With the increasing complexity of banking operations, the demand for extensive disclosure has advanced over the years. In 2007, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has consolidated and expanded disclosure requirements related to financial instruments in IFRS7. Arguably, the adoption of IFRS7 in Europe was met with substantial differences in implementation among countries. Moreover, IFRS7 was launched a few months before the global financial crisis hit Europe. This study examines the level of disclosure according to IFRS7 of 12 banks spread across Europe using their annual accounts from 2007-2010. The banks were chosen on the basis of their market capitalization by the end of 2007. A disclosure index based on IFRS7 was created for this study to evaluate the level of disclosure of the banks. After examining the disclosure level, this paper analyzes if there is a correlation between compliance on disclosure index and bank performance as measured by the Total Shareholder Return. This study aims to find out if a high compliance significantly affects performance in terms of TSR and if it helped banks weather the global financial crisis. The background part provides a broad perspective on disclosure, financial reporting, accounting standards, and IFRS7. It also provides a situation on bank run, and on the recent financial crisis. With the use of secondary data from published accounts of banks, the empirical study presents the disclosure level of banks and TSR performance. The findings suggest that most banks have a selective compliance and moderate fulfillmenton disclosure obligations. Inadequacy is particularly seen in areas where additional disclosure is required by using the implementation guidance of IFRS7. The correlation between compliance and performance is seen to be very minimal which suggests that a high disclosure during a financial crisis does not help prevent huge financial losses.

Background. To give birth can be a stressful experience and women cope with thisstress in many different ways and have different personal outcomes. Self-efficacy orconfidence in ability to cope with labour can be considered as an important factoraffecting pregnant women’s motivation of normal childbirth and their interpretation ofthe childbirth event.The aim. The purpose of this study was to test the Chinese short form of theinstrument Childbirth self-efficacy instrument (CBSEI) in Tanzania, that measurepregnant women’s self-confidence and coping abilities during childbirth.Method. The Chinese short form of the CBSEI was used to pilot test the pregnantwomen’s confidence of childbirth to see if the questions were understood in theTanzanian culture. Besides this instrument socio-demographic data was collectedtogether with two open questions asking about attitudes and experiences of childbirth.The instrument was translated into Kiswahili. A sample of 60 pregnant women whowere visiting antenatal clinic (ANC) regularly were asked to participate and with helpfrom midwifes at two ANC places the questionnaires were filled out.Result. The result shows that the validity and reliability of the two subscales OE-16and EE-16 were established. The internal consistency reliability of the two subscaleswere high, suggesting that each of the subscale mean score provides a good overviewof self- reported belief in coping ability for childbirth.The results further show that the instrument, CBSEI in this pilot study is not able toidentify women who need extra support during childbirth.Conclusion. The reliability and validity of information presented in this pilot studysupport the use of the Chinese short form of the CBSEI as a research instrument in theTanzania culture. Further studies are recommended to get a wider understandingabout women’s coping abilities in a culture like Tanzania.

The establishment of medical institutions in Kaohsiung municipal is mainly to cooperate with the Kaohsiung City government in promoting health policy, equally allocating medical resources, enhancing the health of the citizens, looking after mid- or low-income citizens, and taking charge of the medical care services of special patients. However, many institutions encounter various internal constraints and environmental challenges, such as bureaucratic personnel management, inflexible accounting system, faulty implementation of national healthy insurance and competition between hospitals, the Taiwanese medical system has become ¡§high competition, low profitability¡¨. More institutions follow the trend to modify their medical care operation. Outsourcing is one of the methods to strength their medical services. The medical industry currently is highly competitive. By increasing awareness of health concern, patients are more cautious in searching for appropriate and reliable medical care. Therefore, the hospital management regards patient satisfaction, confidence, and loyalty as the core values to improve its medical care services. In this research paper, we discuss the relationship between the quality of medical care services in Kaoshiung municipal hospitals and their operating performance. We also compare the operating differences between public hospitals and outsourcing hospitals to provide authoritative reference. In our research, we selected samples of patients from the Kaoshiung Municipal Minsheng Hospital, United Hospital (Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Art Branch), Hsiaokang Hospital, and Cijin Hospital. We sent out 310 surveys and collected 287 responses by Apr 15 2010. Data analysis and hypothesis testing was based on SPSS for Windows12.0. Based on this research, we concluded that: 1.There is a significant correlation between quality of medical care services and hospital operating performance. Also, process of medical care services was highly correlated with operating performance. In addition, hospital operating performance could be effectively evaluated by quality of medical care services. 2.With regards to the evaluation of medical care services and operating performance for the four municipal hospitals, United Hospital received the highest scores, followed by Minsheng Hospital, Hsiaokang Hospital, and Cijin Hospital. However, the performance of these hospitals is average, indicating that their medical care services need improvement. 3.Finally, outsourcing hospitals have a competitive advantage, which could help the improvement of medical care services. Due to the different operating systems for each hospital, the regulatory authority should be cautious in supervising the performance of the hospital.

