Water scarcity in the west has created a long history of conflict. When Utah was settled, laws were instituted (both officially and otherwise) that allowed water users to use streams and springs in efficient ways without causing harm to other users. The Provo River Decree is a physical example of local water law that has been in place for almost a hundred years. While many changes have arisen in its area of jurisdiction, it is still drawn upon to determine water rights. Ambiguity, rigidity, and overall changes to use patterns have limited the application of the decree to present situations. The current application of the Provo River Decree is therefore insufficient within the context of prior appropriation to deal with the fluid and changing nature of water use in the area. Additional research should be done to determine whether the system of prior appropriation in Utah is flexible enough to allow for changing use and human-controlled watercourses. This research should include an economic analysis on the impacts of free water right exchange on relative benefit of water rights as well as an analysis of the past and present impacts of external agencies on water use.

The thesis "Concept of Privatization and Restructuring by the Treuhandanstalt, discourse about Mr. Rohwedder and Mrs. Breuel" deals with the creation of the Eastern German privatization agency (THA). Further, the two major tasks of the institute, privatization and reorganization of the national wealth of the GDR, are being analyzed. After the "Treuhandgesetz" (privatization law) had been enforced, the THA soon started to sell companies out of their portfolio. Other companies needed to be shut down and people started to lose their employment. This course of action was heavily criticized by the political opposition as well as the Eastern German people, who were longing for increased wealth. In consequence, the THA started to shift its focus from privatization to reorganization. The controversy surrounding the THA in the middle of the reunification process of Germany is shown by the assassination of Mr. Rohwedder by the terrorist organization RAF. The net financial outcome after four years of management by the THA is a deficit of 200 billion DM.

Water in porous rocks (e.g. sandstone) plays a fundamental role in their disintegration. However, the places where water enters the sandstone rocks are somewhat overlooked. At two sites in the Český ráj region, I use Karsten tube to measure capillary water absorption (CWA) of natural sandstone exposures and, using TDR (Time Domain Reflectometry) method, I study movement of water in a shallow zone of ruiniform sandstone landscape. The CWA differed up to four orders of magnitude at a distance of tens of meters, mostly depending on the type of the surface. The highest CWA was measured at highly weathered surfaces, the second most absorbent were less weathered surfaces covered with a biologically-initiated rock crust. The horizontal surfaces on the tops of the rock formations were even less absorbent, probably due to clogging by fine particles from soil. Surfaces covered with iron crust were the least absorbent. The differences between those surfaces are significant. After simulated infiltration, the maximum rate of the propagation of the wet front in the sandstone was from 5,5.10-6 do 1,9.10-4 m.s-1 measured by TDR. The water propagated at this rate only to a certain depth (the first tens of cm), but then the propagation stopped or slowed down rapidly. From a long-term measurement of volumetric...