The Mark 0. Hatfield Marine Science Center (HMSC) public education opportunities include interpretive programs offered along the Estuary Nature Trail. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of three informal education programs, interpretive signs, a self-guided trail brochure, and guided naturalist walks, in imparting information on the ecology of estuaries to visitors. A second objective was to determine visitors attitudes towards estuarine and wetland conservation issues. A questionnaire including knowledge and attitude statements and demographics was distributed to 901 participants. Results show that the three programs are effective in teaching visitors about estuarine ecology, with the naturalist walks being the most effective. Knowledge of estuarine ecology and attitudes towards estuarine and wetland conservation issues were associated with visitor characteristics such as level of education, membership in a conservation organization, residence proximity to wetlands, awareness of local wetland controversies, and previous visits to an estuary trail. Observations of visitor behavior along the estuary trail showed that visitor groups spent an average of 16 minutes on the trail. At each interpretive sign between 54 and 77% of the visitors were observed reading the information; those reading times ranged from 16 to 33 seconds per sign. / Graduation date: 1994

Thesis (M.U.D.)--University of Hong Kong, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 75-79).

This research focuses on documenting and analyzing the factors that affect mountain climbing in the state of Colorado and assessing the potential environmental impacts caused by the growing number of climbers visiting the Fourteeners—the 58 mountain peaks located within the Rocky Mountains exceeding an elevation of 14,000 feet. Key objectives were to: 1. identify factors that have a significant effect on mountain climbing frequency; 2. collect information from physical trail and route evaluation to develop an interim classification index; 3. combine relevant variables to formulate a composite Fourteeners Environmental Degradation Index (FEDI) and use it to evaluate, rank, and compare the 58 fourteeners within the six major mountain ranges; and 4. examine sensitivity of this composite index based on changing relative importance of the input variables. Results from the first phase, based on statistical tests, indicated that annual climbing frequency has a significant positive association with (a) distance from Denver; (b) direct distance from the summit to the nearest paved road; (c) length of the trail/route; and (d) climbing route difficulty. Elevation of a peak’s trailhead, however, is the only variable with a significantly negative relationship with climbing frequency of the fourteeners. The second phase of the study involved the assessment of adverse impacts (trail erosion and trail status) through extensive fieldwork. The data was used to develop an interim FEDI. Peaks in the Front Range (e.g., Mount Evans, Longs Peak, and Pikes Peak) indicate the most adverse human-environmental impacts. Variables from both previous phases were combined to develop the final FEDI. Analyses indicated that Mount Evans (Front Range) was ranked highest (highest level of adverse impacts), while Culebra (Sangre de Cristo Range) ranked lowest. The mountain ranges closest to Denver (Front Range and Tenmile/Mosquito) yielded the highest average ranks, while ranges farthest from Denver showed lowest ranks. Sensitivity analyses of the FEDI suggested that rankings were not drastically altered by adjusting relative importance of input factors. The findings provide important insights on identifying preservation needs within heavily visited mountain environments and can be used to guide future protection efforts, trail construction, and maintenance for existing trails and routes.

These photographs offer illustrations of the people, places, and resources along the two prominent pilgrimage trails in the Timber Mountain Caldera region. These photographs were taken during the 2006 Timber Mountain Caldera Landscape Study, the 2001 Shoshone Mountain Wind Farm Environmental Assessment, and 1999 NTS Rock Art study.

In meteor-burst communications systems, the channel is bursty with a continuously fluctuating signal-to-noise ratio. Adaptive data rate systems attempt to use the channel more optimally by varying the bit rate. Current adaptive rate systems use a method of closed-loop decision-feedback to control the transmitted data rate. It is proposed that an open-loop adaptive data rate system without a decision feedback path may be possible using implicit channel information carried in the first few milliseconds of the link establishment probe signal. The system would have primary application in low-cost half-duplex telemetry systems. It is shown that the key elements in such a system would be channel predictors. The development of these predictors is the focus of this research. Two novel methods of predicting channel parameters are developed. The first utilises early fast Doppler information that precedes many long duration, large signal-to-noise-ratio overdense trails. The presence of early fast Doppler at the trail commencement is used as a toggle to operate at a higher data rate. Factors influencing the use of early fast Doppler for this purpose are also presented. The second method uses artificial neural networks. Data measured during trail formation is processed and presented to the neural networks for prediction of trail parameters. Several successful neural networks are presented which predict trail type, underdense or overdense, and peak trail amplitude from the first 50ms of the trail's lifetime. This method allows better estimation of the developing trail. This fact can be used to implement a multi-rate open-loop adaptive data rate system. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1994.

