Friday, September 20, 2013

Survey results analytics

 

 

Survey results analytics

What is your gender?

Female1053%
Male947%

How old are you?

18-241053%
25-29737%
30-3515%
36-4015%
40 and above00%

What defines your nationality?

U.S. Citizen1053%
Non U.S. Citizen947%

Are you a Masters or a Doctoral student?

Masters1474%
Doctoral526%

How long have you been in graduate school?

Less than 1 year316%
1 - 2 years1053%
2 - 3 years15%
3 - 4 years421%
4 - 5 years15%
5+ years00%

How often do you enjoy extracurricular activities (hanging out with friends, sports)?

Very often526%
Often737%
Less often421%
Rarely316%

Do you find comfort in religion when fighting stress?

Yes737%
No1263%

Are you involved in a relationship?

Yes947%
No737%
I choose not to disclose316%

How would you define the status of your relationship?

Very good947%
Good00%
Fair00%
On the rocks15%
Doesn't apply947%

How would you define the status of your familial relationship?

Very good1368%
Good421%
Fair211%
Bad00%

According to you, would you prefer talking about your problems to your family members or your friends?

Yes1474%
No526%

Do you reside with your family or does your family live close by?

Yes526%
No1474%

What methods of communication do you often use to communicate to your family/friends?

Voice Call1368%
Video Call211%
Instant Messaging421%

Do you find comfort in your pets when fighting stress?

Yes842%
No211%
Doesn't apply947%

How many hours of sleep do you normally get?

3-4 Hours00%
5-6 Hours316%
6-7 Hours1053%
8+ Hours632%

How many meals do you have in a day?

100%
2737%
3+1263%

On a average how many times do you eat out in a day?

0-11789%
2-315%
3+15%

How are you doing academically?

Very good632%
Good1158%
Fair211%
Bad00%

How are you paying for your graduate study?

Loan526%
Financial Aid (RA/TA)1053%
Personal/Family savings421%

What is your confidence level generally, when you set out to do a task? Is it easy for something to shake it?

Yes632%
No1368%

Job [Prioritize: Jobs/Thesis/Finances - How much on a scale of 1-5 (1 being least stressed, 5 being most stressed) would you rate these aspects in your life?]

1526%
200%
3632%
4632%
5211%

Thesis [Prioritize: Jobs/Thesis/Finances - How much on a scale of 1-5 (1 being least stressed, 5 being most stressed) would you rate these aspects in your life?]

1316%
2421%
3211%
4632%
5421%

Finance [Prioritize: Jobs/Thesis/Finances - How much on a scale of 1-5 (1 being least stressed, 5 being most stressed) would you rate these aspects in your life?]

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Design Challenge, Insights, How Might We, Brainstorming, and Ideas

DESIGN CHALLENGE

Our design challenge (#2):
Long hours spent in isolation are not uncommon to graduate students as they struggle through the four or five — or more — years required to finish their degrees. Though resources exist to help graduate students, many still struggle with academic stress, isolation and pressure to graduate on time. Some students may have to leave without a degree if they cannot pass their general exams on the first or second attempt, while others struggle through the proposal and defense stages. Though many people pass, the pressure of succeeding creates a lot of stress for students. As a part of this design challenge, you'll work with your team to design a new system that works to counteract some of the effects of isolation for graduate students and supports them in achieving their goals.
Constraints:
Users must be able to record their goals and mark them as accomplished
System must support collaboration


Insight Statements

1) Graduate Students of all levels seem to struggle with managing their time.


2) Finances seem to be a common stressor among graduate students.

3)With the balancing of school/ research, work, and possibly a family, students find it difficult to carve out some time to alleviate stress.

How Might We...?


BRAINSTORMING IDEAS
Different milestones
Sync with Google Calendar
Time Mgt. Embed third-party software in app
To do list that imports into calendar with reminders
Stages of assignments due, suggested a timeline to help you
Rewards for completing milestones
project mgt. tool (Microsoft)
A way to post (social media)
searchable based on stressors (search bar)
"How are you feeling?" Interface changes based on mood/ clickable smileys
friend check-ins
upcoming events
log into BB
Forming groups (academic, social)
Financial link/budget/ Popup window /financial mgt./financial aid site
Time Money Space
IM/Phone call/skype/face time
Calendar can be collaborative
Stumbleupon
Fitness/accelerometer/health
integration
music after certain distance
App interface in browser (m.clemson)

Random motivational quotes
alarm clock (visual & music) Waking up in a very relaxed manner

Sounds, animation
User decides motivational quotes
push notifications
Push notifications for collaboration
send 
Thinking hard!!!

