The purpose of this research was to assess the potential impact of climate change on the western Newfoundland tourism industry. Western Newfoundland was chosen as it has a variety of recreational activities that attract tourists. To this end, a mixed methods approach was deemed most appropriate. It allowed for the use of the qualitative procedures of interviews and document analysis as well as the quantitative procedures of statistical climate modeling. The qualitative research demonstrated that there was a desire for further growth in the tourism industry and a general lack of concern for the affects of climate change. The quantitative methods projected that three different recreational and tourism activities studied in this thesis could be altered by climate change. Of the tourism industries examined, snowmobiling was projected to suffer shortened seasons, skiing was projected to see slight losses or to maintain its current season length, and golf was projected to extend its season and increase the number of playable rounds. When the two methods were integrated, there was a gap between the potential changes in the tourism industry and the lack of adaptation plans from the province or the tourism sector. Based on these findings, a series of recommendations were made to the Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation and various tourism operators. This research will contribute a new perspective to the substantial existing literature on tourism, to the growing research on climate change, and to the essential research on Newfoundland and Labrador.

The purpose of this research was to assess the potential impact of climate change on the western Newfoundland tourism industry. Western Newfoundland was chosen as it has a variety of recreational activities that attract tourists. To this end, a mixed methods approach was deemed most appropriate. It allowed for the use of the qualitative procedures of interviews and document analysis as well as the quantitative procedures of statistical climate modeling. The qualitative research demonstrated that there was a desire for further growth in the tourism industry and a general lack of concern for the affects of climate change. The quantitative methods projected that three different recreational and tourism activities studied in this thesis could be altered by climate change. Of the tourism industries examined, snowmobiling was projected to suffer shortened seasons, skiing was projected to see slight losses or to maintain its current season length, and golf was projected to extend its season and increase the number of playable rounds. When the two methods were integrated, there was a gap between the potential changes in the tourism industry and the lack of adaptation plans from the province or the tourism sector. Based on these findings, a series of recommendations were made to the Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation and various tourism operators. This research will contribute a new perspective to the substantial existing literature on tourism, to the growing research on climate change, and to the essential research on Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thesis (M.A.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2000. / Restricted until November 2001. Bibliography: leaves 241-251.

As our long-term companions, dogs’ communication with us is perhaps the most developed of all human- animal ones. This study was aimed to investigate breed differences of German Shepherds and Labradors in dog-human communication. This was obtained through two tests: a problem-solving task and a pointing test. These two tests target both directions of communication: how much dogs understand and respond to the pointing and how they communicate with humans when facing a problem. Additionally, hair cortisol was measured in the dogs and dog owners filled a behavioural questionnaire (C-BARQ). The main breed difference I found was that Labradors performed better in both tests. I also found that the latency of the dogs’ choices in the pointing test correlated with many factors, e.g. they chose quicker when: choosing correctly, when they had many physical contacts with the experimenter in the problem-solving task, when they were more intense, energetic dogs, when they had higher hair cortisol levels and when they had a confident body posture. This indicates that the latency of choice could depend on the confidence of the dog and on the trust in the experimenter as well as on energy level and focus ability. Overall, this study revealed a limited amount of breed differences, compared to a parallel study on Labrador types (hunting and show dogs), showing that intra-breed differences can be more important than inter-breed ones on a behavioural level.

The evolution of the Unemployment Insurance Programme since 1940 has led to the abandonment of the intended insurance nature of the programme. As a result, it can no longer be considered solely an income protection scheme. Rather, it has evolved into an income maintenance plan aimed at supplementing the income of seasonal workers in high unemployment regions. As a consequence, there has been an interprovincial transfer of unemployment insurance funds from low to high unemployment regions. The regional characteristics of the programme have also distorted the structure of labour markets in high unemployment regions by attracting workers in seasonal industries therefore maintaining unemployment rates high.

This thesis focuses on analyzing Cross Laminated Timber manufacture and use for the purpose of suggesting ways to enrich involved technology through the further application of digital fabrication techniques. Framed within the context of making and craft, product and processes are explored to search for opportunities where reevaluating current production methods may arise. It is also in this context that concepts of embodied/ embedded information and emergence are employed to suggest ideas for rethinking CLT, its fabrication and use. Based on research findings, new CLT panel types are prototyped and their required fabrication approaches proposed. The results are applied to a building design for a site in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.

No description available.

