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This paper presents a comprehensive review of existing literature concerning the domains of accreditation and quality assurance in various sectors. Accreditation and quality assurance play vital roles in ensuring the credibility, transparency, and effectiveness of educational institutions, healthcare facilities, industries, and other domains. This paper synthesizes the findings of numerous studies, focusing on the conceptual frameworks, methodologies, and outcomes associated with accreditation and quality assurance processes. The review encompasses a wide range of perspectives, including historical context, best practices, challenges, and advancements in accreditation and quality assurance. Through a systematic analysis of these scholarly works, this paper aims to provide a deeper understanding of the evolving landscape of accreditation and quality assurance across diverse sectors and shed light on potential future research directions.

Copyright of Revue Quebecoise de Droit International is the property of Revue quebecoise de droit international and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

A major hurdle in pediatric formulation development is the lack of safety and toxicity data on some of the commonly used excipients. While the maximum oral safe dose for several kinds of excipients is known in the adult population, the doses in pediatric patients, including preterm neonates, are not established yet due to the lack of evidence-based data. This paper consists of four parts: (1) country-specific perspectives in different parts of the world (current state, challenges in excipients, and ongoing efforts) for ensuring the use of safe excipients, (2) comparing and contrasting the country-specific perspectives, (3) past and ongoing collaborative efforts, and (4) future perspectives on excipients for pediatric formulation. The regulatory process for pharmaceutical excipients has been developed. However, there are gaps between each region where a lack of information and an insufficient regulation process was found. Ongoing efforts include raising issues on excipient exposure, building a region-specific database, and improving excipient regulation; however, there is a lack of evidence-based information on safety for the pediatric population. More progress on clear safety limits, quantitative information on excipients of concern in the pediatric population, and international harmonization of excipients' regulatory processes for the pediatric population are required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article offers a global overview of the burgeoning field of micro-credentials and their relationship to lifelong learning, employability and new models of digital education. Although there is no globally accepted definition of micro-credentials, the term indicates smaller units of study, which are usually shorter than traditional forms of accredited learning and courses leading to conventional qualifications such as degrees. The paper aims to provide educators with a helicopter view of the rapidly evolving global micro-credential landscape, with particular relevance to higher education leaders, industry stakeholders and government policy-makers. It addresses five questions: (i) What are micro-credentials? (ii) Why micro-credentials? (iii) Who are the key stakeholders? (iv) What is happening globally? and (v) What are some of the key takeaways? Drawing on a European-wide perspective and recent developments in The Republic of Ireland, the paper concludes that micro-credentials are likely to become a more established and mature feature of the 21st-century credential ecology over the next five years. While the global micro-credential landscape is currently disconnected across national boundaries, more clarity and coherence will emerge as governments around the world increasingly align new credentialing developments with existing national qualification frameworks. The micro-credentialing movement also provides opportunities for governments and higher education institutions in partnership with industry to harness new digital learning models beyond the pandemic.

This rapid systematic review aims to examine emerging evidence on the effects of COVID-19 on educational institutions and assess the prevalence of e-learning changes in the sector. This paper reviews literature on learning, teaching, and assessment approaches adopted since the COVID-19 outbreak, and assesses the impact on the sector, staff, and students, summarizing findings from peer-reviewed articles. It categorizes these into five key themes: (1) digital learning; (2) e-learning challenges; (3) digital transition to emergency virtual assessment (EVA); (4) psychological impact of COVID-19; and (5) creating collaborative cultures. This represents the first systematic review of COVID-19's impact on education, clarifying current themes being investigated. The author suggests that the term 'emergency virtual assessment' (EVA) is now added for future research discussion. Finally, the paper identifies research gaps, including researching the impact on lesser developed countries, the psychological impact of transition, and the important role of leadership and leadership styles during the transition and handling of the pandemic.