IDEA SELECTED
The idea selected is an app based on the concepts of how to manage and to cope effectively with the stress and rigors of graduate study and research. The user inputs profile data about him/herself, selects images or colors based on a variety of moods, and then enters the app. The user has the option to utilize a calendar, a timeline, log milestones in assignments and research, create a budget, interact with friends, make recommendations on music, movies, etc., listen to music, and a variety of other social...
The user will select a mood form a visual of different faces, ranging from sadness to mania.



Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Brainstorm session 1



The brain storming session yielded some very interesting results. While we haven't quite yet settled on a design idea, we did find that graduate students at al levels have some primary concerns. One of those concerns is time management. Finding time to fit all of the required readings, studying, and research, as well as any additional research or teaching is a harrowing task. it is also a major stressor, which is another concern that grad students face.

These findings prompted us as a group to consider building or linking to a calendar or some other type of planning device.

We are also concerned with the isolation that is common amongst those in academia. A social media component is a way to combat the isolation that is prevalent.

For international students, stressors involving housing, family life, jobs for spouses, child care, and disapproval from family members are major concerns, in addition to the common stressors. Issues with visas and travel were also noted.

Think
Act

How can we develop a coherent product form these disparate findings?

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Data on Master's Students (1-2 years)

Gender
Male-5
Female-5

Most common reasons for attending Graduate school
Teaching
Better Job/Pay
Learning

Best Things about Grad School
Challenging Courses/Research
Learning New Things
Meeting Diverse People

Worst Things about Grad School
Time Management
Studying/Reading
Deadlines
Food Choices/Odd Eating Times
Stress
Isolation

Stressors
Job Uncertainty/Insecurity
Deadlines
Research Expectations
Family/Significant Others Issues

Dealing With Stress/Anxiety
Drinking
Television Watching/Binge Watching (Netflix)
Eating
Exercise (Running, Yoga)
Listening to Music

Things that Make People Sad
Death of Friends/Loved Ones
Cheaters in School
Isolation due to Research/Study ("I couldn't attend Clemson/UGA game")

Things that Make People Happy
Friends
Family
Doing Well in School
Support of Research Projects

Non-academic Hobbies
Sports
Running
Reading
Watching Movies

Enjoyment of Extra-Curricular Activities
Very Often
Often

Cheered up by Significant Other
Did not answer
Always

Comfort in Religion
6 No
4 Yes

Involved in Relationship
4 yes
4 No
2 chose not to disclose

Relationship Health
4 Very Good
5 Doesn't Apply
1 On the Rocks

Familial Relationships
6 Very Good
2 Good
2 Fair

Talking About Problems with Family/Friends
7 Yes
3 No

Family Lives Close By
9 No
1 Yes

Method of communicating with Friends/Family
6 Calling
4 Instant Messaging

Pets
4 Yes
5 Doesn't Apply
1 No

Typical Day
Class
Study
"Parking is a BITCH!"

Hours of Sleep
4 - 8+
5-   6-7 
1- 5-6

Meals per Day
3- 2
7-3+

Eating Out per Day
1- 3+
8- 0-1
1- 2-3

Academic Performance
6- Good
2- Very Good
2- Fair

Grades Affected
I don't let petty things cause me stress. When I feel stressed out I honestly think to myself why? Is it going to effect me in 10 years? Probably not, So I get over it. Also, we are 7 billion monkeys flying on an organic spaceship hurling through space in some unknown direction.
No

Paying for School
4 Assistantships
4 Personal Savings
2 Loans

Envisioning a technological System to help Grad Students
I think people beat themselves up and bite off more than they can chew. I see it everyday. What is the rush? Rush through undergrad, rush through masters prog. For what purpose? They aren't enjoying themselves, when you are not enjoying yourself and your time, then you become a little less thick and slowly become stressed out and unable to continue. The university is a place to learn, its also a place to grow and learn how to react in social situations, work in groups and make lifelong connections. If your aggravated because your stressed out it will reflect poorly on your mental and physical states. People will think you're a grouch and you might get the "crazy eye".

