Debt and Equity Essay

Long-term financing requires a meticulous understanding of the various features of debt and equity and their impact an organization. While evaluating debt and equity, an investment banker also has to consider the unique characteristics of the organization’s dealings while ensuring that the organization’s requirements are met. Debt CapitalDebt capital includes all long-term borrowing incurred by the firm. The cost of debt was found to be less than the cost of other forms of financing. The relative inexpensiveness of debt capital is because the lenders take the least risk of any long-term contributors of capital. Their risk is less than that of other because (1) they have a higher priority of claim against any earnings or assets available for payment (2) they have a far stronger legal pressure against the company to make payment than do preferred or common stockholders, and (3) the tax-deductibility of interest payments lowers the debt cost to the firm substantially. Equity CapitalEquity capital consists of the long-term funds provided by the firm’s owners, the stockholders. Unlike borrowed funds that must be repaid at a specified future date, equity capital is expected to remain in the firm for an indefinite period. The two basic sources of equity capital are (1) preferred stock and (2) common stock equity, which includes common stock and retained earnings. Common stock is typically the most expensive form of equity, followed by retained earnings and preferred stock, respectively (Pinegar, Wilbricht, 1989). A firm’s capital structure is determined by the mix of long-term debt and equity it uses in financing its operations. Debt and equity capital differ with respect to voice in management, claims on income and assets, maturity, and tax treatment. Capital structure can be externally assessed using the debt ratio and the debt-equity ratio to measure the firm’s degree of indebtedness or the times interest earned ratio and the fixed-payment coverage ratio to measure its ability to meet fixed financial payments. Research suggests is an optimal capital structure that balances the firms; benefits and cost of debt financing. The major benefit of debt financing is the tax-deductible interest, and the costs of debt financing include the  probability of bankruptcy, agency costs imposed by lenders in their loan agreements, and asymmetric information costs attributable to managers having more information about the firm’s prospects than do investors (Modigliani and Miller, 1958). Reference: Modigliani, Franco and Miller, Merton. (1958). The Cost of Capital, CorporationFinance, and the Theory of Investment. American Economic Review. Pinegar, J. Michael and Wilbricht, Liza. (1989). What Managers Think of CapitalStructure Theory.

Advocacy Role paper

Advanced practice nurse's are reimbursed at a lower rate for the same services than physicians by Medicare, Medicaid and other private insurance companies. American medical association sets our scope of practice and regulations and legislation is often influenced by these recommendations. Advanced practice nurses should be consider as equal members of the healthcare provider community and receive equal reimbursement. To make these changes one must develop a plan and advocate for the profession.Advanced practice nurses are reimbursed at a lower rate, for the same services, than physicians. Medicare reimburses nurse practitioners at 85%, certified nurse midwives at 65 %, and physician assistants at 85% or less of the physician fee. The exception to the reimbursement rate is called the â€Å"incident to†. Medicare will reimburse at 100% if billed under a physician provider number. Medicaid pays 75-100% of the physician fee with the exception of some rural areas. Private insurance companies reimbursement to advanced practice nurses policies vary state to state.In an attempt to find ways to decrease cost, private insurance companies are beginning to follow Medicare's reimbursement policies. For advanced practice nurses the reimbursement policies vary according to state, company, and licensure, and are not equitable to physician reimbursement. This issue is being buried by the American Medical Association. The Affordable care Act addressed the reimbursement of physicians but APN were not mentioned. 1997 budget act is the last legislation passed that addressed reimbursement for advanced practice nurses.This act decided that advanced practice nurses are entitled to reimbursement. The legislators in Tennessee at that time voted for or against the act. This issue has not been addressed since then which could say that this is not a priority for the state. It could be the increae cost related to increased reombursement that keeps them from pushing the issue. The aff ordable Care Act addressed Medicare reimbursement but did not adress APN's specifically. The govener of Tennessee opted out of taking the money for the state. The federal govt. as to except the cost and reimburse at 100% this could have impacted advanced practice nurses in a positive way. As it stands This issue needs to be addressed with more impact especially after the affordable care and patient protection act. Nurse practitioners will be a solution of the problem and will want to be reimbursed according to care not license. Reimbursement of care provided by advanced practice nurses should equal physicians because they are providing the same service with equal or better outcomes.In a study done by Laurent, Herman, Reeves, Braspenning, ; Spinbald, â€Å"The findings suggest that appropriately trained nurses can produce as high quality care as primary care doctors and achieve as good health outcomes for patients. † Naylor and Kurtzman found that Nurse Practitioners â€Å"ou t performed physicians in easures of consultation time, patient follow-up and patient satisfaction. â€Å"(Naylor ; Kurtzman, 2010). A 2002 report to Congress by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, however, was unable to tind reliable data to discern clear ditterences in the two groups' outcomes and expenses.

