Developing a robust tool: advancing the multiple mini interview in pre-registration student midwife selection in a UK setting

Background: Published research has shown the multiple mini interview (MMI) to be a reliable assessment instrument in medical and nursing student selection internationally. Objectives: To develop, pilot and examine the reliability of MMIs in pre-registration student midwife selection in one Higher Education Institution a UK setting. Design and setting: BSc (Hons) Midwifery Studies students at a Higher Education Institution in the UK volunteered to participate in ‘mock’ MMI circuits during the first week of their programme. DeVellis’s framework for questionnaire development underpinned the generation of interview scenarios. Participants’ responses to scenario questions were rated on a 7 point scale. Internal consistency was calculated for each station. Results: An eight station model was piloted. Communication skills were assessed at each station as a generic attribute. Station specific attributes assessed included compassion and empathy, respect for difference and diversity, honesty and integrity, intellectual curiosity and reflective nature, advocacy, respect for privacy and dignity, team working and initiative, the role of the midwife and motivation to become a midwife. Cronbach’s alpha scores for each station ranged from 0.91 – 0.97. Conclusion: The systematic development of the MMI model and scenarios resulted in ‘excellent’ reliability across all stations. These findings endorse the MMI technique as a reliable alternative to the personal interview in informing final decisions in pre-registration student midwife selection

Value-based recruitment in midwifery: do the values align with what women say is important to them?

Aim: To discuss theoretical conceptualisation and definition of values and values-based recruitment in the context of women’s views about what they would like from their midwife. Background: Values-based recruitment received headline status in the UK government’s response to pervasive deficiencies in compassionate care identified in the health service. Core values which aim to inform service user’s experience are defined in the National Health Service Constitution but clarity about whether these encompass all that women say is important to them is needed. Design: Discussion paper Data Sources: A literature search included published papers written in English relating to values, VBR and women’s views of a ‘good’ midwife with no date limiters. Discussion: Definitions of values and values-based recruitment are examined. Congruence is explored between what women say is important to them and key government and professional regulatory documentation. The importance of a ‘sustainable emotional’ dimension in the midwife-mother relationship is suggested. Conclusion: Inconsistencies are identified between women’s views, government, professional documentation and what women say they want. An omission of any reference to emotions or emotionality in values-based recruitment policy, professional recruitment and selection guidance documentation is identified. Implications: A review of key professional documentation, in relation to selection for ‘values’, is proposed. We argue for clarity and revision so that values embedded in values-based recruitment are consistent with health service users’ views. An enhancement of the ‘values’ in the values-based recruitment framework is recommended to include the emotionality that women state is a fundamental part of their relationship with their midwife

Obtaining Stiffness Exponents from Bond-diluted Lattice Spin Glasses

Recently, a method has been proposed to obtain accurate predictions for low-temperature properties of lattice spin glasses that is practical even above the upper critical dimension, $d_c=6$. This method is based on the observation that bond-dilution enables the numerical treatment of larger lattices, and that the subsequent combination of such data at various bond densities into a finite-size scaling Ansatz produces more robust scaling behavior. In the present study we test the potential of such a procedure, in particular, to obtain the stiffness exponent for the hierarchical Migdal-Kadanoff lattice. Critical exponents for this model are known with great accuracy and any simulations can be executed to very large lattice sizes at almost any bond density, effecting a insightful comparison that highlights the advantages -- as well as the weaknesses -- of this method. These insights are applied to the Edwards-Anderson model in $d=3$ with Gaussian bonds.Comment: corrected version, 10 pages, RevTex4, 12 ps-figures included; related papers available a http://www.physics.emory.edu/faculty/boettcher

