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This study explores key aspects of water usage in Virginia via a broad-scale analysis of multiple water users through thirty years of time-series records from the Virginia Water Use Data System. A full spectrum of users is considered, including water used for energy, industrial, agricultural and municipal applications. The extent of the relationship between the volume of water used and drivers like economic and climatic conditions are not well defined in humid environments like Virginia. Mann-Kendall testing is applied to identify water use trends through time both statewide and at the county level. A panel regression is employed to identify relationships between water use and explanatory variables of climatic and economic conditions, both spatially and temporally. Key trends include that industrial and energy sector water withdrawals per facility are significantly decreasing over time. Water used for agricultural applications was found to increase on warmer than average years and decrease on wetter than average years, indicating the panel regression methodology successfully demonstrated and quantified intuitive trends. Interestingly, municipal and industrial water usage had a statistically significant relationship with the Gini coefficient, a measure of inequality in rainfall distribution, indicating intraseasonal variability may play an important role in water use trends that is not apparent using seasonal averages alone. Overall, this work contributes to the understanding of water use trends at the state level for Virginia, and better characterizes long-term trends and short-term variability in water withdrawal. / MS

These papers analyze two issues in resource economics that are currently debated in academic and policy arenas: global warming and overcompliant behavior amongst regulated sources of water pollution. The first paper examines the evidence for global warming in particular, the published estimates of the rate of global warming. The paper reproduces published results using the same data, provides evidence that the statistical model used to obtain these estimates is misspecified for the data, and re-specifies the model in order to obtain a statistically adequate model. The re-specified model indicates that trends in the surface temperature anomalies are highly nonlinear rather than linear and that currently published estimates of the degree of global warming are based on a misspecified model. It argues for caution in interpreting linear trend estimates and illustrates the importance of model misspecification testing and re-specification when modeling climate change using statistical models. The second paper examines recent evidence for overcompliant behavior amongst wastewater treatment plants whose pollutant discharges are regulated under the Clean Water Act. The historical evidence suggests that many regulated facilities do not comply with permit regulations. This behavior has been attributed to inadequate monitoring and enforcement by the regulatory agencies as well as to an institutional structure that penalizes noncompliance but that does not reward overcompliance. Against this backdrop, the evidence for significant and widespread overcompliance appears puzzling. The paper examines overcompliance with a widely- regulated pollutant, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD). The testable hypotheses are: whether jointness in pollution control between nitrogen and BOD can explain overcompliance and whether variation in BOD output can explain BOD overcompliance. These hypotheses are examined by developing a conceptual model of BOD overcompliance and estimating a model of BOD control. The results indicate that jointness in pollution control plays a significant role in explaining BOD overcompliance. Variation in BOD output is not a significant factor in explaining BOD overcompliance. The paper explores plausible reasons for this result and proposes significant modifications to the traditional marginal analysis of BOD overcompliance/compliance decisions. / Ph. D.

Change is a recurring element in society and for sports clubs. When there is a change in society, this change may have an impact and change the condition for sports clubs and its leaders. Changes can be degraded into trends. This study has been delimited to study four social trends that research shows may have an impact on sports club, which are; Increased commercialization, changing demographics, changing communication patterns and increased individualization. To help sports clubs in their development it is of value to find out how these changes are perceived. This study aimed to investigate the perceptions that sports club leaders have about social change and its impact on their leadership and their clubs development. More specifically the study examined which social trends that have impact, how leadership develop and change from social trends, opportunities and obstacles that social trends brings, and how changes in society are received. This was done by eight interviews with the chairman from eight different voluntary sports clubs. The results show that parts of all four trends has an impact. It also shows that leadership develops to some extent. There are both opportunities and obstacles with social trends for sports clubs and their leaders and certain trends in society have more barriers and obstacles for the sports clubs than others. When a change in society is perceived to have meaning and impact, it also causes some type of active receiving by the sports club.

