Assessment of the injuries sustained by pregnant sows housed in groups using electronic feeders.

The incidence of injuries to pregnant sows kept in dynamic groups in a commercial herd was recorded over a period of 18 months. The sows were maintained in a solid-floored building with a straw-bedded lying area allowing 1.7 m2 per sow and fed by means of electronic feeders. Injuries on 12 possible areas of the body were assessed every week, and graded on the scale of 0 to 3 (maximum body score 36). The lesion scores sustained by the sows were very low, with a maximum of 19 and a median of 4. Lesions of the greatest severity constituted only 0.16 per cent of all the recorded injuries. The injuries were not distributed uniformly over the body, most being on the shoulders, flanks and hindquarters, with very few on the head or in the vulval region. The total injury score was related to parity, with sows in parities one, two and three sustaining more injuries than sows in later parities, and it was also related negatively to bodyweight. More agonistic interactions were observed between sows in the lying area and in the vicinity of the feeders than in the dunging area.

Professional development of nurse practitioners as a function of need motivation, learning style, and locus of control.

This study assessed the relationship of loci of control, learning styles, and motivational needs of 53 graduates of the Wichita State University Nurse Clinician Program to amounts and types of professional activities performed in a clinical setting. A self-appraisal was also considered in the analyses. Motivational needs assessed included the needs for achievement, affiliation, and power. Findings revealed that nurse clinicians with moderate need for achievement, high need for affiliation, and moderate need for power performed significantly (p less than .03) more professional activities than nurses with high need for achievement, low need for affiliation, and high need for power. Other findings showed a significant (p less than .04) negative relationship between chance locus of control and self-appraisals. Amounts and types of professional activities performed were not significantly related to loci of control or to learning styles.