Jean Rouch and David MacDougall Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Jean Rouch and David MacDougall - Assignment Example Despite Rouch and MacDougall being both proficient filmmakers, whose work is highly valued in the cinema industry, their styles in making the film are divergent and variant. Firstly, Rouch employee’s a filmmaking style known as, ethnic-fiction, in making his films. Rouch style of filmmaking was influenced by the unearthing of surrealism. In these films, there is a thin line between fiction and documentary. In comparison, MacDougall ethnographies were purely documentaries. Secondly, David often used handheld cameras to capture his films while Rouch used light handheld cameras in his direct cinemas. Rouch used Pilot-tone connected to a 16mm camera using a prototype of Nagra III to shoot, Chronicle of a summer, in 1960. This was used in place of the heavy sound recording machinery that was very unreliable. Before the pilot-tone, the documentary sound was recorded before, during interviews or much later on location. The sounds that were recorded were later synchronized during soun d editing hence providing the documentary with sound. In conclusion, it is clear that there different approaches in filmmaking considering Rouch and MacDougall main difference is in the style of making the film. Rouch focuses on fiction films while MacDougall shoot documentaries. It is also clear that the advances in the film industry have been greatly contributed by technology. For example, in this day and age it is possible to shoot videos and record quality sound at the same time. In, as much as, Rouch and MacDougall differ in the choice of cinematic styles, they uphold a number of common aspects. The first one is that both of their cinematic styles incorporated aesthetic art. Aestheticism is an art movement supporting art nature and beauty values more than social-political themes portrayed in a film.

Credibility of Media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Credibility of Media - Essay Example Media credibility is the condition of believability or acceptance of its truthfulness or untruthfulness from the point of view of its audience (Starcks and Salwen, 2009), and may be expressed as a level or percentage of acceptance as in number of respondents answering in the affirmative or negative. For purposes of this paper and to enable an adventure into the pros and cons of the thesis statement, media shall be deemed to enjoy some reasonable acceptance by its publics, given that it has enjoyed public viewing since time unknown. Hence, the question: Is media becoming less and less credible? Recently, CBS News released the results of a survey by Pew Research Center for the People and the Press of people’s perception of media taken sometime in 2009 (CBSNews, 2009). The survey indicated that nearly two-thirds of Americans think that the news stories that they read, hear and watch are frequently inaccurate (CBSNews, 2009). The Center described these results as the highest level of skepticism ever recorded since 1985 when the first study was conducted. Other studies such as this would be presented in this paper to provide a wide-angle picture of the issue of credibility in media. It is the purpose of this paper to take this closer look at media in its most common forms and analyse critically the trend it is taking insofar as its acceptability to the public is concerned. The paper shall present secondary information to support its thesis regarding this media direction and provide some observations and conclusions that may add insight and value the literature available on the matter. Media Credibility What is media and what does it mean to most people? The concept of media traces back to the times old as far back as Aristotle. History is abundant in treatment of the development of media as it captures the essence of life in what is to be known as civilization. Man always looked for vehicles that would translate his ideas and values. In the early times, these representations could be found in the primitive expressions etched in stones and later, as the medium developed, in the traditional media. The theories varied but generally focused on source, message and audience type, and the issue has been the audience’s trust as a result of the audience’s knowing what is true (Stacks and Salwen, 2009). Media, then, according to Mayo and Nohria (2005), pertained largely to its use mostly by advertisers as communication vehicles for

