To study the impact of environmental changes in a coastal marine ecosystem, it is necessary to use indicator species. It is crucial to understand the foraging performances that proceed from environmental changes. The aim of my thesis was to examine the influence of intrinsic and extrinsic factors on the foraging activity of the little penguins (Eudyptula minor). The thermocline allowed birds to approach optimal behaviour. However, the thermocline is an unstable element. I did not find any effect of individual characteristics on their foraging behaviour and success. My work suggests that environmental conditions are major factors that will influence the behaviour of little penguins, allowing me to conclude that little penguins are good ecological indicators.

Les entraîneurs en sports acrobatiques disposent de peu d’outils permettant d’améliorer leur compréhension des saltos vrillés et la performance des athlètes. L’objectif de ce mémoire était de développer un environnement graphique de simulation numérique réaliste et utile des acrobaties aériennes. Un modèle composé de 17 segments et de 42 degrés de liberté a été développé et personnalisé à une athlète de plongeon. Un système optoélectronique échantillonné à 300 Hz a permis l’acquisition de huit plongeons en situation réelle d’entraînement. La cinématique articulaire reconstruite avec un filtre de Kalman étendu a été utilisée comme entrée du modèle. Des erreurs quadratiques moyennes de 20° (salto) et de 9° (vrille) entre les performances simulées et réelles ont permis de valider le modèle. Enfin, une formation basée sur le simulateur a été offerte à 14 entraîneurs en sports acrobatiques. Une augmentation moyenne de 11 % des résultats aux questionnaires post-test a permis de constater le potentiel pédagogique de l’outil pour la formation. / Coaches need tools to better understand the mechanics of twisting somersaults and improve their knowledge and their athletes’ performance. The aim of this thesis was to provide them with a computer simulation model of aerial movements. An elite diver was modelled as a 17-segment 42-degree of freedom angle-driven model. The model was personalised to the diver so that simulation outputs could be compared with her actual performance. Input data were recorded by a 17-camera motion capture system sampled at 300 Hz. The joint angle time histories were reconstructed using an extended Kalman filter. The model was successfully evaluated and shown to produce realistic movements, with overall root-mean-square error of 20° (somersault) and 9° (twist) between reconstructed body kinematics and the corresponding simulations for eight dives. Finally, a workshop based on the simulation was offered to coaches and showed potential to improve their knowledge since the mean post-test result was increased by 11 %.

L’amour, la mort et la souffrance sont parmi les expériences les plus incompréhensibles que l’homme doit affronter dans sa vie. Elles définissent sa nature et font partie intégrante de son univers symbolique. Le saut de Leucade aurait été pratiqué pendant plus de mille ans. À la fois présent dans les récits mythiques, religieux et historiques, le rituel est attesté par les premiers historiens de l’Antiquité qui décrivent ce phénomène à partir des données de l’historiographie antique. La forme traditionnelle du saut s’inscrit dans l’univers mythologique des Grecs et le plongeon est un acte de délivrance de la passion amoureuse. La nature du rituel change selon les contextes littéraires, passant d’un rite érotique à un rituel apotropaïque pour se voir perpétuer de manière désacralisée dans les récits plus tardifs. L’analyse des différentes fonctions du saut semble démontrer le profil d’une expérience limite, où la mort serait vécue de manière métaphorique et pose le problème de la nature ordalique du rituel qui serait à la base de son efficacité pragmatique. Cette étude projette d’analyser les formes de la pensée grecque dans son expression anthropologique à travers la dialectique du mythe et du rite et vise à comprendre l’interprétation de la souffrance amoureuse dans le cadre du rituel de précipitation. Le saut de Leucade serait dès lors un discours spécifique qui témoignerait d’une certaine conception de la nature humaine, de la mort et de la souffrance amoureuse dans l’imaginaire de la Grèce ancienne. / Love, death and suffering are among some of the most incomprehensible experiences confronting man during his life. They define his nature and make up an integral part of his symbolic universe. The Leucadian Leap is deemed to have been practiced for more than a thousand years. Appearing in mythical, religious as well as in historical narratives, the ritual is attested by the first historians in Antiquity who explain this phenomenon from the data of the antique historiography. The traditional meaning of the leap is inscribed in Greek mythological context and the leap is thus relief from passionate love. The nature of the ritual changes according to literary contexts, from a purely erotic rite, to a apotropaic rite, to see it being perpetuated in a deconsecrated manner in later texts. Analysis of the different functions of the leap seem to point toward an extreme death-defying experience where death was experienced in a metaphorical manner and provides a hypothesis for the ritual’s ordalic nature as a basis for its pragmatic efficiency. This study purports to analyze the Greek mental forms as expressed anthropologically through the dialectic of myth and ritual and aims at understanding the interpretation of love suffering within the context of a leaping ritual in Ancient Greece. The Leucadian Leap would thus appear to correspond to a specific discourse which would testify to a certain conception of human nature, of death, of love and of suffering in Ancient Greece’s collective imagination.

