Promoting Ethical Sensitivity in Nursing Education:A Systematic Review of Case Study-Based Health Education

Introduction: Nursing ethical sensitivity refers to a nurse’s capacity for thoughtful consideration of ethical issues when faced with dilemmas. In the nursing domain, ethical dilemmas arise when nurses face challenges in making sound ethical decisions during clinical practice. These challenges may stem from conflicts between personal values and professional responsibilities. Methodology: Articles downloaded from Pub Med, CNKI, and Google Scholar were reviewed. Results: After rigorous screening, a meticulous analysis was conducted, encompassing 10 articles and involving a substantial cohort of 2863 participants. Existing literature revealed variations in the ethical dilemmas faced by nurses across different departments. The ethical sensitivity of nurses also varies, with higher ethical sensitivity correlating with stronger empathetic abilities. Zhen et al. classified the causes of ethical dilemmas into four main categories: (1) Ethical dilemmas arising from personal reasons of nursing students;(2) Ethical dilemmas stemming from the actions of teachers;(3) Ethical dilemmas triggered by patients;(4) Ethical dilemmas resulting from miscellaneous reasons. Conclusion: According to literature findings, nursing ethical sensitivity was positively linked to the nurse’s ethical decision-making ability. A case study-oriented teaching program has proven effective in enhancing ethical sensitivity among nursing students.

Impact of the Time Scale of Model Sensitivity Response on Coupled Model Parameter Estimation

That a model has sensitivity responses to parameter uncertainties is a key concept in implementing model parameter es- timation using filtering theory and methodology. Depending on the nature of associated physics and characteristic variability of the fluid in a coupled system, the response time scales of a model to parameters can be different, from hourly to decadal. Unlike state estimation, where the update frequency is usually linked with observational frequency, the update frequency for parameter estimation must be associated with the time scale of the model sensitivity response to the parameter being esti- mated. Here, with a simple coupled model, the impact of model sensitivity response time scales on coupled model parameter estimation is studied. The model includes characteristic synoptic to decadal scales by coupling a long-term varying deep ocean with a slow-varying upper ocean forced by a chaotic atmosphere. Results show that, using the update frequency deter- mined by the model sensitivity response time scale, both the reliability and quality of parameter estimation can be improved significantly, and thus the estimated parameters make the model more consistent with the observation. These simple model results provide a guideline for when real observations are used to optimize the parameters in a coupled general circulation model for improving climate analysis and prediction initialization.

Research into the Assessment of the Intercultural Sensitivity Among University Students of Science and Technology

Globalization makes people from diverse cultural backgrounds communicate effectively. To be a global citizen has become the goal of our education. Landis and Bhagat （1996） argued that intercultural sensitivity is crucial to enable people to live and work with others from different cultural backgrounds. With higher intercultural sensitivity, one will be more global as his understanding of cultural difference becomes more sophisticated. In this present study, the intercultural sensitivity of different majors from a private institute of technology in the north of Taiwan was investigated, using the ISS （Intercultural Sensitivity Scale） developed by Chen and Starosta （2000）. Based on a survey of 358 participants from Nursing Department and Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences, this study focused on five dimensions of the intercultural sensitivity and the participants＇ demographic factors affecting their performance on intercultural sensitivity. The five dimensions included in this study were： （1） interaction engagement, （2） interaction confidence, （3） respect for cultural differences, （4） interaction enjoyment, and （5） interaction attentiveness. Among the five dimensions of intercultural sensitivity, the participants had the highest score on the dimension of ＂respect for the cultural differences＂ and had the lowest score on the dimension of ＂interaction confidence＂. Results generated by stepwise multiple regression indicated ＂decision of studying abroad＂ and ＂experiences of living abroad＂ could effectively predict the participants＇ intercultural sensitivity.