Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'River training'

The effectiveness of a guide training program was evaluated as a means of providing interpretive services to commercial boaters at the New River Gorge National River. Commercial river guides attended a National Park Service sponsored training program which provided accurate information and education concerning natural and cultural history of the New River, the national significance of the New River Gorge National River, the history and purpose of the National Park Service, and information and services available at the visitor centers. The emphasis of the training session was to increase the river guides’ knowledge base and to encourage their interpretive presentation of this information to their customers. Customers of a commercial outfitter were administered a questionnaire before and after the guide training program. Significant differences in the amount of interpretation guides presented on the river, the amount of knowledge customers acquired during the trip, and the customers' overall trip rating were noted by empirical testing. Increases in the means of all three outcome variables occurred following guide training. Customers’ intentions to visit a New River Gorge Visitor Center did not significantly change following guide training. The validity and reliability of the instrument is discussed as well as potential biases and constraints of the study. Implications for management and further research are also discussed.
M.S.

River training structures are widely used to create and maintain navigable waterways, to restore rivers and channels in a more stable condition, to promote environmental benefits, and to protect people and infrastructure from damages or floods. Few historical datasets on the changes and impacts in secondary waterbodies resulting from notched river training structures are available for the Lower Mississippi River. Access to the notched training structures on the Lower Mississippi River remains difficult and inhibits data collection for monitoring efforts. This increases the need for alternative methods such as numerical models for assessing the performance of the notched training structures. A quasi-three-dimensional Adaptive Hydraulics model was assembled and used to provide a hydraulic assessment of seven notched river training structures in the Lower Mississippi River. The hydraulic assessment of the notches included assessing the impacts to navigation, the long-term trends, and the potential for aquatic wildlife habitat diversity.

By combining FEMA's HAZUS-MH (Hazards U.S. Multi-Hazard) flood-loss estimation software and the HEC-RAS hydraulic modeling package, this study was able to quantify potential beneficial and adverse impacts of flood-control and navigational structures along the Middle Mississippi River (MMR; between Mississippi-Missouri River confluence and Thebes, IL). The goal of this investigation was to assess changes in water-surface elevations and associated flood losses to: 1) quantify the potential exposure of flooding under different flood-control configurations along the Middle Mississippi River (MMR), and 2) assess the relative contributions of various engineered structures and flood-loss strategies to potential flood losses. Assessment of the impact of engineering structures was accomplished by modeling five scenarios for the 100- and 500- year floods: 1) current MMR levee configuration (levee protecting for ≤50-year flood); 2) removal of all flood-control structures on the MMR; 3) increasing the height of levees and floodwalls in metropolitan St. Louis to protect urban areas to the 500-year flood level while simultaneously removing all agricultural levees downstream; 4A) a less engineered MMR channel and floodplain with fewer flood control and navigation structures, simulating conditions from 65 years ago (1942-1947) with 1940's levees; and 4B) a less engineered MMR channel and floodplain with fewer flood control and navigation structures, simulating conditions from 65 years ago (1942-1947) with current levee configuration. Comparison of scenarios 2 and 3 relative to scenario 1 allows for quantitative assessment of the flood-control structures on stages and flood losses. Results from scenario 2 revealed that removing all levees along the MMR reduces the average stages from 2.2 m (100-year) to 2.5 m (500-year, but also increased economic and social impacts relative to scenario 1. Scenario 3 revealed that removing agricultural levees downstream of St. Louis on the MMR decreased stages by 1.4 m (100- and 500-year); however, flood losses for the 100-year flood were increased. Flood losses for the 500-year flood were decreased relative to scenario 1. These results suggest that agricultural levees along the MMR protect against medium size floods (50- or 100-year flood) but cause more damage than they prevent during large floods such as the 500-year flood. Comparison of scenarios 4A and 4B relative to scenario 1 allows for a quantitative assessment of river engineering structures and modern buildings constructed over the last 65 years. In scenarios 4A and 4B, a less engineered river decreased stages by 1.2 m (for the 100-year flood) relative to scenario 1. In scenario 4A, the 1940's levees expose modern buildings in the floodplain to flooding, causing economic building losses to increase; however, in scenario 4B, current levee configuration protects modern buildings in the floodplain from flooding causing, economic building losses to decrease. If the current flood-control structures were not built, it is likely that the land in the floodplain for scenarios 4A and 4B would not be developed and the land used would be more flood-tolerant. Sensitivity analyses were run to assess the impact of using the default HAZUS-MH national-level data; this was done by comparing results produced by using aggregate analysis (coarse data) versus results using UDF analysis (detailed data). The aggregate analysis estimated 51% fewer buildings damaged than the UDF analysis. Conversely, the aggregate analysis increased the economic building losses by 51% relative to the UDF analysis. Although collecting local data for a study is not always feasible, the large differences documented here need to be considered when discussing HAZUS-MH results. Overall, this project shows implications for historic and future flood-control and navigational structure projects on the MMR and other rivers. It also emphasizes the importance of studying the impact future engineering structures will have on water-surface elevations and flood losses before implementing them.

