The diploma thesis is focused on optimization of working processes in Witzenmann Opava by using Value Stream Map. The aim of the thesis is on a basis current status of value stram propose to suitable actions and draw them into new value stream map. The thesis is devided into three parts – theoretical, analytical and proposal part. In the first part of the thesis are compiled theoretical knowledge about lean management sphere, tools for elimination of wastings and theory about mapping value stream by using VSM. Analytical part is deal with characterictic of company Witzenmann Opava, its internal and external factors of developments and implementation of lean production. In this part there is also characteristic of choosed product. Proposal part is deal with value stream analysis of choosed product and specific actions to reduce wasting and getting production more effective with the help of lean production methods.

M.S.

M.S.

Growth rates, age-frequency distributions, and mortality rates of six mussel species were examined at four sites in the Clinch River, Virginia and Tennessee, to identify potentially impacted sites in the upper river. The bioaccumulation of copper in mussel shells also was examined as a possible contributing factor to the declining mussel fauna. Higher growth rates observed at Hackneys site, river kilometer (RK) 433.7, may have been due to the discharge of domestic sewage from the town of Cleveland into the Clinch River. However, a sewage treatment facility was constructed in 1986 which removed the source of enrichment. Growth rates of female Lampsilis fasciola were significantly less than growth rates of male L. fasciola after 3 years of age, probably due to the onset of sexual maturity. Age-class distributions revealed an absence of recruited juveniles at the Slant site (RK 359.3) after 1977 to 1979 for four mussel species examined. Substantial erosion of stream banks in tributaries of the Clinch River and deposition of sediment in the Clinch River were observed at Slant, indicating a potential cause of decline. Mean annual mortality rates of adult mussels were extraordinarily high for all species at all sites, which confirms the overall decline of freshwater mussels in the upper Clinch River. There were no statistically significant differences in accumulation of copper in shells of L. fasciola among sites or sexes. Although Appalachian Power Company’s Clinch River Plant (CRP) had a history of high copper levels in the effluent discharge, it is apparently not the cause of reduced recruitment at the Slant site, located 72 km downstream. As indicated by this research, water quality or habitat conditions of the upper Clinch River continue to be insufficient to sustain freshwater mussels. The CRP has improved the effluent discharge to contain less than 12 μg Cu/L, which should improve conditions directly downstream; however, erosion of stream banks, sewage treatment facilities, and agricultural and urban runoff, continue to contribute to the demise of a rich freshwater mussel fauna. / Master of Science

I studied wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) movements and range use in response to roads and vehicular road use on the George Washington National Forest, Virginia. Radio-equipped wild turkeys used areas within 150 m of state roads less than expected and areas > 450m from ail roads greater than expected. Turkeys were observed to cross state roads only in locations where the roads were bordered by woods or fields less than 80 m wide. Seasonal habitat preferences, rather than vehicular road use levels, seemed to dictate turkey use of the area surrounding Forest Service roads. Revegetated Forest Service roads were preferred habitat in the spring and summer. Turkey mortality was not closely related to road type or road use levels. / Master of Science

This study was undertaken to determine the influence or seasonality on marketings, farm price and cash production cost of broilers in the 10-County Shenandoah Valley Area, The association between the seasonal pattern of broiler marketings and the seasonal variation in broiler prices and the relationship of seasonal variations in cash production cost to the seasonal movement of broiler marketings were also determined. Weekly, rather than monthly data were used in the construction of various seasonal indexes. / Master of Science

Thesis (M. Div.)--Emmanuel School of Religion, Johnson City, Tennessee, 1997. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 80-84).

Economists take an interest in property rights structures because of their importance in the definition of incentive structures. Fisheries have been analyzed as open access resources because they are not often organized around private property rights. The lack of private property rights though should not be taken to imply unlimited access. There is a need to differentiate between situations in which an institutional structure supports a system of common property rights from those in which access to a resources is truly limited. In this study, a conceptual framework of the structure and workings of property rights to natural resources is developed. This includes a taxonomy of possible property rights structures that differentiates among types and degrees of common and private property. The study then compares and contrasts the differing views in the economics literature on the process by which property rights evolve. This conceptual framework is used to develop a set of research questions that will structure the inquiry about the evolution of property rights to a specific natural resource, the Chesapeake Bay oyster grounds. The conventional and Institutionalist perspectives are related to fishery management policy and their differences assessed. The Institutionalist perspective is shown to raise questions about the historical development of property rights that would not be considered by conventional economists. The resulting research questions are used to explain the economic history of the property rights to the Chesapeake Bay oyster grounds from 1607 to 1986. In Maryland and Virginia certain grounds of the Chesapeake Bay are reserved as a public oyster fishery, but, they have been regulated and managed by the states. In the history of the fishery, those who harvest from the public grounds have continually resisted the extension, or even encouragement of oyster cultivation on private leaseholds. The primary advocates of greater privatization of the bottoms have been economists and biologists. The governments of each state have chosen to maintain the commons in order to provide employment for watermen and to more widely distribute income among them. The results of a survey of Virginia's oyster harvesters are presented. These provide further insights for discussing the role of the watermen in the evolution of property rights, and help to form conclusions on the future of the fishery. This case study leads to the discussion of conclusions on the theory of the economics of property rights. / Ph. D.

This study arose as a result of a number of years spent in the southwestern portion of Virginia working with the people of this mountainous region, teaching their children, and observing their way of life. This experience made it seem desirable to study the factors which tend to favor, as well as those which retard progress toward desirable and worthwhile goals or life; if possible, to point to ways in which such progress might be promoted in this area, especially among rural populations. Thus three counties, Dickenson, Russell, and Wise, were chosen for intensive study, on the hypothesis that they were representative of the counties in the southern tip of Virginia and to some degree, of the entire Appalachian mountain range. / M.S.

In the United States, political and social attention to child health care remains insufficient, as it has for decades, especially that which serves the needs of low-income families. In response to this widespread negligence, many communities around the country have developed innovative programs to meet the needs of disadvantaged infants and children. That need for coordinated health services exists among poor children in the Roanoke Valley. The local solution has developed since 1988 as the Children's Health Investment Project (CHIP). This thesis explores, from a geographic perspective, how the relationship between enrolled families and their providers affects attitudes and perceptions toward health care services made available through CHIP. Also, the implications of the current spatial distribution of CHIP participants are examined for geographic relevance. / M.S.