Recommendations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Recommendations - Essay Example 1. The restaurant needs to introduce new initiatives of employees’ health and wellbeing programs to reduce their health problems. Exhaustion is found to be the main cause for their lack of enthusiasm which is reflected in their level of service at the end of the day. A separate small place should be allotted to them to take short breaks to relax and reinforce their energy. Constant communication and constructive engagement with employees significantly enhances morale and commitment to work (MacLeod & Clarke, 2010). Management should involve employees in discussions on how to improve work environment so that they are happy. 2. The management needs to recruit more people to not only maintain its reputation for excellent customer service but it would also relieve pressure from the existing staff. The employees were unanimous in the view that more people are required to meet the rush of the clients. The HR people therefore should create a pool of human resource who can be given part-time work during the rush time. This would help the permanent staff to recover from the highly stressing work of serving many people in short time and with efficiency. 3. Workers need to be motivated through incentives and fringe benefits like complementary weekly family meal at Chipotle or company sponsored family vacation on weekends. It could be a once a month affair based on work performance. This would motivate workers for higher performance (Fisher, 2005). At the same time, it would give them an opportunity to spend quality time with family. The long hours and workplace stress have adverse impact on the work-life balance, creating dissatisfaction amongst the staff. This initiative would boost their morale. 4. The company must provide the workforce with new opportunities of enhancing their skills and knowledge. In-house trainings on skill development and options for partial or full funding of cost for pursuing

Organization Behavior in Action Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Organization Behavior in Action - Essay Example Even the Steel Workers Union member commented, â€Å"She’s just human and honest with people. I don’t say that about many CEOs.† This admission from a perceived opponent illustrates the extent to which Tilton’s genuine yet charismatic leadership is able to transcend the barriers of companies and deeply motivate and effect change from within. With respect to her vision, it is indisputable that Tilton is perhaps one of the most visionary CEOs of modern industrial America. Too many CEOs are all too eager to write a company off as a net loss as soon as it ceases to generate a profit. However, Tilton is able to see beyond the red ink of the balance ledger; in fact, she is able to see beyond the product that the firm was originally producing. In such a way, she is able to reduce the firm to its core profitable elements. As such, she does not judge the industry by its bottom line or even the demand and/or quality of its original product. Accordingly, this display s keen powers of insight which all too many CEOs do not possess. Lastly, it is one thing to take a failing industry over and work to turn a profit from it. It is entirely another to win the trust of the workers and prove to them that your sole interest in the firm is not strictly monetary; i.e. the process of winning the people. When asked by one of the firms she had recently purchased if she was going to â€Å"strip and flip† the firm, Tilton responded, â€Å"It’s only men I strip and flip. My companies I hold close and near to my heart†. Even though it was an off-hand and candid remark, this quick witted sarcasm showed a true form of vision. In this way, Tilton is able to quickly win the hearts and minds of the employees while allaying their worst fears that she is only riding their firm for a quick profit. Question 2: Which positive and negative leadership traits and styles were displayed by Tilton? As previously stated, Tilton’s powers of charisma, vi sion, and winning the hearts and minds of her employees is likely second to none; however, she also possesses an undeniably sharp talent of decisiveness and motivation. This is at least partially proven by her tireless work and late night efforts that she devotes to her firm on a daily basis. Conversely, there are a few negative implications regarding Tilton’s leadership traits that are referenced in the work. Not surprisingly, many of these weaknesses are born out of the extreme strengths that she possesses. For instance, a strength that Tilton possesses is her application of power and influence within the firms that she takes over. However, as she states herself, this leads to a type of â€Å"benevolent dictatorship†. As such, this has its own negative implications of a leader who accrues absolute power (also referenced in the text as â€Å"overleading†) and may lend herself to micromanaging aspects of the firm that would best be left to lower-level management . Likewise, it was a bit disconcerting reading about firms that are on the verge of bankruptcy being toured by their new CEO who is flaunting many tens of thousands of dollars in expensive clothing, cutting edge fashion, and an â€Å"8 carat diamond necklace†. In order to further gain the rapport of the firms under her leadership, it might help to tone down a bit of the gratuitous luxury with which she presents herself; especially since many of these workers are doubtless living directly on the poverty line.

