The Effectiveness of Basel II

The New Capital Accord, Basel II, was published in 2004. It features updated capital requirements and new ways to measure bank risk; however, the validity of these new standards was called into question during the financial crisis that began in 2008. The measures that intend to stabilize our banking system did not appear sufficient. Doubt was cast upon capital requirements, and the advantages of another system, such as contingent liability, can be seen. This thesis aims to test the effectiveness of Basel II, specifically its capital requirements, in reducing bank risk. After running a fixed effects model, one can clearly see that Basel II is insignificant in reducing bank risk, as measured by the percentage of non-performing loans to total gross loans

Has listeriosis been considered?: an evaluation of free written dietary educational material for pregnant women in the ACT

Listeriosis is a foodbome disease which, if contracted by a pregnant woman, can result in prenatal death. To minimise the risk of this disease, pregnant women need to avoid refrigerated ready-to-eat foods. Commonly, pregnant women are educated about their increased nutritional requirements by use of written Dietary Education Materials (DEMs). Unfortunately some DEMs may recommend foods which are \u27high risk\u27 for listeriosis. The aim of this research is to determine whether pregnant women in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) have access to written DEMs providing information which, if followed, will help to prevent listeriosis

The Ties that Bind: An Investigation into the Effect of Action Restriction on Motor Simulations

Full version unavailable due to 3rd party copyright restrictions.This thesis examines the relationship between physical capabilities and the mental simulation of actions. Behavioural research suggests that the ability to understand of an action is directly related to the ability to perform it, an idea consistent with the Embodied theory of Cognition. The present work aims to further explore the relationship between the body and cognition and investigate whether the restriction of an action or movement disrupts the simulation of movements during motor imagery tasks, which have been shown to elicit motor activations upon performance. This theory was investigated in a series of seven motor simulation experiments during which participants’ movements were restrained. Studies 1-3 investigated simulations that occur unconsciously through the observation of manipulatable objects. Studies 4-6 investigated simulations that occur during performance of mental transformations of manipulatable objects and body part stimuli. The results of these studies found no significant difference in performance when movement was restricted compared to when free to move. Study 7 investigated simulations that occur consciously through the observation of actions performed by another individual and found a significant effect of restriction on performance. The findings of these studies indicate that the ability to perform a movement is required for the accurate simulation of actions when an action is being observed but not when a simulated action is required on a stationary object, which suggests a variable relationship between the body and cognitive processes. This thesis offers an interesting contribution to the Embodied Cognition debate and provides a further insight into the relationship between the motor and visual systems

Broadening the evidence base and the mind when thinking about mixed methods research

On behalf of my coauthors, Dr Michael Larkin and Professor Paul Flowers, and I would like to thank Dr Pierre Pluye for his letter in response to our article.1 Dr Pluye supported our argument that a broader evidence base is needed in evidence-based healthcare. He provided the readers of this journal with important additional information which updates them on the progress in the area of mixed studies reviews and further detail about the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT).2 Since writing our

Women's experiential journey toward voluntary childlessness

Voluntary childlessness is a relatively novel yet growing phenomenon. This idiographic study explored three women's experiential journeys toward voluntary childlessness. Semi-structured interviews were carried out and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Themes identified were: Owning the choice to be childless, social expectations, and models of mothering. Despite defining ‘voluntary childlessness’ as an unequivocal decision, the women's experiential accounts revealed an intrinsic fluidity in their journeys toward childlessness. Factors including beliefs in equality, independence and career aspirations competed with constructs of mothering/motherhood, partnership and choice to create a complex tapestry of contributory factors in these women's childlessness. The findings question the notion of choice and particularly women's ownership of that choice. The journeys toward childlessness these women shared reveal a synthesis of agentic decision-making, personal histories and challenging lifestyle choices bound up within an existential need to be a woman. More research is needed to determine the place of voluntary childlessness within society. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Lt

Breaking out of the silo mentality

The return to methods focusing on language and experience following the dominance of experimental methods has in the last few decades led to debate, dialogue, and disagreement regarding the status of qualitative and quantitative methods. However, a recent focus on impact has brought an air of pragmatism to the research arena. In what ways, then, is psychology moving from entrenched mono methods approaches that have epitomised its development until recently, to describing and discussing ways in which mixed and pluralistic research can advance and contribute to further, deeper psychological understanding?

An Evaluation of Videos used to Support Clinical Skills Teaching for Pre-registration Student Nurses

The NMC suggest that to ensure high quality patient care it is essential that student nurses develop competence in a range of clinical skills (NMC, 2010a). The aim of this project was to determine whether nursing students perform the skills of infection prevention; hand washing; aseptic technique and vital signs measurement more competently in an Observed Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), when traditional face-to-face teaching is enhanced with the availability of skills videos via an e-learning platform. The study employed a randomised controlled design. An intervention group were taught face-to-face in the clinical skills lab and had the teaching supplemented by access to clinical skills videos. The control group received the same classroom face-to-face teaching but did not have access to the videoed blended e-learning resources. Student nurses of mixed gender and ages (n=229) were invited to volunteer to participate in the inhouse study. Eighty-eight students consented and were evenly divided by random allocation to the intervention group (n=44) and to the control group (n=44). The mean score for all clinical skills was higher in the OSCEs in the intervention group who viewed the videos, this was not, however, statistically significant as the results were >.05