The Mississippi River is one of the most intensively managed and altered river systems in the world. The alterations to the Mississippi have been largely made to meet navigation demands and mitigate floods. River training has been undertaken using rock structures, commonly referred to as river training structures (RTS), to modify the shape of the river to maintain the Congressional mandated navigation channel dimensions. In addition to maintaining the navigation channel, newer RTS such as chevrons, have been claimed to be designed as an improvement to the previously existing dikes. They are considered to be tools of improving riverine habitat by increasing physical habitat heterogeneity within the highly engineered and consequently uniform river channel. Thus, to evaluate the differences in physical habitat heterogeneity created by the two RTS; a dike and a chevron, this study models and compares the physical aquatic habitats created along the Middle Mississippi River near Grand Tower, Illinois. The hydraulic modelling software HEC-RAS has been used to develop a two-dimensional model of the study area containing the RTS using detailed 2 m- resolution topobathy digital elevation model (DEM), U.S Geologic Survey’s National Land Cover Database (NLCD), an existing one-dimensional model of the Mississippi and hydrologic data from several hydrologic monitoring stations for the years 2008-2016. Depth and velocity grids were extracted from the HEC-RAS model for three different discharge conditions; 0.5 mean annual flow (MAF) with 40% exceedance probability, MAF with 80% exceedance probability and 1.5 MAF with 15% exceedance probability were used to develop and categorize physical habitat distribution maps of the study area using ArcGIS. The modeled physical aquatic habitat patches were assessed at three buffer distances of 30 m, 90 m, and 150 m from the RTS. The area Simpson diversity and Jaccard similarity indices were calculated for the different discharge conditions and associated habitat mosaics. The distribution of physical habitat modeling revealed a variation in the pattern of habitat patches between the dike and chevron. For the chevron dike evaluated in this study, very-slow deep habitat patches are created in the inner portion of the chevron and slow deep patches around the exterior of the structure which extend both up and downstream of the structure. The dike created slow-deep habitat patches along the structure, very-slow deep patches on the riverbank edge and fast- deep patches on the river side edge. Evaluation of physical habitat patch diversity in relation to the distance from the RTS revealed the highest diversity index values were found within the first 30 m buffer and generally decrease with distance away from the structure. Comparison of the Jaccard index values in vicinity of the two evaluated RTS suggest the habitat patch diversity are similar for both structures at 0.5 MAF and 1.5 MAF flow conditions (index value ranging between 0.60-0.87). However, for the MAF flow conditions the Jaccard index suggests there is more physical habitat patch diversity in the vicinity of the chevron relative to the dike. The modeling results suggest both physical habitat patch richness and diversity declines with an increase in discharge. The decline in physical habitat patch richness and diversity with discharge conditions were greater for the dike relative to the chevron, thus while the chevron retains more types of habitat patches with increase in discharge the diversity indices are still higher for the dike. The modeling also suggests both RTS have created and maintain shallow water habitat (SHW) and overwintering habitat patches (OWH) for the flow conditions evaluated in this study. These habitat patches are utilized by fish species at various life stages. Larger area of OWH habitats; 30% of total area by dikes and 35% of total area by chevrons are created in comparison to SWH; 10% by dike and 7% by chevron. The modeling results show that both the dike and chevron evaluated in this study are associated with and likely maintain ecologically relevant habitats and substantially contribute to physical habitat diversity. If the physical characteristics of the RTS investigated here are similar to other dikes and chevrons along the Mississippi River, the results of this study supports the secondary management objective for these structures, increase in physical aquatic habitat patch diversity, is likely being achieved.

Master of Arts
Department of Geography
Douglas G. Goodin
The Chobe River Basin (CRB) is a flood-dependent ecosystem that relies on seasonal floods from the Zambezi and Linyanti Rivers. These flood pulses provide water for the flood recession agriculture in the region, water for the fishing grounds around Lake Liambezi, and nutrients for the vegetation in the CRB. Recent years have shown an increase in the magnitude of flooding, which could have consequences on the region’s biodiversity and the people living in the CRB. The goal of this study is to develop a classification framework based on a training library and time-windows to use in classifying the extent of flooding in the CRB. MODIS MOD09A1 satellite imagery served as the satellite imagery. Bands one through seven were converted into the tasseled cap transformation to serve as the feature selection. The study period, from February to July, is broken down into three time-windows. The time-windows are used because the land covers in the CRB go through significant spectral changes during the study period and the three time-windows seek to improve the classification accuracy. The classification methods include maximum likelihood classifier (MLC), decision trees (DT), and support vector machines (SVMs). The results show that DT and SVMs provide the highest overall accuracy and kappa values over MLC. Classification using the time-window method was statistically significant when comparing kappa values and visually, images classified using the correct training library for a time-window displayed higher agreement with the reference data. Flooding extent was high for 2014 but low in 2015 and 2016, indicating a decreasing trend. DTs provided better inundation maximums compared to SVMs and therefore is the reason that DT are the best classification technique. The results will provide planners with information regarding the extent of flooding in the CRB and where waterborne diseases occur in the region. A new classification technique is also developed for the remote sensing literature.

