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.

Up until 2015 the rate at which cube satellite missions achieved full mission success was only 44.1% for any organizations rst mission (academic or corporate), the success rate increases to only 62% for cube satellites launched as a second mission. This thesis suggests that there are two main sources for the high failure rate: improper veri cation, and the common use of COTS components and their reliability in a space environment. The thesis provides a means of increasing mission assurance through the use of physics of failure reliability estimation models that incorporate the intrinsic and extrinsic failures of thermal mechanical e ects as well as radiation e ects on EEE components, a design methodology is also presented that incorporates reliability modeling as well as thorough software and hardware in loop testing to prevent failure due to improper veri cation. The environment and reliability models are calculated for the on board command and data handling system of the ECOSat- II cube satellite being developed by the University of Victoria ECOSat team using NX Siemens for thermal FEA modelling, SPENVIS for radiation environment, and MATLAB for reliability calculation. / Graduate / 0544 / 0538 / cass.hussmann@gmail.com

For a developing nation like Kenya, an effective higher education system is essential for its national development. Often intermediary bodies, such as the Commission for Higher Education in Kenya, are established and mandated to oversee higher education systems. As a “buffer” agency between the state and the universities, the Commission is strategically placed to ensure an effective and productive higher education system that serves the Kenyan society and advances the development of the nation. The purpose of this research is to investigate and describe the contribution of an intermediary body responsible for the coordination of the higher education system in a developing nation. The research describes the legal framework for the establishment of the Commission for Higher Education in Kenya and focuses on the three main functions of this intermediary agency: planning, program review and budget review. The research uses a historical case-study design that includes extensive documentation analysis coupled with interviews in order to understand the experience of the Commission for Higher Education in Kenya from its establishment in 1985 up to the present. The main objectives of the research are: a) To describe the legal framework for the establishment of the Commission for Higher Education for Kenya and analyze its mandate and terms of reference; b) To investigate and describe the experience of the Commission for Higher Education for Kenya with reference to the following primary functions of intermediary bodies: planning, budget review and program review. In addition to describing the legal framework that established the Commission and its work in planning, program review and budget review, the research provides recommendations for improved effectiveness as a buffer agency. Chief among these is the need for legislative change that would create an empowering legal framework. Specific recommendations for improvements in core function service areas (planning, program review and budget review) are also provided. The study is important because it addresses service improvement issues in a context where the development agenda demands effective and efficient leadership in the higher education sector.

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

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.

<p><strong>Bakgrund: </strong>Hållbarhetsredovisning har utvecklats från att vara ett undantag till en norm, dock är enbart cirka 40 procent av de utgivna hållbarhetsredovisningarna granskade enligt en undersökning utförd av KPMG från 2008. Det saknas krav när det gäller granskningen av hållbarhetsredovisningarna och det finns ett antal standarder som kan användas vid granskningen, både internationella och nationella sådana. I och med detta försvåras jämförelser mellan företag samtidigt och det blir svårt att bedöma vilken kvalité den utförda granskningen har.</p><p><strong>Syfte:</strong> Uppsatsen syfte är att undersöka huruvida granskningsrapporten skiljer sig åt beroende på granskande aktör och/eller vilken granskningsstandard som används i Sverige, Tyskland, Storbritannien och Danmark. Med skillnader menas i det här fallet att undersöka vilka egenskaper i redovisningen som lyfts fram av den granskande aktören, vilken nivå på granskningen som lämnas samt vilka intressenter som granskningen riktar sig till i första hand. Genom att undersöka detta är det möjligt att bidra med kunskap om huruvida användbarheten av hållbarhetsredovisningarna påverkas av granskande aktör och använd granskningsstandard och om detta ser olika ut i de undersökta länderna.</p><p><strong>Metod:</strong> En undersökning av 30 hållbarhetsredovisningar i respektive land. Uppsatsen är en fallstudie och har en kvalitativ ansats.</p><p><strong>Slutsats:</strong> Granskningsrapporternas utformning skiljer sig mellan de undersökta länderna samt beroende på granskande aktör och använd granskningsstandard. En större andel av de hållbarhetsredovisningar som granskas av annan aktör än revisionbyrå ges ett bestyrkande med hög men inte absolut säkerhet. Granskningsrapporterna utgivna av revisionsbyråerna är betydligt mer standardiserade än de övriga vilket gör att dessa inte ger läsarna/intressenterna en fullständig bild av det granskade företagets hållbarhetsarbete. Därmed kan användbarheten av granskningen ifrågasättas. Användbarheten kan dock även ifrågasättas hos de granskningsrapporter som är utfärdade av annan aktör än revisionsbyrå. Då dessa aktörer inte är tydligt kontrollerade på samma sätt och det inte ställs samma krav på oberoende på dessa aktörer, så är det svårt att avgöra om den utförda granskningen är tillförlitlig.</p><p> </p> / <p><strong>Background:</strong> Sustainability Reporting has developed from being an exception to becoming a norm. According to a research performed by KPMG in 2008, only 40 per cent of the issued sustainability reports are assured by an independent assurance provider. There are no requirements regarding assurance of sustainability reports and it exist a number of standards that could be used in the assurance process for sustainability reports, as well international standards as national standards. As a result of this the comparison between companies becomes difficult and it is difficult to evaluate the quality of the performed assurance.</p><p><strong>Purpose:</strong> The purpose of this thesis is to examine whether the assurance report given by the assurance provider differ depending on assurance provider and/or the assurance standard that is used in Sweden, Germany, Great Britain and Denmark. Assurance reports differ if the assurance provider emphasizes on different qualities and different stakeholders and provide different level of assurance. By examining this it would be possible to contribute with knowledge regarding whether the usefulness of sustainability reports depend on assurance provider and assurance standard and whether it exist differences between the examined countries.</p><p><strong>Methodology:</strong> A research involving 30 sustainability reports from each country. This thesis is based on case study and has a qualitative research method.</p><p><strong>Conclusion:</strong> The content in the assurance reports differ between the countries in this thesis and is depending on assurance provider and assurance standard. A majority of the sustainability reports that provide a conclusion with reasonable assurance are assured by other assurance provider than accountants. The assurance reports issued by accountants are more standardized than the remaining reports and therefore give the readers/stakeholders an uncomplete picture of the sustainability actions performed by assured company. A consequence of this is that the usefulness of the assurance provided could be questioned. The usefulness could also be questioned regarding the reports provided by other provider than accountants because these providers do not have the same requirements regarding independence and control as the accounting firms and therefore it is difficult to judge the reliability of this reports.</p>

