{"title":"Identifying Relevant Research Questions: A Tentative Framework for Inquiry in Interpretation Research","authors":"M. Stern, R. B. Powell","doi":"10.1177/10925872241249319","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10925872241249319","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":364431,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Interpretation Research","volume":"8 32","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141004431","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Glen Hvenegaard, Elizabeth Halpenny, Clara-Jane Blye, Katherine Corrigan
{"title":"Effects of COVID-19 on Visitor Intentions to Attend Personal Interpretation Programs in the Provincial Parks of Alberta, Canada","authors":"Glen Hvenegaard, Elizabeth Halpenny, Clara-Jane Blye, Katherine Corrigan","doi":"10.1177/10925872231217489","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10925872231217489","url":null,"abstract":"Research has examined COVID-19’s impacts on parks, but little research has studied the pandemic’s impact on in-person interpretation. Based on responses from 431 visitors to Alberta’s provincial parks before and during the pandemic, this paper investigates how the pandemic affected visitor intentions to attend personal interpretation programs. Intentions to attend programs decreased after the pandemic started, but were greater for respondents who had attended programs the previous season. Key reasons for not attending programs were not to become infected and not to infect others. Intentions to attend programs were greater for males than females, and greater for respondents with an increased education and a larger household income. Despite pandemic concerns, 53% of respondents said that programs should be offered, with highest support for amphitheater shows, followed by guided hikes, point duties, and family events. Park managers should clearly communicate the benefits and safety measures employed for interpretation programs.","PeriodicalId":364431,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Interpretation Research","volume":"42 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139173189","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Summer in the Parks: A History of Community-Centered Programming at National Parks","authors":"B. Kane, C. Zajchowski, Jessica P. Fefer","doi":"10.1177/10925872231181067","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10925872231181067","url":null,"abstract":"Washington, D.C. witnessed many watershed events throughout the history of the United States of America. One of these events, Summer in the Parks, was organized by the National Park Service to engage youth and racial minorities from 1968 to 1976. Our research sought to understand 1) the history of the initiative, 2) if and how this event is interpreted today, and 3) Park Service professionals’ perspectives of lessons can be learned from the Summer in the Parks regarding engaging underrepresented racial and ethnic groups. In-depth interviews using an interpretive phenomenological analysis with five professionals were conducted and paired with narratives from participants who were attendees of the historic program. Findings demonstrate limited existing interpretation of Summer in the Parks which mainly occurs through community partnerships. Respondents highlighted the importance of continuing the legacy of initiative, whether through programming, interpretation, or some combination of both.","PeriodicalId":364431,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Interpretation Research","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115775586","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Alignment of Goals for Personal Interpretation Among Staff Groups in a Park Agency","authors":"G. Hvenegaard, E. Halpenny, Clara-Jane Blye","doi":"10.1177/10925872231158092","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10925872231158092","url":null,"abstract":"Goal alignment among staff members helps an agency perform well. This study examines goal alignment for park staff regarding their priorities for interpretation and perceptions of what helps and hinders achievement of those goals. We surveyed 86 staff from Alberta Parks, who rated potential goals for personal interpretation and expressed views on the catalysts and constraints that affected the achievement of those goals. There was alignment in interpretation goals among staff groups (i.e., planners/managers, interpretive supervisors, and frontline interpreters). Staff thought that all goals were important, but ranked the goals of positive memories, enjoyment, and connections to place higher than the goals of behavior change, positive attitudes, and learning. Factors supporting success were supportive supervisors, hiring and retaining excellent staff, and training, whereas factors hindering success were resource deficits, bureaucracy, and lack of common goals. To promote goal alignment, agencies can improve communication, planning, staff engagement, training, and research.","PeriodicalId":364431,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Interpretation Research","volume":"24 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126593955","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"JIR Special Issue Editorial Draft January 