A l’image du Rhône au sud-est de la France, les fleuves font l’objet de multiples usages, entrainant des modifications profondes de leurs dynamiques fluviales. Par conséquent, les fonctionnements hydro-sédimentaire et écologique de leurs chenaux ainsi que de leurs plaines alluviales sont altérés. Des programmes intégrés de restauration s’attellent à définir les potentiels et les risques liés à de tels ‘écosystèmes anthropo-construits’ et de comprendre les interactions entre divers facteurs de contrôle ayant influencé leur formation. La présente étude s’est focalisée sur 293 casiers Girardon – des unités rectangulaires délimitées par des digues submersibles longitudinales et latérales construites dans le lit mineur au 19ème siècle afin d’améliorer la navigabilité du Rhône. Ceux-ci sont distribués sur quatre secteurs court-circuités au 20ième siècle pour la production hydro-électrique. Nous avons analysé les patrons spatio-temporels de la sédimentation, ainsi que la structure et la composition des boisements grâce à des données issues de la télédétection et de terrain. Nous proposons également un modèle conceptuel des facteurs de contrôle et des processus potentiels en lien avec les patrons observés. Quatre-vingts pourcents des casiers ont évolué du stade aquatique à un stade terrestre et boisé, suivant des trajectoires historiques variées à la fois inter- et intra-secteurs. Les boisements diffèrent en caractéristiques structurelles de boisements de référence plus naturels. Leur composition est plus proche de celle des systèmes matures que pionniers. Nous observons également une forte présence d’espèces allochtones, comme par exemple l’Érable negundo (Acer negundo), invasive, en particulier dans les stades de régénération. Notre approche comparative constitue une première étape pour démêler les effets cumulatifs des facteurs de contrôle et hiérarchiser leurs rôles individuels. Nous avons constaté que des facteurs locaux jouent un rôle majeur, en particulier la connectivité au chenal principal court-circuité. L’évolution des facteurs environnementaux eux-mêmes a contribué à la complexité des patrons. Ce travail ouvre la voie à des futures études sur des écosystèmes anthropo-construits sur cours d’eau, et donne une nouvelle perspective aux gestionnaires du Rhône relativement à son échelle spatiale innovante
The multiple uses made of large rivers, such as the Rhône in south-eastern France, have provoked profound modifications of their fluvial dynamics. As a consequence, the hydro-sedimentary and ecological functioning of their channels and floodplains are highly altered. Integrated restoration programmes struggle in defining potentials and risks related to such ‘novel ecosystems’ and to understand the various interacting drivers which influence their formation. This study comparatively focused on 293 dike fields—rectangular units delimited by longitudinal and lateral submersible dikes constructed in the channel in the late 19th century to promote the navigability of the Rhône. They are distributed over four reaches by-passed in the 20th century for hydro-electric energy production. We investigated the spatio-temporal patterns of sediment deposition and the structure and composition of the forest stands using remote sensing and field data. We also propose a conceptual model of potential drivers and processes behind the observed patterns. Eighty percent of the dike fields have evolved from the aquatic to a terrestrial and forested stage, following variable historical trajectories both between and within reaches. The forest stands presented structural characteristics which differed from more natural reference stands and compositional characteristics closer to mature than to pioneer systems. They featured a high presence of non-native species, such as the invasive Box elder (Acer negundo). Our comparative approach constituted a first step to disentangle the cumulative effects of the drivers and define their individual roles: we discovered a prominent role of local factors, especially the connectivity to the main by-passed channel. The evolution of the environmental factors themselves added to the complexity of the patterns. This work provides a basis for future studies of novel ecosystems on rivers, and a new perspective to river managers on the Rhône due to its innovative spatial-scale

The main aim of the thesis is an appraisal of the stream Oslava which belongs to the Náměšť nad Oslavou region with the focus on flood control of the town. The thesis asseses current state of the stream with respect to the state of riverbed, bulwark of the stream and evaluation of the capacity of the stream channel. Calculation water surface profiles have been made by usage of the 1D mathematical model HEC-RAS for selected N-year flows. The capacity of flows and objects in the given period has been detected. There is also a map of the water runoffs included and possible solutions of how to protect the area surrounding the stream are proposed. The thesis was complemented with hydroecological monitoring of the stream channel - the HEM analysis 2014.

This research contributed to the rather limited knowledge on the transport of organic contaminants in estuarine environments from South-East Queensland. Modelling studies were conducted to assess the fate of some current-use pesticides and pharmaceuticals in the Brisbane River estuary. The vertical transport of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in soils from a previous firefighting training ground was also assessed. The outcomes of this study contribute to the global stock taking of organic contaminants in the environments and are expected to be useful in designing effective containment or remediation strategies for organic contamination.