L'étude des mécanismes physiologiques au cours d'une plongée subaquatique estessentielle à la compréhension des accidents qui lui sont associées. Le plongeur subit denombreuses contraintes issues du milieu dans lequel il évolue. Parmi ces contraintes, qui leplus souvent se combinent, nous pouvons citer l'immersion, l'exposition au froid,l'hyperbarie, les variations des conditions d'oxygénation (hypoxie, hyperoxie) et l'exercicephysique. L'objectif de notre travail a été d'apprécier les modifications de la fonction cardiovasculaireet de son contrôle neuro-végétatif induites par ces contraintes rencontrées enplongée chez des sujets sains, novices en plongée, et également chez des chasseurs sousmarins. L'étude de la circulation artérielle et de la fonction endothéliale était basée surl'échographie (bi-dimensionnelle et Doppler). Des mesures de tonométrie d'applanation etautres mesures ultrasonores ont complété nos données hémodynamiques. L'étude du systèmeneurovégétatif était basée sur l'analyse de la variabilité de l'intervalle RR (contrôle cardiaque)et de la variabilité de la pression artérielle (contrôle vasculaire). Après un exercice aigu de pédalage de 45 minutes à haute intensité, l'augmentationpost-exercice du flux sanguin et de la vasodilatation endothéliale a été réduite aux musclesparticipant activement à l'exercice comparé aux muscles non actifs. Pour expliquer cesdifférences, la contribution de l'inflammation locale et du stress oxydatif élevé présents dansles muscles actifs de l'exercice pourrait avoir un rôle. / During a dive, subjects undergo environmental stressors such as immersion, coldexposure, hypoxia, hyperoxia and physical exercise. All these stressors may be responsible forchanges in cardiovascular system and consequently modified autonomic nervous control. Theaim of this work was to assess physiological changes induced by diving to better understandinjuries reported during this activity. Investigations were performed in healthy men and inspearfishermen. Hemodynamic changes and endothelial function were assessed by 2-Dimensional and Doppler echocardiography. Arterial wall compliance was estimated by pulsewave analysis. Autonomic nervous activity was assessed by power spectral density of heartrate variability (cardiac control) and blood pressure variability (vasomotor control). After an acute cycling exercise of 45 minutes in high intensity, the increase postexerciseof the blood flow and the endothéliale vasodilatation was reduced to musclesparticipating actively in the exercise compared with no active muscles. To explain thesedifferences, the contribution of the local inflammation and the important oxydative stress inthe active muscles of the exercise could have a role. Thermoneutral head-out water immersion induce hemodynamic and arterial changes. At rest, we observed a brachial arterial vasodilatation. This might be attributed to endothelialrequest inferred by increase of the peripheral arterial debit flow. Endothelial reactivity did notseem to be modified. With cycling exercise in low intensity,hemodynamic differencesobserved disappear. At rest, normobaric hyperoxia didn't affect blood pressure but induced an increase insystemic vascular resistances.

No description available.

