The main goal of this diploma thesis is to assess the impact of introduction of the "Cyklisté vítáni" certification on a certified business and to analyze why the certification is not attractive to a larger population of business owners. Based on the analysis, several alternatives will be proposed to increase attractiveness of the certification with the goal to improve long-term viability of the "Cyklisté vítáni" project.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the hiring practices of physicians’ offices as they relate to medical assistants and to gain insight into their hiring preferences. Knowing how physicians and medical office managers view the profession of medical assisting may help medical assisting professionals improve the standing of the profession and provide a consistent foundation for education programs. I surveyed 15 physicians’ practices in eight states across the country to obtain a cross-country perspective and found that many practices hire credentialed or non-credentialed individuals for clinical positions for various reasons. The reasons were minimally due to the lack of credentialed applicants and more due to personal preferences, financial decisions, and governmental regulations. This study contributes to medical assisting program directors, medical assisting professional organizations, and credentialing agencies in promoting medical assisting.

A study was conducted to determine the relationship between the credentials held by science teachers who taught at a school that administered the Science Texas Assessment on Knowledge and Skills (Science TAKS), the state standardized exam in science, at grade 11 and student performance on a state standardized exam in science administered in grade 11. Years of teaching experience, teacher certification type(s), highest degree level held, teacher and school demographic information, and the percentage of students who met the passing standard on the Science TAKS were obtained through a public records request to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC). Analysis was performed through the use of canonical correlation analysis and multiple linear regression analysis. The results of the multiple linear regression analysis indicate that a larger percentage of students met the passing standard on the Science TAKS state attended schools in which a large portion of the high school science teachers held post baccalaureate degrees, elementary and physical science certifications, and had 11-20 years of teaching experience.

"This paper is written for the purpose of showing the in-service growth of a faculty through a planned program in the Blountstown High School during the period 1946-1949. A brief overview regarding location, economic status and recent developments will orient the reader"--Introduction. / Typescript. / "August, 1949." / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Education under Plan II." / Advisor: R. L. Goulding, Professor Directing Paper. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 21-22).

Accountable care units (ACU-?¢) provide a new model for integrated patient care. The ACU-?¢ promotes patient centeredness in nursing units as team members work collaboratively with physicians to improve patient outcomes and reduce unwarranted variations. A health system in the southeastern United States incorporated the ACU-?¢ as part of their care model. These units were held accountable for their clinical, service, and cost outcomes but lacked a validation process to demonstrate the effective utilization of their data. The purpose of this DNP project was to create a patient centered care (PCC) certification process, guided by the Donabedian model, that would provide hospital units the opportunity to access their process and quality improvement outcome data and to improve patient care. For this project, 12- key individuals were interviewed to gain their perspectives and input on the development and implementation of the PCC certification process. Results from the interviews were compiled and reviewed for common themes, which included Magnet-?¢ recognition, patient experience, current unit goals, and hospital strategic plan. Using the results of the interviews, a PCC certification procedure was created to outline the steps required to achieve certification; and, an application was developed to provide a standard format for quality and process improvement projects and associated outcomes reporting. The certification procedure will be implemented in the health system in the next fiscal year. Evaluation of the effectiveness of the program and future refinement will be controlled by the Nursing Shared Governance. The project may promote positive social change as the staff nurses on the individual units use the unit metrics to improve patient outcomes and reduce variations in care.

Student Number : 8500056 - MA research report - School of Arts - Faculty of Humanities / Internationally, certification is playing an increasing role in regulating and monitoring tourism enterprises, and promoting responsible and sustainable tourism development. Certification in the South African tourism industry is relatively new, with schemes being developed to measure product quality (i.e. the Tourism Grading Council star ratings), as well as the environmental (Heritage Environmental Rating Programme) and social and developmental aspects of tourism development (Fair Trade in Tourism South Africa). Significant international literature and debate exists on the role and importance of tourism certification. Benefits of certification accrue to enterprises themselves, to government, to the local environment and community and to consumers. Critics of certification however argue that there is limited market demand for certified products, and that certification only has a marginal impact on sustainable tourism development. This report examines the role of certification in the South African tourism industry, utilising one certification scheme, namely Fair Trade in Tourism South Africa (FTTSA) as a case study. FTTSA is positioned within the context of other key tourism initiatives being pursued by government, the private sector and civil society. The contribution of FTTSA to both the attainment of national tourism objectives as well as individual corporate objectives is discussed. Finally, key challenges facing FTTSA are presented.

No description available.

No description available.

A nationwide mail survey was conducted among importers and other members of the supply chain linked to the importation of tropical hardwood products to assess the market potential for Bolivian lesser-known wood species (LKS) in the U.S. market. One hundred and eleven companies responded to the questionnaire and provided information on their interest in importing lesser-known wood species, their willingness to pay for a Bolivian wood species substitute, percentage of their imports that are environmentally certified, and important factors considered to try new wood species. The results indicate that tropical hardwoods represent 33% of the product mix of companies that purchased wood products. Typically, companies imported less than 100 MBF in 2006. Sawnwood was the product that was imported the most, followed by plywood, veneer and flooring. Six Bolivian LKS are among the top 16 new wood species purchased by respondent companies in 2006 and three Bolivian LKS are part of the top 12 common tropical wood species imported in the U.S. Sixty-seven percent of overall respondents stated that they have plans to increase the imports of tropical hardwoods in 2007. Typically, members of the supply chain tried 1 to 2 new wood species in 2006. Retailers were the sector that tried the most, on average 5 new species. Price and availability were the major reasons to try new wood species. A MS-Access database was developed that allows comparisons of 20 potentially marketable Bolivian LKS with 10 common U.S. domestic hardwoods and 20 common tropical hardwoods imported into the U.S. Finally, strategic marketing recommendations are suggested to promote Bolivian LKS in the U.S. Results indicate that there are good opportunities for Bolivian LKS in the U.S market. / Master of Science

The reporting of scores on educational tests is at times misunderstood, misinterpreted, and potentially confusing to examinees and other stakeholders who may need to interpret test scores. In reporting test results to examinees, there is a need for clarity in the message communicated. As pressure rises for students to demonstrate performance at a certain level, the communication of scores to the public needs to be examined. Although public school student testing often is placed in the spotlight, this study examines score reporting in teacher certification, which may not have the same complexities of student test score reporting, but does have the equally critical need to effectively communicate scoring information. The purpose of this study was to create multiple teacher certification examinee score reports based on findings in the literature on educational test score reporting, as well as marketing and design principles, and to conduct interviews and focus groups to gather feedback on the comprehension and preferences in interpreting the designed score reports and results. Different approaches for reporting test scores were used to design the score reporting materials for a hypothetical teacher certification testing examinee who had not passed. Educators and educational testing professionals were convened and interviewed to review the score reports and offer feedback, suggestions and discussion. The findings are covered in great detail. Using the findings, a final model score report was designed, which was then reviewed with doctoral students in educational measurement. Through this process, some clear patterns and differences arose. Overall, there was a desire on the educator and doctoral student end to provide as much information as possible, where supported by sound measurement principles. The reporting of raw performance information, as well as accommodating comprehension styles by providing performance information in contextual, statistical and visual ways were requested. Upon addressing these requests, two areas that may not have full clarity and direction remained: The process of converting raw score performance to a scaled score (participants wanted more information on this process), and information provided that could address candidate weak areas, directing examinees to materials that could improve their studies, understanding, and examination performance.