News Director at a television station Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

News Director at a television station - Essay Example In the television business ratings are important. Programs that are able to obtain higher ratings can be used by television stations as cash cows that generate extra revenues because companies are willing to pay higher prices for ads aired in shows that have higher ratings. If I was faced with a scenario in which my news program had achieved low ratings during the last few weeks then I would choose the death of the celebrity as my lead story. Celebrities are icon figures that the general public follows closely. When a celebrity dies the entire media covers the story because people want to know about it. Another reason for choosing the celebrity story over the recreation parks story is because at the beginning of a news telecast it is always important to catch the attention of the viewers. A lot of television watchers are very impulsive viewers especially when it comes to watching news. If a person likes the initial news of the telecast the company increases the chances of retaining t he viewer throughout the entire program. The news story about the city council shutting down the recreational parks three days a week has a lot of social impact. A lot of mothers are going to be affected by this decision because they will have no place to take their kids to play during the days the parks are close down. This news story despite its importance to society would not be chosen by me as lead story when I have a sure top news story that can bring in better ratings. As I mentioned earlier in this industry one has to adapt and make decision depending on the circumstances. ... During political campaign season this story has greater appeal because of the political angle associated with the recreational parks story. During such as season due to the social impact and political implications I would not hesitate to choose this story as my lead. Both stories were good, but the story that brings better ratings should be the priority for a news program. The media industry is facing some tough times as the corporate world is spending less on advertising and the internet has provided a cheaper channel that is taking business away from traditional media such as television stations. Advances in information technology are allowing for faster distribution of information than ever before (Shermerhorn & Hunt & Osborn, 2003, p.348). References Schermerhorn, J., Hunt, J., Osborn, R. (2003). Organizational Behavior (8th ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons. Part II The television device was invented in 1927 by Philo Farnsworth. Television became very popular soon after it reach ed the market because the device fascinated people as it provided great entertainment for the entire family. The television industry has impacted our society deeply and has helped shape our culture. Many television programs were designed to educate people about social causes that affect culture. For example the 1980’s program A Different Stokes starting Gary Coleman showed Americans that biracial families worked because love has no color. A lot of other programs have taught people about different aspects of our culture. Law and Order fans have learned a lot about the American judicial system and its law enforcement. Television has helped document our history. The first space mission to the moon, Apollo 11, was covered by television in 1969. A lot of important events such as

