No description available.

Non-compliance with visitor regulations in national parks can have an impact on park conservation and the experience of other park visitors. Park management in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve located on the west coast of British Columbia, Canada is challenged by visitors’ non-compliant behaviour concerning regulations to keep dogs on the leash in the park. Dogs that run free (off-leash) on the beaches of the park disturb migratory shorebirds, and have the potential to habituate wolves to regard dogs as objects of prey. This study investigates why many visitors opt for non-compliance with regulations aimed at conservation. The goal of the study is to contribute new insights that may help park management find workable solutions to deliver the ‘dual mandate’ of managing protected areas both, for conservation and for nature-based tourism. The study is grounded within the context of Lefebvre’s (1991) notions of the production of space, and recent work in animal geography that addresses the changing role of our canine companions in modern society. The methodology combines qualitative and quantitative research applying Fishbein & Ajzen’s (2010) theory of planned behaviour (TPB). The research is presented using a journal format, which unavoidably implies some repetition of information but allows for the different sections to be read as stand-alone documents. The thesis starts with an introductory chapter. This is followed by a book chapter published in Domesticated Animals & Leisure (Carr, 2015 in press) that reports highlights from qualitative research exploring why park visitors appear reluctant to comply with on-leash rules. Results reveal the beach as a contested space, driven by a strong off-leash social norm. Chapter Three is a journal article format paper that reports on a quantitative survey based on the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to identify beliefs that underlie visitor behaviour. Results indicate that habit, with respect to dog leashing when at home and on previous visits to the park, appear to impact the ability of the model to predict future behaviour. Chapter Four is a second journal article format paper where it is suggested that ambivalence, the presence of conflicting behavioural beliefs, influences the relation between behavioural beliefs and attitudes in the TPB, resulting in non-compliance behaviour. A concluding chapter summarizes how results presented in the three main chapters contribute to the body of knowledge on animal geography, compliance and research using the TPB, as well as suggesting techniques that park staff should consider for managing visitor behaviour under situations of apparent non-compliance. / Graduate

The main aim of this thesis is through the analysis to monitor the domestic tourism in the Region of South Bohemia, to determine participant satisfaction and domestic tourism, and build its profile. A partial aim is to prepare the methodology of investigation of domestic tourism in a chosen area. A part of this thesis is a questioning, which was realised during the summer of 2010 in selected locations in the Region of South Bohemia. Locations were chosen deliberately (based on information from secondary sources). Specifically, the recreational area around the left bank of the Lipno lake, the State Castle and Chateau Český Krumlov, the State Chateau Hluboká, the State Chateau Červená Lhota, the Rosenberg Castle and the Tourist Information Centre Tábor. The outcome of this thesis is the profile of domestic visitor in the Region of South Bohemia and the methodology of build the profile of domestic visitor in an arbitrarily selected area.

