The Lake Minnewanka area is one of Banff National Park's most scenic and highly visited regions. Impacts such as the loss of significant montane habitat (characteristic of the Lower Bow Valley ecosystem) and social implications like crowding led to the need to develop a strategy for managing the area. The author worked with a planning team from the Canadian Parks Service(CPS) in Banff National Park (BNP) to develop the Minnewanka Area Plan. The primary purpose of the thesis is to evaluate the Minnewanka Area Plan to determine whether it effectively serves to maintain and enhance ecological integrity. A theoretical framework based on integrated ecosystem management was developed to evaluate the plan. Normative criteria from literature on recreational carrying capacity management and meaningful public participation were defined and applied to the plan. Overall, the plan was rated as successful according to the normative criteria. All of the criteria for an effective approach to carrying capacity management were considered and the plan reflected a fair and efficient public participation process. Stakeholder input influenced plan decisions to a high degree and several partnerships were developed through the planning process. Several inadequacies in the plan were identified through the evaluation. The adoption of an approach to ecosystem management called the Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC) was recommended as a guiding principle within the plan. The step-by-step LAC model was seen as overly complex in the context of the case study. Indicators and a monitoring program which are central to the LAC process were not defined as part of the plan. The evaluation of the public participation process indicated that stakeholder participation was high early in the planning process and reflected a partnership relationship where stakeholders shared the power of decision-making. During completion of the draft and final plan, the process became one of public consultation where the level and frequency of participation was lowered. Recommendations for improving the efficacy of the Minnewanka Area Plan are made within the thesis. A simpler approach to visitor and resource management which maintains the essential criteria of the LAC approach is suggested. Measures for maintaining a high level of public participation and improving the accountability of the CPS in decision-making are proposed. The normative criteria based on carrying capacity management and meaningful public participation processes are presented as a model for facilitating integrated ecosystem management in area planning within national parks. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

The provincial parks of British Columbia have endured varying degress of resource exploitation since the creation of the first provincial park in B.C., Strathcona Park in 1911. B.C. Parks, the government agency which manages B.C.'s parks, administers the Park Act (R.S.B.C. 1979 C.309) and derives its dual goals for recreation and conservation from the Act. In addition to the Park Act, there are several levels of policy for B.C. Parks which guide decisions regarding resource use in parks, including "Striking the Balance - B.C. Parks Policy Statement," occasional policy statements in News Releases, and some conditions in resource use permits. This thesis examines the levels of policy which guide decisions regarding mining in parks in British Columbia and the consistency of the commitment to the goals of B.C. Parks through the policy levels. The approach to policy analysis taken is that a policy is both an output of the level above, and an input to the level below. Three criteria are derived from the definitions of policy in the literature. They are that policy should be clear and a guide to decision-making, that it should be forward-looking, and that it should be enforceable. The fourth criterion says that the goals of B.C. Parks stated in the Park Act should be traceable through the policy levels. Since 1973, there have been five policies regarding mining in B.C.'s parks which stand out as significantly altering the commitment of B.C. Parks to its goals. In two of these policies the recreation and conservation goals of B.C. Parks are apparent, while the goals are not apparent in three of the policies. Foreseeable decisions for mining in parks are examined, and the ability of the present policies to guide the decisions is tested. B.C. Parks retains little decision-making authority with respect to mining in parks. On a mineral claim in a recreation area, the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources has jurisdiction. Off a mineral claim in a recreation area, B.C. Parks has limited authority over mining activities. The fundamental decisions which rests with B.C. Parks is whether or not the recreational values of the area are sufficiently impaired by mining to delete it from the park system. Surprises can occur when the results are different from what was expected, either because the cause is different, the behaviours are not what was anticipated, or an action produces the opposite result from what was intended (Holling 1986: p.294). Several surprises with regard to mining in Parks are imagined and the challenge to the goals of B.C. Parks through the policy levels is examined. A strong commitment to the goals at the upper levels of parks policy, and reflected through the levels is proposed to ensure that B.C.'s parks survive challenges from mining and from other sources. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

The diploma thesis deals with problems of provisions. Its substantial part is devoted to obvious provisions. First of all, there is metioned a general determination of provisions and some of Generally accepted accounting principles, which have the largest influence on formation of provisions. The thesis describes provisions according to International Financial Reporting Standards and according to the Czech legislation. Consequently, the thesis compares czech approach to provisions with IFRS's approach. With regard to upcoming amendments of provision in IFRS the part of thesis reports essential proposed changes. The end of the thesis is devoted to buried reserves. There is mentioned life cycle, meaning and examples of buried reserves.