Despite enormous investment in equine related equipment, nutrition and health, the actual communication process between domesticated horses interacting with humans every day remains poorly defined. Recently the advent of equitation science has encouraged the application of learning theory to the longstanding and important relationship between human and horse. Equitation science is an emerging discipline that combines learning theory, physics and ethology to examine the salience and efficacy of horse-training techniques. This thesis describes investigations into many areas of horse training in Australia from the safety of riders and welfare of elite dressage horses to the marketing of ponies and the physical characteristics of the communications cues provided by riders to their mounts. Given the broad nature of this project, a wide variety of investigative and experimental techniques were used to achieve the project objectives. A review of published material lead to recommendations for methodological standards and future research directions in rein tension research. The Signal Scribe™ rein tension meter (Crafted Technologies) was used to measure the tension created in the reins by 12 riders applying a deceleration cue. These measurements were carried out on an artificial horse torso. A system for detecting a rider’s lower-leg pressure on the lateral torso was also created using piezoresistive technology developed for measurement of seat pressure in wheelchairs. The system was used to measure the lower-leg pressure of 12 riders applying an acceleration cue on an artificial horse torso. This same equipment was modified to measure the force of whip strike impacts. In the small sample (n = 6) the back hand strikes with the preferred hand were more forceful than forehand strikes. This preliminary research demonstrated that fundamental communication processes between horse and rider is poorly defined and research and benchmarking of best practice is required. In view of the reported problems with equine back pain, an on-line survey of current use of layers between the saddle and the horse’s back was conducted. There were 1011 respondents representing a wide range of equestrian activities. Use of layer(s) between saddles and horses’ backs was ubiquitous in this sample. More research on this equipment is warranted as layer(s) can sabotage good saddle design and compromise equine welfare. Laboratories investigating saddlery and equestrian techniques should incorporate a layer between the saddles and the horses’ backs. Horse-related injuries to riders, handlers and veterinarians can be both serious and long-term in their effects on the victim. Recent technological advances in protective equipment may have mitigated the severity of some injuries, but overall, the incident frequency of horse-related injuries has not changed. Centuries of horse management, training and education to date appear to have done little to reduce the incidence rate of injuries to humans in their interactions with equids. Poor stimulus control of the horse by the rider and activation of the flight response are two aspects of horse/rider interactions that warrant further investigation as a means of preventing or mitigating horse-related accidents. Very little information on the role of the horse is available in incidents recorded, despite repeated acknowledgement that this can be an important factor in many of the incidents. Equitation Science can contribute to reducing horse-related injuries by reducing the “unpredictability” aspect of horse–human interactions. A novel methodology was developed to assess the value placed on safe horse behaviour in the Australian pony market. In doing so a hedonistic pricing model for this market was created. Horse riding is a particularly dangerous activity for children, especially until they have accrued significant riding experience. It is reasonable to suppose that this relatively naïve group would be riding ponies. Descriptors associated with safe behaviour in advertisements in Horse Deals did not contribute to increases in the asking price of ponies and pony club mounts. This suggests that vendors struggle to sell this attribute. That said, descriptors associated with warnings of dangerous behaviour contributed to decreases in the asking price of ponies and pony club mounts. Vendors in the pony and pony club markets appear to value different characteristics to those valued by buyers. Published dressage scores were used to appraise the welfare of elite dressage horses during Olympic competition. Judges at high-level dressage competitions can show considerable variability in the scoring of tests. Despite the relevance of the submission collective mark to horse welfare, judges appear to have considerable difficulty scoring in this domain and aligning their scores with overall performance. Using horses in human competition demands that both the physical and psychological health of the competition horse be monitored. This study has shown that it is not possible to identify and reliably quantify a measure of horse welfare in Olympic dressage competition. This thesis demonstrates that equitation science provides a lens through which the full diversity of horse-human interaction can be examined, evaluated and improved.

The working relationship between horses and riders is a unique association requiring cooperation between both to achieve the goals of humans in their selected equestrian sport. This dissertation chose the equestrian sports of eventing and dressage to investigate this working relationship between horse and rider, and its stability across training and competition settings. Consideration was given to psychological, physiological and behavioural factors for the human and horse. The research requiredthe development of a measure to indicate the harmony of the working relationship, which resulted in a rider and observer inventory, and of a physiological indicator of therelationship which became the correlation between the horse and rider heart rate and was called heart rate synchronisation. To examine reactive behavioural factors of the horse a horse Behaviour Check List was created, and to consider possible psychological factors implicated in this behaviour a Horse Temperament Inventory was developed.Anxiety was the psychological factor chosen to assess the rider, and the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory – 2 and the Emotion and Mood Components of Anxiety – Questionnaire were used as its different components.It was hypothesized that there would be significant environmental differences between most factors with the competition environment showing evidence of lowerworking relationship scores, higher heart rates, higher rider anxiety, and more reactive horse behaviours. Horse temperament was considered to be a trait and therefore nodifferences were predicted. Negative relationships were hypothesized between the working relationship measures and rider anxiety components, horse temperament andcritical horse behaviours. A positive relationship was hypothesized between rider self confidence and the working relationship. Negative relationships were also predictedbetween rider anxiety, horse temperament and horse behaviour. No specific predictions were made regarding relationships between rider and horse heart rates and the other factors.In Study 1 with five eventing teams, results from Cohen’s d analyses of differences between means supported some hypotheses. A moderate to large effect size was found for rider’s somatic anxiety and heart rate being higher in the competition environment, but no significant effects were found for the rider’s cognitive anxiety and levels of self-confidence across environments. However, contrary to hypotheses, working relationship and the heart rate synchronisation factors had higher scores in thecompetition environment and showed a small and large effect size respectively. The horse’s temperament was also more positive in the competition environment, with theHorse Temperament Inventory – Rider (HTI-R) revealing a small effect size and the Horse Temperament Inventory – Observer (HTI-O) without the rider a large effect size,suggesting that it seems to be identifying a psychological state of the horse rather than the hypothesized temperament traits. The hypothesis regarding the horse and rider’s heart rate was also accepted as they also increased in the competition environment. The horse’s maximum heart rate and minimum heart rate showed a moderate effect size and a large effect size was found in the differences of the horse’s mean heart rate. Therider’s maximum heart rate and mean heart rate data also showed a large effect size and the rider’s minimum heart rate means showed a moderate effect size. Due to unforeseencircumstances and the low number of participants, the hypotheses could not be evaluated using inferential statistics. However, the patterns of the findings led to some modifications of methods and the selection of another equestrian sport for Study 2.The findings from Study 2 with thirty dressage teams indicate the working relationship between horse and rider was stable across environments during a dressagetest. The heart rate synchronisation analysis was able to identify significant relationships between most horse and rider teams during a dressage test in both the training and competition environments. At a group level the correlation between the horse and rider heart rates displayed a significant positive relationship in the training environment, but not in the competition environment. A t-test analysis found stabilityof the horse’s temperament across environments, suggesting that the Horse Temperament Inventory is measuring temperament traits. Also the rider’s somatic anxiety showed a significant increase in the competition environment, which was also reflected in the rider’s emotional experience of this anxiety. Unexpectedly the rider’s self-confidence was also significantly higher in the competition environment. However, no predicted associations were found between working relationship scores and heart rate synchronisation, or between these measures and horse and rider factors.The relationship between reactive horse misbehaviours and rider anxiety, and the team’s working relationship was analysed. A significant association was found between each of the rider’s and judge’s ratings of the working relationship and heart rate synchronisation with the horse’s misbehaviour scores in the competitionenvironment. The rider’s somatic anxiety also showed a significant association with the horse’s misbehaviour in both the training and competition environments. Significantrelationships were also found between horse misbehaviour and performance in both training and competition environments. To extend this investigation further adiscriminant function analysis was conducted to determine if the riders with levels of high and low cognitive and somatic anxiety could be categorised on the basis of horsetemperament. It revealed that riders with high and low levels of somatic anxiety could be categorised on the basis of the horse’s temperament score, whereas riders with high and low levels of cognitive anxiety could be classified on the basis of the horse’s heart rate means in the competition environment.Overall, the dissertation has significant methodological, conceptual and practical outcomes. It demonstrates possible self report, observational and physiologicalindicators to assess the horse-rider working relationship, and a reliable measure of horse temperament. It also addresses several speculations, assumptions and anecdotalreferences in the literature about the interactive association between horse and rider. Findings here point to significant associations between horse and rider psychology and physiology, and patterns of relationships that may indicate some relevance to theworking relationship, and ultimately performance.

