Made available in DSpace on 2016-12-12T20:12:30Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 PGEF14MA030.pdf: 2611758 bytes, checksum: c135b4b4145fc544ed99718122e62493 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-11-28 / Currently the Protected Natural Areas (NPA) tourist itineraries are very popular in Brazil and worldwide, however reconcile nature conservation and protection of historical and cultural heritage to their management, is not an easy task. More in National Parks, Protected Areas category always linked to major visitation. This project was carried out monitoring of visitation, one of the most beautiful scenery in the state of Santa Catarina -Brazil, Church Hill, which overlooks the Holed Stone, geological monument, inserted in the São Joaquim National Park, established by Decree 50.922 of July, 06/1961. Natural Protected Area (NPA) in the year 2013 was the fourth most visited country. Leveraging the installation of a physical ordinance on the access road to the Church Hill, observed traffic flow of visitors on the highway and after analysis of more than five thousand hours of effective monitoring, we found your profile, highlighting: number of visitors, time of visit, place of origin and used vehicle. In addition to assessing the physical aspects of the path and the parking spot, we estimated the tourism carrying capacity and the attractive alternatives to qualify this visitation. Among the actions effected include: signaling, identification of the visitor and the audioguide. All activities were followed, most with direct observation and through other interviews, and realized the reduction of congestion in the area, visitor awareness as to the location that is knowing and increased visitation time. Finding solutions to the demands of the population, the scientific community and the tourist market, combining them with the lowest possible impact on local visitation and surroundings, is a challenge for environmental management of any Protected Natural Area / Atualmente as Áreas Protegidas Naturais (APN) são roteiros turísticos muito procurados no Brasil e no mundo inteiro, porém conciliar a preservação da natureza e da proteção do patrimônio histórico-cultural para a gestão das mesmas, não é uma tarefa fácil. Ainda mais em Parques Nacionais, categoria de Unidades de Conservação sempre vinculadas a grande visitação. Neste trabalho realizou-se o monitoramento da visitação, num dos cenários mais belos do estado de Santa Catarina-Brasil, o Morro da Igreja, de onde se avista a Pedra Furada, monumento geológico, inserido no Parque Nacional de São Joaquim, criado pelo Decreto 50.922 de 06 de julho de 1961. Área Protegida Natural (APN) que no ano de 2013 foi a quarta mais visitada do país. Aproveitando a instalação de uma portaria física na estrada de acesso ao Morro da Igreja, observou-se o fluxo de veículos de visitantes na rodovia e após a análise de mais de cinco mil horas efetivas de monitoramento, constatou-se o perfil dos visitantes, destacando-se: quantidade dos mesmos, tempo de visitação, local de origem e veículo usado. Somado à avaliação dos aspectos físicos do trajeto e do local de estacionamento, estimou-se a capacidade de carga turística do atrativo e as alternativas para qualificar esta visitação. Entre as ações efetivadas destacam-se: a sinalização, a identificação do visitante e o áudio guia. Todas as atividades foram acompanhadas, a maior parte com observação direta e outras por meio de entrevistas, e percebeu-se a diminuição dos congestionamentos na área, a conscientização do visitante quanto ao local que está conhecendo e o aumento do tempo de visitação. Encontrar soluções às demandas da população, da comunidade científica e do mercado turístico, conciliando-as como menor impacto possível nos locais de visitação e entorno, é um desafio para a gestão ambiental de qualquer Área Natural Protegida

O objetivo geral desta tese consisitiu na proposição e teste de um modelo teórico que buscou relacionar o efeito da visualização de fotografias de viagem em redes sociais na alteração da percepção da imagem do destino turístico retratado e na intenção futura de visitá-lo. O estudo foi realizado a partir de uma abordagem multimétodos que incluiu uma fase qualitativa, de caráter exploratório, seguida de um estudo quantitativo. Na primeira etapa do estudo, intentou-se identificar os principais fatores que afetam a percepção da imagem de destinos pelos usuários de rede social. A partir da realização de entrevistas individuais e em grupo, foi possível verificar a existência de três fatores centrais: 1) envolvimento temporal e afetivo com a rede social; 2) perfil dos usuários em relação às suas motivações para o uso da rede social. Foram identificados três perfis motivacionais, incluindo: obter informações sobre destinos turísticos (caçadores de destinos), interagir