A model for predicting the response of a system composed of a fluid halfspace, overlying a porous ground layer, resting on an elastic halfspace, to incident plane waves, is developed to include further porous elastic layers within the ground. The dynamic properties of the porous elastic layers are modelled using a modified Biot formulation. Using the same boundary conditions a Fast Field algorithm for Layered Air Ground Systems (FFLAGS) is formulated to predict acoustic propagation and acoustic-seismic coupling in the model layered system due to a point source in a horizontally stratified atmosphere. This is a full wave solution. Results are compared to those of existing propagation prediction methods. FFLAGS has been used to predict (i) the effects of temperature gradients on short range propagation over an asphalt like surface, (ii) sensitivity of received sound pressure levels to ground parameters for various atmospheric conditions, and (iii) the influence of ground parameters on acoustic-seismic coupling. Predictions of acoustic surface waves in the presence of an upward refracting atmosphere using Creeping wave theory and the FFP method have been shown to agree. Dispersion equation based predictions of surface wave types have been assessed. It has been shown that the high velocity surface waves predicted by dispersion equation solutions on porous and elastic ground surfaces are not predicted to be excited by a point source. However several other surface wave modes have been predicted in layered systems, similar to those predicted in visco-elastic media. The influence of ground elasticity on received sound pressure levels is examined. Measurable effects of elasticity of the surface are predicted for low density materials, and measured over a low density polyester foam. Controlled experiments have been performed to study the effect of soil wetting on acoustic to seismic coupling. It is found that the observed effects can be modelled using FFLAGS.

Gait biomechanics have been studied extensively. Many existing studies, though, have been performed in a controlled laboratory setting, and assumed that measures obtained are representative of gait in a naturalistic environment (e.g., outdoors). Several environmental and psychological factors may contribute to differences between these environments, and identifying any such differences is important for generalizing results outside the laboratory. The purpose of this study was to test the implicit assumption that gait inside a research laboratory does not differ from gait outdoors, when a participant is unaware of data collection in the latter. Means and interquartile ranges (IQR) of several spatio-temporal and kinematic gait characteristics were obtained from 19 young adults during several gait conditions both inside a laboratory environment and outdoors. Four comparisons were made between the two environments, including conditions involving: 1) self-selected speeds, 2) matching outdoors self-selected speeds, 3) matching outdoors self-selected speeds while carrying a crate, and 4) matching outdoors hurried speeds. Spatio-temporal variables differed between the two environments in that self-selected walking speed was 1.7% slower inside the lab and cadence was 1.4-2.6% lower for all four comparisons. At heel contact, the foot was 4.4-8.1% more dorsiflexed inside the lab for all comparisons except in matching hurried outdoors walking speed. Minimum toe clearance was 6.5-16.2% lower outdoors for all four comparisons. It is unclear if these differences impair the ability to generalize gait study results to outside the laboratory. Nevertheless, some specific differences exist in gait between environments, and that research should recognize. / Master of Science

