Over the past several decades conservation easements have seen immense growth in their popularity. There are now over 40 million acres of easement land in the United States, up from only 1.4 million in 1998. A significant body of research exists on easements, factors that lead to their adoption, their consequences and effectiveness, and problems that arise from their use, among other topics. Our study contributes to this literature by exploring community and system-level effects on easement adoption, using Virginia as a case study, and applying a novel approach that incorporates spatial analysis and the insights of conservation professionals. The purpose of our research was to explore whether community-level factors affect easement adoption decisions, and what those factors are. Previously established variables were investigated to gauge their relationship to easement occurrence when scaled up to the community level, as well as to test our ability to make predictions about where easements should be most likely to occur. Spatial market segmentation data was also incorporated into this analysis to determine whether it could augment our understanding of community-level factors and predictive ability. Statistical models produced were reasonably predictive. However, we suspect that this was the case for different reasons at our community scale of analysis than at the individual landowner level examined in previous research. We used surveys and interviews with easement professionals to further explore additional variables that might explain adoption patterns. Results indicate the importance of system-level factors including change agents, opinion leaders, and local government and land-use planning. / Master of Science

Det är svårt att undgå de återkommande diskussionerna om artificiell intelligens (AI), specifikt generativ AI och dess allt mer utbredda användning. Utvecklingen av exempelvis chatbotar, såsom ChatGPT, markerar en övergång mot teknik som anpassar sig efter människan och inte tvärtom, vilket väckt frågor kring användarupplevelser och design. Därför ämnar den här undersökningen att skapa djupare förståelse för vad som motiverar människor att börja och fortsätta använda ChatGPT, den senaste generationen av chatbot. För att göra det används Uses and gratification theory som ramverk för undersökningen då den kan identifiera bakomliggande motivation och vilka tillfredsställelser användaren får vid användandet av ett visst medium. I motsats till tidigare forskning som huvudsakligen använt enkäter och frågeformulär, använder denna studie semistrukturerade intervjuer för att få insikt i användarnas perspektiv och upplevelser. För att sortera den empiri som samlats in gjordes ett affinitetsdiagram. Den sorterade datan har sedan analyserats genom linsen av Uses and gratification theory.  Resultatet från undersökningen visar att det finns fyra primära motivationer för att börja och fortsätta sin användning av ChatGPT: tidseffektivitet, produktivitet, nyfikenhet och tillit. Det framgår att nyfikenhet initierar användningen medan tidseffektivitet och produktivitet är de primära motivationerna till fortsatt användning. Vidare anses tillit vara den kritiska motivationen som behöver tillfredsställas för att bibehålla användares engagemang. Slutsatsen är att framtida forskning och designprocesser kan med fördel inkludera personer som idag inte använder den här typen av tjänster för att kunna identifiera fler bakomliggande orsaker till bristande tillit och motivation. Det finns även ett behov av att utöka eller ta fram nya ramverk för att undersöka och identifiera nya motivationsfaktorer och tillfredsställelser i det föränderliga landskapet av digitala tjänster. Slutligen anses det kritiskt att den fortsatta utvecklingen av ChatGPT och liknande tjänster antar en användarcentrerad approach för att säkerställa en positiv användarupplevelse. / It is difficult to avoid the recurring discussions about artificial intelligence (AI), specifically generative AI and its increasingly widespread use. The development of chatbots, such as ChatGPT, marks a transition toward technology that adapts to humans rather than the other way around, raising questions about user experiences and design. Therefore, this study aims to create a deeper understanding of what motivates people to start and continue using ChatGPT, the latest generation of chatbots. To achieve this, the Uses and Gratifications Theory is used as the framework for the study, as it can identify underlying motivations and the gratifications users derive from using a particular medium. In contrast to previous research that mainly used surveys and questionnaires, this study employs semi-structured interviews to gain insights into users' perspectives and experiences. Affinity diagrams were used to sort the collected empirical data. The sorted data has then been analyzed through the lens of the Uses and Gratifications Theory. The results of the study show that there are four primary motivations for starting and continuing the use of ChatGPT: time efficiency, productivity, curiosity, and trust. It appears that curiosity initiates usage, while time efficiency and productivity are the primary motivations for continued use. Furthermore, trust is considered the critical motivation that needs to be satisfied to maintain user engagement. The conclusion is that future research and design processes could benefit from including people who do not currently use this type of service to identify more underlying causes of lack of trust and motivation. There is also a need to expand or develop new frameworks to explore and identify new motivational factors and gratifications in the evolving landscape of digital services. Finally, it is deemed critical that the continued development of ChatGPT and similar services adopts a user-centered approach to ensure a positive user experience.