com colegas a partir de curtidas e comentários (interacionistas) e bisbilhotar a vida privada de amigos da rede (investigadores sociais); 3) força dos laços e identificação entre emissor (postador de fotos) e receptor (visualizador de fotos) da mensagem visual. Posteriormente, procedeu-se à elaboração de um survey on line com seiscentos usuários do Facebook para verificar os efeitos destes fatores na imagem do destino e na intenção futura de visitá-lo. Os dados coletados a partir deste questionário permitiram a elaboração de dois modelos de regressão logística. Para o primeiro modelo apresentado, verificou-se que somente três características dos usuários tiveram efeito estatisticamente significativo sobre a alteração positiva da imagem do destino turístico. O maior efeito estatístico foi verificado pela variável caçador de destinos, seguida de identificação com os pares. Embora em um nível de significância estatística de 10%, verificou-se que o perfil interacionista também possui certa relação com a alteração da imagem. As outras variáveis não tiveram relação estatisticamente significativa. O segundo modelo proposto analisou o efeito das mesmas variáveis anteriores na intenção/probabilidade de visitar o destino retratatado no futuro. Novamente, os perfis caçador de destinos e identificação com os pares apresentaram os maiores efeitos na variável dependente que foi testada. A variável envolvimento temporal-afetivo também foi estatiscamente significativa, em um nível superior a 5%. No entanto, o perfil investigador social apresentou um efeito não esperado na intenção de visita futura. Os resultados indicaram que ser caracterizado por esse perfil reduz as chances de se visitar o destino retratado quase pela metade. Especula-se que esse efeito seja decorrente da forte orientação desses usuários para a comparação social e a busca por prestígio. Tendo em vista investigações anteriores que apontam que a familiaridade com o destino apresenta uma relação negativa com a mudança da imagem do lugar, optou-se por verificar o efeito da familiaridade como variável de controle nos dois modelos implementados. No primeiro modelo, ao se inserir a familiaridade com o destino, observou-se um aumento da medida relativa à identificação com pares. Ao mesmo tempo, o perfil envolvimento temporal e afetivo também se tornou estatisticamente significativo ao nível de 10%. No entanto, no segundo modelo logístico apresentado, a inclusão desta variável não foi estatisticamente significativa, tampouco alterou significativamente o efeito das variáveis testadas. Esse resultado fornece indícios de que, embora a familiaridade tenha um efeito negativo sobre a alteração da imagem do destino, ela pode não ser relevante para a intenção de revisitar, pois existe uma predisposição inata na maioria dos viajantes em buscar novos destinos de viagem. / The general objective of this thesis is to propose and test a theoretical model that related the effects generated by the viewing of travel photographs posted by users of social networks in the image formation/change of tourist destinations, as well as to verify its influence in the intention of future visits. The study was conducted from a multimethod approach that included a qualitative phase, exploratory, followed by a quantitative study. In the first part of the research, an exploratory study to identify the main factors which affect the perception of the image of destinations by users of social media was carried out. From individual and group interviews, it was possible to verify the existence of the main factors: 1) Temporal and Affective involvement with the social network (Facebook); 2) profile of users in relation to their motivations for the use of the social network. Three motivational profiles were identified, including: to obtain information about tourist destinations (destination hunters), interact with peers from “likes” and comments (“interactors”) and prying the private lives of online friends (social investigators); 3) affective closeness between issuer (photo “poster”) and receiver (photo viewer) of the visual message. Subsequently, it proceeded to draw up a survey on line with six hundred Facebook users to check the effects of these factors on the image destination and the future intention to visit him. Data collected from this survey allowed the development of two logistic regression models. For the first model presented, it was verified that only three characteristics of the users had a statistically significant effect on the alteration of image of the tourist destination in positive terms. The biggest statistical effect was verified by the variable “destination hunters”, followed by “peer identification”. Although on a significance level of 10%, it was verified that the interactor profile also has a certain relation to the alteration of image. The