Rural areas across the developed world have encountered economic decline due to trends of industrialisation and urbanisation (Lane, 1994). The damaging effects of the declining economy have persuaded governments to recognize these problems and tourism has been presented as a catalyst to revitalize disadvantaged rural areas (Riberio & Marques, 2002). Tourism often represents a means of generating revenue and increasing employment opportunities. Today, the idea that tourism will save disadvantaged rural areas has grown into a widely agreed upon notion, which is reflected in a vast range of policy documents. This thesis has questioned whether the promise of rural tourism to contribute to local community development has surfaced as a result of over optimism. The purpose of this study was to determine if tourism is a viable tool for development in rural areas by stepping back and evaluating what is really happening in practice in rural areas. This study examined if, and to what extent, the reported benefits of rural tourism are realized on the ground at the local community level. However, there is little to be gained by examining the impacts of tourism without examining the processes which have contributed to the creation and growth of rural tourism. This research consisted of a close examination of the rural tourism development process and the impacts of its development in a rural village in the Czech Republic. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, household survey questionnaires, secondary data analysis and finally, participant observation. The analysis of the data revealed four main themes, which include: (1) the nature of tourism development, (2) the impacts of tourism, (3) the role of tourism, and (4) the future of tourism development. The findings of this research showed that residents held a favourable view towards tourism development and are supportive of future tourism development. Tourism is attributed to the many positive changes that have occurred in the village. Moreover, residents reported valuing the social contributions of tourism more than the economic contributions. It was revealed that there is an awareness future tourism planning and monitoring is needed, however, there is a distinct lack of organized tourism planning in the village. The study concluded that tourism’s promise of providing development potential to rural communities, as outlined, remains partially unfulfilled. Residents have a realistic grasp on the role of tourism in their village and as such, realize that tourism is currently not a viable development option for their village. This study demonstrates that it should not be assumed that rural economic development is a natural outcome of rural tourism.

Warming induced changes in Arctic vegetation have to date been studied through observational and experimental field studies, leaving significant uncertainty about the representativeness of selected field sites as well as how these field scale findings scale up to the entire pan-Arctic. The purposes of this thesis were therefore to 1) analyze remotely-sensed/modeled temperature, Normalized Difference Vegeta- tion Indices (NDVI) and plant Net Primary Productivity (NPP) to assess coarse- scale changes (1982–2006) in vegetation; and 2) compare field, remote sensing and model outputs to estimate limitations, challenges and disagreements between data formats. The following data sources were used: • Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer Polar Pathfinder Extended (APP- x, temperature & albedo) • Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS, Normalized Dif- ference Vegetation Index (NDVI) & Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) ) • Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper (Landsat ETM, NDVI) • Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies (GIMMS, NDVI) • Global Productivity Efficiency Model (GloPEM, Net Primary Productivity (NPP)) Over the pan-Arctic (1982-2007), increases in temperature, total annual NPP and maximum annual NDVI were observed. Increases in NDVI and NPP were found to be closely related to increases in temperature according to non-parametric Sen’ slope and Mann Kendall tau tests. Variations in phenology were largely non- significant but related to increases in growing season temperature. Snow melt onset and spring onset correspond closely. MODIS, Landsat and GIMMS NDVI data sets agree well, and MODIS EVI and NDVI are very similar for spring and summer at Fosheim Peninsula. GloPEM NPP and field estimates of NPP are poorly correlated, whereas GIMMS NDVI and GloPEM NPP are well correlated, indicating a need for better calibration of model NPP to field data. In summary, increases in pan-Arctic biological productivity indicators were ob- served, and were found to be closely related to recent circumpolar warming. How- ever, these changes appear to be focused in regions from which recent field studies have found significant ecological changes (Alaska), and coarse resolution remote sensing estimates of ecological changes have been less marked in other regions. Dis- crepancies between results from model, field data and remote sensing, as well as central questions remaining about the impact of increases in productivity on soil- vegetation-atmosphere feedbacks, indicate a clear need for continued research into warming induced changes in pan-Arctic vegetation.

Aquatic eutrophication is a serious environmental problem that occurs all over the world. To protect surface waters (in particular the Baltic Sea), the regulatory pressure on onsite wastewater treatment (OWT) systems have increased in Sweden. Stringent requirements have led to uncertainties regarding the capability of conventional treatment techniques (soil treatment systems (STS)) to remove phosphorus (P), but they have also stimulated the development and introduction of enhanced P treatment techniques. In this thesis the accumulation and mobility of P as well as the chemical P removal mechanisms were studied in soils and reactive filter media. This knowledge was then used in environmental systems analysis. A model based on life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology was developed to evaluate the overall environmental performance of conventional and enhanced P treatment systems under various local conditions. The P accumulation in the studied STS varied (320-870 g m-3) and the accumulated P was rather mobile in some soils. Phosphorus compounds were identified in alkaline reactive filter media (calcium phosphates predominated) by means of X-ray Absorption Near Edge Structure (XANES). In sandy soils from STS aluminium was found to be a key element for P removal, as evidenced by a strong relationship between oxalate-extractable P and Al. The LCA studies indicated that enhanced P treatment systems may be beneficial from an eutrophication and P recycling perspective but causes increased impacts in terms of global warming and acidification. Despite the drawbacks, enhanced P treatment techniques should be considered suitable substitutes to surface water discharge STS under most conditions. This is because the latter systems have such a strong eutrophication impact. On the other hand, under appropriate conditions, STS with groundwater discharge may be advantageous. These systems generally caused low environmental impacts except for the dispersion of P resources. / <p>QC 20130419</p>

