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.

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.

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

[Truncated abstract] Introduction, Little is known about the prevalence of post-course diving injuries amongst Western Australian recreational divers, nor is it known which risk factors affect the Western Australian diver’s likelihood of sustaining a diving injury. Objective, The aim of this study was to measure the prevalence of diving-related injuries amongst Western Australians with varying experience since certification as entry-level divers within Western Australia (WA). Specifically, the study compared divers’ experience, behaviour and equipment with their diving injury history. It was hypothesised that diving experience has an effect upon the likelihood of a certified diver suffering any of the diving injuries most commonly reported amongst international diving populations. In addition, the strength of association between diving injuries and other potential risk factors was measured amongst certified Western Australian divers. Methods, A cross sectional survey of Western Australians, whom had completed a recognized entry-level recreational scuba diving course within WA, formed the basis of the study. Diver training facilities within WA posted a four-page questionnaire to divers they had trained to entry-level within the previous six years. The self-administered questionnaire collected data describing the divers’ post-course participation in scuba diving, injury prevalence during the last year, demographic characteristics and prevalence of known or hypothesized diving injury risk factors ... Conclusion, In this study diving experience, measured by the number of dives made during the previous year and the total number of dives made since certification, has not been found associated with the likelihood of reporting having suffered at least one diving injury of any type whilst diving during the previous year. Whilst the limited response rate and self-reporting methodology threaten the validity of the findings of this study, the findings improve our understanding of the type of diving injuries commonly suffered by divers, and of which risk factors are associated with a diver’s likelihood of suffering a diving related injury within WA. These findings may assist the design of further diving injury research, ultimately leading to the design of diving safety interventions aimed at reducing the prevalence of diving injuries amongst Western Australian recreational divers.

Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Thesis (M.F.A.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 1992. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaf 44).