Dr. Angela C Blackburn

General strain theory posits that individuals commit crimes when they experience negative emotions following various sources of strain. One such source of strain is poverty. In this study, researchers use focus group data and apply a general strain framework to analyze criminal offending during the Missouri Community Action Network's Poverty Simulation© (2022) at a regional comprehensive university in the Southeast region of the United States. A total of 99 undergraduate and graduate students participated in the focus groups at the end of the simulation. Findings support Agnew’s (1992) theory with examples of sources of strain stemming from poverty leading to adverse emotional reactions and, at times, resulting in criminal responses that were economic. Participants noted the poverty simulation was a credible exercise that contributed to participant empathy. Implications within criminal justice and criminology education and future research are discussed.

We embarked on a quality improvement plan to improve culture care in a school of nursing. The nursing workforce is experiencing escalating occupational stress, leading to high turnover. When faculty role model caring, they empower themselves and the future workforce with strategies for self-care and resilience. A faculty self-assessment of caring behaviors and caring relationships was conducted before a caring science workshop. The workshop used Watson's Caritas Processes to introduce caring micro-practices. Qualitative interviews with faculty after the workshop generated two themes: self-awareness of self-care and caring pedagogy. Themes revealed faculty value this approach for continuous improvement in a caring culture.

Educators are challenged to meet the needs of all student learning styles. Nursing educators care deeply about student perceptions, but understand the need for critical thinking in student learning outcomes. The need for mental health nursing care touches every nursing specialty. The concepts are abstract and complex, with many unknowns concerning the mind. The flipped classroom (FC) provides an opportunity for students to explore the concepts prior to classroom learning. This article describes an initiative to integrate an FC approach with a population of baccalaureate nursing students over the course of five semesters.