I'd like a timeline of my graduate school career. It would have been nice to have daily reminders of readings on the oral's list.S oemthing that helped me stay motivated to read articles and complete tasks


Probably a daily/weekly reminder system that syncs with my google calendar/academic calendar and offers some motivating reminders. It's hard because there are so many social/technological things that I can kind of get technology fatigue and just revert to using post it notes and stuff the more stressed I get

music, reading books, interesting news, new inventions

A way to talk to /connect with people with similar stresses.

some kind of a social networking site
something that coaxes me to socialize


something that can be personalized by anyone. ex. if a person want to see a movie on his laptop this system will let him, or if he want to listen to songs or find out abt new events


For a visual summary of all answers: /docs.google.com/forms/d/1BPBFO2Srlw_BTZG_rw8A7LHp62DYa_N2hCCUOGveDEg/viewanalytics

                                           

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Literature Review - Goutham Pacha Ravi

Paper:  Student Perceptions of Wellness and Stress, Academic Progress and Program Satisfaction in Graduate Counselor Education 
Authors: Kaye W. Nelson, Shelley A. Jackson, Darwin B. Nelson, and Robert Smith

The paper is about the "lesser studied facts" that positively and negatively impact graduate students. It discusses studies conducted on grad education's influence on emotional wellness

The paper deals with student perceptions about personal wellness and strength to handle stress. The authors believe educators can provide students assistance in healthily managing the demands and pressure of graduate school.

 Factors used in the paper include:
* Perceptions of personal wellness
* Stress Management skills
* Academic success
* Program satisfaction

Some stress areas discussed were:
* workload
* internship requirements
* expectations of faculty
* expectations of and from family
* working to support oneself? Financial worries

It was assumed, (and subsequently assessed)that
-> emotional exhaustion and spousal stress was likely to be greater in female students
and -> International students, students of color, students with disabilities, gay men and women have higher stress levels than non-minority populations

A survey was conducted with respect to the self perceived levels of:
* personal wellness
* stress management
* progress in program
* program satisfaction

Survey results were then aggregated based on gender, age, race, degree, income, program accreditation status, marital status, number of children, income, hours per week, hours of partner's work per week

It also focussed on the use of medication to handle demands and stress of graduate students

The survey was conducted by mail responses from 406 or 999 students contacted. The Personal Skills Map (PSM) from Nelson and Low, 1988 was used as the survey instrument or assessment model.

15 personal skills scales that provide a positive approach to the self assessment of skills considered important in healthy living were highlighted in PSM, but the authors used two of these scales that had a total reliability quotient of 0.83 and 3-point scale answers (most descriptive of me, sometimes descriptive of me and least descriptive of me)

Some important results:
* Students satisfied with progress in their program perceived a significantly higher ability to manage stress than students not sure if they were satisfied/weren't satisfied with their progress.
* Students without children have lower ability to manage stress

* Students taking medications had lower perception of wellness and higher stress than those who weren't taking medications.

The paper does not mention or talk about mentoring or any other solutions people are taking towards stress management. This could give a good perspective on perceptions as well because I believe perception of stress may change over time with positive mentoring or counselling. 

_____________________________________________________________________

Paper: Effects of peer mentoring on types of mentor support, program satisfaction and graduate student stress
Authors: Grant-Valone, E. J., & Ensher, E. A. 

The paper discusses the effects of peer mentoring, focussing mainly on types of mentor support and on how they affect program satisfaction and graduate student stress. 

Three main stress areas the paper identifies/assumes with respect to graduate students over undergraduate students is that many of them have:
* a feeling of insecurity
* decreased self esteem
* increased workload

Mentoring, an essential part of graduate education includes but is not limited to:
* assistance with financial aid
* job placement
* research projects and training
* emotional support
* offering instrumental and psychological support

Traditional mentoring limits itself to offering instrumental and psychological support.

