Values

The purpose of this study was to evolve a description of values of nurses who were recent graduates of associate degree nursing programs. Six new nurses who were employed in hospitals were asked for illustrations of nursing situations that described values important to their practice. Giorgi's method of interpretation for phenomenological studies was utilized for data analysis. Caring was the value that emerged as central to nursing. New graduates expressed this value as caring promoting growth. Subsumed within the value of caring for new nurses are hope, conscience, courage, honesty, humility, empathy and human connectedness.

The purpose of this study was to describe the values identified by nurses in middle management positions at a Florida for profit hospital. Latent content analysis was the method used to describe values identified by ten nurses in middle management positions. The analysis revealed a total of eight value themes. Two themes emerged as overarching: the value of economics and the value of caring. Six other value themes were interwoven into the overarching themes and consisted of commitment, compassion, competence, patience, respect for the other and technology.

The purpose of this study was to examine nursing values as expressed in the practice of nurses pursuing the Master of Science Degree in Nursing. Two stories representing nursing situations reflective of nurses' values guiding practice were chosen for analysis. Content analysis was the method used to study the stories to identify values guiding the practice of nursing. The analysis revealed the following nursing values guiding practice: compassion, respect for the other, competence, commitment, inner harmony, patience, hope, courage, humility, and trust. Caring was identified as the central value of nursing.

This research study addresses the personal, professional and organizational values held by nurse administrators, utilizing the phenomenological method of Paul Colaizzi (1978). The study investigates the values of eight nurse administrators in two acute care hospitals. Based on the significant statements which were formulated into clusters of themes and the formulation of essential values and themes, three common values emerged: communication, education, and honesty. A better understanding of these values will help guide nurse administrators in their current roles.

This study attempts to explain the motivation for a voluntary financial gift
through the analysis of individual value systems. Contributors and non-contributors to a fraternal association are compared by value rankings.
Certain socioeconomic information was also collected and compared. It
is anticipated that the study will be a base of information for more detailed
study into the complex field of motivation to contribute financially to
not-for-profit organizations.

This thesis is a study of the values given twenty reasons normally
considered important in influencing individuals and companies to
join associations. Comparisons are made of the obtained values from
four different groups: the association executives for individual
member associations, the new members of individual member associations,
the association executives for company member associations,
and the new members of company member associations. The study is
made on the state level of each association used in the research.
It evaluates whether there is a difference between the perceived
values of the twenty reasons, whether there is a difference between
the perceived values as given by association executives as compared
to new members, and whether there is a difference between the
perceived values as given by representatives of the company member
associations as compared to those given by the individual member
associations.

This study examines American cultural values through the lens of family storytelling. It addresses: (a) the role of family stories in the transmission of cultural values, (b) the existence of shared American cultural archetypes, motifs and themes, (c) the existence of shared national values, and (d) the role of storytelling in promoting peace. Since September 11, 2001, American leaders and journalists have repeatedly emphasized the distinction between the American Weltanschauung and that of the terrorists and their supporters, particularly with regard to an orientation to life and death, and tradition and progress. As dynamic folklore, family stories are the ideal instruments with which to tease out deep-rooted values. Stories are rich repositories of cultural schemas, the bricolage of information and attitudes that form our identities. They are also replete with symbols that reflect shared, unconscious understandings. Unlike many other cultural products, moreover, family stories are relatively unaffected by government or corporate agendas. What is more, they typically resonate with Americans. For this study, I examined 54 family stories collected from 12 native-born informants of diverse backgrounds according to four modes of analysis: archetypes; motifs; themes and subjects. The analyses revealed that the primary relevant archetypes, motifs, themes and subjects present in these stories are unlucky accidents/survivors; tricksters/heroes; death/rebirth, and family feuds. National values that emerged from the stories tend to reflect many of the values that are historically attributed to Americans, including an emphasis on achievement, individualism, and, in particular, progress. In addition, the stories reveal a certain tension between past- and future orientation in American culture. Finally, storytelling both reflects and comprises the social drama characterized by Turner as breach/crisis/redress/integration that leads to communitas. This study attempts to help promote communitas by demonstrating how we can begin to connect with others through the common values found in our stories.