Leisure Studies Commons^™

Investigating Extension's Scope And Role In Outdoor Recreation In The West: Attitudes, Challenges, And Opportunities, Jake Powell

Funded Research Records

No abstract provided.

The Perfect Fit? Relationships Between Recreationist-Environment Fit, Benefit Attainment, And Place Attachment, Tristan Jilson

All Theses

Management efficacy in parks and protected areas can be assessed and improved with knowledge about park visitors’ compatibility with the setting, their ability to attain desired visitation or recreational benefits, and the development of place-based connections. Additionally, the relationships between compatibility (i.e., recreationist-environment fit), the attainment of benefits, and place-based connections such as place attachment have been perennial interests to a suite of disciplines, including landscape architecture, urban and regional planning, environmental psychology, conservation social sciences, and human-dimensions of natural resource management. Therefore, this study employed a quantitative, cross-sectional survey research design to determine the degree that the attainment of …

Examining The Perceptions Associated With Sunday Hunting Restrictions In South Carolina, Elizabeth Piller

All Theses

Public land is an invitation for many to engage with the natural world through a variety of different activities. Sometimes these activities are mutually exclusive and can cause land use conflict, which natural resource managers must navigate. One example of this conflict is restrictions to Sunday hunting. In South Carolina, Sunday hunting is allowed on private late but banned on public Wildlife Management Area (WMA) land. This regulation remains from ‘blue laws,’ laws prohibiting certain activities on Sundays to honor the Christian Sabbath (Balestra, 2008). Blue laws are typically thought of as prohibiting alcohol, but eleven U.S. states currently have …

Queering The Outdoors: Lgbtq2sia+ Identity In Outdoor Recreation, Sandra Heath

All Dissertations

Objective. The purpose of this project was to learn about the lived experiences of outdoor professionals who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Two Spirited, Pansexual, Intersex, Asexual, Plus (LGBTQ2SIA+ or LGBTQ+). In this study, we are gifted with stories that delve into queer identity in the outdoors, with the understanding that not all LGBTQ+ individuals experience the outdoors in the same way. Specifically, this study considers these experiences across temporal dimension of childhood and adulthood, the defining event(s) of coming out, the role of community, and reflections on outdoor recreation professions. Methods. A critical narrative approach was used …

Outdoor Recreation Benefits And Promotion Through A Youth-Focused Program In State Parks, Kiley Foss

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A family’s participation in outdoor recreation activities can provide numerous benefits to each individual. Children’s participation is influenced from various factors, but parents have one of the greatest influences on their child’s outdoor recreation behavior. The purpose of this study is to assess the outcomes of a statewide outdoor recreation program in relation to using state parks as outdoor wellness centers, as well as investigate the relationship between parents’ outdoor recreation participation and perception and their children’s outdoor recreation involvement. A total of 104 parents or guardians recalled their family’s participation in the Go Forth program. Those responses were analyzed …

Mountain Biking Mountaineers: Insights Into The West Virginia Mountain Biking Community, Connor Mullin

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Mountain biking is one of the most popular recreational activities in the United States. Beyond the increasing popularity of the sport, the technology is also changing, especially in terms of electric mountain biking. This new type of bike blends traditional mountain bikes with electric bikes, creating a potential new group of recreationists. The research on mountain biking, and more specifically electric mountain biking, is limited. The purpose of this study is to examine West Virginian mountain bikers by studying behaviors and motivations. There are no published studies focused on mountain biking in West Virginia, and therefore a need to fill …

Air Pollution And Outdoor Recreation On Urban Trails: A Case Study Of The Elizabeth River Trail, Norfolk, Va, James E. Mccann

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

Poor air quality represents a significant health risk, especially when recreating outdoors in urban parks and trails. It is important for managers of urban parks and trail to understand how potential visitors’ perceptions of air quality and health risks and benefits may affect visitation. The goal of this study was to investigate temporal variance in air quality along the Elizabeth River Trail, an urban trail located in Norfolk, Virginia, as well as trail users’ perceptions of air quality and of health benefits in relation to trail use. The researcher rode a bicycle with a Dylos DC1700-PM mobile air quality monitor …

Gendered Recreational Fisheries Management And North American Natural Resource Policy, Erin Burkett

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This dissertation applies feminist theory to investigate women’s participation in wildlife-based recreation and how natural resource management organizations conduct stakeholder engagement in a North American context. Gendered social processes, including norms and expectations, as well as gendered cultures, can constrain women’s participation in recreation through social sanctions and disenfranchisement. Gender and leisure scholars have studied these dynamics in sport and leisure contexts, but how individuals negotiate these constraints is understudied in a wildlife-based recreation context. Social constructions of gender also contribute to imbalances of power within formal natural resource management organizations and influence how stakeholder engagement policies and programs are …

