Thesis--University of Wisconsin--Madison. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 396-407).

Thesis (M.P.H.)--University of Western Australia, 2006.

Scuba diver impacts on coral reefs are causing many threats to reefs. One solution is to change divers’ behaviors through on-site environmental education. The Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary developed an education program in an effort to achieve this goal. The purpose of this study was to describe the education program, understand how it affected divers’ knowledge of and value orientation toward coral reefs, and examine two teaching approaches conducted in a recreation/tourism setting. Two theories were tested in this study. Orams’ model was used to develop the “Naturalist Onboard” program and describe how the model played out in a diver education situation. The work Bransford’s team did was tested to see how their teaching approach works in a recreation/tourism setting. Evaluating this program was achieved through pre- and post-questionnaires, participant observation and semi-structured interviews. They were used in the first article to provide a description of how Orams’ model played out in the real world. In the second article they were used to determine: 1) the value orientation of the divers, 2) how much knowledge divers gained via participation in this program, 3) the relationship between value orientation and knowledge gained, and 4) the degree their value orientations affect knowledge acquisition. In the final article they were used to see how two teaching approaches affected divers’ knowledge and value orientations about coral reefs, and how the divers responded to the two approaches. The program aroused divers’ curiosity, engaged their emotions, and motivated them to minimize their impacts while visiting the coral reef. However, suggestions for making changes in their behavior at home were not received well. Most divers had a “biocentric” value orientation and gained a significant amount of knowledge. These divers were also more open to learning and changing their behaviors. There was no significant difference between the two approaches regarding the divers’ knowledge and value orientation. This may be due to validity threats. Due to time constraints and divers’ lack of interest in actively acquiring knowledge, the constructivist teaching approach did not work well in this setting.

Open net-pen aquaculture allows for free exchange of materials between farm and wild environments. Increased habitat complexity in the form of farm infrastructure produces effects similar to fish aggregating devices and artificial reefs, altering the distribution and abundance of fish species within the greater area. The continuous input of nutrients via fish waste and uneaten food pellets can amplify such effects, leading to large and persistent aggregations of wild fish near aquaculture sites. These aggregations have been quantified in numerous geographical locations but data are lacking for salmon farms in coastal British Columbia. The footprint of the attractive effects is also poorly understood in all cases as research has focused on fish populations directly associated with the infrastructure. In this study wild fish populations were quantified at shallow rocky ecosystems adjacent to salmon farms in the Broughton Archipelago and compared to paired reference sites with similar habitat characteristics to test for aggregating effects. Two SCUBA divers performed visual surveys along six 25x4x4m transects at each site, three at each of two depth ranges: deep (12-16m) and shallow (6-10m). Species, abundance, and estimated total length, as well as temperature, salinity, rugosity, and visibility were examined. A combination of multivariate and univariate statistical analysis were performed to compare the physical characteristics, community composition, number of individuals, and biomass between farms and reference sites. The overall community composition was significantly different at farm sites despite no difference found in the physical habitat characteristics between treatments. This difference was predominantly driven by five fish species, yellowtail rockfish (Sebastes flavidus), copper rockfish (Sebastes caurinus) quillback rockfish (Sebastes maliger), shiner perch (Cymatogaster aggregata) and striped perch (Embiotoca lateralis). Presence/absence data showed no significant difference in species identity between farms and references, implying that the difference in community composition was primarily driven by changes in abundance rather than species identity. The total number of fish and biomass of all fish species was also significantly higher at farms. These results suggest that salmon farms in the Broughton Archipelago alter the community structure and increase the abundance of near-field wild fish populations. The aggregating effects are asymmetric within the community, with higher trophic level species showing the greatest increases in abundance. The potential implications of these results include a greater risk of disease and parasite transfer between farm and wild fish, as well as within each population. The ecological relationships among species may also be compromised with predator amplified communities potentially exhibiting top-down effects on the rest of the food web. Changes to wild fish communities seen up to 170m away from farm infrastructure suggest that the mechanism of the attractive effects may be driven more by nutrient subsidies than the presence of infrastructure. This work underscores the need to determine the full spatial extent and mechanisms of attractive effects as well as the ecological implications of persistent aggregations of wild fish near salmon farms. / Graduate

No description available.

Thesis (M. Arch.)--University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes special study report entitled: Seaside architecture: a connection to another dimension. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Arch.)--University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes special study report entitled : Seaside architecture: a connection to another dimension. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Queensland, 2006. / Includes bibliography.

A dissertation submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for the Master's Degree in Technology: Chiropractic, Durban Institute of Technology, 2002. / The aim of this point prevalence study was to compare the prevalence of temporomandibular joint dysfunction in recreational scuba divers and snorkiers, as opposed to non-divers, in terms of subjective findings. The Durban Metropolitan area diving population consisted of approximately 2500 divers and therefore the population size decided on was 200 divers and 200 non-divers. A total of 400 questionnaires were filled in with the participant's subjective data about their pain, limited mouth opening, and jaw joint noises. The divers were asked about their dive certification, and the number of dives done in order to establish whether they had dived within three months prior to participating in the study. The results were statistically analysed using chi-squared tests with the pvalue of a = 0.05. Tables and bar charts were constructed to visually represent the data and allow for descriptive analysis. The overall prevalence of TMJD in divers was 46.5% and in non-divers 54%. The chi-squared analysis shows no significant difference between the two groups. Among other findings, the relationship between the use of diving mouthpieces and TMJD was considered and it was established that 20% of divers, in this / M

Thesis (MA (Counselling Psychology)--University of Pretoria, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references.