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UBC Theses and Dissertations
Subject variability in estimates of impact saliency and impact acceptability for wilderness conditions Rutledge, Ronald Brent
Abstract
This study examined sources of subject variation in user estimates of impact saliency and the acceptability of impacts on ecological and social conditions found in wilderness. Data collected in a questionnaire sent to visitors to the Spruce Lake Trails Area in British Columbia, Canada were used to test six research hypotheses. The influence of impacts on visitors' wilderness experiences were compared among three sub-groups of the study sample characterized by: 1) how their trip was organized (commercially outfitted vs. privately outfitted); 2) their length of stay (one day vs. two to four days vs. five or more days); and 3) their place of origin (BC residents vs. US residents), respectively. Variations in impact acceptability levels were also compared for the above three sub-groups. The results of hypotheses testing indicated that, overall, the three variables examined (trip organization, length of stay and place of origin) offered little explanation for subject variation in impact saliency and impact acceptability by respondents to the Spruce Lake Trails Area Visitor Study. By and large, survey respondents agreed on the relative influence of most of the impacts evaluated. Behavioral impacts (e.g., discourteous behavior) were judged by all respondents as most important in determining the quality of their wilderness experience. Respondents tended to ignore the social setting (i.e., where the impact occurred) when evaluating the effect of the impacts. Survey respondents had the most difficulty in quantifying an acceptable level of vegetation loss and bare ground at campsites and on or beside trail. They had the least difficulty in quantifying acceptable levels of litter at all locations.
Item Metadata
Title |
Subject variability in estimates of impact saliency and impact acceptability for wilderness conditions
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Creator | |
Publisher |
University of British Columbia
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Date Issued |
1995
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Description |
This study examined sources of subject variation in user estimates of impact saliency
and the acceptability of impacts on ecological and social conditions found in wilderness. Data
collected in a questionnaire sent to visitors to the Spruce Lake Trails Area in British
Columbia, Canada were used to test six research hypotheses. The influence of impacts on
visitors' wilderness experiences were compared among three sub-groups of the study sample
characterized by: 1) how their trip was organized (commercially outfitted vs. privately
outfitted); 2) their length of stay (one day vs. two to four days vs. five or more days); and 3)
their place of origin (BC residents vs. US residents), respectively. Variations in impact
acceptability levels were also compared for the above three sub-groups.
The results of hypotheses testing indicated that, overall, the three variables examined
(trip organization, length of stay and place of origin) offered little explanation for subject
variation in impact saliency and impact acceptability by respondents to the Spruce Lake Trails
Area Visitor Study. By and large, survey respondents agreed on the relative influence of most
of the impacts evaluated. Behavioral impacts (e.g., discourteous behavior) were judged by all
respondents as most important in determining the quality of their wilderness experience.
Respondents tended to ignore the social setting (i.e., where the impact occurred) when
evaluating the effect of the impacts. Survey respondents had the most difficulty in quantifying
an acceptable level of vegetation loss and bare ground at campsites and on or beside trail.
They had the least difficulty in quantifying acceptable levels of litter at all locations.
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Extent |
7144142 bytes
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Genre | |
Type | |
File Format |
application/pdf
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Language |
eng
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Date Available |
2009-02-18
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Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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Rights |
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.
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DOI |
10.14288/1.0075243
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URI | |
Degree | |
Program | |
Affiliation | |
Degree Grantor |
University of British Columbia
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Graduation Date |
1996-05
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Campus | |
Scholarly Level |
Graduate
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Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
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Item Media
Item Citations and Data
Rights
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.