This study discusses the purpose, process and practice of quality assurance in transnational education (TNE) wherein institutions in one country award their degrees to students studying in another. This arrangement raises the issue of how the quality and standards of the degree programmes are assured so that they enable the programmes delivered in one country to be considered as being of a comparable quality and standard to those delivered in another. The study explores how the cross-national implementation of quality assurance is conducted and perceived by those engaged in it and the challenges such activity faces. Using data collected via structured interviews in Sri Lanka and the UK, the study examines the perceptions of participants in TNE collaboration. The analysis is undertaken within a conceptual framework developed from inter-firm relationship and supply chain management theories. The concept of “relational capital”, and its creation through socialisation activity, is proposed as a key factor in understanding TNE. A further body of literature is explored, that of inter-cultural communication and inter-cultural competence. The study contributes to the literature on TNE and internationalisation by identifying a tension between the financial drivers behind TNE and the resource intensive activities required to build relational capital. The findings are developed into a conceptual model for quality assurance in TNE, which can be used in the planning, management and evaluation of TNE and is designed to develop relational capital through the relational and inter-cultural competences of those engaged in such work. Through such a development, it is argued, quality assurance in TNE can move away from a process of enforced compliance with the prevailing quality assurance processes to one driven by a shared quality culture in which capacity building in the partner institutions of TNE can be achieved.

Available empirical data relating to quality generally and the application of quality assurance principles to language education at tertiary-level are scanty. This study explores how higher education institutions in Ghana apply QA mechanisms to enhance the teaching and learning of English for Academic Purposes. It examines how institutional contexts and cultures of the four case study institutions impact their QA processes. First, the rhetorical tensions and the apparent lack of consensus on the definition of the term “quality” are acknowledged alongside the enviable status of English as a “global lingua franca”; the relevance and pervasiveness of the EAP discipline in tertiary educational circles within and without Ghana and the resultant need for quality assurance and enhancement in its teaching and learning. One particular component of quality in higher education: the need for ensuring that programmes and services are fit for the purpose for which they were designed, and that the “clients” (students) are getting value for their money serves as the focus of the empirical research. The QA dimension of the research attempts to answer the question of whether students provide written feedback on their teaching and whether this is acted upon by the case study institutions in order to improve the EAP course. A combination of qualitative, quantitative, mixed-method approaches and documentary research is adopted to provide the framework for exploring QA and quality issues at each of the institutions involved in this study. The study first considers the quality challenges of higher education in Sub-Saharan Africa and Ghana within the context of policy. Subsequently, the unique features of each case study institution are quantified. To enhance the depth of understanding so as to establish each case study institution’s QA mechanisms and processes for enhancing EAP teaching and learning, a comparative/multiple case study approach is adopted. The blend of methods facilitated exploring the issues and the drawing of conclusions as the strengths of each complements the other. The assessment of QA practices used in the teaching and learning of EAP in the case institutions revealed a number of interesting similarities and differences in terms of institutional context, quality culture, quality assurance mechanisms, pedagogy, and curriculum designs. Based on these findings, suggestions for EAP teaching quality enhancement in the case study institutions are subsequently made. Unique practices identified in the institutions are recommended for replication in other tertiary educational institutions. Suggestions for further and future research are also made followed by a brief account of the author’s professional and personal development during the DBA programme.