The need to address on-road motorcycle safety in Australia is important due to the disproportionately high percentage of riders and pillions killed and injured each year. One approach to preventing motorcycle-related injury is through training and education. However, motorcycle rider training lacks empirical support as an effective road safety countermeasure to reduce crash involvement. Previous reviews have highlighted that risk-taking is a contributing factor in many motorcycle crashes, rather than merely a lack of vehicle-control skills (Haworth & Mulvihill, 2005; Jonah, Dawson & Bragg, 1982; Watson et al, 1996). Hence, though the basic vehicle-handling skills and knowledge of road rules that are taught in most traditional motorcycle licence training programs may be seen as an essential condition of safe riding, they do not appear to be sufficient in terms of crash reduction. With this in mind there is considerable scope for the improvement of program focus and content for rider training and education. This program of research examined an existing traditional pre-licence motorcycle rider training program and formatively evaluated the addition of a new classroom-based module to address risky riding; the Three Steps to Safer Riding program. The pilot program was delivered in the real world context of the Q-Ride motorcycle licensing system in the state of Queensland, Australia. Three studies were conducted as part of the program of research: Study 1, a qualitative investigation of delivery practices and student learning needs in an existing rider training course; Study 2, an investigation of the extent to which an existing motorcycle rider training course addressed risky riding attitudes and motives; and Study 3, a formative evaluation of the new program. A literature review as well as the investigation of learning needs for motorcyclists in Study 1 aimed to inform the initial planning and development of the Three Steps to Safer Riding program. Findings from Study 1 suggested that the training delivery protocols used by the industry partner training organisation were consistent with a learner-centred approach and largely met the learning needs of trainee riders. However, it also found that information from the course needs to be reinforced by on-road experiences for some riders once licensed and that personal meaning for training information was not fully gained until some riding experience had been obtained. While this research informed the planning and development of the new program, a project team of academics and industry experts were responsible for the formulation of the final program. Study 2 and Study 3 were conducted for the purpose of formative evaluation and program refinement. Study 2 served primarily as a trial to test research protocols and data collection methods with the industry partner organisation and, importantly, also served to gather comparison data for the pilot program which was implemented with the same rider training organisation. Findings from Study 2 suggested that the existing training program of the partner organisation generally had a positive (albeit small) effect on safety in terms of influencing attitudes to risk taking, the propensity for thrill seeking, and intentions to engage in future risky riding. However, maintenance of these effects over time and the effects on riding behaviour remain unclear due to a low response rate upon follow-up 24 months after licensing. Study 3 was a formative evaluation of the new pilot program to establish program effects and possible areas for improvement. Study 3a examined the short term effects of the intervention pilot on psychosocial factors underpinning risky riding compared to the effects of the standard traditional training program (examined in Study 2). It showed that the course which included the Three Steps to Safer Riding program elicited significantly greater positive attitude change towards road safety than the existing standard licensing course. This effect was found immediately following training, and mean scores for attitudes towards safety were also maintained at the 12 month follow-up. The pilot program also had an immediate effect on other key variables such as risky riding intentions and the propensity for thrill seeking, although not significantly greater than the traditional standard training. A low response rate at the 12 month follow-up unfortunately prevented any firm conclusions being drawn regarding the impact of the pilot program on self-reported risky riding once licensed. Study 3a further showed that the use of intermediate outcomes such as self-reported attitudes and intentions for evaluation purposes provides insights into the mechanisms underpinning risky riding that can be changed by education and training. A multifaceted process evaluation conducted in Study 3b confirmed that the intervention pilot was largely delivered as designed, with course participants also rating most aspects of training delivery highly. The complete program of research contributed to the overall body of knowledge relating to motorcycle rider training, with some potential implications for policy in the area of motorcycle rider licensing. A key finding of the research was that psychosocial influences on risky riding can be shaped by structured education that focuses on awareness raising at a personal level and provides strategies to manage future riding situations. However, the formative evaluation was mainly designed to identify areas of improvement for the Three Steps to Safer Riding program and found several areas of potential refinement to improve future efficacy of the program. This included aspects of program content, program delivery, resource development, and measurement tools. The planned future follow-up of program participants' official crash and traffic offence records over time may lend further support for the application of the program within licensing systems. The findings reported in this thesis offer an initial indication that the Three Steps to Safer Riding is a useful resource to accompany skills-based training programs.