Current trends in Mental health Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Current trends in Mental health - Assignment Example Before a discussion of the current topic can be started, it is important first to adequately define mental illness. Mental illness is defined by the Mental Health Act as a health condition which â€Å"changes a person’s thinking, feelings, or behaviour (or all three) and that causes the person distress and difficulty†. It also includes various health conditions which are defined by defects of the individual’s normal cognitive, emotional, and behavioural functions, and caused by social, genetic, and psychological factors, including infection or head trauma. Under the Care Programme Approach, these health conditions have to be adequately evaluated in the patient and a plan of care efficiently established. The current trend chosen by the author is the Care Programme Approach. The Care Programme Approach or the CPA was first established in England for individuals with mental illnesses, referred to psychiatric professionals. This programme requires Health Authorities, in coordination with Social Services Departments, to establish specific arrangements for the care of mentally ill patients in the community setting (CPA, 2011). This programme has four main considerations or aspects: assessment, a care plan, a key worker, and regular review (CPA, 2011). Assessment basically includes the orderly processes implemented in the assessment of the health needs of the individuals admitted with specialist mental health needs; a care plan includes the plan identified in relation to health social considerations; key workers are those who coordinate the plan and delivery of patient care; and finally, standard review is the standard and scheduled evaluation processes, as well as the changes needed in th e care plan. (CPA, 2011). Changes in the CPA came about in 2008, the CPA established a new approach in mental health care which described the approach used in secondary mental health care in order to assess, plan, and coordinate treatments and support needs for individuals in contact with secondary mental health services who have severe mental health issues (Department of Health, 2008a). It is considered an approach – more than a system – because the manner by which activities are carried out is as crucial as the actual activities themselves. New qualities of those who would need CPA support include those individuals: who require multi-agency support; active engagement, intense intervention; support with dual diagnosis; and those who have a higher risk for acquiring mental health issues (DoH, 2008a). This new trend abolished the two-tier system of Standard or Enhanced CPA and discarded the single-tier system. The main goals of this new trend were to eliminate or minimi ze bureaucracy by removing from the system those who did not have as many health needs. It also came about because the CPA used to include patients whose needs could be covered under standard care (treatment provided within secondary mental health services, for patients not requiring the support of the CPA). The new trend or provisions of the CPA established that CPA would no longer be used in order â€Å"to describe the usual system of provision of mental health services to those with more straightforward needs in secondary mental health services† (DoH, 2008a). In effect, in instances when the service user has specified needs and can contact one agency, then he must be allowed to do so and that agency would be considered responsible for him. No formal

Agency Theory and Corporate Governance Research Paper

Agency Theory and Corporate Governance - Research Paper Example The objective of this paper is to evaluate the definition of corporation as a ‘nexus of contracts’ for interpreting its compatibility in the present modern business and thus to examine the importance of corporate governance. For verifying the assumption of the agency theory, the insights of the definition towards the theorists have been researched. It was discovered that there are various critics to this notion of the agency theorists in the modern world. The critics determined that the factor of morality has been ignored by the definition of the agency theorists. Moreover, for measuring the characterization of the definition towards importance of corporate governance, research was done and its was found that the definition has been termed as ‘misleading’ by various critics because of the fact that it incurs legal enforcement of the shareholders while at the same time shareholders hold the least power of legality among all the stakeholders. Introduction The agency theory in relation to the corporate governance represents a two-stage mode of controlling the firm. The two levels are those of the managers and the owners. This research paper is aimed towards discussing the various significant issues related to the existence of agency theory in a corporation. The paper will focus on the interpretation of ‘nexus of contracts’ in relation to the agency theory and corporate governance. ... The use of the phrase, ‘nexus of contracts’ provides a new dimension to the corporation definition. Under this term, the problem of conflicts within a firm is observed as a unit of the contract enforcement. Agency costs are determined as the contract enforcement costs on the basis of the assumption that corporation often acts as ‘nexus of contracts’. Under this definition, the structure of the corporation is defined to be adapting to an attempt aimed towards profit maximization by way of trading among the different parties of contract that meets within the corporation (Maloney, 2003). Relationship between Nexus of Contracts and Agency Theory The definition of the firm ‘nexus of contracts’ has been provided by the agency theory. The nexus of contracts has been defined among various suppliers of a firm’s resource. The nexus of contracts presume two central parties to the agency theory. These are the principals and the agents. Principals are those who supply the capital to the firm and agents are those who manage the operational functions of a firm. Agency costs are encountered by the organization because of the reason that the interests of the two parties do not coincide. The costs of contract enforcement under this presumption consists of the cost of observing the agents’ behavior inclusive of the practices of compensation, restrictions of budget allocation and also the profit and loss because of the rules of operations and that of management restrictions (Proffitt, 2000). Insights of ‘Nexus of Contracts’ for Agency Theorists Under the assumption of the agency theory that defines a firm as a nexus of contracts, it is taken for granted that it is the self-interest of the parties which acts as a

