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Publication Homelessness and Long-Term Occupancy in National Forests and Grasslands(2015-04-12) Baur, Joshua W.R.; Cerveny, Lee; Tynon, Joanne F.Publication Publication Manager and Visitor Perceptions of Public Recreation Land Management(2015-04-12) Gage, RickThis paper presents the results of semi-structured interviews with key informants representing both users and managers of a public recreation area in West Virginia investigating perceptions of visitor and manager goals and objectives, and their relationship to user-manager recreation conflict. Preliminary analysis indicates that management goals are not as diverse as expected and there seems to be a much stronger emphasis on development and visitor satisfaction than protection of natural resources. Further, it appears to be the case that both visitors and managers experience and can identify user-manager conflict at this recreation area. Results of these interviews will be used to develop a quantitative survey to examine user-manager conflict, to be administered over the summer of 2015.Publication Measuring Self-Reported Fidelity in Experiential Education: Exploring the Effectiveness of the Facilitator Characteristics and Program Contributions Scale(2015-04-12) Gagnon, Ryan J.; Garst, Barry A.; Stone, Garrett A.Social science researchers have called for evidenced based practices when implementing, delivering, and evaluating programs. One important component of these practices is to monitor program implementation. However, in experiential education and more broadly the social sciences this process is rarely assessed or evaluated; when it is assessed it is frequently resource intensive. As such, program providers have needed an implementation measurement approach more conducive to low-resource organizations. This paper introduces a self-report mechanism to measure facilitator characteristics that contribute to delivering a program as designed. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis of 121 program facilitator responses to the Facilitator Characteristics and Program Contributions Scale (FCPC) indicated that the FCPC is a valid and reliable measure of facilitator characteristics and their pro-fidelity beliefs, and thus may be a promising alternative to other resource intensive approaches to implementation assessment.Publication Competition Climbing as Serious Leisure(2015-04-12) Gagnon, Ryan J; Stone, Garrett A.; Garst, Barry A.Serious Leisure has received considerable attention in the leisure research for the past forty years. Building on recent efforts to operationalize serious leisure constructs, this study examined the relationship between serious leisure characteristics and rewards in the context of indoor competition climbing, a sport recognized as a potential serious leisure pursuit. The purposes of the study were to validate the 18-item Serious Leisure Inventory Measure (SLIM) as well as the three-factor model of serious leisure proposed by previous researchers. A national sample of 646 indoor competition climbers completed a 59-item survey. Results suggest partial validation of the 18-Item SLIM and a three factor model of serious leisure characteristics and rewards. Serious leisure characteristics significantly, positively contributed to personal and social rewards in the structural model, confirming the relationships and distinctions between these constructs. Further replication and validation of the 18-Item SLIM with different populations is recommended.Publication Developing a Measurement Protocol for the Tourism Opportunity Spectrum(2015-04-12) Carroll, JoshuaPublication Attitudes of Park Visitors Toward Wildlife and Black Bear Management: A Case Study of Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area(2015-04-12) Liu, Hungling (Stella); Bradley, Michael J.; Sharp, Ryan L.Publication An Exploratory Study on the Meanings of a Local Fair from the Perspectives of Locals(2015-04-12) Yu, Alvin HungChih; Yen, I-YinAbstract Many festivals originated with community celebrations. Through festivals, their ethnic, historical, religious piety, community pride, culture preservation, social cohesiveness and reconciliation are embodied. The significance of the economic contribution from festivals or special events has been well documented in the past two decades; thus, festival/special event creation is now treated as a strategy for tangible economic development. In addition, research focused exclusively on the relationship between patrons’ perceptions of festivals/special events and economic benefits overwhelmingly dominates this field. Indeed, it is essential to understand the meanings of festivals from the patron’s standpoints since their perceptions are associated with the future direction of festival development. Failure to understand and respond to the diversity of stakeholders’ perceptions can lead to participant dissatisfaction. The purpose of this study was to identify the meanings that participants ascribe to the Lemonade Fair, a local festival in Minnesota, by using two sets of interview data, including a face-to-face, open-ended interview and freelisting interviews. Twenty informants who visited this art fair were interviewed during the 2014 festival period. Most of the informants were middle-aged (average: 46 years old) Caucasian females with college degrees who had lived within a forty-mile radius for more than fifteen years. They were not first-time visitors and fourteen out of the twenty attended this festival with their family members. With their consent, their answers were digitally recorded and then transcribed. Based on the results of the freelisting interviews, the top six terms informants used to describe this art fair were ‘fun’, ‘community,’ ‘gathering,’ ‘art,’ ‘food,’ and ‘music’ (Smith’s S represents the mean salience value range from 0.299 to 0.205). The open-ended interview data were then used to interpret the results. Findings demonstrate that most informants perceive this art fair to be equivalent to art and community. They suggested that it is an important venue for building sense of community and boosting social capital and solidarity among their community