The future is now: A mixed-methods analysis of astronauts\u27 experience associate with space travel

As SpaceX and other commercial entities enter the space industry, space travel for a broader audience will become more feasible. Since the early 1990s, tourism study has witnessed an ongoing conversation on space tourism, which mainly covers motivations of potential space tourists and their pricing expectations. This study takes a novel perspective by framing astronauts’ direct experiences as inputs to build a conceptual model of space travel experience. Through a combination of traditional qualitative analysis and computation-based linguistic analysis on 19,114 Tweets (2008-2018) posted by 36 astronauts, this study aims to address an important theoretical void: When people travel to outer space, what leisure experiences attached to orbital space travel could they have? We propose “amateur astronaut” as a transiting title from astronauts to space tourists, and suggest that space travel experience brings an overview effect as our core theoretical contributions of touristic attraction

Identifying the Spatial Pattern of Off-Road Vehicle Accidents in Michigan\u27s Silver Lake State Park

Abstract A spatial point pattern analysis was performed to examine Off-Road Vehicle (ORV) accident patterns in Silver Lake State Park, Michigan, to assist in accident prevention. The K function was used to identify accident clusters, the kernel intensity function was used to detect accident hotspots, and the independent t-test was used to assess if percent slope was the underlying environmental factor that affects the occurrence of accidents. The results indicated that accidents were significantly clustered. The hotspots were where riders crested hills in the directional zone and encountered an abrupt slope on the back side. Another high-risk area was in directionally unrestricted areas. The t-test confirmed that accidents occurred in the steeper slope areas more frequently than flat areas. Park managers should consider adding unidirectional traffic patterns in areas of poor visibility and requiring reduced speeds near beach areas through an enforced speed limit

To Fee or Not to Fee? Satisfaction, Service Quality, and Support of an Entrance Fee of a State Park System

In the past decade, state government appropriation reductions have forced park agencies to seek other sources of revenue to support park operations. To overcome shrinking budgets, many public park agencies embrace private sector business models and investigate customer satisfaction, service quality, and user fee structures. The purpose of this study was to obtain public input regarding service quality, general satisfaction, and experience use history of state park visitation. A total of 382 Oklahoma state park users completed an online survey and were sorted into Pro-Fee (n = 200, 52%) and No-Fee (n = 182, 48%) groups for one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) tests. The researchers found a significant difference between the two groups on service quality, but not on overall satisfaction or behavioral intention (e.g., revisit, recommending the park). When comparing Pro-Fee and No-Fee groups, researchers found no statistically significant variance in visitors’ demographics, such as gender, education level, and income, whereas the number of years that had passed since the visitors’ first visit showed a significant difference between the groups. The findings of this study provide valuable insight for discussions related to entrance fees and service fees in state park systems

Resident Perceptions of Black Bear Management in South Central Kentucky

The growth and sprawl of the American black bear (Ursus americanus ) population have been observed and monitored in the past two decades, especially in south-central Kentucky. To better manage human-black bear interaction and develop informed policy and best practices, the current study sought to 1) understand south-central Kentucky residents’ current knowledge of and previous experience with black bears, 2) investigate residents’ attitudes toward black bears and regulated hunting in wildlife management; and 3) identify residents’ level of acceptance of various black bear related management actions in south-central Kentucky. From February to April 2017, residents of London and Stearns districts (southeastern regions) of the Daniel Boone National Forest, a black bear habitat, were invited to participate in this study. The results from 139 completed surveys showed that residents lacked sufficient knowledge about black bear populations in the region and received minimal information regarding black bear management efforts. In comparison to education efforts and relocation, regulated black bear hunting could be a cost-effective option to promote responsible use of wildlife resources and black bear population control. This study provided lessons and recommendations for black bear management in south-central Kentucky and may be of utilization for any other wildlife conservation areas

An Exploration of Perceived Health Outcomes of State Park Visitors in Oklahoma

In order to document state parks\u27 health benefits, the study examined the relationship between state park visitors\u27 physical activity level and perceived health outcomes. Using a convenience sampling method, visitors to Oklahoma State Parks were invited to respond to an online survey (N = 412). The results showed: (1) positive psychological experience was the highest perceived health outcomes, and (2) the more active visitors were in the park, the more likely they were to experience the health benefits parks provide. State parks should be a venue for health promotion and attract visitors from the general public, particularly underserved and rural populations

To fee or not to fee? Satisfaction, service quality, and support of an entrance fee of a state park system

In the past decade, state government appropriation reductions have forced park agencies to seek other sources of revenue to support park operations. To overcome shrinking budgets, many public park agencies embrace private-sector business models and investigate customer satisfaction, service quality, and user fee structures. The purpose of this study was to obtain public input regarding service quality, general satisfaction, and experience use history of state park visitation. A total of 382 Oklahoma state park users completed an online survey and were sorted into Pro-Fee (n = 200, 52%) and No-Fee (n = 182, 48%) groups for one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) tests. The researchers found a significant difference between the two groups on service quality, but not on overall satisfaction or behavioral intention (e.g., revisit, recommending the park). When comparing Pro-Fee and No-Fee groups, researchers found no statistically significant variance in visitors’ demographics, such as gender, education level, and income, whereas the number of years that had passed since the visitors’ first visit showed a significant difference between the groups. The findings of this study provide valuable insight for discussions related to entrance fees and service fees in state park systems

Innovative Methodologies in Park and Recreation Management

The State of Oklahoma, located in the heart of Tornado Alley, frequently experiences severe weather events such as tornadoes, hail, and damaging wind. Weather events such as these inflict injury and, in some cases, death on park visitors as well as damage park infrastructure, amenities, and other natural resources. Park and recreation professionals, especially those in severe weather-prone areas, must prepare for and respond to such events with the appropriate emergency operations and hazard mitigation procedures (National Park Service, 2006; Whitworth & May, 2006). Following the tourism disaster and crisis management frameworks (Faulkner, 2001; Ritchie, 2008), this study focuses on risk analysis and hazard mitigation strategies and implementations applicable to parks and recreation areas. Additionally, this study seeks to remedy the lack of longitudinal historical research by employing geographic information system (GIS)-based approaches to investigate the spatial interaction between severe weather events and state parks. Using geospatial data of tornado, hail, wind, and lightning events from 1950 to 2015, provided by NOAA’s National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center, we quantitatively evaluate the potential risk of severe weather on Oklahoma State Parks. GIS-based kernel density estimation was utilized to create interpolated raster surfaces representing accumulated risk (1950-2015) for each type of severe weather event (similar to Dixon et al., 2011). Results show that tornadoes had the most widespread impact on parks in central to north-central regions of Oklahoma. Conversely, the risk posed by hail is more prevalent in parks located in western Oklahoma while parks in northeastern Oklahoma are most affected by severe winds. Parks located in the southeastern corner of Oklahoma have higher chance of lightning strikes. By combining all types of severe weather as a composite dataset, a ‘severe weather risk’ score was assigned to each state park. Natural hazard mitigation strategies and recommendations include allocate operation and maintenance appropriation to severe weather-prone state parks, strengthen emergency response procedure and training programs, and raise natural hazard awareness through communication and education programs. Although this study emphasizes a state-level administration, these methods are transferable to other scales (i.e., national, local) depending on data availability. Conceptual contributions to the tourism disaster and crisis management framework are also discussed