Pacific Hake, Merluccius productus, Autecology: A Timely Review

Pacific hake, Merluccius productus, the most abundant groundfish in the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem (CCLME), is a species of both commercial significance, supporting a large international fishery, and ecological importance, connecting other species as both predator and prey. Coastal Pacific hake migrations are characterized by movements between northern summer feeding areas and southern winter spawning areas, with variations in annual abundance, distribution, and the extent of these movements associated with varying climate-ocean conditions. In general, warm (cool) years with enhanced (reduced) stratification and poleward (equatorward) transport are often related to good (poor) recruitment, increased (decreased) northward distribution, and reduced (enhanced) growth. However, the classic periodic pattern of annual migration and distribution may no longer be fully representative. Based on recent advances in the understanding of climate-ocean variability off the U.S. west coast, we hypothesize that the annual movements of Pacific hake are more responsive to climate-ocean variability than previously thought, and further, that changes observed in Pacific hake distributions may reflect long-term changes in climate-ocean conditions in the CCLME. Therefore, an updated model of these relations is key to effective monitoring and management of this stock, as well as to devising scenarios of future change in the CCLME as a result of climate variations. The current state of knowledge of the relationship between the Pacific hake and its environment is reviewed, highlighting emerging ideas compared to those of the past, and priorities for future research are suggested

The reliability and validity of multiple mini interviews (MMIs) in values based recruitment to nursing, midwifery and paramedic practice: Findings from an evaluation study

Background: Universities in the United Kingdom (UK) are required to incorporate values based recruitment (VBR) into their healthcare student selection processes. This reflects an international drive to strengthen the quality of healthcare service provision. This paper presents novel findings in relation to the reliability and predictive validity of multiple mini interviews (MMIs); one approach to VBR widely being employed by universities. Objectives: To examine the reliability (internal consistency) and predictive validity of MMIs using end of Year One practice outcomes of under-graduate pre-registration adult, child, mental health nursing, midwifery and paramedic practice students. Design: Cross-discipline evaluation study. Setting: One university in the United Kingdom. Participants: Data were collected in two streams: applicants to A) The September 2014 and 2015 Midwifery Studies programmes; B) September 2015 adult; Child and Mental Health Nursing and Paramedic Practice programmes. Fifty-seven midwifery students commenced their programme in 2014 and 69 in 2015; 47 and 54 agreed to participate and completed Year One respectively. 333 healthcare students commenced their programmes in September 2015. Of these, 281 agreed to participate and completed their first year (180 adult, 33 child and 34 mental health nursing and 34 paramedic practice students). Methods: Stream A featured a seven station four-minute model with one interviewer at each station and in Stream B a six station model was employed. Cronbach’s alpha was used to assess MMI station internal consistency and Pearson’s moment correlation co-efficient to explore associations between participants’ admission MMI score and end of Year one clinical practice outcomes (OSCE and mentor grading). Results: Stream A: Significant correlations are reported between midwifery applicant’s MMI scores and end of Year One practice outcomes. A multivariate linear regression model demonstrated that MMI score significantly predicted end of Year One practice outcomes controlling for age and academic entry level: coefficients 0.195 (p = 0.002) and 0.116 (p = 0.002) for OSCE and mentor grading respectively. In Stream B no significant correlations were found between MMI score and practice outcomes measured by mentor grading. Internal consistency for each MMI station was ‘excellent’ with values ranging from 0.966–0.974 across Streams A and B. Conclusion: This novel, cross-discipline study shows that MMIs are reliable VBR tools which have predictive validity when a seven station model is used. These data are important given the current international use of different MMI models in healthcare student selection processes

Electrostatic protection of the Solar Power Satellite and rectenna

Several features of the interactions of the solar power satellite (SPS) with its space environment were examined theoretically. The voltages produced at various surfaces due to space plasmas and the plasma leakage currents through the kapton and sapphire solar cell blankets were calculated. At geosynchronous orbit, this parasitic power loss is only 0.7%, and is easily compensated by oversizing. At low-Earth orbit, the power loss is potentially much larger (3%), and anomalous arcing is expected for the EOTV high voltage negative surfaces. Preliminary results of a three dimensional self-consistent plasma and electric field computer program are presented, confirming the validity of the predictions made from the one dimensional models. Magnetic shielding of the satellite, to reduce the power drain and to protect the solar cells from energetic electron and plasma ion bombardment is considered. It is concluded that minor modifications can allow the SPS to operate safely and efficiently in its space environment. The SPS design employed in this study is the 1978 MSFC baseline design utilizing GaAs solar cells at CR-2 and an aluminum structure