Vowels Case Essay Example for Free

Vowels Case Essay Speech sounds can be classified and described in articulatory, acoustic and auditory terms. On the basis of these terms the two broad categories in which the speech sounds in any language can be classified are vowels and consonants. Consonants are best described in articulatory terms because there is some type of closure or narrowing of the air passage to the extent that there is audible friction during the production of that sound. But in case of the production of vowels as there is no closure and no narrowing of the air passage to the extent that it may produce audible friction both articulatory and auditory terms are used to describe and classify them. In Phonetic terms vowels are speech sounds in the production of which there is no obstruction or closure and no narrowing of a degree that would cause audible friction in the pharynx and the mouth. Vowels are essentially a tone issuing from the glotis with the vocal chords vibrating. Classification and description of vowels becomes difficult due to the fact that the distinction of one vowel from another arises because of the modification in the shape and size of the resonating chambers, that is the pharyngeal cavity, nasal cavity and the mouth. Soft Palate, the lips and the tongue are responsible for this modification. Thus, just as any description of consonant sounds should reveal the position of vocal cords, place of articulation and manner of articulation, similarly any description of vowel sounds describe: 1. the position of the soft palate – raised (oral) or lowered (nasalized). 2. The shape of the lips –1 i. Unrounded spread, neutral, open ii. Rounded – open and close 3. The shape of the tongue i. which part of the tongue is raised – front, central and back. ii. How high is the part of the tongue is raised – close, half close, half open and open. The position of the soft palate is judged by auditory perception. The shape of the lips can be observed by the eye and therefore described in articulatory terms. But the shape and position of the tongue changes so minutely that it is very difficult to feel these changes. So most of the positions of the tongue are judged by auditory perception only. Cardinal Vowels: Thus it is clear that a finer and more independent system of description is needed on the auditory and articulatory levels. The most satisfactory scheme was devised by Daniel Jones and is known as the Cardinal Vowel system. The basis of the system is physiological. The vowel sounds were produced with the tongue in certain easily felt position. The front of the tongue was raised as close as possible to the palate without causing friction and the sound produced was that of the cardinal vowel [ i ]. Starting from the [ i ] , the front of the tongue was lowered gradually, the lips remained in the spread or the open position and the soft palate was in raised position. The lowering of the tongue was halted at three points at which the vowel qualities seemed to be equi-distant from the auditory point of view. These three tongue positions were x-rayed and it was found that these three points were almost equi-distant from a spatial point of view. The symbols assigned to these three positions were [ e, Æ  , a ]. The same procedure was applied to the vowels which are produced by raising the back of the tongue. The sound produced when the whole of the tongue was as low as possible with a slight raising at the back of the tongue was termed as the cardinal vowel [ ]. The lips were changed progressively from a wide open shape to closely rounded one and the soft palate remained in the raised position. Once again three auditorily and spatially equi-distant points were found. These points were were assigned the symbols – [ , o, u ]. Thus a scale of eight primary cardinal vowels was set up. They were denoted by the following numbers and symbols: 1, [ i ] ; 2, [e] ; 3, [Æ ] ; 4, [a] ; 5, [ ] ; 6, [ ] ; 7, [o] ; 8, [u]. The usefulness of Cardinal Vowels Such a scale is useful because: a. these cardinal vowel sounds are unrelated to particular values in languages, though they may occur in various languages, and b. the set of cardinal vowels is recorded so that reference may always be made to a standard. A vowel sound may be described as being similar to a particular cardinal vowel. These cardinal vowels can be represented diagrammatically. A vowel diagram is obtained by plotting the highest point of tongue raising for each of the primary cardinal vowels and joining the points together. The internal triangle, corresponding to the region of central vowel sounds, is made by dividing the top line into three approximately equal sections and drawing lines parallel to the two sides so that they meet near the base of the figure. C [ i ] C [u] C [ e ] C [ o ] C [ Æ  ]C [ ] C [ a ]C [ ] Monophthongs and Diphthongs There are twenty vowel sounds in RP. These vowel sounds can be divided into two types – monophthongs and diphthongs – on the basis of whether the quality the vowel sound changes during their production or not. Vowel sounds, during the production of which there is no considerable and voluntary change in the quality of the sound are called monophthongs or pure vowels. For example, the vowel sound / I / in ‘pin’. They are represented by thick dots in the vowel diagram. There are 12 monophthongs in RP. Similarly, vowel sound, during the production of which there is considerable and voluntary change in the quality of the sound is called diphthongs or gliding vowel. For example the / aI / sound in ‘pine’. (Explain). They are represented by arrows in the vowel diagram indicating the starting point and the direction in which the quality change, corresponding to the movement of the tongue, is made. There are 8 diphthongs in RP. It should be noted that a diphthong is not the same thing as a sequence of two monophthongs. The diphthong occupies one syllable while a sequence of two monophthongs is spread over two syllables. Example: soil, sawing. During the description of a diphthong we have to describe the lip position and the tongue position at the starting point and the lip position and the tongue position after it has glided in a particular direction.

