Thesis (M.S.)--Montana State University--Bozeman, 2004. / Typescript. Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Mary Murphy. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 94-105).

Into the Canyons is a documentary short that provides an intimate portrait of two volunteer Wilderness Rangers working and living in Zion National Park in Utah for a summer. Sarah dreams of being a Park Ranger for the National Park Service, but must wait till she earns US citizenship. Working in an office, Allen wants a change in lifestyle. Together they explore the Wilderness and learn what it means to be a Park Ranger.

This thesis explores how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted wildlife rangers with an emphasis on the influences of tourism rates. Two sets of data are used: one is a survey of rangers around the world and the other looks at global governmental tourism data. While coming from a routine activities perspective, the problem of decreased capable guardianship becomes apparent in the form of massively decreased tourism arrivals and troubling ranger perceptions. This data allows for the establishment of tourism trends and changes during COVID. The findings of this thesis link the downturn in tourism with impacts on formal and informal guardianship within protected areas. Recommendations and discussions include potential ways to preserve guardianship in future pandemic settings.

Facebook is today a phenomenon that has connected the whole world. With millions of users this has become an attractive place for soccer clubs to connect with their fans. But in what ways are they using Facebook as a tool to connect with their fans?This essay aims to answer the question if it’s a difference in the way English and Swedish teams communicate with their fans on Facebook. The study was conducted with the use of telephone- and mail interviews. Too analyze the material the main theories I´ve used was public relations theory and the public sphere.The result of this study shows that it´s a difference in the way the Premier league teams Arsenal and Queens Park Rangers communicate in comparison with the Swedish teams Helsingborgs IF and IF Elfsborg. The Swedish teams are looking to create relationships by a two-way communication with their fans while the English teams are looking to create relationships with their fans thru pictures, interviews etc. Arsenal is also unique in this study by using Facebook as a tool for commercial purposes.

Rangers, as vanguards of wildlife conservation, are constantly fighting off armed poachers. That makes their work stressful and dangerous. In spite of this, their needs are neglected and are not considered as the focus is on saving wildlife. Undoubtedly, the African continent is not spared from the unrelenting poaching menace that threatens to drive the world’s wildlife spicies into extinction. In response to this scourge, countries, in their quest to safeguard these species from extermination, have signed various treaties, continuously come up with different strategies and pledged their support to fight illegal wildlife trading. This study was conducted at Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park (HIP) and Mkhuze Game Reserve, which are under the management of Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Wildlife Management. These parks have turned into a battlefield between poachers and rangers. The intrinsic case study approach which is explorative and interpretive in perspective was used to unravel and describe the experiences from the world view of rangers. A descriptive qualitative research design was used to gain insight from the rangers about their challenges and needs in the workplace. Furthermore, developmental research was used to design and develop a tailor- made technology – a ranger resilience-building model – to assist rangers to deal with their workplace challenges. Focus group discussions were conducted with a group of rangers, while individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with managers in order to solicit information from purposively selected sample of rangers and managers at HIP and Mkhuze game reserve, that assisted in the development of the model. Ethical considerations, which involve the informed consent of the participants, confidentiality and privacy, participants’ right to withdraw from the study and the management of information, were applied to ensure that the participants were protected from harm. The collected data was analysed by using codes and themes that best described the experiences of the rangers, and data verification was done before the process of model development. It was evident that rangers are faced with a variety of workplace challenges, such as poor quality of work life, unpleasant living conditions, coupled with poor amenities, inadequte wellness interventions, and the poor management and implementation of policies by the Human Resources (HR) Department. Nevertheless, teamwork and their cultural practices were positive aspects that promoted their coping capacities in dealing with their everyday challenges. / Social Work / D. Phil. (Social Work)