Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is broadly defined as a systematic process that proactively examines the potential consequences of development actions. As a planning process, the longer-term objective of EIA is to contribute to sustainable development of the environment. EIA cannot meet its sustainability objective without a systematic follow-up program. Notwithstanding the benefits of a follow-up program, there is little guidance for best practices. The problem is that follow-up programs are not widely implemented in EIA and the lessons learned from experience have not been documented. This research explores the principles and characteristics of best-practice follow-up in an attempt to identify the lessons learned and issues raised from experiences in Canadas mining resource sector. A normative framework for doing follow-up is developed from the literature using these principles. Based on document analysis and semi-structured interviews, a case study of the Ekati Diamond Mine, Canadas first diamond mine, is evaluated based on the best practice principles, which advocate actions for success. The Ekati mine is meeting requirements in the best practice principles, as established in the best practice framework, which is outlined in part, in licenses obtained by Ekati. This is exemplified in BHPBs, use of hypothesis in impact prediction. However, there are normative principles and elements that are left out in Broken Hill Proprietary Billiton Ekatis follow-up programs. For example, there is some concern about the level to which local knowledge has been incorporated and the level to which monitoring of socio-economic elements is being carried out. Based on Ekatis experience, a number of new lessons emerge to inform the framework on best practice follow-up namely, that there is need for mandatory, non-ephemeral legislation on follow-up, that baseline data needs to be repeatedly collected after projects have started operations and that there is a need for firmer requirements if proponents are to exercise serious commitment to public involvement.

The assessment reform movement has focused on classroom assessment and grading practices as a potential means to improving teaching and learning. Many researchers agree that the best way to enhance learning for a diverse range of students is through appropriate, reliable, and valid classroom assessment and grading practices. This is of particular importance in Saskatchewan because the inclusive philosophy has been mandated for all schools. Classroom teachers are responsible for the instruction, assessment, and grading of students with mild disabilities, learning, emotional, and behavioral challenges, and other needs that require specific attention. This study examined secondary classroom teachers assessment and grading practices in one urban school division. A survey instrument adapted from the work of Duncan and Noonan (2007) and McMillan (2001) asked current secondary teachers, within inclusive classrooms, to indicate their current assessment and grading practices. Evidence from the survey demonstrated that teachers in this division have diverse assessment and grading practices and that they have begun to explore the potential for assessment to assist all students in their learning. This study has provided data to move forward with some professional development opportunities for teachers and further research in assessment and grading with particular focus on students with special needs in inclusive classrooms.

This study was conducted to identify the self-perceptions of superintendents regarding their instructional leadership practices. The focus of the research was to explore the linkages that exist between these perceptions and factors such as superintendent characteristics and district demographics. In their role as district instructional leaders, superintendents are increasingly held accountable for instruction and the expectation for increased test scores. The data used to explore the research questions were acquired through a survey, the Superintendent's Instructional Leadership Survey (SILS). This instrument was developed by Gwen Boyter and had previously been used to survey superintendent behavior as perceived and self-reported by the superintendents themselves. The questionnaire contained 42 task statements that were intertwined into five task areas relevant to Instruction and Human Resource Development. This study used a Multiple Logistical Regression to explore the relationship between the superintendents' self-perceptions on their instructional leadership role and variables that may significantly influence the superintendents' perceptions. Variables included: school district rating for student performance on the state assessment; percentage of economically disadvantaged and at-risk student groups; and superintendent characteristics, such as age, gender, ethnicity, and years of experience. The SILS was sent as an online survey through Qualtrics.com. Superintendents rated their instructional leadership behaviors on a Likert scale that ranged from "Constant Emphasis" to "No Emphasis." Forty-nine respondents completed a survey, which was 16% of those surveyed. Practical significance was found in the relationship between the superintendents' self-perceptions and two of the variables: (a) the superintendents' age and (b) the district rating. Statistical significance was found on two variables: (a) the percentage of economically disadvantaged students and (b) the percentage of at-risk students. Research findings suggest that it is imperative that superintendents devote specific time to focus on instruction, curriculum, and assessment practices. They must involve stakeholders to collaboratively focus on the instruction goals in order to meet the learning needs of all students. As a result of this study, instructional leadership should be given much consideration in the selection of superintendents. Superintendent preparation programs can use data from the study to better prepare individuals to serve in the capacity of district instructional leaders.