other variables did not have a statistically significant relation. The second study proposed analyzed the effect of the same variables on the intention/probability of visiting the portrayed destination in the future. Again, the profiles “destination hunter” and “identification with peers presented the biggest effects on the dependent variable that was tested. The variable “temporal-affectionate involvement” was also statistically significant, on a level above 5%. However, the “social investigator” profile showed an unexpected effect on the intention of future visit. The results indicated that belonging to that profile reduces the chances of visiting the portrayed destination by half. It is speculated that such effect is a result of the strong need of those users for social comparison and search for prestige. In spite of that, it is suggested that new researches be carried out to assess this relation. Bearing in mind the previous investigations which showed that familiarity with the destination presents a negative relation with a change of image of the place, we chose to verify the effect of familiarity as a variable in the control of the two models implemented. In the first model, while inserting “familiarity with destination” as a control variable, it was possible to observe a rise on the level of peer identification. Also, the temporal/affectionate profile involvement also became statistically significant at the level of 10%. However, contrary to the first model presented, the inclusion of this control variable did not behave in a statistically significant way in the second model, and it did not significantly alter the effect of the tested variables. This result showed signs that, although familiarity has a negative effect over the alteration of destination image, it may not be relevant to the intention of revisiting, as there is an innate predisposition in the majority of travelers to seek new vacation destinations.

O objetivo geral desta tese consisitiu na proposição e teste de um modelo teórico que buscou relacionar o efeito da visualização de fotografias de viagem em redes sociais na alteração da percepção da imagem do destino turístico retratado e na intenção futura de visitá-lo. O estudo foi realizado a partir de uma abordagem multimétodos que incluiu uma fase qualitativa, de caráter exploratório, seguida de um estudo quantitativo. Na primeira etapa do estudo, intentou-se identificar os principais fatores que afetam a percepção da imagem de destinos pelos usuários de rede social. A partir da realização de entrevistas individuais e em grupo, foi possível verificar a existência de três fatores centrais: 1) envolvimento temporal e afetivo com a rede social; 2) perfil dos usuários em relação às suas motivações para o uso da rede social. Foram identificados três perfis motivacionais, incluindo: obter informações sobre destinos turísticos (caçadores de destinos), interagir com colegas a partir de curtidas e comentários (interacionistas) e bisbilhotar a vida privada de amigos da rede (investigadores sociais); 3) força dos laços e identificação entre emissor (postador de fotos) e receptor (visualizador de fotos) da mensagem visual. Posteriormente, procedeu-se à elaboração de um survey on line com seiscentos usuários do Facebook para verificar os efeitos destes fatores na imagem do destino e na intenção futura de visitá-lo. Os dados coletados a partir deste questionário permitiram a elaboração de dois modelos de regressão logística. Para o primeiro modelo apresentado, verificou-se que somente três características dos usuários tiveram efeito estatisticamente significativo sobre a alteração positiva da imagem do destino turístico. O maior efeito estatístico foi verificado pela variável caçador de destinos, seguida de identificação com os pares. Embora em um nível de significância estatística de 10%, verificou-se que o perfil interacionista também possui certa relação com a alteração da imagem. As outras variáveis não tiveram relação estatisticamente significativa. O segundo modelo proposto analisou o efeito das mesmas variáveis anteriores na intenção/probabilidade de visitar o destino retratatado no futuro. Novamente, os perfis caçador de destinos e identificação com os pares apresentaram os maiores efeitos na variável dependente que foi testada. A variável envolvimento temporal-afetivo também foi estatiscamente significativa, em um nível superior a 5%. No entanto, o perfil investigador social apresentou um efeito não esperado na intenção de visita futura. Os resultados indicaram que ser caracterizado por esse perfil reduz as chances de se visitar o destino retratado quase pela metade. Especula-se que esse efeito seja decorrente da forte orientação desses usuários para a comparação social e a busca por prestígio. Tendo em vista investigações anteriores que apontam que a familiaridade