The cover of the ericaceous shrub Kalmia angustifolia L. (sheep's laurel or lamb's kill) expands rapidly on many clear-cut sites through central Newfoundland and northern Quebec. Previous laboratory and greenhouse studies on the effect of Kalmia on black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) germinants and seedlings have demonstrated that extracts of Kalmia leaves and soil can reduce the germination rate and early root and shoot growth of black spruce. Observations in the field have suggested that Kalmia leaves and soil can reduce the germination rate and early rot and shoot growth of black spruce. Observations in the field have suggested that Kalmia reduces the growth of planted spruce seedlings. The experiments presented in this thesis were designed to determine the importance of Kalmia in controlling spruce growth and nutrition, and to document how the importance of Kalmia varies from site to site. Spruce seedlings growing in close proximity to Kalmia were found to be shorter and had lower foliar concentrations of N and P, and the roots of these seedlings had lower rates of mycorrhization and a more frequent occurrence of the pseudo-mycorrhizal/pathogenic fungus Phialocephala dimorphospora Kendrick. Results suggest that Kalmia impedes the N nutrition of spruce seedlings through the reduction of N mineralization rates and N availability. The results of path analysis further suggest that Kalmia had a direct effect on both spruce foliar N concentration and spruce growth. These findings do not demonstrate, though they are consistent with the suggestion, that Kalmia can affect spruce through allelopathic processes. Although we could not demonstrate that the reduction of rates of mycorrhization were due to indirect effects of Kalmia on spruce nutrition, we demonstrated that improving spruce nutrition in close proximity to Kalmia increased, though not significantly, the occurrence of mycorrhizae on spruce roots. Mycorrhizal symbiosis was shown to play a key role in t

No description available.

Les Innus du Labrador sont des consommateurs de nourriture traditionnelle. Cette dernière est nutritive et intègre divers aspects social, culturel, traditionnel, spirituel et économique fondamentaux pour leur bien-être. Malgré ses bénéfices, elle peut aussi contenir des polluants environnementaux potentiellement dangereux pour leur santé. Les hormones thyroïdiennes (THs) sont impliquées dans diverses fonctions dont la lactation, principalement contrôlée par la prolactine (PRL). Certains polluants sont connus pour affecter ces hormones. La constitution exacte du mélange de polluants dans la nourriture traditionnelle, ainsi que leurs effets sur les hormones des Innus sont méconnus et préoccupants. Cette étude caractérise les profils alimentaire et d'exposition aux polluants sanguins [mercure (Hg), cadmium (Cd), manganèse (Mn), plomb (Pb), sélénium (Se), biphényles polychlorés (BPCs) et pesticides organochlorés (POCs)], évalue les relations entre la diète et la multicontamination, ainsi que les effets de ces polluants sur la thyrotropine (TSH), les THs et la PRL. En 2002 et 2003, une étude transversale utilisant l'approche écosystémique à la santé a été réalisée (n=162). Des questionnaires de fréquence alimentaire, sociodémographique et médicale ont été administrés et des échantillons de sang ont été récoltés. Les échantillons sanguins ont été analysés au TOXEN par des essais radioimmunologiques (hormones), au Centre Hospitalier de l'Université Laval par des méthodes enzymatiques (lipides), au Centre de Toxicologie du Québec par une spectrométrie de masse à plasma d'argon induit (Cd, Pb et Se), par une spectométrie d'absorption atomique (Mn), par une technique manuelle à vapeur froide (Hg total) et, au Centre for Indigenous People's Nutrition and Environment de l'Université McGill par des disques en phase solide et une chromatographie gazeuse couplée à une spectrométrie de masse (BPCs et POCs). Des analyses de correspondance ont été utilisées pour établir les profils alimentaire et d'exposition et des analyses canoniques de correspondance partielle, pour évaluer les relations entre la diète et la multicontamination. Des régressions linéaires multiples ont été effectuées séparément pour les participants âgés de moins et de plus de 40 ans afin d'évaluer les relations entre les concentrations sanguines des hormones et des contaminants. Les profils alimentaire et d'exposition varient selon l'âge, le genre, la scolarité et le tabagisme. Les jeunes sont davantage exposés aux métaux et les plus âgés, aux BPCs et aux POCs. Le Hg, le Mn, le Cd, l'Aroclor 1260, les chlordanes et le DDT expliquent 11% de la variance résiduelle dans la composition de la diète des participants (n= 140). Le Hg est significativement corrélé à l'axe 1 et le Mn, à l'axe 2. Malgré que ces polluants expliquent significativement une partie de la variance dans la diète, il semblerait que leur présence dans le sang ne soit pas fortement reliée à la diète innue. Pour les participants de moins de 40 ans, des relations significatives inverses avec la PRL (Cd, hexachlorobenzène et BPC 170) et la T4 (BPC 156), ainsi que des relations significatives positives avec la PRL (alpha-hexachlorohexane) ont été trouvées. Pour les participants de 40 ans et plus, des relations significatives inverses avec la T3 (Cd) et la T4 (hexachlorobenzène et BPC 101), de même que des relations significatives positives avec la PRL (heptachlor) et laT 4 (BPC 187) ont été observées. Ainsi, les Innus sont exposés par diverses sources alimentaires à de faibles niveaux de métaux, de BPCs et de POCs qui affectent principalement les niveaux sanguins des THs et de la PRL (n=142). ______________________________________________________________________________ MOTS-CLÉS DE L’AUTEUR : Innus, nourriture traditionnelle, thyrotropine, hormones thyroïdiennes, prolactine, métaux, biphyényles polychlorés et pesticides organochlorés.