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Browsing by Author "Knight, David, committee member"

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    Implications of natural boundaries for placemaking as a collaborative practice between humans and animals
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Taylor, Marley, author; Thomsen, Bastian, advisor; Knight, David, committee member; Kogan, Lori, committee member
    Living beings (flora and fauna) coexist within natural environments, sharing physical locations both temporally and spatially. When applied beyond the human scope, "place" takes on new meaning as humans and nonhuman animals each take part in their own placemaking practices. This study evaluates the practice of placemaking as it relates to long-term wildlife-human cohabitation and coexistence. Here, placemaking refers to the practice of attributing meaning to geographic locations or physical objects. Integrating compassionate conservation and multispecies livelihoods, researchers employed a patchwork ethnography methodology to identify patterns in collaborative placemaking. They also drew from a Multispecies Livelihoods framework, including compassionate conservation, which aims to conserve biodiversity and planetary climate at the individual rather than species level. Through ethnographic semi-structured interviews, archival research, and participant observation methodology, 16 researchers from Colorado State University's (CSU's) Human Dimensions of Natural Resources Department and CSU's Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program partnered with three wildlife rehabilitation centers and a veterinary teaching hospital in Costa Rica. The research team interviewed participants, conducted observations, and gathered data to analyze the effects of natural barriers to human activity in Costa Rica on collective placemaking practices. This research is based on a three-week pilot study in January 2022 titled, 'Wildlife Rehabilitation for Conservation', led by Dr. Bastian Thomsen. This initial pilot project aimed to inform future studies on the use of natural barriers, rather than constructed barriers, to foster animal welfare, wildlife-human coexistence, and more sustainable animal-human relationships. Findings suggest that collaborative placemaking, which is heavily influenced by natural boundaries, is a viable strategy for encouraging positive wildlife-human interactions and successful coexistence.
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    Pathways toward a posthumanist approach to wildlife-human coexistence: a case study of environmental policies and education in Costa Rica
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Schneider, Amy, author; Thomsen, Bastian, advisor; Knight, David, committee member; Snodgrass, Jeffrey, committee member
    This thesis project is a two-part evaluation of policy creation and environmental education in Costa Rica. Part I applies a posthumanist theoretical framework to a patchwork ethnography methodology to identify patterns within perceptions and implementation of environmental policy. Methods selected include semi-structured interviews and participant observation accomplished during a January 2022 pilot study in Costa Rica where the research team partnered with three wildlife rehabilitation centers of varying size. In conjunction with this posthumanist evaluation of current policy, actor perceptions, and creation of legislation, Part II assesses the use of a Vertical Integrated Project (VIP) model in correlation with environmental education practices and programs. Findings suggest, based on additional analyses of interviews and participant observation, that values play a significant role in the creation, content, and enforcement of environmental policies in Costa Rica. Further, the use of the VIP model in research methods directly mirrors many of the environmental education programs and techniques demonstrated by the partnering centers. These findings illustrate potential pathways forward for other environmentally conscious nations to foster coexistence and shift the way wildlife is perceived and valued on a national scale.
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    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.
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    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.