Certification Procedures Research Articles

TRAINING TO IMPROVE THE ABILITY TO MANAGE FINANCES BASED ON SIMPLE CASH FLOW AND HALAL CERTIFICATE ASSISTANCE THROUGH SELF-DECLARATION FOR UMKM ASSISTED BY THE COOPERATIVE AND SME OFFICE OF SOUTH SUMATRA PROVINCE.

Based on the religious life report from 2013, Indonesia is one of the world's largest Muslim countries, home to about 237,641,326 people. Some of its food imports come from various non-Muslim nations. As a result, the halal certification and labeling procedure for goods that are in use worries some Muslims. And this research in this study explains how to see and distinguish how important the halal label is on product packaging. The participants in this activity were 40 MSME business actors assisted by the Cooperative and UKM Office of South Sumatra Province, at the Entrepreneurship Laboratory of the Faculty of Economics and Islamic Business, UIN Raden Fatah Palembang Jakabaring Campus

AGRI-FOOD PRODUCTS QUALITY AS EXPORTS COMPETITIVENESS DETERMINANT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA

Products quality and safety are important determinants of countries' export competitiveness. Issues of the quality of agri-food products are gaining more and more importance, bearing in mind modern challenges and consumer needs. This is very important for developing countries, including the Republic of Serbia, bearing in mind the importance of this sector for exports and overall economic development. On the other hand, these countries are lagging behind developed countries in terms of quality standards, due to the expensive certification and quality standardization procedures. The growth of competitiveness should be achieved through the improvement of product quality standards, product differentiation and introduction of innovations in the agri-food sector. The goal of the research is to examine the quality of the most important export agri-food products of the Republic of Serbia. The unit value (UV) index, as a measure of product quality, is used to analyse the quality of the most important agri-food products on the most important export markets, with using secondary ITC data. The multiple regression determined that the improvement of agricultural products quality has a positive impact on the growth of exports and competitiveness of agri-food sector of the Republic of Serbia. Namely, the competitiveness of agri-food sector will depend primarily on the ability of this sector to respond to the requirements related to food safety and quality standards, as well as the possibility of investing and innovating processing capacities, in order to create a high-quality final product with high value added.

Will plant-based pork meat substitutes receive halal certification?

The use of plant-based meat substitutes is growing globally for nutritional and environmental reasons. The production of meat-free food in some cases meets the needs of vegans. It may also help and/or simplify meeting religious requirements e.g., halal products for Muslim consumers. It is interesting to extend the understanding of this meat substitute from the Islamic religious perspective as Muslim believers are more concerned about the permissible food/meat which is labelled as halal. This article will report the analysis of how Islam is expected to address a plant substitute for pork, normally a prohibited (haram, unlawful) meat. The arguments presented by different scholars and several existing guidelines related to halal certification from selected Muslim countries such as Malaysia. If all the materials used in plant-based pork are considered permissible, concern over halal certification procedures remains a debatable issue. Another concern is the effect of halal certification on Shariah compliance companies that serve pork plantbased meat. All these concerns are suggested to be addressed by International Fatwa Bodies, as well as JAKIM as one of the key players in the halal industry.

Certification of the proximal gradient method under fixed-point arithmetic for box-constrained QP problems

In safety-critical applications that rely on the solution of an optimization problem, the certification of the optimization algorithm is of vital importance. Certification and suboptimality results are available for a wide range of optimization algorithms. However, a typical underlying assumption is that the operations performed by the algorithm are exact, i.e., that there is no numerical error during the mathematical operations, which is hardly a valid assumption in a real hardware implementation. This is particularly true in the case of fixed-point hardware, where computational inaccuracies are not uncommon. This article presents a certification procedure for the proximal gradient method for box-constrained QP problems implemented in fixed-point arithmetic. The procedure provides a method to select the minimal fractional precision required to obtain a certain suboptimality bound, indicating the maximum number of iterations of the optimization method required to obtain it. The procedure makes use of formal verification methods to provide arbitrarily tight bounds on the suboptimality guarantee. We apply the proposed certification procedure on the implementation of a non-trivial model predictive controller on 32-bit fixed-point hardware.

