Steve Selin

Developing a collaborative model for environmental planning and management

Methods for involving the public in natural resource management are changing as agencies adjust to an increasingly turbulent social and political environment. There is growing interest among managers and scholars in collaborative approaches to public involvement. Collaboration is conceptually defined and elaborated using examples from the natural resource management field. This paper then examines how collaboration theory from the organizational behavior field can help environmental managers to better understand those factors that facilitate and inhibit collaborative solutions to resource problems. A process-oriented model is presented that proposes that collaboration emerges out of an environmental context and then proceeds sequentially through a problem-setting, direction-setting, and structuring phase. Factors constraining collaboration are also specified, including organizational culture and power differentials. Designs for managing collaboration are identified, which include appreciative planning, joint agreements, dialogues, and negotiated settlements. Environmental managers need new skills to manage collaboration within a dynamic social and political environment. Further research is needed to test the propositions outlined here.

Developing an evolutionary tourism partnership model

Abstract Partnerships have become a popular tourism management strategy for leveraging scarce resources in an era of fiscal constraint. Despite this popularity, little empirical research has been done to explain the processes that occur when such interactions take place. An evolutionary model is presented based on an empirical study of three tourism partnerships, a review of existing tourism partnership case studies, and the integration of emerging theory from the organizational behavior field. The model suggests that tourism partnerships begin in a context of environmental forces and evolve sequentially through problem-setting, direction-setting, and structuring phases. Special facultative skills are needed to sustain and nurture tourism partnerships.

Developing a Typology of Sustainable Tourism Partnerships

Partnerships and collaboration have come of age in the tourism field. However, our understanding of how partnerships form and how to build the capacity of appropriate collaborative ventures has lagged behind developments in the field. This paper first discusses how, within a United States context, partnerships are contributing to sustainable tourism development and then reviews past partnership research across several disciplines. Next, this research is extended by developing a preliminary typology of sustainable tourism partnerships, identifying dimensions by which tourism partnerships vary or are similar across time and geographic region. Representative tourism partnerships are selected and plotted along a number of dimensions including: geographic scale, legal basis, locus of control, organisational diversity and size, and time frame. By better understanding the diversity of forms partnerships take in response to societal pressures, tourism managers can begin to design partnerships that provide the app...

Modeling Stakeholder Perceptions of Collaborative Initiative Effectiveness

Collaborative planning and stewardship has emerged on the natural resource landscape as both an ideology and prescriptive tool to build agreement and manage conflict across diverse settings and resource issues. This article reports on a research study examining stakeholder perceptions of the performance of 30 collaborative initiatives from around the United States where the USDA Forest Service was identified as a partner in the initiative. Results from a mailed survey to active participants found the typical collaborative initiative to be fairly large and quite diverse, with an average of 16.8 organizational members. Respondents generally felt initiatives were effective in achieving their purpose. In a regression analysis, leadership, willingness to compromise, and a broad representation of stakeholders emerged as significant predictors of outcome achievement. Findings from this study support recent evidence that collaborative initiatives are achieving important economic, quality of life, and bio/physical outcomes. However, due to the young age of many collaborative ventures, these outcomes are still in their formative stages.Collaborative planning and stewardship has emerged on the natural resource landscape as both an ideology and prescriptive tool to build agreement and manage conflict across diverse settings and resource issues. This article reports on a research study examining stakeholder perceptions of the performance of 30 collaborative initiatives from around the United States where the USDA Forest Service was identified as a partner in the initiative. Results from a mailed survey to active participants found the typical collaborative initiative to be fairly large and quite diverse, with an average of 16.8 organizational members. Respondents generally felt initiatives were effective in achieving their purpose. In a regression analysis, leadership, willingness to compromise, and a broad representation of stakeholders emerged as significant predictors of outcome achievement. Findings from this study support recent evidence that collaborative initiatives are achieving important economic, quality of life, and bio/physical...

Hiking alone: understanding fear, negotiation strategies and leisure experience.

