Browsing by Author "Bright, Alan, advisor"

Now showing 1 - 11 of 11

Open Access
Exploring the role of social identity and social media in understanding hunters' perceptions of wild pigs and their management in the U.S.
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2020) Jaebker, Lauren, author; Bright, Alan, advisor; Champ, Joseph, committee member; Shwiff, Stephanie, committee member; Teel, Tara, committee member
To view the abstract, please see the full text of the document.
Open Access
Factors predicting acceptability of toxicant usage to control feral swine
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2018) DeGroot, Samantha L., author; Bright, Alan, advisor; Bernasek, Alexandra, committee member; Jones, Kelly, committee member; Shwiff, Stephanie, committee member
The population increase and spread of feral swine across the United States is of increasing concern to producers, land managers, the common public, and government. Feral swine carry harmful diseases, cause extensive damage to property, and are opportunistic omnivores that will eat anything. This study explores how mass media coverage and aspects of the cognitive hierarchy influence the specific lethal management action of a toxicant usage to control feral swine. A content media analysis was conducted to observe how the media portrays the toxicant Kaput across different time periods and news platforms. Statistical analysis revealed that a little over half of the articles were published following four major events which included, a) approval of 'Kaput' as a state-limited-use pesticide in Texas b) restraining order against the use of 'Kaput' c) the passing of a bill requiring strict scientific study of any further toxicant before release in Texas, and d) the withdrawal of 'Kaput' in the state of Texas. An additional analysis revealed the most discussed themes within the articles including a) the use of a toxicant as a management tool to control feral swine b) the mention of the toxicant containing a Warfarin base, and c) challenges regarding the toxicant as being species-specific. The majority of these articles were either negative or neutral, mostly describing the toxicant and then explaining the faults in its use. This resulted in the toxicant being pulled off of the market. In addition to the content media analysis, a wildlife survey was mailed out to 200 urban residents and 200 rural residents from each of the 50 United States to measure individuals' wildlife value orientations, general beliefs toward feral swine, and their support or opposition of the use of poison to kill feral swine. The overall response rate was 11%. Statistical analysis revealed that negative attitudes toward feral swine and a domination wildlife value orientation were key identifiers of support for a toxicant lethal management action of feral swine (p < .05). The opposite was determined with a non-significant value for a mutualism value orientation, opposing the use of a toxicant. As wildlife managers and government agencies continue efforts to mitigate damages and manage feral swine, the value orientations and attitudes of the public should be taken into consideration. The lethal management action chosen should reflect the public's value orientations and attitudes to have an accepted management technique suitable to control feral swine as well as support the public.
Open Access
Factors predicting feral swine management preferences and willingness to pay
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016) Harper, Erin E., author; Bright, Alan, advisor; Bernasek, Alexandra, committee member; Shwiff, Stephanie, committee member; Teel, Tara, committee member
The population increase and spread of feral swine across the United States is of increasing concern to agricultural producers, land managers, and government. Feral swine cause extensive damage to property, carry several diseases, and are generalist that will eat anything. This study explores how aspects of the cognitive hierarchy and demographics influence management preferences and willingness to pay for management. Extension offices at Land-Grant Universities participated in a survey of limited resource farmers. The overall response rate for the offices that were able to provide such information was 46%. Statistical analysis revealed that a domination wildlife value orientation, negative attitudes toward feral swine, and income had an effect on respondents' support for all five management actions (hunting, hunting with the assistance of dogs, aerial sharpshooting, trapping and removing, and the use of poison) inquired about (p < .05). A mutualism wildlife value orientation and gender had an effect for two of the management actions (p < .05) and age had no effect on any actions. The amount farmers were willing pay for feral swine management on their lands was analyzed for two groups of farmers; those who had feral swine on their land and did not want them and those who did not have feral swine and wanted to continue to have none. Those with feral swine on their land were more willing to pay to manage feral swine. The amount farmers were willing to pay for both groups was influenced by gender, a negative attitude toward feral swine, and a domination wildlife value orientation. A mutualism wildlife value orientation also had an influence; however, income and age did not. As landowners and government agencies continue efforts to manage feral swine and mitigate the damages they cause the preferences of the landowners should be taken into account. The management actions chosen should reflect the actions supported by farmers in conjunction with cost considerations. If farmers are unwilling or unable to pay for management, then less costly yet also supported management strategies will need to be formulated.