Background: Self-medication with antibiotics is a global phenomenon and potentialcontributor to human pathogen resistance to antibiotics. Amongst Pakistanis, antibioticself-medication rates are high. At present, no data is available on prevalence and practicesof self-medication with antibiotics among Pakistani students abroad. Aim: The aim of this study was to assess prevalence and comparative practices ofPakistani students in Sweden and Finland regarding self-medication with antibiotics. Methods: The study used an anonymous cross-sectional Web-based questionnaire surveywith convenience census sampling targeted to Pakistani students in Sweden and Finland.Questionnaire asking use of antibiotics and six-month recall of antibiotic self-medicationbefore the survey was administered to the 9333 potential respondents. Data was analyzedusing statistical software R version 2.8.1. Descriptive statistic was used to analyze theresults. Associations were tested using Pearson's Chi-squared test. Findings: Response rate was 2.3% after five reminders. Of 213 participants (mean age27.9 years), 151 were from Sweden and 57 were from Finland. One hundred eleven(52.1%) reported antibiotic self-medication in their life time and forty two percent knewthat it could be injurious to health. Sixty-eight participants (31.9%) did self-medicationwith antibiotics during their stay in the study countries and almost all used oral antibiotics.Unrestricted pharmacy sale was the commonest source (37%) of such antibiotics.Common symptoms triggering antibiotic self-medication were respiratory (42.6%) andoro-dental (13.2%). Preferred antibiotics were broad spectrum Penicillin (41.2%),Macrolides (23.5%) and Quinolones (6.2%). Almost all (98.8%) antibiotics for suchmedication were obtained from Pakistan. About 27% reported that they would considerself-medication with antibiotics in future. The most common reason for antibiotic selfmedicationwas affordability of health care consultation and antibiotics (23.9%). Therewas no significant difference between the self-medication practices of participants basedon country of studentship (p=0.6). Self-medication rates were not significantly lower instudents who were aware that it may harm (p=0.2) and is unsafe (p=0.2). Conclusion: High prevalence of self-medication with antibiotics among participants is amatter of concern from individual and public health perspective. There is need to augmentawareness and implement legislations to promote judicious and safe practices. Furtherstudies are needed concerning resistance impact of antibiotic self-medication. Key wards: self-medication, antibiotics, Pakistani students, abroad, practices

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is broadly defined as a systematic process that proactively examines the potential consequences of development actions. As a planning process, the longer-term objective of EIA is to contribute to sustainable development of the environment. EIA cannot meet its sustainability objective without a systematic follow-up program. Notwithstanding the benefits of a follow-up program, there is little guidance for best practices. The problem is that follow-up programs are not widely implemented in EIA and the lessons learned from experience have not been documented. This research explores the principles and characteristics of best-practice follow-up in an attempt to identify the lessons learned and issues raised from experiences in Canadas mining resource sector. A normative framework for doing follow-up is developed from the literature using these principles. Based on document analysis and semi-structured interviews, a case study of the Ekati Diamond Mine, Canadas first diamond mine, is evaluated based on the best practice principles, which advocate actions for success. The Ekati mine is meeting requirements in the best practice principles, as established in the best practice framework, which is outlined in part, in licenses obtained by Ekati. This is exemplified in BHPBs, use of hypothesis in impact prediction. However, there are normative principles and elements that are left out in Broken Hill Proprietary Billiton Ekatis follow-up programs. For example, there is some concern about the level to which local knowledge has been incorporated and the level to which monitoring of socio-economic elements is being carried out. Based on Ekatis experience, a number of new lessons emerge to inform the framework on best practice follow-up namely, that there is need for mandatory, non-ephemeral legislation on follow-up, that baseline data needs to be repeatedly collected after projects have started operations and that there is a need for firmer requirements if proponents are to exercise serious commitment to public involvement.

The assessment reform movement has focused on classroom assessment and grading practices as a potential means to improving teaching and learning. Many researchers agree that the best way to enhance learning for a diverse range of students is through appropriate, reliable, and valid classroom assessment and grading practices. This is of particular importance in Saskatchewan because the inclusive philosophy has been mandated for all schools. Classroom teachers are responsible for the instruction, assessment, and grading of students with mild disabilities, learning, emotional, and behavioral challenges, and other needs that require specific attention. This study examined secondary classroom teachers assessment and grading practices in one urban school division. A survey instrument adapted from the work of Duncan and Noonan (2007) and McMillan (2001) asked current secondary teachers, within inclusive classrooms, to indicate their current assessment and grading practices. Evidence from the survey demonstrated that teachers in this division have diverse assessment and grading practices and that they have begun to explore the potential for assessment to assist all students in their learning. This study has provided data to move forward with some professional development opportunities for teachers and further research in assessment and grading with particular focus on students with special needs in inclusive classrooms.

