Population surveys indicate a declining trend in abundance for the scoter genus at the continental level. Little is known about changes in life history traits responsible for the recent population decline of white-winged scoters (<i>Melanitta fusca deglandi</i>, hereafter scoters). Therefore, I studied nesting and duckling ecology of scoters at Redberry Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada during summers 2000-2001 when I found 198 nests. To examine nest-site selection, I compared habitat features between successful nests, failed nests, and random sites. Discriminant function analysis differentiated habitat features, measured at hatch, between successful nests, failed nests, and random sites; lateral (r = 0.65) and overhead (r = 0.35) concealment were microhabitat variables most correlated with canonical discriminant functions. I also modeled daily survival rate (DSR) of nests as a function of year, linear and quadratic trends with nest age, nest initiation date, and seven microhabitat variables. Nest survival from a time constant model (i.e., Mayfield nest success estimate) was 0.35 (95% CL: 0.27, 0.43). Estimates of nest success were lower than those measured at Redberry Lake in the 1970s and 1980s. In addition to nest survival increasing throughout the laying period and stabilizing during incubation, nest survival showed positive relationships with nest concealment and distance to water, and a negative relationship with distance to edge. Considering these factors, a model-averaged estimate of nest survival was 0.24 (95% CL: 0.09, 0.42). I conclude that scoters selected nesting habitat adaptively because (1) successful sites were more concealed than failed sites, (2) nest sites (i.e., successful and failed) had higher concealment than random sites, and (3) nest sites were on islands where success is greater than mainland. I then estimated duckling and brood survival with Cormack-Jolly-Seber models, implemented in Program Mark, from observations of 94 and 664 individually marked adult hens and ducklings, respectively. I tested hypotheses about duckling survival and (1) hatch date, (2) initial brood size at hatch, (3) duckling size and body condition at hatch, (4) offspring sex, (5) maternal female size and body condition at hatch, and (6) weather conditions within one week of hatching. Most mortality occurred during the first six days of duckling age. Variation in both duckling and brood survival were best modeled with effects of hatch date and initial brood size, while effects of female condition, female size, duckling size, and duckling condition were inconsistent. Survival probability clearly decreased with advancing hatch date and increased with larger initial brood sizes. Effects of weather and offspring sex in 2001, the only year such information was collected, suggested survival was negatively related to poor weather, but sex of ducklings, beyond size-related differences (i.e., sexual-size dimorphism), was unimportant. Estimates of survival to 28 days of age (30-day period), whether for ducklings (0.016, 0.021) or broods (0.084, 0.138) in 2000 or 2001, respectively, are the lowest of published studies and first for scoter broods in North America. I suspect intense gull predation shortly after hatch had the largest influence on duckling survival. Further research is needed to ascertain if low nesting success and duckling survival as well as other life cycle components are limiting scoter populations locally and throughout the rest of their breeding range.

