In Texas, nearly half of all new teachers are alternatively certified (AC) whilst English language learners (ELL) are over one-third of the public school population in some districts. As this trend continues, the likelihood that AC teachers will teach ELLs increases and alters what Texas teachers must know upon entering the classroom. This research explores teacher knowledge and beliefs about teaching ELLs through constructivist and narrative lenses. Four AC science teachers in two diverse school districts participated in in-depth interviews and reflective interviews following classroom observations to answer the research questions: (1) how do AC teachers describe and interpret their acts of teaching ELLs in mainstream classrooms; and (2) how do AC teachers describe and interpret their learning to teach ELLs in mainstream classrooms. Data were transcribed and analyzed using thematic narrative methods. This study found that participants saw ELL instruction as: (1) "just good teaching" strategies, (2) consisting primarily of cultural awareness and consideration for student comfort, and (3) less necessary in science where all students must learn the language. The most experienced teacher was the only participant to reference specific linguistic knowledge in describing ELL instruction. Many of the teachers described their work with ELL students as giving them an opportunity to improve their lives, which was consistent with their overall teaching philosophy and reason for entering the profession. Participant narratives about learning to teach ELLs described personal experience and person-to-person discussions as primary resources of knowledge. District support was generally described as unhelpful or incomplete. Participants portrayed their AC program as helpful in preparing them to work with ELL students, but everyone desired more relevant information from the program and more grade-appropriate strategies from the district. Participant narratives reveal AC teachers needed a pragmatic and less theoretical understanding of diversity during pre-service training. Participant tendency to draw upon "common sense", affective, and practical strategies in teaching ELL students in lieu of the state-mandated English language proficiency standards (ELPS) suggests AC programs should have teachers articulate and discuss their beliefs about ELL instruction in order to provide training targeted towards misconceptions about language development, particularly in science.

GlobalGAP (previously EurepGAP) is a voluntary business-to-business standard for food audit that has recently achieved the greatest acceptance worldwide (Campbell, Lawrence & Smith 2006) boasting implementation numbers of over 80,000 farms in 80 countries. Compliance with the standard is verified by means of the third party certification (TPC) audit, and is designed to (GlobalGAP 2008) assure European retailers that exporting producers have met their criteria for safe and sustainable agriculture (GlobalGAP 2007b). In 2004, cherry growers in the Southern Interior of British Columbia became the first GlobalGAP certified producers in Canada. This novelty afforded a unique opportunity to observe the introduction of the standard in an industrialized country with well-established regulations and where the capacity of producers to undertake the process was relatively high. A qualitative methodology was used in case studies of two communities to inductively study the implementation of ‘safe and sustainable agriculture’ certification and generate relevant research questions for deeper examination. Sensitizing concepts emerging from observations of the TPC audits (n = 20) evolved into two primary research objectives; 1) to understand the practical application and diffusion of a TPC standard and 2) to explore the efficacy of the TPC standard as a mechanism to promote sustainable agriculture within certain pre-existing contexts. Forty-four follow up interviews were conducted with growers that chose to certify (n = 24), those that did not (n = 14), and other key actors (n = 3). This thesis examines the research objectives over three chapters. The introduction provides the local and global context along with a review of GlobalGAP, agri-food governance and the role of private certification and retailer power. Chapter two presents the technological and sociological factors that influenced the stages of the diffusion of GlobalGAP TPC and compares these factors and outcomes to the technological and sociological components of sustainable agriculture. In the conclusion, policy strategies are offered to maximize the potential for this tool to promote sustainable agriculture along with suggestions for future research on the topic.

In modern times environmental matters have increased in importance and are being discussed more frequently, and especially in relation with company activity. One way of complying with modern standards for companies is to work with environmental management systems, and it has become quite normal for companies to certify their environmental management systems to a recognized environmental certification. Continuing on this, the purpose of our thesis is to gain a deeper understanding regarding and ultimately assess why it is that companies seek environmental certification. Additionally, we have developed a sub-purpose which is designed to help us gain a deeper understanding regarding the main purpose in a practical context. We will look at 5 production companies in Umeå that have implemented an environmental certification, specifically ISO 14001, and try to understand the reasoning behind choosing to become certified. We will also examine the environmental effectiveness of an ISO 14001 certified environmental management system. We have conducted a comparative case study with these 5 companies in Umeå. Our method of collecting primary data was to interview the companies with a qualitative semi-structured interviewing technique. In the empirical part of the thesis we focused on practically testing the theoretical material. Furthermore, we also analyzed secondary data received from the companies' websites and directly from the interviewees in order to assess the effectiveness of an ISO 14001 certified environmental management system in financial and environmental terms. Regarding the theoretical framework, we focus on two theories referred to as the legitimacy theory and the stakeholder theory, and these theories are used to explain organizational behavior. We also have theoretical material explaining the positives and negatives of environmental management systems, and also ISO 14001 certification and the reasons why companies can benefit from such certification. Our findings suggest that the matter of legitimacy, in combination with the stakeholder theory, affected all of the companies in one way or another when choosing to seek environmental certification. In what ways the companies were affected differed even though there were many similarities across the companies regarding their reasoning to become ISO 14001 certified. We also found that, despite collecting a lot of hard data illustrating the companies' environmental performance over recent years, it was difficult to directly link any improvements to ISO 14001. It was, however, stated that ISO 14001 certification for the environmental management systems did improve the overall quality and environmental focus and performance, but it is still difficult to assess this with much accuracy and certainty due to many contributing factors.