In Sweden there is a growing interest among teachers to locate teaching outdoors. This is linked to beliefs about the potential for outdoor environments to reinforce learning, since the encounter with nature becomes more holistic. Outdoors, all the senses are involved in knowledge-building and activity experiences. According to previous research, outdoor learning can lead to reinforcement between learning domains and provide a bridge to higher order learning.   This thesis, comprising two papers, will focus on teachers’ intentions and educational objectives with outdoor learning, and how these educational objectives are implemented in outdoor activities. The alignment between teachers’ predefined objectives and the types of knowledge and cognitive processes reflected in the outdoor activities are also investigated. Semi-structured interviews, including descriptions of successful activities and reflections on metaphors and observations, were used to collect data. The interview transcripts were analysed using Halldén’s theory of intentional analysis to identify teachers’ intentions when locating learning outdoors.  Teachers’ objectives in the cognitive domain were further analysed by Bloom’s revised taxonomy.  The teachers have a range of reasons for outdoor learning, including pursuing theoretical knowledge through experience-based learning, exploring real objects using multiple senses, stimulating positive feelings towards nature, and promoting collaboration. The main intention of arranging outdoor learning is to create an alternative learning arena as an important complement to classroom learning, contributing values to students’ learning process. The teachers use a diverse set of outdoor activities. The findings included a typology of four teacher types: one values affective and social objectives and promotes activities to understand factual knowledge, another type stresses activities intended to gain procedural knowledge and emphasizes application of practical tasks. The other two teacher types primarily focus on cognitive objectives, partly to reinforce conceptual knowledge, and partly to deepen understanding or improve strategies to enhance meta-cognitive knowledge. The degree of alignment between intended objectives and performed activity is higher among teachers promoting affective and social goals alongside meta-cognitive and analytical understanding, than teachers who use outdoor activities mainly to reinforce conceptual knowledge. The thesis shows that there is a range of possible learning goals in outdoor education and that teachers are guided by what they value and how they perceive learning. / I Sverige finns ett växande intresse bland lärare att förlägga undervisning utomhus. Detta är kopplat till föreställningar om utomhusmiljöns potential för att stärka lärandet, eftersom mötet med naturen blir mer holistisk. Utomhus är alla sinnen involverade i kunskapsuppbyggnad och erfarenheter genom aktivitet. Enligt tidigare forskning kan lärande utomhus leda till förstärkning mellan lärandedomäner och ge en överbryggning till mer komplext lärande. Denna avhandling, bestående av två delstudier, fokuserar lärarnas avsikter och pedagogiska mål med lärande utomhus och hur dessa pedagogiska mål genomförs i utomhusaktiviteter. Vidare undersökts överensstämmelse mellan lärarnas fördefinierade mål och de typer av kunskap och kognitiva processer som avspeglas i utomhusaktiviteterna. Semi strukturerade intervjuer, vilka inkluderade beskrivningar av framgångsrika aktiviteter och reflektioner kring metaforer samt observationer har användes för att samla in data. Intervju transkripter har analyserats med hjälp av Halldéns teori om intentionell analys för att identifiera lärarnas intentioner med att förlägga lärande utomhus. Lärarnas mål i den kognitiva domänen har analyserats vidare med Blooms reviderade taxonomi. Lärarna har en rad anledningar till lärande utomhus, vilka inkluderar att utöva teoretiska kunskaper genom upplevelsebaserat lärande, att utforska verkliga objekt med hjälp av flera sinnen, att stimulera positiva känslor för naturen, och främja samarbete. Det huvudsakliga syftet med att arrangera utomhuslärande är att skapa en alternativ lärandearena som ett viktigt komplement till klassrumsundervisningen, vilket bidrar till värden i elevernas inlärningsprocess. Lärarna använder en mängd olika utomhusaktiviteter. Resultaten innehåller också en typologi av fyra lärartyper: en som värden affektiva och sociala mål och främjar aktiviteter för att förstå faktakunskap, en annan typ betonar aktiviteter som syftar till att få formella kunskaper och understryker tillämpning av praktiska uppgifter. De andra två lärartyperna fokuserar främst kognitiva mål, dels för att stärka konceptuella kunskaper, dels för att fördjupa förståelsen eller förbättra strategier för att förbättra meta-kognitiv kunskap. Graden av överensstämmelse mellan avsiktliga mål och utförda mål genom aktivitet är högre bland de lärare som främjar affektiva och sociala mål liksom meta-kognitiv och analytisk förståelse, än de lärare som använder utomhusaktiviteter främst för att förstärka konceptuella kunskaper. Avhandlingen visar att det finns en rad möjliga lärandemål i utomhusundervisning samt att lärarna styrs av vad de värderar och hur de uppfattar lärande.

This study analyzes the life histories and present day experiences of female students from a college located east of Los Angeles with regards to their relationships with nature and outdoor recreation. I use data collected from in-depth interviews with eight women. These interviews illuminated the impacts that their fathers had on their early socialization with nature as well as their perspectives on being women in the outdoors. Furthermore, an analysis of an on-campus club reveals the ways in which outdoor recreation is not accessible for all individuals. These findings add to the existing bodies of literature on public space as well as the formation of early adulthood experiences with the outdoors among women resulting from childhood socialization.

Title: Risk perception and attitudes towards risk of young scouts from European countries. Objectives: The aim of the study was to find out differences of risk perception and attitudes towards risk between young scouts from European countries. Methods: The questionnaire was filled by 126 young scouts from 18 European countries. Asked scouts were in Rover and Rangers categories, aged 16 to 25. The research sample consisted of 66 men and 60 women. Questionnaires Risk orientation questionnaire were analysed by basic statistic methods like median and mean. Specific comparison was made by Pearson coefficient and factor analysis. The aim of their using was to compare parts of the questionnaire (sex, countries, similarity of answers). For some comparison were chosen only countries with more respondents (≥ 9). Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, and Denmark were joined up to one category Scandinavia. Results: There are no significant results shown by mean and median for countries with respondents (≥ 9). Small variances were qualified only for the Czech Republic, Germany and Portugal. Comparing results of men a women shown small differences only in questions 5 and 6. In general, there were no significant differences between men a women. Factor analysis, particularly, correlation factors shown small...