According to the authors, peer mentoring is more effective since it encompasses:
* information sharing
* job related feedback
* confirmation
* emotional support
* personal feedback
* friendship

It is assumed that Peer relationships can last longer than traditional mentorship and peer mentoring has a better turnout rate and reliance than traditional mentorship.

A peer is:
* information provider
* Supporter of student
* Role Model in most cases

The study assessed 35 peer pairs. The instrumentation was:
-> 2 scales to measure psychological and instrumental support

For psychological support:
-> 11 items such as "my peer mentor is someone whom i like to socialize with", "my peer mentor gives me advice about working with faculty" etc
-> Participants scored each question on a 5-point scale where 1 meant "strongly agree" and 5 meant "strongly disagree" and the numbers in between modeled the rest of the criteria of transition.

For assessing instrumental support, the scale used was "Percived Stress Scale" (PSS)
14 questions were asked such as: "How often have you been able to control irritations in your life" and "how often have you felt you were on the top of things"

These questions were posed to both the peer and the student subject and the corroboration between peer mentor and the student subject (protege) was measured on a scale of 5 to 1 (very often to never)

This was used to measure satisfaction.

The results of the study were aggregated as high contact vs low contact pairs.
* The psychological and instrumental support provided by high contact peers provide better program satisfaction
* Strong evidence that there is more psychosocial support from peers than instrumental support
* Psycosocial support helped reduce stress levels
* Students who were feeling more stressed asked for more support from peer mentors
* Peer mentors actually may have increased stress levels in students by providing too much information too quickly
* Rewarding peer mentors would help, but how?

The paper presses to ensure contact between the student and the mentor. This would be effective in the relationship in the long run.


I drew a lot of lessons from the paper and it reinforced the feeling that peers may be a way to vent out graduate student stress. However several questions remain, how would we ensure high contact with the help of computers? How would we ensure the peer and the student work interchangeably? and both must be able to reap some benefits for their efforts? To what extent would students open up to their "competitors"? Would it make sense to ensure pairs happen by combining a senior and a junior of the same major or interests? Or would it be better to allow the user to add his or her own peers? Which one allows better instrumental support?


___________________________________________________________________

Paper: A Thesis: College Stress and Symptom expression in International Students
Author: Uma Shenoy Ajit

The paper talks about how well college students from various international cultures fare at US Universities; with a specific emphasis on how they deal with stress and what are the symptoms they show with regard to stress. 


Discusses the term "culture shock" to refer to the problems of acculturation and adjustment
Explains how Migration involves "crossing language, communication, interpersonal, social and cultural boundaries" and how this is assumed to increase the the possibility of stress and/or development of disorders"

It discussed the potential sources of stress for any international student, it could involve but not be limited to:
* being minority-group member in the US,
* worrying about relatives back home,
* losses associated with migration,
* fear of learning new things, and
* "cultural conflicts"

In addition to these, they may face monetary problems, (initial?) language difficulties, problems adjusting to a new educational system problems settling into a new society.

It is observed by the author that immigration to the United States is on the increase each year. She claims that United States is the most culturally diverse country in the world.

She argues with the general notion that Asians have a somatic style of expression. The popular notion is with the bias about Asian viewpoint being a unitary mind-body self, as opposed to a dualistic view held in western nations. It is believed that Asians focus on physical distress leading to an over-representation of somatic symptoms.


Her investigation "also suggests that it may be useful to examine different symptoms such as somatic symptoms and depressive symptoms in immigrant groups, as well as in local groups. This is opposed to the traditional view that holds that immigrant populations may have predominantly somatic reports, versus Western populations that have typically psychological symptoms."


I found good takeaways from this paper. We need to be able to incorporate International Student needs into the application as studies like this one suggest that International students would have different (and hence more?) stress levels and feeling of being isolated as against native students. If this view is supported by the interview findings that we propose to do with the President of Clemson Area International Friendship, we might look into this seriously. We are already seeing a good cluster of differences in responses from non-US citizens amongst our survey's Graduate Student respondents so far. 

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Lit Reviews and Interview Questions-Brian Gaines

Literature Review

Gao, X. -P., Xin, J. H., Sato, T., Hansuebsai, A., Scalzo, M., Kajiwara, K., Guan, S. -S., Valldeperas, J., Lis, M. J. and Billger, M. (2007), Analysis of cross-cultural color emotion.