Le système agroalimentaire est au coeur des débats sociétaux et des inquiétudes des consommateurs. Les modes de production, de transformation, de distribution et de consommation qui prédominent, les plus rentables à court terme, ne sont pas les plus viables sur le plan écologique (Millstone et Lang, 2003; Reeves, 2003). Nitrates, pesticides, disparition de la surface arable, diminution des réserves d'eau potable, désertification, dérèglements climatiques, contamination, famine, épuisement des ressources halieutiques, brevets sur le vivant, concentration économique, exode rural... la liste des enjeux et des répercussions engendrées par l'agriculture technoscientifique intensive ne cesse de s'allonger. En marge de ce système et afin de contrebalancer ses effets, l'action des nouveaux mouvements sociaux économiques (NMSÉ) vise la mise en place d'alternatives agroalimentaires durables car ni le marché ni l'État ne sont aptes à réguler le secteur. C'est pourquoi les certifications sont utilisées en tant qu'instruments de marché, outils de développement durable et instruments de mobilisation des consommateurs. L'objectif de cette recherche est d'améliorer la connaissance des nouveaux mouvements sociaux économiques du secteur agroalimentaire et de développer une meilleure compréhension de la portée régulatoire de leurs activités sur le marché. Plus particulièrement, il s'agit d'identifier et de décrire le caractère normatif des mécanismes régulatoires en fonction de l'approche de l'encastrement social de Polanyi (1983, 2001), de la thèse postmoderniste de Maffesoli (1988, 2003) et de la théorie de la gouvernance par la société civile décrite notamment par Cashore (2002). Un objectif supplémentaire consiste à élaborer quelques éléments stratégiques en fonction de l'approche du consumérisme politique, lequel permet de décrire le segment visé. Le cadre méthodologique de cette recherche repose sur une étude de cas comparée afin d'évaluer les activités de certification de deux organisations faisant la promotion de référentiels de produits agroalimentaires. Cette recherche examine et compare le cas de l'Union paysanne et la certification bio-paysanne et le cas de l'appellation liée au terroir promue par Solidarité rurale du Québec. Les deux mouvements considèrent que les individus sont dépendants de la nature et de leurs semblables. C'est la vision substantielle de l'économie développée par Polanyi (2001). Même si les problèmes perçus sont différents, même si les solutions apportées divergent, les certifications bio-paysanne et de terroir apparaissent comme des institutions formelles d'encastrement. Leur influence en termes de régulation sociale apparaît toutefois mitigée. Le thème de l'espace est par ailleurs omniprésent dans les deux discours et chaque certification en reflète une dimension singulière: le projet de certification des produits bio-paysans, dans une mise en scène archaïque, présente un caractère structurant autour d'une proximité physique. Le projet de Solidarité rurale, un projet plus postmoderne, est initié autour d'une proximité psychologique. Quant à la dimension communautaire, chez l'Union paysanne celle-ci est relayée par un réseau alimentaire de proximité alors que chez Solidarité rurale, elle est exprimée par la connivence entre producteurs et consommateurs. Enfin, ces deux mouvements s'adressent à la fois au système politique et aux individus en tant que consommacteurs. On dote les produits de labels chargés de connotations culturelles ou environnementales et on utilise le marché à des fins de transformation sociale. On joint ainsi l'action collective à l'action collective individualisée des consuméristes politiques (Micheletti, 2003) pour qui la consommation est une forme d'action politique. ______________________________________________________________________________ MOTS-CLÉS DE L’AUTEUR : Agriculture, Système agroalimentaire, Nouveaux mouvements sociaux économiques, Certification, Labels, Agriculture biologique, Produits de terroir, Appellations.

