Validation of the MidACE tool – Students’ perceptions of the Midwifery Academic role in clinical environments

BackgroundSituating Midwifery Academics in clinical environments can have an important impact on students’ clinical learning. Students’ perceptions of this support role in the clinical environment using standardised measures has been under-investigated.AimsTo develop and test a tool that measures midwifery students’ perceptions of the Midwifery Academic role on clinical learning and development of professional knowledge, skills and clinical capability.MethodsA staged process for tool development included draft item generation, review by expert panel for face and content validity and pilot testing with a convenience sample of undergraduate midwifery students. Dimensionality, internal consistency and test–retest reliability were evaluated.ResultsTwo hundred and seventy-nine midwifery students completed an online survey (74% response rate). Responses on the ten-item tool loaded strongly on one factor, explaining 69.6% of variance. Cronbach's alpha (0.94) and test–retest reliability (intraclass coefficient = .92; 95%CI .89–.95) were good. Most students agreed that the Midwifery Academic role supported the integration of midwifery theory and practice and critical self-reflection. Areas for improvement included working in partnership with preceptors; assessing students’ development; and increased presence in the clinical environment.ConclusionsThis study established reliability and validity of the Midwifery Academic in Clinical Environments (MidACE) tool. Students perceived Midwifery Academics could contribute further to their professional knowledge, skills and clinical capability through a strong collaborative presence in the clinical environment.     

Strategic planning for small and medium-sized enterprises: The COMPASS project

The paper introduces a methodology and a set of software tools designed to support the definition and implementation of enterprise strategies particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises SMEs . The COMPASS method and tools support a stepwise refinement of basic strategic options and a simulation-based evaluation taking into account the objectives the SME has given itself. They assist in the derivation of detailed project plans, and they help monitoring the success of the chosen strategy. Inexperienced users can taken advantage of the built-in knowledge and experience in the field of strategic planning which reflects the actual state of the art in economic science. The paper describes the method and tools which were developed in the ESPRIT project 6617 COMPASS, and discusses their strong and weak points in the light of experience gained during test applications in three SMEs.     

从“君子不器”谈大学育人的价值取向

《论语·为政》篇中“君子不器”的意思是，理想的人不应该只是一种可供使用的器具。因此，大学育人的价值取向也不应该仅定位于只是把学生培养成为受到社会“器重”的工具型人才，而应致力于培养他们善于融汇贯通的学习能力，教会他们掌握以道驭学之大道，培育他们的精神家园，从而使他们成为不仅才艺出众，而且兼具仁爱之心的全面发展的高素质人才。     

一种加工中心的快速对刀方法

在加工中心的对刀过程中，以基准刀的底端面为基准面，测量其余每把刀底端面与该基准面的距离。以此作为刀具偏置值．这种对刀方法有效地缩短了对刀时间，能够提高生产效率．     

高速加工工艺与数控编程研究

本文对高速加工中刀具选择、加工工艺、工艺参数和数控编程均做了详细的论述,并对高速加工提出了较为完整、可行的加工思路。     

'Management Standards' work-related stress in the UK: practical development

Research commissioned for the UK's Health & Safety Executive (HSE) supports the view that a preventative, risk-assessment based approach would be more effective than case-based methods in achieving a nationwide reduction in work-related stress. The background to this approach is described and discussed in a companion paper in this issue (Mackay, Cousins, Kelly, Lee, & McCaig, 2004). The present paper describes the development of HSE's new stress Management Standards—which offer organizations continuous improvement through a three-phase stress preventative process—and the development of a supporting 'Indicator Tool' (a two-phase questionnaire to assess employee perceptions of working conditions). The Management Standards comprise a series of 'states to be achieved', which are statements of good practice in six key stressor areas: demands, control, support, relationships, role and organizational change. For each stressor area there is also a 'platform statement' that outlines the main aims to be achieved by the organization. This statement may include a target percentage of employees finding that the organization meets the standard: this matter will be settled after the standards have been assessed in a public consultation campaign. To use the new process, an organization's state can first be assessed using the Indicator Tool; liaising with workers in focus groups enables a further exploration of issues raised; finally, there may be formulation of interventions and subsequent review. It is not intended that the standards will be legally enforceable. HSE's aim is that they and the associated methodology will enable organizations to effectively tackle work-related stress, and subsequently reduce both its incidence and prevalence.     

圆弧车刀廓形的作图设计

从作图设计的观点出发，通过对成形车刀前南、后角、刀倾角及主偏角变化的分析，阐明了圆弧车刀廓形的作图设计方法．     

“后工具时代”与媒介的诗性诉求——兼论媒介的文学基因与审美质素

基于科学技术的传播媒介不仅改变了文学传播与媒介的性质,还重新创造了人类感知世界的方式,并由外而内地修正了文学的谱系与生态,文学已不再是一个本质性的概念。在媒介时代,从工具理性向功能主体转换的媒介,在消解文学的同时更在建构文学,成了重构现代与后现代文学的“原点”。媒介绝非物性与技术性,它内涵诗性的基因与审美的质素。     

Psychosocial risk assessment: Measurement invariance of the UK Health and Safety Executive's Management Standards Indicator Tool across public and private sector organizations

Abstract

This study provides evidence to support the validity of the UK Health and Safety Executive Management Standards Indicator Tool, which is widely used in the UK by organizations to test for stress-related working conditions. A large pooled data set was collected from 137 UK organizations (N=67,347) to test the factor structure of both the original 35-item seven-factor instrument and a new shorter 25-item version. The results showed that the tool was a good fit to the data for both versions. Further analysis examined the factor structure of the Indicator Tool by splitting the data set into both public and private sector organizations. Tests for measurement invariance showed that both versions of the Indicator Tool provided a good fit to the data. The final sequence of analysis showed that the measurement structure of both the 25-item and 35-item scales was also invariant across small-, medium- and large-sized organizations. The current study provides percentile tables for both the public and private sectors so that organizations can compare their scores against UK national benchmarks. Overall, this study validates both the full and the short versions of a valuable and reliable diagnostic instrument for use in a variety of organizations.     

从工具到机制：农村协商民主的生长过程与局限——来自苏南某村庄的案例

【】农村协商民主对于扩展村民有序参与、促进村庄治理具有积极意义。学术界多数从静态的视角观察乡村协商民主,而忽视了其在农村生长和发展的过程,以及期间乡村治理各主体之间的互动。苏南某村庄的案例提供了动态分析的视角。分析表明：农村协商民主经历了一个从治理工具到治理机制的发展过程。协商民主在最初阶段作为治理工具被发明出来,用以化解乡村矛盾；而后在基层政府推介下扩展功能、完善机构,发挥信息沟通、有序参与和协商村务的功能,成为治理机制。同时,农村协商民主在发展过程中也体现出一定的局限性和缺陷,表现为在结构上实践与法律相脱节；在运行中威权引导盖过民主协商。学术界与实务界需要在肯定乡村协商民主的基础上,从发展的过程中优化改进,克服局限性。