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) offers over 25 different outdoor recreational and outreach educational programs that target different audiences and utilize different types of delivery systems. This study was an evaluation of an educational program called Becoming an Outdoors-Woman (BOW). The evaluation produced a measurement instrument that evaluated program effectiveness and tested the instrument on past participants. The questionnaire determined respondents’: (1) history of program participation, (2) knowledge of TPWD’s mission and purpose, (3) level of involvement in selected outdoor recreational activities before and after program participation, (4) knowledge of basic outdoor recreational regulations and behaviors, (5) level of compliance with a variety of outdoor recreational behaviors, (6) attitudinal position on opposing statements on outdoor recreational ethics or behaviors, and (7) demographic characteristics. The two groups surveyed were all participants of BOW between 1993 and 1998 (n = 1,240) and the control group (n = 61) made of women who had signed up for the program but had not yet attended. Sampling error for the participants was high, but met the statistically acceptable range of repeatable results at +/- 3%. The only demographic difference (P ≤ 0.05) between groups was age, i.e., BOW participants were older (χ2 = 46.3) than the control group (χ2 = 40.8). Chi-square tests showed differences in awareness of the missions and goals of TPWD. GLM tests detected no differences (P ≤ 0.05) between the participants and the control group in general outdoor knowledge, behavior given various outdoor recreational scenarios and ethical positions on dichotomous statements. However, there were differences between groups on some items within each of those categories. On those items the r2 value (≤ 0.02) showed that the difference found between groups had little to do with program participation. Respondents’ comments focused on the BOW program, the questionnaire, and TPWD. Study findings are discussed in the context of the program evaluation process. Several recommendations for future program evaluations and concluding remarks are included in this thesis.

Mobile computing allows individuals to bring computing with them into the outdoors. This creates a new situation in which individuals can stay connected even when trying to "get away from it all." Questions arise from this juxtaposition regarding whether the inclusion of computing in these activities is a positive or a negative. Evidence exists supporting both conclusions. We posit that computing can contribute positively to outdoor recreation without distracting. This dissertation details work undertaken in two phases which explores how computing can accomplish this goal. Phase 1 explored how individuals are already using computing technology in hiking, and culminated with the development of a model describing individuals' decisions regarding technology use on the trail. In Phase 2, we developed a vision which navigates the tension between the connection technology provides to our day-to-day lives and the desire to disconnect, along with prototypes which serve as an embodiment of this vision. We found that computing is in wide use by hikers, and through qualitative data analysis we developed a Two Worlds model which describes their decisions regarding technology use when hiking. This model provides a space which can be probed and explored in future work. Our vision guides careful growth in the inclusion of computing in outdoor recreation, allowing computing to support activities without becoming a distraction. Our work makes important empirical, theoretical, and artifact contributions to the field of HCI. It also identifies interesting areas of exploration, some of which have already informed the development of our Two Worlds model, and some of which remain largely unexplored. In this sense, our work has both blazed new trails in exploring computing's place in outdoor recreation and identified "side trails" for further exploration by ourselves and others. We look forward to this work and its results.

