This diploma thesis deals with the contribution of snowboarding to the development of tourism in the Giant Mountains and possibilities of further development in this area. The theoretical part defines tourism and its importance, administrative division and characteristics of tourist region of the Giant Mountains, and describes history of snowboarding and its environmental aspects. This part then outlines positive effects of snowboarding on the development of tourism and offers description of related development projects implemented in this area. The practical part first offers a questionnaire survey evaluating the quality of ski resorts and services in the Giant Mountains. The results are presented in the form of graphs and verbal comments. Then, the cluster analysis is conducted. The analysis divides ski areas into clusters based on selected indicators. Subsequently, the previous findings are summarized within the SWOT analysis which offers the evaluation of ski resorts, finds their deficiencies and new opportunities for further development. The empirical part complements the theoretical part which is based on thematic literature review. The conclusions of the thesis contain the author's formulation of specific recommendations for further development of the tourism in the Giant Mountains.

Almost 15 years are carving ski on the market. They differ from ordinary skis by great side carve. Regardless the public still ski with the normal techniques and skiers are not able to enjoy the new dimension of skiing which is carving. The aim of my Diploma Thesis is to make a DVD with selected methods and techniques o ski carving. Clarify the differences between the old-school-skiing and the new modern style. By use of simple exercises gain the first feelings of ride on the edges and step by step improve it until the full control of each type of carving like for example Fun carving or the ride reminding the racers in the giant slalom.

Mountain tourism (fjällturism) dates all the way back to the late 1800s in places like Åredalen. This segment has varied in popularity over the years with low points during recessions and war times. The last few years mountain tourism has increased in popularity and a lot of ski-resorts are growing rapidly. These resorts usually have a big impact on the village they are situated within in both positive and negative ways, they have historically been driving development of the local community, sometimes to a fault.  As the climate is changing, ski-resorts are and will get more challenging winters that will shorten the season and in many cases cause ski-resorts to close. This will inevitably affect the villages in proximity to these resorts as many of the businesses are dependent on the tourists. This change will cause disadvantages for some locations while advantages for others. In the north the ski-resorts are in general less developed but  more resilient to climate changes which could provide them with an opportunity in the future. That is also the topic of research in this thesis project - could the ski-resort in Tärnaby, Sweden emerge as one of the last snow reliable ski-resorts in Sweden and therefore have a more positive projection for the future compared to other southernly located resorts like Åre and Sälen.  Because of Tärnabys history of being the home of many great skiers through history (Ingemar Stenmark, Anja Persson etc.) the resort has always been known as a resort for more experienced riders and this is an image that the resort wants to uphold. This is the architectural challenge for this thesis project, to develop a proposal that handles the complex site of the mountain and materializes the spirit and history of the resort into a building that houses the future needs for the resort.

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The rapid development of ski resorts has added to environmental problems. In these environments, snow deposition and its accompanying problems are a major element in architectural design and planning. The objectives of this research were to investigate the background of ski resort development and the problems encountered in their design, construction, and operation. The research undertaken found specific areas of systematic problem solution to be necessary, including the use of historical and indigenous building techniques, related modern technology, detailed site analysis, field testing, and wind tunnel testing. Observation of ski resorts in New England revealed that ice and snow accumulation are major problems and present hazards to pedestrians, vehicles, and structures. Field tests of flat, restricted area roofs were conducted at Snowshoe, West Virginia to discover the possible applications of ice expansion problems in test models. It was observed that expansion and contraction of ice on the roof resulted in structural damage. Wind tunnel testing was used to determine applications of drifting and migration patterns of snow. Buildings with larger surface areas exposed to the wind create more diffuse wind eddy patterns at ground level and less movement of simulated snow. Increased building size in the downwind direction created less movement. Vegetation was found to provide shelter for and inhibit snow drifting around models placed near it. / M. Arch.