<p><strong>Problematik</strong>: Precis som många andra turismföretag så präglas dykföretag av säsongsarbete. Under lågsäsongen arbetar året runt personalen med få turister och kollegor och under högsäsongen arbetar de intensivt tillsammans med säsongsarbetare i ett halvårs tid i en destination full av turister. När lågsäsongen närmar sig minskar turistmängden och säsongsarbetarna. Det är en livsstil för båda grupperna, men också en tillfällig period för säsongsarbetarna och en vardag för året runt personalen. Personalen har således olika förutsättningar, intressen och behov och deras arbetsmotivation skiljer sig beroende på om de är åretruntarbetare eller säsongarbetare. Som arbetsgivare är det viktigt att ha förståelse för dessa skillnader för att kunna motivera personalen på bästa möjliga sätt, både under de stillsamma och de hektiska perioderna.</p><p><strong>Syfte</strong>: Syftet är att klargöra vilka motivations- och välmåendefaktorer som driver de åretruntanställda och säsongsanställda på Kon-Tiki att arbeta i en verksamhet med sådana speciella arbetsförhållanden, vad som motiverar dem att prestera sitt yttersta både för sin egen och företagets skull. Detta bidrar till en ökad förståelse för hur man som chef ska kunna leda och arbeta med motivation och välmående av anställda inom ett dykföretag i turismbranschen. Syftet är även att se på om det finns skillnader och likheter mellan grupperna angående deras syn på motivations- och välmåendefaktorer.</p><p><strong>Metod</strong>: Vi valde att göra en kvalitativ undersökning för att få en djupare förståelse för vår problematik och vårt syfte. Arbetet innehåller litteratur om psykosocial arbetsmiljö, motivation, välmående och tourism employee management. Teorierna baseras främst på Herzbergs två-faktor teori, Hackman och Oldhams arbetskaraktäristiska modell för arbetsmotivation samt Karasek och Theorells krav-kontroll modell. Det empiriska materialet är insamlat via intervjuer med anställda på Kon-Tiki. Intervjufrågorna är baserade på 25 faktorer vilka har betydelse för den psykosociala arbetsmiljön.</p><p><strong>Resultat</strong>: Tillsammans skapar faktorerna en helhetsbild av upplevelsen av att vara arbetstagare på Kon-Tiki och de är därför lika viktiga för personalens motivation och välmående. Åretruntarna är generellt mer nöjda på Kon-Tiki än vad säsongarna är. Detta kan bero på att åretruntarna har varit anställda länge, arbetar året runt och därmed har god insikt om verksamheten samt bättre kontakt med ledningen, vilket gör att de har ett större inflytande och ansvar. Säsongarna arbetar endast för en tillfällig period och har kanske inte samma företagstänk som de tillsvidareanställda har, vilket gör att de ser olika på saker. Trots detta, och att man mest umgås med personer inom sin egen grupp, upplevs gemenskapen vara bra. Resultatet visade att anställningsformen har stor betydelse för den anställdes upplevelser av att vara arbetstagare på Kon-Tiki. Deras förutsättningar och behov skiljer sig, vilket måste beaktas av ledningen i dennes arbete mot en mer nöjd och motiverad personal.</p> / <p><strong>Problem</strong>: Diving companies are distinguished by seasonal work just as many other tourism companies. The all year around staff work with few tourists and colleagues during the low season and during the high season they work intense for six months together with seasonal workers in a destination full of tourists. When the low season approaches, both the tourists and seasonal workers decrease. It is a lifestyle for both groups, but a temporary period for the seasonal workers and an everyday life for the all year around workers. So the staff have different conditions, interests and needs and their work motivation differ depending on if they work all year around or seasonal. It is significant to have understanding for these differences as an employer to be able to motivate the employees in the best way possible, both during the tranquil and hectic work periods.</p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Purpose</strong>: The purpose is to clarify which motivation and well-being factors that strive the all year around workers and seasonal workers at Kon-Tiki to work in a business with such special work conditions, what motivates them to perform to their fullest both for their own and the companies sake. This contributes to a greater understanding for how managers can lead and work with motivation and the well-being of employees in a diving company and in the tourism business. The purpose is also to see if there are differences or similarities between the groups.</p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Methodology</strong>: We chose to do a qualitative study to be able to get a deeper understanding of our problem and purpose. It includes literature about psychosocial work environment, motivation, well-being and tourism employee management. The theories are mainly based on Herzbergs two-factor theory, Hackman and Oldham's Job Characteristics Model and Job Design as well as Karasek and Theorell's demand-control model. The empirical material was collected through interviews with employees at Kon-Tiki. The interview questions are based on 25 factors that have significance for the psychosocial work environment.</p><p><strong>Results</strong>: Together the factors create a comprehensive view of the experience of being an employee at Kon-Tiki, why they are equally important for the employees' motivation and well-being. The all year around staff are generally more pleased at Kon-Tiki than the seasonal workers. Reasons might be the fact that the all year around staff have been employed for a long time, work all year around and therefore have a greater knowledge of the company and a better contact with the leadership, which gives them more influence and responsibility. The seasonal staff only work for shorter periods and might not have the same business think as the others, which might cause their different opinions. In spite of this, and the fact that the personnel mostly associate with people within their own groups, they believe they have a good fellowship at work. The results show that the type of employment has a big significance for the employee's experience of being an employee at Kon-Tiki. Their conditions and needs differ, which must be considered by the management in their work towards a happier and motivated personnel.</p>