Population surveys indicate a declining trend in abundance for the scoter genus at the continental level. Little is known about changes in life history traits responsible for the recent population decline of white-winged scoters (<i>Melanitta fusca deglandi</i>, hereafter scoters). Therefore, I studied nesting and duckling ecology of scoters at Redberry Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada during summers 2000-2001 when I found 198 nests. To examine nest-site selection, I compared habitat features between successful nests, failed nests, and random sites. Discriminant function analysis differentiated habitat features, measured at hatch, between successful nests, failed nests, and random sites; lateral (r = 0.65) and overhead (r = 0.35) concealment were microhabitat variables most correlated with canonical discriminant functions. I also modeled daily survival rate (DSR) of nests as a function of year, linear and quadratic trends with nest age, nest initiation date, and seven microhabitat variables. Nest survival from a time constant model (i.e., Mayfield nest success estimate) was 0.35 (95% CL: 0.27, 0.43). Estimates of nest success were lower than those measured at Redberry Lake in the 1970s and 1980s. In addition to nest survival increasing throughout the laying period and stabilizing during incubation, nest survival showed positive relationships with nest concealment and distance to water, and a negative relationship with distance to edge. Considering these factors, a model-averaged estimate of nest survival was 0.24 (95% CL: 0.09, 0.42). I conclude that scoters selected nesting habitat adaptively because (1) successful sites were more concealed than failed sites, (2) nest sites (i.e., successful and failed) had higher concealment than random sites, and (3) nest sites were on islands where success is greater than mainland. I then estimated duckling and brood survival with Cormack-Jolly-Seber models, implemented in Program Mark, from observations of 94 and 664 individually marked adult hens and ducklings, respectively. I tested hypotheses about duckling survival and (1) hatch date, (2) initial brood size at hatch, (3) duckling size and body condition at hatch, (4) offspring sex, (5) maternal female size and body condition at hatch, and (6) weather conditions within one week of hatching. Most mortality occurred during the first six days of duckling age. Variation in both duckling and brood survival were best modeled with effects of hatch date and initial brood size, while effects of female condition, female size, duckling size, and duckling condition were inconsistent. Survival probability clearly decreased with advancing hatch date and increased with larger initial brood sizes. Effects of weather and offspring sex in 2001, the only year such information was collected, suggested survival was negatively related to poor weather, but sex of ducklings, beyond size-related differences (i.e., sexual-size dimorphism), was unimportant. Estimates of survival to 28 days of age (30-day period), whether for ducklings (0.016, 0.021) or broods (0.084, 0.138) in 2000 or 2001, respectively, are the lowest of published studies and first for scoter broods in North America. I suspect intense gull predation shortly after hatch had the largest influence on duckling survival. Further research is needed to ascertain if low nesting success and duckling survival as well as other life cycle components are limiting scoter populations locally and throughout the rest of their breeding range.

The eXtensible Markup Language (XML) has become the standard format for data exchange on the Internet, providing interoperability between different business applications. Such wide use results in large volumes of heterogeneous XML data, i.e., XML documents conforming to different schemas. Although schemas are important in many business applications, they are often missing in XML documents. In this thesis, we present a suite of algorithms that are effective in extracting schema information from a large collection of XML documents. We propose using the cost of NFA simulation to compute the Minimum Length Description to rank the inferred schema. We also studied using frequencies of the sample inputs to improve the precision of the schema extraction. Furthermore, we propose an evaluation framework to quantify the quality of the extracted schema. Experimental studies are conducted on various data sets to demonstrate the efficiency and efficacy of our approach.

Developing appropriate management plans for species at risk requires information about their population structure and abundance. For most cetacean populations, few reliable population estimates are available and even fewer distributions have been mapped. Accurate abundance estimates can be determined from capture-recapture data if assumptions are met, however this can be difficult when the animal in question demonstrates both strong site fidelity and large-scale migrations, and different models can result in dramatically different results. I explored these issues by examining a 15-year dataset (1992-2006) of photo-identifications of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in British Columbia (BC), Canada. I used multiple capture-recapture models to compare how the definition of population and variation in effort affected estimates of population size, and I explored means to correct for these biases. I also considered stock structure by examining individual breeding ground destinations, movement, and localized site-fidelity within BC. Across the six models considered, the BC humpback whale abundance in 2006 ranged between 1,428 and 3,856 individuals. The Lincoln-Petersen estimate (1,428-1,892) likely best described the number of humpback whales in BC during summer 2006. The effort-standardized Jolly-Seber model (1,970-2,331) is more representative of the larger population of humpback whales that uses or passes through BC over multiple years. Ultimately, selecting the best estimation model requires defining the ‘population’ of interest and accounting for spatial and temporal distribution of sampling effort. British Columbia provides feeding habitat and a potential migratory corridor for whales that breed in the northeastern Pacific Ocean. Forty-four percent of the 1,986 humpback whales considered were sighted in BC in more than one year. Identifications were highest from May to October, with a peak in September, but humpback whales were present in BC in all months of the year. Whales showed strong site fidelity with a median re-sighting distance of 75 km between years, and a maximum re-sighting distance that ranged from 0.41 km to 842 km. Matching rate within BC decreased as a function of north-south distance, though no clear north-south boundary could be established. Stock structure of humpback whales in British Columbia is complex and should be considered in managing this population.

