With the growth ecotourism and of nature-based tourism, ecolodges are becoming more popular as an accommodation choice by tourists. There is currently no universal certification program ensuring service quality or environmental sustainability for ecolodges. Costa Rica is one of the few countries with a certification program in place that allows ecolodges to join by meeting certain standards. Visitors from three different certified ecolodges in Costa Rica were asked to fill out a questionnaire asking for demographic and trip characteristic information, with a section pertaining to their perception of importance and performance of 42 ecolodge attributes. The information was then applied to an Importance-Performance Analysis to gain a better understanding of how ecolodges are operating based on visitor feedback. The results from this thesis are then compared to the results of a similar study done by Kwan (2008) in Belize, where no certification exists for ecolodges. It is found that certified ecolodges received higher performance scores from their guests than uncertified ecolodges. It was also found that visitors place higher importance on more attributes when visiting a certified ecolodge, compared to uncertified ecolodges. This study also found that certified ecolodges are meeting the expectations of their clientele, by having higher performance scores than importance scores on 41 of 42 attributes. This thesis indicates that the presence of certification programs for ecolodges influences higher performance scores and can help ensure a successful future for this type of accommodation.

Dam construction has increased exponentially over the past century, primarily in temperate environments. While the impacts of dams in temperate regions have been well-documented, a parallel level of research on dam impacts has not been achieved in tropical environments. The overall objective of this research was to understand the hydrologic impacts of dams in Costa Rica, a representative case study in a tropical environment. To achieve this objective, the following specific objectives were developed: 1) examine the spatial and temporal trend of large dam development within the country; 2) assess large-scale hydrologic impacts (at the national scale); 3) analyze downstream flow of individual dams to determine regional impacts. Analysis of the spatial trend of dam development utilized a geographic information system. The spatial distribution showed no apparent relation to hydroclimate, and additional land-use analysis indicated that basins containing large dams are primarily covered by either forest or crop. Assessment of large-scale impacts used potential reservoir storage to represent the hydrologic impact. Results indicate that large dams in Costa Rica are having a relatively low impact on the surface water component of the hydrologic cycle compared to temperate regions. However, this analysis revealed that two dams, Arenal and Sandillal, are having a disproportionately significant impact on their individual basins. Analysis of flow regime for individual dams followed standard hydrologic analyses of comparing pre- and post-dam discharge data. Variables analyzed included mean, minimum, and peak flows. Results of these analyses revealed that the Arenal- Corobic-Sandillal dam project have resulted in severe disruption to downstream hydrology for all three dams. In contrast, downstream of Ventanas Dam changes in downstream discharge were smaller than those documented for dams in temperate regions. The results of this research indicate that dam impacts in the tropics may be very different from those documented in temperate environments. Consequently, theories developed for temperate areas regarding expected dam impacts may not apply to tropical regions. This has important implications for hydrology, geomorphology and ecology. This study should serve as a step toward development of a more generalized theory of dam impacts in the tropics.

Obesity is a serious growing public health issue in the world, and it is increasing rapidly in Latin America. Obese people are an exposed group of patients that are stigmatized for various reasons. Negative attitudes and stigma against obese patients among healthcare personnel and within the healthcare environment can affect their care negatively. This study aims to see if nurses in Costa Rica view and experience the healthcare environment as a stigmatizing place for obese patients and if they experienced any negative attitudes that may affect the care of obese patients. The aim is to examine nurses attitudes and experiences with obese patients in the healthcare environment in Costa Rica. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven registered nurses (RN). The semi-structured interview guide contained 11 questions in four different areas based on a survey about healthcare professionals attitudes about obesity (Attitudes Toward Obese People). The registered nurses perceived obesity as a disease with uncontrollable causes as genetics and socioeconomic factors but also with self-inflicted factors as excessive eating of junk food and sedentary lifestyles. The lack of resources and time in the healthcare environment in general were major factors for the stigmatizing attitudes. Exhausted nurses could be more vulnerable for making mistakes and present bad attitudes. Despite the reported experiences of stigmatizing and negative attitudes in the healthcare environment none of the nurses felt that they had contributed to such attitudes. No particular differences between female and male attitudes were found through the interviews, but the female nurses pointed out that it is more difficult for a female to be obese in this superficial society.

