The challenges faced by the Brazilian forest industry dealing with the natural forests and plantations have provided favourable ground for the establishment of forest certification. This study presents the first investigation of the two certification systems (FSC and Cerflor) in Brazil from the private sector perspective. Through an exploratory factor analysis (EFA), market, learning, and signaling were validated as governance mechanisms of forest certification in Brazil. The results from the importance and performance analysis (IPA) indicated that companies did not see any return in terms of a better price for certified products; however, they demonstrated high satisfaction with the performances of non-economic benefits. Descriptive statistics revealed external pressures influencing companies to pursue forest certification and overall accomplishments of certification from economic, social and ecological points of view. Finally, suggestions for future research and conclusions are made in order to provide information for the industry, certification systems, and the Brazilian government.

Ce mémoire porte sur les certifications de l'agriculture biologique et du commerce équitable. Ces « certifications de l'agriculture alternative » sont définies comme des mécanismes alternatifs de production et de commerce qui permettent (ou prétendent permettre) aux pays du Sud d'améliorer les conditions économiques, sociales et environnementales de leurs agricultures. D'un point de vue théorique, c'est véritablement les termes de « l'échange inégal » que les certifications de l'agriculture alternative visent à modifier. Pourtant, malgré leur succès relatif à cet égard, celles-ci sont considérées par des acteurs du Sud comme de nouvelles normes imposées et contrôlées par les pays du Nord. Serait-il possible que le commerce équitable et l'agriculture biologique, au-delà de leurs bienfaits pour les termes de l'échange, soient des vecteurs de la « régulation inégalitaire »? Actualisant les thèses marxistes, dépendantistes et régulationnistes sur les rapports Nord/Sud, cette recherche porte le questionnement sur les inégalités vers les manifestations politiques de la régulation du commerce mondiale. Le concept de régulation inégalitaire est alors défini comme un rapport social entre le Nord et le Sud s'inscrivant dans les formes institutionnelles de la régulation commerciale et se manifestant dans la dimension de la production des règles et la dimension du contenu des règles. C'est sur la base de l'opérationnalisation du concept de la régulation inégalitaire que les certifications de l'agriculture alternative sont alors évaluées. L'analyse de contenu des cadres normatifs et juridiques structurant les aspects de régulations des certifications de l'agriculture alternative, et l'analyse des représentations de trois groupes d'acteurs impliqués dans ces systèmes permet de montrer que l'agriculture biologique et le commerce équitable ne parviennent pas à contrer la reconstruction de la régulation inégalitaire en leur sein. La logique économique qui est sous-jacente aux certifications de l'agriculture alternative pousse leurs promoteurs à souscrire à différentes sources de crédibilité qui sont autant de manières de réguler davantage ces initiatives. Or, les principes qui sont à la base de cette régulation ont pour conséquence d'éloigner les acteurs du Sud des lieux de participation à l'élaboration des normes dont l'accès leur permettrait de leur rendre celles-ci plus favorables. Face à cette reconstruction de la régulation inégalitaire dans les certifications de l'agriculture alternative, les acteurs du Sud ne peuvent que revendiquer une « tropicalisation des certifications ». ______________________________________________________________________________ MOTS-CLÉS DE L’AUTEUR : Agriculture alternative, Agriculture biologique, Certification, Commerce équitable, Commerce mondial, Échange inégal, Régulation, Sud.