This paper offers insight from an informal cross-cultural mentoring experience of course development in higher education framed by the UNESCO Chair on Open Technologies for Open Educational Resources and Open Learning project. The Open Education for a Better World is a tuition-free international online mentoring program established to unlock the potential of open education in achieving the United Nation Sustainable Development Goals. Drawing from mentor/protégé conversations and reflections and examining the experiences of mentoring in the development of an online course for Indian teacher education faculty development, the authors illuminate a pathway toward building professional relationships and professional learning beyond borders and boundaries. This paper describes how mentorship can develop digital competencies foundational for transferring tacit knowledge about planning, designing, recording, implementing, and evaluating teaching and learning in education. Explicit knowledge-building for professional learning within a supportive mentoring relationship is explored.

Contrary to Duverger's Law, there exist multi-party systems in conjunction with simple majority single-ballot systems. At least three exceptions exist to this "law". Rae (1971) and Riker (1976; 1982) offer explanations for two of the most prominent exceptions, i.e. Canada and India. I also discuss another exception. Great Britain. In this paper, I use a simple one-dimensional spatial model to show that a multi-party system can be supported under a simple majority single-ballot system. This explanation depends on the way political parties exit the system. If parties decide sequentially whether or not to exit, a multi-party system can not be maintained. If political parties make this decision simultaneously, a multi-party system may be able to sustain itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to explore regional variation in the implementation of Environmental Impact Assessment follow-up in India and to identify causes of such variations. In doing so, forty-three semi-structured interviews were carried out across the Indian mining and environment sector. The findings from the interviews confirm that regional variation in follow-up implementation is a result of social, environmental, economical and political factors. To further explore these factors, three case studies of open cast coal mining were conducted. The findings of the case studies offer insight as to how the factors identified during the interviews influence follow-up outcomes. Furthermore, it reflects how the nature of such variation is not always true to what is perceived about them. Subsequently, the findings from the interviews and case studies help in contributing to the existing best practice of EIA follow-up and developing recommendations for achieving better follow-up outcomes in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a need for individuals in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers to drive the innovation and research potential of Europe. Yet, there is expected to be a decrease in the number of STEM professionals, as there is less student interest in STEM fields of the study. Studies show that STEM classes that focus on inquiry-based science education (IBSE) are engaging and encourage students to become more fascinated with STEM fields. The Ark of Inquiry Project involves a consortium of STEM- and education-focused universities and organizations across Europe that created an online platform with IBSE and STEM lessons. The UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe conducted the pilot phase of the Ark of Inquiry Project in Italy from September 2015 to February 2016. In this paper, we will discuss some of the barriers to the expansion of this online STEM education project that was noted by the 14 participating Italian teachers of the pilot phase and 30 educators from India, Germany, Canada, and Denmark who participated through online surveys. We discovered that teachers must be able to overcome barriers of access to technology, misconceptions about women's abilities in STEM fields, and the effect of poor pre-service teacher training as it relates to implementing IBSE effectively for student-centered learning. This paper will focus on how the above factors hinder the growth of teachers as designers and facilitators of student-centered IBSE curriculum and will recommend how The Ark of Inquiry Project can be scaled up to impact the rest of the world.

In this study, the variables having impact on the student motivation have been analyzed based on the articles, conference papers, master's theses and doctoral dissertations published in the years 2000-2017. A total of 165 research papers were selected for the research material and the data were collected through qualitative research techniques through document review and content analysis. According to the research results, the most important factors affecting student motivation are the fields of teacher, teachers' classroom management skills and their teaching methods. In this research, factors having less influence on the student motivation are parental communication, student characteristics and study fields. In addition, relational search type was used more than others, mostly students were selected as the study group and most researches were conducted in USA and Turkey.