О профессионально-личностной компетентности тестировщика программного обеспечения в условиях цифровой трансформации общества

The profession of «software tester» is currently included in the list of the 50 most popular, new and promising professions on the labor market. Currently, due to the rapid development of IT technologies, the requirements for testers, their knowledge and qualifications are constantly increasing: the professional activity of a tester is becoming more and more "engineering" and requires specific knowledge, skills and competencies, as well as technical savvy. The main task of the tester is to evaluate programs that are in development or already functioning, identify failures, errors (bugs) in them and transmit this information to developers for correction. A "successful" tester, in the context of the analysis of his professional and personal competence, can be determined in the presence of the following main characteristics: the presence of professional training and work experience; the presence of internal motivation for the implementation of successful professional activities in the field of information technology; possession of reflection and introspection in the context of performing testing activities; the presence of professionally important characteristics that ensure the success of professional activities, including, for example, patience, diligence, conscientiousness, independence, etc.; the presence of ideas about test design techniques, types of testing, ways to identify and eliminate errors, a variety of approaches to testing; the presence of technical testing skills in information systems administration, programming; ability to work with test documentation: to draw up a test plan, requirements specifications, develop test scenarios, issue test reports, bug reports, etc.; availability of organizational, managerial and communicative competencies. The analysis of the professional and personal competence of testers, their professional and personal qualities can serve as a basis for the development of criteria for the success of professional activity, determining the prospects and trends of professional development, optimizing the procedures for professional selection and professional certification of testing specialists within the professional standard.

Detached Eddy Simulations of Cavity-Store Interactions at Subsonic Turbulent Flow

Weapons bays have gained much attraction in the last decade, mainly in the context of next-generation aircraft. Although internal store carriage provides numerous advantages, aero-mechanical challenges still exist, particularly for safe store separation. Therefore, it is essential to gain fundamental knowledge of the flow field within weapons bays, which can be achieved by studying the flow within a more simplified geometry of a cavity. In this study, detached eddy simulations are performed using the Elastic-Zonal-Navier–Stokes-Solver (EZNSS) to characterize the unsteady turbulent flow within NASA’s benchmark rectangular cavity with a store model located at various positions. Simulations are performed at a Mach number of 0.4 and a Reynolds number of 7 million to form a transitional cavity flow, which is common in jet-fighter weapons bays. The numerical results are validated with experimental data for the empty cavity and cavity-with-store configurations. The effect of the store’s position on the cavity flow characteristics is analyzed and verified, as well as the aerodynamic loads exerted on the store. Results show a complex interaction between the store model and the cavity flow field, manifested by distortion of the wall pressure fluctuations and mean flow structures and large amplitude fluctuations of the loads exerted on the store. The insights reported herein can serve future development efforts of more accurate numerical frameworks for cavity-with-store configurations towards improving their applicability for weapons bays store separation in certification procedures.

Empowerment of Micro Entrepreneurs Providing Halal Canteens Through Training and Assistance

There has been government regulation regarding the obligation of product halal certification for all business groups, including microenterprises that sell canteen food. The existence of a halal certificate other than as an obligation is expected to increase consumer confidence in the certainty of product halalness and support the selling power of entrepreneurs. Some canteen food entrepreneurs have received socialization regarding the application of mandatory halal certification for their products, but there is no strong intention to obtain halal certification for their products. This study aims to empower micro-enterprises in increasing independence and awareness of halal products and overseeing the implementation of the halal product guarantee system. It is necessary to carry out empowerment activities through training and assistance to entrepreneurs to obtain halal certificates, such as advanced training in halal food knowledge; assistance in building a halal product guarantee system; filling out registration documents for halal certification requirements. The results of training and assistance for halal certification show an increased understanding of halal certification procedures and an increased readiness to implement a halal product assurance system, and 96.2% of canteen food micro-entrepreneurs stated that they would register their products to get halal certificates.
 Keywords: halal certification, micro-enterprises empowerment, training, assistance

SEHATI’s Contribution (Free Halal Certification) For Medium and Small Enterprises (MSE) in Indonesia

Introduction: Indonesia has great potential in developing the halal industry sector such as halal food, fashion, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, tourism, media, financial services which will reach IDR 4,375 trillion so that it can support national economic growth as well as become a role model for the halal industry in Indonesia. But in fact, Indonesia as the largest consumer country of halal food is not the largest producer of halal products. So, that free halal certification is needed so that Indonesia becomes the number 1 exporter of halal products in the world. Research Methods: literature study and then analyzed by analytical descriptive analysis. Results: SEHATI's contribution to UMK in Indonesia, namely 1) accelerating the halal certification procedure, 2) MSEs in managing halal certification are free of charge, 3) the halal certification process can be carried out online using the Sihalal and Pusaka applications to make it easier to take care of halal certification. Conclusion: SEHATI contributed For Medium and Small Enterprises (UMK) in Indonesia, because it could raise the profitability, trust and satisfaction consumers and guaranteed quality of product.