У кваліфікаційній магістерській роботі розглядаються проблеми, що стосуються впливу вершника та коня засобами управління, між якими повинна бути точна узгодженість, між конем та вершником. Координаційні здібності є необхідними передумовами для успішного навчання вершників. Вони впливають на темп, вид і спосіб засвоєння техніки, сидіти в сідлі прямо, вміння зберігати рівновагу, легко входити в ритм руху коня.
The qualification master's thesis examines the problem, of the influence of the rider and the horse controls, between which there must be a clear agreement between the horse and the rider. Coordination skills are a prerequisite for successful training of riders. They affect the pace, type and method of mastering the technique, sitting in the saddle straight, the ability to maintain balance, easy to get into the rhythm of the horse.

The object of this Master`s thesis is the river training of the Luha river in Jeseník nad Odrou. The thesis is divided into several chapters. In the theoretical introduction, the problems of the sediment flow regime are discussed. Moreover, it deals with the questions associated with the roughness in open channels and adjustment of riparian zones. As a part of the overall proposal of the flow adjustment, the hydraulically most suitable cross section in cunette is proposed. It is done with respect to the desired velocity ratios in the profile. Since the new cunette shape was established, the adjustment of vertical alignment was proposed. The thesis also contains the capacity assessment of the existing channel. Design of adjustment of flood protection measures includes mainly spatial rearrangement and increase the crest of levees with respect to the local conditions. The thesis also suggests the placement of vegetation in the riparian zones. Furhermore, the work deals with problems arising from the flow adjustment considering applicable laws and regulations of the Czech Republic. In the case of project implementation, it is necessary to evaluate these problems independently.

Cette thèse analyse comment la Dictature de Primo de Rivera (1923-1930) a créé un projet de formation professionnel technique-industriel qui a servi à moderniser l’économie du pays, au service d’une conception corporativede l’Etat. Pour la première fois, au travers les Décrets Royaux du Statut d’Enseignement Industriel de 1924 et du Statut de Formation Professionnelle de 1928, le nouveau gouvernement réalisé centralisait tous les canaux de formation industriel du jeune ouvrier et de la classe moyenne au moyen de la création des écoles élémentaires et supérieures du travail. L'État prétendait atteindre deux buts : la modernisation économique du pays et le maintien de la structure sociopolitique traditionnelle au moyen d’un discours et d’une organisation corporative. Au mème temps, cette thèse analyse comme avec l’arrivée de la Seconde République (1931-1936), le projet de Primo de Rivera de l’instruction technique de l’ouvrier n’a pas se développer comme le Statut de Formation Professionnelle l’avait prévu en 1928, car principalement son objectif était de favoriser l’alphabétisation du pays à l’intérieur des valeurs démocratiques et libérales
The present thesis analyzes how the Dictatorship of Primo of Rivera (1923-1930) created a project of industrial vocational training who was serving to modernize the economy of the country, to the service of a corporate conception of the State. For the first time, across the Statute of Industrial Education of 1924 and of the Statute of Vocational Training of 1928 the new government was centralizing all the channels of industrial formation of the working young person and of the middle class across the creation of the elementary and high industrial schools. The aims were: economic modernization of the country and to support the socio-political traditional structure by means of a speech and a corporate organization.At the same time, this thesis analyzes like with the arrival of the Second Republic (1931-1936), the corporate and economic sense of the industrial vocational training of the worker was relegated to a background. As what mainly was claimed it was to favor the literacy of the country inside the democratic and liberal values, the project of the dictatorship of the technical instruction of the worker could not be developped as the Statute of Vocational training had raised in 1928
La presente tesis analiza como la Dictadura de Primo de Rivera (1923-1930) creó un proyecto de formación profesional técnico-industrial que servía para modernizar la economía del país, al servicio de una concepción corporativa del Estado. Por primera vez, a través del Estatuto de Enseñanza Industrial de 1924 y del Estatuto de Formación Profesional de 1928 el nuevo gobierno centralizaba todos los canales de formación industrial del joven obrero y de la clase media a través de la creación de las escuelas elementales y superiores de trabajo. El objetivo era alcanzar dos fines: la modernización económica del país y mantener la estructura socio-política tradicional mediante un discurso y una organización corporativa. Al mismo tiempo, estudia como con la llegada de la Segunda República (1931-1936), el proyecto corporativo de la instrucción técnica del obrero no se pudo desarrollar tal como lo había planteado el Estatuto de Formación Profesional en 1928, ya que lo que mayormente se pretendía era favorecer la alfabetización del país dentro de los valores democráticos y liberales