This study evaluated the relationship between color emotion and perception attribute across various European and Asian cultures. The study focused on participants from four Asian regions (Kyoto, Japan; Bangkok, Thailand; Hong Kong, and Taiwan) as well as three European regions (Italy, Spain, and Sweden).

ASSUMPTION
This article assumes that color perception and emotional response to color is affected by cultural attributes.

ARGUMENT
Previous studies by Osgood and Sivik conducted between various Native American tribes and between Greeks and Swedes, respectively, indicate that a causal relationship may exist between color perception and emotional connotation and various cultures’ interpretation of color.

DATA ANALYZED
 Participants from the seven regions, 50% male, 50% female, were shown 214 color samples and given 12 emotional word pairs with which to describe the samples. A questionnaire was given for participants to assign a more appropriate emotional word to the colors presented.

CONCLUSIONS
No variance among emotional qualities assigned to various colors was detected, although an 80% variance was indicated among participants describing color as “warm/cool”.

This study provides insight into utilizing color for the design challenge. However, a broader group of participants should have been utilized to provide a better generalization. The study seemed to focus almost exclusively on Asian cultures and excluded many European cultures, as well as cultures from the Americas, Africa, the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent as well as inhabitants from the Southern Pacific region

Personally, this paper provided a decent beginning to thinking about how to design our project in regards to culture and. The increase of international graduate students makes this aspect of the design a vitally important one.


Michelle G. Newman, Lauren E. Szkodny, Sandra J. Llera, Amy Przeworski, A review of technology-assisted self-help and minimal contact therapies for anxiety and depression: Is human contact necessary for therapeutic efficacy?, Clinical Psychology Review, Volume 31, Issue 1, February 2011, Pages 89-103, ISSN 0272-7358, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2010.09.008. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272735810001662)

This study reviews different technological applications for treating a variety of anxiety and mood disorders.
ASSUMPTIONS
This article assumes that, because traditional therapy and treatment of anxiety and mood disorders is expensive and time consuming, an approach utilizing technology could provide more time and cost effective alternatives.

ARGUMENT
Newman, et al., argue that technological approaches to treatment of certain anxiety and mood disorders can be effective, there may exist a low level of human compliance when it comes to using such technologies.

DATA ANALYZED
Data was reviewed from a wide variety of both qualitative and quantitative studies associated with myriad examples of mood and anxiety disorders that implemented technological applications as a component of treatment.

CONCLUSIONS
Newman, et al., concluded that technology could be presented as a treatment alternative in the name of efficacy and cost effectiveness, although they maintain that traditional treatment is still optimal. The authors also suggest that further studies be performed to account for such factors as culture, socioeconomics, and age. The authors also note that use of mobile devices in such treatment needs to be further explored in future studies.

This article was helpful in that it provides a basis for the importance of technology in assisting those who have been diagnosed with certain mood and anxiety disorders. This can provide a valuable reference that can influence the design of our project.
While it cannot account for every disorder in the DSM-IV, it may provide a framework for the types of issues that many graduate students may experience. This will greatly inform our design and future iterations.


Anderson, P., Jacobs, C. and Rothbaum, B. O. (2004), Computer-supported cognitive behavioral treatment of anxiety disorders. J. Clin. Psychol., 60: 253–267. doi: 10.1002/jclp.10262

This article reviews various technological applications for the treatment of anxiety disorders, including tablets and virtual reality, as well as provides a discussion for the ethical issues surrounding such treatments.

ASSUMPTIONS
Anderson, et al., assume that technology can and will play a vital role in the cognitive behavioral treatment of anxiety disorders.  A review of palmtop computers (tablets and other mobile devices) and virtual reality, as well as evidence from case studies is reviewed.

ARGUMENTS
Anderson, et al., argue that because technology can be used that it necessarily shouldn’t.  The authors state that the revised Psychology Code of Ethics (American Psychological Association, 2002) provides little specific guidance as to how to
conceptualize ethical concerns specific to technology (Anderson, et al.). Further discussions, such as the concepts of cyber sickness and after effects in virtual reality could possibly overshadow the perceived benefits of the treatment. Further arguments for the competence of those providing therapy through technology, a compromise of client-patient relationships, access to technology, reliance upon technology by the patient, and barriers to technology are all presented as ethical dilemmas to the use of technology in the treatment of anxiety disorders.

