Visitor perceptions of technology and rescue in the wilderness
Graduation Date
2010
Document Type
Thesis
Program
Other
Program
Thesis (M.S.)--Humboldt State University, Natural Resources: Planning and Interpretation, 2010
Committee Chair Name
Steven Martin
Committee Chair Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Keywords
Technology, Wilderness, Humboldt State University -- Theses -- Natural Resources Planning and Interpretation, Rescue
Abstract
As devices like personal locator beacons become readily available, more visitors will bring them into wilderness and use them to request rescues. Visitors may develop unrealistic expectations of rescue based on these devices, and come to rely on them instead of developing appropriate knowledge and skills. In 2009, 235 overnight visitors to the King Range Wilderness in California completed a written survey. Visitors with previous involvement in a serious wilderness accident were more likely to believe that technology creates a false sense of safety for wilderness users than were people who had not been involved in a serious wilderness accident. Experienced visitors were likewise more likely to believe that technology makes visitors feel that they have a safety net which in reality may not exist. Experience as also positively correlated with the belief that technology makes people feel that their safety is not their personal responsibility.
Recommended Citation
Pope, Kristen E., "Visitor perceptions of technology and rescue in the wilderness" (2010). Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects. 1724.
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/etd/1724
https://scholarworks.calstate.edu/concern/theses/2514np22h