This study of wilderness areas in Scotland traces the changing concept of wilderness as it has evolved in response to the particular conditions of Scotland's physical geography and land use history; it describes, and broadly delimits, the land area which might at present be defined as wilderness; and it analyses the process by which this land has come to be recognised as the resource for a distinctive form of recreation. On the basis of data obtained from a large-scale questionnaire survey, the physical and perceptual attributes of this recreational use are discussed in detail, moving from the social characteristics and activity patterns of visitors to their motivations and their attitudes to wilderness areas and their qualities. As comparative background the discussion of the wilderness concept is set first against the context of evolving attitudes in Western Europe up to the Romantic Revolution of the eighteenth century; second, against the experience of the United States of America, where wilderness has attained its highest level of expression as a concept, and its greatest extent and importance as a form of land use for conservation and recreation; and third, against a brief review of the current status of wild land throughout the modern world. The study's main conclusion is that despite the widespread modification of its character by man, the Scottish wilderness retains some of the physical, and many of the perceptual, attributes and recreational values of absolute wilderness, and that these explain the high level of commitment of recreational users of the land. Some suggestions are offered for an approach to management, and for further research, which may promote the conservation of these values.

Thesis (M.A.)--Western Conservative Baptist Seminary, 1989. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 51-56).

Thesis (Th. M.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 2002. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 127-149).

Thesis (M.A.)--Brock University, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 237-251). Also available online (PDF file) by a subscription to the set or by purchasing the individual file.

Thesis (Th. M.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 2002. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 127-149).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1983. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 252-257).

Thesis (M.A.)--Brock University, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 237-251)

Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this document / Dissertation (MSc (Wildlife Management))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Centre for Wildlife Management / unrestricted

An essential ingredient in park and recreation planning is knowledge of the user clientele. Opinion and behavioral studies of park visitors are a priority need in recreation research, they aid in defining resource quality and contribute to improved park planning. Names and addresses of 995 wilderness vacationers were gathered from back country trail registers in Bowron Lake, Garibaldi and Mount Robson Provincial Park. Anine-page mail back questionnaire, calling for response to 92 items, was returned by 80 percent of the sample. The questionnaire gathered data on user and trip characteristics, user assessment of benefits and motivations, and user reaction to and evaluation of management policies and other visitors. The first phase of the study attempts an empirical descriptive analysis of the back country camper in three contrasting wilderness parks. As the only such survey undertaken in this regional context, a basic census is provide d from which future trends can be detected. Findings reinforce and are contrasted with other user studies. The second phase of the study explores variables that influence, use. On the basis of questionnaire response, users are classified by ten different dimensions, eight of which were important in explaining variation in response. The final concern of the study seeks application so the findings to wilderness planning and management. It is concluded that (1) growth in demand for the recreational services of wilderness will continue; (2) present park use levels, in the visitors estimation, are approaching saturation; and (3) the wilderness experience is taking on a new meaning as the parks become more "democratized" and "humanized". / Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies / Graduate

If wilderness refers to those spaces that are unoccupied by humans while architecture is one major way that humans occupy space, the terms seem to be mutually exclusive. However, this thesis argues that wilderness and architecture have a fundamental similarity: they are both ways that humans understand and relate to the world. This thesis looks critically at the notion of wilderness by acknowledging that throughout time and history, humans have understood wilderness in innumerable different ways and, as a result, have treated those spaces that are deemed wilderness in innumerable different ways as well. It acknowledges wilderness as a “profoundly human creation[1]” and from this admission, explores the utility of predisposition as a means by which to direct the built environment’s relationship to the un-built environment. Ultimately, this thesis argues that when humans define wilderness in a particular way and then apply that label to a space, they have made a design decision. It investigates the ways in which architecture can apply the label of wilderness to new and even unlikely types of spaces in order to expand the lens through which we, as humans, value and appreciate this Earth. [1] Cronon, William. 1997. "The Trouble with Wilderness:; Or, Getting Back to the Wrong Nature." In Out of the Woods, 28-50: University of Pittsburgh Press. doi:10.2307/j.ctt7zw9qw.8. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt7zw9qw.8.