The study objective was to inventory natural resources, use patterns, and visitor characteristics in Yoho Valley, Yoho National Park, British Columbia, and to offer some management considerations for the area. In the natural resource inventory, research emphasis was placed on a soil and landform survey which resulted in a soils map of Yoho Valley. Soil map units are discussed in detail, and interpretations are developed on the suitability of soil types to support trail and campground users. Soil map unit descriptions include information on soil parent material, horizonation, depth, texture, coarse fragments, drainage, slope, elevation range, and associated vegetation. The soils of Yoho Valley were divided, into 13 soil map units consisting of 6 different landforms and 5 separate soil orders. Humo-Ferric. Podzols occurred in the Engelmann spruce - subalpine fir forest zone oh morainal landform material. Degraded Eutric Brunisols were found on relatively stable colluvial material and glacio-fluvial deposits in the same forest zone. Alpine Eutric Brunisols occurred on both till and colluvium in the alpine zone above 7200 feet elevation. Cumulic and Orthic Regosols occurred on both steep colluvium and.on relatively flat fluvial deposits. Small amounts of Organics and Gleysolics were also found in the study area. Steep slopes were found to be the major soil limitation for both trails and campgrounds; over 90% of the study area occurs on greater than 30% slopes, and nearly 60% of the valley is on greater than 60% slopes. Information related to the climate, geology, flora, and fauna of the study area was examined as background. Photographs were systematically taken along trails to document visual conditions of trail sides. A visitor survey was undertaken to assess the amounts and distribution of road, campground, and backcountry use. Traffic counter recording devices were installed on the Yoho Valley road and calibrated to determine visitor-days of road use. The Takakkaw Falls campground in Yoho Valley was visited each day in 1972 to determine camper-nights of use. Rates of registration were calculated for the trail kiosk for backcountry use estimates. Use data were compared, over time to determine growth trends. It was estimated that approximately 71,300 visitors entered Yoho Valley by road in 1974. Approximately 79% of the visitors were day users, while 21% were overnight users. Road use increased at the average annual rate of 10% since 1969. Campground use in 1974 was 6,075 campers % use increased 20 to 25% per year from 1968 to 1972 until use restriction measures were implemented in 1973. An estimated 8,40.0 visitors hiked in the valley's backcountry in 1974. Approximately 74% of these visitors were day hikers. Backcountry use has increased at the average rate of 20% per year since 1965. A road and backcountry survey of visitor characteristics was conducted in 1972 by employing on-site personal interviews. Two hundred parties were interviewed on the Yoho Valley road and 193 parties were sampled on backcountry trails. The survey questionnaire provided information on the demographic characteristics, trip characteristics, preferences and opinions of the study area , users. The results are discussed and compared with other related research. Yoho Valley users were found to have disproportionately more income and more formal education than the Canadian population. Users were also more likely to have a 'professional' occupation and to reside in a large city. Backcountry users, relative to road users, were more likely to be male, to be between 10 to 39 years old, to have less income, to have more education, to be a 'professional', to be from a large city, and to be Canadian and Albertan. The median distance traveled by road users from their place of residence was 2000 miles, while it was half that or 1000 miles for back-country users. Most road users spent less than two hours in the study area, while hikers usually spent between five to twelve hours in the area. Questions related to visitor preference indicated a fairly high level of satisfaction by both visitor groups. Over two-thirds of the valley's road users and nearly one-half of the backcountry users said there was 'nothing at all' that they disliked about their visit. Most visitors actually preferred the valley's present gravel road to a paved road. Seventy-five percent of the valley's road users and 89% of the backcountry users opposed the idea of paving the Yoho Valley road. Most visitors were concerned that paving the road would lead to overcrowding and overdevelopment in the study area. Although several possible backcountry modifications were shown on the questionnaire form to hikers, all were rejected by most backcountry users. Changes that received the most support related to the hikers need for more and better backcountry information This background resource and visitor inventory is examined with respect to campground and trail facility proposals made by Parks Canada in 1972. The intent is to show how the resource and visitor inventories can assist in the evaluation of park planning proposals. It is hoped that the inventory information presented will be useful to park managers and planners in a general way, and specifically in the formulation of land use decisions for Yoho Valley. / Forestry, Faculty of / Graduate