com o destino apresenta uma relação negativa com a mudança da imagem do lugar, optou-se por verificar o efeito da familiaridade como variável de controle nos dois modelos implementados. No primeiro modelo, ao se inserir a familiaridade com o destino, observou-se um aumento da medida relativa à identificação com pares. Ao mesmo tempo, o perfil envolvimento temporal e afetivo também se tornou estatisticamente significativo ao nível de 10%. No entanto, no segundo modelo logístico apresentado, a inclusão desta variável não foi estatisticamente significativa, tampouco alterou significativamente o efeito das variáveis testadas. Esse resultado fornece indícios de que, embora a familiaridade tenha um efeito negativo sobre a alteração da imagem do destino, ela pode não ser relevante para a intenção de revisitar, pois existe uma predisposição inata na maioria dos viajantes em buscar novos destinos de viagem. / The general objective of this thesis is to propose and test a theoretical model that related the effects generated by the viewing of travel photographs posted by users of social networks in the image formation/change of tourist destinations, as well as to verify its influence in the intention of future visits. The study was conducted from a multimethod approach that included a qualitative phase, exploratory, followed by a quantitative study. In the first part of the research, an exploratory study to identify the main factors which affect the perception of the image of destinations by users of social media was carried out. From individual and group interviews, it was possible to verify the existence of the main factors: 1) Temporal and Affective involvement with the social network (Facebook); 2) profile of users in relation to their motivations for the use of the social network. Three motivational profiles were identified, including: to obtain information about tourist destinations (destination hunters), interact with peers from “likes” and comments (“interactors”) and prying the private lives of online friends (social investigators); 3) affective closeness between issuer (photo “poster”) and receiver (photo viewer) of the visual message. Subsequently, it proceeded to draw up a survey on line with six hundred Facebook users to check the effects of these factors on the image destination and the future intention to visit him. Data collected from this survey allowed the development of two logistic regression models. For the first model presented, it was verified that only three characteristics of the users had a statistically significant effect on the alteration of image of the tourist destination in positive terms. The biggest statistical effect was verified by the variable “destination hunters”, followed by “peer identification”. Although on a significance level of 10%, it was verified that the interactor profile also has a certain relation to the alteration of image. The other variables did not have a statistically significant relation. The second study proposed analyzed the effect of the same variables on the intention/probability of visiting the portrayed destination in the future. Again, the profiles “destination hunter” and “identification with peers presented the biggest effects on the dependent variable that was tested. The variable “temporal-affectionate involvement” was also statistically significant, on a level above 5%. However, the “social investigator” profile showed an unexpected effect on the intention of future visit. The results indicated that belonging to that profile reduces the chances of visiting the portrayed destination by half. It is speculated that such effect is a result of the strong need of those users for social comparison and search for prestige. In spite of that, it is suggested that new researches be carried out to assess this relation. Bearing in mind the previous investigations which showed that familiarity with the destination presents a negative relation with a change of image of the place, we chose to verify the effect of familiarity as a variable in the control of the two models implemented. In the first model, while inserting “familiarity with destination” as a control variable, it was possible to observe a rise on the level of peer identification. Also, the temporal/affectionate profile involvement also became statistically significant at the level of 10%. However, contrary to the first model presented, the inclusion of this control variable did not behave in a statistically significant way in the second model, and it did not significantly alter the effect of the tested variables. This result showed signs that, although familiarity has a negative effect over the alteration of destination image, it may not be relevant to the intention of revisiting, as there is an innate predisposition in the majority of travelers to seek new vacation destinations.