Ce mémoire porte sur le potentiel de régulation des certifications sociales et environnementales dans un contexte de mondialisation de l'économie. Plus précisément, ce mémoire se concentre sur la capacité du commerce équitable, de l'agriculture biologique et des codes de conduite à améliorer les conditions de vie des collectivités du Sud en proie à la crise «globale» du coton. Depuis le milieu des années 1990, l'industrie du coton, de la production à la confection textile, traverse une crise sans précédent qui se concrétise sur les plans social, économique et environnemental. Pour de nombreux auteurs, cette crise est liée à l'incapacité du système de régulation conventionnel à exercer son pouvoir dans le nouveau paysage mondialisé. Certains d'entre eux posent ainsi les certifications sociales et environnementales comme de nouvelles forces de régulation alternative mieux adaptées au contexte de la mondialisation puisque leur influence transcende les frontières. C'est dans ce contexte que nous nous intéressons au potentiel de régulation du commerce équitable, de l'agriculture biologique et des codes de conduite en proposant de voir si ces certifications permettent d'améliorer réellement et durablement les conditions de vie des collectivités du Sud affectées par la crise du coton. Pour répondre à nos questions de recherche, nous avons décidé d'étudier une filière de coton certifié biologique et équitable en Inde. Notre collecte de données a été réalisée à partir d'une observation participante effectuée à toutes les étapes de la filière textile, de la rédaction d'un joumal ethnographique, d'une collecte documentaire et d'un corpus d'entrevues, menées pour la plupart avec des producteurs et des travailleurs de l'industrie textile. Il ressort de notre mémoire que les certifications permettent dans l'ensemble d'améliorer les conditions de vie des populations du Sud. D'abord, dans le contexte de la crise «globale» du coton, elles permettent de combler les failles du système en diminuant les problèmes rencontrés par les producteurs et les travailleurs du secteur textile. De plus, notre étude de cas révèle que les certifications renforcent les liens de partenariat entre tous les acteurs de la filière textile, permettant ainsi aux producteurs d'en devenir pour la première fois des parties prenantes. Finalement, la filière biologique et équitable a modifié les tendances actuelles associées aux chaînes d'approvisionnement textile (mobilité, segmentation, sous-traitance), ce qui démontre que les certifications ont un véritable pouvoir de transformation. Cependant, nous soutenons que lorsque ces changements ne sont pas accompagnés par un processus d'autonomisation, ils ne sont pas susceptibles de perdurer: tel est le cas des ouvriers que nous avons rencontrés. Nous concluons que l'inaptitude des certifications à créer une dynamique globale de développement souligne l'importance de les considérer comme des alternatives complémentaires à la régulation traditionnelle puisqu'elle seule a le pouvoir d'édicter des normes et règles profitables à tous. ______________________________________________________________________________ MOTS-CLÉS DE L’AUTEUR : Agriculture écologique, Commerce équitable, Code de conduite, Régulation, Alternative, Chaîne d'approvisionnement textile, Crise du coton, Inde.

Le but de la présente recherche est d'analyser la certification forestière pour identifier les transformations dont elle est porteuse et ce, dans une perspective qui s'intéresse à la régulation sociale. Plus précisément, notre regard se penchera sur le phénomène de la certification forestière au Québec pour déterminer les changements qu'elle amène en matière de régulation dans le secteur forestier. Cette recherche s'appuie sur l'hypothèse que la certification forestière modifie la régulation du secteur forestier par l'intégration de nouveaux acteurs, de nouveaux mécanismes et de nouvelles valeurs. Nous avons vérifié ce postulat basé sur une caractérisation des certifications appliquées au Québec et sur des entrevues semi-dirigées avec les acteurs impliqués dans ce courant régulateur, soit les entreprises, le gouvernement et les groupes environnementaux. Suite à l'analyse des résultats, nous pouvons affirmer que la certification forestière induit des changements dans la régulation du secteur forestier, mais sans en modifier les fondements. En effet, la certification intègre de nouveaux acteurs dans l'élaboration de règles et dans la régulation des entreprises, notamment les groupes environnementaux; elle amène les entreprises à modifier certaines de leurs pratiques, surtout par l'entremise des systèmes de gestion; elle a le potentiel de modifier la législation en place; et elle provoque un «verdissement» des valeurs des compagnies forestières. Toutefois, la certification a également le potentiel de renforcer la structure de pouvoir en place en faveur des entreprises forestières, ce qui limite les transformations en profondeur qu'elle peut engendrer dans le secteur forestier. ______________________________________________________________________________ MOTS-CLÉS DE L’AUTEUR : Certification forestière, régulation, entreprises forestières, groupes environnementaux, gestion forestière.