Winds Of Change – Predicting Water-Based Recreationists' Support And Opposition For Offshore Wind Energy Development In The Great Lakes, Michael D. Ferguson, Samantha L. Powers, Nate E. Trauntvein, Jeffrey B. Jacquet, Alan R. Graefe, Andrew J. Mowen

Kinesiology and Health Science Faculty Publications

This study examined the factors influencing water-based recreationists' perceptions of support and opposition towards off-shore wind energy development (OWD) on Lake Erie. Much of the proposed or future Lake Erie OWD infrastructure may either be within or adjacent to public lands, waters, and protected areas, raising concerns about the potential environmental and social impacts upon recreation stakeholders. The limited body of OWD research within the United States has suggested there are numerous factors that may influence overall perceptions of support and opposition such as political orientation and beliefs in climate change. Moreover, recent research has proposed that the perceived recreation …

Health And Outdoor Settings: A Summary Of The Coalition For Education In The Outdoors Pre-Symposium Workshop, 2018, Kristina R. Anderson, Alan Ewert

Research in Outdoor Education

At the Coalition for Education in the Outdoors (CEO) 14th Biennial Research Symposium, researchers and practitioners explored the intersection between outdoor education settings and practices and human health during a pre-symposium workshop. Guided by a supposition that outdoor education experiences impact one or more dimensions of health, participants first aligned around a collective foundation of 1) definitions of nature and health and 2) formative scholarship in outdoor exposure and natural elements.

With this foundation, existing paradigms were questioned: Are mainstay methodologies used in outdoor education efficacious, particularly if researchers are to engage with cross-disciplinary research teams or seek new funding …

Interaction With Water: Water-Based Outdoor Recreation And Water Quality Perception And Concern Among Residents Of Utah, Matthew J. Barnett

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

There are a large number of impaired water bodies in Utah, and population trends indicate that water quality impairment will become an increasingly important issue in the future. Because of education and management implications, an understanding of the social processes that drive water quality perception and concern is a matter of interest and importance. Sociodemographic characteristics and outdoor recreational activity have both been associated with environmental concern in the past. Using a Generalized Linear Modeling approach, this study explores the relationship between water-based outdoor recreation and water quality perception and concern. It is found that participation in water-based outdoor recreation …

Outcomes From An Undergraduate Cadet Women's Backpacking Experience, Guy Ilagen, Jill Ilagen, Annie N. Simpson, Todd Shealy, Jennifer Bennett-Mintz, Kally Mccormick

Research in Outdoor Education

Women undergraduates at military colleges are likely to experience challenges including heightened stress, isolation, and discrimination. Wilderness-based programs show promising outcomes in an array of areas including stress-coping, fitness motivation, self-efficacy, social support, and improved cognitive functioning. This mixed-methods exploratory study examined outcomes for 17 cadet women (N=17) who participated in a preparatory workshop series and backpacking event. Quantitative data indicated the backpacking workshop series was associated with decreases in perceived stress (p < .05). The backpacking trip was associated with increases in self-efficacy (p < .01). Cadets attributed decreases in perceived stress and increases in self-efficacy to interpersonal/intrapersonal factors and the wilderness/ backpacking experience. These results support the use of wilderness experience to bolster coping and wellness among cadet women.

A Longitudinal Study Of Rural Youth Involvement In Outdoor Activities Throughout Adolescence: Exploring Social Capital As A Factor In Community-Level Outcomes, Jayson Seaman, Erin Hiley Sharp, Sean Mclaughlin, Corinna Tucker, Karen Vangundy, Cesar Rebellon

Research in Outdoor Education

This study examined youth participation in both organized and unstructured outdoor activities throughout adolescence, in a rural region in the northeastern United States. Survey data were collected at 7^th, 8^th, 10^th, and 12^th grade from 186 respondents across the region and was analyzed explore the relationship between antecedent predictors, outdoor activity participation, and outcomes related to developmental and educational achievement. Higher outdoor activity involvement was linked with positive outcomes but was also associated with other known predictors of development success including parents' educational level, marital status, and involvement in future planning. The concept …

Nonresident Values Of Montana's Natural Areas, Megan Tanner, Norma Nickerson, Elizabeth Covelli

Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research Publications

Three quarters of nonresident vacationers to Montana are primarily attracted to characteristics of public lands such as national parks, mountains, forests, and open space. Viewing and recreating on Montana's public lands are vitally important to the success of the travel industry in the state. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess public land values held by nonresident visitors to Montana and to compare values between groups of outdoor recreation participants.