<p>Sexual conflict can lead to antagonistic coevolution between the sexes, but empirical examples are few. In this thesis secondary sexual characters in diving beetles are interpreted in the light of sexual conflict theory. Whether the male tarsal suction cups and female dorsal modifications are involved in a coevolutionary arms race is tested in two ways. First eight populations of a species with dimorphic females that varied in frequency of the morphs were investigated and male tarsal characteristics quantified. The frequency of female morphs is shown to be significantly correlated to the average number and size of male tarsal suction cups in the population, a prediction of the arms race hypothesis. Second, the hypothesis is tested in a phylogenetic perspective by optimizing the secondary sexual characters on a phylogeny. A full taxonomic revision of the genus <i>Acilius</i> is presented, including new synonyms, lectotype designations, geographic distributions based on more than five thousand examined museum specimens and the description of a new species from northeastern USA. Specimens of all species (except one possibly extinct that failed to be found in Yunnan, China 2000), were field collected between 2000 and 2003 in Sardinia, Sweden, Russia, Honshu and Hokkaido in Japan, New York, Maryland, California and Alberta. Three genes (CO1, H3 and Wingless) were sequenced from the fresh material as well as scoring a morphological character matrix all of which was used to derive a robust and complete hypothesis of the phylogenetic relationship in the group. The phylogeny was derived using Bayesian phylogenetics with Markov Chain Monte Carlo techniques and received a posterior probability of 0.85. Changes in male and female characters turned out to be perfectly correlated across the phylogeny, providing one of the best empirical examples to date of an antagonistic arms race between the sexes in a group of organisms. Finally, a review of a pitfall to phylogenetic analysis known under the name long-branch attraction (LBA), is provided. The problem is well known theoretically but has been questioned to occur in real data, and LBA has been in the core center of the hard debate between parsimony and likelihood advocates since different inference methods vary in sensitivity to the phenomenon. Most important conclusions from the review are; LBA is very common in real data, and is most often introduced with the inclusion of outgroups that almost always provide long branches, pulling down long terminal ingroup branches towards the root. Therefore it is recommended to always run analyses with and without outgroups. Taxon sampling is very important to avoid the pitfall as well as including different kind of data, especially morphological data, i.e. many LBA-affected conclusions have recently been reached by analyses of few taxa with complete genomes. Long-branch extraction (incl. outgroup exclusion), methodological disconcordance (parsimony vs modelbased), separate partition analyses (morphology vs molecules, codon positions, genes, etc), parametric simulation (incl. random outgroups), and split graphs are available relevant methods for the detection of LBA that should be used in combinations, because none alone is enough to stipulate LBA.</p>

The current environmental status of the majority of Bermuda’s one hundred sixty-six known caves was investigated. This survey replicated a historical cave study performed in 1983, wherein each was analyzed for positive and negative features. Statistical analysis of the data showed a significant difference between the historical and current survey ratings, with an overall decrease in environmental status. A water quality study was performed on twenty different caves with sea level pools in various locations around the island. Nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, and phosphate levels were measured from varying depths in these caves. Fifteen of these caves were also tested for the presence of fecal bacterial contamination. High nitrate levels were discovered in some of the caves, particularly in surface samples. Additionally, bacterial contamination was detected in some caves. No obvious relationship between cave size or location and contamination existed for any of the pollutants sampled. Three separate caves from this group were dived and analyzed using a Hydrolab Sonde 3 Multiprobe Logger to acquire in situ water column data including depth, temperature, pH, salinity, and dissolved oxygen. Each cave studied had its own unique trends in hydrology at varying depths in the water column. A later water sampling study with a randomized experimental design was created and caves were divided into four classes based on size and location. Surface and subsurface samples were gathered from twelve randomly selected caves, three from each class. Each sample was analyzed for nitrate, nitrite, and ammonia concentrations. The results were analyzed using multiple analysis of variance statistics. A significant difference between the nitrate concentrations in the surface and subsurface water samples was discovered. None of the other comparisons were statistically significant. To represent the data visually, a Bermuda Cave and Karst Information System (BeCKIS) was created using the environmental survey data and water quality information. Some of the maps generated highlighted regions where negative environmental impacts on caves were concentrated geographically, thus demonstrating how this geographic information system could be used as a conservation tool.