Open Access
Integrative complexity and attitudes toward prescribed fire in northern Colorado and southern Wyoming
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2012) Czaja, Michael R., author; Cottrell, Stuart, advisor; Bright, Alan, advisor; Doe, William, committee member; Goldstein, Joshua, committee member
This research examined whether the relationship between basic beliefs about wildland fire management and attitudes toward prescribed fire are moderated by the level of integrative complexity. Households in counties adjacent to three study areas in northern Colorado and southern Wyoming were the target of this social science research. The primary goal was to further validate a recently-developed measurement tool for integrative complexity and apply it to a new research scenario. The second goal was to identify respondents' level of complexity when they think about the issue of prescribed fire. Results suggest that integrative complexity moderated the relationship between basic beliefs and attitudes toward prescribed fire. Consistent with theory and previous studies, results suggested no relationship between integrative complexity and attitude direction. However, as expected, results suggested a significant relationship between integrative complexity and attitude extremity. A conceptual model was developed which incorporates assessing public and stakeholder integrative complexity into the development of forest management plans. Findings should assist forest managers with the development of collaboration, education, and outreach strategies.
Open Access
Message frames and wildlife values influence public acceptance of wild horse management strategies
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2020) Rodriguez, Jeffrey, author; Bright, Alan, advisor; Niemiec, Rebecca, advisor; King, Sarah, committee member
Wild horses are a symbol of the American West that evoke emotional responses from people, and the management of these populations has become a contentious issue. We examined the influence of messaging and wildlife value orientations on public acceptance of potential wild horse management actions in the Western United States. We used an online questionnaire that began with one of three randomly assigned messages about wild horse management: the control message provided information about wild horse populations and management options, the rational appeal added on information about the negative impacts of growing wild horse populations and the limitations of current management approaches, and the emotional appeal added a photograph of emaciated wild horses to the rational appeal. The questionnaire then asked participants about their acceptance of wild horse management options and their values of and experiences with domestic horses. Our survey experiment showed that messaging can influence overall acceptance of wild horse management techniques. Participants who received the emotional or rational appeal were more accepting of the use of contraception, sterilization, euthanasia, and the sale of horses to be used for consumption compared to those who received the control. Adding an emotional component to the rational appeal increased acceptance of wild horses living out their lives in government holding pens over all other message conditions. We also found that participants in general were more accepting of contraception and sterilization than any of the other management techniques. Participants with traditionalist values were more likely to accept euthanasia. Overall, we suggest that messaging may influence public acceptance of many of the proposed management actions for wild horses in the Western United States.
Open Access
Testing a model of customer service and satisfaction of a luxury wingshooting lodge experience
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Franks, Todd, author; Bright, Alan, advisor; Kang, Soo, committee member; O'Leary, Joseph, committee member; Teel, Tara, committee member
This paper explores the application of a customer service and satisfaction model from the outdoor recreation industry to a luxury wingshooting destination. Specifically, it investigates the possibility that domain-level satisfaction will mediate the specific relationship between customer service components and the guests' overall satisfaction with the luxury hunting lodge experience. Data were collected via quantitative self-administered surveys (n=525 completed surveys) that measured three levels of visitor satisfaction (26 individual service items, three service domains, and overall satisfaction), which were administered to guests at a luxury wingshooting destination over four South Dakota pheasant preserve hunting seasons (2017 - 2020) which run from September 1 until March 31 of the following year. This research tested the extent to which satisfaction across three domains (hunting, customer service, & facilities) mediated the influence of 26 individual service items in predicting overall satisfaction with the luxury hunting lodge experience. The 26 service items represented certain areas of satisfaction (domains), and the mediation analysis was limited to those specific domains. Results indicated that satisfaction with each of the three domains partially mediated the relationship between overall satisfaction with the luxury hunting lodge experience and the individual service items. Next, I combined all of the significant individual service items and their three satisfaction domains into one single regression model, with overall satisfaction with the luxury hunting lodge experience as the dependent variable. Of the ten significant service items and three service domains, only five variables proved to be significant, accounting for 76.8% of the explained variance in overall satisfaction with the luxury hunting lodge experience.
