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CAN YOU PROVIDE MORE EXAMPLES OF CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKS FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF CAPSTONE PROJECTS

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Nursing Capstone – Chronic Care Model

The Chronic Care Model is an evidence-based framework that was developed to help improve chronic illness care. It contains 6 core elements:

Community Resources and Policies – Developing partnerships with community organizations to support healthy behaviors and address gaps in services. This could involve assessing available resources and developing new partnerships in the community.

Health System Organization – Ensuring care is coordinated within the health system across different teams and levels. This involves examining current care coordination processes and recommending improvements to facilitate coordinated care.

Self-Management Support – Empowering patients to manage their conditions through education, collaborative goal-setting, and problem-solving support. This could involve developing a new group education program, individual patient coaching program, or online patient portal.

Delivery System Design – Structuring provider roles and responsibilities to match chronic care needs. This may involve developing new protocols or care pathways for chronic condition management, evaluating provider roles and capacity, and recommending improvements to meet patient needs.

Decision Support – Guiding provider decisions with evidence-based guidelines and clinical information tools. This could involve developing a clinical guideline or protocol for a specific condition, designing a decision support tool embedded in the EHR, or evaluating current practices against evidence-based guidelines.

Clinical Information Systems – Optimizing care through use of registries, information sharing, and patient/population health monitoring. Projects may involve designing and implementing a new registry within the EHR to monitor outcomes, automate reminders, or stratify patients for outreach.

The Chronic Care Model provides a comprehensive framework to evaluate how an organization currently supports chronic disease management and identify areas of improvement across different levels of the healthcare system. A capstone project could leverage this model to assess one or more elements and make recommendations to strengthen chronic illness care.

WHAT TYPES OF CHARTS AND GRAPHS WILL BE INCLUDED IN THE PERFORMANCE DASHBOARD VIEWS

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Some common chart and graph types that would be useful for performance dashboards include line charts, bar charts, pie charts, scatter plots, area charts, gauges and indicators. Each type of visualization has its own strengths and suits different kinds of data and metrics. A good performance dashboard brings together different charts and graphs to paint a comprehensive picture of how the business or organization is performing.

Line charts are well-suited for displaying trends over time. They are often used to show how a particular metric is changing each week, month or quarter. Line charts make it easy to see the direction that numbers are headed up or down. Some examples of line charts include tracking revenue over 12 months, comparing website traffic week-over-week, or viewing sales numbers year-over-year. The performance dashboard would include line charts to reveal trends in key performance indicators.

Bar charts provide a simple visual comparison of item categories or values across periods. They are effective for depicting differences in amounts or quantities. Bar charts in a performance dashboard may illustrate a team or division’s monthly sales, compairing branches and regional profitability, or ranking top 5 products by units sold. This allows managers to easily discern which areas are exceeding goals and where improvement may be needed.

Pie charts express numerical proportions by cutting a circle into slices corresponding to different categories or subgroups. They are helpful for showing percentage breakdowns or distributions. For example, a pie chart on a dashboard could indicate what percentage of revenue came from different product lines or departments. Another use may be demonstrating the proportion of services that are completed on time versus late. This gives a clear at-a-glance view of how quantities are divided among different segments.

Scatter plots display numerical values for two variables on the horizontal and vertical axes to reveal any statistical correlation or trend in the relationship between the variables. On a performance dashboard, scatter plots may chart employee performance ratings against productivity metrics. Or they could compare service level agreement fulfilment times with customer satisfaction ratings. This helps identify if improvements in one area may positively or negatively impact another.

Area charts are similar to line charts but fill the space under the line, producing an image that more clearly illustrates changes in magnitude. They are useful when cumulative totals need to be emphasized over time, such as depicting overall sales achieved month-to-date or year-to-date. Area charts on a performance dashboard can succinctly show progression towards key targets as time periods accrue.

Gauges and indicators are graphic displays that present measurements against graduated scales, akin to physical dashboards in vehicles. Circular gauges with needles are commonly used, along with linear progress bars. These visuals are placed prominently on performance dashboards to constantly showcase metrics crucial to management like cash flow, capacity utilization, headcount, customer satisfaction NPS score etc. The “at-a-glance” monitoring promotes quick understanding of whether goals are being achieved or remedial action is necessary.

Combining these different types of charts and graphs allows dashboards to provide holistic insight into business health and direct attention to obstacles or opportunities across multiple dimensions. Well-designed performance dashboards present an assortment of clearly labeled visualizations to facilitate comparison, correlation, trends analysis and informed decision making. Additional graphs may also be integrated such as histograms, tree maps or sunbursts depending on the nature of benchmarks to oversee. The blending of varied charting formats results in dashboards that distill volumes of operational data into actionable strategy recommendations.

Effective performance dashboard views capitalize on line charts, bar charts, pie charts, scatter plots, area charts and gauges to transform raw figures into coherent stories through data visualization. Judiciously applying the strengths of each graphical technique surfaces key insights, flags issues and spotlights successes by functional area, team, product or over time. This empowers leadership oversight of performance metrics indicating where adjustments or new initiatives could propel objectives forward. A dashboard bringing together different charts and graphs creates a comprehensive and intuitive medium to manage business performance.

WHAT ARE SOME OTHER TYPES OF CAPSTONE PROJECTS THAT ACCOUNTING STUDENTS CAN CONSIDER

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Business consulting project: For this type of project, students work as consultants for a small business or nonprofit organization. They conduct an in-depth analysis of the business/organization’s accounting and finance operations. Some key activities students may undertake include analyzing financial statements, assessing internal controls, benchmarking against industry peers, conducting a breakeven analysis, and developing recommendations for improvement. The final deliverable is usually a formal written report and presentation to the client.

