Mount Saint Mary College's Investigating Research on Campus (iROC) series for the Fall 2021 semester is well underway, presenting talks on a variety of interesting academic topics to the Mount and local communities.
Tracey Niemotko and Moira Tolan, professors of Business, recently presented their iROC talk, "Sustainability Accounting and Reporting: The Evolution of Management Accountability."
Sustainability refers to a corporation's ability to generate long-term value, said Niemotko, but not in a traditional sense. While sustainability does include environmental consciousness – as the name might imply – it also includes marketing products that are safe for customers, treating employees fairly, and proper leadership.
While the desirability of investment opportunities in companies used to be driven purely "by the numbers," Niemotko said, "Now, with these sustainability components, the market is really driving businesses, driving management, to incorporate these factors...reflecting sustainability into the business plan. Companies can have their profitability, but if they are involved in mistreating their employees or are unduly damaging the environment, there's going to be a backlash."
As a result, sustainability accounting and reporting has also become a priority, Tolan said.
Bernadette O'Halloran, assistant professor of Nursing, presented her iROC talk recently, called "Using a Concept Map with Simulation." She noted that training nursing students is important to meet the healthcare demands of a growing and diverse population and to mitigate error in health care delivery. However, graduate nurses sometimes experience a difficult transition as entry-level nurses to clinical practice, O'Halloran explained. Thus, the use of simulations continues to develop in nursing education.
She discussed her qualitative case study that explored the learning experiences of nursing students using a concept map with simulation as a pedagogical approach during their first nursing course. In general, the participants found this approach helpful, O'Halloran reported.
The goal of the college's iROC is to provide a forum for Mount faculty, staff, and students to showcase their research endeavors with the college and local communities. Presentations include research proposals, initial data collection, and completed research projects.
The next iROC will be presented by Peter Witkowsky, professor of English, and Mount alumna Elizabeth Hill-Caruso on Thursday, October 21, at 4 p.m. "Analogies or Differences: Dickensian Déjà vu in Two Tales by Henry James" will broadcast on Zoom and is open to the public. To register, visit www.msmc.edu/iROC10_21
Mount Saint Mary College, ranked a Top-Tier University by U.S. News & World Report, offers bachelor's and master's degree programs for careers in healthcare, business, education, social services, communications, media, and the liberal arts.