Ethnography of technological competence in clinical midwifery practice

Background. Concept analysis has identified three domains in the competent use of birth technology â?? interpersonal skills, professional knowledge and clinical proficiency â?? and tentative criteria for birth technology competence. Aim. Fieldwork was undertaken to observe, confirm and explore pre-defined attributes of birth technology competence. Method. The Swartz-Barcott and Kim (2000) hybrid model of concept development was expanded to include an ethnographic observation of theory in action. Findings. Key attributes of birth technology competence found in â??real-worldâ?? midwifery practice were skills in using the machines, decision-making and traditional midwifery skills. Conclusions. The confusion surrounding the use of technology in midwifery practice needs to be addressed by both professionals and educationalists. Midwives should be taught to value traditional midwifery skills alongside those of machine skills. The identification of a model of appropriate technology use is needed in midwifery.

The Philosophy and Practice of Interpretivist Research in Entrepreneurship Quality, Validation, and Trust

Knowledge production in entrepreneurship requires inclusivity as well as diversity and pluralism in research perspectives and approaches. In this article, the authors address concerns about interpretivist research regarding validity, reliability, objectivity, generalizability, and communicability of results that militate against its more widespread acceptance. Following the nonfoundationalist argument that all observation is theory-laden, context specific, and that there are no external criteria against which to assess research design and execution and the data produced, the authors propose that quality must be internalized within the underlying research philosophy rather than something to be tested upon completion. This requires a shift from the notion of validity as an outcome to validation as a process. To elucidate this, they provide a guiding framework and present a case illustration that will assist an interpretivist entrepreneurship researcher to establish and demonstrate the quality of their work.

Philosophy, Social Hope and Democratic Criticism:Critical Theory for a Global Age

The attempt to connect philosophy and social hope has been one of the key distinguishing features of critical theory as a tradition of enquiry. This connection has been questioned forcefully from the perspective of a post-philosophical pragmatism, as articulated by Rorty. In this article I consider two strategies that have been adopted by critical theorists in seeking to reject Rorty's suggestion that we should abandon the attempt to ground social hope in philosophical reason. We consider argumentative strategies of the philosophical anthropologist and of the rational proceduralist. Once the exchanges between Rorty and these two strands of critical theory have been reconstructed and assessed, an alternative perspective emerges. It is argued that philosophical reasoning best helps to sustain social hope in a rapidly changing world when we consider it in terms of the practice of democratic criticism.

The evolution of the UK charity Statement of Recommended Practice: The influence of key stakeholders

In the early 1980s, a landmark study identified significant poor reporting practice in UK charities. As a consequence, a journey was commenced with the aim of improving accounting and reporting as a basis for enhancing accountability by charities. Much of this change has been effected through the publication of evolving Statements of Recommended Practice (SORPs) on accounting and reporting by charities. This paper analyses the evolution of the SORP through time using insights from stakeholder theory, and argues that the key stakeholders influencing the evolving SORP have been government and the accounting profession.

Situating relational ontology and transformative activist stance within the ‘everyday’ practice of coteaching and cogenerative dialogue.

This paper attempts to advance the thinking in Stetsenko’s paper by situating the concepts of relational ontology and transformative activist stance in the context of coteaching and cogenerative dialogue. In so doing, we hope to make Stetsenko’s ideas more operational in terms of access and application by researchers, teachers, policy makers and other stakeholders in education. Stetsenko argues that moving from relational ontology to a transformative activist stance can be considered as moving from participation to contribution. When this model was applied to coteaching and cogenerative dialogue, it was apparent that the coteaching and cogenerative dialogue moved further, from contribution to shared contribution, adding even greater potential for transformation. The paper also discusses the use of cultural historical activity theory in articulating the relationships, dynamics and interpretations of coteaching and cogenerative dialogue in relation to the wider context of their application.

Entrepreneurial and Business Growth and the Quest for a “Comprehensive Theory”: Tilting at Windmills?

Even though there has been sustained interest in growth for almost 50 years, relatively little is known about this phenomenon and much confusion and misunderstanding surrounds it. Based on a literature review and the articles in this special issue we make three recommendations that we believe will allow theory to advance and be applicable in practice. First, that discourse between key stakeholders is encouraged in order to achieve greater understanding. Second, that focus is placed on " growth as a process," rather than as a " change in amount." Third, that knowledge production requires inclusivity and pluralism in research perspectives and approaches. © 2010 Baylor University.

The good, the bad and the 'not so bad': reflecting on moral appraisal in practice

The aim of this paper is to facilitate reflection on the moral merit of practitioners in various contexts. Insight is gained from Aristotelian and Kantian accounts of moral character and an original framework for reflection is presented as an adjunct to ethical theory and principles considered when appraising others. In relation to states of character there is an irreconcilable difference between Kantian (deontic) and Aristotelian (aretaic) conceptions of the nature of full virtue (excellence of character), but at the same time it can be argued that in relation to practice their approaches complement each other. It is also argued that in relation to caring for the vulnerable, Aristotle’s conception of full virtue is more compelling than Kant’s. On the other hand, Kant’s notion of self - serving action is important in nursing and it therefore needs to be considered when reflecting on professional conduct. The conclusion reached is that Aristotelian and Kantian accounts of character appraisal should be used in a combined approach to moral appraisal. This approach draws on the accounts of both philosophers and offers valuable insight into moral character, professional conduct and, in a more formal setting, fitness to practise.