The Mount Sinai Hospital Ecosystem - 1466 Words

The Mount Sinai Hospital Ecosystem Xavier Sennon Western Governors University Mount Sinai Hospital Ecosystem In the United States there are over 5000 health care facilities, and with such a large selection to choose from, the task of selecting an institution to write a research paper on can be challenging. To avoid this pitfall, the decision was made to select a Health care facility that was not only geographically convenient, but also an intuition that I represent. As an employee of Mount Sinai Hospital of New York, NY, the decision came natural to select this Health Care facility. The Mount Sinai Hospital is currently the largest Health care institution in the North-East, with 1,171 beds and 2,510 Physicians. The hospital first†¦show more content†¦Mount Sinai Hospital has been on the cutting edge of technology through medical research and by the innovative spirit of its faculty. An example of necessity meets innovation through Health informatics was published online. In May 2013, Mount Sinai Hospital became the first major Hospital to implement an enterprise-grade mobile care-coordination mobile app which employs a special HIPAA-secure group text messaging system that improves communication between team members who coordinate care of patients with complex medical conditions (Leventhal, 2013). The app was developed by a resident at the hospital who saw the necessity to improve communication, and coordination between providers. The mobile app named Cureatr, connects providers amongst multiple platforms and institutions. The capability providers have to communicate in a group chat environment across multiple healthcare intuitions lends for seamless data sharing outside the EMR environment. Prior to the use of Cureatr, there was no centralizing tool for health care providers to communicate in a group setting. The delivery health care was improved greatly as a result of health informatics implementation of Cureatr. The future of the health care industry seems very promising, from the implementation of EMRs and EHS, to advancements in communication and medical discoveries. For many, it comes as no surprise to hear of an emerging trend at Mount Sinai Hospital that could potentially change how long theShow MoreRelatedKyruus case Essay13147 Words   |  53 Pagesfounded Kyruus in August, 2010. (See exhibit 1 for management biographies.) The company’s vision was to optimize how organizations worked with their physicians’ networks. It provided data and analytics about physicians to multiple customers (e.g. hospitals, payers and pharmaceutical companies) to help those organizations understand and manage both the risk and value of their networks. Since inception, the company had gathered information about the 800,000 physicians working in the U.S. The data included

Linear correlation coefficient and linear regression principles Free Essays

Flouris, Metsios and Koutedakis (2006) studied the contribution of muscular strength in cardio-respiratory fitness tests, which are multistage shuttle run test (MSR), square shuttle run test (SSR) and maximal laboratory treadmill test (MT). The last minutes of an endurance race depended on muscular strength and anaerobic power. There however has no study yet on how lower extremity muscular strength performed in cardio respiratory fitness tests. We will write a custom essay sample on Linear correlation coefficient and linear regression principles or any similar topic only for you Order Now The purpose of this study is to determine the levels of muscular strength independent using MT, MSR, and SSR. The participants of the study were thirty-eight healthy male individuals aged between 18 and 29 years old. To qualify for healthy individuals, those who smoke and hard benign medical history, were excluded from the study. Participants visit the data collection sites individually on three different occasions phased with a minimum of 96 hours between assessments. All these three assessments were done within two weeks. Time of assessment was between late morning and early afternoon. The first visit was for laboratory assessments: 1) progressive maximal laboratory treadmill test (MT) to exhaustion, where maximal attained speed (MAS) and maximal oxygen uptake (VO2MAX) were measured, and 2) isokinetic dynamometry, where measures of concentric peak torques of knee extensors (PTEX) and flexors (PTFL) and combined torque generated by both legs (PTC) were obtained. The remaining visits were for the field assessments of 20 meter multistage shuttle run test (MSR) and 20 meter square shuttle run test (SSR), where for each test the maximal attainment speed was measured. The linear regression analysis used in the square shuttle run test (SSR) was the equation: MASMSR = PTEX + PTFL + PTC. The beta-coefficients derived through the regression analysis however were not reported. From the isokinetic dynamometry measures, only combined peak torques of both legs had significant R2 increase, which was 0.04. This means that combined peak torques of both legs explained four percent of the variation in the data for maximal attained speed while performing the square shuttle run test. The relationship between MASMSR and PTFL was found to be highly positive, r(38)=0.58, p0.001. This means that the more the knees flexed the higher the individual attains greater speed in performing the multi-stage shuttle run test, and the higher the maximal speed attained the more knees flexed. The two variables affect each other without determining the causal factor among the two. The relationship between MASMSR and PTEX was found too to be highly positive, r(38)=0.53, p0.001. This means that the more the knees extends, the higher the individual attains greater speed in performing the multi-stage shuttle run test, and the higher the maximal speed attained the more knees extended. There was no much difference in these correlations. This may be explained by the fact that the more the knees flexed, the more the knees extended to compensate for the previous action, and the more knees extended, the more the knees flexed. This vicious cycle of effect on each other when taken together in a series of actions would result to a high speed running. This explains altogether the relationship of MASMSR and PTFL and MASMSR and PTEX. The maximal attained speed (MAS) of the three cardio-respiratory tests (MT, MSR, SSR), MASMT was found to be most highly positive with MTVO2MAX, r(38)=0.94, p0.001. This means that the greater the maximal speed attained in performing the treadmill test, the greater the uptake of oxygen. Taking in oxygen was rather a compensatory reaction mechanism of the body subjected to physical stress such as running a treadmill. There may however be possible autocorrelation in MTVO2MAX and MASMT since the variables were taken in the same occasion, compared to measures taken in the multi-stage shuttle run test and square shuttle run test. This explains a very high correlation between the two variables. The average oxygen uptake (VO2MAX) measured in MT was between 41 and 53.4 mL/kg/min compared to as measured in MSR (46.4, 58) and SSR (41.8, 51.6). This means that the oxygen uptake when in progressive maximal laboratory treadmill was in lesser amount compared to when the individual was in multi-stage shuttle run test, although this oxygen uptake was in pace with the maximum attained speed. The y-intercept value and the x-value for MASMSR cannot be determined from the literature although it can be said that the slope or y-intercept was significantly not equal to zero, since all isokinetic dynamometry measures were highly related to maximal attained speed in multistage shuttle run test. The researchers further noted that the beta-coefficients for this linear regression equation was rather â€Å"markedly low† but the figures were not reported, since the researcher limited its study in establishing effects of the isokinetric dynamometry variables on the maximal attained speed (MAS) in multistage shuttle run test and not on predicting MAS. The study did not report the regression equation thus the maximal attained speed cannot be predicted using known values of the isokinetic dynamometry variables. The full use of the regression analysis was therefore not maximized. Further, its taking account of the Coefficient of Determination (R2) only gave the increase of variation for a variable. Although this may be sufficient but the full information needed to make exhaustive analysis of the data was not readily available. Thus, verification of the results, as maybe done by other researcher in the field, cannot be done. The study implies on the incorporation of resistance regimens in the runner’s training. Regimens may include activities MSR since the activity stimulates knee extensor and knee flexor, which helped in increasing maximal attained speed of the runner. References Flouris, A.D. Metsios, G.S., Koutedakis, Y. (2006). Contribution of muscular strength in cardio-respiratory fitness tests. J. Sports med phys fitness, 46(2), 197-201.    How to cite Linear correlation coefficient and linear regression principles, Essay examples

A definition and critical analysis of benchmarking Essay Example For Students

A definition and critical analysis of benchmarking Essay Harmonizing to the Robert Camp definition on benchmarking, its the hunt for company best patterns which will take to superior public presentation. The article has highlighted the importance of benchmarking pattern which leads to uninterrupted betterment in the organisation public presentation. Furthermore the writers mentioned the of import of five stairss in benchmarking such as: What to benchmark Choice benchmarking spouse Collect informations and analyse it Goals for betterment Implement and proctor Benchmarking patterns identified depending on the nature of the object that will benchmark such as procedure, merchandise and strategic benchmarking. In add-on the benchmarking could be in the same organisation, for illustration, it might be internal benchmarking, competitory benchmarking, functional benchmarking and generic benchmarking. Then the writers defined benchmarking topics which is the first and of import measure in benchmarking, if betterments on merchandise, services or public presentation purpose to better fight and concern consequences. Finally, two instances are presented as an illustration of how companies can use the proposed stairss for forming benchmarking enterprises which are focused on procedures critical to competitory dimension. Outline1 Key Learning Points2 Critical Analysis3 Practical Deductions4 Learning Contemplations Key Learning Points The of import thoughts discussed in this article focuses on the basic five stairss of benchmarking. Benchmarking is considered to be of great importance for deriving competitory advantage over the rivals by sing the betterment in public presentation degree of the merchandise and the operational schemes. Benchmarking can be classified on the footing of two different variables. Categorization can be done based on the aim of the survey and the type of spouse. Benchmarking can hold the undermentioned three aim of survey: Procedure benchmarking In this type of benchmarking operations, concern procedures, and work patterns of two companies are compared. Merchandise benchmarking Products and services of the rival are compared. Strategic benchmarking In some ways it is similar to treat benchmarking. Management patterns and organisational constructions are compared. Based on the type of spouse benchmarking can be divided into 4 types: Internal benchmarking, Competitive benchmarking, Functional benchmarking, and generic benchmarking. Another cardinal point to larn from the instance survey is how to specify the aim of analyzing benchmarking. A series of stairss is suggested for make up ones minding the object of the benchmark. The given two instance surveies give a complete penetration of the benchmarking procedure which is really critical to competitory advantage. The proposed instances demonstrate the function of benchmarking in fight, strategic planning, and client outlooks. Execution of betterment planning in the concern operations instead than the functional hierarchy consequences more effectual in the proportions of fight. ( Carpinetti, 2002 ) Critical Analysis The article has presented many aspects of the term benchmarking in really detailed and critical ways and methodological analysiss. From this article I understood: Definition of benchmarking: Earlier benchmarking was practising and endeavoring for the best methodological analysiss of the industry for the best public presentation among the rivals. But now benchmarking has a broader significance. It is a more strict and planned class of actions for mensurating the current concern operations and procedure direction and comparing them with that of concern rivals from all over the universe which will assist the organisation in garnering information for betterments in the public presentation. Benchmarking is presently widely used in the word as a tool for uninterrupted betterments and set uping entire quality direction. Procedure Benchmarking dressed ore on specific procedures and stairss of the concern instead than the complete production procedure. The major focal point of the article is that the analysis of organisation s current patterns and integrating the best concern processs in the strategic determination devising and concern operations will be of great aid in bettering the overall public presentation carried out by the company. The procedure benchmarking is utile to better the public presentation of assorted stages of the merchandise development and better the overall productiveness by implementing schemes that are best in the industry and are used by other rivals. ( Carpinetti, 2002 ) Technology In Agriculture, And Its Application To EssayLearning Contemplations The article has been of great aid in understanding the current demands of betterment in concern operations. The theories and instance surveies proposed in the article have wholly changed the position of betterment in the public presentation of concern procedures and competitory advantage. Including strong betterment activities without sing the effects of current market demands, concern activities, and the procedure of the rivals will non be helpful in the overall betterment of the organisational public presentation. The 5 basic stairss of benchmarking are the of import stairss for the consistent and important betterment in the public presentation of the organisation.

TNA Essay Example

TNA Essay TNA Introduction TNA is a process of gathering and interpreting data for identifying performance problems and suggesting solutions. ?Training needs analysis is a critical part of the training process. The TNA objective is twofold: to collect and evaluate information in order to find out what is being done now and what should be done now and later. We have no set procedure for performing a TNA, but the activities fall into three Stages (surveillance, investigation, analysis) and end with a report. The TNA concept provokes some problems within the organization, and the person sponsoring a TNA must cope with these.? (Smith Delahaye, 1998 p. 79) The fictive case scenario presented in this assignment will take place at The Slabrock Nightclub in Skien, Norway, where I actually used to work as the security manager. Some trendy nightclubs in Skien have been forced to close its doors because of failing to control crime on the premises. As a well-repudiated security consultant, I get a call from Slabrock Nightclub which have received multiple warning letters from the local authorities, threatening to revoke the club?s liquor license and operating permit. The conclusion from this call is that I am to conduct a TNA, write a report We will write a custom essay sample on TNA specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on TNA specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on TNA specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer tna, bouncers, club, analysis, security, police, should, training, job, data, out, manager, management, investigation, clubs, smith, surveillance, slabrock, nightclub, need, call, being, performance, 1998, work, three, someone, serious, required, reports, plans/policies, person, patrons, organization, local

Healthy Conflict in the Workplace Essay Example

Healthy Conflict in the Workplace Essay Example Healthy Conflict in the Workplace Paper Healthy Conflict in the Workplace Paper In my organization, the conflict occurred between two engineers responsible for one project. Each of them insisted on his approach to a new IT architecture and did not even listen to the other party. I suppose both of them tried to prove their professional skills and expertise in this subject and, for this reason, insisted on their approach to change. The main negative outcomes of the conflict were aggressiveness and violence in relations, unproductive behavior and low spirit of other employees. The engineers did not want even to talk to other people about this conflict insisting on their approach to change. Aggressiveness, lack of understanding and neglect were the main causes of this conflict (Wood, 2003, p. 268).   In order to solve it, mediation (third party) was used. Mediator played the core role here. Belonging to an independent part of the process he helped the parties of the conflicts being objective. The ability of a third party to resolve conflict can influence the outcome of it. It was found that the approaches proposed by both engineers had much in common (Wood, 2003, p. 307). I suppose that listening, objectivity and loyalty would help both of them to avoid conflict and implement the project on time. In this case, listening practices is one of the most important principles of communication and conflict resolution. Listening practices imply mutual respect and confidence needed for successful conflict resolution. Subjects to be discussed should be clearly stated. If people are not open and attentive, they fail to perform effectively and solve current problems. Their efforts must all pull in the same direction, and their contributions must fit together to produce a whole without gaps, without friction, without unnecessary duplication of effort (wood, 2003, p. 293). The all-channel network involves full discussion and participation which enhance performance in teams. This network appears to work best where a high level of interaction is required among all members of the team in order to solve complex problems. Objectivity will benefit both the employees and organization creating a friendly atmosphere and trust. References 1. Wood, J.T. (2003). Interpersonal Communications. Wadsworth Publishing.

Good vs. Well, Bad vs. Badly

Good vs. Well, Bad vs. Badly Good vs. Well, Bad vs. Badly Good vs. Well, Bad vs. Badly By Maeve Maddox Do you cringe when you ask someone â€Å"How are you?† and the person replies, â€Å"I’m good†? Why? Perhaps, like me, you are expecting the response to be â€Å"I’m well, thank you,† and the â€Å"I’m good† offends your expectations. However, if your complaint is that good is an adjective and well is an adverb, you’re on thin ice. The fact that well is the adverbial form of good is irrelevant because in this expression, both good and well are being used as adjectives. Good and well function as more than one part of speech: The diner is noted for good food. (adjective) A true statesman is dedicated to the common good. (noun) You speak French well. (adverb) He was ill, but now he is well. (adjective) Life is like a well. (noun) As an adjective, well is usually used to mean â€Å"sound in health,† or â€Å"recovered from sickness.† An earlier sense of â€Å"prosperous† survives in the expressions â€Å"well to do,† and â€Å"well off.† One of the numerous meanings of good is â€Å"morally commendable, virtuous.† This definition is invoked by speakers who wish to ridicule the â€Å"I’m good† response. For example, in an episode of 30 Rock, Tracy Jordan corrects another character who has said â€Å"I’m good† this way: â€Å"Superman is good; you’re well.† Another meaning of good is â€Å"satisfactory, unimpaired, not depressed or dejected.† Although the â€Å"I’m good† response still strikes many ears as colloquial at best, it is not ungrammatical. Speakers who object to the usage are free to avoid it in their own speech, but they may wish to refrain from ridiculing its use in the speech of others. While we’re at it, this may be a good place to mention a common error with the adjective bad and its adverbial form badly. Here are some incorrect uses of badly from the web: Facebook makes us feel badly about ourselves. I think awards just make the other kids who didn’t get awards feel badly. Maybe her intention isn’t to make you feel badly, and you’re making yourself feel badly. I guess I just sometimes feel badly for my extrovert kids. These are all from commenters and amateur bloggers, but even professional writers fall into the error: People who go through life applying a measuring ruler against every situation judging its â€Å"fairness† will often feel badly and negative because of it. –John M. Grohol, Doctor of Psychology You must never feel badly about making mistakes† Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth In each instance, the expression should be â€Å"feel bad,† not â€Å"feel badly.† Badly is an adverb. It must be used with a verb that expresses an action. Feel can be either a linking verb or an action verb, but when it is used in the sense of experiencing an emotion, it is a linking verb and takes an adjective to complete it: â€Å"I feel bad.† As an action verb, feel means â€Å"to handle† or â€Å"to touch.† For example, a person who â€Å"feels badly† would have trouble learning to read Braille. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:25 Subordinating Conjunctions40 Fish Idioms10 Humorous, Derisive, or Slang Synonyms for â€Å"Leader† or â€Å"Official†

Walgreens Annual Report 2011 Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Walgreens Annual Report 2011 - Term Paper Example There is a comparison between the financial year 2011 and the preceding year 2010. The percentage increase for each of the mentioned entities is given. The third section is the company highlights. This section stipulates the company’s locations in terms of new locations, new acquisitions, closings, and the sales area. Also there is a breakdown of the product class sales in terms of prescription drugs, non prescription drugs and general merchandise. Extensive comparison of the financial year 2010 with preceding four years is given. The section is concluded with a graphical representation of the company’s fiscal year stock performance. The fourth section in the Walgreens report is the letter to shareholders. This section, signed by the Chairman of the Board and the President and Chief Executive Officer, delineates the company’s activities, achievements, drawbacks and how they were curbed among other issues from the perspective of the Chairman and the CEO. The fifth section is known as everyday. This section defines the core values, missions and objectives of Walgreen Company. One by one they give a vivid description of what the company does in people’s lives everyday. These include: providing integrated care, caring for patients, helping people live well, enhancing healthy living as well as getting closer to people. The section concludes with a group photo of the board of directors plus their names and ranks as well as a list of the company’s officers. The sixth section is the five-year summary of selected consolidated financial data.As the title suggests, this section encompasses a breakdown of a few selected entities including net sales, per common share, non current liabilities, assets and equity as well as location. An extensive analysis of these entities for the last five years is given. Seventhly, we have the management’s discussion and analysis of results of operations and financial condition. In this section, ther e is an extensive and lengthy discussion and analysis of the company’s financial conditions and results of the company’s operations. It contains a series of statements which involve risks and uncertainties inter alia. The eighth section is the consolidated statements. This section comprise of consolidated statements of earnings, consolidated statements shareholder’s equity, consolidated statements balance sheets and statements of cash flow. It is followed by the notes to the consolidated financial statements. This section comprehends the accompanying information to the consolidated financial statements. It describes the major accounting policies, restructuring, leases, acquisitions, goodwill and other intangible assets, income taxes, short-term borrowings and long-term loans, financial instruments, fair measurements commitments and contingencies, capital stock, stock compensation plans, retirement benefits as well as supplementary financial information. Finally, there is the report of independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. This is the last section of the report which gives an audit feedback to the Board of Directors and Shareholders of Walgreen Company by the Delloitte and Touche LLP audit firm. There are many factors that influenced the Company’s financial performance during the financial year 2011 as delineated in the report. First and foremost is the establishment of new alliances with top health system. These include: John Hopkins Medical Center, Onchsner Health

Tsar Alexander I Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Tsar Alexander I - Research Paper Example Alexander was made the Emperor after the murder of his father Paul 1 and ruled Russia during one of its most unstable periods. A liberal at heart, Alexander tried to bring about social reforms. Family and Personality There is a strong relationship between the personality of Alexander and his early childhood. The struggle for power between Alexander’s father Paul and his mother had a deep rooted impact on his personality. From a very early age he learned the art of distancing himself from his family and developed a strong conscious of his own power. During his rule as emperor of Russia this side of his personality was evident. He was always a person who could change is ideology and impression according to his target audience. Thus Alexander was able to master different cultures and skills. He was equally apt at art as he was at military strategy. He could advocate the Rousseau’s humanitarian ideologies and preach the traditions of Russian aristocracy at the same time. Th us it is widely believed that Alexander proclaimed that he loved humanity but in reality hated it which is shown from his various decisions in power. This is also shown by the dual decisions taken by him in both foreign and domestic policy. Succession At the age of fifteen years Tsar 1 was married to Louise of Baden. She was later named as Elisabeth Alexeievna. Catherine wanted to appoint Alexander the King due to her differences with Alexander’s father Paul 1. However before she could take on this task she died in 1976. This created a power vacuum and there was only Paul 1 who could fill this vacuum. Thus instead of Alexander, his father became the king. Paul 1 as compared to Alexander was more intent on bringing about social reforms in Russia. This saw a massive opposition from the court and other power sources. These social reforms were resulting in a direct decrease in their power therefore it was inevitable that there would be opposition against Paul 1. The opposition fi nally resulted in his death as he was murdered in 1801. There is still much confusion on Alexander’s actual role in his father’s murder. It is however believed that in either case Alexander knew about the plot and was willing to take the throne. Reforms The early year of rule of Alexander 1 saw many efforts at bring about a change in the stagnant governing system of Russia. Russia in the era worked through a centralized system of governance consisting of Collegias. These Collegias were abolished in Alexander’s rule and new ministries were set up in their place. A big hindrance in this process was the old allies who has propelled him into power by killing his father. Tsar 1 systematically replaced them with young and enthusiastic friends from his own company. The ultimate aim of Alexander was to form a constitutional monarchy which would not reduce his power and bring about social reforms at the same time. Most of Alexander’s reforms were constitutional su ch as the creation of a new law and committee of representatives. These reforms did not change life of the common man during his time but had a long lasting effect on Russia. A very simple example is the abolishing of serfdom by his nephew many decades later. Although Alexander 1 could not achieve this goal during his rule, the changes brought about in law (allowing serfs to own land) enabled later generations to bring about reforms. Wars The most remarkable thing about the rule of Alexander was his wars with Napoleon. Initially the young Tsar had a very good

Lesson Plan in Classroom Program Essay Example for Free

Lesson Plan in Classroom Program Essay In our modern epoch, the time when the only things that are needed for effective learning are the teachers and students is long gone. At the turn of the millennium, the equation to successful teaching also has the variables of classroom schedule, room assignment and even proper assignment of teachers. Although these factors may seem insignificant, all of those can be the telling elements as to whether the highest possible level of edification is attained. During our first teaching episode in our cooperating school, Tagum City National Comprehensive High School, I quickly took notice about the schedule of our CT. Mam Mercado’s schedule is obviously loaded, with only a few minutes of break or rest in between. Her class schedule as well as room assignment was relatively reasonable (in the Philippines’s educational setting). As she is assigned to teach English which is her major, it can be concluded that her students will acquire adequate learning. All these factors greatly contribute to the effectiveness of teaching as well as learning. Having stated that, I realized that for a lesson or a curriculum will be best implemented and taught if all the necessary components, which in this case are the class program, teacher’s assignment and room assignment, are present and well organized. Proper organization can greatly influence and even pad up the interest and enthusiasm of the students. On the part of the teacher, it eases up the tasks to be done knowing that most of these portions which he/she can’t control are put right in place. With that considered, the educational institution can be confident that the zenith of the teaching-leaning process is achieved. Due to some obvious reasons, we were not able to interview our CT about her Class Program. However, she shared to us how important it is to prepare a class program and implement it adaptably. With that, both the teacher and  the learners will know what to do expect as well as do next. With all that has been learned, I realized that there are many dynamics to be considered before effective edification can be professed. Most importantly, proper preparation and implementation of the class program should be given due concern for it can immensely affect learning.

A High School Students Opinion of Poetry :: Education Poetry Poems Essays

A High School Student's Opinion of Poetry Students’ opinions of poetry are very important to consider when planning how to cover poetry in the classroom. In this article, Jon C. Mladic and Douglas R. Pietrzak surveyed a high school creative writing class in Normal, IL (grades 10-12) about their opinions of poetry. They created an extensive survey concerning the students’ opinions and experiences with poetry as well their preferences for instruction. They also interview the teacher of the creative writing class in order to gather her opinions. Mladic and Pietrzak found that surveying students in creative writing classes can be very useful for any class. Students stated that it was especially dificult to write on command and that the environment of the school was not particularly conducive to writing. Students that were inclined to write on their own often cited writing as a means of self-exploration and they felt as if the environment of the school was not fitting for this purpose. In this article, Mladic and Pietrzak discuss a list of possible adjustments that could be made to the classroom to help the students feel more comfortable expressing themselves through writing, but insist that a writing classroom should be individually adapted to the unique members and interests of each classroom. Poetry as a means of self-expression has a wide-range of possible uses outside the English classroom as well that can be very beneficial for students’ personal and social development. Introduction This study is concerned with students’ opinions and knowledge of poetry so that the teacher can best adjust the classroom atmosphere to encourage student writing and creative exploration. Poetry as a topic for high school students is full of misconceptions and stereotypes. Therefore, since high school students tend to have little exposure to poetry – especially writing it – it is very important for the teacher to be sensitive and understand the dynamics of the classroom so that they are able to inspire students to feel comfortable with poetry. Poetry can be a very powerful tool of self-expression and self-exploration for students. Research Questions Essentially we have one research question: What opinions do high schools students have when approaching poetry? This question, however, led to a number of other questions. How can the classroom be adjusted to best fit your approaches towards writing? What topics do you write about in poetry? What is students’ prior knowledge of poetry?

Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Emily Dickinson Essay

The lives and works of Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Emily Dickinson may be different in many ways, but there are existential treads that bind these two people together by similarities. Elizabeth Browning became famous while she was alive and was very influential opposed to Emily Dickinson who became famous for her poems after she died. In the eighteenth century two of the finest poets; Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Emily Dickinson are two people who are close in certain aspects but completely different individuals. Thus, looking deeper into each individual’s lives and works will give us a better perception on these two poets. The Victorian poet â€Å"Elizabeth Barrett Browning was born in 1806, March 6th Durham, England, and was the oldest child out of twelve children† (â€Å"Elizabeth Barrett Browning†). â€Å"Elizabeth’s father, Edward Barrett, was a businessman who was very wealthy from many sugar plantations in Jamaica† (â€Å"Elizabeth Barrett Browning†). As a child, Elizabeth wrote her first earliest known poem for her mother’s birthday and for her fifteenth birthday; her father had one of her poems privately printed. This poem was â€Å"The Battle of Marathon† (â€Å"Elizabeth Barrett Browning†). â€Å"Elizabeth experienced her first sorrow in 1828 when her mother Mary suddenly died† (â€Å"Elizabeth Barrett Browning†). â€Å"By the time Elizabeth had moved to London, her health was poor and she suffered from a spinal injury and shown signs of a lung condition but was never diagnosed† (â€Å"Elizabeth Barrett Browning†). However in these conditions Elizabeth never seemed to give up her love for poetry. Shortly after Elizabeth’s brother, Edward, drowned in a boating accident on his way back to London (â€Å"Elizabeth Barrett Browning†). â€Å"Feeling responsible for his death, Elizabeth became a recluse and practically an invalid rarely leaving her room† (â€Å"Elizabeth Barrett Browning†). This characteristic made Elizabeth similar to Emily Dickinson in the way that they are both easily affected by a tragic incident in their lives, resulting in the act of isolating themselves from others. â€Å"Elizabeth’s work brought her the man that would eventually woo, win, and marry her: Robert Browning† (â€Å"Elizabeth Barrett Browning†). â€Å"Robert became so impressed with Elizabeth’s work that he wrote to her and over the course of the next few months, he and Elizabeth wrote to each other almost every day until they finally met on May 20, 1845, where they discovered that they were already in love† (â€Å"Elizabeth Barrett Browning†). â€Å"More letters (over 500 in all) and visits continued until the two were secretly married on September 12, 1846† (â€Å"Elizabeth Barrett Browning†). â€Å"The newlyweds fled to Florence, her father never forgave her, and she found herself disinherited. She and her father never reconciled† (â€Å"Elizabeth Barrett Browning†). Elizabeth and Robert remained in Italy for the remainder of their lives and had a baby boy, Penini in 1849 (â€Å"Elizabeth Barrett Browning†). In 1850, Elizabeth’s â€Å"Sonnets from the Portuguese† were published. â€Å"Although they had been written as a private gift to Robert, her husband was so moved by the forty-four sonnets the he felt they should not be hidden from the world and published them, making the collection stand as her greatest well-known achievement† (â€Å"Elizabeth Barrett Browning†). Elizabeth died on June, 29, 1861, and was buried in Florence (â€Å"Elizabeth Barrett Browning†). Likewise, Emily Dickinson’s writing was similar to Browning in the way that she crafted a new type of first person persona (Wider). â€Å"Like the speakers in Browning’s works, Dickinson’s are sharp-sighted observers who see the inescapable limitations of their societies as well as their imagined and imaginable escapes† (Wider). â€Å"In 1890, four years after Dickinson’s death, the first volume of her poetry appeared† (Wider). â€Å"Emily Dickinson was born on December 10, 1830 in Amherst, Massachusetts† (Wider). â€Å"Emily’s father at the time of her birth was an ambitious young lawyer, and was educated at Amherst and Yale. He returned to his hometown and joined the ailing law practice of his father, Samuel Fowler Dickinson† (Wider). â€Å"Edward joined his father in the family home, built by Samuel in 1813† (Wider). â€Å"Active in the Whig Party, Edward was elected to the Massachusetts Start Legislature (1837-1839) and the Massachusetts State Senate (1842-1843)† (Wider). â€Å"Little was known of Emily’s mother† (Wider). â€Å"She often represented as a passive wife of a domineering husband† (Wider). â€Å"Emily wasn’t the only child of Edward and Emily Dickinson; she also had a brother William Austin Dickinson and a sister Livinia Norcross Dickinson† (Wider). â€Å"All three children attended the one-room primary school in Amherst and then moved on to Amherst Academy, the school out of which Amherst College had grown† (Wider). Futhermore, â€Å"Elizabeth Barrett Browning was the most respected woman poet of the Victorian age† (Burlinson). â€Å"By 1900, she was better known as the heroine of a turbulent love story than as a prolific and successful writer† (Burlinson). â€Å"Browning was an experimental writer who felt sufficiently comfortable working within poetic convention to disrupt and revise it to her own ends† (Burlinson). â€Å"Elizabeth was known for writing sonnets, allegories, ballads, political odes, love poems, occasional verses, poetic dramas, and an epic, as well as essays in literary criticism and a translation of Aeschylus† (Burlinson). Her greatest poetic success was in the sonnets from the Portuguese as stated above in Elizabeth’s biography. Elizabeth poured all her profound thoughts into these sonnets and yet the exquisiteness if the mould has compelled a rigorous pruning alike of superabundant imagery, which has had the happiest affect (Arnold). â€Å"One of her best known poems from 1850 is â€Å"The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim’s Point,† an impassioned protest against slavery in which a black woman; the rape victim of her white master, murders her child† (Burlinson). â€Å"The rage and grief of the woman chillingly conveyed in the first-person narrative† (Burlinson). Elizabeth held a deep belief that poetry could change attitudes toward the world, and indeed it did. â€Å"Her poem â€Å"The Cry of the Children† caused a sensational reaction that caused public reform in a protest against the working conditions of children† (Burlinson). â€Å"In fact, Elizabeth is one of the greatest sonnet writers in our language, and she is worthy enough to be ranked side by side with Milton and Wordsworth† (Arnold). Elizabeth has managed to touch all the chief human relationships and when she touched them, it was always in a noble manner and severe simplicity which is greatly preferred to be her most luscious and copious versification (Arnold). Unlike Elizabeth, Emily seemed to be more reclusive with her life and at a young age Emily went into seclusion, resulting in her not socially maturing. Emily also avoided doing routine house work or other normal daily activities because she like being alone to dream and use her imagination (Southworth). Many readers believe that by shunning the realities of everyday life, Emily was able to find the greater reality in the realm of imagination (Southworth). Despite being lonely and frustrated she never out grew adolescence and this seemed to show in her poetry (Southworth). Her writings showed that she was not capable of grasping the joy of reality and that she really didn’t have a true understanding of life challenges (Southworth). Like Elizabeth, â€Å"Emily’s poems were meant to be and experience, to render experiences as well as refer to it† (Ryan). â€Å"For Emily the living presence is the poem itself. If it is not intermediately between the poet and the reader, it is the thing alive the reader experiences† (Ryan). â€Å"Dickinson was a master at grammar, rhythm, rhetoric, and narrative. A master of the inextricable, intricate, intimate and constantly shifting, interrelationship’s among them† (Ryan). â€Å"Emily Dickinson wrote nearly 1800 poems, but only seven were published in her lifetime. When the first posthumous collection of her work appeared in 1890, she was regarded as an interesting but idiosyncratic minor poet. As the twentieth century has progressed, however, her poetic achievement has won interesting recognition† (Tredell). â€Å"Dickinson nonetheless engages in an original and vibrant way with love, eroticism, nature, death, immortality and eternity. Her work is notable for its power and compression and complexity, its precise and startling phrasing, its inventiveness of rhythm and rhyme, and the exploratory daring which belies its apparent decorum† (Tredell). Emily said to Higginson that poetry is something that makes the body feel so cold that no fire could warm it, that if the reader physically feels as if the top of their head were taken off that its poetry. She claims that this is the only way she knows its poetry (Ryan). Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poem â€Å"The Cry of the Children† is about child labor. In this poem Elizabeth is trying to show us how the children feel about working and how it makes them sad and exhausted. They suffer as they work with trembling knees and heavy eyelids. The children are demanded to keep working no matter how tired and weak they are. I know that this is the theme because the speaker says â€Å"Do ye hear the children weeping,† (â€Å"The Cry of the Children†). This means that the children were weeping in sorrow because in the playtime of others they are working. Another detail that supports my idea for the theme is the lines â€Å"For oh, say the children, we are weary, / and we cannot run or leap;† (â€Å"The Cry of the Children†). This detail shows that the children are suffering that they are tired and weak. When Elizabeth describes how the children look she is using imagery by saying, â€Å"we are weary, / and we cannot run or leap; / if we cared for any meadows, it were merely / to drop down in them and sleep. / our knees tremble sorely in the stooping, / we fall upon our faces, trying to go; / and, underneath our heavy eyelids drooping, / the reddest flower would look as pale as snow† (â€Å"The Cry of the Children†). This connotation is showing how the children are looking and feeling this verse is not only using imagery but it also uses a simile to show how the children’s eyes are so tired and heavy that the reddest flower would look as pale as snow for them. Emily Dickinson’s poem â€Å"Heart, we will forget him† talks about how Emily is trying to forget the man that hurt her and her heart. In the poem Emily is instructing her heart â€Å"to forget the warmth† and that she will forget â€Å"the light†. â€Å"But Emily is scared that if her heart takes too long to forget, then it will give her time to remember, thus causing her to not be able to carry out her self-given assignment† (â€Å"Heart, we will forget him†). I know that the theme of the poem is getting over someone you love by the line â€Å"Heart, we will forget him† (â€Å"Heart, we will forget him†). This line is referring to Emily’s heart trying to forget the man that hurt both her and her heart. Another detail supporting my thought for the theme is the line â€Å"you may forget the warmth he gave / I will forget the light† (â€Å"Heart, we will forget him†). This line is trying to demonstrate that the heart is trying to forget the warmth that the man gave it and that Emily will try to forget the light he brought to her world. In this poem Emily tells the heart what do to by commands making the hearts seem as if it can act, think and follow orders like a brain. By making the heart have a human characteristic Emily is using the literary device personification. Emily also uses a literary device called tautology which is use when there is a repetition of words, and in the first stanza of â€Å"Heart, we will forget him† Emily uses the word forget three times to emphases that she and her heart will forget the one that broke them. Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Emily Dickinson were two poets that works were very similar in structure despite being born in different ears. The two poets depicted similar first person’s personas in their writings and became famous for it. Although Elizabeth became famous while she was alive, Emily Dickinson did not. Each poet however had their work published and found by someone else. Elizabeth’s husband was the person who made her forty-four sonnets one of her well-known achievements and for Emily her sister Livinia was the founder of many poems left from her death. By comparing the works and lives of Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Emily Dickinson, we can conclude that the inner life of an artist has more impact on their literary output than the external factors that shaped their lives. Works Cited Arnold, William T. â€Å"Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861).† The English Poets: The Nineteenth Century, Wordswort to Rossetti. Ed. Thomas Humphry Ward. Vol. 4. Macmillan and Co., 1893. 562-567. Rpt. in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Laurie Lanzen Harris. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale Research, 1981. Literature Resource Center. Web. 15 Dec. 2011. Burlinson, Kathryn. â€Å"Elizabeth Barrett Browning: Overview.† Reference Guide to English Literature. Ed. D. L. Kirkpatrick. 2nd ed. Chicago: St. James Press, 1991. Literature Resource Center. Web. 11 Dec. 2011. â€Å"Elizabeth Barrett Browning.† LitFinder Contemporary Collection. Detroit: Gale, 2007. LitFinder. Wed. 6 Dec. 2011. Ryan, Michael (American College Teacher). â€Å"Dickinson’s Stories.† The American Poetry Review Mar.-Apr. 2009: 5+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 15 Dec. 2011. Southworth, James Granville. â€Å"Emily Dickinson.† Some Modern American Poets. James Granville Southworth. Blackwell, 1950. 14. LitFinder. Web. 11 Dec. 2011. Tredell, Nicholas. â€Å"Emily Dickinson: Overview.† Gay and Lesbian Biography. Ed. Michael J. Tyrkus and Michael Bronski. Detroit: St. James Press, 1997. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 28 Jan. 2012. Wider, Sarah Ann. â€Å"Emily (Elizabeth) Dickinson.† The American Renaissance in New England: Fourth Series. Ed. Wesley T. Mott. Detroit: Gale Group, 2001. Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 243. Literature Resource Center. Web. 11 Dec. 2011.