2023","authors":"K. Hughes, G. Moscardo, B. D. Taff","doi":"10.1177/10925872231163999","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10925872231163999","url":null,"abstract":"Tourism often involves activities that have the potential to create significant changes to natural and built environments. Where tourists go, what they do, and how they do it can contribute to problems such as erosion, damage to vegetation, habitat destruction, wildlife disturbance, impacts to other visitors and local communities, and various forms of pollution. Careful management is needed to ensure the conservation values and goals of tourist sites and protected areas are not compromised by human activity. Interpretation, which is defined as “a purposeful approach to communication that facilitates meaningful, relevant, and inclusive experiences that deepen understanding, broaden perspectives, and inspire engagement with the world around us” (NAI, 2021), is key to achieving this. Accordingly, this special issue seeks to examine the role of interpretation in the sustainable management of tourists in a variety of natural settings. The use of interpretation to manage tourism impacts is becoming increasingly challenging. Before the COVID19 pandemic, tourism was a significant feature of human mobility with more than 1.3 billion people engaging in international tourism globally, nearly double the number from 5 years earlier. In many locations, there was also a significant growth in domestic tourism, with over 9 billion overnight domestic tourist trips reported in 2018 (UNWTO, 2018, 2021). Once pandemic travel restrictions eased, there was a significant increase in visitation to natural areas. This trend has been attributed to people seeing nature-based tourism experiences as restorative, safe, and more desirable than urban-based activities (Bott, 2020). As international travel resumes, the trend toward visiting natural areas appears to be continuing (Kupfer et al., 2021). Natural areas are not only facing considerable pressure from increased numbers of tourists, they are also catering to increasingly diverse cohorts of tourists. Globally, the","PeriodicalId":364431,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Interpretation Research","volume":"12 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126321820","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Talking Turtles With Tourists: Evaluating the Relative Conservation Impacts of Different Types of Sea Turtle Education Programs at Jekyll Island, GA, USA","authors":"Katie A. Mascovich, Lincoln R. Larson, K. Andrews","doi":"10.1177/10925872231157608","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10925872231157608","url":null,"abstract":"We used a pre-post survey approach to compare learning and conservation-focused behavioral outcomes for tourists participating in two different types of field-based wildlife education programs at the Jekyll Island Authority Georgia Sea Turtle Center (GSTC) on Jekyll Island, GA, USA: a low-interaction program (n = 59) led by education guides that featured minimal direct contact between visitors and sea turtles, and a high-interaction program (n = 42) led by turtle biologists that featured more intimate interactions between visitors and turtles. Both programs revealed comparable positive effects on participants’ knowledge of sea turtles and intent to engage in turtle advocacy behaviors, but neither type of program had a major influence on pro-turtle attitudes or participation in turtle-friendly beach behaviors (partly because scores for these variables were high entering the program). Results suggest managers and educators at wildlife tourism destinations could employ different program delivery methods while still achieving similar education and conservation goals.","PeriodicalId":364431,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Interpretation Research","volume":"3 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115145964","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Stephanie Freeman, B. D. Taff, Ben Lawhon, Jacob A. Benfield, M. Kreye, Jennifer N. Newton, Lauren F. Miller, Peter Newman
{"title":"The Impact of Message Framing on Wildlife Approach During Ungulate Viewing Experiences in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem","authors":"Stephanie Freeman, B. D. Taff, Ben Lawhon, Jacob A. Benfield, M. Kreye, Jennifer N. Newton, Lauren F. Miller, Peter Newman","doi":"10.1177/10925872231157596","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10925872231157596","url":null,"abstract":"Every year, millions of people visit parks and protected areas to view wildlife. Conflict between people and ungulates is prominent, and many incidents occur when people approach ungulates at proximities less than the National Park Service regulation of 25 yards. The purpose of this study was to test how wildlife viewing communication messages impact park visitors’ approach behavior. A survey and walking exercise were conducted with life-sized ungulate cutouts on a 100-yard transect in Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks to test the influence of three message frames (i.e., current NPS messaging, resource protection messaging, and a visitor experience message) on visitors’ approach behaviors. Park visitors overestimated proximity when given current park messaging. Additionally, the resource protection- and the visitor experience-framed messages led to more conservative wildlife approach