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Epée fencing involves repeated bouts of high-intensity intermittent exercise with competitions lasting 9-11 hours consisting of Poule (3-minute or first to 5 points) and Direct Elimination (DE; 3x3-minute bouts or first to 15 points) fights. Fencers are required to wear thick protective clothing which could create a hot micro-climate and impede heat loss during exercise. Chapter 4 assessed the physiological demands of epée during simulated competition comprising of Poule and DE fights. Results showed epée is reliant on phosphocreatine and aerobic energy systems shown by decreasing blood lactate concentration from Poule to DE (Poule 1 ~4.5 mmol.L-1; DE 7 ~2.0 mmol.L-1). Maximum heart rate, ratings of perceived exertion, peak speed, training load per minute and percentage of zone 2 accelerations were greater in DE than Poule fights indicating greater physiological strain. There was a considerable energy demand (~13 kcal.min-1) exhibited during the competition. Chapter 5 focussed on the thermoregulatory demands of epée, using the same competition protocol as chapter 4. There was a moderate thermoregulatory demand during Poule fights (gastrointestinal temperature (Tgast) ~38.0°C and mean skin temperature (Tskin) ~34.5°C) and high thermoregulatory demand during DE fights (Tgast >38.0°C pre and >38.5°C post fight and Tskin >35.0°C, thermal sensation ~7.0). Mask temperature was greater than ambient temperature highlighting a hot micro-climate created by protective clothing. Mean skin temperature also increased during recovery between fights for Poule and DE. There was a decrease from DE 1 to DE 7 for distance covered (~900m vs. ~600m) and distance covered per minute (~80.6 m.min-1 vs. ~71.4 m.min-1). Previous research has shown thermoregulatory and performance benefits of cooling on exercise performance. Chapter 5 showed a high thermoregulatory demand of epée especially during DE rounds. Therefore, chapter 7 assessed the effects of external (EXT; evaporative cooling vest (ECV)), and mixed-method (MIX; ECV + cold water ingestion) cooling on physiological, thermoregulatory, perceptual, performance, and cognitive components of epée. Results showed there was a significantly lower Tskin ~0.8-0.9°C and thermal sensation in EXT and MIX cooling interventions than control (CON). There was a limited performance benefit of cooling with greater points difference in MIX compared to CON and EXT. Wheelchair fencing competition structure and protective clothing is similar to able-bodied fencing. Physiological, thermoregulatory, and performance variables were recorded during Poule and DE fights during wheelchair fencing. Results showed a need to ensure training intensity mirrors competition when mixing category A and B fencers through appropriate fight durations and work to rest ratios. Individual thermoregulatory responses existed for each participant for Tgast and Tskin. Mask temperature increased during DE fights (0.34-3.04°C) and Tskin increased during recovery between Poule and DE fights. In conclusion, results of this thesis demonstrate a high physiological and thermoregulatory demand of epée. Furthermore, practical cooling methods between fights lowered Tskin and thermal sensation during DE fights and with a limited performance benefit of MIX for points difference. This thesis provides novel data on thermoregulatory responses of able-bodied and wheelchair epée fencing and movement data of epée using an accelerometer-based athlete tracking system.

The long-term sustainability of biodiversity in small native forest fragments on privately-owned lowland rural land is threatened by agricultural intensification, introduced pests, inadequate fencing, and species-area effects. Biodiversity monitoring of private land plays an essential role in protecting, and enhancing, the biodiversity that remains. This is important because these private forest fragments can contain rare and critically threatened species, and are reservoirs for indigenous species that are otherwise scarce in these landscapes. Regional Councils are increasingly required to work with landowners to monitor the biodiversity in these habitats to inform management and conservation. However, there has been no standard framework that councils follow for doing this. Regional councils contracted Manaaki Whenua–Landcare Research to develop a Tier 2 Monitoring Framework for standardised biodiversity monitoring in 2020. I have trialled this framework to survey vegetation, bird and mammal biodiversity at a selection of 10 ecologically prioritised native forest sites across Hawke’s Bay. My research offers insights into the framework’s ability to measure ecological change, by using it to assess the ecological differences between fenced and unfenced forests. Vascular plant species richness was affected by reserve fencing, with fewer natives and many more naturalised species present at unfenced sites. Within sites, there were much more native individuals across all height tiers. For birds, it was found that fencing determined species composition, whereby there was a greater species richness and detections of naturalised bird in unfenced areas, and greater detections of native birds in fenced sites. I also investigate autonomous recordings compared to 5-minute bird counts, concluding that although they both have their merits, greater detection and unbiasedness occurs using autonomous recording devices. I will offer my reflections on the suitability of this proposed framework for more widespread regional council use and offer recommendations. My findings document the status of lowland biodiversity at these sites and provide a valuable baseline for future monitoring of ecological change in lowland forest fragments in Hawke’s Bay.