Internet applications have varied Quality of Service (QoS) Requirements. Traditional applications such as FTP and email are throughput sensitive since their quality is primarily affected by the throughput they receive. There are delay sensitive applications such as streaming audio/video and IP telephony, whose quality is more affected by the delay. The current Internet however does not provide QoS support to the applications and treats the packets from all applications as primarily throughput sensitive. Delay sensitive applications can however sacrifice throughput for delay to obtain better quality. We present a Traffic Sensitive QoS controller (TSQ) which can be used in conjunction with many existing Active Queue Management (AQM) techniques at the router. The applications inform the TSQ enabled router about their delay sensitivity by embedding a delay hint in the packet header. The delay hint is a measure of an application's delay sensitivity. The TSQ router on receiving packets provides a lower queueing delay to packets from delay sensitive applications based on the delay hint. It also increases the drop probability of such applications thus decreasing their throughput and preventing any unfair advantage over throughput sensitive applications. We have also presented the quality metrics of some typical Internet applications in terms of delay and throughput. The applications are free to choose their delay hints based on the quality they receive. We evaluated TSQ in conjunction with the PI-controller AQM over the Network Simulator (NS-2). We have presented our results showing the improvement in QoS of applications due to the presence of TSQ.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-05T14:01:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 24 / Nenhuma / O presente trabalho apresenta um sistema de apoio às inspeções de garantia da qualidade de software, baseado em ontologias e agentes, que objetiva a automação de atividades específicas em um processo de inspeção. A ontologia, elaborada através do método Ontology Development 101, mapeia os conceitos mínimos e necessário para representar o domínio de conhecimento de inspeções de garantia da qualidade. O agente, desenvolvido através de um método iterativo e incremental, e especificado com Unified Modeling Language, implementa um conjunto de critérios para a manipulação de indivíduos na ontologia. O protótipo de interface web viabiliza a interação com o agente e a ontologia, respectivamente. O sistema é verificado através de testes unitários e integrado, e é validado através de experimentos em um ambiente real de uso. A coleta de dados para comparação se dá em dois momentos, antes do uso do sistema e após uso do sistema. Por fim, conclui-se que o sistema dá um ganho significativo na cobertura das inspeções e gara / This work presents a support system for inspection of software quality assurance, based on ontologies and agents, which aims at automation of specific activities in a process inspection. The ontology, developed with the Ontology Development 101 method, maps the minimum and necessary concepts to represent the domain knowledge of quality assurance inspections. The agent, development with iterative and incremental method, and specified with the Unified Modeling Language, implements a set of criteria for the handling of individuals in the ontology. The web interface prototype enables the interaction with the agent and ontology, respectively. The system is verified through individual and integrated testing, and is validated through experiments on a real environment of use. The collection of data for comparison occurs in two moments before the use of the system and after using the system. Finally, it is concluded that the system provides a significant gain in coverage of inspections and the maintenance of both the

Before a radiation treatment on a cancer patient can get accomplished the treatment planning system (TPS) needs to undergo a quality assurance (QA). The QA consists of a pre-treatment (PT-QA) on a synthetic phantom body. During the PT-QA, data is collected from the phantom detectors, a set of monitors (transmission detectors) and the angular state of the machine. The outcome of this thesis project is to investigate if it is possible to predict the radiation dose distribution on the phantom body based on the data from the transmission detectors and the angular state of the machine. The motive for this is that an accurate prediction model could remove the PT-QA from most of the patient treatments. Prediction difficulties lie in reducing the contaminated noise from the transmission detectors and correctly mapping the transmission data to the phantom. The task is solved by modeling an artificial neuron network (ANN), that uses a u-net architecture to reduce the noise and a novel model that maps the transmission values to the phantom based on the angular state. The results show a median relative dose deviation ~ 1%.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-25T18:39:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Luis Carlos Gruenfeld.pdf: 727868 bytes, checksum: b288710dcd09a6e912cd22d63065f2ca (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-06-16 / The question of the enterprise sustainability started to be part of the reality of many companies in Brazil and abroad that had incorporated sustainability questions to their business plan. Ahead of this picture the present research searched to understand the sustainability questions and its impacts for the accountants and auditors, having as main focus to investigate if the practices adopted in Brazil for issuing sustainability reports and the auditors report are similar that adopted in Europe. For in such a way, a bibliographical research was carried through initially. Additionally, it was done a critical study of the Limited Report issued by the Independent Auditors of a large Brazilian Bank.. For a better understanding of the European and Brazilian reality two exploratory researches had been used. One issued by the Federation of European Experts (FEE) and an annual research issued by Guide of Examination on Sustainability matters. This research disclosed the existence of various questions that can be made with regard to the reports issued by independent auditors and can be object of future research. Also it was possible to verify that the reports issued by the auditors in Brazil are similar to the ones emitted in the Europe (limited scope), however in the Europe it has a very bigger number of companies that has its reports verified for independent auditors, specially small and medium business. In terms of disclosure, the research also showed some practices that can be considered for the Brazilian companies for improvement of its reports. Finally, new researches on the subject were suggested / A questão da sustentabilidade empresarial passou a fazer parte da realidade de muitas empresas no Brasil e no exterior que incorporaram questões socioambientais ao plano de negócios. Diante desse quadro a presente pesquisa buscou compreender as questões de sustentabilidade e seus impactos para a profissão contábil, tendo como foco principal investigar se as práticas adotadas no Brasil para divulgação e auditoria de relatórios de sustentabilidade são similares ao que é adotado na Europa. Para tanto, foi realizada inicialmente uma pesquisa bibliográfica. Adicionalmente, foi feito um estudo crítico do Relatório de Asseguração Limitada emitido por auditores independentes de uma grande instituição financeira brasileira. Para compreensão mais ampla da realidade europeia e brasileira foram utilizadas pesquisas exploratórias realizadas, respectivamente, pela Federação Europeia de Especialistas em Contabilidade (FEE) e pesquisa anual realizada pelo Guia Exame de Sustentabilidade. A pesquisa revelou a existência de diversos questionamentos que podem ser feitos com relação aos relatórios de asseguração emitidos pelos auditores e podem ser objeto de pesquisas futuras. Também foi possível verificar que os relatórios emitidos pelos auditores independentes no Brasil são similares aos emitidos na Europa (Asseguração Limitada), porém na Europa há um número muito maior de empresas que tem seus relatórios verificados por auditores independentes, principalmente empresas de pequeno e médio portes. Em termos de divulgação, a pesquisa também mostrou algumas práticas que podem ser consideradas pelas empresas brasileiras para aprimoramento de seus relatórios. Por fim, foram sugeridas novas pesquisas sobre o tema

