Michael A. Tarrant

Measuring Leisure Motivation: A Meta-Analysis of the Recreation Experience Preference Scales.

One approach to studying the motivations for leisure is to focus on the desired goal States that are attained through participation in leisure. The Recreation Experience Preference (REP) scales wer...

THE EFFECT OF RESPONDENT CHARACTERISTICS ON GENERAL ENVIRONMENTAL ATTITUDE-BEHAVIOR CORRESPONDENCE

Five different environmental attitude scales were regressed on an 11-item self-reported general environmental behavior index derived from a confirmatory factor analysis. Correlations between each of the 5 attitude scales and the behavioral index were computed and a Fishers Z-transformation was used to test for the effect of six respondent characteristics (gender, residence, education, income, age, and political orientation) on the attitude-behavior correlations. Although all of the five scales were significantly correlated with the behavioral index (p < .001), correlations for some attitude scales were highly affected by respondent characteristics. Of the 5 scales examined, the Environmental Concern (EC), New Environmental Paradigm (NEP), and Awareness of Consequences (AC) scales were associated most strongly with behavior, but the EC and NEP also were significantly affected by respondent characteristics. Implications for future studies and use of the scales are discussed.

Outdoor Recreation and the Predictive Validity of Environmental Attitudes

The utility of the attitude concept in outdoor-recreation research rests upon its predictive validity, that is, an ability to predict subsequent behavior (at either the general or specific level). This study examines the moderating and mediating effects of participation in three types of outdoor recreation activities (appreciative, consumptive, and motorized) on environmental attitude-behavior correspondence. A mediating effect occurs if participation accounts for the relation between attitude and behavior. A moderating effect occurs if the attitude-behavior relationship changes as a function of participation. Respondents (n1220) to a telephone interview of households in the Southern Appalachian region of the Southeast United States were asked about their participation in a selection of outdoor recreation activities and their environmental behaviors and were randomly assigned to one of five general environmental attitude scales. Results support a significant mediating effect for appreciative outdoor activ...

A Conceptual Framework for Exploring the Role of Studies Abroad in Nurturing Global Citizenship

A conceptual framework, adapted from the Value-Belief-Norm theory, is proposed for understanding the role of studying abroad in nurturing global citizenship. The framework is oriented in concepts of justice, the environment, and civic obligations as key issues in the predictive validity of values, beliefs, and norms. The VBN approach is then applied to the design and experience of a short-term, faculty-led, educational travel study abroad program. By demonstrating how such theoretical contributions can help modify the instructional delivery and academic content of these types of study abroad programs, it is also possible to quantify how learning outcomes are demonstrably linked to key facets of the international education experience.

Attitudes toward wildlife species protection: Assessing moderating and mediating effects in the value‐attitude relationship

Abstract Framed in the cognitive hierarchy approach, we examine (1) the mediating effect of general environmental attitudes and (2) the moderating effect of factual wildlife knowledge on the relationship between values and specific wildlife attitudes (wildlife species protection). These relationships are assessed across four wildlife constituent groups: (1) consumptive users (anglers and hunters), (2) birders (a nonconsumptive user group), (3) non‐hunters, non‐anglers, and nonbirders (nonusers), and (4) combined consumptive and nonconsumptive users (anglers, hunters and birders). Twelve hundred and twenty residents of the Southern Appalachians completed a telephone survey during the summer of 1995. Overall, respondents demonstrated low knowledge but favorable attitudes regarding wildlife species protection. Results provided partial support for a cognitive hierarchy in which general attitudes mediate the relationship between values and specific attitudes, and the existence of knowledge as an external moder...

The Added Value of Study Abroad: Fostering a Global Citizenry.

Few studies have employed experimental designs adequate for documenting the value added of studying abroad; that is, learning outcomes above and beyond that which may be achieved in domestic or traditional campus-based courses. Using a pre-/posttest, two-by-two factor design of course location (study abroad vs. home campus) by course subject matter (sustainability vs. nonsustainability), we found significant highest order interactions for three dependent measures of global citizenry. Results suggest that it is the combination of location (abroad) and academic focus that yields the greatest increases in specified learning outcomes for study abroad. Implications for political agendas, academic initiatives, and research directions are discussed.

Digit preference, recall bias, and nonresponse bias in self reports of angling participation

Abstract Explored in this study is the role of digit preference as a response style that helps explain the problems of recall and nonresponse bias in self‐report surveys of recreation participation. Digit preference is a tendency to guess participation by rounding estimates to values that end in zero or five. Recall bias was assessed by comparing three separate recall periods: extended, intermediate, and short. Nonresponse bias was assessed by conducting telephone interviews with subjects who had not responded to the initial requests. The dependent variable was the total number of days fished per month from April to June 1989. Analysis of variance and chi‐Square were used to explore the relationships among the three sources of bias. A significant Recall × Nonresponse × Digit Preference interaction was found. Results suggest that bias traditionally attributable to recall and nonresponse may be a function of digit preference. Ways of controlling for the effects of the three sources of bias on recreation par...

Measuring perceived crowding for high‐density river recreation: The effects of situational conditions and personal factors

The authors examined the interaction of 3 situational variables (activity type, location, and encounter type) on 3 predictors of perceived crowding (perceived, preferred, and tolerable encounter levels). A total of 310 kayakers and canoers and 356 rafters completed on‐site and mail‐back surveys regarding their trip on the Nantahala River in North Carolina during Summer 1994. A multiple regression analysis showed that preferred and perceived encounters were more effective predictors of perceived crowding than tolerable encounter levels, but the relative effect of these measures depended on the situational context. Respondents’ ability to specify tolerable encounter levels depended on their level of specialization. Any attempt to establish use limits must carefully consider all the aspects of the river use situation and recognize that multiple capacities may be related to location, activity, and type of use to be encountered.

Study Abroad Experiences and Global Citizenship: Fostering Proenvironmental Behavior.

Short-term study abroad programs currently account for more than 50% of students who study overseas. Using an adaptation of the Value–Belief–Norm theory of proenvironmental behavior (Stern, 2000), we hypothesized that study abroad nurtures global citizenship related to ecologically conscious behaviors by strengthening core relations among environmental values, beliefs, and norms. The sample consisted of students (n = 623) from 10 U.S. universities participating in a 4-week study abroad program to either Australia or New Zealand in 2008 and 2009. A pre-, posttest design was adopted in which students voluntarily completed a survey instrument on the first and last days of the program in the destination country. Results of the study suggested that the modified Value–Belief–Norm approach provides a robust theoretical framework, used in conjunction with theories of learning, for explaining how proenvironmental behavior is nurtured. These findings provided empirical support for the efficacy of short-term study abroad programs and developed further support for the importance of strong pedagogical techniques implemented by competent instructors.

A Case Study of Environmental Justice and Federal Tourism Sites in Southern Appalachia: A GIS Application

This article uses an environmental justice framework to determine whether inequalities exist for certain socioeconomic and racial groups with respect to the distribution of federal tourism sites in Southern Appalachia (SA). Federal tourism sites and campsites were mapped along with the census block groups (CBGs) using geographic information systems. CBGs within a 1,500-meter radius of these federal lands were identified and examined based on five socioeconomic variables (race, education, household income, occupation, and local heritage). These CBGs were then compared with the remaining CBGs in SA that were outside the 1,500-meter radius. Results show that a negative relationship exists between income and occupation and location of a number of federal tourist sites. CBGs with a low-income, blue-collar makeup were significantly more likely to be situated within the 1,500-meter radius than outside. Additional study should determine the desirability of tourism-based land use with respect to factors such as urban sprawl, noise, and pollution.