AURAL REGENERATION by MYRNA LEE PRONCHUK Under the Direction of Craig Dongoski ABSTRACT The aim of this thesis is to survey the abstraction of the human experience obscuring the confines between form and expression, sound and visual, experience and imitation. In establishing multiple levels of communication, I began with gathering discarded found objects, which I repurposed through building hybrid musical sculptures. The act of mark making mapped out systems and direction, and escalated into a form of hybrid musical notation. Both forms of hybrids informed each other in its development process. When the hybrid instruments and notation were placed in an environment together with the elements of Digital Signal Processing (DSP), it created a natural progression for performance. The objects required interaction: to be hit, tapped, bowed and plucked, with their sounds processed through DSP, and projected back into the audience, who participated in creating interactivity. In producing mechanical musical instruments, along with mark making, installation and experimental sound recordings, a platform is established allowing for a dialogue between audio and visual elements, and human experience.

Understanding what influences movement patterns in animals is important to the understanding of colonization, range expansion, and sourcesink dynamics. Rosss geese (Chen rossii) have been expanding their nesting range eastward, and, as recently as 1994, have been nesting in large numbers in such newly colonized areas. I sampled nests at the McConnell River Migratory Bird Sanctuary (MCR), the largest known Rosss goose nesting colony outside the Queen Maud Gulf Migratory Bird Sanctuary (QMG) to estimate its nesting population size. To understand whether immigration by Rosss geese to a new colony located outside traditional nesting areas has an adaptive basis, I compared nutritional, nesting, and survival metrics between geese nesting at the MCR and those nesting at Karrak Lake (KAR) in QMG. I hypothesized that because of longer nesting season, Rosss geese at MCR would have more fat and protein reserves, larger clutch sizes, and greater nest success than those at KAR. Additionally, I hypothesized that population change at MCR was due largely to in situ recruitment. To better understand factors motivating dispersal, movement by Rosss geese between nesting attempts at MCR was measured between years. I hypothesized that dispersal distance of nesting females between years t, and t+1 was a function of both a females own reproductive success as well as that of her neighbours.<p> In 1997 over 23,000 Rosss geese were counted at MCR. By 2007, population estimates (± SE) had increased to 81,408 (±12,367). Survival of both juvenile and adult geese marked at MCR was similar to those nesting at KAR; however, recovery rate estimates were greater than those for KAR. On average, Rosss geese arrived and initiated nests at MCR seven days earlier than at KAR. Abdominal fat was lower when nest initiation date was later in both areas, but was generally greater in geese nesting at MCR. Similarly, there was more indexed protein in geese at MCR than those at KAR in 2 of 3 years. Nesting indices such as clutch size and nest success did not show a consistent area effect, which interacted with a year effect.<p> Rosss geese at MCR did not appear to use individual or conspecific reproductive success when deciding if or how far to disperse between years, and temporary emigration rates also did not vary based on reproductive success the previous year. Instead, variables other than prior individual or neighbour nest success influenced Rosss goose nest site selection and colony fidelity. The number of Rosss geese nesting at MCR increased at an average rate of 11.4% per year from 20032007, despite no increase (0%) from 2006 to 2007. Vital rate information gathered during this time suggests that immigration may have contributed to this growth; however, with few assumptions it can be concluded that MCR is a sustainable population. As a result, studies of geese breeding at MCR provide evidence that arctic geese are capable of successfully colonizing nesting areas great distances beyond historic range.