Innovations in HbA1c analysis: finding the balance between speed and accuracy. An investigation of a potential new Secondary Reference Measurement Procedure for the IFCC.

The escalating prevalence of diabetes worldwide has resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of people who need testing, which in turn necessitates faster HbA1c measurement. The Tosoh GR01 addresses the need for fast turnaround times of whilst offering pragmatic steps to maintain result accuracy in a single instrument by offering two distinct operating modes: Short Mode (SM) and Long Mode (LM). The aim of this study was to evaluate all relevant aspects of the performance of the Tosoh GR01 with a view to accepting the instrument as a future Secondary Reference Measurement Procedure (SRMP) for the IFCC. Certified Clinical & Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) Evaluation Protocols (EP) were used to evaluate precision (EP-5), accuracy (EP-9), linearity (EP-6), carry-over (EP-10) and the effect of hemoglobin variants and other potential interferences. Both modes demonstrated CVs <0.6 % in SI units and <0.4 % in NGSP units at 46 mmol/mol (6.4 %) and 75 mmol/mol (9.0 %) and passed both National Glycohemoglobin Standardization Program (NGSP) and International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (IFCC) certification procedures when compared with 7 IFCC Certified Secondary Reference Measurement Procedures (SRMP). Sigma for both modes was >6 when using the results of EP-5 and EP-9 at an HbA1c concentration of 50 mmol/mol (6.7 %). Neither mode showed any interference with common Hb-variants except for HbAE when HbA1c was >65 mmol/mol. In the SM HbAS, HbAD and HbAC were recognized but no result was reported. There is a good balance between speed and accuracy for determining HbA1c with the Tosoh GR01 in both analytical modes and the device is suitable for use as an IFCC SRMP.

Envisioning an Energy Performance Certificate for livestock houses: A general methodological development and a specific application to growing-finishing pig houses

Climate control represents a significant energy use in livestock houses. Although energy-efficient solutions aimed at reducing this energy consumption are expanding, their spread in these facilities is hindered by the lack of standardized methodologies for assessing their impacts on the energy performance. An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) for livestock houses represents a solid solution for assessing and rating the energy performance of these buildings accordingly to a standardized methodology. Unfortunately, specific EPC s for livestock houses are not present in literature. The aim of this work is to propose the first methodological framework for an EPC specifically developed for livestock houses which can be easily adapted to different types of livestock productions. An exemplificative adaptation and a practical application are provided for growing-finishing pig houses with the aim of clarifying the certification procedure, highlighting the potentialities of this approach, and providing and discussing some examples of results. The results show that the certified pig house has a low energy performance, labelled with the class E. By adopting the energy efficiency measures proposed in the framework of the EPC, the energy performance could remarkably improve and achieve a class-B rating. This EPC proposal represents a complete novelty in literature and an innovative and promising approach to the topic of energy efficiency in livestock sector by enhancing the comparison of the energy performance between existing livestock houses or design alternatives equipped with different energy-efficient technologies and solutions.

Academia and industry agreement on a feasibility tool for first-time-in-human clinical trial units.

First-time-in-human (FTIH) trials are designed to generate information on the safety, tolerability, as well as the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics profile of new drugs. To ensure the safety of participants, these trials need to be conducted at specifically equipped phase I clinical trial units (CTUs). In accordance with the International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH) Guideline for Good Clinical Practice (GCP) and the European Union (EU) regulatory guidelines, one of the aims of the European Regime Accelerator for Tuberculosis (ERA4TB) project is to collaboratively create a feasibility tool, through a partnership between public and private entities, for the validation of CTUs selected to conduct FTIH trials. A feasibility form, encompassing nine sections, was created to gather information on the unit in relation to key attributes of FTIH trials. Collaboratively, industry and academic partners defined the minimal criteria to ensure the adherence of CTUs to the principles of ICH GCP and regulations outlined by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for the execution of FTIH trials. Subsequently, all CTUs available for the project were assessed for FTIH trial eligibility. The introduction of the certification procedure through the feasibility tool within ERA4TB resulted in the accreditation of the five academic CTUs, which are now prepared to carry out FTIH trials as part of the Consortium. The developed feasibility tool aims to establish open and widely used minimum requirements for the validation of academic CTUs as FTIH units, marking it as the inaugural tool for CTU validation resulting from the collaboration between industry and academia within the ERA4TB project. The established partnership has enabled an innovative and novel way of working.