DATA ANALYZED
Reviews of various technologies, including web sites, were performed to assess their efficacy, benefit, effectiveness, and drawbacks. This information informed the ethical discussion following the review.

CONCLUSIONS
Anderson, et al., conclude that it is important to consider the role of technology in the treatment of various anxiety disorders, yet advise that mental healthcare practitioners carefully assess the patient’s needs before prescribing such treatment. Also, consumers should be aware that such treatments cannot nor should not be regarded as a “miracle cure”.


Anderson, et al., make a valid claim for the role of technology, as well as its limitations in regards to our project.  While we are most certainly not attempting to develop technology to diagnose, treat, or cure any such disorder, assessments such as these will provide a valuable insight to the complexities of how to better serve our audience through technology.

Literature Review-Tiffanie Smith

I may have been a bit detailed.. :)

1.      Graduate Student Management of Family and Academic Roles

Author: Patricia A. H. Dyk

 

This article explores the different types of interrole conflicts experienced by some graduate students. It offers various coping strategies, as well as time management tips that have been found to be useful in resolving conflicts.

 

I.                    Interrole Conflict


Defined: One role expectations are incompatible with the other (Kahn, Wolfe, Quinn, Snoek, & Rosenthal, 1964)

A.                  Time Based


·         Stresses of one role make it impossible to complete tasks in other role due to time constraint or incompatibility

·         Examples: inflexibility of home and school schedules, single parent homes (Bohen & Viveros-Long, 1981)

·         Stated that there is an inverse relation between the age of children and the amount of interrole conflict; husbands with more traditionalistic view of spousal roles increase the amount of interrole conflict for their wives who are students (Beutell & Greenhaus, 1980; Pleck, Staines & Lang, 1980; Beutell and Greenhaus 1983)

B.                  Strain Based


·         Stresses of one role affects the other; emotions spill over from one role to the other Beutell and Greenhaus (1983)

·         Intensifies with the lack of spousal and familial support(Kirk & Dorfman, 1983)

II.                  Coping Strategies


A.                  Structural Role Redefinition: Agreeing to set new expectations with the intent of reducing conflict (Beutell & Greenhaus 1983)


·         Give up a certain aspect of the role


·         Seek Support: form study groups (student role) and/or coordinate child rearing with spouse (family role); hire outside help

B.                  Personal Role Redefinition: Change attitude toward expectations (Beutell & Greenhaus 1983)


1.      Prioritization

·         Accomplish goals that can be done only by the individual and ones that have deadlines first

o   Ex. Breastfeeding and final papers

2.      Compartmentalization

·           Keep work/issues associated with each role away from the other

3.      Reduction of Standards

·           Do as much as possible without having the “supermother” syndrome (trying to do everything for every role simultaneously) (Friedan, 1979)

C.                  Time Management Skills


·           Most students deemed it necessary to have a planning calendar with a to-do list

·           Identify short and long range priorities, distinguish between urgent and important and be aware of one’s own efficiency (Seiden, 1980)

·           Appropriate different tasks for most opportune times

·           All things depend on resources

The author mentions toward the end of article that many of time management techniques suggested depend on the resources that the student has. Although it may not have been one of Greenhaus and Beutel’s (1985) types of conflicts, I would have liked to see the author explore resource-based conflicts an offered strategies on dealing with them. I feel that the strategies that were presented in the paper are very beneficial for graduate students with multiple roles and those without. I think the biggest issue with adopting these strategies is recognizing that one needs to employ them. The “supermother” syndrome, I believe, is prevalent; not necessarily with just taking on the academic and family roles, but any combination of roles. A graduate student may feel like they have to take on everything and may not see that they need to redefine their personal and structural roles.

 

2. Stress among Higher Education Students: Toward a Research Agenda

Author: David Robotham

This articles explores those issues causing stress in undergraduate and graduate education, focusing on studies in the United Kingdom. It also investigates the limitations of previous research and offers suggestions on where this research area should be headed.