The first human stepped onto New Zealand’s shores around 1,000 years ago. Since then almost half of the once rich and unique endemic fauna is now extinct. With much of the remaining biota endangered the importance of ecological conservation has gained increasing recognition, particularly over the last 30 years. The realities of ecological conservation, however, are often at odds with the ideals. Misguided intent combined with a lack of resources and infrastructure often hinder good outcomes. Further complication lies within the prioritisation of the limited resources. What should be protected and at what price? This research project explores how architecture can provide a remedy for some of the problems facing ecological conservation. The project’s programmatic aim is to facilitate eco-tourist access, with minimal impact, into fragile ecological habitats on the Otago Peninsula. The Peninsula is considered to be the wildlife “capital” of New Zealand. As a result, ecotourism is a major industry for the neighbouring City of Dunedin. The ecological biodiversity of the Peninsula is fundamental to the city’s identity. Also fundamental to Dunedin’s identity is its built heritage. These identities are faced with challenges. Eco-tourists eager to view the biodiversity can, unintentionally, damage the peninsula’s fragile ecologies. The built heritage is also faced with issues relating to questions of value and conservation, particularly relating to new seismic strengthening requirements. The proposed architectural interventions will address these issues. Fundamental to this project is an exploration and analysis of the greater site through David Leatherbarrow’s “extended horizon” analysis. This allows a broader understanding of the problems and potentials that exist across the site. The interventions are created through the establishment of spatial management using the concepts of threshold, boundary and barrier. The interventions also investigate how additional “performances” can be incorporated to create a more lively and involving environment. In so doing it is hoped that the architecture will provide a better-resourced infrastructure for the centralised and localised requirements of ecological conservation. The scope of this project is to design facilities and structures for ecological conservation which also manages and educates tourists on ecological conservation. The architectural interventions may include viewing structures, viewing platforms, viewing hides, and conservation and visitor centres. The emphasis of the project is on how these structures enable and promote ecological conservation while, where possible, also promoting the built heritage of the associated area. Two project sites: Centralised eco-hub at Fryatt Street, Dunedin and localised viewing platforms, viewing holds, fencing at Sandfly Bay to observe the yellow-eyed penguin

During the late Middle Ages and into the Renaissance, fighting books—Fechtbücher—were produced in northern Italy, among the German states, in Burgundy, and on the Iberian peninsula. Long dismissed by fencing historians as “rough and untutored,” and largely unknown to military historians, these enigmatic treatises offer important insights into the cultural realities for all three orders in medieval society: those who fought, those who prayed, and those who labored. The intent of this dissertation is to demonstrate, contrary to the view of fencing historians, that the medieval works were systematic and logical approaches to personal defense rooted in optimizing available technology and regulating the appropriate use of the skills and technology through the lens of chivalric conduct. I argue further that these approaches were principle-based, that they built on Aristotelian conceptions of arte, and that by both contemporary and modern usage, they were martial arts. Finally, I argue that the existence of these martial arts lends important insights into the world-view across the spectrum of Medieval and early Renaissance society, but particularly with the tactical understanding held by professional combatants, the knights and men-at-arms. Three treatises are analyzed in detail. These include the anonymous RA I.33 Latin manuscript in the Royal Armouries at Leeds; the early German treatise attributed to Hanko Döbringer that glosses the great Johannes Liechtenauer; and the collection of surviving treatises by the Friulian master, Fiore dei Liberi. Each is compared in order to highlight common elements of usage that form the principles of the combat arts.

