The chapter presents the role of the environmental impact assessment system in force in Poland, both the strategic environmental impact assessment, and the assessment of the environmental impact of planned projects, in the protection of valuable environmental resources, such as arable and forest land. Participation in this procedure of government administration boards (as organs conducting or co-operating), specialized in the field of environmental protection, contributes to the protection of agricultural and forest land. Achieving the objectives set for the protection of agricultural and forest land is ensured, inter alia, in the legal regulations of the planning procedure, making it possible to limit the use of this land for other purposes. The procedure of environmental impact assessments indirectly contributes to this protection, however, in order to increase the compatibility of legal provisions and minimize uncontrolled often pressure on these valuable environmental resources, the provisions regulating the impact of the implementation of urbanization plans (planning and investment) should be regulated in more detail in this range.
This review presents basic criteria for evaluating the developmental competence of oocytes and embryos, and contains a detailed description of the microfluidic-technology-based Lab-on-Chip. The developmental competence of oocytes is acquired through a complex process associated with oocyte growth and maturation, the storage of large amounts of mRNA and proteins, and with the formation of proper cell morphology. The full maturation of oocytes is required for successful monospermic fertilization and embryonic preimplantation development. The morphology of the gamete is one of the most important factors influencing the developmental competence of the cell. There are several indicators for the assessment of oocyte morphology, most of them including the color and granularity of the cytoplasm. Intensive research is under way to develop and introduce new non-invasive methods of oocyte and embryo quality assessment as a major factor in the improvement of assisted reproductive techniques. The Lab-on-Chip technology, as an independent micro-cytometric device, is a combination of reproductive biology techniques and micro-optic electronics. In the future, Lab-on-Chip systems may be used as an important diagnostic instrument for evaluating the quality of mammalian oocytes and embryos.
The Bologna Process has made it inevitable to create and implement systems for education quality management at higher education institutions. It involves, among other things, a system for internal and external evaluation aimed at monitoring and improving the quality of education provided at any higher education institution. Therefore, the present paper is aimed at synthetic presentation of regulations adopted as part of the Bologna Process in the context of internal education quality system functioning at higher education institutions. It also describes the education quality system that is in operation at the Faculty of Economics and Management (WNEiZ) at University of Szczecin, determines the role that opinions held by students play in the evaluation of higher education quality and presents the results of the survey conducted in this scope at WNEiZ at US. The questionnaire survey allowed, among other things, to learn about subjective assessment made by students with reference to higher education curriculum, educational system, studying conditions and the teaching staff, all of which have a considerable influence on education quality system. The information in question is of major importance while formulating educational offer and taking promotional action as well as creating higher education institution’s image (and hence recruiting new students) on a more and more competitive higher education market.