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The Green factory mark system validated by the Ministry of Economic Affairs will be officially launched in 2012. The assessment of green plants covers not only in the prohibition of harmful substances during the manufacturing process, reduction of unnecessary waste and promotion of environmental protection policies, but also extends to the whole supply chain from raw materials, parts suppliers to proceed with the environmental protection policies, and ultimately helps to achieve the objective of the green supply chain. However, there are no related laws to require part suppliers to adhere to green production plant objective currently in car industry. This study focuses on how customers affect and influence suppliers¡¦ environmental commitment based on its own environmental strategies and environmental performance requirements. The study is mainly from the constructs of customer¡¦s environmental strategy and customer¡¦s environmental performance requirements which includes moderators of contract, evaluation, and encouragement to investgae the relationship with suppliers environmental commitment. The study takes 246 suppliers of Honda Taiwan Motor Co., Ltd as sampling and utilizes Likert five-level scaling method from 1 to 5, from ¡uStrongly disagree¡v¡B¡uDisagree¡v¡B¡uNeither agree nor disagree¡v¡B¡uAgree¡v¡B¡uStrongly agree¡vto confirm hypothesises of the study. According to the results of this study, the predictive factors for improving suppliers¡¦s environmental commitment are customer environmental performance requirements; customer environmental strategy and contract in order. The statistical results are significant. In other words, suppliers will raise its environmental commitment according to its major customers¡¦ environmental performance requirements and environmental strategies. Suppliers also agree that contract restrictions signed with major customers would enhance and raise its environmental commitment. The study takes Honda Taiwan Motor Co., Ltd. as an example trying to see how to raise suppliers¡¦ environmental commitment without any laws reinforcement and expects to set the standard for other companies in Taiwan.

Though recycled toilet paper (RTP) is more environmental friendly than toilet paper made of virgin fiber, they are also more expensive. The price difference has made manufacturers hesitate about marketing RTP in shops, because they assume that consumers are reluctant to buy it. However, no research has been done in Taiwan to explore consumers¡¦ willingness to pay (WTP) for RTP. This study is an attempt to do so by the use of two methods: contingent evaluation method (CVM) and conjoint analysis. Both methods were administered through a survey, which had a convenience sample of 192 female Kaohsiung citizens as respondents. Results based on CVM showed that the mean WTP for RTP was NT 151, which was a little higher than the price set by Homemaker¡¦s Union and Foundation¡Xan NGO which was the main channel selling RTP to the domestic sector in Taiwan. This suggests that manufacturers might have underestimated the market for RTP. To check the validities of the CVM and conjoint method, two criteria were measured: the respondents¡¦ past environmental behavior (PEB) and their willingness to make sacrifice for environmental causes (WTP3). The WTP as estimated by CVM, namely WTP1, was significantly related to both of these criteria (rs = .16, .32, ps < .05), showing that the CVM had a certain degree of validity. The importance that respondents attached to the eco-label of RTP was assessed by conjoint analysis. Validity of the importance scores thus obtained, however, was quite low: the correlation between these scores and WTP1, PEB and WTP3 were .05, .12 and .20 respectively, with only the last one significant. Results also suggest that environmental knowledge and health and safety concerns for products were not related to WTP1. Keywords: green consumption, contingent valuation method, conjoint analysis, environmental behavior, eco-label, green mark.

<p>Article 15(1) of the Community Trade Mark Regulation states that the Community Trade Mark holder has to put the mark into genuine use in the Community within five years from registration. Even though the regulation does not deal with the extent of use necessary, the Joint Statements uphold that genuine use within one country is enough. However, recent case law from national offices have ruled in the opposite direction, resulting in legal uncertainty concerning how much use that is needed. The courts claimed that use within merely one Member State is not use in a substantial part of the Community and therefore not genuine.This paper shows that it is not satisfactory to define genuine use in the Community by way of analogy to the term substantial part of the territory. The latter derives from the test of reputation concerning a different case entirely. Instead, most indicators point towards a market-oriented approach where national frontiers do not matter. Focus should be on the extent of use being made compared to the market concerned in the entire EU. A case-by-case assessment is required, where all relevant circumstances are taken into consideration.</p>