Master of Science / Department of Horticulture, Forestry, and Recreation Resources / Candice A. Shoemaker / Once a fixture of American schoolyards during the early 1900’s, school gardens in the United States are again growing in popularity. It is estimated that one-fourth of all public and private schools in the U.S. have a school garden. Funding, teacher involvement, support of the principal, volunteer help, garden coordination, maintenance assistance and site availability are all factors found to contribute to the success of school gardens and are also found to be the barriers to sustainability of school gardens. Many of these challenges can be overcome with the support of volunteers. Little is known however, about individuals who volunteer their time to a school garden program and more importantly no research has investigated the specific variables influencing volunteer retention in an after-school garden club program setting. A case-study of long-term adult after-school garden club program volunteers was conducted to determine the variables affecting one’s decision to continue volunteering after one semester with a program of this type. Twenty long-term after-school garden club program volunteers were interviewed. Interview responses were grouped into main theme and subtheme categories using NVivo, a qualitative analysis software. Main themes that had responses from at least 95% of the volunteers participating in the case-study, were isolated for further analysis. The top five subthemes for each of these isolated main themes were assessed and four of these main themes were found to have similar top five subthemes. These subthemes and the long-term volunteer demographics were then used to determine the variables affecting volunteer retention in an after-school garden club setting. Age, marital status and level of education were all found to affect length of volunteer service. Organizational commitment, positive volunteer relations, organizational support, learning opportunities and the opportunity to work with children all contributed to the decision of after-school garden club program volunteers to continue volunteering after one semester of service. Furthermore, it can be concluded that these volunteers continued to volunteer because their initial motivations, expectations and/or needs were met through their participation in the program.

The purpose of this study was to determine the travel behaviour of tourists to a ATKV resort, more specifically ATKV-Natalia. Numerous studies on travel behaviour has been done, but none of them indicated that it was focused on ATKV resorts. Travel behvaiour is concerned with the way in which tourists react towards specific inherent aspects. There are various internal and external factors which influence and determine travel behaviour. Travel motivations and reasons for travel are two of the most important factors influencing travel behaviour. Travel motivations can be defined as internal forces influencing a tourist and reasons for travel can be conceptualised as external forces influencing a tourist to travel. Another important factor influencing travel behaviour is the stage of the family life cycle in which the tourist finds him- or herself. Every stage has its own certain needs and wants. Thus, every stage implies different needs and wants in terms of traveling. The information of this study was gathered by means of a questionnaire. The questionnaire was distributed at ATKV-Natalia Resort during the weekend of 17-19 July 2009, by two. fieldworkers. A total of 159 questionnaires were distributed (one per family). Another 150 questionnaires were distributed by means of email. Respondents were identified by the existing database of ATKV which indicated the tourists who visited the resort during the 2009 December school holidays. Statistical analysis of the data was used to determine the findings of this study. For the first article, factor analyses were done in order to determine the travel motivations and reasons for travel of tourists to ATKV-Natalia. Correlation analysis was also done. in order to determine the correlations which exist between travel motivations and reasons for travel. In the second article, only the data of the respondents who indicated that they were married were used for statistical analysis. Cross tabulations were done in order to determine the most important similarities and differences which exist between tourists married with children and tourists married without children. / Thesis (M.Com. (Tourism))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010

The tourism industry is an extremely competitive industry which is mainly caused by the ever changing needs of tourists. However, despite the constant change in tourist behaviour, violent terrorist attacks on countries across the globe and the weakening of the world economies, the tourism industry showed significant growth over the last few decades. The fast growth rate of tourism has also lead to the tourist being more aware of ecotourism destinations and the key role these destinations play in conserving the natural and cultural environments in the midst of globalisation and urbanisation. The pressure on ecotourism destinations such as national parks is increasing as more and more natural land are being taken up for urban development. In the case of South African National Parks (SANParks), the decrease in government funding pressurizes the resources and national parks have to identify ways to generate their own income through tourism activities. SANParks manages 22 national parks