The ethanol industry in Western Canada has seen significant growth in recent times spurred on mainly be environmental considerations. For a region with substantial grain production, increased prices from additional demand by the biofuel industry may inure to the benefit of grain farmers and land owners in the long term. The livestock industry however remains in a complex position facing the possibility of higher feed costs on the one hand and potential savings in feed cost on the other, with the availability of distillers grains- a by-product from ethanol production. The sectorial implications for the livestock sector could also be diverse and dependent upon the capacity to incorporate the distillers grains into the different feed rations. There is also the possibility of a spill-over effect from the US distillers grains market. This study therefore sought to complement current nutritional research by providing an economic perspective of the impact of distillers grains on the livestock industry in Western Canada. Focussing primarily on the beef cattle and hog industries, the study applied both linear programming and time-series techniques to assess potential benefits and costs. Potential positive economic benefits were observed for the inclusion of wheat and corn distillers grains with the former having a higher economic value in the high-protein feed segments.<p> Dependent on market factors such as the price of substitute feeds, exchange rates and transportation considerations, the magnitude of these savings could range between $7.29 and $0.34/tonne. The study recommends an understanding of these dynamics in order for livestock and ethanol producers to derive mutual benefits from the fledging biofuel industry in the Western plains.

The ethanol industry in Western Canada has seen significant growth in recent times spurred on mainly be environmental considerations. For a region with substantial grain production, increased prices from additional demand by the biofuel industry may inure to the benefit of grain farmers and land owners in the long term. The livestock industry however remains in a complex position facing the possibility of higher feed costs on the one hand and potential savings in feed cost on the other, with the availability of distillers grains- a by-product from ethanol production. The sectorial implications for the livestock sector could also be diverse and dependent upon the capacity to incorporate the distillers grains into the different feed rations. There is also the possibility of a spill-over effect from the US distillers grains market. This study therefore sought to complement current nutritional research by providing an economic perspective of the impact of distillers grains on the livestock industry in Western Canada. Focussing primarily on the beef cattle and hog industries, the study applied both linear programming and time-series techniques to assess potential benefits and costs. Potential positive economic benefits were observed for the inclusion of wheat and corn distillers grains with the former having a higher economic value in the high-protein feed segments.<p> Dependent on market factors such as the price of substitute feeds, exchange rates and transportation considerations, the magnitude of these savings could range between $7.29 and $0.34/tonne. The study recommends an understanding of these dynamics in order for livestock and ethanol producers to derive mutual benefits from the fledging biofuel industry in the Western plains.

Ticks are important vectors of pathogenic agents that cause disease in humans, domestic animals, and wildlife. They are also hosts for a variety of bacterial endosymbionts. However, little is known about the microbial diversity of many tick species, particularly those species that parasitize small mammals in western Canada. In this thesis, I used a combined morphological and molecular approach to identify, to the species-level, ticks that parasitized small mammals from three localities in Saskatchewan and British Columbia. The genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships of these tick species was also examined. Comparisons were also made of the composition and diversity of bacteria within individuals of each tick species. Questions relating to the biology, systematics, and vector ecology of the vole tick (Ixodes angustus), the rotund tick (Ixodes kingi), the sculptured tick (Ixodes sculptus) and the Rocky Mountain wood tick (Dermacentor andersoni) were also addressed. The results of my thesis work revealed that I. kingi and I. sculptus were the most encountered tick species on northern pocket gophers (Thomomys talpoides) and Richardson’s ground squirrels (Spermophilus richardsonii), respectively, in Saskatchewan, while I. angustus was the most abundant tick on red-backed voles (Clethrionomys gapperi) in Kootenay National Park (British Columbia). At least 40 genera of bacteria were detected in the four tick species; however, there were significant differences in the composition of the bacteria among tick species. Two novel species of Rickettsia and three putative new species of Rickettsiella were also discovered. The findings of this thesis make an important contribution to our understanding of the evolution and ecology of ticks and tick-borne bacteria.

Since the end of the American Folk Revival, in the late 1960s, folk festivals have undergone a dramatic change. Concurrently, folk music was transformed through capital from its origins as national folkloric music to a successful popular music genre. As professional folk music emerged during the late 1950s and 1960s many young people began to get involved. This involvement, often in the promotion of community oriented folk music events, set the stage for the development of independent community folk music clubs and festivals. These two trends (folk music as cultural commodity and folk music as community expression) flowed through one another sweeping away nationalist folk music and leaving an open space. During the 1970s, political and social changes were occurring across North America. The emergence of what Michael Foucault called biopolitics began to change how young people related to the idea of folk music and to the general field of political action. At the same time, organized leftwing political groups, many of which developed out of early 20th century political movements, broke down or splintered into many smaller groups. Some disenchanted political activists turned towards cultural programming as an outlet for their political desire. Along side this, American draft dodgers and Canadian back-to-the-landers moved, from the south and the east, into the Canadian west. Out of this diverse social energy developed urban and rural folk music festivals. Until now folk music festivals in western Canada have not been systematically surveyed nor has their operation been theorized as a mode of creative production. This work develops a historically grounded approach to folk music as a means of social production and challenges the idea that folk music is only a music genre. I conclude, using a theoretical approach developed by Deleuze and Guattari, that contemporary folk music festivals make use of social capital to establish a folk music assemblage. This assemblage provides an alternative, non-centralized, and increasingly global alternative for the flow of music capital. Folk music is no longer a style of music but a mode of doing business in music that is socially oriented and politically and economically potent. / Music

