Wetland loss is a concern in Canada, with significant loss in urban and agricultural areas. Due to their provision of ecological goods and services - water quality improvement, carbon sequestration, flood and erosion control and biodiversity - wetlands are an important natural resource to conserve. A stated preference CVM survey was designed to estimate the non-market values of wetland in the prairie pothole region of Manitoba. This included information on benefits and costs associated with wetland restoration, a referendum portion and a debriefing section. A rigorous design procedure was followed that included several public focus groups and pre-tests. Results from 1,980 individuals indicate that respondents are willing to pay to retain and restore wetlands. Conservative willingness to pay estimates placed between $290 (retention) and $360 (full restoration) per household per year. Aggregated to the entire province over a five year period, this increases to approximately $600 and $730 million, respectively. / Agricultural and Resource Economics

Coral reefs are a vital resource in the low-island Republic of Maldives, where the sustainable use of these resources is central to the continued economic success of the country's two largest sectors: tourism and fisheries. This recognition has led to numerous reef conservation and protection activities, including the establishment of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). As in many MPAs of the world, those in the Maldives exist only as paper parks: areas protected on paper but not in practice. Despite general recognition of the importance of reef resources, insufficient funds are allocated by government to implement these parks. This situation is compounded by the absence of specific information and detailed understanding by policy makers of the true value and economic benefits of reef resources. This thesis examines the an economic valuation of improved management of MPAs in the Maldives using Dhigali Haa, an MPA in Baa Atoll, Maldives, as a case study. A contingent valuation survey to elicit the willingness to pay of tourists visiting Baa Atoll to see improved management at the MPA was used in estimating the potential benefits. In addition, local community consultations were conducted to understand local perceptions of MPAs and their effectiveness, and to develop a feasible improved management scenario. The local consultations confirmed that Dhigali Haa was not effectively managed, leading to continued illegal use and degradation of the reef. The results of the CV survey revealed support from tourists visiting Baa Atoll to pay for improved management of Dhigali Haa. A one-off conservation fee per visit for all tourists visiting Baa Atoll was preferred over a user fee solely for divers visiting Dhigali Haa. The estimate for the mean WTP for the conservation fee was US$35±5 compared to a mean WTP of US$15±5 for the user fee. Comparisons between the cost of implementing improved management and the benefits gained from tourist fees showed that a conservation fee would be more beneficial than a user fee. The estimated net present value for funding the improved management via a conservation fee was US$8.65 million.

This thesis describes a research study in the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), specifically usability evaluation. The research investigated ways to optimise the usability of Web sites. It specifically compared Flash and HTML versions of several different types of Web sites. The study commenced with a literature review regarding the process of usability evaluation of Web sites. Various usability evaluation methods and techniques were explored, and two emerging techniques were chosen for further investigation: (1) a contingent heuristic approach; and (2) eye gaze tracking. In order to confirm that these two techniques can be used effectively for Web site usability evaluations, two experiments were conducted to evaluate the usability of Web sites. The first experiment utilised an online questionnaire derived from the Website Usability Contingent Evaluation Tool (WUCET), which was based on the contingent heuristic approach. The second experiment involved eye gaze tracking with the faceLAB system, while participants interacted with Web sites of different types. Both experiments utilised Flash and HTML versions of the same set of Web sites. By analysing data collected from the experiments, comparisons between the usability of Flash and HTML versions were made. The results from quantitative and qualitative analyses of survey responses suggested that Flash version of Web sites, in general, provided higher usability than HTML version of Web sites, but eye gaze tracking data analyses showed no significant difference between the two versions. However, analyses of the eye tracking data were useful for improving understanding of the ways in which users interact with different versions of the Web sites. In addition, other influential factors that could affect the perceived usability of the Web sites, such as user’s gender and previous experience with computers and the Web, were also considered. The results of the experiments showed that in regard to Flash and HTML implementations of Web sites, there was a difference in Web site usability perception patterns between male and female users, and also between users with long-term computer/Web experience and users with short-term experience. In addition, a range of different types (purposes) of Web sites were utilised. In this study, selected Web sites fall into three broad categories according to their main purpose: (1) information; (2) entertainment; and (3) e-commerce. It was discovered that the type of Web sites also influenced the usability of Flash and HTML versions of Web sites, as perceived by users.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Massachusetts at Amherst, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 446-474).

Zugl.: Göttingen, Univ., Diss., 2009

Master-Arbeit Univ. St. Gallen, 2007.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 89-92).

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of parent delivered non-contingent reinforcement (NCR) on decreasing throwing behavior exhibited by a young child with autism. During the pretreatment phase of the experiment the participant went a functional analysis to determine the target behavior of throwing. Baseline data was collected followed by the intervention phase. During the intervention phase, the non-contingent reinforcement (NCR) procedures were conducted. Attention was given to the participant on a fixed-time schedule and was influenced based on the participant’s behavior. The schedule of reinforcement was slowly increase with the decrease or lack of throwing attempts. Furthermore, this study aimed to determine whether parent delivered fixed-time schedules of non-contingent reinforcement decrease the non-preferred activities of throwing objects.