Approaches To Sport And Exercise

Approaches To Sport And Exercise Critically discuss interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approaches to sport and exercise science within the professional experience undertaken in term 1. Support your answers with relevant literature and theory Research within sport and exercises science is done in many different disciplines. The majority of published research, however, is mono-disciplinary (from a singular discipline) in nature (Burwitz et al. 1994). A professional experience was undertaken to assess the approaches to inter and multi-disciplinary within sport and exercise science research. The experience was of a sport science nature which involved assisting in an undergraduate research project of 3D biomechanical analysis of a gymnastic vault using CODA, focussing specifically on the approach and springboard take-off. Sports biomechanics uses the scientific methods of mechanics to study the effects of various forces on the sports performer (Bartlett, 2007). It is important to monitor technique in gymnastics to help prevent injury and improve performance. It is then possible to feed this information back to coaches to highlight strengths and weaknesses of individual athletes. Multi or inter-disciplinary research requires a combination of methods and knowledge from more than one sub-discipline (Burwitz et al. 1994). This essay will outline what multi and inter-disciplinary approaches to sport and exercise science are, compare how similar they are and then show how they differ. It will then outline how the two approaches can be applied to the professional experience undertaken. An interdisciplinary approach within sport and exercise science involves a partnership of coaches with sport and exercise scientists such as physiologist or psychologists. Smith (2005) split sport science from exercise science due to differences of individual needs from elite athletes to members of the public. Smith (2005) described sport science as being characterised by collaborations with coaches and performance directors and exercise science as being characterised by collaborations with general practitioners and professionals allied to medicine. Interdisciplinary research needs to involve a strong integration of information from more than one sub-discipline of sport and exercise science from the outset of a particular research programme (Burwitz et al. 1994). Williams and James (2001) stated that a sport or exercise team should have a scientific basis. Williams and James (2001) also developed a model to demonstrate inter-disciplinary approaches, where the goal of the sport or exe rcise is affected by each area involved. Multi-disciplinary research involves less integration of the sub-disciplines of sport and exercise science. Each discipline tends to work in parallel on a common topic (Burwitz et al. 1994). Miles et al (1997) adapted Burwitz et al. (1994) definition to state that multi-disciplinary research involves sport and exercise scientists working together to solve a problem in an isolated unitary fashion and co-coordinated manor. In a multi-disciplinary approach each sub-discipline will look for problems to a solution from within only that discipline, for example a biomechanist will look at technique. Then each discipline will collate their results, whereas in an interdisciplinary approach the biomechanist may work with a physiologist to look at technique changes due to fatigue (Burwitz et al. 1994). Multi-disciplinary research may be the result of a lack integration of sub-disciplines from the outset of sport and exercise science, and so it is harder to integrate then together when trying to bring about an inter-disciplinary approach to problem solving. Multi and inter-disciplinary research are both ways of improving research and developing is away from mono-disciplinary work in sport and exercise sciences. The majority of sport and exercise research is mono-disciplinary (Burwitz et al 1994) which is when research looks solely at one sub-discipline and provides answers and conclusions from only that discipline. Both multi and inter-disciplinary approaches endeavour to link sub-disciplines, such as psychology and biomechanics, together to improve the ability to solve problems such as injury, fatigue and poor technique. Both approaches work in teams or groups (that include the sport and exercises scientists, coacher or practitioners and the athlete or patient) to combine knowledge and methods from their different areas. Despite these similarities there are still major differences between the two stated approaches. The inter-disciplinary approach appears to be the best way to bring about improvements as it integrates the sub-disciplines which takes the form of ‘bridge-building (Squires et al 1975) which requires a combination of specialist knowledge from various disciplines