Organizations worldwide have been turning to Six Sigma program (SSP) to eliminate the defects in their products or drive out the variability in their processes to attain a competitive advantage in their marketplace. An effective certification program has been touted as a major contributor to successful implementation of SSP. An effective certification program provides the professionals involved with SSP projects a clear understanding of what their responsibilities should be in reducing the variability in their processes. Despite the benefits, a significant number of professionals who attend certification training fail to become certified. This study aimed to develop a predictive model to address the certification challenges that organizations face in implementing SSP. Through a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches, this study investigated the perceived responsibility factors of reducing inefficiencies in Information Systems (IS) processes and the influence of these factors on the intention of professionals to acquire SSP certification. The qualitative approach was employed to gather responsibilities in reducing process inefficiencies. The quantitative approach was used to uncover the responsibility factors for a large group of SSP certification candidates in an IS organization. Survey instruments were used to collect data from the IS department of a Fortune 500 company in both qualitative and quantitative phases. The results of the qualitative and quantitative approaches indicated that five responsibility factors of leadership (LDS), technical expertise (TEX), project selection and management (PSM), analysis (ANA), and certification (CET) would have significant contribution on intention of professionals to acquire SSP certification (INI). However, the results of the Ordinal Logistic Regression predictive model developed in this study indicated that only CET was a significant predictor of INI. This study makes two important contributions to successful SSP implementation in an IS organizations. The first contribution is that CET is a significant predictor of GB candidates' intention to acquire certification. The second contribution of the present study is that gender differences affect the intention to acquire certification.

The proliferation of market-based policy instruments for governing the global forest commons has resulted in a proposed internationalization of the institutional arrangements, policy standards, and certification practices for assessing the ‘quality’ of forest management systems worldwide. Yet, like other global environmental governance systems before it, proposals for a universalized approach to forest certification have yet to come to fruition. Drawing on insights provided by Malaysia’s efforts to develop and operationalize the Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme (MTCS), I argue that standardization of forest certification systems worldwide is an unlikely and, more importantly, undesirable approach to forest governance. The central findings of this dissertation are thus as follows: 1) Despite many ‘on paper’ changes, the Malaysian Timber Certification Council (MTCC) remains the most powerful actor within the MTCS. As an end result of an uneven distribution of rulemaking authority within the MTCS, the quasi state MTCC continues to dominate a distinctively monopolar MTCS institutional environment; 2) The current configuration of organizations involved in the day-to-day operations of the MTCS is reliant on a small, insular and tight knit group of similarly trained individuals who rely upon a single episteme that elevates state-conferred knowledge above all other ways of knowing; and, 3) Despite this state-derived episteme being a central component of the MTCS epistemic community, the audit process is far more ad hoc than planned. Instead of following a bureaucraticallyprescribed checklist approach to auditing, MTCS auditors simultaneously draw on the technical skill set that auditing demands (technê) and a more localized and contingent performance of their expertise (mētis) in order to make informed judgments. In summary, the MTCC and its scheme represent a highly contextualized approach to forest certification that values national priorities and local circumstances over international standards and norms. As a result, the case of Malaysia’s national forest certification scheme simultaneously challenges the state-derived episteme through which forestry experts are professionalized and, more broadly, the notion that forest certification systems can ever be fully standardized.