This thesis project was conducted to compare the environmental impacts between two types of material for a superstructure of cruising ship (Norwegian Gem) using life cycle assessment (LCA) methods. With the increasing price of industrial raw materials and finite resources, more and more corporations or manufacturers endeavor in seeking more economical materials and less environmental impacts within the ship building field. In recent years, lightweight composite material has been applied in various industrial fields, for instance, green buildings, aircraft and wind turbine blade. In order to study impacts of steel superstructure and composite material superstructure of the ship, a detail study was conducted which using the comparative LCA method and SimaPro software. Two different superstructures are compared, steel superstructure and sandwich material superstructure. The results showed thatover the life cycle the environmental impacts of sandwich superstructure type are much less than for the steel superstructure. The main contribution of impacts over the life time is operation phase due to fuel consumption. When increasing the waste recycling section for composite structure, the influence on environment has an obvious decrease compared to steel superstructure.

This study assesses the relationship between planning and creative destruction in the village of Creemore, Ontario. The study has four objectives. The first is to describe the evolution of tourism in Creemore by tracking change in three variables: investment, visitor numbers and resident attitudes. Second, is to describe past and present tourism planning in the village. Third, is to assess Creemore’s position in the model of creative destruction, based on information presented in objectives one and two. The final objective is to provide recommendations for Creemore’s future based on information gained from the other objectives. To investigate the first objective, entrepreneurial investment was provided by secondary sources, including the Creemore Business Improvement Association (BIA). Visitor numbers were obtained from content analyses of copies of the local newspaper and from information provided by the Creemore Springs Brewery. Resident attitudes were gleaned from a survey completed by 126 residents of Creemore. To meet the second objective, a content analysis was completed on historic issues of the local newspaper and six key informant interviews were conducted. Based on the information provided from the first two objectives, it is concluded that Creemore is in the second stage of Mitchell’s (1998) model of creative destruction, Advanced Commodification. This conclusion is drawn since visitor numbers and investment levels are still low and resident attitudes are generally positive towards tourism. It is also concluded that tourism planning plays a large role in creative destruction, as it can speed up, or slow down, the process, depending on the types of planning that are implemented. Based on the findings of this study, it is recommended that a tourism plan be developed to help mitigate possible future negative impacts of tourism, and to ensure the village does not evolve any further along the path of creative destruction.

Rural areas across the developed world have encountered economic decline due to trends of industrialisation and urbanisation (Lane, 1994). The damaging effects of the declining economy have persuaded governments to recognize these problems and tourism has been presented as a catalyst to revitalize disadvantaged rural areas (Riberio & Marques, 2002). Tourism often represents a means of generating revenue and increasing employment opportunities. Today, the idea that tourism will save disadvantaged rural areas has grown into a widely agreed upon notion, which is reflected in a vast range of policy documents. This thesis has questioned whether the promise of rural tourism to contribute to local community development has surfaced as a result of over optimism. The purpose of this study was to determine if tourism is a viable tool for development in rural areas by stepping back and evaluating what is really happening in practice in rural areas. This study examined if, and to what extent, the reported benefits of rural tourism are realized on the ground at the local community level. However, there is little to be gained by examining the impacts of tourism without examining the processes which have contributed to the creation and growth of rural tourism. This research consisted of a close examination of the rural tourism development process and the impacts of its development in a rural village in the Czech Republic. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, household survey questionnaires, secondary data analysis and finally, participant observation. The analysis of the data revealed four main themes, which include: (1) the nature of tourism development, (2) the impacts of tourism, (3) the role of tourism, and (4) the future of tourism development. The findings of this research showed that residents held a favourable view towards tourism development and are supportive of future tourism development. Tourism is attributed to the many positive changes that have occurred in the village. Moreover, residents reported valuing the social contributions of tourism more than the economic contributions. It was revealed that there is an awareness future tourism planning and monitoring is needed, however, there is a distinct lack of organized tourism planning in the village. The study concluded that tourism’s promise of providing development potential to rural communities, as outlined, remains partially unfulfilled. Residents have a realistic grasp on the role of tourism in their village and as such, realize that tourism is currently not a viable development option for their village. This study demonstrates that it should not be assumed that rural economic development is a natural outcome of rural tourism.

