Objective. To ascertain goal orientations of pharmacy students and establish whether associations exist between academic performance, gender, or year of study. Methods. Goal orientations were assessed using a validated questionnaire. Respondents were categorized as high or low performers based on university grades. Associations and statistical significance were ascertained using parametric and nonparametric tests and linear regression, as appropriate. Results. A response rate of 60.7% was obtained. High performers were more likely to be female than male. The highest mean score was for mastery approach; the lowest for work avoidance. The mean score for work avoidance was significantly greater for low performers than for high performers and for males than for females. First-year students were most likely to have top scores in mastery and performance approaches. Conclusion. It is encouraging that the highest mean score was for mastery approach orientation, as goal orientation may play a role in academic performance of pharmacy students.

Background: This work aimed to ascertain future pharmacists’ stressors and stress-coping practices. Methods: Queens’ University Belfast Year 2 and 4 pharmacy students were invited to participate in an ethically approved, pre-piloted questionnaire study. Section A was the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale, Sections B and C related to stressors and stress-coping mechanisms, and Section D gathered non-identifiable demographic information. Data analysis largely took the form of descriptive statistics. Results: A response rate of 94.2% (213/226) was obtained. The mean Perceived Stress Scale score was 19.94 [standard deviation (SD) 6.37], with females having a higher mean score than males (20.55 SD 5.67 versus 18.16 SD 7.42). Common general stressors were career choice, employment opportunities, and finance. Common degree-specific stressors were particular assessments (objective structured clinical examinations and one-off written examinations) and the amount of course material. Popular stress-coping practices included getting emotional support from friends and family and using self-distractions. Conclusion: Stress appears to be an issue among these future pharmacists, and potentially more so for females. While the main stressors are unsurprising, this UK data enables comparisons to be made and helps inform support mechanisms within the university.

No abstract

This is one of the first studies to investigate use of Google Trends and Google in a pharmacy-specific context. It is relevant for practice as it could inform marketing strategies, public health policy and help tailor patient advice and counselling.

Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in EconStor may Queen's University Belfast AbstractThis paper studies the effect of investor sentiment on the London stock market on a daily basis over the period 1899 to 2010. We use a broad mix of reporting from the Financial Times as our proxy for investor sentiment. The main contribution of this paper is threefold. First, newspaper commentary, which was sentiment-laden, but information-light, in the Financial Times affects returns. Second, we find evidence that sentiment plays a role in propagating price movements, particularly during bull markets. Third, we find little evidence that the effect of sentiment on the market differs in bear versus bull markets.JEL Classification: G12, N23, N24