across South Africa with the aim to conserve South Africa’s biodiversity, provide recreational activities for tourists and build long-term relationships with the local communities to enhance the communities’ quality of life. Hence, in order to remain competitive it is important to determine the parks' competitive advantages. Therefore the aim of this study was to develop a competitiveness model for SANParks by using the Kruger National Park as case study. The Kruger National Park is not only one of the largest and most recognised national parks in the world, but also boasts with a large variety of fauna and flora, variety of accommodation facilities such as bush lodges, chalets and camping facilities as well as various tourist activities. The literature review indicated that destinations differ from each other and therefore ecotourism destinations such as national parks would have a distinct set of competitive advantage factors. However, these factors can only be determined if the needs of tourists are anticipated and park specific products and services are developed to satisfy the needs of visitors to the park and ultimately lead to tourist loyalty. Once a competitive position has been established, a national park can obtain benefits such as an increase in tourist numbers and revenue delivery of high quality products and services at the park as well as trigger a higher quality of life for the local community. If managed accordingly, the park might experience sustainable growth as well as increased profit margins. The data for the study was collected by means of a questionnaire survey at four of the Kruger National Park's rest camps during the period 26 December 2013 and 4 January 2014 which is the festive season in South Africa. The rest camps that were included in this survey were Olifants (74 questionnaires); Skukuza (213 questionnaires); Lower Sabie (98 questionnaires) and Berg-&-Dal (51 questionnaires). A total of 436 completed questionnaires were administered and further analysed. Descriptive statistics were used to profile the respondents while two factor analyses were done on the competitive advantage factors and tourist motives for travelling to the Park. The factor analyses identified five competitive advantage factors of which Wildlife Experiences and Marketing and Branding were regarded as the most important factors. The other three competitive advantage factors were Accommodation and Retail, Visitor Management and Suprastructure and Amenities. Four motivational factors were identified namely Experience and Relaxation, Lifestyle, All-Inclusive Destination and Value. The identified factors were further used in an ANOVA analysis and the results showed that socio-demographic characteristics such as home language, province of residence, level of education and marital status have all significant differences based on the five competitive advantage factors as well as the four motivational factors The t-test analysis presented a few statistical significant differences between the independent variables or group of individuals. These differences were based on the respondents’ demographic and behaviour characteristics with regards to the competitive advantage and motivational factors. However, the strongest statistically significant differences were based on the behavioural characteristics of tourists travelling with children to the Park, Wild card holders, tourist reading magazines, previous visits to the Park and differences between tourists making use of chalets and camping facilities. A Structural Equation Model was applied to confirm the results that were obtained from the analyses. The SEM indicated that tourists’ motivations have a significant influence on the factors that tourists identified as competitive advantage factors for the Kruger National Park. This research made three distinct new contributions. Firstly, competitive advantage factors were specifically identified for ecotourism based destinations such as national parks from a demand side. Also, the tourists motivation for travelling proved to hugely influence these competitive advantage factors. Secondly, a competitiveness model was developed specifically for national parks within South Africa. The proposed model could assist national parks across South Africa to obtain a competitive advantage among its competitors based on park specific factors. Lastly, the concept of competitiveness has not yet been applied within the ecotourism and nature-based tourism destinations context. This study described the concept of competitiveness with the focus on national parks as ecotourism destinations and the aspects that need to be taken into consideration when analysing the concept in such a context. / PhD (Tourism Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The purpose of this study was to determine the travel behaviour of tourists to a ATKV resort, more specifically ATKV-Natalia. Numerous studies on travel behaviour has been done, but none of them indicated that it was focused on ATKV resorts. Travel behvaiour is concerned with the way in which tourists react towards specific inherent aspects. There are various internal and external factors which influence and determine travel behaviour. Travel motivations and reasons for travel are two of the most important factors influencing travel behaviour. Travel motivations can be defined as internal forces influencing a tourist and reasons for travel can be conceptualised as external forces influencing a tourist to travel. Another important factor influencing travel behaviour is the stage of the