Die Jahresmitteltemperatur-Zeitreihen dreier Stationen (Berlin, Leipzig und Stockholm) werden auf ihre langfristigen Trends im Zeitbereich 1830-1980 untersucht. Dazu wird die neuartige, parametrische Methode der Rampenregression (Mudelsee 1999a) verwendet. Die Vorteile gegenüber bisher verwendeten Verfahren sind (1) eine realistischeres Übergangsmodell und (2) Angaben des statistischen Fehlers geschätzter Übergangs-Zeitpunkte und -Niveaus. Leipzig (Erwärmung um 0.86±0.13 °C von 1889±7bis1911±7) und Stockholm (Erwärmung um 1.01±0.22 °C von 1879±23 bis 1945±21) zeigen beide einen rampenförmigen Trendverlauf, Berlin dagegen einen noch komplizierteren Trend. Im Falle von Leipzig liegt wahrscheinlich ein deutlicher Urbanisierungseinfluß vor. Die Rampenregression bietet die Möglichkeit, einen globalen Klimawechsel genauer zu quantifizieren. / Timeseries of annual average temperature from three stations (Berlin, Leipzig and Stockholm) are investigated with regards to their long-term trends in the time interval 1830-1980. For that, the new, parametric method of ramp function regression (Mudelsee 1999a) is used. The advantages against other previously employed methods are (1) a more realistic transition model and (2) information about the statistical accuracy of estimated transition dates and levels. Both Leipzig (warming by 0.86±0.13 °C, from 1889±7 to 1911±7) and Stockholm (warming by 1.01±0.22 °C, from 1879±23 to 1945±21) show a ramp-form trend, whereas Berlin\'s trend is even more complicated. In the case of Leipzig a significant contribution by urbanization is likely. Ramp function regression has the potential to quantify a global climate change more accurately.

The number of microbreweries in Sweden has shown a huge increase over the last few years. The massive expansion concerns professionals as well as civilians, and the purpose of this thesis is to examine what factors answers for this boom. This was proceeded through qualitative interviews with different professions within the business. Together with eight performers included in the value chain of the brewery industry, the authors have managed to point out the most important circumstances that can help explain this phenomenon. Changed ways of living, developed techniques, liberalizations, foreign influences and several other factors have had a direct impact on the success of these enterprises. However, the writers assessed the underlying power of the following as greater; The local assortment of Systembolaget TSLS, the inclusion of women as consumers, the establishment of the first supplier of brewery commodities and equipment on the Swedish market, a considerable quality improvement of beer and also the emergence of social media. Above-mentioned factors constitute as main conclusions of this thesis. / Antalet mikrobryggerier i Sverige har ökat något enormt under de senaste åren. Den massiva expansionen berör såväl branschfolk som privatpersoner, och syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka vilka faktorer som legat till grund för boomen. Detta genomförs med hjälp av kvalitativa intervjuer med olika yrkesroller verksamma i branschen. Tillsammans med åtta aktörer inom bryggerinäringens värdekedja har författarna utifrån empirin listat de viktigaste omständigheter som kan hjälpa till att förklara fenomenet. Förändrad livsstil, utvecklad teknik, liberaliseringar, utländska influenser och en mängd andra faktorer har haft en direkt påverkan på mikrobryggeriernas framgång. Dock bedöms att vissa faktorer haft en tillräckligt betydande roll för att utgöra studiens slutsatser; Systembolagets lokala sortiment TSLS, inkluderandet av kvinnor som konsumentgrupp, etablerandet av Sveriges första leverantör av råvaror och utrustning för bryggare, en avsevärt förbättrad kvalitet på drycken samt uppkomsten av sociala medier.