La précision du calcul de dose est cruciale pour la qualité de la planification et de la réalisation des traitements en radiothérapie. L’objectif de ce travail était d’évaluer la qualité des algorithmes de calcul de dose des faisceaux d’électrons pour des conditions particulières proches des situations cliniques rencontrées. Une méthodologie spécifique de dosimétrie par films radiochromiques des faisceaux d’électrons a été développée et validée, y compris pour des situations difficiles avec une précision de 3.1% en dose absolue et 2.6% en dose relative. Cette technique a permis de développer des tests de Contrôle Qualité généralistes rapides et efficaces qui servent de base de données mesurées en cas de changement de version du système de planification de traitement et/ou d’algorithme de calcul de dose. Les mesures par films ont été comparées avec les calculs de deux algorithmes de calcul de dose Pencil Beam et Monte Carlo. Les deuxcodes ont donné des résultats similaires dans les tests d’obliquité, d’irrégularité et de DSP étendue. En revanche, les calculs Monte Carlo sont plus précis en présence d’hétérogénéités. D’autre part, cette méthode de dosimétrie par films radiochromiques a permis de développer un nouveau mode d’évaluation des plans de traitement avec des films découpés et insérés dans des fantômes anthropomorphiques (de type thorax et tête) de manière à obtenir la distribution de dose en 2D dans un plan transversal donné ; ces tests cliniques pouvant aussi être utilisés dans le cadre d’un Contrôle de Qualité interne adapté à l’activité clinique du service. La comparaison des mesures avec les calculs a montré une meilleure précision dans les calculs Monte Carlo par rapport aux calculs Pencil Beam au niveau des hétérogénéités, notamment dans les poumons, les cavités et les os. / In radiotherapy, the dose calculation accuracy is crucial for the quality and the outcome of the treatments. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the accuracy of dose calculation algorithms for electron beams in situations close to clinical conditions. A new practical approach of radiochromic film dosimetry was developed and validated especially for difficult situations. An accuracy of 3.1% and 2.6% was achieved for absolute and relative dosimetry respectively. Using this technique a measured database of dose distributions was developed to form the basis of several fast and efficient QualityAssurance tests. Such tests are intended to be used also when the dose calculation algorithm is changed or the Treatment Planning System replaced. Pencil Beam and Monte Carlo dose calculations were compared to the measured data for simple geometrical phantom setups. They both gave similar results for obliquity, surface irregularity and extended SSD tests but the Monte Carlo calculation was more accurate in presence of heterogeneities. The same radiochromic film dosimetry method was applied to film cuts inserted into anthropomorphic phantoms providing a 2D dose distribution for any transverse plan. This allowed us to develop clinical test that can be also used for internal Quality Assurance purposes. As for simpler geometries, the Monte Carlo calculations showed better agreement with the measured data than the Pencil Beam calculation, especially in presence of heterogeneities such as lungs, cavities and bones.