Denna kandidatuppsats utreder om eller till vilken grad museibesökare kan avgöra om eller när utställningsföremål utsatts för ingrepp eller vårdåtgärder. Sådana åtgärder kan vara stora, så som renovering eller försiktiga, t. ex. konservering. Valet av undersökningsområde kommer sig av egna undringar kring sådana frågor om vårdåtgärder av föremål i utställningar, och en saknad av upplysningar i samband med utställningar som kan svara på sådana frågor. Uppsatsen grundar sig i frågorna kan, eller hur väl, museibesökare avgöra eller utröna vårdåtgärder och materiell autenticitet av museiföremål? och finns intresse hos museibesökare för redovisning av vårdåtgärder och materiell autenticitet, i utställningar eller annorstädes? Frågorna undersöks med en enkätundersökning bestående av en skriftlig enkät med tillhörande bilder på museiföremål. Enkäten rör museibesökares uppfattning av museiföremålens skick och orsaker till dessa, skickens autenticitet, vikten av att påtala när ändringar till skick gjorts samt besökares intresse av att lära sig om ovanstående företeelser. Analys av enkätsvaren visade att hälften av informanterna hade ensidig föreställning av föremålsvård som bestående antingen bara av aktiva vårdåtgärder så som ingrepp av olika slag eller bara av passiva vårdåtgärder så som begränsad användning och god förvaring. Dessa föreställningar skulle kunna balanseras och nyanseras genom redovisning av museiföremåls vårdåtgärder och utlärning av föremålsvård, något som en majoritet av informanterna också uttryckte intresse för. En drivande faktor i denna kandidatuppsats har varit förhoppningen att en diskussion kring redovisning av vårdåtgärder ska främja en diskussion kring museers uppfattade position som absolut kunskapsauktoritet, historiens många tolkningsmöjligheter till trots. / This thesis investigates if or to which degree museum visitors can determine if or when exhibition objects have been subjected to intervention or maintenance measures. Such measures could be vaste, for example a renovation, or careful, such as preventive conservation. The choice for area of investigation is a result of my own musings to such questions about maintenance measures of objects in exhibitions, and a percieved lack of information in conjunction with exhibits which can answer such questions. The thesis is based in the questions can, or how well can, museum visitors determine or deduce maintenance measures and material authenticity of museum objects? and do museum visitors have any interest in presentation of maintenance measures and material authenticity, in exhibits or elsewhere? The questions are investigated by way of survey, comprised of a written questionnaire with accompanying pictures of museums objects. The questionnaire regards museum visitors estimation of the conditions of the museums objects and the causes for these, the authenticity of the objects conditions, the importance of calling attention to deliberate changes to said conditions as well as the visitors interest in learning about all aforementioned occurences. Analysis of the questionnaire showed that half of the informants had a biased, unbalanced conception of object care comprised of either only active maintenance measures such as different kinds of intervention, or of only passive maintenance measures such as limited use or preventive storage. These conceptions could be balanced out and nuanced by presentation of maintenance measures of museum objects and by education in object care, something a majority of the informants also expressed an interest in. A driving force within this thesis has been the hope that a discussion about presentation of maintenance measures will further a discussion about the percieved absolute authority of knowledge of museums, despite history’s vaste possibilities of interpretation.

No description available.

Purpose-built off-road cycling infrastructure represents a relatively new form of tourism and recreation product. Over the last decade, widespread development of these facilities has taken place in the UK, primarily within forest and woodland areas. The justification for developing these sites has largely centred on their ability to generate positive economic benefits for the tourism and leisure economy. In contrast to the focus on growth and investment, relatively little attention has been paid to understanding the extent to which off-road cycling benefits the tourism and leisure economy. Furthermore, even less is known about the visitor dimension. Developing a better understanding of these interrelated aspects forms the basis of this research. This study presents a dedicated method for critically examining the nexus between off-road cycling and the tourism and leisure economy. This relationship was investigated through the lens of the 1 South West Project, which has the purpose of developing the South West into a premier off-road cycling region. The research focuses on Haldon Forest Park located on the outskirts of Exeter, in Devon. The findings from the large scale questionnaire survey (n = 486) reveal that the off-road cycling facilities are valued highly by users and are regarded as an important regional asset for tourism and recreation. Furthermore, the site was found to attract a broad range of off-road cycling visitors, and have a significant interaction with the regional economy. Interviews conducted with off-road cyclists also identified an emotional connection between off-road cycling and the forest environment. Respondents also emphasised the importance of the informal and social aspects of the activity. The approach taken by this study has enabled the intersection between visitor expenditure and consumer behaviour at purpose-built off-road cycling sites to be explored in detail. This aspect has been largely ignored within the off-road cycling literature, which has failed to look beyond basic economic transactions and acknowledge the presence of visitor sub-groups. Using Cluster Analysis to address these limitations, this study was able to identify behavioural and economic variations among visitors, and from this produce a detailed typology of users at Haldon Forest Park. This information provides important baseline data for the 1 South West Project, and has important practical implications for the future management of the off-road cycling infrastructure and onsite facilities. Furthermore, this study makes a methodological contribution to the literature through its innovative use of Cluster Analysis, as part of a dual approach to examining the economic contribution of off-road cycling.

Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / William P. Winslow III / The site for the Riverpond Visitor Center is located three miles northeast of Manhattan, Kansas, along K-13 on the eastern end of Riverpond Park. The design of the visitor center addresses four problems: 1) the fact that many families prefer to stay inside their homes rather than experience the outdoors, based on a study done by the Center on Education Policy in 2008, 2) people are uninformed about sustainable design practices and sustainable energies 3) people lack experience and knowledge of the natural environment creating a preference for the visual characteristics of non-native plant species, and 4) interpretive centers that attempt to reconnect people and the landscape use prescriptive interpretive methods that distract the visitor from the interpretive process. To better understand the relationship of people and the landscape, research was conducted to address the problems stated above. Two articles were reviewed that describe the importance of drawing attention to beauty in the landscape. Two precedent studies were conducted on built projects that use native plant species and vernacular architecture. The program for the visitor center was based on the project research and informed the site inventory and analysis. The site inventory and analysis of existing site conditions creates a strong foundation from which to design the visitor center. The project then went into schematic design and design development. The design of the Riverpond Visitor Center connects people to the landscape by directing them through the native tall grass prairie, informs visitors about stormwater management, wind and solar energy through demonstration, is designed using native prairie species and native limestone, and focuses visitors’ experience on the tall grass prairie by fading the line between architecture and landscape.

This thesis investigates the development of an animatronic robot with the objective of showing how modern animatronic models created as special effects have roots in models created during the scientific and mechanical revolution of the 17th and 18th centuries. It is noted that animatronic models that are available today have not been described in any great detail and most are covered by industrial secrecy. This project utilises technologies developed during the latter part of the 20th century and into the beginning of the 21st century to create the design of the animatronic robot. The objective of the project is to bring effective designs for animatronic robots into the public domain. The project will investigate a large variety of different mechanisms and apply them to various functioning parts of the model, with the design and method of each of these functions discussed. From this, one main part of the project, the jaw, will receive the focus of construction. Once the construction is complete this will be evaluated against what improvements and changes could be made for future iterations, with a revised design produced based on what has been learned.

No description available.

As the United States becomes increasingly urbanized, the importance of federally designated wilderness areas as places of reflection and refuge from city life becomes even more apparent. These wilderness areas provide visitors with opportunities for solitude, recreation, and connecting with nature. Wilderness has long been important to American society, influencing the likes of John Muir, Theodore Roosevelt, and Henry David Thoreau. With the passage of the Wilderness Act of 1964, the assurance that these areas would remain protected in perpetuity for the enjoyment of the American people was enshrined into law. While these wilderness areas remain protected by Federal law, increasing visitation rates and changing social norms may begin to threaten the so-called "wilderness experience," making it difficult for visitors to enjoy and experience the conditions set forth in the Wilderness Act. Wilderness managers must therefore seek to understand the attitudes, preferences, and motivations of wilderness visitors using these areas to ensure that management conditions provide for a high-quality wilderness experience. This study uses quantitative survey methods to explore differences in management preferences, wilderness conditions, and crowding perceptions between overnight and day visitors to wilderness areas. Visitors were surveyed at 30 trailheads throughout the Olympic National Park Wilderness during the summer of 2012. While wilderness visitors held many similar opinions on management preferences and wilderness conditions, there were differences in the degree to which they agreed or disagreed. Overnight visitors tended to be more sensitive to crowding than day visitors, both on hiking trails and at attraction sites, and were more supportive of management policies that limited access in favor of increasing opportunities for solitude experiences. This study supports the use of a management by objectives framework that incorporates indicators and standards of quality to ensure that certain conditions are met. Findings from this study can aid in the development of standards for crowding and the establishment of other management policies in Olympic National Park Wilderness to ensure that all visitors are provided with the opportunity for a high-quality wilderness experience.