Reading with Mobile Phone & Large Display

In this paper we compare performance and usability between three different device combinations: a) mobile phone b) touch screen c) mobile phone & screen. We show that mobile phone & screen has a better perform-ance than phone only. We also discuss some interaction issues when using a mobile phone with a large screen

Negotiating the future: Labour's role in NEDLAC

No Abstrac

The Hydro-Morphological Index of Diversity:a Planning Tool for River Restoration Projects

Contemporary river engineering must guarantee effective long-term flood protection while also improving stream ecology. Nowadays, river engineering projects must aim at optimizing hydromorphological heterogeneity, as this is an acknowledged basic condition for maintaining stream biodiversity. In the present project, a new Hydro-Morphological Index of Diversity (HMID) was developed. The purpose of the HMID is to deliver a tool for the practitioner engaged in planning of integrated river engineering projects where habitat enhancement constitutes one of the project targets. By calculating the HMID, a quantitative statement of habitat heterogeneity enhancement for different project alternatives is possible, and therefore recommendations of which alternatives to prioritize from an ecomorphological perspective can be given. The HMID was developed within the framework of the "Integrated River Management" project, an interdisciplinary research program involving different University Institutes in Switzerland. During extensive field campaigns, hydraulic and geomorphic data were recorded at morphologically contrasting sites at three streams in Switzerland (Bünz, AG; Venoge, VD; Sense, FR/BE). By means of correlation analysis, relationships between the measured variables could be detected. Being significantly correlated to a number of hydraulic and geomorphic variables, the hydraulic variables flow velocity and water depth were found to accurately represent the hydromorphological template of a stream. A formula for the HMID could be proposed by comparing the variability of these two hydraulic variables between the study reaches. The developed formula used the coefficient of variation of flow velocity and water depth as a measure to describe hydromorphological variability. A good correlation of HMID scores with rankings obtained by means of a multimetric visual habitat assessment method supported the capability of the HMID to represent the hydromorphological state of a stream. Correlation between HMID scores and macroinvertebrate-based biotic indices, on the other hand, did not meet expectations for all tested stream reaches. Numerical modelling for the study reaches at the river Sense was conducted to examine the temporal variability of the hydraulic variables and the HMID. HMID scores were calculated for different discharges in river, and temporal variability was lower in natural than in channelized reaches. The increments of hydraulic variables for changing discharge are greater in channelized than in natural reaches. Thus, aquatic biota in channelized reaches must cope not only with a degraded habitat template but also with higher stress conditions. However, physical habitats in natural reaches lose stability when discharges with major bed reshaping processes occur. These high discharges correspond to intermediate disturbance events, which are important towards maintaining ecological functions. In a case study, the suitability of the HMID for application was demonstrated. After completion of a restoration project, a stream reach should be characterized by a high HMID and a stable temporal variability (unless discharges above a disturbance threshold occur). In this way, the HMID provides the necessary hydromorphological template to achieve a high ecological potential for a restored stream reach. However, it must be avoided that high hydromorphological heterogeneity does not become a primary aim in itself. For a sound restoration project, processes at the watershed scale also must be included. In particular, it is necessary to evaluate the sediment regime of the entire watershed (mainly of the upstream areas), to estimate the long-term geomorphic evolvement of the project reach and to verify whether a dynamic equilibrium for the reach can be obtained. Finally, the ecological success of habitat enhancement measures depends on the conditions of other potential stressors (e.g. sediment or excessive nutrients, chemical pollution, habitat fragmentation, strongly modified flow regime). An integrated vision of these factors is a primordial rule for ecologically successful river restoration projects

The hydro-morphological index of diversity: a tool for describing habitat heterogeneity in river engineering projects

We present a new hydro-morphological index of diversity (HMID), a tool aimed for use in river engineering projects and firstly developed at gravel-bed streams in Switzerland, but intended for a broader use. We carried out field work with extensive hydraulic and geomorphic data collection, conducted correlation analysis with hydro-morphological variables, formulated the HMID, and analyzed the correlation between HMID and a visual habitat assessment method. The HMID is calculated by means of the coefficient of variation of the hydraulic variables flow velocity and water depth, which have been demonstrated to sufficiently represent the hydro-morphological heterogeneity of alpine gravel-bed stream reaches. Based on numerical modeling, the HMID can be calculated easily for a comparison of different alternatives in river engineering projects and thus achieves predictive power for design decisions. HMID can be applied at a reach-related scale in engineering programs involving geomorphic measures that aim at the enhancement of habitat heterogeneity of a stream. However, the application of HMID has to be integrated with evaluations of the long-term streambed evolvements that are considered at a catchment scale and strongly related to the sediment regime of the stream under stud

The influence of a bed load bearing tributary on the water level underneath a run-of river plant

River morphodynamics and sediment transportSediment-structure interactio

Gravel bar inundation frequency: an indicator for the ecological potential of a river

River engineeringRiver habitat management and restoratio

Der hydromorphologische Index der Diversität

Im modernen Flussbau müssen nicht nur schutzwasserbauliche, sondern auch ökologische Anforderungen berücksichtigt werden. Durch entsprechende Gestallung ist eine möglichst grosser Strukturreichtum anzustreben, da dieser zweifelsfrei eine der Grundvoroussetzungen für eine hohe Biodiversität in einem Fliessgewässer darstellt

Indice hydromorphologique de la diversité

La diversité morphologique est nécessaire au fonctionnement des écosystèmes aquatiques. Cette fiche propose un nouvel indice – l’indice hydromorphologique de la diversité (IHMD) – pour calculer la diversité hydromorphologique. Cet outil permet d’évaluer quantitativement les projets d’aménagement des eaux en ce qui concerne l’amélioration de la diversité morphologique

Supporting Device Discovery and Spontaneous Interaction with Spatial References

The RELATE interaction model is designed to support spontaneous interaction of mobile users with devices and services in their environment. The model is based on spatial references that capture the spatial relationship of a user’s device with other co-located devices. Spatial references are obtained by relative position sensing and integrated in the mobile user interface to spatially visualize the arrangement of discovered devices, and to provide direct access for interaction across devices. In this paper we discuss two prototype systems demonstrating the utility of the model in collaborative and mobile settings, and present a study on usability of spatial list and map representations for device selection

Index für hydro-morphologische Diversität

Strukturvielfalt ist eine Voraussetzung für die Funktionsfähigkeit von Gewässerökosystemen. Das vorliegende Merkblatt stellt einen neuen Index vor – den sogenannten hydro-morphologischen Index der Diversität (HMID), mit dem sich die hydro-morphologische Diversität berechnen lässt. Als Hilfsmittel für den Wasserbau ermöglicht er es, flussbauliche Projekte in Bezug auf die Verbesserung der Strukturvielfalt quantitativ zu beurteilen