This article maps the scientific production and the contents associated with the sustainable development goals and their integration with universities during the past 21 years. Although many of the topics related to sustainable development goals (SDGs) have been addressed in different studies for decades, it is since 2015 onwards that they gained greater prominence due to the inclusion of higher education as an important actor in the fulfillment of the 2030 agenda and the United Nations SDGs. For the purpose of this paper, a bibliometric analysis of 871 papers, 535 documents in Scopus, and 336 in Web of Science (WoS) from 1998 to 2019 was performed, and the Bibliometrix analysis tool was used. The objective of this mapping is to answer the following research question: Is the integration of the Sustainable Development Goals and Universities a field of study? An analysis of the network of collaborators and trend topics in Scopus and WoS allows us to identify the concurrence and relationships of some keywords, such as sustainable development, sustainability and planning, and some background words, such as humans and global health. In another analysis, the word "higher education" is related to change. This article suggests that the integration of the Sustainable Development Goals in Universities is becoming a field of study under exploration, with a peak of production in 2016 and that has remained stable in the last three years, but thanks to the leading role assigned to Universities, intellectual production should increase in the following years.

INTRODUCTION: Knowledge translation (KT) is a relatively new concept referring to transfers of knowledge into practice in collaboration with multiple sectors that work for the health and wellness of society. Knowledge translation is crucial to identifying and addressing the health needs of immigrants. AIM: To scope the evidence on KT research engaging immigrants in the host country regarding the health and wellness of immigrants. METHODS: This study followed a scoping review approach suggested by Arksey O'Malley. We identified relevant studies from both academic and grey literature using structured criteria, charted the data from the selected studies, collated, summarised and report the results. RESULTS: Analysis of the eligible studies found two types of KT research: integrated KT and end-ofgrant KT. Meeting or discussion with community-level knowledge-users were common KT activities among immigrants, but they were involved in the entire research process only if they were hired as members of research teams. Most KT research among immigrants explored cancer screening and used a community-based participatory action research approach. Barriers and enablers usually came from researchers rather than from the community. There was little practice of evaluation and defined frameworks to conduct KT research among immigrants in Canada. CONCLUSION: This study can help the researchers and other stakeholders of health and wellness of the immigrant population to identify appropriate KT research activities for immigrants and where KT research is required to facilitate the transfer of research knowledge into action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For those receiving funding from the UK HEFCE-funded Open Educational Resource Programme (2009-2012), the sustainability of project outputs was one of a number of essential goals. Our approach for the hosting and distribution of health and life science open educational resources (OER) was based on the utilisation of the WordPress.org blogging platform and search engine optimisation (SEO) techniques to curate content and widen discovery. This paper outlines the approaches taken and tools used at the time, and reflects upon the effectiveness of web strategies several years post-funding. The paper concludes that using WordPress.org as a platform for sharing and curating OER, and the adoption of a pragmatic approach to SEO, offers cheap and simple ways for small-scale open education projects to be effective and sustainable.

This paper reports preliminary findings on students enrolled in a massive open online course, who were also assigned to work in groups. Part of a larger study on the effect of groups on retention and completion in MOOCs, the paper provides students' demographics (i.e., location, gender, education level, and employment status), and motivation for taking the course. Findings show that women outnumbered men and that students mostly enrolled into the course because of a friend. Indeed, research on MOOCs demonstrates that men outnumber women and that educational pursuit and professional development are the main motivators for taking MOOCs. Yet, this paper shows that when group work is included in a MOOC, women participate more. Furthermore, for students assigned to groups in a MOOC, friends are the principal incentive for enrolling into the course. These results are discussed in light of previous research, and implications for teaching and learning in online environments addressed.

In this work, a bibliometric analysis of the investigations of the last 54 years focused on the teaching of topology and its applications in the learning of other areas of knowledge was carried out. The articles that appear in the SCOPUS database were taken into account under the search criteria of the words topology and teaching, connected with the Boolean expression AND in the search field ABS. As a result, 329 articles were obtained which, based on the PRISMA methodology, were reduced to 74 papers. In them publication trends, impact of publications, citation frequencies, among others, were compared. In addition, its use was identified for learning topology at different levels of training, areas of knowledge where this discipline is most applied and strategies used to teach these applications.