Fraud examination project: In this project, students are given a financial dataset from a fictitious or real company that contains indications of possible fraud. They need to analyze the data and documents using forensic accounting techniques to investigate the suspected fraudulent activities. The project involves developing an investigation plan, interviewing key individuals, reviewing evidence, and writing a report summarizing the findings and conclusions. Students demonstrate skills in fraud prevention, detection, and investigation.

Accounting information systems project: For their capstone, students analyze and assess the accounting information system of a company. This involves documenting the current AIS, evaluating system controls, identifying risks, and recommending improvements to ensure accurate financial reporting and compliance with regulations. The evaluation covers topics like security protocols, IT infrastructure, transaction processing procedures, input/output controls, and system changes. Students present their analysis and enhancement strategies.

Tax compliance project: In this project, students work on a portfolio of individual and/or business tax returns from start to finish. This involves obtaining source documents to prepare each return, performing the required calculations, selecting the appropriate tax form, ensuring accuracy, and advising taxpayers appropriately. Students also research tax laws and plan for tax strategies. The final deliverable is the completed tax returns along with supporting workpapers and research materials used. This type of capstone showcases tax preparation and compliance skills.

Financial statement analysis project: For their capstone, students are provided with the annual financial statements of a public company spanning multiple years (3-5 years). They conduct both horizontal and vertical analysis of key financial statement line items to identify trends and flag anomalies over time. Students also calculate and analyze important financial ratios to assess the company’s performance, liquidity, profitability, solvency and efficiency. The project involves writing a written report with recommendations for investing, lending or other decision making purposes based on the analysis. This type of capstone focuses on financial statement evaluation and interpretation.

Not-for-profit accounting project: In this capstone, students volunteer with a local not-for-profit organization (NPO) like a charity, arts group or advocacy organization. They conduct an in-depth analysis of the NPO’s accounting systems, internal controls and compliance with regulations like Sarbanes–Oxley and GAAP for NPOs. Students also help the NPO prepare and analyze their budget and statement of financial position and recommend process improvements. The final deliverable includes a formal report, presentation and implementation of certain recommendations to strengthen the NPO’s accounting operations. This type of capstone provides exposure to not-for-profit accounting.

That covers some examples of different types of capstone projects that accounting students can consider for their final year. The capstone is meant to demonstrate the accounting knowledge and professional skills gained throughout the program. By working on real-world or simulated projects involving consulting work, fraud investigation, financial analysis, tax preparation or not-for-profit accounting, students get to apply classroom learning to practical scenarios. These experiences help strengthen critical thinking, problem-solving, communication and teamwork abilities which are invaluable for their future career. Students get to choose a topic area that interests them the most based on their career aspirations. The department may provide guidance on available and approved project options as well.

WHAT ARE SOME OTHER TYPES OF CAPSTONE PROJECTS THAT STUDENTS MAY ENCOUNTER?

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Internship: Many programs allow students to complete their capstone requirement through an internship experience. This provides real-world job experience in the field of study. It allows students to apply their classroom learning to meaningful work. Typically an internship would last around 12 weeks full-time. Students are expected to take on meaningful job responsibilities under the supervision of an industry professional. They often must complete a final project or research paper relating their work experience back to their academic studies. Internships help students gain necessary job skills, make industry contacts, and test if their chosen career path is a good fit.

Research project: Researching and writing an extensive academic paper or report is a staple capstone option. This allows students to deeply explore a topic of interest through primary and secondary research. Students pick a research question within their field of study, conduct a thorough literature review, collect and analyze data, then report findings and conclusions. This option demonstrates research abilities as well as general knowledge within the area of focus. Research projects require strong time management, writing, and presentation abilities which are all valuable career skills.

Community service project: Some programs require students to design and lead a community service initiative for their capstone. This could involve addressing a social issue, nonprofit work, or public service effort within the local area. Students may partner with existing nonprofit organizations or propose their own service project. Projects often involve planning, project management, volunteer coordination, fundraising, and presentations. This type of capstone allows students to contribute their skills and learning to help the community while gaining experience in project leadership, civic engagement, and collaborative work.

Entrepreneurial venture: If studying business or an entrepreneurially-focused field, launching a startup company or social venture project is a suitable capstone. Students propose a new business concept, create a full business plan, pitch to investors, take steps toward launching the venture such as registering the business, beta testing or prototyping product ideas, marketing strategies, and financial projections. This capstone immerses students in the startup process and allows them to pursue an original business idea if desired. It demonstrates skills in opportunity recognition, funding, product development, and more.

Design project: Engineering, architecture, and design-focused programs may encompass design projects as capstone work. Students identify a problem that can be solved through designing a new product, building, site plan, software program, or other innovative design solution. The project requires research, drawing inspiration from users/stakeholders, collaborating in interdisciplinary teams, creating blueprints, prototypes and models, testing and refining the design, and professionally presenting the final solution. This option expresses creative design thinking abilities and attention to user needs.

Music/film/performance project: For fine arts programs, a major creative work serves as the capstone experience. This involves conceiving, producing, and presenting an original musical composition, theatrical performance, video/film, art exhibit, dance production, or other major creative work. Students take on roles such as director, composer, producer, and lead performer. Substantial effort goes into planning, casting, technical execution, and public presentation of the work. Capstone portfolios document the complete creative process from concept to final presentation. This immerses students directly in their art form and demonstrates conceptual, technical and collaboration skills.

So While research projects and internships remain common choices, capstone programs offer diverse options allowing students to pursue meaningful experiences through community building, designing innovations, launching startups, producing creative works, and more – tailored to the academic focus and individual student interests. A quality capstone experience provides the opportunity to fully engage classroom learning in impactful real-world application while demonstrating key career-ready abilities.