Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 181-192).

Thesis (M.E.S.)--The Evergreen State College, 2008. / Title from title screen (viewed 2/25/2009). Includes bibliographical references (p. 49-52).

A study was made to determine the environmental education needs of Rhodesian African primary school pupils and procedures for meeting those needs within the framework of an Environmental Science Course which would complement an Environmental Social Studies Course. Procedures used to investigate the needs and ultimately determine the scope, aims, methods, and materials for the course were: (1) two questionnaires to stratified samples of education officers, supervisors, headmasters, and teachers--the first to 168 and the second to 504; (2) a questionnaire and interviews with local professional environmentalists; (3) classroom observation and trial teaching of lesson units, as they were developed, across a broad spectrum of schools; (4) an informal survey of the activities and materials produced by agencies and organizations concerned with environmental issues; (5) review of currently existing geography, science, and gardening courses and materials; (6) meetings with provincial education officers, headmasters, and supervisors; (7) meetings with teacher trainers in three major teacher training institutions in the country; and (8) reference to pertinent literature. Results of the questionnaires provided the basis for the topic content of the course, and defined the major areas of concern as being: natural resources, agriculture, the natural physical environment, the man-made physical environment, health, and body systems. Areas emerging from the study which required special attention were: language, traditions, limited physical resources, introduction of new teaching-learning approaches, rural nature of 90% of the schools, terminal aspect of primary education for roughly 80% of the pupils, communication of the teacher-learner strategy, large proportion of teachers with minimum training, and meeting national needs and aspirations in a time of war. The main outcome of the study was a curriculum plan for an Environmental Science course whose broad aims are to: (1) make pupils aware of the ecological inter-relationship of the physical and biological factors that make up the environment, and of man's relationship to it; (2) motivate pupils to responsible action toward better management of the environment so as to ensure survival and improve the quality of life; (3) provide pupils with basic skills and concepts in science, gardening, and geography; and (4) foster the development of positive interests, attitudes, and aesthetic awareness of the environment. The components of the system are presented, as well as a scheme, tentatively incorporating 50 lesson units. Recommendations regarding the learning objectives (content, concepts, skills, attitudes) teaching approaches, instructional materials, pacing, the role of the participants, and pupil assessment procedures are given. The curriculum plan, as presented, was approved by the Ministry of Education for further development and eventual implementation into the schools of the country. Recommendations are made for the next phase of the project. These emphasize the development and evaluation of instructional materials, establishment of teacher training programs, and evaluation of the curriculum.

No description available.

The application of systematic conservation decision-making methodologies requires data on the spatial distribution of the elements of biodiversity. When a decision on where to put a protected area to conserve biodiversity must be made at a given time, the decision must be based on the best data available. But, adequate data are often lacking. This thesis examines the use of surrogate measures of biodiversity in conservation decision-making in Guyana, South America. The study looks at different surrogate measures and their influence on the selection of priority biodiversity sites for conservation. Surrogate measures at the ecosystem and species level are examined. The research shows that measures from different hierarchical levels produce different outcomes on the location of sites, however measures at the ecosystem-level appear to capture most of the known species distributions. The thesis examines cross-taxon congruency and shows that the spatial scale of analysis influences patterns of congruency for different taxonomic groups. The influence of spatial scale is also examined for various measures of biodiversity and it is shown that variability of species richness decreases with increased selection unit size. Finally, an index of vulnerability is used to prioritise conservation of sites in Guyana based on urgency, which is defined by two different threats: agriculture and forestry. This thesis adopts a conceptual framework based on data-driven, efficient, flexible and transparent methodologies and uses it to demonstrate how a network of protected areas might be established in Guyana that uses the most comprehensive data available on biodiversity. The thesis concludes by presenting a protocol for conservation decision-making that incorporates some of the theoretical principles identified by this work as important for measuring biodiversity and planning a protected area network.

<p>At a meeting of worl leaders at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, it was recognized that because of the tremendous increase in the size of the global populations (which now is estimated to exceed six billion), there were concerns that global biodiversity was at risk if insufficient land were not put aside for conservation within formal Protected Areas. The primary aim of this study was to compare investment in Protected Areas in relation to socio-economic conditions at global and regional levels.</p>

The purpose of this study was to investigate the difference in effectiveness of four unmanned interpretive devices, which were: 1) a visual shock display, 2) a written brochure, 3) written signs, and 4) an automated audiovisual presentation. These technique types have only been sparsely studied in the past with regard to their comparative efficacy. Examination of the differences in relative effectiveness was warranted to help establish guidelines for future interpretive technique design and utilization.The four techniques, along with a control, were compared two at a time using aluminum can litter/recycling as the concept being interpreted. The number of aluminum cans recovered from park trash containers during each treatment period was used to evaluate the techniques. The comparison between each set of techniques was made using a z-statistic for a large sample, normal population. The number of cans purchased prior to park visitation was also analyzed with this same statistic to determine if this outside factor had any influence on the data.Of the four unmanned interpretive techniques tested, the written sign and the visual shock display were significantly more effective at interpreting the concept than were the written brochure, automated audiovisual program or the control. The written sign and the visual shock display were equally effective, while the automated audiovisual program and the written brochure were not significantly more effective than a control. Cans purchased prior to park visitation had no detectable effect on these results. Also, rainfall and temperature patterns showed no correlation with the data.

Natural resources are part of the social capital. It is useful to classify them in relation to their use by man. Renewable resources can be used and yet perpetuated at a given Isvel of quantity and quality. They include the attributes of soil and landscape, the btotic and water resources. Minerals and fossil fuels, on the other hand are depleted through use. They are non-renewable resources. Renewable resources, together with man, comprise a dynamic bio-system. Any usage of resources affects the system and, in turn, society and vice versa. The resource uses considered here are agriculture, horticulture, forestry, grazing, and watershed protection. These uses embrace an area's rural sector. This includes that part of the output of goods and services and of employment in the economy which depends on the use of land conceived as a natural resource. A conjoint consideration of all the above uses is required to adapt an area's resource-use pattern to society's needs. For this, case studies are needed. This Investigation pertains to Kashmir valley in north India. The role of renewable resources in development is analysed in chapter II. This provides a conceptual background. In a poor region like Kashmir, renewable resources have an important place in catalysing development. This involves the transformation of the available renewable resource capital, such as forests, into more productive forms. Additionally, the effects of the increasing man/land ratio can be offset through an intensification of land-use. A conservationist policy, which impedes the above process, is unhelpful to economic development. The policy should be to economizeon scares man-made capital and skills. They may be combined with larger doses of underutilized renewable resources and unskilled labour. The question in development is not of locking up the social capital for posterity or of canalising society's limited resources into one or the other sector. It is of allocating resources to most productive opportunities. The planning method evolved here consists of synthesising biotechnical, economic and institutional analyses. The analytical stages do not rigidly follow this order; for, in practice, one analysis has feed-back effects on another.[See text for remainder of abstract].

<p>At a meeting of worl leaders at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, it was recognized that because of the tremendous increase in the size of the global populations (which now is estimated to exceed six billion), there were concerns that global biodiversity was at risk if insufficient land were not put aside for conservation within formal Protected Areas. The primary aim of this study was to compare investment in Protected Areas in relation to socio-economic conditions at global and regional levels.</p>

Submitted to the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Thesis (Ph.D.)--Tufts University, 2002. / Adviser: Steve Block. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 182-195). Access restricted to members of the Tufts University community. Also available via the World Wide Web;