O acirramento da competição entre as empresas produtoras de tratores agrícolas tem levado ao aumento da exportação de produtos e a consequente necessidade da manutenção dos níveis de qualidade destes produtos. Os custos relativos ao retrabalho em tratores exportados para os mercados externos é um dos problemas enfrentados pelas empresas manufatureiras de máquinas agrícolas. Dentre as principais causas geradoras de retrabalho estão os problemas gerados pelo manuseio destes tratores quando transportados de um país para outro. No caso das máquinas exportadas para o mercado norte-americano este problema se torna ainda mais oneroso, uma vez que os custos de mão-de-obra naquele mercado são bastante elevados. Tendo em vista reduzir a níveis mínimos os custos com retrabalho, o presente trabalho teve como objetivo analisar comparativamente duas propostas para o processo logístico de processamento de tratores nos portos norteamericanos. Desta forma decidiu-se comparar a proposta atual com uma proposta alternativa adotada pela indústria automobilística. Esta proposta envolve a utilização de VPC (vehicle processing center) que são centros de processamento de veículos com preparação completa das unidades para serem entregues às revendas. Desse modo a solução adotada pelo mercado automobilístico foi analisada para efeito de utilização na indústria de tratores através da consideração dos ganhos relativos à eliminação da perda de qualidade quando em comparação ao processo atual. De posse dos resultados desta análise foi concluído que a utilização da solução alternativa gera ganhos de qualidade, os quais foram quantificados em valores monetários. / The increasing competition among companies that produce agricultural tractors, has led to the increase in the export of products and the consequent need for maintenance of quality levels for these products Costs due to rework in exported tractors for foreign markets is one of the problems faced by agricultural machinery manufacturers. Problems generated by tractor handling when shipped from one country to another are among the main causes that produce rework. In the case of machines exported to the North American market the problem becomes even more costly, once labor costs are extremely high in that market. In order to reduce the cost of rework to a minimum level, this study had the target of analyzing comparatively two proposals for the logistic process of handling tractors at North American ports. Therefore, it was decided to compare the current proposal to an alternate proposal in use by the automobile industry. This solution involves the use of VPC (Vehicle Processing Center), with a complete preparation of units so as to be delivered to dealers. Therefore the solution adopted by the automobile industry was analyzed so as to be used by the tractor industry, by means of taking in consideration the gains related to the elimination of quality loss when compared to the current process in use. By use of the results it was inferred that the use of the alternative solution generates quality advantages, which were quantified in monetary values.

This think piece captures some of the thinking that emerged in and through the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Regional Environmental Education Programme research programme. This research programme emerged over a five-year period (2008–2012) and involved ten southern African teacher education institutions from eight countries (see ‘Acknowledgements’). The research programme sought to understand what contributions environment and sustainability education could make to debates on educational quality and relevance. Issues of educational quality are high on the national agendas of governments in southern Africa, as it is now well known that providing access to schooling is not a sufficient condition for achieving educational quality. Educational quality is intimately linked to the processes of teaching and learning, but the concept of educational quality is not unproblematic in and of itself. It is, as Noel Gough (2005) noted many years ago, an ‘order word’ that shapes the way people think and practise. Our enquiries during this research programme involved a number of case studies (that were reported on in the Southern African Journal of Environmental Education (SAJEE) in 2008, and are again reported on in this edition of the SAJEE), but the programme also involved theoretical engagement with the concept of educational quality and relevance. This think piece helps to make some of this thinking and theoretical deliberation visible. The author of this think piece was also the leader of the regional research programme and was tasked with synthesising the theoretical deliberations that emerged from the research design which were found to be useful for guiding interpretations and deliberation on more detailed case studies undertaken at country level.

by Chui Pui-Wah, Wong Wing-Ho, Wu Xiujuan. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 88-89). / Questionnaires in Chinese. / ABSTRACT / ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS / LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES / TABLE OF CONTENTS / CHAPTER / Chapter I. --- INTRODUCTION --- p.3 / Chapter II. --- METHODOLOGY --- p.6 / Primary Research --- p.6 / Exploratory Study --- p.6 / On-site Interview --- p.7 / Questionnaire --- p.7 / Secondary Research --- p.10 / Limitations --- p.11 / Chapter III. --- COMPANY BACKGROUND AND INDUSTRY ANALYSIS --- p.12 / Company Background --- p.12 / Life Insurance Market Environment in China --- p.14 / Strong Economic Growth --- p.14 / Economic Reform Creates Needs for Private Insurance --- p.15 / Opportunities for Foreign Life Insurer upon China's WTO Accession --- p.16 / Future Development of life Insurance in China --- p.22 / Nanjing ´ؤ An Attractive Market for AIA --- p.24 / Chapter IV. --- AIA IN THE MAINLAND CHINA --- p.27 / Business Expansion --- p.27 / Market Share --- p.28 / Promotion by Building Good Will --- p.29 / New Concepts brought to China Insurance Market --- p.30 / Problems Faced --- p.30 / Chapter V. --- DATA ANALYSIS --- p.32 / Demographics --- p.32 / General Findings --- p.35 / Consumer Behavior Analysis --- p.40 / AIA and its rivals --- p.45 / Further Findings Tested by Null Hypothesis --- p.54 / Conclusions --- p.58 / Chapter VI. --- RECOMMENDATIONS FOR AIA --- p.61 / Target Customers --- p.62 / Product --- p.62 / Pricing --- p.64 / Promotion --- p.65 / Distribution --- p.67 / Chapter VII. --- APPENDIX --- p.69 / Chapter VIII. --- BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.88