Relatively little is known about Canadian casino employees. The present study is a broad-based investigation intended to shed some light on this population. There were several specific areas of investigation. These included job satisfaction, substance use and abuse, gambling behaviour, gambling attitudes and beliefs, and problem gambling status. Because of this high-risk group’s excessive exposure to gambling, casino employees’ gambling behaviour may be indicative of the general adult population’s future gambling behaviour. Although there is some prior evidence of higher rates of problem gambling in this population, the causal direction of this relationship is not well established. That is, does working in a casino place employees at a higher risk for problem gambling, or does the industry actually attract problem gamblers? The present study investigated the characteristics of 123 Canadian casino employees from two Alberta casinos. The study aimed to establish the actual impact of casino employment on substance use and gambling behaviour by means of a follow-up questionnaire that was distributed six months after the baseline questionnaire was collected. The results of the follow-up questionnaire tentatively suggest that problem gamblers are attracted to the casino industry, rather than the casino industry placing its employees at a higher risk for problem gambling. The study also found that Northern Albertan casino employees have higher rates of smoking, alcohol use, illicit drug use, medication use, gambling, and problem gambling than the general Albertan workforce. / viii, 140 leaves ; 29 cm. --

Continuous eddy covariance measurements were conducted for a 125 day period, throughout the 2007 growing season, in a northern Alberta peatland. Significant diurnal and seasonal variation in methane fluxes were observed. Diurnal variation in methane flux was suggested to be due to variation in soil temperature and methane convective flow through vegetation to the atmosphere. Seasonal variation in methane flux was associated with a variety of factors, most notably seasonal variation in the capacity for methane emission at 10 ºC (R10). The R10 values varied as a function of soil temperature and were an important control of seasonal variation in methane flux. Also, a greenhouse gas budget was calculated comparing net methane emission and net CO2 sequestration. This analysis indicated that the peatland was acting as a net sink of radiative forcing agents for the 2007 growing season. / xiii, 100 leaves ; 29 cm. --

Reclaimed oil sands landscapes are perceived to be low in plant diversity compared with naturally occurring plant communities. Approximately 66 Carex species inhabit the oil sand region. This thesis is unique and represents the first large scale study of Carex establishment on reclaimed oil sands landscapes. Research compared diversity and habitat variables between natural ecosystems and reclaimed landscapes, and examined the colonization mechanism for Carex establishment on reclaimed landscapes (i.e., ingress from adjacent natural ecosystems or emergence from the soil seed bank). Low positive associations between the presence of Carex in natural and reclaimed landscapes, and the presence of species on reclaimed landscapes not accounted for in either the forest or edge plots, suggests Carex established from the soil seed bank and less so from natural ingress. Carex share the same seed dispersal mechanisms as many plants, so the implications may apply to a broader range of plant species.