SUMMARY: Title: The development of ski bindings after World War II Objectives: The objective of the work is to capture and describe the major events in the development of the downhill bindings that took place since the end of II. World War II to the present. Methodology: The work has a historical character using histographic methods supplemented by a content analysis of the document. In particular, the historical, chronological and direct method was used to supplement the content analysis of the document Conclusion: A summary of the data in chronological form enriches the theoretical background of skiing history. The work extends available information sources on topics that have not been elaborated in a comprehensive way. Keywords: Ski equipment, ski bindings, history of skiing

Το μονοπάτι του Transforming- Growth Factor beta είναι ένα από τα πιο πολύπλοκα και πιο καλά μελετημένα σε μια σειρά παθήσεων και έχει βρεθεί να δρα άλλοτε ως ογκοκατασταλτικό και άλλοτε ως προαγωγό της κακοήθους εξαλλαγής. Πρόσφατα έγινε η ανακάλυψη των υποστρωμάτων του, της οικογένειας των Smad πρωτεϊνών, που μεταφέρουν το σήμα στον πυρήνα του κυττάρου, με τη συμμετοχή πολλαπλών παραγόντων, συν –ενεργοποιητών ή συν – καταστολέων. Η Ski πρωτεΐνη έχει ταυτοποιηθεί τελευταία ως ένας σημαντικός συν-καταστολέας του εν λόγω μονοπατιού. Επιπλέον, ο καρκίνος του μαστού είναι ένας από τους πιο συχνούς καρκίνους στις γυναίκες και η ανακάλυψη καινούριων μορίων στόχων μοριακής θεραπείας αποτελεί μια μεγάλη πρόκληση, ιδίως σε ασθενείς με νόσο αρχικού σταδίου. Σκοπός της παρούσας διδακτορικής διατριβής ήταν η μελέτη της έκφρασης του υποδοχέα του TGF-β, των πρωτεϊνών Smad2/3, Smad4 και Ski σε καρκινώματα μαστού σταδίου Τ1 και Τ2 με απουσία λεμφαδενικών μεταστάσεων, και η συσχέτιση της έκφρασης τους με ποικίλες κλινικοεργαστηριακές παραμέτρους, κυριότερες των οποίων ήταν ο βαθμός κακοηθείας των όγκων, η έκφραση ορμονικών υποδοχέων, η εμφάνιση απομακρυσμένων μεταστάσεων καθώς και ο θάνατος των ασθενών. Υλικά και μέθοδος: Σε 146 δείγματα από πορογενή καρκινώματα μαστού (εκ των οποίων 21 in situ και 125 διηθητικά) μελετήθηκε με τη μέθοδο της ανοσοϊστοχημείας (έμμεση μέθοδος βιοτίνης- στρεπταβιδίνης) η έκφραση των προαναφερθέντων μορίων. Η εκτίμηση της ανοσοθετικότητας ήταν τόσο ποιοτική (θετικη – αρνητική), όσο και ποσοτική (αρνητική, μέτρια, έντονη) ανάλογα με το ποσοστό των θετικών νεοπλασματικών κυττάρων και την ένταση της χρώσης. Η στατιστική ανάλυση των αποτελεσμάτων έγινε με το στατιστικό πρόγραμμα SPSS 13 for windows. Αποτελέματα: Η έκφραση του υποδοχέα του TGF-β είχε στατιστικώς σημαντική, αντίστροφη συσχέτιση με το βαθμό κακοηθείας των όγκων, καθώς και με την εμφάνιση αιματογενών μεταστάσεων και θανάτου των ασθενών. Η έκφραση της Smad2/3 πρωτεΐνης αποδείχτηκε ανεξάρτητος προγνωστικός παράγοντας στα Grade I διηθητικά καρκινώματα και η Smad4 βρέθηκε να αποτελεί ισχυρό προγνωστικό παράγοντα στους ER (Estrogen Receptor) θετικούς όγκους. Η έκφραση της Smad2/3 και της Smad4 συσχετίστηκαν σημαντικά τόσο μεταξύ τους όσο και με την έκαραση του TGF-β υποδοχέα. Η έκφραση της πρωτεΐνης Ski συσχετίστηκε με το βαθμό κακοηθείας των όγκων, την παρουσία αιματογενών μεταστάσεων και αποδείχτηκε ανεξάρτητος προγνωστικός παράγοντας για την επιβίωση των ασθενών. Επίσης σημαντική ήταν η παρατήρηση της ενδοκυττάριας μετακίνησης της Ski από τον πυρήνα προς το κυτταρόπλασμα του κυττάρου, αυξανομένου του βαθμού κακοηθείας των όγκων και η στατιστικώς σημαντική συσχέτιση της παρουσίας κυτταροπλασματικής Ski ανοσοχρώσης και απώλειας έκφρασης της πρωτεΐνης Smad2/3. Συμπεράσματα: Οι Smad πρωτεΐνες αποδεικνύεται για άλλη μια φορά να αποτελούν τα ενδοκυττάρια υποστρώματα του TGF-β και φαίνεται να διαδραματίζουν ρόλο ογκοκατασταλτικών πρωτεϊνών στην εξέλιξη της νεοπλασίας του μαζικού αδένα, ενώ η Ski πρωτεϊνη δρα ως ένα ισχυρό ογκογονίδιο καταστέλλοντας τη δράση του TGF-beta μονοπατιού. Όλες οι μελετηθείσες πρωτεΐνες αποτελούν δυνητικά ενδιαφέροντες στόχους μελλοντικής μοριακής θεραπείας. / Transgorming Growth Factor beta signaling pathway is thoroughly studied in a series of diseases and this molecule has been proved to act either as an ancogene or as a tumor suppressor molecule in human carcinogenesis. Recently, the Smad proteins’ family has been identified as TGF-b’s intracellular substrates, which transfer the signal in the cell’s nucleus. A lot of molecules have also been found to act as co-repressors or co-activators in this procedure. Ski protein is one of the most well known Smad proteins’ co-repressors. On the other hand, breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in women, and the fi of new predictive factors, especially in the early stages of the disease is very alluring. The purpose of the present study was the investigation of the expression of TGF-β receptor, as well as the expression of Smad2/3 and Ski protein in T1, T2, -node negative breast cancer specimens and theirs potent correlation with several clinicopathological parameters The most important of these were tumor Grade, hormone receptors’ positivity as well as the patients’ outcome (blood – borne metastases or death of their disease). Materials and methods: 146 breast cancer specimens were used, among which 21 in situ and 125 invasive. The proteins’ expression was studied using immunohistochemistry (biotin – streptabidin indirect method). The evaluation of the immunopositivity was not only qualitative (negative versus positive) but also quantitative (negative, weakly positive and strongly positive) depending on the number of positive tumor cells and the staining’s intensity). The statistical analysis of the results was implemented using the SPSS13 for windows. Results: TGF-β receptor’s expression was inversely correlated with tumor Grade as well as with the presence of blood- borne metastases and patients’ death. The expression of Smad2/3 protein was proved to be an independent prognostic factor in Grade I invasive carcinomas while loss of Smad4 expression was strongly correlated with poor patients’ outcome in ER (Estrogen Receptor) –positive tumors. All three proteins’ positivity had statistically significant correlation with each other. Ski proteins’ expression was strongly correlated with tumors’ Grade, the presence of distant metastases and was also an independent prognostic factor for patients’ survival. An other important observation was the intracellular metatopisi of Ski’ s expression from the nucleus to the cytoplasm in high Grade tumors and the strong relationship between cytoplasmic Ski and loss of expression of Smad2/3. Conclusions: Smad proteins seem to be TGF-beta intracellular substrates and, according to our results, play a tumor suppressor role in mammary gland tumorigenesis. On the other hand, Ski protein acts as an oncogene in breast carcinogenesis procedure modulating the TGF-beta pathways’ effect. All the studied proteins are potent targets of a future molecular therapy.