O objetivo deste trabalho é identificar o comportamento da evidenciação dos riscos potenciais representados pelas informações contidas nas provisões e passivos contingentes das empresas. O estudo analisou a divulgação das informações sobre riscos potenciais nas demonstrações contábeis dos exercícios de 2002, 2006, 2010 e 2012, utilizando como parâmetro as recomendações de órgãos normativos nacionais: 2012 foi o período mais próximo ao encerramento da coleta de dados, enquanto que em cada um dos demais períodos mencionados ocorreram mudanças significativas em termos de normas contábeis. O campo de pesquisa do presente trabalho constitui-se das notas explicativas das demonstrações financeiras das empresas do setor de energia elétrica, listadas na BM&FBOVESPA, dos exercícios mencionados. O setor de energia elétrica foi escolhido devido sua representatividade no mercado acionário brasileiro - 16,46% do total; à modernização na regulamentação contábil ocorrida como processo de privatização das empresas estatais; e por adotar normatizações internacionais na elaboração de suas demonstrações contábeis, contribuindo assim para a análise temporal proposta no presente estudo. No presente trabalho pode-se verificar a evolução dos informações que as empresas do setor de energia elétrica estão divulgando ao mercado, avaliando o comportamento das informações sobre riscos potenciais para os usuários das demonstrações contábeis. Os resultados encontrados mostram que as empresas do setor de energia elétrica tiveram evolução em sua divulgação de riscos potenciais principalmente entre os anos 2002 e 2006, fato este devido à modernização da regulamentação contábil neste período; nos períodos entre os anos 2010 e 2012, houve melhora na quantidade das informações sobre riscos potenciais, que o setor de energia elétrica passou a divulgar ao mercado, com relatórios mais detalhados, com maior número de evidências para que os usuários das demonstrações contábeis possam distinguir quais empresas apresentam maior risco e qual o nível de risco das companhias. Com isto pode-se verificar que as empresas do setor estudado apresentaram uma curva de aprendizagem conforme a evolução da legislação aplicável a matéria estudada. / The objective of this work is to identify the behavior of the disclosure of the potential risks posed by information contained in provisions and contingent liabilities of companies. The study analyzed the dissemination of information about potential risks in the financial statements for the years 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2012, using as a parameter the recommendations of national standards bodies: 2012 was the closest to the closure of the data collection period, while in each of the remaining periods mentioned significant changes in terms of accounting standards. The search field of this study represents the notes to the financial statements of companies in the electricity sector listed on the BM&FBOVESPA, the exercises mentioned. The electricity sector was chosen due to its representation in the Brazilian market - 16.46 % of the total; modernizations in accounting regulation occurred as the privatization of state enterprises; and adopt international norms in preparing its financial statements, thereby contributing to the temporal analysis proposed in this study. In the present work can be seen the evolution of information that companies in the electric power industry are touting the market, evaluating the behavior of information on potential risks to users of the financial statements. The results show that companies in the electricity sector had developments in their disclosure of potential risks mainly between 2002 and 2006, a fact due to the modernization of accounting regulation in this period; the periods between the years 2010 and 2012 , there was an improvement in the amount of information about potential risks, the electricity sector began to disclose to the market, with more detailed reports, with more evidence that users of financial statements can distinguish which companies present greater risk and what level of risk companies. With this it can be seen that the companies analyzed sector showed a learning curve as the evolution of the material being studied applicable law.

One of the greatest challenges facing developing countries is the provision of basic services and infrastructure. Provision of these services and infrastructure in these countries is often characterised by ineffectiveness, low quality, inaccessibility and unreliability. One basic service that has proven to be particularly problematic is the provision of water and sanitation, Poor delivery of this service affecting and is affected by the level of economic development of any nation. The main objectives of this study are to determine how much Swazi households are willing to pay (WTP) for an improvement in their water quality and quantity as well as establishing the possible factors affecting this WTP. This will help to put in monetary terms the value of good quality and quantity of domestic water in Swaziland as well as factors that affect this monetary value. The study used the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) to evaluate improvements in domestic water quality and quantity, based on households’ perception of domestic water in Swaziland. The method involved an analysis of the factors determining households’ WTP for improved domestic water quality, quantity and the health risk concern from using it. The project covered the eleven main towns of Swaziland with a sample taken from both the rural and urban areas of the towns. The results obtained indicated that the WTP for the domestic water quality and quantity improvements is small but significant. There were more households in the rural areas willing to pay for improvements in the quality (67%) of water than in the urban areas (20%). The same trend was observed for the willingness to pay for water quantity. Approximately 58% of households in the rural areas and 6% of households in the urban areas were willing to pay for increased water quantity. However, the rural households were willing to pay on average an amount of E6.44 for improved water quality per month, which was much lower than the average amount urban households were willing to pay (E16.40). In contrast households in the rural area were more willing to pay for increased quantities (E7.13) than households in the urban areas (E6.82), albeit the small difference between the figures. On average the rural households were consuming less water (0.92m3) per month than their urban counterparts (6.92m3). Rural household heads earned an average income of E1269.49 made up a per capita mean income of E200 . Urban households heads’ average income was E4830 and the per capita mean income was E1092.00. Moreover, the survey results show that people aware of health hazards brought about by using unhealthy water are inclined to conserve the water quality by paying a fee for it. Not all the households were willing to pay for improvements in water services. In the urban areas, these were households that were satisfied with the status of the water condition (94%). And in the rural areas these were households that could not afford to pay for improvements (42%). In the latter case, the households mainly use non-monetary transactions for the exchange of services and goods and have never paid for water services before. They believed that access to adequate water quality and quantity was a basic right that should be provided by the government. In addition they did not trust their local authorities and believed that if they were to pay for improve water services their money would not be used accordingly. / Dissertation (MSc (Agricultural Economics))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / unrestricted