members. Findings suggest that intangible social cohesiveness, not the tangible economic benefits, is the most important perception of this local art fair. The festival sponsors should acknowledge the social benefits derived from festival participation in order to plan it better in the future.Publication The Greening of Marshall University: Examining the Effects of Campus Conservation Projects on the Student Experience(2015-04-12) Graefe, David; Williams, AmandaConservation and sustainability have become increasingly important issues in an era of rapid human development and environmental change. As beacons of wisdom and progress, universities serve as important places where people can learn, both formally and informally, about important and emerging contemporary issues. Thus, it is not surprising that many universities have been overtly increasing their efforts to conserve the environment and operate in as sustainable a manner as possible. Marshall University (MU) has undertaken many projects to promote informal education focused on conservation and sustainability over the past several years. Some of these projects include the creation of a rain garden to improve storm water management, monarch butterfly waystations, a student community garden, a green roof, and an annual Earth Day celebration. Further, many new projects are in the planning and development stages (e.g., tree mapping and establishment of a campus arboretum, improved educational signage at various project locations, an additional green roof to be located on a new engineering building, and a “green trail” connecting all of these projects). While the environmental benefits of such projects have been welldocumented, less is known regarding the effect of such campus-wide projects on the student experience (i.e., the social benefits). For example, do Marshall University students believe that the existence of such projects enhances their college experiences? Do they feel a greater sense of environmental responsibility or satisfaction as a result of enrolling at a university that is committed to environmental sustainability and stewardship? Are students who interact with campus conservation initiatives more likely to exhibit ecological attitudes and pro-environmental behaviors in their own lives? The purpose of this study was to examine the social benefits that students receive as a result of campus conservation projects, and to explore relationships between exposure to these projects and general environmental views and behaviors.Publication Maple Producers Perception of Climate Change(2015-04-12) Sharkey, Thomas; Kuehn, Diane M.; Chase, LisaPublication An Examination of the Overlapping Constraints for Maine Residents Participating in Outdoor Recreation Activities and Visiting Maine's State Parks(2015-04-12) Scaccia, Matt DAbstract The State of Maine is known to have a population of residents that are highly active in outdoor recreation activities and regularly visit Maine’s State Parks. Even though residents’ overall constraints to participating in outdoor recreation in Maine were found to be relatively low, a considerable portion of the population experiences significant barriers for participating in recreational activities while other analogous factors further constrain these residents from visiting Maine State Parks. For this study, a survey was conducted with a sample of Maine residents who were each asked to indicate the factors that limit their pursuit of outdoor recreational activities in general as well as specify, from a corresponding list of limitations, why they had not visited a Maine State Park before (n=399). The results of McNemar chi-square analyses found that being too busy, lack of knowledge, lack of interest, and family status were statistically significant overlapping constraints (p<0.05).Publication Visitor Motivations for Technology Escape in Wisconsin's Largest State Forest(2015-04-12) Anderson McIntyre, Laura; Baker, MelissaOutdoor recreation managers are increasingly challenged with determining whether and how to provide opportunities for technology use in forests and parks. Decisions can be informed, in part, by better understanding visitor motivations regarding technology. To this end, four new “technology escape” motivation items were developed and measured in a survey of visitors to Northern Highland – American Legion State Forest. Visitors completed 815 surveys in summer 2013 (response rate = 90%). The four motivation items were grouped together into a single escape technology domain. Overall, NHAL visitors placed moderate importance on this motivation. Small differences in technology escape were found by respondent group size, gender, and place attachment. However, no significant relationships were found by primary activity, education level, age, income, or experience use history. Moderate to strong correlations suggest that the new technology specific domain may not be particularly distinct from existing recreation experience domains targeted at escaping everyday pressures.Publication Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest Winter Aalternative Transportation Study(2014-04-06) Leveque, Jonas G.; Burns, Robert C.Publication Factors Influencing Fishing Participation by Bass Anglers Residing in New York's Lake Ontario Region(2014-04-06) Kuehn, Diane; Luzadis, Valerie; Brincka, MatthewPublication Exploring Age Cohort Differences in Childhood Nature Experiences and Connection to Nature(2014-04-06) Lekies, Kristi S.; Whitworth, BernadettePublication Examining Environmental Justice in Context of Federal and State Lands in Illinois: A GIS-based Case Study(2014-04-06) Newton, Jennifer N.; Porter, RobPublication Visitor Satisfaction Revisited: A Methodological Approach(2014-04-06) Shahvali, Moji; Zargham, Hamid; Kerstetter, DeborahPublication Emerging Collaborative Governance Models: The Monongahela River Town Porgram(2014-04-06) Selin, Steve; Confer, John; McCollom, Cathy; Briem, ChristopherPublication The Influence of Visitor Motivation and Characteristics on Visitor Information Search Behavior(2014-04-06) Zhou, Yanhong; Maumbe, KudzayiPublication A Trend Study on Segmenting Festival Patrons(2014-04-06) Yu, Alvin H.; Yen, I-Yin