Sexual conflict can lead to antagonistic coevolution between the sexes, but empirical examples are few. In this thesis secondary sexual characters in diving beetles are interpreted in the light of sexual conflict theory. Whether the male tarsal suction cups and female dorsal modifications are involved in a coevolutionary arms race is tested in two ways. First eight populations of a species with dimorphic females that varied in frequency of the morphs were investigated and male tarsal characteristics quantified. The frequency of female morphs is shown to be significantly correlated to the average number and size of male tarsal suction cups in the population, a prediction of the arms race hypothesis. Second, the hypothesis is tested in a phylogenetic perspective by optimizing the secondary sexual characters on a phylogeny. A full taxonomic revision of the genus Acilius is presented, including new synonyms, lectotype designations, geographic distributions based on more than five thousand examined museum specimens and the description of a new species from northeastern USA. Specimens of all species (except one possibly extinct that failed to be found in Yunnan, China 2000), were field collected between 2000 and 2003 in Sardinia, Sweden, Russia, Honshu and Hokkaido in Japan, New York, Maryland, California and Alberta. Three genes (CO1, H3 and Wingless) were sequenced from the fresh material as well as scoring a morphological character matrix all of which was used to derive a robust and complete hypothesis of the phylogenetic relationship in the group. The phylogeny was derived using Bayesian phylogenetics with Markov Chain Monte Carlo techniques and received a posterior probability of 0.85. Changes in male and female characters turned out to be perfectly correlated across the phylogeny, providing one of the best empirical examples to date of an antagonistic arms race between the sexes in a group of organisms. Finally, a review of a pitfall to phylogenetic analysis known under the name long-branch attraction (LBA), is provided. The problem is well known theoretically but has been questioned to occur in real data, and LBA has been in the core center of the hard debate between parsimony and likelihood advocates since different inference methods vary in sensitivity to the phenomenon. Most important conclusions from the review are; LBA is very common in real data, and is most often introduced with the inclusion of outgroups that almost always provide long branches, pulling down long terminal ingroup branches towards the root. Therefore it is recommended to always run analyses with and without outgroups. Taxon sampling is very important to avoid the pitfall as well as including different kind of data, especially morphological data, i.e. many LBA-affected conclusions have recently been reached by analyses of few taxa with complete genomes. Long-branch extraction (incl. outgroup exclusion), methodological disconcordance (parsimony vs modelbased), separate partition analyses (morphology vs molecules, codon positions, genes, etc), parametric simulation (incl. random outgroups), and split graphs are available relevant methods for the detection of LBA that should be used in combinations, because none alone is enough to stipulate LBA.