Software certification is defined as the process of independently confirming that a system or component complies with its specified requirements and is acceptable for use. It consists of the following steps: (1) the software producer subjects her software to rigorous testing and submits for certification, among other documents, evidence that the software has been thoroughly verified, and (2) the certifier evaluates the completeness of the verification and confirms that the software meets its specifications. The certification process is typically a manual evaluation of thousands of pages of documents that the software producer submits. Moreover, most of the current certification techniques focus on certifying testing results, but there is an increase in using formal methods to verify software. Model checking is a formal verification method that systematically explores the entire execution state space of a software program to ensure that a property is satisfied in every program state. As the field of model checking matures, there is a growing interest in its use for verification. In fact, several industrial-sized software projects have used model checking for verification, and there has been an increased push for techniques, preferably automated, to certify model checking results. Motivated by these challenges in certification, we have developed a set of automated techniques to certify model-checking results. One technique, called search-carrying code (SCC), uses information collected by a model checker during the verification of a program to speed up the certification of that program. In SCC, the software producer's model checker performs an exhaustive search of a program's state space and creates a search script that acts as a certificate of verification. The certifier's model checker uses the search script to partition its search task into a number of smaller, roughly balanced tasks that can be distributed to parallel model checkers, thereby using parallelization to speed up certification. When memory resources are limited, the producer's model checker can reduce its memory requirements by caching only a subset of the model-checking-search results. Caching increases the likelihood that an SCC verification task runs to completion and produces a search script that represents the program's entire state space. The downside of caching is that it can result in an increase in search time. We introduce cost-based caching, that achieves an exhaustive search faster than existing caching techniques. Finally, for cases when an exhaustive search is not possible, we present a novel method for estimating the state-space coverage of a partial model checking run. The coverage estimation can help the certifier to determine whether the partial model-checking results are adequate for certification.

With the growth ecotourism and of nature-based tourism, ecolodges are becoming more popular as an accommodation choice by tourists. There is currently no universal certification program ensuring service quality or environmental sustainability for ecolodges. Costa Rica is one of the few countries with a certification program in place that allows ecolodges to join by meeting certain standards. Visitors from three different certified ecolodges in Costa Rica were asked to fill out a questionnaire asking for demographic and trip characteristic information, with a section pertaining to their perception of importance and performance of 42 ecolodge attributes. The information was then applied to an Importance-Performance Analysis to gain a better understanding of how ecolodges are operating based on visitor feedback. The results from this thesis are then compared to the results of a similar study done by Kwan (2008) in Belize, where no certification exists for ecolodges. It is found that certified ecolodges received higher performance scores from their guests than uncertified ecolodges. It was also found that visitors place higher importance on more attributes when visiting a certified ecolodge, compared to uncertified ecolodges. This study also found that certified ecolodges are meeting the expectations of their clientele, by having higher performance scores than importance scores on 41 of 42 attributes. This thesis indicates that the presence of certification programs for ecolodges influences higher performance scores and can help ensure a successful future for this type of accommodation.

Purpose of the research<p>This paper presents an analysis of, and recommendations for, the training and accreditation of healthcare workers in Canada<p>The significant cost of education and healthcare, as well as the current and ongoing national shortage of healthcare professionals, warrants a critical look at the educational training requirements of healthcare workers in Canada. This topic includes reviewing the historical background of training for a variety of healthcare professionals in Western cultures, the common philosophy of education trends for these workers, and the future directions for various professions, focusing specifically on Medical Radiation Technologists in Canada.<p>Methods used <p>The methodology applied to this research is that of critical analysis, utilizing the following critical skills as proposed by philosopher Bertrand Russell: (i) the ability to form an opinion for oneself (tasks of recognizing, listening and questioning), (ii) the ability to find an impartial solution (dealing with biases and detachment for beliefs, judging on merit of issues), and (iii) the ability to identify and question assumptions (emphasis on judgment, critical reflection and constructive rather than destructive doubt)(Hare, 2001, pp8-9). Recommendations regarding pre-service and continuing educational training for Medical Radiation Technologists in Canada will be proposed.<p>Tied to any investigation of healthcare workers is a critical assessment of the healthcare system, as the needs of the community that is served by these professionals must be identified and successfully met. The literature review includes national statistics and summaries of health and lifestyle trends, as well as the trends for the education and training of healthcare workers.<p>Results obtained/Significance of findings<p>Reflective, critical assessment of the training and future trends of healthcare workers reveals that healthcare has undergone two major changes in focus: (1) healthcare as a business and (2) the holistic interdisciplinary trend of patient care.<p>After investigating the trends of health care professionals training, and even though the arguments for degree as entry-to-practice are very strong on many levels, I dont feel that I can conclude that the degree is the only option. If diploma training can adequately provide the basic theory and skills needed, additional skills and training, when required for a particular task, should be, and currently are, made available to the individual.

