Ocean Wilderness In Theory And Practice

Thesis (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2012Wilderness preservation has been an important focus of resource conservation since the dwindling number of wild places was perceived by some as losing a valued part of our collective natural and cultural heritage. While wilderness preservation efforts have been almost entirely focused on the land, recently there has been growing interest in "ocean wilderness." However, implementation has been constrained by the lack of a common vision of how "wilderness" is applied to the ocean, and how such areas should be managed and preserved. The purpose of this work was to identify and evaluate potential definitions of ocean wilderness and the values and qualities such areas possess, and to determine how they might be effectively identified and managed to preserve their wilderness character. This research focused on articulating a robust definition for "wilderness waters," within the context of how wilderness is currently conceived and articulated in law and policy, as well as evaluating how such areas might be most appropriately identified and managed. Extensive inventories were conducted of existing ocean wilderness areas, focused on North America, to determine what currently exists, how these areas are managed, and how future ocean wilderness designations should be prioritized. A survey was conducted, targeting resource managers and scientists, to identify preferences and perceptions of ocean wilderness and its potential stewardship. The survey results suggested that coastal waters possessed considerable values and qualities of wilderness, particularly areas adjacent to existing designated wilderness, that certain human uses might be appropriately permitted, and that there was much support for expanding the area of coastal waters designated as wilderness. The research also suggested that the North American Arctic might offer many opportunities for preserving ocean wilderness, in close collaboration with the Indigenous communities in this region. A number of recommendations were offered including that priority should be given to evaluating and designating areas adjacent to designated coastal wilderness areas, that the existing legal and policy framework in North America can be effectively used to expand the "wilderness waters" system, and that more work needs to be done to build the constituencies of support essential to accomplish this task

The WooDestress index: a tool to evaluate the destressing potential of urban woodlands, through the assessment of their naturalness

According to the United Nation the next years will be characterized by an urbanization process that will lead to the increase of densely populated areas. One of the possible consequence could be the increase of stressful factors, which can lead to chronic stress and chronic stress related diseases. To face this situation, a new approach in city planning is required. One of the aspect that urban managers should take into account is the important role that natural environments play to improve the citizen life quality. It was shown that the wooded areas characterized by the presence of many natural elements are among the most effective environments to reduce stress. However, an empirical method to characterize different urban woodland in order to know their “destressing potential” does not exist. For this reason, the purpose of this study is to develop an index to evaluate the naturalness of urban woodlands based on how they offer relaxing and destressing experiences. The result is the WooDestress index (WDI), a tool that considers five features already adopted to assess the naturalness in forest ecology. The evaluation of each feature depends on how it can contribute to offer relaxing experiences in an urban woodland. The index was tested for the first time in four urban parks located in Malmö (SE). According to the results, the main frame of the index seems to be valid, but it should be considered as a first draft. Some components of WDI should be improved and tested in different areas. However, with WDI it was possible to evaluate different woodlands in Malmö, obtaining different values. This result, even though it should be verified, it can be considered as a spark for the future research.Secondo le Nazioni Unite i prossimi anni saranno caratterizzati da un processo di urbanizzazione che determinerà l’aumento delle aree densamente popolate. Una delle possibili conseguenze potrebbe essere l’aumento di fattori causa di stress, i quali possono portare allo stress cronico ed a malattie ad esso correlate. Per affrontare questa situazione c’è bisogno di un nuovo approccio nella pianificazione della città. Uno degli aspetti che i gestori del verde urbano dovrebbero considerare è l’importante ruolo che ricoprono gli ambienti naturali nel migliorare la qualità della vita dei cittadini. E’ stato dimostrato che le aree boscate caratterizzate dalla presenza di molti elementi naturali sono tra gli ambienti più efficaci per la riduzione dello stress. Tuttavia non esiste un metodo empirico per caratterizzare diversi boschi urbani col fine di conoscerne la loro capacità di ridurre lo stress. Per questo motivo lo scopo di questo studio è di sviluppare un indice per valutare la naturalità di boschi urbani sulla base di come questi offrano esperienze di de-stress e rilassamento. Il risultato è l’indice WooDestress (WDI), uno strumento che considera 5 caratteristiche già adottate per la stima della naturalità in ecologia forestale. La valutazione di ciascuna caratteristica è basata su come queste contribuiscano ad offrire esperienze di rilassamento in un bosco urbano. L’indice è stato testato la prima volta in quattro parchi urbani di Malmö (SE). Stando ai risultati, la struttura principale dell’indice sembra essere funzionale, ma dovrebbe essere considerata come una prima bozza. Alcuni componenti del WDI dovrebbero essere migliorati e testati in diverse aree. Tuttavia, con il WDI è stato possibile valutare diverse aree boscate di Malmö, ottenendo valori differenti. Questo risultato, sebbene debba essere verificato, può essere considerato uno spunto per ricerche future

Vocabulary in foreign-language learning explorations of a neglected area

Dissertação(mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Comunicação e ExpressãoExploração de questões preliminares com vistas a uma teoria da aquisição de vocabulário em língua estrangeira - LE e uma terminologia correlata. Investiga-se a produção local (Pós-Graduação em Inglês/UFSC) em áreas afins destacando-se o enfocado e o ignorado. Observações da literatura internacional permitem enfatizar a importância da proficiência lexical em vários aspectos do desempenho comunicativo e línguo-aquisicional de aprendizes de LE. Contraditoriamente, a literatura também aponta um certo descaso pelo assunto, relacionado a disputas lingüísticas teóricas sobre as relações entre léxico e gramática. Em descaso mais gritante está, em Lingüística Aplicada, o enfoque específico do conhecimento lexical e do processo de aquisição de vocabulário em LE. Um esquema das áreas de interesse ligadas a este objeto de descaso descortina um vasto 'campo' de assuntos interconexos e atividades correlatas. Deste campo, num segundo passo de aproximação, analisam-se as dimensões lingüísticas e psicológicas da proficiência lexical. Por fim, apontam-se ulteriores linhas de continuidade lógica desta investigação que é feita a partir do escrutínio de cerca de 150 trabalhos listados na bibliografia