Three indicators (GDP, PCDIIP-rh and Total Population) are selected in this paper to study the effect of sample length on forecasting validity of FGM(1,1). It has passed the test, such as development coefficient, mean relative error within the sample, and ratio of mean square error. The above three sets of indicators are proved to be suitable for FGM(1,1) to make predictions. The results of the study indicate that the forecasting of 4–6 sample lengths is the most appropriate. The MAPE of 5 sample length is better than sample lengths 4 or 6. The conclusion of this study is verified by taking the oil production of India and Canada as examples. On this basis, the sample length 5 is selected to predict the average annual concentration of PM 2.5 from 2019 to 2021 in Xingtai. The forecasting results show that the PM 2.5 in Xingtai will decline in the next three years, but it will not reach the national level 2 concentration limit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) depletion syndromes (MDDS) are genetically and clinically variable disorders resulting from a reduction in mtDNA content in the cells, tissues, and organ systems, leading to symptoms related to energy deficits. Deficiency of the mitochondrial succinyl-CoA ligase/synthetase enzyme secondary to pathogenic variations in the SUCLG1 and SUCLA2 genes is a subtype of MDDS that presents with neurological manifestations and a specific biochemical profile. Methods: This cross-sectional series describes five patients with MDDS secondary to pathogenic variations in the SUCLG1 and SUCLA2 genes from two tertiary care centers in Canada and India. Clinical data concerning the course, investigations, and outcome were gathered through chart reviews. Results: All subjects presented in early infancy with neurological manifestations, including movement disorder, psychomotor regression, developmental delay, hearing loss, behavioral issues, or a combination thereof. Elevated methylmalonic acid metabolites, an abnormal acylcarnitine profile, and lactic acidemia were noted in the biochemical profile of each patient (n = 5/5, 100%). Molecular genetic testing disclosed the presence of pathogenic homozygous mutations in four subjects and compound heterozygosity in one subject. Conclusion: MDDS associated with SUCLG1 and SUCLA2 genes can be detected biochemically by the presence of methylmalonic aciduria besides the elevation of lactate, C3, C4DC, and C5-OH acylcarnitine. Conducting metabolic workups including MMA and acylcarnitine profiles in patients with heterogeneity of clinical symptoms associated with the presence of this biochemical marker may potentially reduce the time to diagnosis and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents comparative perspectives from India and Canada on compulsory licensing. Topics discussed include the legal framework of compulsory licensing, the relationship between compulsory licensing and property-liability framework, and a comparison between intellectual property rights (IPR) regimes of India and Canada with a focus on patents for medicines. Problems with compulsory licensing in Canada and India are also discussed.

After introductory comments on how the Judicial Committee functioned as the final court for the British Empire for over a century, this article discusses a range of highly unusual cases from India, Canada and New Zealand. The aim is to give something of the flavour of the Judicial Committee's work and its impact on local courts. The final section of the paper suggests conclusions that can be drawn from that survey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How single organizations manage the process of change and why only some of them are able to actually reach radical change are central questions in today’s theoretical debate. The role played by the process of change and its dimensions (namely, pace, sequence and linearity), however, has been poorly investigated. Drawing on archetype theory, this paper explores: (i) whether a specific pace of radical change exists; (ii) whether different outcomes of change are characterized by different sequences of change in key-structures and systems (iii) how the three dimensions of the process of change possibly interact. As an example of organizational change the study takes into consideration processes of accounting change in three departments of two Canadian and two Italian municipalities. The results suggest the supremacy of the sequence of implemented changes over the other two dimensions of the process in order to achieve a radical outcome of change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we review fifty years of articles published in Australian Journal of Adult Learning in its various iterations. We examine the different roles of the journal: to illuminate the history and trends of adult education authors; to be the flagship of the adult education profession in Australia; to reflect on significant national events; and to mirror the changing knowledge base of the discipline. We analyse the authorship of the articles over fifty years, and determine patterns in contribution to the journal by gender, location, institutional affiliation and author numbers. We also examine key themes that have surfaced in the writings on adult education. The articles published in the journal are significant because they are primary sources of the day, unfettered by the perspectives, viewpoints and standards of later periods. Our paper serves as a useful looking glass through which we might be able to view more clearly the shifting research interests of the past and the challenges in the future for the adult and community learning sector. (Contains 11 figures and 6 tables.)

