Thesis--University of Florida. / Description based on print version record. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 175-178).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2005. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vii, 136 p. : ill. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 115-112).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin, 1971. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 202-205).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1970. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Queensland, 2006. / Includes bibliography.

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2006. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vi, 83 p. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 75-77).

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2007. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xii, 136 p. : ill. (some col.), maps. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 113-118).

Previous research has found that there are considerable benefits women experience after having spent time in the outdoors, and it is important that women are given the opportunity to discover them (McDermott, 2004). The purpose of the current research was to investigate if and how benefits and changes occur in women after participation in a women-specific outdoor recreation experience. Both quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques were used to answer the four research questions. Data was collected from 40 women at the 2011 Women in the Outdoors Illinois State Event. It was found that benefits and changes occurred following the event, and new insight into how and why changes occurred was also exposed. Finally, discussion and implications are made about the future of outdoor programming for women, considering consumptive sports as outdoor recreational activities, the possibilities of intergenerational programming, and future research ideas and recommendations.

In the field of outdoor recreation, the problem of increasing user demand for the use of a limited supply of available and appropriate resources is becoming of growing concern. Furthermore, numerous studies have illustrated that excessive use of recreational resources can cause degradation of the physical resource base and result in decreased user enjoyment of the recreation experience. These conditions indicate the need for effective evaluation and allocation of the supply of recreational resources. This will provide for a sustained optimal flow of recreation benefits, and minimization of degradation of resource quality. The major premise of the thesis submits that for purposes of outdoor recreation planning for Galiano Island an integrated approach to natural resource evaluation, based on an ecological framework and incorporating consideration of the activity and user characteristics, can be utilized to optimize resource utility and derived user satisfaction. The methodology of the study include four phases; synthesis of present techniques of natural resource evaluation, identification of the characteristics of the physiographic constituents of the resource base which influence recreational use, assessment of the activity participation and preferences of selected referent recreationist groups, and integration of these elements into a comprehensive approach to outdoor recreation analysis. The natural resource base of Galiano Island, in the British Columbia Gulf Islands, and the recreationists utilizing the island for cottaging, camping and boating activities are selected for the case study. The analysis of the resource base indicates that spatial differentiation on the island, on the basis of physiographic characteristics, provides a good means by which to allocate the selected activities. The data provided by the user groups serves to indicate the nature and scope of activities which provide for optimal enjoyment of the recreation experience. On the basis of the findings, a suggested development scheme for Galiano Island is prepared. The results of the study illustrate that an integrated approach to outdoor recreation planning, incorporating resource, activity and user characteristics, can provide a means by which to enhance and protect outdoor recreation values of the resource base and the recreationists alike. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the factors which explain the patterns of outdoor recreation that a given population pursues on a given land surface. Patterns of use were understood as (1) the types of activities the population pursued and the frequency with which they pursued them, and (2) the distribution of these activities over a differentiated land surface. Emphasis was placed on designing a methodological framework within which the explanatory value of postulated sets of factors can be examined. The data used to illustrate the methodology was taken from a study of the outdoor recreational use of Galiano Island done by The University of British Columbia School of Community and Regional Planning during the summer of 1969. (1) I made the operational assumption that the observed variation in the types and frequency of outdoor recreation activities pursued by groups of visitors to Galiano Island could be explained by differences in the "internal" characteristics of the groups. Internal characteristics were defined as all factors contributed by the recreationists themselves such as age, sex, experience, etc., which could influence the way they respond to the landscape. In effect, internal characteristics represent the translative mental processes that mediate between the stimulii the recreationist receives from the landscape and his perceived use of it. I hypothesized that variations in the frequency and types of outdoor recreation activities which visitors to Galiano Island pursued could be explained by a selected set of socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of the visitor group. The hypothesis was tested by canonical correlation analysis. The results obtained were not significant at the 0.05 level of probability . I argued that the negative results were attributable to the characteristics of the data and that the hypothesis, in a conceptual sense, was not incorrect. (2) The second assumption made was that the areal variation in the recreational use of the land surface, generally and for specific activities, could be explained by variations in the characteristics of the landscape itself. I hypothesized that the number of visits (irrespective of activity) that recreationists paid to lot areas on Galiano Island could be predicted from measures of the accessibility, development, and proximity to the shoreline of the lot. Following this, I hypothesized that the number of visits paid to lot areas for each of three specific activities (going to the beach, camping, hiking) could be predicted from the same set of measurements. These hypotheses were tested by multiple regression analysis. Two of the four analyses produced equations which were significant at the 0.001 level of probability. The first showed that the combined total of visits for all activities could be predicted from measurements of the accessibility, development, and proximity to the shoreline of the lot area. The second significant relationship showed that visits paid to lot areas for the purpose of going to the beach could be predicted from the same set of measurements. Both equations, although significant, had questionable explanatory value owing to the nature of the data. The sample size was too small to permit adequate testing of the hypotheses. The recent literature and the direction pointed to by the results obtained in this study support the conceptual framework which I have presented. However, the data used were largely inadequate to test the conceptual basis of the methodologies proposed. I have suggested throughout the study where improvements for the collection of data can be made. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate