Southern region state FFA nominating committees utilize adults and students to elect state FFA officers. However, the role of the adult nominating committee members is up to the discretion of the state FFA nominating committee coordinators. In the nine states studied in the southern FFA region, five states utilized adults as voting members of the nominating committee, and four states utilized them as consultants. Adults completed a modified version of the Inventory of Adult Attitudes and Behaviors instrument, and the majority’s preferred style of working with students was “regarding youth as resources.” However, students had mixed feelings about working with adults. They explained they were excited to work with them, but as they began the nominating committee process, they felt their thoughts were not being heard by the adults. No statistically significant relationship existed between adult preferred styles and student character and connection.

No description available.

No description available.

Local emergency planning committees (LEPCs) were designed to develop emergency response plans and provide information through community right-to-know programs. A literature review identified operational effectiveness, collaboration, risk communication, information technology (IT), and homeland security as important issues for LEPCs. However, a lack of research on the interaction of these fields raises several questions that were addressed in this study: 1. How is the operational effectiveness of LEPCs related to their organizational characteristics? 2. To what extent does collaboration exist between LEPCs and other groups? 3. What types of risk communication strategies are used by LEPCs? How are these initiatives mediated through technology? 4. To what degree and to what purposes are LEPCs utilizing information technologies? 5. How will homeland security initiatives influence emergency planning and community right-to-know programs? How will potential opportunities and constraints posed by homeland security affect the future role of LEPCs? The sample for this study was randomly selected from LEPCs in US EPA's Region III, including the states of Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. Phase one involved mailing out 156 surveys; 66 were returned for a response rate of 42%. Phase two involved case studies of LEPCs in Greenbrier County, WV; Tazewell County, VA; and Elk County, PA. Findings indicate that LEPC activity level is lower than previously reported. This research shows that IT is considered important, but its use is limited. Respondents reported using computers for word processing and, on a limited basis, for planning. The level of IT use for data management, emergency response activities, and risk communication was unexpectedly low. The research did not find a significant relationship between LEPC characteristics and the level of IT use. Barriers to IT use and operational status related to lack of funding and training. Data from surveys, interviews, and physical evidence were used to triangulate these findings. This research is significant in its identification of the current operation of LEPCs. It provides an assessment of collaborative initiatives being used within LEPCs and highlights methods employed to develop and implement risk communication programs. These findings can be used to evaluate the potential role of LEPCs in homeland security initiatives, which will likely focus on emergency planning with a decreased emphasis on risk communication. / Ph. D.

This dissertation concerns the ways engineers and safety specialists acting as part-time volunteers cooperate in the setting of voluntary industrywide product safety standards in the farm equipment industry. These cooperative efforts are based, I contend, on collective investment criteria shared by both companies and individual participants. companies expect long-term benefits stemming not only from their early access to information about the proposed changes in product design, but also from the extent they can influence the outcome in ways that reduce their costs and accommodate their product design and manufacture requirements. Individual participants expect to benefit professionally from the knowledge exchanges taking place in the deliberations. I illustrate my argument through a case study in the development of a family of safety standards for agricultural tractors. The study shows that, in setting these standards, participants sought and achieved ways of making their proposed changes in product design more compatible with a changing legal order. The study also shows, however, that collective action may bring some unintended consequences. For instance, given the stiff demands of this order, participant companies' collective efforts to build such compatibility may and did ultimately compromise the voluntary character of both their participation in the deliberations and the implementation of the proposed changes in product design / Ph. D.

The purpose of A STUDY OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ADVISORY COMMITTEES IN VIRGINIA COMMUNITY COLLEGES was to determine the effectiveness of advisory committees within the Virginia Community College system. How effective or ineffective these committees are being used has an effect on the programs within each college division. Data were gathered by means of a survey instrument which was developed and mailed to each community college dean in the state of Virginia. The results of the study revealed that advisory committees were widely used in community colleges in the state of Virginia, however, these committees were not used as effectively as they could be. Advisory committees used in Virginia's community colleges were used most effectively in helping with the identification of occupational skills needed by program graduates and in identifying area labor market needs. / Master of Science

No / In recent years, corporate failures and accounting irregularities have led to concerns about the effectiveness of audit committees in the financial reporting process. In response, corporate governance committees in different countries have made specific recommendations designed to enhance the role of the audit committee in executing its financial reporting oversight duties. We investigate in this study, the effect of some of the recommendations by empirically examining the relationship between selected audit committee characteristics and the level of disclosure in interim reports of a sample of 262 UK listed companies. Specifically, the audit committee characteristics examined are shareholding of audit committee members (as a proxy for audit committee independence), audit committee size and audit committee financial expertise. Employing both a weighted and unweighted index to measure interim disclosure, the results indicate a significant negative association between shareholding of audit committee members and interim disclosure. Our results provide evidence of a significant positive association between interim disclosure and audit committee financial expertise. We find no significant relationship between audit committee size and the extent of disclosure in interim reports. Overall, however, our results suggest that audit committee characteristics have an impact on its monitoring effectiveness of the financial reporting process. These results have important implications for corporate governance policy-makers who have a responsibility to prescribe appropriate corporate governance structures to ensure that shareholders are protected

Yes / This study investigates the relationship between internal corporate governance mechanisms and firm survival during a financial crisis. Using a sample of FTSE 350 listed companies for the time period 2003–2010, our results show significant differences in the corporate governance mechanisms of firms that survived and those that failed during the 2007–2009 financial crisis. The findings indicate that compliance with the UK Corporate Governance Code is negatively associated with the survival of firms when they experience exogenous shocks. However, the existence of insider CEOs and a higher number of board committees in organisations increase the chances of survival during an economic downturn. These findings have policy implications and show that non-compliance with a prescribed code of corporate governance does not necessarily lead to poor governance. Moreover, the establishment of extra board committees and CEO succession planning are shown as important dynamics in firms’ strategic decisions, as they have implications for the survival of firms during difficult economic conditions.

The purposes of this study were to identify which advisory committee functions data processing committees are performing, determine how effectively these functions are being performed, and assess the relationship between leadership style and advisory committee effectiveness. Two year postsecondary schools in the Southeast Region of the United States were studied for an academic year. Descriptive statistic techniques were used to tabulate the operations and organization data of committee members and division heads. Mean scores on performed advisory committee functions determined the effectiveness level for each committee as rated by advisory committee members and business or technology division heads. The Leader Behavior Analysis II-Self provided leadership style for the chairperson. Data processing advisory committees reported the most participation in identifying occupational skills, recommending content of the program, determining course relevancy, and evaluating on-going programs. The lowest reported participation was dealing with instruction for the disadvantaged and elimination of sex bias. Committee members felt they were most effective identifying occupational skills, recommending employment standards, and determining course relevancy. Division heads reported communication with the community was the most effective function the advisory committee performed. Committees in this study did not conform on several aspects to the modal pattern for craft advisory committees in the literature--committee size, terms of appointment, and orientation of committee members. Forty-seven percent of the committees reported eight members or more and 33% appoint members for indefinite terms. Orientation of committee members was neglected by 26% of the committees. Many committees were inactive or nonexistent. The study results indicated a relationship between committee leadership style and Factor II-Developing Curriculum items on the effectiveness instrument; this association was significant at the .05 level. However, no significant relationship could be shown between leadership style and effectiveness of the committee. / Doctor of Education

This study attempted to discover the role of internal auditors in the professional development of audit committee members, leading to enhanced performance, through the provision of induction programmes and professional development opportunities to committee members, with due regard for the principles of good governance and international best practices. A secondary aim of this study was to propose methods to improve the relationship between the internal audit activity and audit committees in providing additional support to its members. The audit committee's needs and requirements were assessed by using the audit committee charter as the basis in identifying the responsibilities of the committee and the professional development needs of committee members in an organisation. It was found that a framework for the induction and professional development of audit committee members would be most useful to internal auditors to assist audit committees to meet their requirements and improve their performance. / Auditing / M. Com.