Lean manufacturing is a term that we have been hearing very often in many sectors and areas. Lean started as a manufacturing system and philosophy that was first developed by Toyota using key production principles that were introduced by Henry Ford. After successful implementations and great results in quality, cost and service levels, lean is now considered as a business system or as a culture. Lean principles and tools are widely used in every step of an entire process, from customer service to supply chain management. Although there are a lot of success stories about lean implementations, many companies are also struggling to adapt their culture towards the implementation of lean principles. In this thesis, standardization of lean manufacturing is studied and an analysis is provided to discuss if standardization would help eliminate the major obstacles that hinder successful lean implementation. Potential benefits and disadvantages of having standards for lean enterprises are analyzed. As a part of the research a survey was conducted to get feedback from lean professionals about standardization. The survey results suggest that there is an overall support for lean standardization. However, there are both positive and negative views about the potential benefits and disadvantages of using lean standards as an implementation guide. A case study is also provided to measure the benefits of lean and to understand how lean standards may help companies implement lean principles. Based on a simulation model that was develop to verify the benefits, a 15 % reduction in inventory carrying cost and a 5% reduction in total queue time was predicted.

In the absence of a Georgia Educator Certificate in instructional technology, and of state-wide staffing requirements for instructional technology specialists, media specialists may be playing an increasingly larger role in instructional technology support and focusing less on other vital media specialist responsibilities. A deeper understanding of the role of media specialists with respect to instructional technology may provide insight into determining a need for instructional technology certification and support in Georgia schools. The purpose of this quantitative survey study was to examine the role of media specialists with respect to instructional technology in an urban school district in Georgia. Practicing media specialists’ perceived use, and perceived ideal use, of instructional technology specialist and media specialist job competencies were examined. The data revealed an overall difference among the four dependent variables (a) perceived current use of media specialist competencies, (b) perceived ideal use of media specialist competencies, (c) perceived current use of instructional technology specialist competencies, and (d) perceived ideal use of instructional technology specialist competencies. Within-subjects contrasts revealed significant pairwise differences among all the variables except the comparison of the use of media specialist competencies and the use of instructional technology specialist competencies. These findings suggest that in the absence of consistently staffed, certified instructional technology specialists, media specialists are playing an increasingly larger role in instructional technology support and focusing less on other essential media specialist roles and responsibilities.

Lean manufacturing is a term that we have been hearing very often in many sectors and areas. Lean started as a manufacturing system and philosophy that was first developed by Toyota using key production principles that were introduced by Henry Ford. After successful implementations and great results in quality, cost and service levels, lean is now considered as a business system or as a culture. Lean principles and tools are widely used in every step of an entire process, from customer service to supply chain management. Although there are a lot of success stories about lean implementations, many companies are also struggling to adapt their culture towards the implementation of lean principles. In this thesis, standardization of lean manufacturing is studied and an analysis is provided to discuss if standardization would help eliminate the major obstacles that hinder successful lean implementation. Potential benefits and disadvantages of having standards for lean enterprises are analyzed. As a part of the research a survey was conducted to get feedback from lean professionals about standardization. The survey results suggest that there is an overall support for lean standardization. However, there are both positive and negative views about the potential benefits and disadvantages of using lean standards as an implementation guide. A case study is also provided to measure the benefits of lean and to understand how lean standards may help companies implement lean principles. Based on a simulation model that was develop to verify the benefits, a 15 % reduction in inventory carrying cost and a 5% reduction in total queue time was predicted.

Certification programs have grown exponentially over the past decade to respond to the increasing demand for more green and sustainable modes of operation from the part of customers. These schemes can be used as powerful tools to assist in the conservation of natural, human and cultural resources, helping better protect popular tourist destinations for future years to come. However, despite their potential to help codify important principles such as ecotourism and sustainable tourism, certification programs are currently facing several challenges that are hindering their overall practices. Much of the present tourism literature has examined the environmental aspect of these programs and the monitoring challenges they are currently facing. However, little research has explored the socio-cultural side of certification programs even if current literature increasingly demonstrates the strong connection that exists between environment, community and local culture when aiming to properly develop tourism in host destinations. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the importance and feasibility of adopting socio-cultural criteria in existing certification programs as to achieve proper sustainability. This goal is attained by using a qualitative research approach and by examining Green Globe certified hotels on the island of Barbados. The results of this research confirms that the culture, history, geography and/or policies of a tourist destination can shape and influence certification programs and their overall practices. This study also provided several examples of social and cultural actions that hotels could adopt, or have already adopted, demonstrating that it is feasible for certification programs to require tourism businesses to adhere to socio-cultural criteria before achieving certification. Moreover, results revealed several benefits that the accommodation sector can gain by becoming environmentally, socially and culturally responsible. The main conclusion of this study is that socio-cultural practices are necessary components to properly achieve newer designations of ecotourism and sustainable tourism, and therefore, certification programs need to include and/or make mandatory socio-cultural criteria in their programs. It is hoped that this information can provide guidelines on how to further implement both environmental and socio-cultural criteria for both certification programs and the accommodation sector. Although this research revealed interesting information on the socio-cultural aspect of these programs, much remains to be examined on this matter and recommendations for future studies are suggested at the end of this thesis.