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.

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.

Bakgrund: Hållbarhetsredovisning har utvecklats från att vara ett undantag till en norm, dock är enbart cirka 40 procent av de utgivna hållbarhetsredovisningarna granskade enligt en undersökning utförd av KPMG från 2008. Det saknas krav när det gäller granskningen av hållbarhetsredovisningarna och det finns ett antal standarder som kan användas vid granskningen, både internationella och nationella sådana. I och med detta försvåras jämförelser mellan företag samtidigt och det blir svårt att bedöma vilken kvalité den utförda granskningen har. Syfte: Uppsatsen syfte är att undersöka huruvida granskningsrapporten skiljer sig åt beroende på granskande aktör och/eller vilken granskningsstandard som används i Sverige, Tyskland, Storbritannien och Danmark. Med skillnader menas i det här fallet att undersöka vilka egenskaper i redovisningen som lyfts fram av den granskande aktören, vilken nivå på granskningen som lämnas samt vilka intressenter som granskningen riktar sig till i första hand. Genom att undersöka detta är det möjligt att bidra med kunskap om huruvida användbarheten av hållbarhetsredovisningarna påverkas av granskande aktör och använd granskningsstandard och om detta ser olika ut i de undersökta länderna. Metod: En undersökning av 30 hållbarhetsredovisningar i respektive land. Uppsatsen är en fallstudie och har en kvalitativ ansats. Slutsats: Granskningsrapporternas utformning skiljer sig mellan de undersökta länderna samt beroende på granskande aktör och använd granskningsstandard. En större andel av de hållbarhetsredovisningar som granskas av annan aktör än revisionbyrå ges ett bestyrkande med hög men inte absolut säkerhet. Granskningsrapporterna utgivna av revisionsbyråerna är betydligt mer standardiserade än de övriga vilket gör att dessa inte ger läsarna/intressenterna en fullständig bild av det granskade företagets hållbarhetsarbete. Därmed kan användbarheten av granskningen ifrågasättas. Användbarheten kan dock även ifrågasättas hos de granskningsrapporter som är utfärdade av annan aktör än revisionsbyrå. Då dessa aktörer inte är tydligt kontrollerade på samma sätt och det inte ställs samma krav på oberoende på dessa aktörer, så är det svårt att avgöra om den utförda granskningen är tillförlitlig. / Background: Sustainability Reporting has developed from being an exception to becoming a norm. According to a research performed by KPMG in 2008, only 40 per cent of the issued sustainability reports are assured by an independent assurance provider. There are no requirements regarding assurance of sustainability reports and it exist a number of standards that could be used in the assurance process for sustainability reports, as well international standards as national standards. As a result of this the comparison between companies becomes difficult and it is difficult to evaluate the quality of the performed assurance. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to examine whether the assurance report given by the assurance provider differ depending on assurance provider and/or the assurance standard that is used in Sweden, Germany, Great Britain and Denmark. Assurance reports differ if the assurance provider emphasizes on different qualities and different stakeholders and provide different level of assurance. By examining this it would be possible to contribute with knowledge regarding whether the usefulness of sustainability reports depend on assurance provider and assurance standard and whether it exist differences between the examined countries. Methodology: A research involving 30 sustainability reports from each country. This thesis is based on case study and has a qualitative research method. Conclusion: The content in the assurance reports differ between the countries in this thesis and is depending on assurance provider and assurance standard. A majority of the sustainability reports that provide a conclusion with reasonable assurance are assured by other assurance provider than accountants. The assurance reports issued by accountants are more standardized than the remaining reports and therefore give the readers/stakeholders an uncomplete picture of the sustainability actions performed by assured company. A consequence of this is that the usefulness of the assurance provided could be questioned. The usefulness could also be questioned regarding the reports provided by other provider than accountants because these providers do not have the same requirements regarding independence and control as the accounting firms and therefore it is difficult to judge the reliability of this reports.