Suppose there is a systematic effect or trend that influences the observations in addition to the block and treatment effects. The problem of experimental designs in the presence of trends was first studied by Cox (1951,1952). Bradley and Yeh (1980) define the concept of trend-free block designs, i.e., the designs in which the analysis of treatment effects are essentially the same whether the trend effects are present or not. If the trend effect within each blocks are the same and linear, Yeh and Bradley (1983) derive a simple necessary condition for designs to be linear trend-free, 　　r_i(k+1)≡0 (mod 2), 1≦i≦v,　　　　　(1) 　　where r_i is the replication of treatment i, for 1≦i≦v, and k is block size. 　　In case where a trend-free version does not exist Yeh et al. (1985) suggest the use of “ nearly trend-free version”. Chai (1995) pays attention to situations where (1) does not hold. He also shows that often, under these circumstances, a nearly linear trend-free design could be constructed. 　　Designs that are derived by extending or deleting m disjoint and binary blocks from BIBD (v,b,k,r,λ)'s are considered. If the resulting designs have linear trend-free versions, by Constantine (1981), they are E-optimal designs with the corresponding classes. When k is even, however, it is impossible to have linear trend-free versions since not all the r_i's are even in such type of designs and (1) is violated. In this paper, we shall convert the designs to be nearly linear trend-free versions of them by permuting the treatment symbols within blocks, and investigate that the resulting designs remain to be E-optimal.

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Epidemiology of the incidence of foodborne disease in the Czech Republic In my thesis I focused on the incidence of foodborne disease in the Czech Republic and their prevention. Group of foodborne disease, which is dominated by the fecal-oral transmission, is strongly influenced by the human factor. Foodborne disease easier occurs in communities of large group of people and in particular there where are problems with compliance with basic hygiene. Presented work is an abbreviated synthesized look at existing development and current severity of foodborne illnesses. The aim is not a detailed data analysis of individual foodborne illness, but their global assessment of occurrence in the Czech Republic. This is specifically focused only on selected infectious diseases where is possible to show long-term changes. A separate chapter is devoted to detailed incidence of viral hepatitis A, which is currently a very hot topic. Furthermore, I also present information on the recent epidemic of HAV in the Czech Republic in 2008. In the first section of presented thesis I describe process of collection and completion of related data in Czech Republic, also programs which are currently used for collection of data and their evaluation. I have also indicated external factors influencing disease emergence. In the second part, I compiled information on selected diseases and processed those into a graphs and maps of occurrence. Based on knowledge of the occurrence of these trends, it could be used for recommendation of effective infection control measures affecting the spread of the disease. The outcome of my thesis shows that in the Czech Republic are primarily important acute diarrheal diseases of bacterial and viral origin. For number of foodborne illnesses the trend of occurrence in Czech Republic is at very low level and the problem is with their import from developing countries with endemic occurrence. Certain foodborne diseases are eliminated, as we have in place specific immuno-prevention for long time. Good example is elimination of polio disease in the Czech Republic. Due to positive influence on certain diseases even more comes to the forefront diseases of infectious origin and importance of their actual and relative increase. As example are certain bacterial and viral diseases. Most significant are salmonellosis, campylobacteriosis and viral hepatitis. This development can be worldwide observed. In economically highly developed countries all this is associated with the growth of the food industry. The incidence of the campylobacteriosis disease in the Czech Republic yearly exceeds 20 thousand cases, which is the most common human zoonosis. Given the importance of this issue the aim of my thesis is not proposing solution. The aim is only to map and point out the current epidemiological situation of occurrence of selected foodborne diseases in the Czech Republic.

The diploma thesis is focused on the evaluation of secular changes in linear proporcionality of body in actual preschool children in the last 27 years. In this context, the research also aims to determine the need for validation of the reference data for linear parameters of preschool children, which are currently used from 1990. The study was realized in six kindergartens in Prague and the surrounding area in the years 2016-2017. A total of 369 children (189 boys and 180 girls) aged 4 - 6 years were examined. The body height, BMI, 11 length and height markers and 10 indexes were measured. Statistically significant differences were not found in most of the observed parameters. Significant differences were not clinically relevant. The effect of secular changes on the characteristics of linear body proportionality of Czech preschool children was not confirmed. Therefore, for clinical practise remaind recommended to use the reference data from 1990, which are valid. Key words:secular trend, linear proporcionality, preschool age