L’esercito italiano e la conquista della Catalogna (1808-1811) Uno studio di Military Effectiveness nell’Europa napoleonica Settori scientifico-disciplinari SPS/03 – M-STO/02 La ricerca ha lo scopo di ricostruire e valutare l’effettività militare dell’esercito italiano al servizio di Napoleone I. In primo luogo attraverso un’analisi statistica e strategica della costruzione, e del successivo impiego, dell’istituzione militare del Regno d’Italia durante gli anni della sua esistenza (1805-14); successivamente, è stato scelto un caso di studi particolarmente significativo, come la campagna di Catalogna (1808-11, nel contesto della guerra di Indipendenza spagnola), per poter valutare il contributo operazionale e tattico dei corpi inviati dal governo di Milano e la loro integrazione con l’apparato militare complessivo del Primo Impero. La tesi ha voluto rispondere alla mancanza di studi sul comportamento in guerra dell’esercito italiano e, allo stesso tempo, introdurre nella storiografia militare italiana la metodologia di studi, d’origine anglosassone e ormai di tradizione trentennale, di Military Effectiveness. La ricerca si è primariamente basata, oltre che sulla copiosa memorialistica a stampa italiana e francese, sulla documentazione d’archivio della Secrétairerie d’état impériale (Archives Nationales di Pierrefitte-sur-Seine, Parigi), del Ministère de la Guerre francese (Service historique de la Défence, di Vincennes, Parigi) e del Ministero della Guerra del Regno d’Italia (Archivio di Stato di Milano). Dal punto di vista dei risultati è stato possibile verificare come l’esercito italiano abbia rappresentato, per Bonaparte, uno strumento duttile e di facile impiego, pur in un contesto di sostanziale marginalità numerica complessiva di fronte alle altre (e cospicue) forze messe in campo da parte dell’Impero e dei suoi altri Stati satellite e alleati. Per quanto riguarda la campagna di conquista della Catalogna è stato invece possibile appurare il fondamentale contributo dato dal contingente italiano, sotto i punti di vista operazionale e tattico, per la buona riuscita dell’invasione; questo primariamente grazie alle elevate caratteristiche generali mostrate dallo stesso, ma anche per peculiarità disciplinari e organizzative che resero i corpi italiani adatti a operazioni particolarmente aggressive.
The Italian Army and the Conquest of Catalonia (1808-1811) A Study of Military Effectiveness in Napoleonic Europe Academic Fields and Disciplines SPS/03 – M-STO/02 The research has the purpose of reconstruct and evaluate the military effectiveness of the Italian Army existed under the reign of Napoleon I. Firstly through a statistic and strategic analysis of the development, and the following deployment, of the military institution of the Kingdom of Italy in the years of its existence (1805-14). Afterwards, a particularly significant case study was chosen, as the campaign of Catalonia (1808-11, in the context of the Peninsular War), in order to assess the operational and tactical contribution of the regiments sent by the Government of Milan and their integration in the overall military apparatus of the First Empire. The thesis wanted to respond to the lack of studies on the Italian army’s behavior in war and, at the same time, to introduce the methodology of the Military Effectiveness Studies (of British and American origin and, by now, enriched by a thirty-year old tradition) in the Italian historiography. The research is primarily based, besides the numerous memoirs of the Italian and French veterans, on the archive documentation of the Secrétairerie d’état impériale (Archives Nationales of Pierrefitte-sur-Seine, Paris), of the French Ministère de la Guerre (Service historique de la Défence, of Vincennes, Paris) and of the Italian Ministero della Guerra (Archivio di Stato di Milano). About the results, it has been verified how the Italian army has become a flexible and suitable instrument for Bonaparte, albeit in a context of substantial overall numerical marginality in comparison to the heterogeneous forces available to the Empire and its others satellites and allied states. Regarding the campaign of Catalonia, instead, it was possible to ascertain the fundamental contribution of the Italian regiments, in an operational and tactical perspective, for the success of the invasion. This was primarily due to the excellent general characteristics shown by the expeditionary force, but also to disciplinary and organizational peculiarities that have made the Italian corps suitable for particularly aggressive operations.

Scour is the main damage cause of abutments, piers, spur dykes and the hydraulic structure in the river bed .Change in flow characteristics lead to changes in sediment transport capacity, and hence to a local disequilibrium between actual sediment load and the capacity of the flow to transport sediment. At times it is required to provide greater channel depth for the purposes of Navigation as the depth available is less than the required depth. The technique of Submerged Vanes helps in performing both the works simultaneously. The technique of submerged vanes is a new, cost-effective and efficient sediment management method in rivers. This method has positive environmental effects. The performance and efficiency of a submerged vane is related to its shape. In this dissertation, Submerged Vanes performance analysis is done with different attacking angle in order to study the effect of scouring and deposition occurring due to different attacking angles and thus developing their Bed Profile and Developing their Speed Profile in the flume at various points.

碩士
中國文化大學
運動教練研究所
93
A research of comparison of training environment in Sun Moon Lake and Dong-Shan River rowing training center Graduate Student: Lin, Jan-Wei Adviser: Dr. Cheng, Hu Date: June, 2005 Abstract In the early 1900 of Paris Olympics, rowing athletics had already become official Olympics contests, which were senior classification of athletics. Although rowing athletics is not quite common sport, rowing athletics gradually popular after “I-Lan International Collegiate Invitational Regatta” sponsored by I-Lan County. In addition, there are some senior high (vocational) school and colleges that systematize to cultivate rowing players. Hence, rowing athletics also becomes popular water exercise event in domestic. The objective of research is to analyze the advantage and disadvantage of training environment in the Sun Moon Lake and Dong-Shan River rowing training center. The achievements of research are as the followings: 1. The weather condition: a. The area of Dong-Shan River is easy affected by seasonally northeaster and the influence of seawater tides that increase resistance for contestants when training. Nevertheless, the area of Sun Moon Lake doesn’t affect at all. b. Annual monthly temperature is around 22.3℃in the area of Dong-Shan River, especially for high temperature during June and September; Annual monthly temperature is around 19.2℃that the highest temperature is never over 23℃. c. Annual rainfall reaches up 2827.7 millimeters in the area of Dong-Shan River, and monthly average rainfall is 235.6 millimeters, especially for autumn rainfall is over 50% of yearly; annual rainfall reaches up 2404.6 millimeters in the area of Sun Moon Lake and monthly average rainfall is 200.3 millimeters, especially for intensive rainfall is among May and August. 2. Water Field: a. The width of Dong-Shan River doesn’t suitable for international standard that can be open up four contest channels; The width of Sun Moon Lake is suitable for international standard that can be open up eight contest channels of international standard to fit for international contests. b. The channels of Dong-Shan River are irregularly depth. It should be at least over three meters for international standard regulation; the average depth of lake in Sun Moon Lake is around 50 meters. c. Dong-Shan River doesn’t have any intensive villages or industrial parks, and pollution of water is quite slight; the water of Sun Moon Lake circulates by Taipower pump up for generating electricity which is not only algae hard to propagate and water transparency is also excellent. Keywords: Olympics, rowing athletics, rowing training center