The field strength prediction chart is a set of statistical curves obtained through the analysis of huge amount of field strength measurement data of the specific radio band in some area. It reflects the natural or artificial effects such as geography, atmospheric condition and buildings, etc. that affect the radio wave propagation. One advantage is that we can predict the rough relationship between the field strength and distance easily. As a result, we don¡¦t have to perform simulation field measurement in every radio planning. With prediction chart and field strength interference /protection ratio standard, we can suggest a minimum distance separation criterion between co-channel and adjacent channel broadcasting stations. It also provides a reference to authority to examine the broadcasting service application. The FCC develops the F(50,50) charts and minimum separation between radio stations base on data collected in the U.S.. Presently, the regulations concerning the broadcasting applications in Taiwan still follow the FCC¡¦s suggestion. In general, the field strength distribution is affected by two main factors: geography and atmospheric condition, which can be different from those in the U.S.. With the acquisition of digital terrain data of Taiwan, the terrain profile for a given path can be generated. In this thesis, we¡¦ll use Deygout model and the database of existed broadcasting stations to generate field strength distribution database for each station and analyze the database to develop the prediction chart that is suitable for the propagation environment in Taiwan. When combine with the field strength interference /protection ratio standard, we¡¦ll provide a minimum distance separation criterion of co-channel and adjacent channel in the FM band broadcasting stations. Our study can help the authority to achieve the most effective spectrum management in FM band.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 175-192).

Thesis (Ph. D. in Hearing and Speech Sciences)--Vanderbilt University, Dec. 2009. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 130-136).

Previous studies have sought to investigate the effects of rumination and distraction on social problem-solving, mood and confidence of dysphoric and depressed individuals. The current study is aimed at extending this literature by examining the effects of rumination on parental problem-solving, mood and problem-solving confidence among dysphoric post-natal women. Fifty-nine post-natal women took part in the study and were allocated to either the dysphoric or control group based upon the Edinburgh Post-natal Depression Scale (Cox, Holden & Sagovsky, 1987). Women were asked to complete measures of mood, confidence and four problem-solving tasks following a rumination or distraction mood induction. Results indicated that dysphoric post-natal women induced to ruminate showed poorer problemsolving and lower mood than dysphoric women induced to distract and non-dysphoric women induced to distract or ruminate. No significant differences were seen in reported confidence levels for dysphoric post-natal women induced to ruminate than dysphoric women induced to distract and non-dysphoric women induced to distract or ruminate. Consideration is given to the clinical implications of these findings as well as the limitations and possibilities for future research.

This research study, undertaken in an all girls‘ secondary school in London, brings to light different approaches by which a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) may be adopted in order to support the development of students‘ Emotional Intelligence. It examined the views and experiences of 35 teachers (10 of whom were key informants); 5 teaching assistants; 150 students and 2 VLE Content Developers. Drawing upon data obtained from questionnaires, interviews and focus group discussions, findings of the study indicate that the strategic adoption of VLE tools for use in discussion forums, homework support and feedback, amongst others, can help in boosting secondary school students‘ self-confidence, self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy and motivation to use VLE resources. Furthermore, the argument is made, that developing students‘ Emotional Intelligence through the use of online learning tools can lead to the attainment of emotionally intelligent face-to-face classroom environments and hence positive learning outcomes. Based on a process of inductive reasoning, a framework for supporting teachers in developing their students‘ Emotional Intelligence through VLEs is subsequently proposed and its enablers as well as inhibitors discussed. Finally, whilst emphasising that the use of VLEs to promote Emotional Intelligence is eminently generalisable, the limitations of case study research studies such as this one are acknowledged. Hence, it is recommended that future research in this area is undertaken in different contexts so that a more holistic picture is obtained.

published_or_final_version / Medical Sciences / Master / Master of Medical Sciences