Includes bibliographical references (pages 154-163). / This thesis cont a ins a descriptive research concerning the Building Industry in South Africa and Quality Assurance. The study identifies the Building Industry and investigates the process of quality management. The thesis does not attempt to solve any problems in the industry but shows the need for the application of quality assurance to the industry. Through experience the author has identified this need, which is not confined to the Building Industry alone. The urgency of this need is what has prompted research in this area.

No description available.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1992.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Economics, June 2000. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Quality and its assurance are now important aspects of higher education in both developed and developing nations. Accordingly, this study seeks to explore the perceptions of stakeholders with regards to quality assurance in higher education institutions in Botswana. The study employed mixed methods research, which is a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection and analysis,Ivankoka,Creswell and Sticks (2006). Interviews were conducted with heads of quality units at Limkokwing and BIUST, Deans, Deputy Deans, Heads of Departments, DVC AA at UB and other academic staff members as well as questionnaires to also include officials in the ministry of education who are in charge of tertiary education. Quantitative data was analysed statistically using SAS V9.3 running under windows XP on a desktop computer. Interviews were conducted with 34 staff members from the participating institutions, while 61 lecturers from UB, Limkokwing and BIUST and 3 officers from the ministry of education responded to the questionnaires. The respondents in this study emphasised the need for proper implementation of the institutions quality assurance policy. The academic staff members also raised concern over high teaching loads and understaffing that impact negatively on the achievement of quality academic programmes. Chief among the recommendations in this study is the call for team work between the institutions and other important stakeholders like TEC and the ministry and to put in place a research plan for the institution in order to improve research output by the academic staff members. In terms of future research, the respondents suggested that there should be more research conducted to establish a quality assurance model that can be relevant to the institution. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / tm2015 / Science, Mathematics and Technology Education / PhD / Unrestricted

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The Razard Analysis Critical Control Point (RACCP) system has been in existence as a method of quality assurance for over 30 years. During this time it has evolved considerably, along with the food industry in which it is applied. Rowever, only in the last few years has the system achieved widespread acceptance as one of the most effective methods of controlling foodborne hazards and its principles come to be included in national legislation. Whilst the greater implementation of RACCP has the recognised potential to bring great gains in terms of food safety assurance, the technical nature of its procedure, which seeks to identify hazards and prevent their occurrence via specifically targeted control measures (Critical Control Points (CCPs», has caused some considerable difficulties in its operation. Identifying that there was a real need for the dissemination and subsequent application of expertise in RACCP, this piece of research work has aimed to develop a method of aiding the practical implementation of RACCP. A computer based solution was chosen for its potential to store, organise and access large amounts of information and data which could be used interactively by the user to conduct a RACCP study. Through the experiences of several companies with RACCP implementations and the completion of a traditional RACCP study with a collaborating company, requirements for expertise on RACCP have been identified in two main areas. The first requirement was for knowledge, in particular with regard to hazard identification. The second requirement was for a more clearly defined structure for the RACCP study itself, in particular with regard to hazard analysis. Aiming to address these aspects, two computer applications based around relational databases have been developed. This development together with limited field testing of the second application have provided an insight into many of the problems associated with the practice of RACCP as well as demonstrated the potential of computer based systems to both disseminate information and aid decision processes in this area.

This research examined the differences in the views of staff regarding the Quality Assurance system in the Colleges of Technology in Oman, not only in a general way but also according to job classification: academics, trainers/technicians and administrators. A critical analysis of staff views was conducted by employing a single holistic case study and a large-scale survey, in the form of distributed questionnaires that consisted of 889 participants. A critical review of literature on the quality movement in the higher education sector, the Omani higher education sector and the quality movement in the Colleges of Technology provided background information whilst a comprehensive questionnaire was designed to collect quantitative and qualitative data. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS versions 19-22) was used to store the collected data. A descriptive analysis was applied to the quantitative data and a content analysis applied to the qualitative data. Additionally, a document analysis review of the Quality Assurance Department and college documentation was done. The thesis depth came from applying cross tabulation analysis among the results of the 670 academics, 149 trainers/technicians and 70 administrators. The analysis of the findings shows that the differing staff groups in the Omani Colleges of Technology hold different perceptions of the meaning of quality but their varied understanding of the concept is the same as the formal meaning of quality used in the colleges, that is “fitness for purpose”. Moreover, staff understand the quality assurance system to be about accountability and continuous improvement and are aware of the role of the quality assurance system in the colleges. The Colleges of Technology in Oman have become better working environments where there is a greater emphasis on quality assurance and the work has become more organised. Furthermore, staff perceive the implementation of the quality assurance system as having led to awareness among themselves of the processes, roles and participation required in quality assurance if Oman's Colleges of Technology wish to achieve quality culture benchmarks. Regretfully, the findings also show that staff believe that they are overloaded with quality management activities which prevents them from performing their main duties. Implications for gaining staff efficient participation in the quality assurance system are highlighted and a model is proposed for developing staff ownership of the quality assurance system in the colleges of technology to ensure their positive participation in the quality management activities.

Spurred by recent press reports and other concerns this thesis focuses on the quality of surgical instruments. The current situation is reviewed by considering the regulatory framework and by investigating the quality of newly purchased instruments. A range of test protocols based on British Standards and best practices from industry were developed. These were designed to be practical in the real world situation and a user-friendly database was built to collate all the relevant data and inform the Supply Chain. The conditions experienced by instruments during their lifetime in the health care environment, especially in cleaning and disinfection were studied and as many instruments implicated in Incidents as possible investigated to understand the possible root causes of failure. During this work the importance and debate over surface finish, passivation and disinfection processes became apparent and research was carried out into the effect on wettability and drying mechanism of passivation and repeated disinfection cycles on various typical surface finishes. This concentrated on the environment within the health service unlike other studies which have been concerned with more aggressive industrial situations. Standards and Procedures on the care of instruments have been established in order to improve the current management of surgical instruments and to ensure that they are and remain fit for purpose.

Food quality attributes arising from farming methods are important to many Canadians. The credence nature of these quality attributes necessitates some form of quality assurance for accurate signalling to consumers. This thesis examines the appropriate role for private, third party, and government actors in credible quality assurance systems for production-derived attributes. Concurrently, it explores the nature of trust that Canadians put in various organizations for quality assurance. In a nationwide survey, Canadian consumers obtained significant benefits from government verification of pesticide free and environmentally sustainable grains contained in pre-packaged sliced bread. The data was collected using a discrete choice experiment. Farmers, third party, and government organizations were similarly trusted for accurate information about farming methods. The dimensions of this trust varied across organizations. Government standards relating to environmental sustainability were perceived as most effective. Results obtained using a latent class multinomial logit model showed that respondents who most valued production-derived food quality also received the greatest benefit from government verification and significant negative utility from supermarket or third party verification. In relative terms, the difference in utility between third party and government verification represents 141% of the value of the environmentally sustainable attribute and 87% of the pesticide free attribute. The results suggest that significant consumer benefit can be achieved if government were to take a leading role in quality assurance for production-derived quality.