The authors compared the relationship of elements of the Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) and years of work experience of registered nurses in the state of Texas. Work experience research has shown a relationship between OCB and work experience through mediating roles of various work related characteristics does exist. Work experience is described as the overall length of time in an occupation or workforce. Civic virtue was the only element of organizational citizenship behavior to have a statistically significant correlation with years of work experience in this study. Other elements were found to have no statistically significant correlation with years of work experience. Further research should be undertaken to determine if correlations between these two constructs holds up when the population under study is further refined by job classification, such as management and staff, or industry segment.

Business’ departments are already taking advantage of the convenience of technology, while global competition continues to demand creativity in terms of how employers acquire human capital. Thus leading to the question, how can employers take full advantage of technology in the hiring process? For instance, social networking sites (SNS) are being explored as an additional tool for recruiting and selecting the best-suited employees. Even though all types of businesses are taking the initiative to attempt the integration of SNS into their hiring process, many may still lack understanding on how candidate experience influences employer brand image, in addition to its actual benefits and risks. Through the analysis of peer-reviewed journals and other reliable sources concerning the effect of SNS on recruiting and selecting employees, we have found many benefits in the recruiting process, while SNS used in the selecting process could bring further challenges to employers. For instance, lower cost and time per hired employee, ability to reach a high number of possible applicant especially younger generations, ability to attract passive job applicants, and the inclusion of a supplementary method for employee performance predictions are the most important benefits SNS presents to the overall hiring process. On the contrary, legal issues, inability to attract a diverse pool of candidates, the lack of reliability and validity of such platforms, and the overall accuracy of information obtained are risks and pitfalls of the combination of SNS and the hiring process. After examination, we conclude that SNS should be used in recruiting and selecting of employees, but employers should not solely rely on such platforms. Employers greatly benefit from the unbiased information concerning SNS, but as time progresses and processes evolve, further research is always needed in order to reinforce or challenge earlier findings.

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The Rasch measurement model improves on traditional test construction by creating tests in which the person's ability is independent of the sample of items used and the norm group used to calibrate the test. This article is an introductory review of the Rasch Model and describes properties of the Item Characteristic Curve (ICC) and discusses the utility of having person ability and item difficulty on a common scale.

During natural disasters, communications can be disrupted, which negatively impacts response time of first responders thus diminishing the level of care provided to disaster victims. In the fall of 2014, as part of a larger community-based participatory research study, the Tarleton Area Amateur Radio Club (TAARC) joined the Department of Nursing, Tarleton State University, and provided amateur radio communications during a disaster preparedness simulation. The simulation was conducted to determine the ability of the university to provide rapid response and render quality, acute healthcare to its neighbors during a natural disaster. The primary goals of the TAARC were to assess the ability to quickly establish radio communications, accurately relay messages, and establish rapport and affiliation between each facility commander and the amateur radio operators. It was determined that communication was key to provide quality care, and the inclusion of amateur radio operators in the simulation helped ensure rapid response times and rapid transport of critical victims.