Warming induced changes in Arctic vegetation have to date been studied through observational and experimental field studies, leaving significant uncertainty about the representativeness of selected field sites as well as how these field scale findings scale up to the entire pan-Arctic. The purposes of this thesis were therefore to 1) analyze remotely-sensed/modeled temperature, Normalized Difference Vegeta- tion Indices (NDVI) and plant Net Primary Productivity (NPP) to assess coarse- scale changes (1982–2006) in vegetation; and 2) compare field, remote sensing and model outputs to estimate limitations, challenges and disagreements between data formats. The following data sources were used: • Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer Polar Pathfinder Extended (APP- x, temperature & albedo) • Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS, Normalized Dif- ference Vegetation Index (NDVI) & Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) ) • Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper (Landsat ETM, NDVI) • Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies (GIMMS, NDVI) • Global Productivity Efficiency Model (GloPEM, Net Primary Productivity (NPP)) Over the pan-Arctic (1982-2007), increases in temperature, total annual NPP and maximum annual NDVI were observed. Increases in NDVI and NPP were found to be closely related to increases in temperature according to non-parametric Sen’ slope and Mann Kendall tau tests. Variations in phenology were largely non- significant but related to increases in growing season temperature. Snow melt onset and spring onset correspond closely. MODIS, Landsat and GIMMS NDVI data sets agree well, and MODIS EVI and NDVI are very similar for spring and summer at Fosheim Peninsula. GloPEM NPP and field estimates of NPP are poorly correlated, whereas GIMMS NDVI and GloPEM NPP are well correlated, indicating a need for better calibration of model NPP to field data. In summary, increases in pan-Arctic biological productivity indicators were ob- served, and were found to be closely related to recent circumpolar warming. How- ever, these changes appear to be focused in regions from which recent field studies have found significant ecological changes (Alaska), and coarse resolution remote sensing estimates of ecological changes have been less marked in other regions. Dis- crepancies between results from model, field data and remote sensing, as well as central questions remaining about the impact of increases in productivity on soil- vegetation-atmosphere feedbacks, indicate a clear need for continued research into warming induced changes in pan-Arctic vegetation.

Several factors inform health professionals decisions to migrate from developing to developed countries to practice their profession. This study explores the Push and Pull factors that informed African-trained physicians decisions to migrate to the province of Saskatchewan, how well they integrated into their new working environments upon arrival and how that might contribute to future migration and retention in Saskatchewan. Based on questionnaire surveys and face-to-face interviews, this study identified differences in the relative importance of precipitating factors for physicans from South, North and Other African nations. Although the majority of African-trained physicians for the study indicated that profession-related push factors were the precipitating factors for their migration, a smaller number did not cite these as important. Most respondents for the study integrated well into the health care system and have remained at their current location of practice because of the support they received from colleagues at their work places.

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) affects the environment in a variety of ways, including of human health, visibility impairment, acid deposition, and climate change. As of March, 2006, 47 counties are designated as non-attainment areas in terms of PM2.5 in the southeastern United States. State agencies with PM2.5 non-attainment counties must develop plans that demonstrate how they will achieve attainment status. State agencies also have to address emission sources of visibility impairment and develop strategies to improve visibility. It is essential to understand PM2.5 composition and sources in order to develop effective control strategies to reduce PM2.5. In this thesis, actual prescribed burning emissions were characterized for better estimation of their impacts on air quality. Chemical mass balance (CMB) modeling, a receptor-oriented source apportionment technique, was applied to understand regional characteristics of PM2.5 source impacts in the Southeast. Uncertainty issues in the CMB source apportionment results due to both poor spatial representativeness and measurement errors was addressed for better understanding and estimation of the uncertainties. Possible future research is recommended based on the findings in this thesis.

A framework is developed for the assessment of climate change impacts on water resources systems. The applied techniques include: quantifying global climate model (GCM) skill over a range of time scales; developing future climate scenarios based on GCM data that are found to skillfully represent the observed climate over an historical baseline period; and using the climate scenarios together with hydrologic and water resources models to make assessments of the potential impacts and implications of climate change on water resources systems. A statistical analysis of GCM skill in East Africa shows that temperature is well represented in the GCMs at monthly to annual time scales. Precipitation is found to be much less reliable in the models and shows skill in fewer seasons and nodes than temperature. Eight climate scenarios, stemming from three global climate models and two atmospheric emissions scenarios, project temperature increases between 2 and 5 ° Celsius by the year 2080. Precipitation projections vary widely across models as well as regionally. The scenarios project changes in precipitation from -38% to +42%. The climate change impact methodology is applied to the Nile River Basin. It is shown that, in spite of widely varying precipitation projections, the major sub-basins of the Nile River will experience decreases in watershed runoff under all eight climate scenarios. Detailed water resources models are employed to assess the system wide response to the climate-induced hydrologic changes. The assessments indicate that water supply deficits will emerge by 2030 and continue to grow in frequency and magnitude by 2080. Additional impacts include reservoir depletion and reduced hydropower generation. An assessment of the river system response to basin development projects, including additional water storage and wetlands water conservation, indicates that adverse climate impacts may be mitigated for 30 to 40 years. The assessments demonstrate the relevance of climate change considerations to water resources management and the development of water policy.