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Empirical data would suggest that forestry managers have been hesitant in their adoption of a management sciences approach to their problems of prevention, detection and suppression of forest fires. A joint program of research has been undertaken between the Alberta Forest Service and the Faculty of Business Administration and Commerce at the University of Alberta in an attempt to develop, test and evaluate state-of-the-art management science approaches to the problems of forest management. This paper outlines the program of research being undertaken and describes a simulation model which has been developed as part of the research program. The model, which can be readily adapted for analysis of any forest, has been used to examine various fire detection strategies for the Footner Forest in Northern Alberta. The results from this examination are presented along with the results from the goodness-of-fit tests used to validate the model. The model is presently being used and evaluated by forestry personnel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Government of Alberta has undertaken a study to determine the feasibility of supplying natural gas to rural areas of the Province not currently served. The study covers various aspects relevant to the development of an overall plan for rural gasification, but the emphasis is on major factors affecting the economic viability of the venture. We discuss in this paper one segment of the study -- the problem of determining the demand for natural gas in rural areas. Three separate demand schedules, each based on a different methodology but using common data obtained from a survey of rural residents, are estimated. The three demand schedules are analysed and compared in an attempt to establish an overall demand curve for natural gas in rural Alberta. The price elasticity of demand for natural gas is determined from the demand function obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the most known popular poplar found in central Alberta, the Parkland or Grove Belt. The poplar, accordingly, is approximately 20,000 square miles and is mainly covered with trees, shrubs and grasslands. It is allegedly named Parkland or the Grove Belt because the area has once looked like a park. It is believed that the area is formed by climates themselves, composing of long, cold, dry winters, and a growing season of about four months. The area is also marked by low humidity, strong sunlight and frequent high winds. These situations, when taken together, are considered responsible for the development and persistence of the major plant communities. They have been pointed as the main culprit behind the production of the chief classes of soils found in the region.

The article discusses the vegetation in Alberta. The investigation is designed to carry out work on a monographic basis by taking the various vegetation formations in different parts of the country and describing the associations and their succession within the formations. It described the types of swamps, moor and bog forest vegetation in three of the phytogeographical regions of Central Alberta. It also described the vegetation of the three regional areas including Cordilleran Forest, Northern Forest and Poplar Parkland.

The article presents the author's experience of teaching the metis community at the northern extremes of Alberta's Peace River District. According to the author, the setting of the school building did possess the fundamentals for formal education there. There was a school building; its one room provided the shelter, space, light, and heat required by the Alberta Department of Education. There were books, paper, scribblers, pencils, ink, and first-aid kits in accord with the provincial curriculum. But, the outdoor activities of the school had to be conducted without equipment.

The article focuses on the graduate program in sociology at the University of Alberta. The university does not offer an exclusive degree in population studies or demography. Several courses pertaining to demography/population studies are offered in the departments of Economics, Geography, Genetics, Health Services Administration, Sociology and Zoology. The Population Research Laboratory, established in 1966, is the demographic and urban research unit of the Department of Sociology. The major objective of this unit is the development and dissemination of knowledge in the field of population studies. The Population Research Laboratory brings out regularly publications like, Reprint Series, Discussion Paper Series, Alberta Series and Western Canada Series. The major research project undertaken is a fertility and family planning study of Edmonton entitled "Growth of Alberta Families Study." This study focuses largely on ethnic variability in family formation patterns, contraceptive habits and other reproductive characteristics.

Glock, Ringer, and Babbie have argued that people who become involved in church are seeking a comfortable refuge from the deprivations associated with being old, female, unmarried, or having a small income or little education. The present research tests this thesis using data from a province wide sample of adults in Alberta. No support for the thesis is found among any denominational grouping. When the thesis is broken down into its component hypotheses, however, the pattern of relationships that emerges is one that has long been familiar to sociologists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the investigative study on the vegetation of Alberta. The study focuses on the large areas of sandhills set up in some regions of the central part of the province. It features the abundance of Jack Pine Mistletoe known as "Witches Brooms" because of its strange deformities on the trees. An investigation shows that the trees in the summits were quite different from that of the parkland. In addition, the sandhills present abrupt transitions from one association to another due to differences in water content. It provides a brief overview of the ecology of Arceuthobium americanum.

The article describes the plant communities and certain retrogressive changes on small well-defined peat areas in the Edmonton district in Alberta. The term "muskeg" in Canada is applied to areas of peat covered with a certain type of vegetation. A brief description of the topography and meteorology of the district is offered. The main features of muskeg distribution over larger contiguous areas are discussed as well. Distinct stages in retrogression and the type of vegetation due to climactic factors and fire are examined.

Discusses the role of United States-based farmers in the settlement and development of Saskatchewan and Alberta between 1897 and 1914. Economic factors that motivated immigration to Canadian prairies; Social conditions of farmers in the western Middle West; Effect of the rise in wheat prices on land values.

The article presents the plan in the joint meeting of the Canadian Botanical Association L'Association Botanique du Canada and the American Institute of Biological Sciences Inc. It is stated that the meeting will be held at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada from June 22-24, 1971. The meeting will be chaired by Wilson N. Stewart from the Department of Botany in the University of Alberta together with Samuel N. Postlethwait from the Department of Biological Sciences of Purdue University in Lafayette, Indiana. It highlights the participating societies and the schedules of field trips for the participants.