Open Access
Understanding beliefs and preferences of irrigators towards the use and management of agricultural water in the Colorado River Basin
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2013) Kallenberger, Julie A., author; Bright, Alan, advisor; Knight, Rick, committee member; Pritchett, James, committee member
The agriculture sector in the American West is faced with multiple challenges including urbanization, drought, an aging producer population, and the prospects of climate change. As a result, the availability, use, and allocation of water throughout the West have become sources of both conflict and collaboration. Growing conflict emphasizes the need to identify and understand the diversity of beliefs of agricultural water users. This in turn, will help stakeholders better manage limited water resources and identify solutions for agricultural producers to deal with uncertainty and the pressures they are experiencing. This study examines the findings from a survey of farmers and ranchers who use Colorado River water for agricultural purposes, including: the pressures they are experiencing on their water supplies, options for addressing pressures, their interest and involvement in water transfer arrangements, and their preferences for meeting future water demands. In addition, their beliefs towards water availability, the role of storage, water policy and law, and working together with other stakeholders to address water challenges will be discussed. In brief, the results of this study indicate that agricultural water users face myriad number of pressures on their water supplies with drought and urban growth topping the list. The data indicates strong opposition towards agricultural water transfers, even those of temporary nature due to the concern of possibly losing their water right. A majority of participants agree that there will not be enough water for agriculture in their area or in the Colorado River Basin and that further water storage is needed to address uncertainty; however, new storage projects should be expanded before initiating new projects. Overall, agricultural water users agree that they need to partner with other non-agricultural water users (preferably at the district or basin level) in order to address the challenges they face or will face in the future. Multiple types of water stakeholders can benefit from the information found in this study by learning the differences, commonalities, viewpoints, and preferences of the agricultural sector and by using it to help gauge support for or against management decisions and policies, help predict and mitigate conflict among competing users, and to help develop approaches for working together collaboratively to address water issues in the Colorado River Basin.
Open Access
Understanding environmentally responsible behavior of national park visitors: a cross-cultural perspective
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Zhao-Pliske, Wen, author; Bright, Alan, advisor; Knight, David, committee member; Snodgrass, Jeffrey, committee member; Bruyere, Bret, committee member
Foster environmentally responsible behavior (ERB) among tourists is seen as a practical approach to alleviating human-induced impacts on national parks. In light of the increasingly popularity of national parks and their diverse users around the world, national park practitioners and researchers need to pay closer attention to the cultural influences on tourists' behaviors across cultures. This dissertation introduces a cross-cultural perspective to investigate tourists' environmentally responsible behavior in two national parks in China and US. This dissertation summarizes three studies that are presented as manuscripts suitable for submission to peer-reviewed journals. It begins with an overview of the visitor impacts in national parks in the US and China—two of the largest nature-based tourism market in the world— and the associated theoretical frameworks and models that assess the antecedents of individuals' environmental behavior. We articulate and clarify the theoretical debates and methodological considerations associated with cross-cultural comparative analysis. Chapter II provides a comparative discussion of the national park system between China and the US. It begins with a review of the current state of knowledge of China's protected areas development and the motivation to form a new national park system, followed by a comparison of the management structure, funding mechanism, as well as the visitor and tourism management of the national parks in China and US. Chapter III and IV present two cross-cultural quantitative studies. A review of extant literature shows there are inconsistencies in understanding tourists' environmentally responsible behavior in national parks. In Chapter III, we use multi-group confirmatory factor analysis to examine the measurement invariance of a proposed measures of tourists' environmentally responsible behavior between US and China. The confirmatory factor analysis assessments of equivalent structure, factor loading pattern, and intercepts between samples revealed that the ERB is a multi-dimensional construct and can be examined across cultures. Further, Chapter IV builds upon the previous and investigate how environmental values, attitudes, and norm affect tourists' environmentally responsible behavior intention in national parks between US and China. We discuss the differences and similarities of the patterning of tourists' behavior intention across distinct cultural settings. Chapter V connects these three studies and subsequently discuss theoretical and practical implications. We illustrate how the results can facilitate national park management in developing sound visitor use planning and communication programs to better promote environmentally responsible behavior among tourists. Overall, this dissertation seeks to comprehend the cultural components in the activation of environmentally responsible behavior. Our findings highlight the need of utilizing quantitative cross-cultural comparative perspectives to understand the culturally conditioned behaviors.