New Zealand was a pioneer in the codification of its criminal law. The Criminal Code Act was passed in 1893, after a lengthy gestation period. The work owed its origins to law reform activities in India, a tendency spread from India to other British jurisdictions, notably Canada and parts of Australia, but never England. The requirement that common law offences were no longer valid and criminal offences had to be clearly defined in statutes passed by Parliament became accepted orthodoxy here and never questioned. But it is possible, as this article argues, that New Zealand has forgotten the legal implications of its own history of codification. This article argues that s 78AA of the Crimes Act 1961, inserted by the Intelligence and Security Act 2017, is in breach of the codification principle. The vice of the provision is that the content of the Protective Security Requirements is dependent upon the actions of the executive and what it posts on the Internet, not upon law passed by Parliament. It is submitted that the present situation is poor legislative practice and leaves the state of the law in doubt. For security issues to be handled in this fashion is less than satisfactory in a free and open society. The article goes on to analyse the background of New Zealand's criminal law codification and outlines the extensive range of the modern law dealing with the intelligence agencies and how it has expanded in recent years. This history of the agencies is briefly canvassed, including controversial features that have arisen in the past. It concludes that remedial action is necessary and mentions work that is going on within the executive to bring about change. It concludes that issues of legality, human rights and the agencies deserve careful attention and require analysis of the risks to an open society from these developments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent inventions in the Information Technology (IT) have transformed the world into a global village wherein the geographical boundaries have vanished significantly. The recent pandemic Covid-19 has again proved the affiliation of the world. IT coupled with the Artificial Intelligence has revolutionized the medical science. It has demystified various terminal diseases; however, the "man is still mortal". A good number of diseases are still terminal and cause incurable, unbearable pain, mental and financial trauma for the victims and their family. The surety of death in near-term originated the thought of Euthanasia or mercy killing. Euthanasia in simple words refers to a voluntary/consent as given by the patient to terminate the life in a dignified manner to get relieved from sufferings. Different countries have different variation of Euthanasia. This Article aims to study the euthanasia practice in Netherlands, Canada, and India. India is a country where recently Supreme Court has recognized passive Euthanasia and Living Will. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this document, we propose a universal definition of heart failure (HF) as a clinical syndrome with symptoms and/or signs caused by a structural and/or functional cardiac abnormality and corroborated by elevated natriuretic peptide levels and/or objective evidence of pulmonary or systemic congestion. We also propose revised stages of HF as: At risk for HF (Stage A), Pre-HF (Stage B), Symptomatic HF (Stage C) and Advanced HF (Stage D). Finally, we propose a new and revised classification of HF according to left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). This includes HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF): symptomatic HF with LVEF ≤40%; HF with mildly reduced ejection fraction (HFmrEF): symptomatic HF with LVEF 41-49%; HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF): symptomatic HF with LVEF ≥50%; and HF with improved ejection fraction (HFimpEF): symptomatic HF with a baseline LVEF ≤40%, a ≥10 point increase from baseline LVEF, and a second measurement of LVEF > 40%., (© 2021 European Society of Cardiology and Elsevier, Inc.)

The aim of this study was to determine the examination of the researches about the use of technology by fine arts teachers. The study was conducted according to the content and citation analysis model. In this context, Web of Science (WOS) Core Collection indexes were included. In the document scanning in the WOS environment, the keywords 'Fine arts', 'Teachers' and 'Technology' were searched. In total, 169 documents were examined and analysed one by one. They were analysed according to year, document type, WOS content category, country, source title, organisation and citation, authors, publication language and categories. As a result of this research, the first study was conducted in 2004, while the most studies were conducted in 2016. It was concluded that the published studies had the most Proceedings papers as the document type. The area where the studies of fine arts teachers on the use of technology are mostly carried out is Education Educational Research, according to the Web of Science content category. The most researched title in the distribution according to the Source Title field is 'International Multidisciplinary Scientific Conferences on Social Sciences and Arts.' The university with the most studies is Kazan Federal University. The 19 authors who conducted the studies have a large number of studies in this field. It was concluded that other authors had only one study in the field. Again, when we look at the distribution of the countries and documents according to the language of writing, the country with the most studies is China and the language of the documents is English. The area continues to evolve.