Planning Assessment Essay

3.1 SUMMARISE KEY FACTORS TO CONSIDER WHEN PLANNING ASSESSMENT When planning assessment you need to gauge a clear idea of what level the candidate is at to see if they are ready to complete your planned assessment. There are many ways of achieving this knowledge. One method is observation in performance or another by taking an initial assessment test which have seven levels with the basic entry level 1 being the first. Once this knowledge has been gained, further knowledge is needed to suit their needs. What is their preferred learning style, is it part of a group or on a one to one basis. You will need to find out their strengths and weaknesses to get the most out of their abilities but also to work around and improve on different area that need to be worked on. When this has all been achieved the learners will need to be given information about the planned assessment. First of all they will need to have an understanding of what they are about to study, explaining what they need to do to meet the criteria set by OFQUAL – the governing body of the qualifications. They will need to understand what is expected of them when attending the course by giving them the code of conduct for them to follow. It is important that the health and safety procedures are explained to ensure their safety throughout their assessment. After this has been completed, the learners will be given the folder to look through and their assessment plan to see how they will complete it. 3.3 EXPLAIN HOW TO PLAN A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO ASSESSMENT By taking a holistic approach to assessment, it can provide the learner with a more in depth report on their progress by covering all the different methods – observations, session plans, witness testimonies, knowledge evidence and professional discussion across all the units in one go. This allows me to understand the different kind of approaches each individual learner feels comfortable with to achieve the highest possible grade. 3.5 EXPLAIN HOW TO MINIMIZE RISKS THROUGH THE PLANNING PROCESS It is the responsibility of the assessor to minimise the risks by making sure all of the health and safety procedures are covered such as risk assessment of the facilities. The assessor needs to gather information that is personal from the learner in order to adapt and provide special needs that they might have. Also the assessor will need to treat all learners equally, ensuring that equality and diversity issue are met. Once this information has been gained, the assessor can then produce an action plan for the learner which is both realistic and achievable so they are comfortable to achieve the best possible results. 4.1 EXPLAIN THE IMPORTANCE OF INVOLVING THE LEARNER AND OTHERS IN THE ASSESSMENT PROCESS Peer and Self Assessment is an effective way to get the learners involved and it gives a clear idea of what the learner is currently at and what action is needed to meet the standards and criteria. This can be done through feedback. Feedback is a vital part of the assessment process as it gives the assessor an idea of if the learner has met the criteria set and if they haven’t, what action is needed to achieve the criteria. If there is a disagreement with the assessments carried out then the learners can follow the organisational procedures that are set in place which include grievance procedures, systems for appeals and confidentiality procedures. 4.2 SUMMARISE TYPES OF INFORMATION THAT SHOULD BE MADE AVAILABLE TO LEARNERS AND OTHERS INVOLVED IN THE ASSESSMENT PROCESS The first thing that should be made available to the learners and those involved in the assessment process is what the reason is for assessment. The NVQ award is structured for a candidate to provide evidence through practical assignments and portfolio evidence that is gained throughout the  qualification. They will also need to know how long they have to complete the course which is up to the assessor. By giving them information on deadlines then it will ensure tasks are not left until the last minute which could affect the standards of the work. One other type of information that they will need to know is what the criteria is for them to achieve the grade. Each qualification has a minimum requirement needed to be met and once they learner knows this, they can work towards meeting it and gaining the qualification. 4.3 EXPLAIN HOW PEER AND SELF ASSESSMENT CAN BE USED EFFECTIVELY TO PROMOTE LEARNER INVOLVEMENT AND PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY IN THE ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING Peer and Self-Assessment can be used effectively within the learners when one of the group has difficulty within a task. Learners can interact with each other and help each other out which would be a lot less intimidating and in some situations embarrassing for shy and insecure learners than an assessor telling them they are right or wrong in front of the rest of the group. 6.3 SUMMARISE THE PROCEDURES TO FOLLOW WHEN THERE ARE DISPUTES CONCERNING ASSESSMENT IN OWN AREA OF PRACTICE If there are disputes concerning assessment in own area of practice then the procedures to follow are as follows: First of all the assessor has to be available to discuss the problem as it could be sorted out quickly and effectively through discussion. If the learner feels they want to take it further then they can take the steps to show their  disagreement which will be listed in their ‘Student Handbook’ given to them at the beginning of the course. This includes a formal written complaint to the assessor’s superior which they will then deal with in an efficient and non-discriminatory way, treating the claim with upmost confidentiality where they will decided whether to uphold or overturn the assessor’s original decision. 7.2 EXPLAIN HOW FEEDBACK AND QUESTIONING CONTRIBUTE TO THE ASSESSMENT PROCESS Feedback and Questioning can help learners improve on a specific task. Feedback provides correction and improvement on a piece of work. Not only can it correct or improve the work but it can be used as encouragement or motivation to a learner especially when they are doing well or think they are not doing well.

Tokugowa essays

Tokugowa essays The Tokugowa policy toward foreigners had changed greatly over the years and this had a great effect on the Japanese. The policy isolated Japan from the rest of the world for about 200 years. Then finally they had to cancel the rule so that contact was once again restablished. The Japanese had been very friendly and welcoming at first to the western traders. The Portuguese, English, Spanish and Dutch had come to Japan. The shoguns adapted the European style of weapons and castles helping them get more power. They were also welcoming to the Christian missionaries. Many Japanese even converted to the new religion. This all changed though after they learned about how the Spanish took over the Philippines. They started to worry that the foreigners were helping to seize their land and they also didnt like the trickery between the missionaries. The Tokugawa shoguns believed that the many Japanese Christians were going to start owing their loyalty to the pope. So they decided to ban the Christian missionaries and persecute the Japanese Christians. Many were tortured and killed and others were forced to practice in secret. Then in 1638 the Tokugawa shoguns banned the western merchants and didnt allow any Japanese to travel to foreign countries either. The trade was almost completely stopped in Japan and no more large ships were allowed to be built. Only once a year was a Dutch ship allowed to sail and trade at Nagasaki harbor. This way the Japanese could keep up with the worldly news and learn several new ideas like the Dutch medical texts. This policy was kept for about 200 years. There was a lot of trade between the cities which caused them to bloom and become very important. A city called Edo had grown so big it had a population that was over a million people. Finally in 1853 the country broke the policy and they were once again were open to contact with the rest of the world. Now that Japan was reunited wit...

Antimalware and Antispam Technology Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Antimalware and Antispam Technology - Case Study Example The decision proved costly as the software exhibited a persistent tendency to incorrectly identify Outlook files as malware and permanently delete them. Within two weeks it had deleted dozens of important emails. As no amount of configuring seemed to solve this problem, we made the transition to Symantec's Norton Internet Security. Since 2004, every computer and laptop in our company has been running Norton Internet Security. The software has, quite successfully, prevented users from logging onto a host of sites which we have identified as potentially threatening and from running peer to peer software. Indeed, the results of the ICT Department's periodic review of the application's logs indicate that Norton Internet Security has effectively protected us from a wide array of malware. Effective protection, however, does not mean immunity and therefore, we have implemented a second level of protection. Following a thorough investigation of anti-malware applications the ICT department decided to implement BINDER. A host-based detection system that can detect a wide class of malware on computers, including worms, spyware, and adware, with few false alarms, it operates through a simple algorithm which is based on inferring user intent. It detects new unknown malware on personal computers by identifying extrusions, malicious outbound network requests which the user did not intend. At the same time, and as the ICT Director informed me, we have also developed and implemented a large-scale honeyfarm system that ensures high-fidelity honeypot operation, efficiently discards the incessant Internet .background radiation that has only nuisance value when looking for new forms of activity, and devises and enforces an effective containment policy to ensure that the detected malware does not inflict external damage or skew internal analyses. Operating side-by-side, these two malware detection systems have, over the past fifteen months, effectively protected the company from malware attacks and infections. 3.1 Inferring User Intent I asked our ICT Director precisely how BINDER infers user-intent connections and, in response, he cited a very simple example. Let us assume that a user opens an Internet Explorer (IE) window, goes to a news web site, then leaves the window idle. In this example, new connections are generated in the following four cases: (1) When the user opens IE by double-clicking its icon on My Desktop in Windows, the shell process explorer.exe (PID=1664) of Windows receives the user input, and then starts the IE process. After the domain name of the default homepage is resolved, the IE process makes a connection to it to download the homepage. This connection of IE is triggered by the user input of its parent process of explorer.exe. (2) Case II: After the user clicks a bookmark of news.yahoo.com in the IE window, the domain name is resolved as xx.xxx.xx.xxx. Then the IE process makes a connection to it to download the HTML file. This connection is triggered by the user input of the same process. (3) Case III: After receiving the HTML file in 4 packets, IE goes to retrieve two image files from the websites in question. IE makes connections to them after the domain