 

I.          Introduction and Students under Stress

·         Fundamentally changing the in UK demographically and financially

o   21% of UK students are 21 and over starting higher education degrees(Higher Education Funding Council for England 2005)

o   Varying factors include amount of public expenditure spent on higher education and sources of funding since the 1980s (Williams 1992)

·         Increase in amount of students employed, full time and part time, which has affected academic performance in multiple ways such as missing lectures and failing to turn in work (Hodgson et al. 2001; Students at Work, NUS 1996)

·         The stress felt by students is the perceived notion of the demands, not the demands themselves

·         Stress can cause students to react positively or negatively

·         Author suggest that the students have not been a priority into the research into stress until recently  (Michie et al. 2001)

II.         Previous Research

·         Primarily focused on vocational specializations (social work, medicine, hospitality) and psychology (multiple sources)

o   Inferred that above students may feel more stress due to the student and practitioner roles they have to fill  (Clark et al. 1986)

·         More quantitative methods of research were used

o   Self-reporting inventory; is it possible to measure stress in this way?

o   Author suggest this can influence the way students respond because they may not like the idea of being “measured”

o   Runs the risk of not gathering “subjective, anecdotal, and impressionistic information”

o   Limits the range of scenarios for students to base their stress on

·         Did not track students throughout the matriculation of their degree

III.        Student Stressors

A.                  Studying

·         More common cause of stress (Bush et al. 1985; Abouserie 1994; Harvey et al. 2006)

·         Includes deadlines and amount of work, which may have an underlying stressor of fear of failing

·         Time management

o   Stress over the control of time, not the actual time management

o   Side effect includes skipping sleep which in turn affects how students cope (Hardy 2003)

B.                  Exams and Tests

·         Students suffer physical and psychiological effects (nausea and changes in eating patterns)

·         Anxiety is due to the idea of taking the test, not the test itself (Mechanic 1978) and (Gadzella et al. 1998)

C.                  Transitioning

·         Caused by losing support system, building a new one , cultural and language differences (if one is coming from a new country) (Hudd et al. 2000; Radcliffe et al. 2003; Edwards et al. 2001; Orepeza et al. 1991; Heikinheimo et al. 1986)

·         School tries to offer support which can lead to more stress (Dill et al. 1998)

D.                 Finances

·         A London study found a correlation between finances and students’ mental health (Roberts et al. 1999)

·         The Student Living Report (2004) found that as lack of students’ money decrease, the percentage of students seeking employment increased, which made the students feel more stressed than previously

·         England’s introduction of tuition fees is sure to lead to a bigger debt after the completion of the degree, even if they are offering financial assistance

IV.               Students’ Response

·         Can be emotional, cognitive, behavioral, and physiological (Misra et al. 2000, p.238)

·         Increase of stress lead to a decrease in the satisfaction of health and self-esteem (Hudd et al. 2000)

·         Stress increase also has been found to lead to:

o   Increase of alcohol consumption, decrease in functionality of immune system, increase in suicide rate and decrease in academic performance (Morgan 1997; Sand et al. 2004; Hirsch et al. 1996)

V.                 Stress Management

·         Stress inventions are useful at an individual level, but places blame on the individual (Clark 2000)

·         Schools set up beneficial coping behavior and social support structures  (Endler et al. 1990; Wohlgemuth et al. 1991; Allen étal. 1991)

·         Change environment (problem focus) or change meaning of event to individual (emotional focus) ) (Lazarus et. Al 1984)

·         Some students will need professional help, but won’t seek it because:       

o   They don’t recognize they need it

o   They don’t want the stigma attached to needing it (Stanley et al. 2001)

·         Discrepancy in students’ perception of stress and the staff’s perception (Misra et al. 2000)

VI.               Future Research

·         Reduce the amount of quantitative research and look into more qualitative methods

·         More broad range of majors to perform research on

·         Increase the timespan evaluating the students’ stress levels

·         Monitor the effects of the UK’s financial implementations

 

I do think the article fell short on listing some potential stressor areas for higher education students, which for one, may be in part to its focus being on undergraduate students. While it mentioned the lack of family support as a potential stressor, it did not reverse the idea of having to support a family while in school. While this is more prevalent in graduate school, it is becoming more common in undergraduate studies as well. As far as the rest of the paper, I agree with the author in many of his inferences; especially with the idea of expanding the research to include other majors. That which was found to be more stressful for social work students could be complete opposite of how engineering majors are feeling.  I, for one, am more stressed behind projects, than tests and quizzes.