No description available.

In Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, a transnational tourist town located on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, masculinities are expressed and embodied in multiple ways as a result of particular interactions that take place at the convergence of the global and the local. This thesis interrogates the masculine performances of Western tourist men in the context of a hierarchy of desirability complexly located at the intersections of sexuality, tourism, and globalization. Specifically, I argue that tourist men construct their masculinities in contestational and oppositional ways to those of local Caribbean men - constructions mediated through their homosocial encounters with men (both local Caribbean and foreign men), as well as their heterosexual intimate relationships with local women – in order to increase their statuses as more sexually desirable subjects in Puerto Viejo’s sexual landscape.

This creative project investigated, planned and developed a master plan for the new National Zoological Botanical Park of Costa Rica. Based on an appraisal of the appropriate vegetation type for introduction onto a proposed study site, the flora and fauna from similar sites elsewhere in Costa Rica were identified. Placing the flora in the appropriate areas on the proposed study site allowed the fauna that has direct association with specific flora to be located. Based on slope analysis, contour formations, flora and fauna habitats, visitor and staff requirements, a master plan for the new National Zoological and Botanical Park of Costa Rica was developed. / Department of Landscape Architecture

This study is based on ethnographic research that was conducted in the villages of Santa María de Rivas and San Gerardo de Rivas in the coffee farming region of Pérez Zeledón, Costa Rica. While these two villages are in close proximity to each other, the economy of San Gerardo is based more on tourism than the economy of Santa María, although both towns still engage in agricultural activities. Within each village, I conducted 15 preliminary interviews, followed by ten follow-up interviews with the main food preparers of the households. From in depth discussions, I found that food consumption patterns of people in both towns were being affected by seasonal variations in incomes due to the cyclical nature of employment in both tourism and agriculture. A number of households from these villages were experiencing periods of food worries throughout the year that were linked to the seasonality of tourism as well as agriculture, and in particular coffee production. Seasonal availability of particular food items also shaped consumption patterns; however, perceptions of food insecurity in this context appear to be primarily related to problems of access.

In Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, a transnational tourist town located on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, masculinities are expressed and embodied in multiple ways as a result of particular interactions that take place at the convergence of the global and the local. This thesis interrogates the masculine performances of Western tourist men in the context of a hierarchy of desirability complexly located at the intersections of sexuality, tourism, and globalization. Specifically, I argue that tourist men construct their masculinities in contestational and oppositional ways to those of local Caribbean men - constructions mediated through their homosocial encounters with men (both local Caribbean and foreign men), as well as their heterosexual intimate relationships with local women – in order to increase their statuses as more sexually desirable subjects in Puerto Viejo’s sexual landscape.

With the growth ecotourism and of nature-based tourism, ecolodges are becoming more popular as an accommodation choice by tourists. There is currently no universal certification program ensuring service quality or environmental sustainability for ecolodges. Costa Rica is one of the few countries with a certification program in place that allows ecolodges to join by meeting certain standards. Visitors from three different certified ecolodges in Costa Rica were asked to fill out a questionnaire asking for demographic and trip characteristic information, with a section pertaining to their perception of importance and performance of 42 ecolodge attributes. The information was then applied to an Importance-Performance Analysis to gain a better understanding of how ecolodges are operating based on visitor feedback. The results from this thesis are then compared to the results of a similar study done by Kwan (2008) in Belize, where no certification exists for ecolodges. It is found that certified ecolodges received higher performance scores from their guests than uncertified ecolodges. It was also found that visitors place higher importance on more attributes when visiting a certified ecolodge, compared to uncertified ecolodges. This study also found that certified ecolodges are meeting the expectations of their clientele, by having higher performance scores than importance scores on 41 of 42 attributes. This thesis indicates that the presence of certification programs for ecolodges influences higher performance scores and can help ensure a successful future for this type of accommodation.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oklahoma, 1974. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 309-323).