Aging population Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Aging population - Essay Example Shakespeare has beautifully described the life of a man. He further describes it, in terms of ages and names it seven ages of a man's life. These are ages are: an infant, a child, the lover, the soldier, the justice, the old age and finally mental dementia and death. In short, they were considered as a useless part of the society and were thus isolated. This very idea had and probably has penetrated the business community as well. This fact was quite reflective in the marketing activities and campaigns launched until recently. However, the time is changing now; the old people are getting more prominence in the business society. They are now considered an important segment of the society. Business society is giving more attention the aging population, especially in the industrialized world. Their changing needs and behaviors are tried to be addressed by the marketers in more efficient manner than ever before. This matter is quite encouraging that the need has been realized; however, a s a matter of fact, what is really missing is the direction to cater their changing behaviors and needs. Thus this paper is aimed to address the fact that how the old population in the industrialized country does affects the business strategist seeking to respond their changing needs.In formulating this paper, we would start with the fact that who the aged ones are, in current scenario. Later, we would explore the key features of the aging population and what characteristics and features make them different from others After discussing this, our discussion will lead to the point that what are the corresponding marketing challenges faced by the marketers, furthermore, we will evaluate the efforts of the business community done so far to address these challenge. Lastly, we would like to know that what can be done further to address those issues. (Heibing and Cooper 2004) What is 'Old' Universally there is not any agreed upon age for being called the 'old'. However, usually those who have passed a considerable age of their life are now retired or about to retire are considered as old. Though the age for retirement also varies from country to country, however, in general that ranges between fifty to sixty years. Thus any person beyond the age of retirement is considered as old. If we accept this definition and start to look for the generation that is going to be the old or aging population, we find that our recent aging population is baby boomers. Before moving further, it is essential to know who are baby boomers are, since it would help in building this topic further. Those people who are born between 1946 and 1964 in United States are called baby boomers. (Hess and Markson 1991) Though this phenomenon is referred to US population only but the people who were born in the same period in other industrialized countries also share the same features. The baby boomers w ere born during the economic upsurge in those economies. As a result, they were fortunate to have best possible education, as compared to rest of the world. On account of the fortunate period in which they were, in general, they had a wonderful childhood leading to a promising career and prosperous youth and adult life. Now this generation that has made a lot of money is entering in to the old age. Obviously, the big sum of money that they have gathered in this period has the potential to make them one the greatest market for the marketers of the industrialized world to capture. Aging Population in Various Countries Moving further, we can

Legal advice to Bruce on his emergency leaves Essay

Legal advice to Bruce on his emergency leaves - Essay Example Legal Position Every employee has a right to emergency leave to take care of dependants across many labor law jurisdictions. Public and private employees have equal access to time allowance in order to take care of their dependants, usually in form of unpaid emergency leaves. According to Miller (2012, p. 419), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993 was enacted to provide protection to employees who require emergency leaves to take care of family or medical needs. The Act provides for emergency leave allowances of up to 12 weeks per year for general employment environment, which is accordingly extended in certain types of reasons for the dependant’s emergency need. For instance, if the dependant needs care following an injury while on a military duty, the Act provides for emergency leave of up to twenty six weeks a year. Under the details provided in the case facts, it is not clear what the cause is for the illness that Mary suffers from. The bottom line, however, is that Bruce as an employee is entitled to a certain amount of time for emergency medical attention for his wife. Within the restrictions under the Act for the number of weeks allowed within a twelve months working period, the question of how procedural Bruce was in taking leave may be the cause of the stand-off as opposed to whether he had a claim (McFarlane 2012, para4). It is not clear how many days Bruce took the emergency leaves as well as the reason for the illness that his wife suffered from. As explained above, there are certain causes of Mary’s sickness that could extend the days allowance. The size of the organization in which Bruce works may also bring the consideration of the length of time that he has claimed for emergency leaves into perspective. Ordinarily, the duration of the leave within the twelve month period is dictated by the size of the employee base, which is assumed to be 50 employees (Hunter 2009, p183). However, certain states do not have reservations in the limit of number of employees in the organization in order for the emergency leave to be allowed. It is only logical for the employees to be allowed to take an emergency leave if there is enough cover during the absence, presumably from the pool of colleagues. The danger to life of the dependant may, however, compel the situation to be stretched to accommodate emergency leaves. In order to qualify for an emergency leave, the employee must satisfy the basic requirements of an emergency under the Act. According to the case facts, Bruce’s relationship with Mary qualifies to access an emergency leave on family grounds. Perhaps more definitions of marital status and relationship would require visitation, but the low threshold on cohabitation may dispel such doubts. In case the employer requires proof of entitlement, Bruce will have to provide some form of evidence to support the argument that Mary is his wife (Hunter 2009, p24). Although certain circumstances may make it imp ossible to prove such a relationship immediately, the requirement of evidence reasonable under the circumstances is a sufficient proof. Legal Advice Bruce’s position in this case is that though he is entitled to a medical emergency leave for his spouse’s care, there are limitations in the allowable number of days. The sickness of Bruce’s wife is reportedly a lengthy one, stretching to over 15 years. However, it is not verifiable how many days

Floods Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Floods - Research Paper Example This implies that there is the likelihood of the upper Mississippi River basin experience changes in its eco systems depending on the responses of consumers and food resources to a high magnitude, unpredicted flood. The evidence for this research was based on Laboratory experiments. In order to determine the authenticity of the main hypothesis of this research work, samples were collected from the upper Mississippi River near the city of Louisiana Missouri (Delong et al, 2001). This area was used to act as a representative of the river flood plain features of the upper part of Mississippi River and it is characterized by a broad channel with a number of side channels and backwaters. Samples representing the potential nutrient sources and consumers were collected from all the three rivers in October 1993 and July 1994 for analysis of the stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes (Delong et al, 2001). Statistical analysis was done on the collected samples and using pair wise comparison. The results indicated there were few inter-annuals differences for each rivers n regard to the sources of the organic matter and the consumers. The main implication of this research is that the findings of past studies relate in a big way to the large-magnitude flood events in the upper Mississippi River system, therefore this strengthens the conclusion that the flood served to enhance rather than change the trophic structure within these river-floodplain ecosystems. The results obtained from this research imply that the consumers continued to rely on the sources of organic matter that would be used in the absence of the unpredicted 1993 flood (Delong et al, 2001). It is proposed that the trophic structure did not change in response to flooding in the Missouri Rivers because both rivers exhibited the same trends observed in the Ohio River. From the article â€Å"Pesticide and