family life cycle in which the tourist finds him- or herself. Every stage has its own certain needs and wants. Thus, every stage implies different needs and wants in terms of traveling. The information of this study was gathered by means of a questionnaire. The questionnaire was distributed at ATKV-Natalia Resort during the weekend of 17-19 July 2009, by two. fieldworkers. A total of 159 questionnaires were distributed (one per family). Another 150 questionnaires were distributed by means of email. Respondents were identified by the existing database of ATKV which indicated the tourists who visited the resort during the 2009 December school holidays. Statistical analysis of the data was used to determine the findings of this study. For the first article, factor analyses were done in order to determine the travel motivations and reasons for travel of tourists to ATKV-Natalia. Correlation analysis was also done. in order to determine the correlations which exist between travel motivations and reasons for travel. In the second article, only the data of the respondents who indicated that they were married were used for statistical analysis. Cross tabulations were done in order to determine the most important similarities and differences which exist between tourists married with children and tourists married without children. / Thesis (M.Com. (Tourism))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010

The tourism industry is an extremely competitive industry which is mainly caused by the ever changing needs of tourists. However, despite the constant change in tourist behaviour, violent terrorist attacks on countries across the globe and the weakening of the world economies, the tourism industry showed significant growth over the last few decades. The fast growth rate of tourism has also lead to the tourist being more aware of ecotourism destinations and the key role these destinations play in conserving the natural and cultural environments in the midst of globalisation and urbanisation. The pressure on ecotourism destinations such as national parks is increasing as more and more natural land are being taken up for urban development. In the case of South African National Parks (SANParks), the decrease in government funding pressurizes the resources and national parks have to identify ways to generate their own income through tourism activities. SANParks manages 22 national parks across South Africa with the aim to conserve South Africa’s biodiversity, provide recreational activities for tourists and build long-term relationships with the local communities to enhance the communities’ quality of life. Hence, in order to remain competitive it is important to determine the parks' competitive advantages. Therefore the aim of this study was to develop a competitiveness model for SANParks by using the Kruger National Park as case study. The Kruger National Park is not only one of the largest and most recognised national parks in the world, but also boasts with a large variety of fauna and flora, variety of accommodation facilities such as bush lodges, chalets and camping facilities as well as various tourist activities. The literature review indicated that destinations differ from each other and therefore ecotourism destinations such as national parks would have a distinct set of competitive advantage factors. However, these factors can only be determined if the needs of tourists are anticipated and park specific products and services are developed to satisfy the needs of visitors to the park and ultimately lead to tourist loyalty. Once a competitive position has been established, a national park can obtain benefits such as an increase in tourist numbers and revenue delivery of high quality products and services at the park as well as trigger a higher quality of life for the local community. If managed accordingly, the park might experience sustainable growth as well as increased profit margins. The data for the study was collected by means of a questionnaire survey at four of the Kruger National Park's rest camps during the period 26 December 2013 and 4 January 2014 which is the festive season in South Africa. The rest camps that were included in this survey were Olifants (74 questionnaires); Skukuza (213 questionnaires); Lower Sabie (98 questionnaires) and Berg-&-Dal (51 questionnaires). A total of 436 completed questionnaires were administered and further analysed. Descriptive statistics were used to profile the respondents while two factor analyses were done on the competitive advantage factors and tourist motives for travelling to the Park. The factor analyses identified five competitive advantage factors of which Wildlife Experiences and Marketing and Branding were regarded as the most important factors. The other three competitive advantage factors were Accommodation and Retail, Visitor Management and Suprastructure and Amenities. Four motivational factors were identified namely Experience and Relaxation, Lifestyle, All-Inclusive Destination and Value. The identified factors were further used in an ANOVA analysis and the results showed that socio-demographic characteristics such as home language, province of residence, level of education and marital status have all significant differences based on the five competitive advantage factors as well as the four motivational factors The t-test analysis presented a few statistical significant differences between the independent variables or group of individuals. These differences were based on the respondents’ demographic and behaviour characteristics with