The Late Devonian was a significant period in Phanerozoic reef evolution. Reef complexes reached their acme in the Middle Devonian and then declined in numbers and complexity thereafter. This change was accompanied by a shift in reef composition characterized by an increase in calcified microbes in the reef milieu. Late Devonian Nisku Formation reefs in the Cynthia Basin at Meekwap, Alberta are composed of calcimicrobes (Renalcis, Epiphyton, Girvanella, Rothpletzella, and Wetheredella), stromatoporoids, and corals. Accessory organisms include brachiopods, benthic foraminifera, molluscs, sponges, bryozoans, and crinoids. Calcimicrobes generate dorsal or ventral crusts on stromatoporoids, and form oncolites in open marine facies. Dorsal crusts are either Girvanella and Rothpletzella, or non-calcimicrobial, spongiostromate or cemented calcisilt encrustations. Ventral crusts are cryptic and composed of Renalcis and Epiphyton. Oncolites comprise layers of Girvanella and Rothpletzella and occur in lagoon and upper-foreslope facies. Girvanella and Rothpletzella are thought to have been photosynthetic because of their preference for interpreted well-lit settings (oncolites and dorsal surfaces) and possible competition for light as expressed by alternating layers of Girvanella and Rothpletzella as well as domal, accretionary growths of either Girvanella or Rothpletzella in oncolites. Renalcis and Epiphyton are viewed as non-photosynthetic or light sensitive because they are rare on upper surfaces and are instead found in cryptic environments. The abundance of calcimicrobes in Meekwap limestones is interpreted to have reflected elevated nutrient levels. Nutrients were likely terrestrially sourced and brought onto the shelf via fluvial runoff and submarine groundwater discharge. Geometry of the Cynthia Basin, as well as the presence of local nutrient sources at Meekwap is thought to have enhanced more regional nutrification via ocean upwelling. The change in the composition of reefs throughout the Late Devonian is attributed to paleoenvironmental changes, such as a colder climate and falling ocean temperatures, as well as increasing nutrient levels, prior to the Late Devonian mass extinction. / Thesis (Master, Geological Sciences & Geological Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2010-12-21 12:24:17.569

No description available.

Climatic variability and change can have profound impacts on the hydrologic regime of a watershed, especially in regions that are particularly sensitive to changes in climate, such as the northern latitudes and alpine-fed regions of western Canada. Quantifying historical spatial and temporal changes in hydrological data can provide useful information as to how water resources are affected by climate, as well as create an understanding of potential future variability in the hydrologic regime of a region. The CROCWR (Climatic Redistribution of Canadian Water Resources) project was established to quantify changes in western Canadian water resources under past, present, and future climate through spatio-temporal analyses of runoff and its driving climatic and atmospheric forcings. This research involved the examination of trends in western Canadian annual and seasonal streamflow volume and timing for the periods of 1976-2010 and 1966-2010. Runoff was found to have increased significantly in the most northern watersheds studied, while mid-latitude water availability has decreased considerably. In addition, the onset of the spring freshet has shifted toward earlier timing in the North and along the Pacific coast, associated with increased freshet length and flow volume, while contrasting later freshets have occurred in the mid-latitudes, causing decreased warm season river flows in this region. Application of a Principal Component Analysis revealed coherent hydrological variability in each of the northern, mid-latitude, and southern regions of the study area, with consistent increasing and decreasing trends in river flows for the north and mid-latitudes, respectively. The results of this analysis suggest a northward shift in water from adjacent more southerly western Canadian watersheds. Lower- and mid-latitude runoff was shown to be positively correlated with precipitation both annually and during the warm season, while the effect of temperature was found to be associated with the timing of the spring freshet in the North and along the west coast. River flows in some watersheds were shown to be influenced by the effects of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation and/or the Pacific North American low-frequency climate patterns, however, the overall influence of these natural oscillations on western Canadian streamflow was not determined to be indicative of overall trend results. The results of this analysis will provide water resource managers with an indication of the direction and magnitude of changing water availability in western and northern Canada.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Bethel Theological Seminary, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 131-136).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Bethel Theological Seminary, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 131-136).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Bethel Theological Seminary, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 131-136).