Herbivory can have many effects on plant fitness, including altering plant-pollinator interactions and sexual reproduction in angiosperms. Pollinator-mediated interactions may be impacted when herbivores alter plant traits, such as floral display size, that can influence pollinator visitation rates, and, ultimately, the reproductive component of plant fitness. Here I describe an investigation into the indirect effects of feeding by beetles released as a biological control agent, Galerucella calmariensis and G. pusilla, on plant-pollinator interactions and reproductive output in the invasive plant Lythrum salicaria L. (purple loosestrife). During the summer of 2011, three treatments (low, ambient and mechanical herbivory) were applied to 105 plants during the pre-flowering period of growth. At the onset of flowering, a series of pollinator observations were conducted over the course of approximately 1.5 weeks. Several aspects of floral display were affected by the herbivory treatments, including increased inflorescence and flower production in the ambient and mechanical herbivory treatments, relative to the low herbivory treatment. Treatment type did not have a significant effect on the number of pollinator foraging bouts, but had marginally significant effects on the number of flowers probed per pollinator foraging bout and per 30-minutes. Moreover, treatment had a significant effect on the number of switches among the inflorescences on a single plant. I discuss the possibility that the differences in pollinator visitation were mediated by differences in the architecture and the size of floral display. There were no detectable differences in fruit or seed production (i.e., female fitness) among treatments. However, as I discuss, differences in pollinator visitation may affect other unmeasured aspects of fitness, such as the level of inbreeding or the number of seeds sired through male function.

Previous studies of plant-pollinator interactions have relied on the use of floral visitation data. Although, this may be insufficient to fully characterize the diversity and strength of plant-pollinator interactions. By using pollen transport data (i.e. pollen on pollinators), new insights can be gained on the structure and function of plant-pollinator communities. Yet studies that characterize and compare pollen-transport with floral-visitation networks are scarce. Furthermore, the strength and frequency of plant-pollinator interactions can vary across temporal scales. Although, monthly and within-day variation in network structure has been little studied. By evaluating variation in network structure across these biologically relevant time scales we will gain a better understanding of the factors that shape plant-pollinator communities. Here, we build plant-pollinator interactions networks based on floral visitation and pollen transport data by observing, collecting and sampling pollen from floral visitors in a southern Appalachian floral community. We aim to 1) compare the congruence of plant-pollinator networks built on floral visitation and pollen transport data and 2) evaluate within season and within-day variation in plant-pollinator network structure. To assess floral visitation and to quantify pollen transport, four 1x40m transects were set up at the study site. Morning collections were conducted between 8:00 AM and 3:00 PM twice per week while afternoon collections took place once per week between 3:01 PM and 5:00 PM over 20 non-consecutive days. All flower visitors observed interacting with a flower’s reproductive structures (i.e. searching for pollen and nectar) were collected.All collected pollinators were processed for surface pollen loads by dabbing the body with a 3x3mm fuschin jelly cube. Each area of the body was dabbed three times to standardize sampling. Identification and quantification of pollen was done using a compound light microscope. Data was then analyzed with the “bipartite” package of R to create bipartite plant-pollinator networks. Procrustes analysis was used to identify differences in network structure. Preliminary results show that the structure of floral visitation and pollen transport networks are significantly different from each other (P <0.01). Pollen-transport network size is almost four times larger (496 links) compared to the floral-visitation network (109 links). Species in the pollen transport network tend to be more connected (connectance = 2.3) and have five times more links per species on average (5.22 links) than floral visitation networks (connectance = 1.1, links = 1.8). Within-season and within-day differences in network structure are currently being evaluated. Our results so far show that pollen transport networks at our study site captured 78% more unique interactions and, thus, provide more accurate network structure. Interpretation of pollen transfer versus floral visitation networks can have important implications for our understanding of community-level functions such as their resilience and stability.

