OPINIONS ABOUT CHALLENGE BY CHOICE HELD BY UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS IN OUTDOOR EDUCATION ACADEMIC PROGRAMS AT GEORGIA COLLEGE & STATE UNIVERSITY

A primary concern when discussing the concept of Challenge by Choice (CxC) is defining it and identifying how it is used. This study is a survey of students in the outdoor education academic programs at Georgia College & State University. The primary objective of the study was to compare graduate and undergraduate student opinions about the meaning and use of CxC. It was hypothesized that graduate students would have different opinions about the concept then undergraduate students. Twenty students responded to an eight item online survey. Data was analyzed using a chi-square test. No statistical significance at the alpha .05 level was found; therefore the hypothesis was not supported. Analysis of the qualitative data produced several common themes that were used to describe an initial typology of CxC. Future research possibilities are discussed using this study as a potential basis for examining other academic programs that teach and use the concept

Visitor Attitudes Toward and Support for Invasive Species Management at Cumberland Island National Seashore

Abstract Controlling invasive species has become a management priority on public lands across America. Although managers recognize the need for policies that minimize the impact of non-indigenous organisms, the extent to which the public supports these policies remains largely unknown. This study used an on-site intercept survey of visitors to Cumberland Island National Seashore, GA, (N = 1,166) to assess public attitudes toward invasive species. Based on responses, visitors were grouped into two main attitude categories: absolute ecocentric individuals (who believed all living things had a right to coexist) and adaptive ecocentric individuals (who acknowledged that some degree of control may be necessary to restore ecosystem integrity). Despite conflicting perspectives, members of both groups agreed that adaptive on-site management was the most acceptable and least controversial method of invasive species control. Future studies could build on this approach to identify stakeholder characteristics that help to predict invasive species management preferences

Visitors’ Climate Change Beliefs & Perceptions of Climate-Sensitive Resources at Great Sand Dunes National Park

Abstract Ecological consequences associated with climate change are becoming increasingly noticeable in nature-based recreation areas. Research is therefore needed to better understand nature-based recreationists’ perceptions of, attitudes towards, and behavioral responses to climate change and resource impacts in parks. This study explored strategies for assessing and responding to visitor perceptions of climate change at Great Sand Dunes National Park (GRSA), Colorado. In the summer of 2011, researchers intercepted visitors at GRSD and invited them to complete an online questionnaire. Visitors reported strong beliefs that global climate change was currently happening, but less certainty regarding the belief that human activities are influencing climate. Studies such as this may provide information for interpreters and park staff regarding climate change, and increase visitors’ understanding of climate change. Future research could expand upon this exploratory study in an effort to inform resource management decisions and develop targeted climate change visitor education programs

Report from a Tourism-Based Development Project in Elkhorn City, Kentucky: A Community-University Collaboration

This panel will report on the progress that has been made on eco-tourism development in an area of the Russell Fork River between Haysi, VA, Elkhorn City, KY, and Millard, KY. Home to approximately 3000 people, this area hopes to build upon its eco -and adventure tourism assets, which include the Breaks Interstate Park, the Russell Fork River (already a river destination for world-class kayakers), and the Pine Mountain Trail, the Great Eastern Trail and the Trans America Bike Trail. The Elkhorn City Heritage Council has collaborated with universities and state and federal agencies to develop a comprehensive post-coal economic development plan. University partners are also working with the community to build grant-writing capacity and to partner as we seek funds and capital to support this promising, locally-based, sustainable approach to post-coal economic development. Students have worked in the area on class projects and alternative spring breaks. The panel proposed here will focus upon collaborative projects involving the Heritage Council, Eastern Kentucky (EKU), and the University of Kentucky (UK) related to the area’s certification as a “Kentucky Trail Town.” Students, community members and faculty will be included in a panel highlighting our 2013—2014 work in the area, including one or more of the following project areas: the Rail Museum, Russell Fork Nature Education Center, the water park, and / or water testing and monitoring

Viability of Hunting as a Means of Wild Hog Population Management on Federal Property

The Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area allows hunter to purchase permits and hunt wild hogs on property with the intention of curbing increases in wild hog populations. In order to assess outcomes of the wild hog hunting permit program, researchers collaborated with site managers to develop protocol and solicit information from permit holders regarding number of animals seen and harvested, sex of animals harvested, geographic areas hunted, length and number of hunts, and open qualitative feedback regarding the program. All permit holders agreeing to be contacted during permit registration were called with 37.57% (N=65) of permit holder completing the telephone survey. While more hogs were seen than harvested, the total harvested hogs was 52. Results indicate hunting is not a viable option for population management in and of itself, as the number if wild hogs harvested was minimal. A longitudinal study is necessary to overcome case study (single year) limitations, such as weather, hunter economics, herd movement, herd reproduction and so forth. Salient variables may warrant consideration, including marketing of permit program, number of hunters within acceptable driving distance to hunting location, and much more. Herd management initiatives beyond hunting may be considered when necessary to control wild hog populations

Bringing Forecasting Into the Future: Using Google to Predict Visitation in U.S. National Parks

In recent years, visitation to U.S. National Parks has been increasing, with the majority of this increase occurring in a subset of parks. As a result, managers in these parks must respond quickly to increasing visitor-related challenges. Improved visitation forecasting would allow managers to more proactively plan for such increases. In this study, we leverage internet search data that is freely available through Google Trends to create a forecasting model. We compare this Google Trends model to a traditional autoregressive forecasting model. Overall, our Google Trends model accurately predicted 97% of the total visitation variation to all parks one year in advance from 2013 to 2017 and outperformed the autoregressive model by all metrics. While our Google Trends model performs better overall, this was not the case for each park unit individually; the accuracy of this model varied significantly from park to park. We hypothesized that park attributes related to trip planning would correlate with the accuracy of our Google Trends model, but none of the variables tested produced overly compelling results. Future research can continue exploring the utility of Google Trends to forecast visitor use in protected areas, or use methods demonstrated in this paper to explore alternative data sources to improve visitation forecasting in U.S. National Parks

Genetic associations with childhood brain growth, defined in two longitudinal cohorts

Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) are unraveling the genetics of adult brain neuroanatomy as measured by cross-sectional anatomic magnetic resonance imaging (aMRI). However, the genetic mechanisms that shape childhood brain development are, as yet, largely unexplored. In this study we identify common genetic variants associated with childhood brain development as defined by longitudinal aMRI. Genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data were determined in two cohorts: one enriched for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (LONG cohort: 458 participants; 119 with ADHD) and the other from a population-based cohort (Generation R: 257 participants). The growth of the brain's major regions (cerebral cortex, white matter, basal ganglia, and cerebellum) and one region of interest (the right lateral prefrontal cortex) were defined on all individuals from two aMRIs, and a GWAS and a pathway analysis were performed. In addition, association between polygenic risk for ADHD and brain growth was determined for the LONG cohort. For white matter growth, GWAS meta-analysis identified a genome-wide significant intergenic SNP (rs12386571, P = 9.09 × 10-9 ), near AKR1B10. This gene is part of the aldo-keto reductase superfamily and shows neural expression. No enrichment of neural pathways was detected and polygenic risk for ADHD was not associated with the brain growth phenotypes in the LONG cohort that was enriched for the diagnosis of ADHD. The study illustrates the use of a novel brain growth phenotype defined in vivo for further study

The SAMI pilot survey: The kinematic morphology-density relation in Abell 85, Abell 168 and Abell 2399

We examine the kinematic morphology of early-type galaxies (ETGs) in three galaxy clusters Abell 85, 168 and 2399. Using data from the Sydney-AAOMulti-object Integral field spectrograph we measure spatially resolved kinematics for 79 ETGs in these clusters. We calculate λR, a proxy for the projected specific stellar angular momentum, for each galaxy and classify the 79 ETGs in our samples as fast or slow rotators. We calculate the fraction of slow rotators in the ETG populations (fSR) of the clusters to be 0.21 ± 0.08, 0.08 ± 0.08 and 0.12 ± 0.06 for Abell 85, 168 and 2399, respectively, with an overall fraction of 0.15 ± 0.04. These numbers are broadly consistent with the values found in the literature, confirming recent work asserting that the fraction of slow rotators in the ETG population is constant across many orders of magnitude in global environment. We examine the distribution of kinematic classes in each cluster as a function of environment using the projected density of galaxies: the kinematic morphology-density relation.We find that in Abell 85 fSR increases in higher density regions but in Abell 168 and 2399 this trend is not seen. We examine the differences between the individual clusters to explain this. In addition, we find slow rotators on the outskirts of two of the clusters studied, Abell 85 and 2399. These galaxies reside in intermediate to low density regions and have clearly not formed at the centre of a cluster environment. We hypothesize that they formed at the centres of groups and are falling into the clusters for the first time