Physical Activity Of Park Visitors In The Sacramento-Central Valley, Jordaine Mcginnity

Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Administration

The purpose of the study was to conduct a secondary analysis of the socio-demographics and physical activity levels of park users in the Sacramento-Central Valley region from the 2012 California Opinions and Attitudes Survey on Outdoor Recreation. The study was delimited to the parameters of gathering information via a telephone survey during 2012. The major conclusions indicate: a. the subjects are mostly White or Hispanic, middle-aged to senior status, married, and are part of the lowest socio-economic status, b. park visitation differs between groups as Hispanics visit more often and Non-Hispanics stay longer, and c. physical activity levels differ between …

First And Subsequent Visits To Montana: A Behavioral Analysis , Norma Nickerson, Dylan Boyle

Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research Publications

Interviews of nonresident repeat vacationers to Montana told the story of their very first visit to Montana. Seventy percent came to Montana and visited either Yellowstone or Glacier National Park. Thirty percent came originally for business, VFR, or passing through. All of these visitors felt the need to return to Montana. This report discusses the first and subsequent visits to Montana. Marketing implications of this study suggest that Yellowstone, specifically, and Glacier secondly, should be used to draw first time visitors to Montana. Other first time visitors are drawn to Montana for specific activities such as fishing, skiing, hunting, backpacking, …

Motorized Obsessions: Life, Liberty, And The Small-Bore Engine, Paul R. Josephson

Faculty Books

From dirt bikes and jet skis to weed wackers and snowblowers, machines powered by small gas engines have become a permanent—and loud—fixture in American culture. But fifty years of high-speed fun and pristine lawns have not come without cost.

In the first comprehensive history of the small-bore engine and the technology it powers, Paul R. Josephson explores the political, environmental, and public health issues surrounding one of America's most dangerous pastimes. Each chapter tells the story of an ecosystem within the United States and the devices that wreak havoc on it—personal watercraft (PWCs) on inland lakes and rivers; all-terrain vehicles …

Environmental Sensitivity And Outdoor Recreation Setting Preferences, Tinelle Bustam, Anderson B. Young, Sharon Todd

Research in Outdoor Education

Over the last 30 years, researchers have considered the complexities of "environmental sensitivity," specifically, the factors that cause people to care or be concerned about the environment. Such research emerges from the notion that environmental sensitivity is the first step in a developmental process that leads persons toward environmental literacy or what Chawla (1998) calls a sense of "ownership" and "empowerment" (p. 11) regarding protection of the environment. In this sense, environmental sensitivity becomes the foundation on which environmental educators can build. By exploring the relationship between environmental sensitivity and other variables, environmental educators may be provided with means of …

The Effect Of Outdoor Experiential Programs Upon Environmental Beliefs: Do They Make A Difference, Alan Ewert

Research in Outdoor Education

This study examined the effect of a semester-long, outdoor leadership course upon the environmental beliefs and attitudes of participants. Embedded within this study is a three-week field expedition as part of the curriculum for the treatment group. Two research questions were examined. First, are there initial differences in demographic variables between the treatment and control group students? Second, after using the data generated. at the beginning of the semester from both groups as a covariate, are there differences in response to the statements contained in the modified NEP between the stated environmental beliefs of students in the treatment and control …

Environmental Sensitivity And Experience Preferences In Outdoor Recreation Participation, Tinelle Bustam, Anderson B. Young, Sharon L. Todd

Research in Outdoor Education

In the past 30 years, a number of researchers have attempted to understand what makes people care about the environment or what underlies "environmental sensitivity." Most of this research is rooted in the theory that environmental sensitivity (ES) is the first step in a developmental process that.leads persons in the direction of feeling what Chawla (1998) calls "ownership" and "empowerment" (p. 11) regarding protection of the environment· Some early researchers focused on.individuals' self-claimed influences on environmental sensitivity based on "significant life experiences" (Peterson, 1982; Tanner, 1980}; while others attempted to find an association between outdoor participation and environmental concern (Dunlap …

Learning Outdoor Recreation Skills In A Safe Place: Lessons From A Single Sex Program, Deb Jordan

Research in Outdoor Education

The primary intent of this study was to ascertain the reasons women participate in single-sex outdoor recreation workshops to learn outdoor recreation skills. A secondary issue was to identify reasons for participation in outdoor recreation activities.

Person-Place Engagement Among Recreation Visitors, Iris B. Wilson

Research in Outdoor Education

Leaders of groups participating in experien­tial programs in the outdoors, particularly in backcountry expeditions, can increase group management effectiveness and enhance personal benefit to participants by taking into account the various modes in which individuals engage themselves with the physical setting.

An Investigation Into The Impact Of Outdoor Recreation On Water Quality, Michael L. Young

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis was undertaken in order to explore aspects of the impact of outdoor recreation on water quality. It begins with a discussion of the rationale for monitoring and controlling such environmental degradation. Following sections include an investigation of water quality characteristics particularly indicative of recreational impact, a discussion of the potential contributions of various recreation activities to water pollution, a literature survey, a guideline for planning and implementing a water quality surveillance program, and recommendations for further research. Material for the thesis came from library research and was augmented by the author's personal experience as a water quality research …