Correlated X-ray and Optical Variability in Mkn 509

We present results of a 3 year monitoring campaign of the Seyfert 1 galaxy Markarian 509, using X-ray data from the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) and optical data taken by the SMARTS consortium. Both light curves show significant variations, and are strongly correlated with the optical flux leading the X-ray flux by 15 days. The X-ray power spectrum shows a steep high-frequency slope of -2.0, breaking to a slope of -1.0 at at timescale of 34 days. The lag from optical to X-ray emission is most likely caused by variations in the accretion disk propagating inward.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

ToolSHeD™: The development and evaluation of a decision support tool for health and safety in construction design

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to describe an innovative information and decision support tool (ToolSHeD(TM)) developed to help construction designers to integrate the management of OHS risk into the design process. The underlying structure of the prototype web-based system and the process of knowledge acquisition and modelling are described. Design/methodology/approach - The ToolSHeD(TM) research and development project involved the capture of expert reasoning regarding design impacts upon occupational health and safety (OHS) risk. This knowledge was structured using an innovative method well-suited to modelling knowledge in the context of uncertainty and discretionary decision-making. Example "argument trees" are presented, representing the reasoning used by a panel of experts to assess the risk of falling from height during roof maintenance work. The advantage of using this method for modelling OHS knowledge, compared to the use of simplistic rules, is discussed. Findings - The ToolSHeD™ prototype development and testing reveals that argument trees can represent design safety risk knowledge effectively. Practical implications - The translation of argument trees into a web-based decision support tool is described and the potential impact of this tool in providing construction designers (architects and engineers) with easy and inexpensive access to expert OHS knowledge is discussed. Originality/value - The paper describes a new computer application, currently undergoing testing in the Australian building and construction industry. Its originality lies in the fact that ToolSHeD(TM) deploys argument trees to represent expert OHS reasoning, overcoming inherent limitations in rule-based expert systems

Synthetic Observations of Simulated Radio Galaxies I: Radio and X-ray Analysis

We present an extensive synthetic observational analysis of numerically- simulated radio galaxies designed to explore the effectiveness of conventional observational analyses at recovering physical source properties. These are the first numerical simulations with sufficient physical detail to allow such a study. The present paper focuses on extraction of magnetic field properties from nonthermal intensity information. Synchrotron and inverse-Compton intensities provided meaningful information about distributions and strengths of magnetic fields, although considerable care was called for. Correlations between radio and X-ray surface brightness correctly revealed useful dynamical relationships between particles and fields. Magnetic field strength estimates derived from the ratio of X-ray to radio intensity were mostly within about a factor of two of the RMS field strength along a given line of sight. When emissions along a given line of sight were dominated by regions close to the minimum energy/equipartition condition, the field strengths derived from the standard power-law-spectrum minimum energy calculation were also reasonably close to actual field strengths, except when spectral aging was evident. Otherwise, biases in the minimum- energy magnetic field estimation mirrored actual differences from equipartition. The ratio of the inverse-Compton magnetic field to the minimum-energy magnetic field provided a rough measure of the actual total energy in particles and fields in most instances, within an order of magnitude. This may provide a practical limit to the accuracy with which one may be able to establish the internal energy density or pressure of optically thin synchrotron sources.Comment: 43 pages, 14 figures; accepted for publication in ApJ, v601 n2 February 1, 200

Slowly driven sandpile formation with granular mixtures

We introduce a one-dimensional sandpile model with $N$ different particle types and an infinitesimal driving rate. The parameters for the model are the N^2 critical slopes for one type of particle on top of another. The model is trivial when N=1, but for N=2 we observe four broad classes of sandpile structure in different regions of the parameter space. We describe and explain the behaviour of each of these classes, giving quantitative analysis wherever possible. The behaviour of sandpiles with N>2 essentially consists of combinations of these four classes. We investigate the model's robustness and highlight the key areas that any experiment designed to reproduce these results should focus on