An investigation on compiling opinions on and suggestions for a biochemistry textbook from nursing undergraduates

Objective： To compile nursing undergraduates＇ opinions and suggestions for biochemistry textbook to improve the readability and applicability of a textbook of biochemistry. Methods： This investigation involved 279 nursing undergraduates through delivery of a self-made questionnaire, which was to be used to analyze and study the students＇ suggestions and opinions on the content of the biochemistry textbook. Results： The investigation revealed that the textbook＇s difficulty was associated negatively with stu- dents＇ interest （P 〈 0.05）, and the textbook＇s importance was associated positively with students＇ interest （P 〈 0.05）. Students suggested that the textbook should be closely related to nursing. The contents, difficulty, structure and charts of the textbook should be adjusted properly. Conclusions： The content of the nursing version of the biochemistry textbook should be driven by the needs of the nursing major and should focus on simplifying the textbook＇s content, and making it practical. This will make the textbook vivid and readable, enhancing the interest of students to accept and benefit from the textbook.

Behavioral involvement and preference for information among male and females with cardiac disease

The aim of this pilot study was to explore and compare preferences for involvement and preferences for information among men and women who had suffered from cardiac disease. A convenience sample of 79 respondents (47 men and 32 women) was recruited from The National Association of Heart and Lung Patients in Sweden at ten local meeting places in different areas. Krantz Health Opinion Survey, KHOS, a 16-item self-rating questionnaire, was used to measure patients’ desire for involvement in healthcare. The results indicate that patients’ information preferences and behavioural preferences are not very high though the total score in KHOS was 5.47. A difference between the genders was also found, seen as higher scores in females than males;5.93 vs 4.44, p = 0.032, indicating that women prefer a more active role in decision making than men do. The main practical conclusion drawn from this empirical study is that patients are still not as active in seeking information or in behavioural involvement as is desirable.

Three Years＇ Experience of the Web Site NEMIS

Results of the 2007/08 survey ＂Energy--the present and the future＂ conducted on a population of 1439 students from Zagreb University have shown that after school and television, internet is the third major source of knowledge for the participants. Therefore, ＂NEMIS＂ web site （www.nemis.zpf.fer.hr） was launched at the end of the 2008. NEMIS is a Croatian acronym for ＂Nuclear Energy--Mysticism and Reality＂. The site was envisioned as a place where interested visitors could get information, prepared by experts, on all the issues relating to nuclear energy. The main objectives of the work reported in this paper are to present the structure of the NEMIS web site and to analyze the activity on the site during the last three years. Based on the performed analysis, future activities on the site are set and discussed.