Copyright of Comparative & International Education is the property of Canadian & International Education and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper aims to identify the current state of knowledge management (KM) diffusion in LIS schools. In terms of content, we have identified two principal approaches to the perception of KM in the LIS community: an active approach, seeing KM as an opportunity for the LIS community to change; and a passive approach, seeing KM merely as a topic of information management with a new label. Our research analyzed study programs at 145 LIS schools and in 188 LIS study programs in the United States, Canada, Europe (in particular, Russia), Australia, India, South Africa, China, Japan, Singapore, and Brazil and observed the inclusion or non-inclusion of KM courses in those programs. We employ a narrower approach to defining a KM course as being one having the term "knowledge management" in its name. The findings indicate that KM courses are integrated in one-third of the LIS study programs analyzed, and in schools with an information science focus this figure can rise to around 45%. Given the importance of this area and various views regarding KM diffusion in LIS schools, we recommend that those who have already implemented a KM course in their LIS programs create an informal community of practice (CoP) on KM implementation in LIS schools and build an open database of lessons learned from such integration, thereby capturing and sharing this crucial knowledge in a single place.

The adoption of open, online, flexible and technology-enhanced modes of learning (in short: of OOFAT) differs by higher education institution, despite the general cries of revolution and disruption due to digitalisation. This paper presents a new conceptual model for framing difference in three key educational processes (content, delivery and recognition) related to the potential of digitalisation to make these processes more flexible and more open. It is based on the results of a global survey of 69 higher education providers. The findings reveal six distinct archetypes of technology-enhanced higher education which vary according to the extent to which digitalisation is harnessed for content, delivery and recognition, and suggest different institutional strategies of digital adoption. It is hoped that this contribution will support comparative analysis of digitalisation strategies and peer learning between institutions.

Background: Lower limb deformities include conditions such as leg length discrepancy, lower limb deficiency and associated angular and rotational deformities of the hips, knees, ankles and feet. Children with lower limb deformities often have physical limitations due to gait irregularities and pain. The differences in the appearance and function of their lower limbs can discourage participation in social, recreational and leisure activities, which may result in behavioural, emotional, psychological and social adjustment problems. The health-related quality of life (HRQL) of these children is often impacted due to the factors discussed above, as well as by the complex surgical procedures. Surgical treatment options for limb deformities in children vary from limb lengthening and reconstruction to amputation. The lack of evidence demonstrating superiority of either treatment options and their effect on HRQL limits the ability of healthcare providers to counsel families on the best evidence-based treatment option for them. This manuscript describes the international qualitative study which guided the development of a new patient-reported outcome measure (PROM). Individual semi-structured face-to-face interviews with children with lower limb deformities and their parents were conducted at five sites: Canada (2 sites), Ethiopia, India and the USA. Results: Seventy-nine interviews were conducted at five international sites. Five main themes emerged from the qualitative interviews and formed the basis of the conceptual framework. These themes were: 1) appearance, 2) physical health, 3) psychological health 4) school and 5) social health. Conclusions: Lower limb deformities have a substantial impact on the HRQL of children. The concepts of interest identified in our study were similar across children from all countries. The conceptual framework guided the development of outcome scales specific to these patients. The information about the impact of various treatment options on the HRQL of children with lower limb deformities, collected using this new PROM, could be used to inform parents and children about outcomes (physical, social, psychological) associated with specific treatment options. This information could supplement other objective outcome information (e.g., complication rates, how the leg will look, etc.) to help families to come to a more informed decision on a child's course of treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]