碩士
國立高雄應用科技大學
商務經營研究所
97
Since the beginning of the history, our country was established on the bases of agriculture, and “to the people’s foodstuff is all-all important,” the farmers has become the foundations of the stable political situation. The incorruptible government and the work of farmers are positively correlated. In the early years of Taiwan history,water-conservancy projects were launched. The government trained one hundred thousand agricultural specialists, using the blooming agricultural business to raise the industrial estate, and later successfully transformed into a business society, initiating the Taiwan Economic Miracle that makes every generation of Taiwanese proud. Before long, the abnormal phenomena occurred: Water shortage before Typhoon season, flood disasters, and water restrictions after typhoon season. The public complain about it and the farmers cry over it. In fact, people ask no more than a job and the capability to feed their family. Located in sub-tropical area, Taiwan suffers from flood in summertime due to the stunning amount of rainwater brought by typhoons. This is rather trying for all the public constructions in Taiwan. This research aims at, firstly, the discussion of the correlation of flood disaster and agricultural and Taiwanese economic development;thus the independent variable is “flood disaster”, the dependent variable “agricultural development”, “Taiwanese economic development,” and secondly, the correlation of“agricultural development” and “Taiwanese economic development,.” lastly, thecorrelation of river training and agricultural and Taiwanese economic development. This study adopts regression method to analysis the model set for this research. Theresults indicate: 1. Flood disaster and agricultural development are in negative correlation. 2. Agricultural development and Taiwanese economic development are in notable positive correlation. 3. Flood disaster and Taiwanese economic development are not remarkably correlated. 4. River training and agricultural development are in positive correlation. 5. River training and Taiwanese economic development are not remarkably correlated.

The main aim of the PhD activity here presented is to understand PTW’s riders behaviour in risky scenarios, when the time to collision is short and evasive manoeuvers are required. This research focus on the identification of the key components of control skills, together with perception skills, required for a high performance and also for effective training interventions that can reduce the number of PTW collisions or mitigate their consequences. Preliminary results from this research based on in-depth accident data revealed collision at intersections as one of the biggest threats to motorcyclists and weak braking during emergency events as one of the most common reactions. Furthermore, the first part of the research showed that different patterns can be identified among riders after analyzing two naturalistic studies from riders on Powered Two Wheelers scooter-style in Florence and cyclists on e-bike in Gothenburg. The thesis presents a procedure designed to study the performance of riders in emergency situations based on: interaction with a constantly changing environment, dynamics of a two-wheeled vehicle, and capability of the rider. Results from field experiments in a controlled scenario with riders of different level of competencies revealed that the procedure defined can detect patterns from high skilled riders different from low skilled riders. In addition, the results provided key values that can be used to level skill classification. The characterization of the patterns of the riders of different skills is presented including two models, one that predicts the braking performance and another model that estimates the risk of loss control of the rider, both based on the rider’s interaction with the vehicle. Finally a tool interface based on the performance models is designed to support training tasks prescribing objective feedback to the riders to enhance training for safety. The thesis presents some directions for future research in skills acquisition, naturalistic studies and applications for training that stem from the results. Furthermore, the outcomes of this research can support providing insights for future designs of safety systems, such as advanced braking systems tailored to the patterns of each rider.

Title: Training of a Show Jumping Pair in a Framework of the Youth Sports Centre of the Czech Equestrian Federation Targets: The presented diploma thesis was targeted at suitability and effectivity of the Youth Sports Centre (YSC) of the Czech Equestrian Federation. I concentrated on searching for the positives and negatives both in the YSC system and training schedules. I believe that any results can contribute to understanding of these organisations function and can lay a new base for further study which will improve the whole system of education. Methods: The first step for familiarising with the problems was an analysis of special literature method usage. It was followed by observing the YSC participants during fulfilling their tasks in individual training camps. In the end, the results of the main competition of the season - the Championship of Children, Juniors and Young Riders - were gathered and assessed. The conclusion was compared and consulted through an interview with a leading trainer of the YSC Roman Drahota. Results: The conclusions based on the main competition of the season results - the Championship of the Czech Republic of Children, Juniors and Young Riders- indicate that the YSC of the Czech Equestrian Federation training schedule was selected properly. Among the positive facts...

Title:Preparation of rider on horse from performance level Z to S in dressage Objectives: Compilation of helpful methodologic material, awareness of fundamental value, correct position of the riders sed, choice of good horse, gaits of horses, characteristic performance levels, characteristics and preparation for the degree Z, characterization and preparation for the degree L, characterization and preparation for the degree S. Methods: Analysis of the literature, comparing information targeted in the content of the work of literature, analysis of my own experiences from my riding praxis, analysis of independent observations of horse riders, analysis of experiences from lessons with my riding students, compilation of information into a complete whole and methodological manual. Results: Preparation of methodological material, which may a rider or trainer of horse riding (dressage) use in their training hours. Keywords: dressage, rider, performance stage, horse, gaits of horses, walk, trot, canter, scale of training, exercises in dressage