This thesis presents a series of studies into the responses of people to outdoor thermal conditions experienced over all seasons in the United Kingdom. The aim was to investigate practical methods for predicting human responses to outside weather conditions, which would be useful in predicting effects on human comfort and health. The studies involved both laboratory experiments and field trials. One particular aspect of outside conditions, not usually investigated in laboratory studies, is the contribution of solar radiation. Single subject and thermal manikin studies were used to determine the contribution of solar radiation to human response. In addition to this, a total of 168 subjects responses were recorded during trials at the Loughborough University weather station compound. (latitude 52.47N and longitude 01.11W). The trials were distributed between July 2007 and October 2008. This provided a comprehensive data-base for the evaluation of thermal indices. The thesis is divided into four parts. Part one provides an introduction to the subject and a comprehensive literature review. It also describes equipment, calibration procedures and methods used. Part two quantified the contribution of solar radiation to the heat load on a person. A human subject and a heated thermal manikin were exposed to outdoor thermal conditions, while in light clothing and (for the person) conducting a step test. They were then exposed to identical conditions in a thermal chamber, but without the contribution of the sun. The conditions outside were 23˚C air temperature, 42˚C mean radiant temperature and 54% relative humidity with an average air velocity of 0.75 ms-1. The difference in sweat rate (person) and heat required (manikin) between outdoor and indoor conditions were used to estimate the contribution of the sun. Using three different analyses estimates were 14 Wm-2, 35 Wm-2 and 50 Wm-2 depending upon the assumptions made. Part three describes current thermal indices that can be used to assess the effects of weather conditions on people. It also presents the results of weather station measurements over the time period considered. In chapters 8 and 9 field trials are described which capture both the thermal conditions and human physiological and subjective responses to those conditions. Chapter 10 uses the data collected to provide an evaluation of current thermal indices for predicting human responses. The range of air temperature and relative humidity (at 2 pm) over a year was -2˚C to 29˚C and 34% to 95% respectively. Wind speed varied and was greater in winter and spring than in summer and autumn. Solar radiation was influenced by the altitude of the sun which depended upon season. Mean solar radiation increased from December to June and decreased from June to December. The subjective and physiological responses for 130 people (65 males and 65 females) over a range of outdoor weather conditions are presented. Physiological responses for females generally showed a stronger relationship with environmental variables and subjective responses than those for males. The subjective and physiological responses of four groups (one in each season of the year - involving a total of 38 people), are presented. It was found that there were significant individual differences in response. Part four provides a suggestion for an improved thermal index. The PMV (Predicted Mean Vote) out of four thermal indices (WBGT, PMV, WCI/tch and Twc) had the strongest relationship with environmental variables and physiological responses but had a weak relationship with subjective responses. A PMVoutdoors index was developed to improve the prediction of subjective responses for the outdoor conditions investigated. Conclusions and recommendations for future research are provided.

My main question in this essay has been: why does the preschool advocate being outdoors? How should we respond to parents who have a different view on this? Children's right to participation and influence is also a question that I raise. How should we preschool teachers do when we stand between the child's desire to be out and the parents wish that their child should be indoors? By reading what is written in the preschool curriculum on children's influence, I have come to the conclusion that we preschool teachers must listen to what the children express that they wish to do, otherwise we go against our policy documents. My dilemma is about how to respond to parents who have a different opinion on being outdoors than we have. Many parents express an aversionagainst their children having to be outdoors. Us preschool teachers have to explain to them why it is important to be outdoors. Through literature, I have come to the conclusion that the only way for the children to get an understanding about natural science, is to be outdoors. In order to acquire knowledge of nature and the environment, you have to experience it with your senses. Cultural clashes between preschool teachers and parents can occur because many of the parents come from different cultures than we do. You must therefore have an interest in learning about other cultures and also have an open approach towards the cultural differences that may arise between the teachers and the parents. What I have learned by writing this essay is, that it is important to have the ability to understand what other people think and also show an interest in their culture, norms and values. By taking the time to listen to the parent’s feelings and explain to them why we believe it is important to be outdoors, I think that the parents can get a better understanding of why it is good to be outdoors. By explaining to them that it is about giving their child a natural science learning, which is useful in their future life, I believe that they can see this from a different point of view. I also discuss, from a historical perspective, how the idea of the “competent child” has developed in Sweden.

This thesis explores the motivations and experiences of those thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail in the 20th and 21st Century. A detailed analysis examines the influence of conservationism, urban development, and collective American values on trail culture. The analysis uses Susan Fast's methodology from her 2000 article, "Rethinking Issues of Gender and Sexuality in Led Zeppelin: A Woman's view of Pleasure and Power in Hard Rock," as a model. Personal experiences from hiking the A.T. in 2003 are analyzed in juxtaposition with other hiker's written accounts. The bulk of these journals come from the website TrailJournals.com. The Appalachian Trail extends over 2,100 miles from Georgia to Maine. The A.T. was initiated based on the ideas of Benton MacKaye. The trail was completed in 1937 and is now used by three to four million people per year. The popularity of hiking the trail has increased with time, in part due to people's perceived ideas of what nature holds for them. The study explores various accounts of those who found themselves in transition, such as retiring, graduating from school, or experiencing a divorce. These individuals looked to hiking the Appalachian Trail as an enriching experience before going back to normalcy in everyday society. This particular form of outdoor recreation is contingent upon the individual's experience living in an urban/suburban environment. Hikers escape from and yet long for connectivity to civilization. The Appalachian Trail is therefore an environment that not only reveals Americans' ideal of nature but what Americans value. This study looks at the unique outdoors experience hikers face and the emergence of their transformative selves that result from such an adventure. It reveals common trends in hiker motivations over the years, and contrasts thru-hiking culture with collective values promoted by modern American society.