M.Ing. (Engineering Management) / In January 2008, South Africa experienced a power crisis which changed how South Africa viewed its primary energy sector. South Africa largely depends on coal to generate 77% of the country’s energy needs. Eskom is the main electricity producer and the largest in Africa. Coal is the third largest exporter earner after gold and platinum and the second largest contributor to the South African export market after platinum (Falcon and Prevost, 2012). This highlights the importance of coal to the South African energy sector and economy. According to Geologist Chris Hartnady, the estimated coal production peak is in 2020, a period where most Eskom power station and mines would reach their lifespan (Davie, 2010). There are increased concerns about the quality of coal supplied to Eskom and the preference of coal producers to export coal to international markets. This could possibly compromise the supply of domestic coal. Historically, Eskom was supplied with lower grade coal and higher grade coal was exported. The increased demand for lower quality coal in the Asian markets has been an aggravating factor for the South African government to secure the security of coal supply to Eskom (Sapa, 2012). In March 2013, the South African government declared coal a strategic resource. This implies that the State has the right to regulate and restrict the export of coal to international markets. The available research conducted, by consulting economic firms such as the mineral advisory firm XMP consultants; suggest that the declaration of coal as a strategic resource will impact negatively on the South African economy in some ways and also influence investment attraction into the country (Booyens, 2013). This research seeks to analyse the consequences of declaring coal a strategic resource in South Africa. The enormities in the research subject title, “An analysis of the consequences of declaring coal a strategic resource in South Africa”, makes it extremely difficult to cover all aspects involved in a minor dissertation and to substantially quantify the results in monetary terms due to the facet of dynamic factors involved...

The subject matter of this master thesis is the introduction to the claims reserving methodology applied in the general insurance with the focus on the agragated data represented in the form of triangle schemes. First the basic deterministic methods are to be presented including the Chain ladder method as the most known and widely used tool in claims reserving. Next we will concentrate on the stochastic approaches. The method of bootstrapping is to be described more in detail as it is the main topic of this thesis. Finally the accuracy of the prediction of several specific models and algorithms is to be examined with the goal of their overall comparison (using randomly generated input data).

The thesis is focuses on the principle of prudence. Describes in detail the tax and accounting point of view of its instruments. The first chapter is devoted to generally accepted accounting principles and their description. Other chapters have directly target specific tools. At the end of each chapter, which is devoted to the tools of the precautionary principle, are indicative examples.

This thesis is devoted to the financial analysis of insurance company Slavia in 2008 - 2011. At first it deals with general financial analysis used for non-financial companies. After that it mentions differences in the management of insurance companies from other companies and characterizes the field of insurance industry and risks, which carries insurance company. The thesis also uses the methodology applied for the insurance industry by agency Standard & Poor's. After a short introduction of insurance company it takes a turn the analysis of the development of the Czech insurance market at non-life insurance field. Finally, it comes itself application of the methodology of financial analysis adjusted for specifics in insurance industry.

This master thesis examines mutual relations between components of the balance of payments and the foreign exchange rate. The first part briefly describes the structure of the balance of payments and the theory of the foreign exchange rate as a macro-economical variable, which can be seen in many different systems. The next part brings the characteristics of historic and recent economic conditions and challenges of four selected countries: Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC). In the empirical part, relations between components of the balance of payments and the development of the exchange rate are analyzed by methods of the linear regression. The time-series consisted of annual data for a period of fifteen to seventeen years.

This thesis is concerned with the options of the choice of the appropriate way for citizens to save or invest their financial means in order to prepare for the era of the postproductive age -- retirement. It is obvious that a significant drop of income occurs after the end of the productive period of life. The pensions are not sufficient for maintaining a certain level of living and that is why it is important to prepare for this postproductive period in advance and to create financial reserves. The current financial market offers the citizens a variety of means and options to not only appropriately save their financial means but to take interest from them as well. The thesis characterizes individual saving or investment products while focusing on their safety, the possibility of interest and basic advantages and disadvantages. Life insurance is mentioned in the first place, though it does not offer a high profit, it provides insurance security unlike other possibilities and it definitely should not be overlooked. The thesis also briefly deals with several changes concerning the pensions system since 1.1.2013.