The UK National Arts Education Archive: Ideas and Imaginings

The National Arts Education Archive (NAEA) is housed and maintained by the Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP), and managed by YSP coordinators and educators with a well‐established volunteer programme. This year, 2017, as part of the celebrations of the YSP's 40th anniversary, the Archive will hold its own exhibition entitled Treasures Revealed: a collection of items selected by people who have been involved in the Archive, whether as donors, volunteers, researchers, artists, trustees or steering group members. In parallel with the exhibition, this article aims to give voice to a selection of individuals and groups associated with the Archive, discussing their interests and experiences of it, and their thoughts on its value and importance as a repository of arts education materials, ideals and practices. Our primary motivations were to consider these different voices in relation to the purpose, direction and relevance of the NAEA today. These exchanges raise fundamental questions and debates about what art education is and what it might become, and how these historical collections, and creative engagements with it, might help to shape our contemporary thinking.     

Do altmetrics assess societal impact in a comparable way to case studies? An empirical test of the convergent validity of altmetrics based on data from the UK research excellence framework (REF)

Altmetrics have been proposed as a way to assess the societal impact of research. Although altmetrics are already in use as impact or attention metrics in different contexts, it is still not clear whether they really capture or reflect societal impact. This study is based on altmetrics, citation counts, research output and case study data from the UK Research Excellence Framework (REF), and peers’ REF assessments of research output and societal impact. We investigated the convergent validity of altmetrics by using two REF datasets: publications submitted as research output (PRO) to the REF and publications referenced in case studies (PCS). Case studies, which are intended to demonstrate societal impact, should cite the most relevant research papers. We used the MHq’ indicator for assessing impact – an indicator which has been introduced for count data with many zeros. The results of the first part of the analysis show that news media as well as mentions on Facebook, in blogs, in Wikipedia, and in policy-related documents have higher MHq’ values for PCS than for PRO. Thus, the altmetric indicators seem to have convergent validity for these data. In the second part of the analysis, altmetrics have been correlated with REF reviewers’ average scores on PCS. The negative or close to zero correlations question the convergent validity of altmetrics in that context. We suggest that they may capture a different aspect of societal impact (which can be called unknown attention) to that seen by reviewers (who are interested in the causal link between research and action in society).     

Searching for randomised controlled trials and clinical controlled trials in Thai online bibliographical biomedical databases

Background: Thailand is a poor but highly literate country in South‐East Asia with over 60 million people. A lot of biomedical research is undertaken but dissemination is limited. Objectives: To identify relevant Thai bibliographic databases and investigate accessibility, functionality and content, particularly in relation to randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and clinical controlled trials (CCTs). Methods: A systematic search for institutions productive of research and the databases in their libraries. Search each accessible database in both Thai and English, recording the functionality and content. Assess accessibility of the retrieved RCTs or CCTs by comparing to Pub Med holdings. Results: We found 32 different databases (29 accessible in UK) of various sizes, coverage and functionality but many with unique records of RCTs and CCTs (total, n = 781). Two hundred and nine of 781 trials were accessible on Pub Med (27%). However, 641 of the 781 trial records contain text in both English and Thai (82%) and 112 records were solely English (14%). Conclusions: Those undertaking comprehensive searches for RCTs/CCTs should, in addition to a Pub Med , search the Thai Medical Index and Thai Index Medicus databases, and the Khon Kaen University Library Catalogue.     

A RE-AIM evaluation of theory-based physical activity interventions

Although physical activity interventions have been shown to effectively modify behavior, little research has examined the potential of these interventions for adoption in real-world settings. The purpose of this literature review was to evaluate the external validity of 57 theory-based physical activity interventions using the RE-AIM framework. The physical activity interventions included were more likely to report on issues of internal, rather than external validity and on individual, rather than organizational components of the RE-AIM framework, making the translation of many interventions into practice difficult. Furthermore, most studies included motivated, healthy participants, thus reducing the generalizability of the interventions to real-world settings that provide services to more diverse populations. To determine if a given intervention is feasible and effective in translational research, more information should be reported about the factors that affect external validity.     

Teaching Lean Six Sigma within A Supply Chain Context: The Airplane Supply Chain Simulation

Lean six sigma is a management methodology that firms can employ to achieve substantial improvement in supply chain performance. However, few pedagogical exercises facilitate students’ use of a comprehensive set of lean six sigma principles within a supply chain context. We describe the Airplane Supply Chain Simulation that helps students understand how lean six sigma concepts may be leveraged to improve supply chain performance. The basis of this simulation is a four‐tier supply chain, consisting of suppliers (two tiers), a manufacturer, and a customer, that produces three models of paper airplanes to meet randomly distributed customer demand. In the first of three successive runs, a highly structured simulation is executed in which supply chain roles are well defined, material flows are convoluted, and a “push” production strategy is followed. The first simulation as the “current state” and, for the second and third simulation runs, challenge competing student teams to leverage lean six sigma concepts to develop a “future state” that enables the fulfillment of all customer orders at the lowest cost. Results based on statistical analyses of survey response data from 194 MBA students show that the Airplane Supply Chain Simulation is an effective participative, team‐based learning tool.     

明媚的忧伤

存在的焦虑,自我的丧失。生活的空虚成了我们这一代人的症候。——题记苍白的记忆两年来的流光,全埋在尘嚣里奔走,往日澄明的心境似乎也沉浊了许多。心中的那一簇火焰在狂风中摇摆,时明时灭。经常痛恨自己大部分时光都在毫无意义的琐事中,磨磨蹭蹭的踌躇中和碌碌无为的哀叹中蹉跎掉。我的生命在不断的磨合中渐渐地损伤,有时感觉自己像生活在物欲横流的海洋里一个贫困的孤岛上。或许生命总是要通过这样一个阶段:渴望进取而却怯于进取,追求乐观却得到苦闷,神圣的偶像骤然坍塌,精神在无边的荒原上流浪。消沉颓废而不甘堕落,企望解脱却又陷入重…     

Educating a growing minority—Canadian women engineers

Conclusion The Canada-wide survey of women engineers has provided a wealth of detailed information about a still small, but rapidly growing, minority within the profession. A major source of satisfaction of these women is the interest and variety of the work they do and for which they are financially rewarded on the same scale as men. Few wives earn salaries equivalent to those of their husbands, but women engineers do. This fact may account at least in part for the egalitarian nature of their marriages. With two professional salaries coming into the household, it is possible to engage competent and reliable assistants. The proportion of women engineers who have household employees, either full-time or on a part-time basis, is many times greater than for Canadian women in general. The ability of women engineers to divide their time between family and profession seems to maximize the satisfaction they derive from each. Their use of continuing education to maintain continuity of professional interests during their short periods out of full-time employment as engineers shows careful planning and individual ingenuity. In spite of occasional instances of unfairness or perceived discrimination by an individual, women engineers report a high level of satisfaction with the profession they have chosen. Many wrote at length about why they would recommendit to other women who want an interesting, challenging, and rewarding career. They say that engineering is a great profession—especially for a woman!