"Show me how to use a microscope" - The development and evaluation of certification as direct assessment of practical lab skills.

Practical lab skills are rarely directly assessed. To improve constructive alignment between the described learning outcomes of practical skills and assessment, we developed and tested a certification procedure for microscopy skills. The procedure was embedded into the ordinary learning activity, so no additional time was needed. Three slightly different protocols were developed within the framework of sociocultural learning theory and built like a skill ladder, including direct peer assessment and elements of gamified learning. The protocols varied slightly in the way students were prepared for the certification, the number of steps/levels of achievement, and the consequences of failing. We tested the protocols at three different academic institutions and within 11 courses of varying sizes and academic levels in biology or geology. Feedbacks were collected through online surveys (n = 207) or orally after sessions. One protocol provided instruction videos as preparation material. Instruction videos provided increased understanding of the task, but tactile training was most important for learning. Regardless of institution, type of preparation, and level of former experience, the certification procedure made students clearly more engaged in the exercise. The majority reported that the certification procedure increased their motivation to learn, increased their perceived learning outcome, and was appropriate for assessing practical skills. Students with no or little experience in microscopy before the exercise were more positive about the certification procedure compared to skilled students, and the level of engagement and preparation was higher when there were some consequences of failing. Most students felt comfortable being certified by peers, but some students expressed concern about peers making mistakes. The presented certification procedure can easily be adapted to assess other practical skills and, with some adjustments, be an efficient method for assessment-as-learning, merging formative- and summative assessment.

Exercising prediction validation methods for analysis of quiet supersonic overflight

En route noise certification procedures for quiet supersonic aircraft are in development under the International Civil Aviation Organization for a proposed standard that could enable civil supersonic overland flight. While these quiet supersonic aircraft do not exist yet, methods are being developed and evaluated using existing N-wave empirical datasets and low-boom simulation datasets. One potential aspect of future certification methods is the ability to use a validated prediction model to predict the certification noise level under reference day weather conditions. Methods to validate predictions, such as the two-sample t-test, Fisher's combined probability test, two-sample Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, and equivalence testing, have been exercised and modified for this application. While some methods compare mean values, others compare values across the distribution, and a combination of methods can be used. The methods were applied to a subset of an N-wave dataset to demonstrate the applicability and identify potential areas for improvement. Atmospheric turbulence variability was included as a factor in these analyses through KZKFourier propagation simulations with parameters matching actual flights and weather conditions. Results are presented for six noise metrics (PL, ASEL, BSEL, DSEL, ESEL, and ISBAP), and plans to expand the analyses are discussed.

New reference day atmosphere for analyses of quiet supersonic overflight

New reference day atmospheric conditions have been defined for future supersonic aircraft en route noise certification procedures. As field measurements are acquired, in a variety of atmospheric conditions, it is important to relate those measurements back to a common reference atmosphere to provide uniformity in method across applicants for noise certification. Because of the long propagation distances involved between the aircraft flight altitude and the ground, en route noise certification measurements can be substantially affected by the atmosphere. Properties, such as pressure, density, temperature, humidity, and winds, vary with altitude. Therefore, the definition of reference atmospheric profiles as a function of altitude are needed instead of the coarse layered atmosphere and homogeneous humidity used in subsonic aircraft landing and takeoff noise certification. Ground loudness levels from overflight of a quiet supersonic demonstrator concept, calculated with atmospheric data from sites across the world, were compared with the results from several candidate reference atmospheres to identify a reference that would minimize the required adjustment to certification test measurements. The existing ICAO 7488/3 profiles for temperature and pressure, combined with a modified ISO 5878 humidity profile, were found to offer the best results.

Institution of certification of medical workers: the reasons for dysfunction

Institutions of qualification assessment in the field of medicine are designed for improving the level of qualification of medical specialists, and as a result for providing quality medical care. One of them is certification of medical workers for the qualification category. Certification was introduced into the Soviet healthcare system, but in recent years, the interest of doctors in obtaining the category has significantly weakened. This actualizes clarification of the causes of the situation. The article makes a retrospective analysis involving a wide range of sources of the regulatory and statistical information and presents an assessment of the factors of this phenomenon by medical specialists themselves, obtained during their questionnaire survey in organizations of Moscow. The obtained results showed that the dysfunction of the certification institute was caused by a complex of internal and external factors. First of all, there was a failure in the mechanism of material incentives, directly related to the general system of remuneration in the public sector of the economy. Due to the work overload, the conditions for preparing for certification activities have deteriorated significantly, the interest of managers in having workers of the category has decreased, and the prestige of the category itself, especially among young cadres, has fallen. Therefore, without taking special measures, the institute of certification for the qualification category is threatened with deinstitutionalization. The key areas of the necessary changes are revision of the operating mode with reservation of the required time for additional professional training, as well as organizational combination of the certification and accreditation examination procedures. The restoration of the effectiveness of material incentives for the category can be expected with the introduction of a new wage system in the public sector of medicine, but the start of its testing has been postponed again until 2025.