Aquaculture and fisheries hold promise for supplying a growing world population with healthy food produced without undermining the earth’s carrying capacity. However, just as livestock production and agriculture, seafood production can have negative environmental impacts and if a continuous or even increased supply is to be guaranteed, the pressure on affected ecosystems needs to be limited. Due in part to a perceived failure of other governance mechanisms in improving the environmental performance of the sector, a large number of voluntary market based standards for farmed and wild caught seafood have been developed. Nonetheless, the knowledge base on the extent to which implementation leads to environmental improvements remains limited. Moreover, the role of consumers in driving demand for eco-labeled seafood is presently an under-researched area. This thesis aims at reducing this knowledge gap through an examination of the potential environmental effectiveness of aquaculture eco-certification and internal, psychological variables predicted to be of importance for sustainable seafood consumption. Put differently, what is the potential of eco-certification in greening the blue revolution and fuel ‘turquoise growth’, and how can consumer demand be spurred? In Paper I, the role of eco-certification in improving the growing aquaculture sector at large was explored. Results showed that environmental effects at global scale likely will be limited due to e.g. partial coverage of species groups and environmental impacts, and a lack of focus on Asian markets and consumers. In Paper II the environmental performance of eco-certified and non-certified mangrove-integrated shrimp farms in Vietnam was compared by using Life Cycle Assessment and put in relation to conventional, more intensive farms. While there was no substantial difference between certified and non-certified farms in terms of environmental impacts, emissions of greenhouse gasses were higher for mangrove-integrated than conventional farms due to mangrove land use change. The results from Paper III demonstrated that the body of literature investigating ecological effects of seafood eco-certification is limited. ‘Spatially explicit ecosystem service information’ (ES-information) on e.g. key ecosystem services and biodiversity in a given area is suggested to have potential to improve sustainability standards. Taking guidance from the pro-environmental behavior literature, consumers in Stockholm, Sweden were consulted on awareness of and attitudes towards eco-labeled seafood (Paper IV-V). Two variables, concern for environmental impacts and knowledge about seafood eco-labels were the best predictors for stated eco-labeled seafood purchasing. Moreover, there seemed to be a misalignment between consumers’ expectations on eco-labeled food in general and certification requirements for eco-labeled seafood. From this set of findings, a number of improvements of current seafood eco-certification are suggested. First, include an LCA-perspective in standards to a higher degree than presently done and provide readily available ES-information in the implementation and evaluation phase of certification. Second, introduce standardized mechanisms for capturing potential environmental improvements over time. And finally, stimulate demand by targeting Asian consumers and markets as well as strengthen consumer eco-label awareness and emotional involvement. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following paper was unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 5: Manuscript.</p><p> </p>

Le secteur du bâtiment contribue grandement aux impacts environnementaux occasionnés par les activités anthropiques. Pour tenter de réduire ces impacts, divers systèmes de certification pour le bâtiment ont été développés. Toutefois, ces certifications ont tendance à se concentrer principalement sur la consommation énergétique durant la phase d’exploitation du bâtiment. Par conséquent, leur application pour un bâtiment qui consomme de l’énergie occasionnant de faibles impacts sur l’environnement peut parfois mener à des effets indésirables sur les impacts environnementaux des bâtiments. Tandis que certaines certifications ne se concentrent que sur quelques aspects du bâtiment, comme Passive House qui est axé principalement sur la consommation énergétique, d’autres, comme LEED v4, qui est la plus présente en Amérique du Nord, ont une portée plus large. Néanmoins, LEED v4 accorde une plus grande importance à la consommation énergétique qu’à la sélection de matériaux. Basé sur une étude d’un bâtiment à bureaux situé au Québec (Canada), l’objectif de ce projet de recherche est de comparer les effets des matériaux sur les impacts environnementaux du cycle de vie d’un bâtiment en fonction de la considération de ces matériaux dans LEED v4. Ici, le terme matériaux est utilisé à des fins de simplification et signifie matériaux de construction utilisés pour construire le bâtiment. Les effets des matériaux sont évalués en analysant la contribution de ces derniers aux impacts environnementaux du bâtiment à l’étude ainsi qu’en déterminant leur potentiel de faire varier ces impacts par le changement de certaines configurations de matériaux de ce bâtiment. Les impacts environnementaux sont évalués par une analyse du cycle de vie (ACV) attributionnelle à l’aide du logiciel SimaPro 8.2, la base de données ecoinvent 3.1 et la