Human beings by nature are social creatures capable of intelligent and complex interactions. Unfortunately, planning and implementation of the built environment has not always influenced or created opportunities for social exchange and conversation. The thesis explores how architecture can influence the interconnection between people at various scales in order to promote interaction. The mixed-use building includes a social coffeehouse and bar above which is a small apartment complex. These apartments would house a small number of politicians and their interns from each political party. This setting becomes a vehicle within which various players from the political spectrum could interact and commune together. By creating a variety of both public and private spaces, different experiences and relationships between inhabitants create opportunities for social dialogue and interaction. This architectural narrative, then, is the conversation between the reader and writer. ***NOTE: The uploaded file is 72dpi for computer viewing. Please contact the author if you should require a higher resolution pdf.***

This study analyzes the change in whole-farm net revenues and nutrient reduction from the implementation of five best management practices (BMPs) on a typical beef and beef-poultry farm in Shenandoah County. Whole-farm net revenues, resource allocation, nutrient loss reductions, and the cost efficiency of reducing nutrient losses were analyzed to assess which BMPs are the most cost efficient to implement, assuming the baseline scenarios have no voluntarily applied BMPs. The effects of stacking additional BMPs, in combinations of two or more, were also assessed. No-till cropping, winter wheat cover crop, herbaceous riparian buffer, fencing, and P-based NMP were the BMPs that were analyzed. Incentive payments from state and federal governments were incorporated into the cost of BMP adoption. A brief analysis of a farmer's time value of money, with respect to incentive payments, was also conducted. Results indicated that no-till crop management was the most cost efficient BMP, and was the only BMP to increase net revenues for both farm models. Fencing and P-based NMP were the least cost efficient for the beef farm. For the beef-poultry farm, fencing was the least cost efficient. The implications of this study are that farmers that choose to adopt BMP should evaluate both their interests in maintaining (or increasing) farm net revenues along with their interest in improving water quality through the reduction of nutrient losses. There is potential for implementing multiple BMPs, while increasing net revenues from a farm's baseline scenario. For farmers and policy makers, no-till cropping can be a profitable and therefore cost efficient BMP to implement. Incentive payments are intended to encourage the adoption of BMPs by subsidizing a portion of the start-up costs. Policy makers should attempt to make cost-share payments reflect nutrient reduction goals. This can be done by analyzing both the compliance cost to farmers and the nutrient reduction effectiveness of BMPs.

Research looks for the sources of state anxiety for individual athletes prior to competition, which can be debilitating (Gould, 1993; Gould, Horn & Spreeman, 1983). Non-elite athletes who are high trait anxious (possibly fear of failure) have higher state anxiety than elite athletes (Conroy, 2002; Gould, Horn & Spreeman, 1983). Fencers may be prone to elevated state anxiety. No research links these variables together in fencing. The purpose of the study is to examine fear of failure, experience, and division as predictors of state anxiety for epee fencers prior to competition. Epee fencers (N = 145) who competed in the USFA Summer Nationals completed a demographics questionnaire, the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2R (Cox, Martens & Russell, 2003), and the Performance Failure Appraisal Inventory (Conroy, Willow, & Metzler, 2002). Multiple regression analyses revealed fear of failure as a predictor of cognitive anxiety (B = .44, p < .001). Division I-A fencers are predictive of higher cognitive anxiety than Division I fencers (B = .20, p = .04). None were significant predictors for somatic anxiety. Experience was not associated with either cognitive or somatic anxiety.

The Rocker b Ranch on the southern Rolling Plains has one of the last sizeable populations of pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) in Texas. To investigate habitat utilization on the ranch, pronghorn were fitted with GPS/VHF collars and were released into pastures surrounded by a variety of fences to determine how fence types affected habitat selection. Habitat parameters chosen for analysis were vegetation, elevation, slope, aspect, and distances to water, roads, and oil wells. Results showed that pronghorn on the ranch crossed modified fencing significantly less than other types of fencing. Pronghorn selected for all habitat parameters to various degrees, with the most important being vegetation type. Habitat selection could be attributed to correspondence of vegetation type with other parameters or spatial arrangements of physical features of the landscape. Seasonal differences in habitat utilization were evident, and animals tended to move shorter distances at night than they did during daylight hours.