Modem technology has revived interest in the once popular area of meteor scatter communications. Meteor scatter systems offer reliable communications in the 500 to 2000 km range all day, every day. Recent advances in microprocessor technology have made meteor scatter communications a viable and cost effective method of providing modest data rate communications. A return to the basic fundamentals has revealed characteristics of meteor scatter propagation that can be used to optimize the protocols for a meteor scatter link. The duration of an underdense trail is bounded when its initial amplitude is known. The upper bound of the duration is determined by maximizing the classical underdense model. The lower bound is determined by considering the volume of sky utilized. The duration distribution between these bounds is computed and compared to measured values. The duration distribution is then used to specify a fixed data rate, frame adaptive protocol which more efficaciously utilizes underdense trails, in the half duplex environment, than a non-adaptive protocol. The performance of these protocols is verified by modeling. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1987.

The responses of invasive exotic plant species (IES) to silvicultural treatments one growing season after timber harvesting were examined in the Cumberland Plateau region of Southeastern Kentucky. Treatments included a commercial deferment harvest and unharvested control applied to five watersheds within University of Kentucky’s Robinson Forest. The effects of harvesting were compared between treatments and between preharvest and postharvest samplings. The spatial distribution and abundance of targeted IES throughout forest sites and trail systems were calculated from several sampling schemes. Additional analyses were performed to quantify forest disturbances derived from harvest activities to determine the relationships between soil, light levels, and other environmental characteristics and IES cover. Logistic and multivariate analysis techniques were used to analyze differences in IES distribution between pre-harvest and post-harvest units to relate post-harvest IES to microsite conditions. Microsite conditions within the forest and along the trail system proved important for explaining the presence and distribution of IES. Timber harvesting caused a significant increase in both Ailanthus altissima and Microstegium vimineum within harvested areas. However, many other identified IES did not initially respond to disturbances. Throughout the treatment units, species were influenced by disturbance type and intensity, as well as proximity to reclaimed surface mined land.

If students are to become aware of the vital, but fragile, interrelationships in their environment, they require many firsthand experiences in the out-of-doors. Environmental education is taught in some classrooms and nature centers, but to date, little research has been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the instructional methods used. Nature center managers are finding it difficult to personally educate an increasing number of park visitors. School teachers who may lack expertise in the natural sciences need educational resources that can be used to supplement their science curricula. These situations indicate that there is a growing demand for environmental interpretive methods that are dynamic, convenient, and accessible to a large number of people.The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a particular method of interpretation which involves the use of a taped message and hands-on activities along a nature trail. Middle school students took part in the project. The treatment for the experimental group consisted of taped instruction and nature trail activities. The control group toured Christy Woods Arboretum without a taped message. Both groups completed a short written questionnaire after theirexperience. Responses were analyzed to determine if the taped interpretive method was effective in helping students learn concepts and develop positive attitudes toward the natural environment. Teacher response was also evaluated.

This project examines the effectiveness of a citizens' advisory committee initiated by the author to assist in the development of a bicycle facilities plan for Madison County, Indiana. A "ladder of citizen participation" was used to rank the level of citizen participation achieved. The MCCOG Bicycle Facility Plan was authored as part of the creative project is also studied in this project. Two components of the plan that were analyzed were the plan's success in meeting performance criteria, and the plan's approach in dealing with the question of separating bicycle traffic from auto traffic or integrating bicycles with auto traffic.This study finds that the participatory process is dynamic and that the level of citizen participation is variable and perhaps progressive. The plan was measured for meeting benchmarks of accessibility and continuity in its proposed routes. Local systems were found to have an integrated approach, while regional systems tend to have a nearly even mix of separated and integrated route systems. / Department of Urban Planning

This creative project presents a plan for interpreting the natural, cultural, and historical features of the Whitewater Gorge Park in Richmond, Indiana to the people who will visit the park in the future. The plan begins with inventories of natural, cultural, and historical resources, management concerns, and visual character, and also examines patterns of use in the park. The park's greatest assets are summarized in a series of interpretive themes; for each theme, specific interpretive media and methods are proposed and discussed. Interpretive measures are then grouped in lists of short-term and long-term priorities.An appendix to this creative project outlines the results of a questionnaire completed by a group of hikers in the park. The questionnaire was designed to sample hikers' opinions about the usefulness of a printed trail guide with which they had been supplied, and to investigate their reactions to the Whitewater Gorge Park as a whole. / Department of Landscape Architecture