méthode d’évaluation des impacts du cycle de vie (EICV) IMPACT 2002+. Les résultats montrent que les matériaux contribuent de façon importante aux impacts environnementaux du bâtiment (> 50 %) et que la sélection de différentes configurations alternatives de matériaux peut faire varier considérablement ces impacts (de 0 % à plus de 50 %). Par ces résultats, il est montré que LEED v4 ne semble pas bien capturer ces effets des matériaux sur les impacts environnementaux sur le cycle de vie des bâtiments par son système de pointage dans le cas où le bâtiment consomme exclusivement de l’énergie provenant du réseau électrique du Québec (où l’électricité produite est principalement de source hydraulique). Effectivement, le pointage accordé aux matériaux dans LEED v4 est de 13 points (ou 30 %) en comparaison à la consommation énergétique, qui est de 33 points (ou 70 %). Les résultats de ce projet de recherche permettent donc d’amener les diverses parties prenantes du secteur de la construction vers une réflexion plus éclairée sur le rôle à jouer de la sélection des matériaux et des certifications dans l’amélioration environnementale des bâtiments dans le cas où l’énergie consommée par les bâtiments occasionne de faibles impacts sur l’environnement, ainsi que sur la complémentarité de l’ACV avec les certifications. / Abstract : Buildings being one of the highest contributors to environmental impacts globally, various Green Building Rating Systems (GBRS) have been proposed in support to reduce their impacts. Primarily oriented towards energy consumption from use stage, their application in low impact energy contexts can result in some undesirable side effects. While some GBRS focus only on few aspects of the building, like Passive House, others like LEED v4, the most present in North America, have a broader scope. However, this GBRS grants more importance to energy consumption than material selection. Based on a office building case study in Quebec (Canada), the aim of this study is to compare the material effects on building LCA impacts and their considerations in LEED v4. Here, the term material is used, for simplicity purpose, to mean construction material used to build the building. Thus, the material effects can be reflected by the material contribution on building LCA impact and their potential to vary these impacts from the adoption of different material configurations. The environmental impacts are evaluated using the attributional LCA approach with SimaPro 8.2 software, ecoinvent 3.1 database and IMPACT 2002+ method. Building LCA results indicate the high environmental impact contribution from materials (> 50 %) and their good potential to vary LCA impacts (0 % to more than 50 %). By comparison, the LEED v4 rating system did not seem to be as effective in capturing the effects of materials in low impact energy context like the one of Quebec (where the electricity generation is hydro-based). As a matter of fact, material selection represents 13 points (or 30%) by comparison with 33 points (or 70%) for energy consumption. Conclusions drawn from this research project will help stakeholders from the building sector in their efforts to improve building environmental profiles providing answers about the implication of material selection and GBRS to this end and the complementarity between LCA and GBRS.

Being proficient with technology is becoming an essential part of a high school education, and some high schools now require computer skills as a prerequisite to graduation. School districts that recognize the relevancy and value of Information Technology (IT) courses to student careers and education can provide insight into effective teaching. Although most high school technology teachers have professional teaching certifications from passing prescribed subject area tests, many of these IT teachers do not possess IT industry certifications. IT industry certifications are official recognitions that verify competence through an array of requirements including education, experience, and examinations. The goal of this study was to quantify the effect of student achievement by comparing student posttest scores of teachers holding relevant IT industry certifications with those of teachers not possessing IT industry certifications. To accomplish the goal, nine North Carolina school districts furnished student posttest data on teachers who taught the Computer Applications I course. In addition, 51 of 80 Computer Applications I teachers completed an online survey that solicited information on IT industry certifications (e.g., Microsoft Office and IC3 Certifications). The posttest data and survey information was compared and analyzed using parametric inferential statistics. The study demonstrated that IT certified teachers had a significant, positive effect on the level of achievement of Computer Applications I high school students. Thus, high school teachers who possess IT industry certifications may be better equipped to instruct complex technology courses to their students. Based on the findings of this study, school districts should institute professional development programs that promote relevant IT industry certification to their Computer Applications I teachers. Finally, IT teachers possessing relevant IT certification could advocate the importance of IT industry certifications to their students in an effort to elevate the perceived value of technology courses.