This study examines the solo hiking experience, in particular the fears that solo hikers experience, the strategies they employ to negotiate these fears, and how the leisure experience is influenced by this process. The study used an exploratory design to examine these issues. Twenty semi-structured interviews were conducted with men and women between the ages of 20 and 50. Results reveal five different types of fears solo hikers encounter including: the fear of getting hurt by another individual, the fear of accidental injury/life-threatening emergency, the fear of getting lost, the fear of wild animals and dogs, and the fear of the theft of belongings left in ones vehicle. According to study findings, five strategies were employed by solo hikers to negotiate objective threats and perceived fears including: avoiding perceived threats, modifying their participation in solo hiking, using aids or protective devices, expanding their knowledge or skills, and employing a psychological approach. Results from the study suggest that the solo hiking experience can be diminished, maintained, or optimized depending on the capacity of the participant to negotiate these threats and fears.

Validation of the flow theory in an on-site whitewater kayaking setting.

The validation of the flow theory in an on-site whitewater setting is examined. A-priori hypotheses emphasized 3 concerns: (1) the relationship between a four channel model of flow and specific levels of flow indicators, (2) differences in the explanatory power of the four channel model and an original model of flow, and (3) the relationship between river difficulty and the frequencies of four channels (flow, anxiety, apathy, and boredom). On-site experiences of 52 whitewater kayakers were assessed with a series of single page questionnaires administered in the Cheat River Canyon in West Virginia. Sampling techniques involved a modification of the Experience Sampling Method using eight measurement intervals of varying levels of river difficulty. Data were analyzed at the level of experience (n = 409). A-priori hypothesis testing, based on the results of statistical analyses (ANOVA, linear regression, and Chi-square test of association), supported the validation of the flow theory. This validation was demonstrated by the significant relationship between a four channel model and subjective experiences, the positivity of experience during a state of flow, the explanatory power of the four channel model, and differences in channel frequencies across river stages. Patterns of results which were contrary to expectation indicate similarities in subjective experiences between flow and anxiety channels, suggesting that whitewater kayakers may have positive experiences even when their abilities are exceeded by the difficulty of the river.

Mapping Social Change: A Visualization Method Used in the Monongahela National Forest

ABSTRACT Many communities in and around national forests are experiencing social change. It is important for public land managers to keep abreast of this change to provide appropriate forest uses while considering resource impacts, conflict management, and potential partnerships with local communities. The social assessment is one tool used to follow sociodemographic trends, but it can be difficult to wade through the volumes of tables and visual displays to make informed management decisions. To improve decision making, literature suggests presenting information in a usable manner, such as the weather (color isopleth) map. By creating an index of overall social change and presenting the results in the form of an isopleth, social assessments can be made more usable by reducing multiple variables into one composite map. A method is described to compute an overall index and map of social change, followed by a discussion of management implications, limitations, and avenues of future research.

Development of a point evaluation system for ecotourism destinations: a Delphi method

Ecotourism destination criteria and indicators are not equally important. Based on this principle, an evaluation system by which ecotourism destinations can be evaluated and rated needs to be developed to reflect the relative importance of destination criteria/indicators. This case study evaluates a point evaluation system based on ecotourism destination criteria and indicators identified by ecotourism academics and ecotourism operators using a two-round Delphi survey for forest ecotourism in West Virginia. Results indicate that operators are less likely than academics to value local participation and involvement (43 points for operators vs. 84 points for academics) and socio-economic benefits to local communities (26 points for operators vs. 34 points for academics) while being more likely than academics to care about the conservation of cultural resources (107 points for operators vs. 48 points for academics). Research implications and future research needs are discussed.

Investigating the relationships between visitor and trip characteristics, vacation planning, visitor spending, and destination evaluation: the case of Garrett County, Maryland.

The study analyzes factors affecting vacation planning in terms of information search and length of vacation planning time. The study also investigates the relationships between: visitor and trip characteristics; vacation planning; and outcomes such as visitor spending and destination evaluation. Analysis was conducted through structural equation modeling (SEM) in AMOS. Results show that visitor and trip characteristics affect vacation planning and that planning affects visitor spending and destination evaluation. Management implications are discussed.

Application of the Delphi method to ecotourism destination evaluations: a rejoinder to Brian Garrod

In this rejoinder note, we discussed panel attrition as related to Delphi applications in general and our research specifically on the development of a point evaluation system for ecotourism destinations. We argued that panel attrition could be a serious problem for studies that involve several rounds of survey that aim to achieve consensus or forecast with results of the next round being directly and primarily built upon findings of the previous round. However, it may not be problem for Decision Delphi or other types of Delphi applications with the first round for generation of ideas and the second round for ranking and scoring of measurement items as we did in our study.