A Survey Study of Career Ladder System for School Teachers in Pingtung County Abstract This study began with a literature review of career ladder system designated & performed by school districts in the United States. Then, it analyzed the contents of draft version for career ladder system suggested by the Ministry of Education, Taiwan. At the same time, it made a reference to empirical studies and interviews in our country, in order to establish career ladder certificate system for teachers. This system would not only benefit teachers to promote their professional status or push those who were in-service teachers, but also could sharpen their teaching skills and strengthen the qualification of teachers. The major purpose of this study was to estimate the feasible models of career ladder certificate system for school teachers in Pingtung County. In addition, they would like to conduct a survey towards the different backgrounds of the educational employees concerned, including the employees in the local education authorities, county councilors, PTA members(all were referred as ¡§non-teaching people¡¨), representatives of teachers¡¦ organization, full-time school teachers, full-time teachers with administrative duties, intern teachers, and substitute teachers. Most significantly, the researcher tried to interpret the subjects¡¦ attitude towards the career ladder certificate system and their perspectives towards the approaches to establish the system. The author, after reviewed the related literature, developed the instrument of questionnaire ¡§A Survey of the Opinions towards the System of Career Ladder and Professional Certification for School Teachers¡¨ and mailed to 1455 subjects in total. 925 of them responded. Then, the data were analyzed through methods of t-test, one-way ANOVA, chi-square test, distribution and percentage analysis. The conclusions of this study were as follows: 1.As to the questionnaire, the establishment of career ladder certificate system for teachers could push teachers to study, encourage them to conduct life-long learning, provide career ladder opportunities and reflect on their professional knowledge. 2.The subjects thought that the content of the career ladder certificate system should not be exclusive to one another. Additionally, containing the rules and regulations such as career ladder, terms of service for each ladder , hands-on teaching experiences and the tenure of service in teaching could avoid the system being monopolized by those who were held good relationships. Although the non-teaching people occupied the highest ratio for saying no to the system, they did think that the system was helpful for planning the human resource in schools and for enhancing the quality of teachers. 3.Teachers who worked at a school with a scale of 49~60 classes occupied the highest ratio for supporting the system. 4.On the management of career ladder and certification, the subjects were apt to the way that the central education authorities to develop the codes and regulations for the system and to take on the duties of reviewing and issuing certifications. 5.As for the renewing the tenure of certificates for each ladder, most subjects claimed necessary to have an expiring term to each certificate in order to match the requirements for continuing education and to establish a renewing term system. The renewing term, as the survey showed, ranged from 5 to 10 years. 6.The criteria for promotion among the different ladders and of course their certificates were referred to the followings: the review of applicants¡¦ education and expertise, the credits gained thru in-service education programs, applicant¡¦s creative performance in the design of instructional methods and materials, and the performance of the applicant¡¦s research. 7.When asked about the reviewers in the process of certification, colleague teachers and building principals were the most favored representatives for internal evaluation committee. As for the external evaluation committee, professional education groups and people were trusted the most. 8.Whether or not the career ladder certificate system for school teachers must be established, the subjects chose to set up a hierarchy system for teachers, and three levels of hierarchy were more referred to than the others. 9.As for the reciprocal agreement for career ladder certificate issued by various local education authorities, a high percentage of subjects tended to support that the certificates were universal around the country. 10.In the system of canceling career ladder and certification, it might happen due mainly to three causes: psychological, moral and teaching abilities. Furthermore, it was emphasized that only concrete and substantial evidence should be presented as the basis to make the decisions. 11.As to the difficulties encountered while executing the system of career ladder and certification, the subjects thought that the major doubts were respectively: insufficient support for the career ladder system, the credibility of those who might be responsible for the system, and lack of the codes and regulations concerned. 12.As for the related measures to put the career ladder certificate system into practice, most subjects recommended the establishment of in-service education & training system for teachers, revision of related codes & regulations, modification of teachers¡¦ salary scale, and setting up a task-oriented unit for the system. Based upon the conclusions of this research, the author then proposed suggestions not only to educational authorities, teacher training institution, all levels of schools, but also to the teachers at schools and future researchers. On the other hand, the research also provided a feasible reference for other local education authorities while considering to develop the career ladder certificate system for teachers.