Whistler Blackcomb Resort experiences the highest skier visits of any resort in North America and consequently demand at the ski school is high. Due to various factors, the daily number of lesson participants is highly variable and the best number of instructors to staff each day is correspondingly difficult to estimate. The consequences of scheduling incorrectly could lead to either overstaffing or understaffing. Overstaffing results in unnecessary costs; understaffing results in lost sales and customer dissatisfaction. A scheduling tool that can assist the Ski School in staffing decisions, therefore, is developed to minimize excess costs. Daily demand predictions are made using a forecasting model and a staffing policy is applied to it to obtain a recommended staffing level. The demand forecasting model is a regression model that takes into account pre-bookings, day of the week, holidays, and yesterday's demand. The staffing rules are determined through a Newsvendor-type model derived from a marginal cost analysis of the trade-off between overstaffing and understaffing applied to the daily demand forecasts. The project is intended to formalize a systematic approach to staffing for certain lesson types (pods) one day in advance. It will assist the Whistler Blackcomb Ski and Snowboard School, as a decision support tool, in the development of daily instructor schedules that rninimize any unnecessary costs.

Thesis (M.A.) in Communication--University of Maine, 2009. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves126-133).

This master's thesis analyzes the sports and ski resort Špičák. It examines not only the economic factors of the resort, but also describes its history, marketing activities and evaluates the SWOT and financial analysis. At the end there is a comparison with selected competitive resorts using a variety of tools such as Ski Cost Index or special categorization of ski resorts. The aim was primarily to evaluate the complex as a stand-alone unit and to make a comparison with its closest competitors.