This investigation was designed to determine whether a relationship existed between sex-roles (masculinity, femininity and androgyny) as measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory and success (win-loss record) in a round-robin fencing tournament of 35 subjects enrolled in beginning fencing during spring semester of 1979 at North Texas State University. The Pearson product-moment coefficient of correlations were calculated to ascertain whether or not significant relationships at the .05 level of confidence existed among the sex-roles of the subjects and success in fencing. This study concluded that individuals with a high feminine score will find success in a round-robin fencing tournament and individuals with a high masculine score will find success in a round-robin fencing tournament.

The purpose of the study was to construct and standardize a point-control test to be used to determine beginning fencing ability in a bouting situation. The specific problem was to determine the reliability and validity of the point-control test.

The purpose of this study was to determine the number of colleges within the State of Texas which offer fencing in their Women's Physical Education Programs. An attempt was made, by mailing questionnaires to sixty-two colleges in the State, to discover the number of colleges which offer fencing, and the present practices in the teaching of fencing. Since most publications on fencing are written by the "professionals and the fencing masters," an effort has also been made to develop a fencing manual to be used by the individuals who have had the fundamentals of fencing, and as a guide to the beginning fencers in order to equip them with the necessary material for teaching and learning fencing.

การศึกษานี้วัตถุประสงค์เพื่อศึกษาอัตราการเกิดของการบาดเจ็บต่างๆ ในนักกีฬาฟันดาบสากลที่เข้าร่วมการแข่งขันกีฬาแห่งชาติ ครั้งที่ 38 ณ จังหวัดตรัง ซึ่งจากจำนวนนักกีฬาที่เข้าร่วมการแข่งขันกีฬาฟันดาบสากล จานวน 97 ราย ผู้วิจัยสามารถเก็บข้อมูลจากการสัมภาษณ์ได้ จานวน 63 ราย คิดเป็น 64.94 %ประกอบด้วย นักกีฬาชาย 41 ราย (65.1%) อายุเฉลี่ย 22.77±3.39 ปี และนักกีฬาหญิง 22 ราย (34.9%) อายุเฉลี่ย 20.45±3.36 ปี ผลการศึกษาพบว่า ในระยะเวลา 3 เดือนก่อนจนถึงระหว่างการแข่งขันกีฬาแห่งชาติ ตรังเกมส์ มีนักกีฬาดาบสากลมีอาการบาดเจ็บ จานวน 39 ราย (61.9%) โดยการบาดเจ็บที่เกิดขึ้นส่วนใหญ่ จะเกิดในระหว่างการฝึกซ้อม จานวน 31 ราย (79.48%) เกิดในระหว่างการแข่งขัน จานวน 8 ราย (20.52%) ตำแหน่งของการบาดเจ็บที่พบมากที่สุดของนักกีฬาดาบสากล คือ ข้อเท้า จานวน 18 ราย (46.15%) รองลงมาคือ ข้อเข่า จานวน 11 ราย (28.02%) ข้อมือ จานวน 6 ราย (15.38%) และกล้ามเนื้อต้นขาด้านหน้า จานวน 4 ราย (10.25) สาเหตุหลักของการบาดเจ็บที่เกิดขึ้นนั้นพบว่า เกิดจากตัวนักกีฬาเอง หรือไม่ได้เกิดจากการปะทะ จำนวน 15 ราย (38.46%) รองลงมา คือ เกิดจากการปะทะกับคู่ต่อสู้ จำนวน 9 ราย (23.08%) และพบว่า ปัจจัยภายในตัวนักกีฬาเอง ซึ่งเกี่ยวข้องในเรื่องของ การอบอุ่นร่างกายที่ไม่เหมาะสม การขาดเทคนิคในการเล่น อัตราการล้าที่เกิดขึ้นจากการฝึกซ้อมและการแข่งขัน หรือแม้กระทั่งภาวะ การฝึกมากเกินไป ซึ่งมีส่วนทาให้เกิดการบาดเจ็บได้