Impact of land users on the issuance of land use right certificates: A case study in Thanh Hoa City, Vietnam

The goal of the study is to determine how land users affect the land certification process when compared with other factors. We investigated government officials who carry out land certification procedures through a two-step survey to identify hypothetical factors that influence land certification. A multivariable regression model of hypothetical factors affecting land certification was tested by evaluation criteria. There are 26 factors belonging to 7 groups affecting land use right certificate issuance. Their impact rates ranged from 3.43% to 25.95%. Land users impact the issuance of land certificates with an impact rate of 20.82%. This puts them in the second most influential group after the group of policy and legal factors. For the land certificate to be granted smoothly and on schedule, it is necessary to pay attention to solving issues related to land users, legal policies, and other factors that have a smaller impact rate .

Automatic Trajectory Determination in Automated Robotic Welding Considering Weld Joint Symmetry

The field of inspection for welded structures is currently in a state of rapid transformation driven by a convergence of global technological, regulatory, and economic factors. This evolution is propelled by several key drivers, including the introduction of novel materials and welding processes, continuous advancements in inspection technologies, innovative approaches to weld acceptance code philosophy and certification procedures, growing demands for cost-effectiveness and production quality, and the imperative to extend the lifespan of aging structures. Foremost among the challenges faced by producers today is the imperative to meet customer demands, which entails addressing both their explicit and implicit needs. Furthermore, the integration of emerging materials and technologies necessitates the exploration of fresh solutions. These solutions aim to enhance inspection process efficiency while providing precise quantitative insights into defect identification and location. To this end, our project proposes cutting-edge technologies, some of which have yet to gain approval within the sector. Noteworthy among these innovations is the integration of vision systems into welding robots, among other solutions. This paper introduces a groundbreaking algorithm for tool path selection, leveraging profile scanning and the concept of joint symmetry. The application of symmetry principles for trajectory determination represents a pioneering approach within this expansive field.

Professional Certification of Higher Education in Germany and Its Implications for Cross Disciplinary Evaluation in China

With the development of the German higher education certification system, its certification standards and procedures are also improving day by day. In this context, a large number of institutions have emerged that provide certification services for higher education. This article mainly focuses on two cross-disciplinary certification bodies, the Professional Accreditation and Quality Assurance Agency （AQAS） and the Certification and Quality Assurance Institute （ACQUIN）, to analyze the commonalities and differences between the two certification bodies from the perspectives of standard formulation and expert review. The results indicate that in terms of standard formulation, ACQUIN emphasizes the improvement of the quality system of the profession itself, while AQAS focuses on the positioning and characteristics of a certain profession in relevant industry fields. In terms of expert evaluation, ACQUIN and AQAS have different focuses on ensuring program fairness and expert selection. ACQUIN values the evaluation ability of experts, while AQAS places greater emphasis on their academic background.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES OF BUSINESS ANALYSIS IN THE MANAGEMENT AND DESIGN OF ACTIVITIES OF UKRAINIAN COMPANIES

The article analyzes the effectiveness and promising possibilities of using information technologies in the management and design of the activities of Ukrainian companies. It was established that the main task of business analysis is the collection and substantiation of information for making business decisions with the aim of improving management and project activities. Concretely, business analytics is considered as a process of gathering and forming an information base of indicators by using methods of information gathering and processing, risk assessment, modeling and forecasting. The types of software that will allow automating the management and project process of the company by forming an information database are detailed. It has been proven that Ukrainian companies have a significant gap in analytical activities, because in Ukraine, the profession classifier does not provide for the position of business analysts and their certification procedure. Accordingly, the perspective of the formation of business analytical data is the use of information technologies with software that automates the process of processing information and improving the management and project activities of Ukrainian companies.

Outcomes and Future Directions of KSSP Sport Psychology Certification Procedures

Outcomes and Future Directions of KSSP Sport Psychology Certification Procedures