Origin, Development, and Selected Impacts of the Tourism on the U.S. National Parks 1980-2009 The development of tourism in the National Parks of USA based on the statistics from the years of 1980 to 2009 is examined in the thesis. The main source of information is the statistics of US National Parks taken from the NPS, United States Census Bureau, Bureau of Economic Analysis and Bureau of Labor Statistics. There are emphasizes there the quantitative changes in the visitation and variance of values at selected economic indicators, that were observed in the mentioned period of time. The data is evaluated at the federal, regional and state levels. The progress, current situation and forecast of future visitation of landscapes under control of NSP are examined in the thesis. Moreover, the thesis contains comparison of the development of tourism in the other subjects, the most important of which are the State Parks of USA and other agencies responsible for the administration of the recreational used federal land. Selected Input-Output models counted economic impact of tourism in the national parks, as well as the factors that influence development and allocation of tourists captured through the concept of Tourism Area Life Cycle can be also found in the thesis. KEY WORDS: National Parks, USA, tourism,...

Studies have addressed the visitation needs of visitors and patients and the impact of visitation policies on nurses, but few studies compare the level of satisfaction between visitors and nurses when visitation policies change. The objectives of this study were to investigate whether a more liberal intensive care unit visitation policy satisfactorily met the needs and expectations of visitors and nurses. © 1999 Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, Inc.

Masters of Art / The rapid increase in urbanisation and tourism in the Cape Peninsula has increased the rate of human-wildlife interaction. The Cape Peninsula is unique in terms of placing urban areas next to protected natural areas with no physical barriers, thus allowing animals, especially baboons, to travel between the two areas, occasionally leading to conflict between humans and wildlife. Visitors to popular tourist sites may also actively participate in feeding baboons or through negligence by leaving food items in the open. As a result, changing the habits of the baboons as human food and food waste are seen as the preferred option in terms of dietary habits. The main aim of this study was to investigate the perceptions and social construction of visitors in the Cape Peninsula towards baboons at tourist sites. Social constructionist theory was used as the theoretical framework for the study, which looks at the way people perceive nature and wildlife, which is unique to each person. The study uses an exploratory sequential mixed methods design, with a qualitative section that includes three semi-structured interviews, followed by a quantitative section consisting of a questionnaire survey, with 201 questionnaires being completed. The survey was conducted at key tourist sites around the Cape Peninsula that are well known for baboon sightings, including Bordjiesrif Picnic Site, Buffels Bay viewpoint, Cape of Good Hope/Cape Point and Dias Beach. The study used discourse analyses and the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) to analyse the data, which allowed for ideas to be labelled and linked to opinions in the literature, and patterns identified during the data collection. Visitors viewed tourism spaces as anthropocentric areas, and thus perceived baboon-visitor interactions through conditional acceptance. Visitor perceptions and social construction of baboon-visitor interactions may be positive when conditional acceptance is adhered to, and negative when conditional acceptance is broken. Recommendations for further research includes more research on non-consumptive tourism activities and its impact on human-wildlife interactions, with a need for more literature on the influence of education on people’s attitudes towards wildlife, and finally, more research that focuses on the changing behavioural ecology of baboons, due to an increase in tourism/visitation.

No description available.

Thesis advisor: Alyssa Goldman / People’s needs for social engagement vary over the life course. Social engagement for individuals residing in memory care facilities is an important topic to research because this population benefits greatly from active participation in the communities in which they reside. This study examines the following research questions: To what extent does the facility in which adults with Alzheimer’s disease reside impact their social ties? How do the facilities differ in facilitating social engagement? I interviewed ten memory care facility employees across seven facilities in Massachusetts and found patterns in visitation for family members and friends of Alzheimer’s residents and social engagement for residents in memory care. Individual factors that affect visitation include family dynamics and disease progression. Structural factors that affect visitation include geographic location and religion. These findings are useful to inform policy and recognize increased opportunities for social engagement as an opportunity for facilities to slow disease progression. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2023. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Departmental Honors. / Discipline: Sociology.