focusing on a specific problem. Contrastingly, multi-disciplinary approaches collate rather than combine knowledge; therefore the sub-disciplines work separately during research processes before coming together to attempt to reach a conclusion about a stated problem (Burwitz et al 1994). It is also believed that an interdisciplinary approach will reveal potential conflicts between the sub-disciplines (Burwitz et al 1994). As there is immediate interaction between sub-disciplines, an opinion given by one area is disputed by another. This is less likely to occur in multi-disciplinary approaches as sub-disciplines do not work i n direct contact with one another. Despite the above examples no clear definition is given of the distinctions between the two approaches because many sport and exercise scientists have regarded multi and inter-disciplinary as synonymous terms (Burwitz et al 1994). The professional experience was involved with sport science which smith (2001) described as being characterised by collaborations with coaches and performance directors. It was first and foremost a biomechanical approach. Biomechanics is a highly scientific and mathematical based sub-discipline, usually looking at technique, and problems with technique, as causes of problems such as injury and failure of achievement. Gymnastics is a sport that utilises these methods frequently as it is a very technical sport where injuries can be common. This is due to the fact that gymnastics encompasses a seemingly endless quantity of movement skills (George 1980). During the professional experience questions were putt to the researcher regarding the involvement of other sub-disciplines to determine the dimension of the research. These questions were: ‘are there any sport scientists or performance director present for sub-disciplines other than biomechanics to help assess the primary information gathered from the research? ‘Will the results of the research be collated with other sub-disciplines and fed back to the performer? From the answers given to these questions it was concluded that the research being carried out was mono-disciplinary as there was no interaction, in any way, with other sub-disciplines. As discussed above there is an increasing need from multi or inter-disciplinary research in sport and exercise science, this study may have been improved by the introduction of other sub-disciplines and the feedback given to an athlete would have increased in value. The research itself was looking at the approach and take off of the gymnast during the vault, as well as having technique assessed biomechanically, the researcher may have advised the athlete to be assessed by a physiologist or physiotherapist, this may produce results that show differences in muscle pair which could lead to injury, for example one calf being larger than the other, which could mean production of force at take of is unbalanced. This could then be fed to the biomechanist who has also found that during takeoff the gymnast has been unbalanced and therefore the athlete would need to undergo strengthening in the shorter calf to get it up to a similar size to the other calf. This would create a multi-disciplinary approach as sub-disciplines of sport science will have collated data after the research to improve feed back to the performer. It may also have been helpful to have had a psychologist present at the time of testing who had watched the subject in competition and seen if their routine or performance differed between in and out of competition performance. It may be possible that the pressure of performing in competition had led the athlete miss time a move which led to a decrease in performance; the psychologist could then work with the performer to help improve confidence during competition and therefore improve the athletes performance. This would create an inter-disciplinary approach as sub-disciplines of sport science will have integrated during research to improve feed back to the performer. If the approachs dimension was changed to either a multi or an inter-disciplinary approach it will give the gymnast a much better chance of improving performance in competition. The professional experience undertaken was shown to be mono-disciplinary as it was a piece of research focusing solely on the biomechanics of the approach and take off of the gymnastics vault. As discussed above introducing further dimensions to the research may have been more beneficial to the athlete as they may receive more feedback. However the piece of research was an undergraduate study which had a primary focus on biomechanics and introducing other sub-disciplines may have confused the findings and taken away from the aims of the research. This essay has described multi and inter-disciplinary approaches within sport science and described their application within a sporting context.