Open Access
Understanding hunter-wild pig (Sus scrofa) interactions in the United States: a mixed-methods research approach to inform invasive species management
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2020) McLean, Hailey E., author; Bright, Alan, advisor; Teel, Tara, committee member; Champ, Joseph, committee member; Shwiff, Stephanie, committee member
To view the abstract, please see the full text of the document.
Open Access
What were you thinking? Do wilderness leadership guides' actions match their employers' intenions in hiring a good employee?
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2019) Swetnam, Sunshine, author; Bright, Alan, advisor; Foley, Jeffrey, advisor; Pettebone, David, committee member; Quick, Donald, committee member
This study explored the hiring effectiveness in wilderness leadership professionals. A gap in the wilderness leadership body of knowledge identified a need for the understanding of judgment, decision-making, and leadership in wilderness leadership professionals. An understanding of these concepts will be beneficial to those that hire and train wilderness leaders. The study involves two phases. The first phase explored wilderness leadership practitioner considerations when evaluating an applicant's level of good judgment, good decision-making, and strong leadership that comprised one's expertise. Eleven hiring practitioners from the wilderness leadership industry were interviewed in a semi-structured, qualitative format. The interview explored how the practitioner knew if a future employee has the judgment, decision-making, and leadership. A narrative ethnography was used to analyze the seeking emerging themes in the data. Six themes developed from phase-one. They were the applicant's character and reputation; applicant's holistic approach, awareness, and people skills; applicant's experience, references, certifications, and skills; practitioners observing leadership in action; and applicant/practitioner using mentoring, apprenticeship, and empowerment. The second phase was a phenomenological ethnography; it investigated the wilderness leader's internal process of judgment to examine if they made good decisions and executed strong leadership in the field. This involved field observations and robust field notes to record instances of decision-making and leadership. Conversational interviews were conducted post-observation. They were designed to reveal a leader's judgment or their internal process. The participant was reminded of the field observation moment and then asking them "what were you thinking?" to discover their internal process. This was identified by their external process of making a decision or the execution of leadership. Themes emerged regarding one's judgments that lead to their decisions and leadership. The themes were communication, safety, and teaching tactics. Finally, a triangulated approach in the discussion and synthesis chapter investigated if wilderness leadership organizations were hiring the caliber of employee they intended, which was revealed through semi-structured interviews multiplied by the actions of the professionals they hired. The study's emergent implications were accountability, mentorship, and leadership in action. Recommendations were made for hiring practitioners in the wilderness leadership industry.
Open Access
Wildlife-human relations and education in community-based marine tourism: a case study of coastal Oregon, U.S.A.
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Fennell, Samuel R., author; Bright, Alan, advisor; Knight, David, committee member; Snodgrass, Jeffrey, committee member
The tourism industry has witnessed an increased use of non-human animals, both within various attractions as well as in advertisements. This increased interaction and reliance can generate significant hazards which threaten the well-being of these non-human animals and require ongoing study. Animals in marine and community-based tourism destinations, in particular (e.g., coastal Oregon), are facing considerable pressures from tourism and climate change. In view of these concerns, this thesis represents a multi-species and multi-sited ethnography investigating the complexities around degrowth management, tourism policy, and education as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic within select Oregonian coastal and marine community-based tourism destinations. Utilizing a posthumanist critical lens, researchers gathered and thematically analyzed data gathered from local inhabitants on Oregon's coast. For efficiency and proficiency, the study employed the Vertical Integrated Projects (VIP) education model, allowing members to gain a hands-on and individualized educational experience. This study has significant relevance for the anthropology of tourism and environmental anthropology literature and broadens current understanding of marine and community-based tourism. Practical implications hold promise for the livelihoods of local Oregonian coastal animals, as well.