Motivation: Through the increasing demand in new products, companies within international business context have to implement innovation efforts and so, they are searching for talents in an increasing amount of available employees. Problem statement: The problem of those firms is to employ the right people (talents) on one side and to ensure the innovative performance of the company on the other side. Research approach: For solving this issue, a qualitative research was chosen, while conducting a Swedish and a German case study of suitable companies and interviewing them about their practices of attracting, selecting, and integrating talents. Results: There is support found for the connection between the recruitment of talents and the innovative performance. Conclusions: The results contribute to talent management and provide lessons from successful cases as a guideline for other companies. For the reason that the case studies do not belong to a specific industry, the results are potentially generalizable.

The purpose of this study was to determine the core competencies needed by state Baldrige examiners, to identify best practices in examiner training programs provided by state Baldrige organizations, and to identify best practices for teaching core competencies. A Delphi panel ranked core competencies, best practices, and best practices for teaching core competencies using a Likert-style survey. Descriptive statistics and a formula for determining consensus quantified the results. The key findings of this study were that the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence continue to provide the core competencies for which examiners need to be trained to effectively evaluate and score applications and provide meaningful feedback to applicants. The best practices for teaching core competencies, however, vary according to the needs of each state organization and the expertise and teaching styles of the trainers in the various state organizations. Coaching was the one best practice upon which the panel agreed as being applicable to teaching most of the core competencies. A template for training examiners using the best practices for teaching core competencies was the outcome of this study. Recommendations include using this template to train examiners and using the actual teams, of which the examiners will be a part, for evaluating and scoring the applications from receipt of the application through the life of the application. It is recommended that the individual review of applications be eliminated. As examiners will work with the actual applications from the beginning of the process, it is recommended that the case study be eliminated as pre-work. It is also recommended that coaches work with the actual teams from the training session until the feedback report is written.

With the development of globalized and liberalized economy, the work allocate becomes more precise and the product life cycle becomes shorter. For many firms, in a changing era and intense global competition environment, effective supply chain management can help organizations to achieve competitive advantage in facing future challenge. This study was according to the Tan¡¦s (2002) research on the supply chain management (SCM) with some measures modified from the viewpoint of actuality. 206 samples were collected. The objective of this study was to derive a set of SCM practices and to identify the major concerns in implementing a successful SCM program. This study also relates the practices and concerns to firm¡¦s performance by means of correlation analysis and multiple linear regression analysis. The major findings are: (1) identified 25 items of practices and 11 items of concerns that are critical for the successful SCM. (2) supply chain integrated, supply management, and strategy planning are significant correlation with performance. (3) different position has significant perception difference in performance; customer service quality has the most significant perception difference in each demographic variables.

According to Li¡¦s (1992) study, the majority of high school students in Taiwan consider English writing their most taxing subject. After ten years, it seems still a difficult task for most of them, which is shown by the results from CEEC in 2001¡Xthe percentage of examinees who have scored higher than 12 points in writing is below 8%. This undesirable fact causes trouble and frustration not only to students but also to teachers. After a literature review of three dimensions¡Xresearch on English composition, empirical studies in Taiwan, and English teachers¡¦ beliefs and their pedagogical practices, the researcher adopted a qualitative methodology to do the research. The methodology is composed of an interview and a questionnaire. In this study, it is concluded that writing teachers¡¦ prior learning experiences had an influence on their current teaching practices. What¡¦s more, as for the explanation of why writing instructors have adopted these different methods, there are many possible reasons to give, such as time limit, students¡¦ numbers or a test-oriented trend in education. Teachers¡¦ beliefs and practices may also differ significantly due to their students¡¦ different backgrounds and needs. Moreover, the difficulties that teachers face are indeed serious problems the authorities concerned have to fix and some relevant suggestions should be proposed. Last but not least, the results of this study have shown some of teachers¡¦ beliefs about their writing instruction, including the opinions on principles of compiling writing materials and the teaching points they stress. Therefore, the relevant authorities and other researchers can refer to these results in this study when they implement language education reforms or conduct related studies. It is hoped that such a study would help people have a thorough comprehension of senior high school writing instructors¡¦ beliefs and draw much more attention to the importance of their needs, and difficulties.