Analysis of Board of Directors and Risk Propensity

Analysis of Board of Directors and Risk Propensity Banks are all similarly confronted with particular regulations and inspections of banking supervisions. Within this topic, the board of directors plays an important role. There are different factors considering how the composition of a board might influence its performance and the decision-making process. Therefore, factors like independence, age structure, percentage of minorities and women and the size of the board will be analyzed. After determining the composition, the influence of it on the percentage of equity financing and therefore the risk propensity will be analyzed. Furthermore, the composition will also be linked to performance indicators as Return on Assets (ROA), Return on Equity (ROE), and the development of stock quotations. 3.1. Corporate Governance The term corporate governance describes processes through which an organization is controlled and directed. Those structures specify which rights and duties certain participants in a company have and how the decision-making process works. This mostly affects the board of directors, the top management team (TMT) as well as shareholders and other stakeholders (OECD, 2005). Corporate governance is concerned with the possible abuse of power of the managers and the need for certain qualities like openness, integrity and accountability during the whole decision-making process. As shown in Figure 3.1, it also examines how certain mechanisms, including incentives, can help to minimize transactions costs that arise in an organization between principals and agents as described in the agency theory below (Mathiesen, 2002). 3.2 Structure of the Board of Directors The members of the board are generally elected by the shareholders and their responsibilities vary with the nature and the complexity of the organization. However, there are two different systems regarding the boards of directors. On the one hand there is the Anglo-Saxon system in countries like the United States and Japan (12Manage: The Executive Fast track, 2008). This consists of a one-tier board structure, where executive and non-executive directors work together in the board of directors (Weimer and Pape, 1999). This single board is usually entirely appointed by the shareholders and the CEO often also holds the board chair (12Manage: The Executive Fast track, 2008). On the other hand, in countries like Germany and the Netherlands, companies have adopted a two-tier board structure. There, the board is divided into the managing board and the supervisory board to formally separate powers (12Manage: The Executive Fast track, 2008). The managing board is monitored and advised in major policies by the supervisory board (Weimer and Pape, 1999). The CEO holds the chair of the managing board, but cannot hold the chair of the supervisory board at the same time (12Manage: The Executive Fast track, 2008). Even though, the board of directors is usually elected by the shareholders, in some cases also employees elect their own representative(s) from the workforce to support their interests on the board. In state-owned banks directors are delegated to the bank by the State Council and in where the board of directors is spitted up into managing board and supervisory board, the managing directors are appointed by the supervisory board members as shown in Figure 3.2. 3.3 Tasks of the Board of Directors In general, directors represent the shareholders interests, because they provide the elementary assets for running a company. Therefore, the main role of the board of directors is to govern an organization while acting for the shareholders in order to protect their assets and to ensure a decent return on their investments (Oss, 2003; Kennon, 2008). The board of directors is the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“highest governing authority within the management structure at any publicly traded companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (Kennon, 2008, n.p.). For this reason, the board is in charge of defining the corporate mission, setting the companys objectives and approving the firms strategy concerning the well judged allocation of the financial resources (Oss, 2003). Even though the board holds the total authority for a companys decision making they cannot manage the companys day-to-day operations, because this is the role of the CEO and the TMT (Oss, 2003). The resulting conflict potential is discussed in the Agency Theory below. According to Oss (2003) it is the boards task to govern and the CEOs to manage. Therefore, a clarified classification of who is in charge will eliminate these conflicts. Furthermore, another stakeholder group exists, as mentioned in the Stak eholder Theory (see Figure 3.3) with additional interests and requirements for the board of directors. Regarding all players and interest groups in an organization, the responsibilities of the board are possible to be divided into a Governance Role, a Service Role and a Control Role. Beside the strategic decisions, an important task of the board members is to appoint special committees like the Audit and Risk Committee, and to select qualified managers, as well as to help and to support them with their skills and expertise. Finally, the board controls if the management meets the companys objectives concerning ethical tenets or laws (Oss, 2003). 3.5 Related Research regarding Board Composition From the theories and former research, it becomes clear that boards have different tasks. Therefore, an optimal structure or composition of the board is essential for fulfilling the tasks. The main tenor in the literature is that in order to work efficiently boards have to be independent with diversity in backgrounds, gender, race and age. However, a certain composition of the board might also affect how much risk the directors are willing to take. The composition of the board receives more and more attention in terms of structure and stability. If a better structured and more stable board of directors is related to a better firm performance, companies with a well-composed board should perform better than other companies. For the purpose of this paper, a well-composed board is defined as a stable and diverse board composed of a majority of independent members along with a number of women and ethnic minority directors. To build the connection to the topic terms à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" board composition on the one side and firm performance and risk propensity on the other side à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" it is important to focus on different behavioral patterns which are the result of variations in board compositions. By investigating the influence of the board composition on firm performance and risk propensity it is possible to get insights into how differently composed boards behave regarding specific board tasks. Differently composed boards behave differently in various situations; for example, when they decide whether to replace a poorly performing CEO or when they choose at what price the company should be sold. The boards decision is also important when the acquisition of another firm has to be approved or whe n takeover defenses have to be adopted and employed. Finally, the board plays a big role when it comes to establishing the CEO and executives compensation packages (Bhagat and Black, 1999). 3.5.4 Board Size Board size is seen as one of the most important factors when it comes to the influence on the performance of a company (Kyereboah-Coleman and Biekpe, 2005). The main view regarding board size is that large boards have a negative impact on the performance of the company. That is, because tasks like coordination, decision-making and the communication between the members are more difficult and expensive, the more directors have to be included (Belkhir, 2008). Therefore, the costs would outweigh the gains of having more expertise on the board. Belkhir (2008) cited Jensens (1993) statement that boards with more than seven or eight people are less effective and easier to control for the CEO. Earlier research of the board size supports the proposition that smaller boards are better. Yermack (1996) discovered a negative relationship between board size and firm performance measured by Tobins Q and several other accounting figures. In their sample of small Finnish firms, Eisenberg et al. (1998) also find a negative relationship between the number of directors and financial success of the company. Furthermore, Kyereboah-Coleman and Biekpe (2005) determined that large board sizes are bad for the sales and growth ratio of companies in Ghana. However, Belkhir (2008) found a non-negative relationship between the size of the board of directors and the firm performance measured by Tobins Q, as well as, by return on assets (ROA) for financial institutions. Especially savings-and-loan holding companies (SLHC) might increase the value of the company with a rising number of directors. Therefore, the next hypothesis is that: H4a: An increasing board size has no negative influence on the company performance. When it comes to taking risks, there is not as much empirical evidence. However, if one looks at the decision-making process of a board, especially when its number of directors is very high, the obvious assumption is that for risky decsions it is more difficult to get a consensus the more people have to vote for it. Furthermore, Pfeffer and Salancick (1978) and Lipton and Lorsch (1992) determined a relationship between the capital structure of a company and its board size. Additionally, a study of Abor and Biepke (2005) discovered that an increasing board size and the debt level of Ghanaian SME are negatively related. Thus, the authors assume that: H4b: The board size is negatively related to the risk propensity of the company. 3.5.5 Board Independence You can distinguish between inside directors (current officers of the company) affiliated outsiders (former company officers, and persons who have business relationships with the company) and independent directors (Bhagat and Black, 1999, p. 4). Independent board members (outside directors) are à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“not associated with or employed by the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (Kennon, 2008, n.p.). According to Kennon, in the United States at least fifty percent of the directors must meet the requirements of independence. A board with fifty percent of independent directors is called a majority-independent board (Bhagat and Black, 1999, p. 4). The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 places a strong emphasis on the independence of directors. Brown et al. (2004) confirmed this requirement with positive results in their study on the effects of the independence of the board members on financial firm performance data. They found that independent boards have higher return on equity (ROE) and profit margins. Furthermore, it is determined that outside directors can monitor the management more effectively than insiders (Bonn, Yoshikawa, and Phan, 2004). Therefore, the conclusion of several empirical studies is that, besides a more diverse board, a more independent board has a positive effect on the financial performance (see also Adams and Mehran, 2008). But, boards with majority-independent directors have both positive and negative effects. On the one hand, inside directors are more involved in the companys operations and might know the business better than outsiders. On the other hand, outside directors might keep cool and act in a more objective way than insiders. Besides that, several studies did not find significant evidence that a higher number of independent directors within the board is related to the quality of financial reporting, or to the likelihood of firm failure. Additionally, there is no evidence of more firm-level diversification or a connection to research and development spending (Bhagat and Black, 1999). Therefore, Bhagat and Black (1999) recommend that it might be valuable for companies to compose their boards with at least a moderate number of inside directors. This is supported by their results that there is a negative relationship between the degree of board independence and firm performance. However, different firms need different types of boards and an optimal board contains a combination of inside, affiliated and independent directors who bring different skills and knowledge to the board (Bhagat and Black, 1999, pp. 32-33). Along with the companys objectives and shareholder interests, boards of banks additionally bear micro- and macro-economic responsibilities, which can be positively influenced by the optimal composition of the board. For board members of financial institutions, a cooperative board-CEO relationship is elementary. Only when the board gets the complete information about the operating business processes from the CEO, can they make the right decisions for the company. For this reason, it is important to know if inside or outside directors can deal better with the CEO or TMT and generate a higher performance. The writers therefore hypothesize for the banking sector, that: H5a: A higher number of outside directors does not influence firm performance. Pfeffer and Salancik (1978) developed the Resource Dependency Theory and determined that a number of outside directors upgrade a companys ability to protect itself against outside influences and reduce the uncertainty level. Furthermore, they stated that outsiders might help the company retain a certain status and raise funds. Thus, a higher number of outside directors on the board should increase the debt level of the company. On top of that, independent directors might act more in the shareholders interests than inside directors (Bonn, Yoshikawa, and Phan, 2004), and for this reason we hypothesize: H5b: A higher number of outside directors will be positively connected to the risk propensity of the company. 3.6 Summary of the Hypotheses In table 3.1. below, all hypotheses are presented at one glance. These propositions have been derived from past studies and behavioral theories as presented above. Table 3.1 Hypotheses Composition Company Performance Risk Propensity Gender Diversity H1a: A higher percentage of women on the board of direc-tors has a positive influence on firm performance. H1b: A higher percentage of women on the board is nega-tively connected to the risk pro-pensity of the company. Average Age of Directors H2a: The average age of the board of directors is nega-tively connected with firm performance. H2b: The average age of the board is positively connected to risk avoidance of the company. Ethnic Diversity H3a: A higher number of minority directors on the board is positively related to company performance. H3b: Minority directors do not affect the risk propensity of the company. Board Size H4a: Increasing board size has no negative influence on the company performance. H4b: The board size is nega-tively related to the risk pro-pensity of the company. Board indepen-dence H5a: A higher number of outside directors does not in-fluence firm performance. H5b: A higher number of outside directors is positively related to the risk propensity of the company. 