 


3. Graduate School and the Self: A Theoretical View of Some Negative Effects of Professional Socialization

Author: Janet Malenchek Egan

This article investigates the idea of professional socialization as an aspect of graduate education and its negative effects on students. It also offers suggestion to change the structure of this aspect to make it more beneficial to students.

 

        I.            Introduction

·         Author wants to look at structural causes of stress while focusing on the self-concept of a graduate student

·         Differs from previous looks at the graduate education process as a means of resocialization as a opposed to developmental socialization

·         Graduate directors are fine with the operation of their programs and don’t appear to see any negative effects on the self (Mayrl and Mauksch 1987, p.17)

      II.            Developmental Socialization or Resocialization

·         Developmental socialization: “formal purpose is the training, education, or more generally the further socialization of individuals passing through”

·         Resocialization: “formal purpose is to make up for or correct some deficiency in earlier socialization” (Both defined by Wheeler, 1966 p.68)

·         Professional socialization is the purpose of grad school; training students to adopt the mindset of the faculty; instilling new values and beliefs so that they can develop a professional self-concept

    III.            Factors Affecting the Self

a.      The Independence of the Graduate Role

·         Students transitioning from undergrad may expect they continuation of the developmental socialization at that level and the support offered (Katz and Hartnett 1976)

·         Graduate school expects students to be self-directed and motivated; professors speak at a higher level of jargon; ideas are given as broad concepts

·         Students who relied heavily on teachers will be affected by the change

·         This may have a negative effect on students:

o   Discouraged to ask for help; don’t want to seem inadequate

o   May increase self-doubt which in turn decreases self-esteem

o   The encouraged competition vs. cooperation amongst students; this can lead to isolation

b.      The Dependence of the Graduate Role

·         Still depend on faculty members to set goals, qualifications and define success and failure for the student.

·         The judgment of faculty members can lead to more stress on top of the idea of relinquishing one’s own decision making skills

·         Graduate student role is expected to be the priority amongst any other; otherwise one looks less committed

·         High expectations of work and performance can most likely lead to lower self-esteem

   IV.            The Total Characteristics of Graduate School

·         Total institutions: all activities are conducted in the same place and under the same single authority; each activity is carried on in the company of other people, all of whom are treated alike and are required to do the same thing together; all activities are scheduled tightly through a system of explicit formal rulings and are part of a single, overall, rational plan purportedly designed to fulfill the official aims of the institution. (Goffman, 1961)

·         The institutions aim to remove distractions that will hinder students from achieving success (Sherlock and Morris, 1967)

·         The idea of abandoning any outside roles and focusing on achieving this professional image may affect one’s self-concept.

o   Leads to the questioning of one’s goal and if one has the energy to pursue it; may disrupt one’s sense of individuality.

o   The more “total” the institution, the more likely these effects are to occur

o   Advanced knowledge of the “totality” of an institution will likely affect self-esteems less.

V.         Suggestions

·         A more supportive and nurturing environment can lessen the likelihood of the negative effects mentioned.

·         For first year graduate students: offer more guidance, acknowledge insecurities, and encourage cooperation

·         Create a nonjudgmental atmosphere in lectures, thus encouraging students to feel more secure about asking questions.

 

As of now, I do not see any limitations to her article. I think she not only drew on research, but also personal experience to formulate her ideas. Being that I am just a first year graduate student, I have not become accustomed to the different views that she has presented.

However, I do agree with the implications of the author that the graduate school experience leans more toward resocialization than further developmental socialization. Yes, it does build on some aspects as who a student is as a person, but it is a completely new experience for a student academically. School become more like a job than an academic setting. One’s advisor becomes more like a boss, whereas professors in undergraduate programs do not singlehandedly have the ability to keep you from successfully completing your degree. I also concur with her suggestions, especially for first time students. The first year of studies could determine whether the rest of the program is completed, so the first impression of graduate school means everything.