The purpose of this study was to review the empirical research evidence on the effect of teacher certification on student achievement. An exploratory meta-analysis was conducted on studies that examined the effect of fully certified and less-than-fully certified teachers on student achievement. The meta-analysis focused on the areas of mathematics, science and reading and explored trends across areas of achievement, school level and research design. The study was directed towards (a) a synthesis of findings, and (b) recommendations for future research and policy decisions.The meta-analysis population consisted of five individual studies that generated twenty-seven effect size estimates. Three studies utilized either an individual level or class level of analysis and yielded twelve mean difference effect size estimates. Two studies utilized either a school or state level of analysis and yielded fifteen correlational effect size estimates. The majority of findings in mathematics favor the positive effect of fully certified teachers. In science, the findings pointed towards equivalent levels of student achievement for fully certified and less-than fully certified teachers. All the findings associated with reading favored the positive effect of fully certified teachers. It appears that certification may be more crucial to student achievement in reading and mathematics than in science. Across school levels, the overall trend suggests that full certification may be more crucial to student achievement in elementary school than middle or high school. Across levels of analysis and research design, studies that utilize an aggregate level of analysis yield a greater number of positive study outcomes than designs conducted at the individual or class level. A key finding is that given the specifications of the meta-analysis, direct evidence of the relationship between certification and student achievement is limited to five peer-reviewed, published studies. Additional findings illuminated several issues that are vital to improving the quantity and quality of research on teacher certification. Eight specific recommendations were directed towards academic researchers who plan to study the topic. Four recommendations are directed towards policy-makers at the state and federal level who are involved in setting standards and planning legislation for educator preparation.

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of an alternative certification program on the retention of teachers in Region 20, Texas, as reported by Education Service Center, Region 20, Texas. Demographic variables were used to determine association with retention rates. Additionally, the study provided qualitative data and information that assisted in explaining the retention rates of Teacher Orientation and Preparation Program (TOPP) participants. A mixed methods research, utilizing logistic regression and a survey interview instrument, was used to determine retention rates as well as variables that influence retention rates of TOPP participants. A total of 537 TOPP participants were analyzed. Additionally, a sub-sample of 10 participants was interviewed. The study provides an analysis of the following demographic variables: ethnicity, gender, current grade type (elementary ??PK-5, middle school ??6-8, and high school ??9-12), and current socioeconomic level (as determined by the percent of children who qualify for free and reduced lunch programs). Of the four demographic variables analyzed, none was found to have an association with retention rates. A number of other variables were found to have an impact on the retention of the teachers interviewed in the sub-sample. Those variables included personal commitment to the field of education or the kids, a mentor, team support, administrative support, and new teacher induction programs. The implications from the findings of this research study are numerous and can have an effect in areas such as teacher hiring practices, teacher retention practices, and teacher preparation programs. It is important to note that the researcher recommends that expert opinions be sought and further research be conducted on teacher retention and teacher preparation programs before any recommendations for change are made.

The study follows the "contract theory" to establish a model of a classification system for certification under the Lease of agricultural products for the design contract. In addition to show the optimal lease¡¦s prices and classification standards for certification of the determining factors, an important phenomenon, this model can be used to interpret, Lease contract with a decline in transaction costs discount and gradually disappear from the market.

The purpose of this study is to investigate perceptions of the teaching profession and education in the political debate concerning teacher certification. I have, based on the purpose, issued three question that form the basis of this study. They are: To what extent does the participants in the debate perceive the teaching profession as a profession? Based on the perception that the teaching profession is a profession, to what extent and how is the requirement for certification being justified? Which perceptions regarding education are being expressed in the debate? The method used to carry out this study is an idea analysis, which is generally used when analysing political debates. The purpose of using this method is to obtain clarity of what is said in a debate. Furthermore, the theoretical concepts that are relevant for the implementation of this study are profession and education. The result of this study shows that the debaters define a professional as a person who is motivated, has an education, is suitable to practice his/her profession, has the knowledge required in his/her profession and has received a certification. The result also indicates that the aim of introducing a teacher certification is to strengthen the teacher profession as a profession. However, there are some flaws with the certification that might leave the aim of it unfulfilled. Finally, the result of the study shows that education is left in the dark in the debate.