4. Empirical Study 4.1 Research Methodology 4.1.1 Sample In this empirical research the top 50 banks in the world according to Bankersalmanac.com4 were investigated. The banks were ranked according to their total assets as of June 30, 2008. For the data collection, there was a time span of three years, from 2005 to 2007. This particular group of banks has been chosen, because of their size and international branches. The reasons for choosing the largest banks from all around the world were to have a comparable size of international business when comparing them. If the banks had only been from one or two countries the differences in size would have been significant and the developments on the financial market would have probably only affected the bigger banks. This might have had an effect on the performance. Thuse, for 2007 the results could have possibly been very inconsistent. Regarding the chosen sample, it can be assured that the international situation has affected them all à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" some banks more than others, depending on how risky their business operations were. That results in a possible interpretation on how each bank, with managers and board directors, has dealt with the problems and obstacles. 4.1.2 Data Collection Method The necessary data for this study were collected from the annual reports of the 50 financial institutions. The data about the board of directors were found in the corporate governance section of the reports. Data about the company performance were gathered from the consolidated income statements and balance sheets of the banks. The data were usually dated the 31st December of the year. However, some bans adopted a fiscal year ending on March 31, or September 30 of the year. Then, we considered the Annual Reports from March 31, 2008 as belonging to 2007 as well as the Annual Reports from September 30, 2007. This way, it could be assured that the figures were all derived during the similar time period. Furthermore, the main capital ratios, necessary for the risk propensity were taken from the section risk management. However, there are no strict regulations on how companies have to structure their annual reports. Therefore, the relevant data of some financial institutions was found in different parts of the annual reports or on the websites of the companies. 4.2 Operationalization The research data were collected in an Excel sheet for further calculations and preparation purposes with regard to the statistical analysis using the statistics program SPSS. During the research process the researchers also used a complementary list to record secondary and supportive information needed to calculate the total numbers for the primary Excel list. 4.2.1 Board Composition Data The five board composition variables were selected by the authors and the corresponding information about those data were collected as presented in the following paragraphs. 4.2.1.1 Board Size The board size was recorded by counting the members and listing their names. This was done for all three years to find out if there were any changes in the board composition from one year to another. The changes were recorded in the complementary lists. The total number of board members for each bank and each of the three years were transferred to the primary Excel sheet. 4.2.1.3 Independent Directors Next, the authors looked at the percentage of independent directors. The financial institutions usually indicated in the annual reports or on their homepage which members of the board were independent. However, sometimes it was not explicitly alluded neither in the annual report nor on the companys website. Then, the researchers decided if a director was independent or not using an own definition described above. The authors examined if s/he has any other connection to the company beyond the board activities; for instance if him/her is or was employed by the bank in the last years or bears executive tasks. If there was no connection (excluding shareholding) at all, s/he was defined as independent director. The share ownership of directors was excluded, because at some banks each director is obliged to hold at least a small number of shares. The sum of all independent directors of each bank was copied to the list and divided by the total number of members. 4.2.2 Company Performance Indicators To investigate the influence of the board composition on the firm performance the authors chose four performance measures divided into two categories: operating performance and shareholder payout. The three most important financial indicators are the performance measures Return on Assets (ROA), Return on Equity (ROE), and the Efficiency Rate (CIR). Besides this, the researchers also looked at the share performances compared to previous years. These are all common indicators, which are important for shareholders. Furthermore, they are well comparable to the results previous studies in other industry branches showed using the same indicators. To control for the possibility that the performance indictors will be connected to the size of the bank, total assets were also recorded and will be included in the correlation tables and regression models. 4.2.2.1 Return on Assets The accounting measure of a companys profitability, Return on Assets (ROA), indicates net income from all of the banks operations relative to the average book value of all assets (Carter, DSouza, Simkins, Simpson, 2007, p. 15). It shows how beneficial assets are used by management to create earnings for the company. This means that it is possible to see how much profit was derived from invested assets (Investopedia, Definitions, 2008). It is calculated as: ROA= Net Income/ Avg. Total Assets 4.3 Credibility of the Research Data 4.3.1 Reliability Reliability is concerned with the question if the data that were collected by the researchers would be consistent with the findings other researchers would have using the same sources (Saunders et al., 2007). The most data were collected by the authors in a quantitative but diligent manner from the published and certified annual reports of the banks. Due to this fact, the research data cannot be interpreted wrong by the researchers and therefore have a high reliability. However, when it comes to the board composition data about women, minorities and independent directors, the authors had to interpret by using pictures or curriculum vitae of the directors. The gender of the board members is usually recognizable when using pictures. Thus, it is clear and should not be inconsistent when other researchers collect these data. A little more difficult is the question about minorities. For that part, the biographies have to be considered, especially, when it comes to questions about backgrou nds and where the people grew up. This fact can lead to different interpretations depending on who collects the data. However, the definitions on ethnic minorities were made clear in the theoretical part and thus, the results should be very consistent. When deciding about the independence of the directors, there are two factors to consider. First, when the banks noted if the directors were independent, this was just copied for the research. These data are very reliable, because there is no space for interpretation. However, if it was not indicted and the biographies of the directors were read and the decisions about the independence were basically made after reading the professional background. Therefore, other researchers could have a different opinion about directors independence. To summarize, most of the data are very reliable, because they are published and just have to be copied. Only for factors, that the authors had to interpret, it could come to inconsistencies, which should be very limited though, because the data collection was done very diligently and clearly set definitions have been used. 4.3.2 Validity Validity of data is concerned with the question if the findings are what they appear to be. The researcher has to find out if the variables really have a causal relationship (Saunders et al., 2007, p.150). In this study, it was made clear through the theoretical background that board composition and company performance, as well as, risk propensity influence each other. This is mainly secured by the fact that the board of directors makes decisions which are intended to influence the financial results. However, to make sure that the relations between the board and firm performance and risk propensity are not accidental, four performance measures and two risk measures that were studied. A problem could arise, if the results are inconsistent. If that was the case, the contradicting results have to be interpreted and explained. 4.3.3 Generalisability The aim of this research study was to be able to generalize the results, which means to be able to apply the results to other settings (Saunders et al., 2007). Other settings could be for example a different group of banks or maybe other companies located in the same countries and also have international operations. For this reason, the quantitative research method was applied. To get reliable and valid results the authors collected almost 150 data sets by investigating 50 banks over three years. The number of banks was not selected by the authors but provided by a public resource which registered the 50 largest banks as measured by their total assets as of June 30, 2008. This amount of research data and the fact, that the sample includes banks situated on three continents in many different countries, allows the authors to generalize the findings. 5. Analysis 5.1 General Findings The sample of fifty banks consists of the largest financial institutions from North America, Europe and Asia. The biggest group are the European banks. One bank from the sample had to be excluded because its structure differed too much from the other banks and did not fit to the research questions. It was a state-owned bank which was controlled by politicians to a large percentage. Furthermore, for the year 2005, one more bank had to be left out, because it was just created in 2006 by a merger of two smaller banks. To be able to compare the banks, all performance indicators that were stated in different currencies have been converted into Euros with the currency rate of December 31 of each year.6 In table 5.1 general statistical values of the variables are listed. A value that was controlled for in the research was total assets. This was important for detecting if the board size or any of the other independent variables changed with the size of the bank. However, there is no significant relationship between the total assets and the size of the board (see table 5.2). Therefore, it is possible to say, that banks do not decide about the number of directors based on their size measured by total assets. It is rather noticeable that banks with a two-tier board system have larger boards than the other banks. The maximum number of directors came up to 48, when adding up the number of directors in the supervisory and the managing board compared to a minimum of seven board members in a one-tier system bo ard of directors. Table 5.1 Descriptive Statistics years 2005-2007 Samples Minimum Maximum Mean Median Std. Deviation Total Assets (Mio. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬) 146 168,119 2,579,194 732,994 557,269 415,293 Board Size 146 7 48 18.36 17.00 6.92 Board Age (years) 142 49.1 64.70 57.32 57.74 3.44 Women (%) 146 0.00 42.90 10.02 6.8 9.32 Minorities (%) 146 0.00 41.20 3.73 0.00 7.79 Independent Directors (%) 146 0.00 94.10 49.15 50.00 28.80 Share Development cp. to Previous Year (%) 100 -44.75 106.67 14.61 16.90 27.52 ROE (%) 146 -37.90 37.50 14.56 15.35 8.60 ROA (%) 146 -0.30 1.75 0.65 0.59 0.40 Cost/Income Ratio (%) 125 34.70 114.00 58.89 56.00 13.07 Debt-Ratio (%) 146 87.73 98.54 95.31 95.95 2.19 B.I.S Capital (%) 135 8.5 19.70 11.79 11.60 1.72 5.2 Interdependency between the Independent Variables Before checking for the influence of the board composition on performance and risk propensity, the interdependency of the independent variables was evaluated in table 5.2. It is noticeable that many of the factors correlate with each other within the one percent significance level. The strongest correlation exists between the variables board age and percentage of independent directors. It shows that the higher the average age of the directors is the more independent directors are on the board. This leads to the conclusion that outside board members are usually older than executive directors. Another strong significant relationship is shown between the variables board age and board size. This correlation is negative and implies that the average age of the directors decreases when the number of board members increases. The reason for this link could be that the younger board members are introduced into the tasks before the older directors retire. One more noticeable factor is that the percentage of women on the board is positively correlated with the percentage of minorities on the board. This supports the results of Carter et al. in 2002. Furthermore, independent directors correlate significantly positively with women and minorities, which supports the conclusion that female and minority directors usually seem to be outsiders to the bank. An interesting fact is also that minority directors usually seem to be of more importance in smaller boards. The correlation between the board size and the percentage of minorities is slightly negative, which indicates that smaller boards have a higher percentage of ethnic minority directors. Furthermore, it is interesting that the boards of directors of banks do not significantly correlate with their total assets, as mentioned before. However, the board age has a very significant positive correlation with the assets. This implies that larger banks usually have an older board of directors. Besides, those banks also seem to have a slightly higher percentage of independent outside directors as shown by the positive correlation between these two factors. With the high interdependencies between the independent variables, it could come to multicollinearity problems in the regression analyses for the dependent performance and risk indicators. Fortunately, this is not the case as shown by the VIF-values, which are lower than 2.5, in the regression models below. Table 5.2 Correlations between Independent Variables 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 Total Assets a 1 2 Board Size a -.113 1 3 Board Age a .308*** -.403*** 1 4 Women (%) a -.052 .037 -.026 1 5 Minorities (%) a .098 -.176** .254*** .267*** 1 6 Indep. Directors (%) a .208** -.114 .465*** .369*** .308*** 1 *** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed) ** Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed) a Pearson correlation coefficient 5.3 Influence of Board Composition on Performance Data At the beginning, the correlations of the data from all three years were evaluated together to get a general overview over the connections made between the independent and dependent variables. 5.3.1 Return on Assets When regarding the influence of the board composition on the first performance indicator it is very obvious that ROA is connected to all variables, except for total assets (see table 5.3). The strongest positive correlation exists between the variables return on assets and percentage of independent directors, followed by minorities. A little weaker connection is shown with the percentage of female directors and the board age. The linkages indicate that outsiders or a more divers and experienced board (concerning average