regards to the competitive advantage and motivational factors. However, the strongest statistically significant differences were based on the behavioural characteristics of tourists travelling with children to the Park, Wild card holders, tourist reading magazines, previous visits to the Park and differences between tourists making use of chalets and camping facilities. A Structural Equation Model was applied to confirm the results that were obtained from the analyses. The SEM indicated that tourists’ motivations have a significant influence on the factors that tourists identified as competitive advantage factors for the Kruger National Park. This research made three distinct new contributions. Firstly, competitive advantage factors were specifically identified for ecotourism based destinations such as national parks from a demand side. Also, the tourists motivation for travelling proved to hugely influence these competitive advantage factors. Secondly, a competitiveness model was developed specifically for national parks within South Africa. The proposed model could assist national parks across South Africa to obtain a competitive advantage among its competitors based on park specific factors. Lastly, the concept of competitiveness has not yet been applied within the ecotourism and nature-based tourism destinations context. This study described the concept of competitiveness with the focus on national parks as ecotourism destinations and the aspects that need to be taken into consideration when analysing the concept in such a context. / PhD (Tourism Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

This social constructionist study originated from the researcher’s exposure to the counselling volunteers environment. The study aimed to document the voices of three people, constructed as counselling volunteers. The three semi-structured interviews are with individuals who constructed themselves, or accepted the constructions of their role, as volunteers. The “case study approach” was chosen as the most suitable method to gather the information. “Thematic content analysis” was the method of analysis. The case studies of participants were reconstructed in terms of themes. Recurring themes in these case studies were expounded and linked within the literature. This study allowed valuable and rich information about the volunteerism to emerge. Amongst the themes that emerged, the need to help, being a good counsellor and resilience were identified as particularly important areas for future research. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

This paper investigates French entrepreneurs’ motivations to start a business in Taiwan as well as what they find most satisfying and challenging in the process. The data used for the research was collected from interviews of 11 French entrepreneurs and 4 foreign entrepreneurs. The results show that there are two groups of French entrepreneurs: those who came to Taiwan with the intention of starting a business and those who were already in Taiwan before starting a business. The key findings are the following: even if the two groups have different personal motivations to first come to Taiwan, on average, French start a business in Taiwan because of the business opportunities of the country. Indeed, most of them started a business in a niche market. The analysis shows that French and foreigners have the same motivations to start a business in Taiwan. French entrepreneurs are satisfied about the rapidity of business creation and the help received from many people. They also acknowledge the growing startup community but highlight that there are still a lot to be done in order to improve the foreign startup ecosystem.

Millennials, or Generation Y, represent one of today’s most prominent age cohorts: with their increasingly stronger purchasing power and importance in the global economic landscape, it is no wonder that marketers are striving to find new ways to appeal to the taste of this peculiar generation of consumers. Among the various modern research fields in business, one in particular is offering incredibly interesting insights to both scholars and professional marketers: the concept of nostalgia proneness in consumer behavior. While several studies examine the dynamics of this phenomenon, none of them so far examined the impact of nostalgia proneness in shopping behavior, especially examining the dynamics on a sample of Generation Y consumers. This study was conducted in order to explore the dynamics of nostalgia proneness, linking the constructs to both desire for uniqueness and shopping behavior, using the framework provided by the Consumer Styles Inventory (Sproles & Sproles, 1990). After a theoretical review on the matter, several hypotheses and a conceptual model were developed to serve as the core framework of the quantitative analysis. The data, obtained from a convenience sample of 222 respondents, were subsequently examined using several statistical techniques (ANOVA, correlation and factor analysis), with the intent to test the hypotheses and shed light on the research questions. The outcome was then presented and interpreted using both the theoretical background and other complementary relevant literature. The results showed a positive relationship between nostalgia proneness and desire for uniqueness, with both variables being further connected to several shopping traits of the Generation Y consumer. The cluster and factor analysis eventually showed patterns that could be interpreted using the theory of hedonic and utilitarian shopping motivations.