compared to current park messaging. These results have practical applications for influencing visitors’ behaviors and reducing human-wildlife conflict through education and interpretation.","PeriodicalId":364431,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Interpretation Research","volume":"120 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128058290","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Rethinking Interpretation to Support Sustainable Tourist Experiences in Protected Natural Areas","authors":"G. Moscardo, K. Hughes","doi":"10.1177/10925872231158988","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10925872231158988","url":null,"abstract":"Interpretation in protected natural areas can minimize visitors’ negative environmental impacts and encourage them to adopt sustainable practices at and beyond tourist sites. Despite this, interpretation has typically focussed on showcasing the specific features of natural areas rather than using these features as a resource for sustainability education more broadly. We argue that designing effective interpretation for complex issues such as sustainability is challenging and that new approaches may be needed. This paper reports on a front-end evaluation study that used online archival analysis and participant observation to assess the viability of an interpretive approach that requires no additional site hardening, is widely accessible, and focuses on fungi as a topic that can be easily connected to sustainability action beyond the site. Guidelines for developing effective interpretation in natural areas and practical implications of using this approach to link local places to global sustainability are also discussed.","PeriodicalId":364431,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Interpretation Research","volume":"23 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131211503","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
J. Mann-Lang, Thashnee Naidoo, E.M. Francolini, B. Mann, Kerry K. Sink, Colette Bodenstaff
{"title":"Understanding and Influencing Perceptions about Marine Protected Areas Through an Aquarium Exhibit: A Multi-phase Case Study from South Africa","authors":"J. Mann-Lang, Thashnee Naidoo, E.M. Francolini, B. Mann, Kerry K. Sink, Colette Bodenstaff","doi":"10.1177/10925872231153164","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10925872231153164","url":null,"abstract":"Visitors to Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) provide income and can help MPAs achieve their objectives, thereby contributing to the maintenance and restoration of ocean health. However, MPAs are less well known than terrestrial protected areas. Based at the uShaka Sea World aquarium in South Africa, this multi-phase case study sought to describe visitors’ knowledge of MPAs; use the information to design a new temporary interpretive exhibit on MPAs and then use timing and tracking to assess visitors’ engagement with the exhibit and a free response postcard system to assess the influence of the exhibit on visitors’ perceptions of MPAs. Initial survey results showed that visitors had little knowledge of MPAs. Assessment after installation revealed some surprising levels of engagement and the free response postcards showed positive perceptions and a deeper understanding of MPAs. The results provide recommendations to enhance communication and engagement strategies both in aquariums and MPAs.","PeriodicalId":364431,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Interpretation Research","volume":"65 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121605612","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Amy Cochran, R. Sharp, Brian A. Peterson, Jessica P. Fefer, Chuck Martin
{"title":"Utilization of GPS Data Loggers and GIS Analysis for the Evaluation of Interpretive Signage to Influence Visitor Travel Patterns and Enhance Wayfinding in Parks and Protected Areas","authors":"Amy Cochran, R. Sharp, Brian A. Peterson, Jessica P. Fefer, Chuck Martin","doi":"10.1177/10925872221139778","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10925872221139778","url":null,"abstract":"Interpretive signage is often used to influence visitor travel patterns and assist in wayfinding in parks and protected areas. However, there are few tools for managers to objectively evaluate the effectiveness of different interpretive signage. This study was conducted to demonstrate the utility of using GPS data loggers as an evaluative tool to determine if signage influences visitor concentrations, visitors’ time allocation, and visitor travel directionality. Researchers distributed GPS data loggers to all travel parties who voluntarily participated. Analysis revealed that GPS data loggers and complimentary GIS analysis were useful for evaluating the influence of different signage treatments on visitor patterns of use, location of use, and timing of use. These findings suggest that managers tasked with interpretation and visitor orientation consider using GPS trackers and GIS to better understand their visitors’ and plan where to focus messaging and interpretive efforts to meet managerial goals and objectives.","PeriodicalId":364431,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Interpretation Research","volume":"66 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114481816","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}