Problematik: Precis som många andra turismföretag så präglas dykföretag av säsongsarbete. Under lågsäsongen arbetar året runt personalen med få turister och kollegor och under högsäsongen arbetar de intensivt tillsammans med säsongsarbetare i ett halvårs tid i en destination full av turister. När lågsäsongen närmar sig minskar turistmängden och säsongsarbetarna. Det är en livsstil för båda grupperna, men också en tillfällig period för säsongsarbetarna och en vardag för året runt personalen. Personalen har således olika förutsättningar, intressen och behov och deras arbetsmotivation skiljer sig beroende på om de är åretruntarbetare eller säsongarbetare. Som arbetsgivare är det viktigt att ha förståelse för dessa skillnader för att kunna motivera personalen på bästa möjliga sätt, både under de stillsamma och de hektiska perioderna. Syfte: Syftet är att klargöra vilka motivations- och välmåendefaktorer som driver de åretruntanställda och säsongsanställda på Kon-Tiki att arbeta i en verksamhet med sådana speciella arbetsförhållanden, vad som motiverar dem att prestera sitt yttersta både för sin egen och företagets skull. Detta bidrar till en ökad förståelse för hur man som chef ska kunna leda och arbeta med motivation och välmående av anställda inom ett dykföretag i turismbranschen. Syftet är även att se på om det finns skillnader och likheter mellan grupperna angående deras syn på motivations- och välmåendefaktorer. Metod: Vi valde att göra en kvalitativ undersökning för att få en djupare förståelse för vår problematik och vårt syfte. Arbetet innehåller litteratur om psykosocial arbetsmiljö, motivation, välmående och tourism employee management. Teorierna baseras främst på Herzbergs två-faktor teori, Hackman och Oldhams arbetskaraktäristiska modell för arbetsmotivation samt Karasek och Theorells krav-kontroll modell. Det empiriska materialet är insamlat via intervjuer med anställda på Kon-Tiki. Intervjufrågorna är baserade på 25 faktorer vilka har betydelse för den psykosociala arbetsmiljön. Resultat: Tillsammans skapar faktorerna en helhetsbild av upplevelsen av att vara arbetstagare på Kon-Tiki och de är därför lika viktiga för personalens motivation och välmående. Åretruntarna är generellt mer nöjda på Kon-Tiki än vad säsongarna är. Detta kan bero på att åretruntarna har varit anställda länge, arbetar året runt och därmed har god insikt om verksamheten samt bättre kontakt med ledningen, vilket gör att de har ett större inflytande och ansvar. Säsongarna arbetar endast för en tillfällig period och har kanske inte samma företagstänk som de tillsvidareanställda har, vilket gör att de ser olika på saker. Trots detta, och att man mest umgås med personer inom sin egen grupp, upplevs gemenskapen vara bra. Resultatet visade att anställningsformen har stor betydelse för den anställdes upplevelser av att vara arbetstagare på Kon-Tiki. Deras förutsättningar och behov skiljer sig, vilket måste beaktas av ledningen i dennes arbete mot en mer nöjd och motiverad personal. / Problem: Diving companies are distinguished by seasonal work just as many other tourism companies. The all year around staff work with few tourists and colleagues during the low season and during the high season they work intense for six months together with seasonal workers in a destination full of tourists. When the low season approaches, both the tourists and seasonal workers decrease. It is a lifestyle for both groups, but a temporary period for the seasonal workers and an everyday life for the all year around workers. So the staff have different conditions, interests and needs and their work motivation differ depending on if they work all year around or seasonal. It is significant to have understanding for these differences as an employer to be able to motivate the employees in the best way possible, both during the tranquil and hectic work periods. Purpose: The purpose is to clarify which motivation and well-being factors that strive the all year around workers and seasonal workers at Kon-Tiki to work in a business with such special work conditions, what motivates them to perform to their fullest both for their own and the companies sake. This contributes to a greater understanding for how managers can lead and work with motivation and the well-being of employees in a diving company and in the tourism business. The purpose is also to see if there are differences or similarities between the groups. Methodology: We chose to do a qualitative study to be able to get a deeper understanding of our problem and purpose. It includes literature about psychosocial work environment, motivation, well-being and tourism employee management. The theories are mainly based on Herzbergs two-factor theory, Hackman and Oldham's Job Characteristics Model and Job Design as well as Karasek and Theorell's demand-control model. The empirical material was collected through interviews with employees at Kon-Tiki. The interview questions are based on 25 factors that have significance for the psychosocial work environment. Results: Together the factors create a comprehensive view of the experience of being an employee at Kon-Tiki, why they are equally important for the employees' motivation and well-being. The all year around staff are generally more pleased at Kon-Tiki than the seasonal workers. Reasons might be the fact that the all year around staff have been employed for a long time, work all year around and therefore have a greater knowledge of the company and a better contact with the leadership, which gives them more influence and responsibility. The seasonal staff only work for shorter periods and might not have the same business think as the others, which might cause their different opinions. In spite of this, and the fact that the personnel mostly associate with people within their own groups, they believe they have a good fellowship at work. The results show that the type of employment has a big significance for the employee's experience of being an employee at Kon-Tiki. Their conditions and needs differ, which must be considered by the management in their work towards a happier and motivated personnel.