Naturum Vålådalen in cooperation with locally based tourism companies Experiences from Kullaberg, ecotourism and a possible certification   Moa Ashbourne Larsson   This study aimed to examine how the visitor center naturum Kullaberg managed to implement a cooperation with the commercial guide company Kullabergsguiderna and to see if it was possible to apply that working model on the visitor center naturum Vålådalen and the surrounding ecotourism companies. Furthermore this report tried to define the concept of ecotourism and look closer on the certification system. The main method of this study was based on interviews with relevant parties. The result showed that theoretically it's possible to implement a cooperation between local ecotourism companies and naturum Vålådalen. To manage a cooperation between an authority and an external commercial company you will need to do a public procurement or make sure that there will be no competition or financial compensation. The study of ecotourism and certification showed that the definition has and still is being reinterpreted and that it is hard to maintain a credible certification. The results showed that in most cases, there is a difference between ecotourism and sustainability, this reports means that ecotourism should contain sustainability and also preservation and interpretation of the local community. This reports definition of ecotourism is: a sustainable activity that both support and anchor its operation in the local area, where both its nature and culture values are being preserved, managed and mediated. The three pillars of sustainability should be reoccurring in the business and something that every visitor should be able to take part of.

This dissertation explores the knowledge systems that doulas use to legitimate their work to the medical community, and to clients. "Doula" comes from a Greek word that means "a woman who serves." In contemporary English, doulas are women who provide other women with support during labor and childbirth. Although research shows that doula support can have positive physiological and psychological effects, doulas' lower social status in the birth fields constricts their reach to those who know about and can hire them privately. In the United States, obstetricians have authoritative knowledge over birth, and all others fall beneath them in the hierarchy of medicine. Doulas serve as a case for exploring the importance of certification and science, versus alternative forms of knowledge for legitimating their expertise within the field of childbirth. This research uses a mixed methods approach to explore the roles that authoritative versus alternative sources of knowledge play in doulas' attitudes and approaches to childbirth. Data come from the Maternity Support Survey, an original, cross-national survey of nurses, doulas, and childbirth educators in the United States and Canada. I also rely on content analysis of five large doula organizations' websites, and interviews with twenty-five doulas, and twenty-five mothers who hired or considered hiring a doula to support them during labor and delivery. This mixed methods research looks at how doulas can legitimate their role in order to better serve women.Results suggest that both authoritative knowledge systems (such as certification) and alternative knowledge systems (such as feminism) influence doulas' approach to legitimating their work. Scientific evidence serves as both an authoritative and alternative source of knowledge, depending on the context. This research has important implications for the future of doula support; while alternative knowledge systems allow doulas to empower women and challenge the dominance of medicalized birth, authoritative knowledge systems allow doulas greater access to the women who need them most. In order to reach a greater population of women, doulas need to find a balance between challenging authoritative medicine and working within it to best serve women.

This diploma thesis deals with quality brand issue focused on the used cars market -- "Pečeť jakosti". During the creation has been done analysis of this brand in order to take a closer look on it and on the range of it's effectiveness on the czech market. For this purpose has been used questionnaires on the customers'side and on the car sellers'side either. From this results has been afterwards concluded recommendations in order to raise awareness of "Pečeť jakosti". Also, for comparison, has been shortly dealt with used cars certification on a different than czech market.

The Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Act 53 of 2003 sought to redress the socioeconomic imbalances caused by South Africa’s apartheid laws. The Act included different strategies to give preference to previously disadvantaged individuals on such aspects as ownership, management, employment, enterprise development, preferential procurement, skills development and socio-economic development. This thesis does not explore the plausibility of the regulations but rather the possible gap between intended benefits and the impact of B-BBEE. It is intended to establish the administrative impact of Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) certification,1 using a case study of a medium-sized tourism enterprise. The findings of this administrative impact are juxtaposed with the policy intentions as established through policymakers. The primary question is ‘What is the administrative impact of BEE certification on tourism enterprises in South Africa?’ The main propositions are that the administrative costs of BEE certification have had a significant negative impact on the profitability and competitiveness of medium-sized tourism enterprises; that tourism enterprises are not aware of the full extent of the administrative costs of BEE certification; and that policymakers are not aware of the unintended impacts caused by BEE certification on tourism enterprises. The research was undertaken through two interrelated phases, the first of which was exploratory in nature and sought to establish the administrative impact of BEE certification through the case study organization. The second phase sought to present the findings regarding the administrative impact of BEE certification to policymakers, with the aim of establishing policymakers’ awareness of the gap between policy intentions and policy impacts. Multiple methods have been used in order to gather data that informs this thesis. Primary data was obtained through semistructured interviews. The thesis focused on a case of one medium-sized organization, which was selected using convenience sampling. An in-depth interview was conducted with the Head of Administration and Finance in the organization, as the key person responsible for overseeing the process of BEE certification. Since the thesis focuses on a single entity, the data pool was too small to allow for the generalization of findings, but sufficient for a series of in-depth explorations and assessments of the topic. Secondary data was obtained from various sources such as journals, periodicals, and reports, particularly in relation to regulatory impact assessments as well as on certification issues in the tourism sector. The main findings are that the administrative costs of BEE certification have had a minimal impact on the profitability and competitiveness of medium-sized tourism enterprises, especially from the second year of conducting the annual audits as the systems are already in place for oncoming audits. It is only about 0.01% of turnover. 1 An activity that stems from one of the regulations linked to B-BBEE Act. It is an annual certification to demonstrate the companies’ achievement as far as B-BBEE is concerned, and entails an audit process executed by South African National Accreditation System (SANAS) registered agencies. Page 3 of 3 However, the psychological burden associated with the stress of administrative preparations for audits makes it seem more costly. The tourism enterprises are unaware of the extent of the administrative costs of BEE certification in that they overestimate the cost implications by at least 75%. The policymakers are unaware of the unintended impacts caused by BEE certification on tourism enterprises, especially as they relate to the administrative costs. In conclusion, the administrative impact of BEE certification on medium-sized enterprises is minimal as far as costs are concerned; however the psychological burden, although not measurable, is substantial. Moreover, the policymakers are oblivious to any possible impacts that might have been caused by BEE certification on enterprises, thus making the gap between policy intentions and the policy impact more than it could have been had they had the awareness. Awareness at the least gives an option to rectify where possible, thus ignorance of situation can to a certain extent exacerbate the situation.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / Supporters of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), founded in 1987, hoped that its certification process would create a cadre of publicly recognized master teachers who would take on professional roles that have traditionally been the responsibility of administrators rather than teachers. Such a change would allow teaching to become a true profession, regulated collegially instead of bureaucratically. A national survey of national board certified teachers (NBCTs) administered in 2001 found little evidence that they were in fact taking on new professional roles. This study examines fifteen schools with large numbers of NBCTs in three North Carolina school districts to determine if NBCTs in these exceptional places are gaining new professional roles, and what factors are enabling or preventing that change. Telephone interviews were conducted with state level officials in North Carolina, district level officials in each of the school districts, and one NBCT, the principal, and one non-NBCT at each school. Interviews were transcribed and coded for analysis. The results indicate that NBCTs in these schools are not taking on significant new professional roles as a result of their certification, and suggest two reasons for this lack of change. One is structural: the NBPTS, the state of North Carolina, and the three school districts studied appear to have narrowed the focus of national board certification so that it is concerned primarily with identifying and rewarding excellence in classroom teaching. This study found few explicit attempts to use NBCTs in professional leadership roles or to provide them with opportunities for professional leadership in addition to classroom teaching. Another concerns the perceived validity of the certification process: board certification is not broadly accepted among study respondents as a consistent and accurate designation of teaching excellence. The results of this study also raise questions about the persistence of egalitarian norms among teachers in schools with significant numbers of NBCTs. / 2031-01-01