1924-2016. The study site included the wider Social space where nurse education occurred at the School of Nursing; that is the classroom, the practice area and the nurses’ home. The study attempts to fill a gap in local nursing history by creating a unique record while also considering the wider social influences on how students develop a nurse identity. The primary data comprises interviews with fifteen (n=15) participants who provide a historical account of their experiences as students. Interview transcripts and diary narratives with a further four (n=4) former nursing students from the earlier period are also included. These are supplemented with documentary archive material in the form of hospital student nurse records, newspaper archives, Société Jèrriais archives, personal correspondence, and photographs. Foucault’s (1979) concept of panopticism was used to explore how the functioning of disciplinary power promoted the notion of docility and shaped the developing nurse identity of students. The Foucauldian framework provided a sociological analysis of disciplinary power and how the unconscious conditioning of students reated the “docile body”. The main themes identified relate to freedom (or not) of choice in choosing a career, shifting modes of control, control through the use of time, knowing your place, sister’s “gaze” as a panoptical figure, living and working by the rules, fear of punishment, the gendered nature of nursing as an occupation, medical dominance, and the support from fellow students. The technologies of surveillance, normalising judgement and examination were employed to understand how, as student nurses, the participants internalised the values, beliefs and behaviours experienced in the School of Nursing. Tracing these technologies of discipline from the beginnings of the School of Nursing to its present-day amounts to what in Foucauldian terms is a history of the objectification of the present. Findings indicate that discipline was a means of constructing experience and served to shape the identity of the participants as student nurses. It was easier to recognise Foucault’s (1979, 1995) concept of panopticism in the
traditional nurses’ accounts; how this applied to the contemporary setting was less obvious but nonetheless apparent. While there has been more discreet monitoring of students in recent years, the methods of surveillance remain rooted in Foucault’s (1979, 1995)
representation of panopticism and the construction of the “docile body”. Control was exerted over their lives in the classroom and on the wards. As students the participants began to regulate their own behaviour and discipline themselves. The historical perceptions of what it means to be a “good nurse” impacted on their developing identity across the years. The unconscious conditioning of the students served to create the “docile body” of the student nurse, and this impacted on the development of an identity. Having identified the importance of the influence of disciplinary power, further research exploring this among student nurses in the contemporary university setting could make a positive contribution to understanding how this moulds a nurse identity.
Peri-operative hypothermia: implications for practice
This review explores adverse surgical outcomes for patients who experience hypothermia in the peri-operative period. Findings of the literature review highlight the need to establish a standard definition of hypothermia. Furthermore, the literature supports the full implementation of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance on ‘The Management of Inadvertent Perioperative Hypothermia in Adults’. A total of 18 studies were critically appraised to determine their rigour, reliability and validity. A discussion of the findings from the studies has taken into account the inferences drawn from the appraisal. Evaluation of the quality of the evidence has been used to evaluate which findings could apply to clinical practice. While there were variations in study quality, the evidence supports
developing an effective strategy for preventing hypothermia in the peri- operative period.