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Boaz_Dissertation 5-29-20.pdf (1.13 MB)

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Meeting the Personal Environment: Exploring Environmental Sensitivity of Appalachian College Students

Boaz, Lindsey Ellen
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1590752066473921

Abstract Details

2020, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Environmental Science.
The Appalachian area is characterized as a politically conservative, rural region with an economy that is historically based on resource extraction, factors which are thought to correlate with a lower degree of environmental concern relative to urban, liberal residents. Environmental sensitivity is defined as a nuanced form of environmental concern based on experience. It is not known to what extent multiple contextual factors may interact with each other to shape environmental sensitivity, particularly in the Appalachian region. These factors give rise to the following research questions for this work: What influence does outdoor recreation/nature experience and place attachment exert on environmental sensitivity? How do social effects such as religion, politics, and social capital affect environmental sensitivity? And, how does education in environmental sciences interact with these factors to influence environmental sensitivity within this study context? Within this context, a broad age-and-gender range of eleven Appalachian college students pursuing either an Environmental Science or Wildlife Conservation degree participated in qualitative interviews following a phenomenological, co-constructivist framework. Participants responded to a series of discussion questions exploring place attachment, outdoor recreation and experience, educational experience, and religion, politics, and relationships within an environmental context. Responses were analyzed according to grounded theory methods, providing a series of codes grouped under larger concepts. Under this framework, two broad themes emerged: the relation between place attachment and outdoor recreational effects on environmental sensitivity, and a separate discussion of social effects on environmental sensitivity. Experiences that participants had were found to supply meanings to places where these activities occur, resulting in positive effects on environmental sensitivity. Additionally, having good feelings for a well-loved certain place was found to give rise to protective, affective feelings about the natural environment in general in some cases. These positive effects of place and outdoor experience are mediated by circumstantial constraints such as access or monetary restraints. Social factors such as religion, politics, social capital, gender, and income exhibited variable effects on environmental sensitivity, with education acting to mitigate negative influences in some cases. This study finds that multiple contextual factors interact to influence environmental sensitivity, with place meanings emerging as a significant contributor. Implications include the importance of place meaning’s role in place discourse and practical management, acknowledgment of the negative effects circumstantial restraints may exert, and the role of education in tempering negative social effects such as political entrenchment.
Kristi Lekies, Ph.D (Advisor)
Kerry Ard, Ph.D (Committee Member)
Richard Moore, Ph.D (Committee Member)
Anna Willow, Ph.D (Committee Member)
192 p.
Environmental Science; Environmental Studies
Appalachian; environmental concern; environmental sensitivity; place attachment; place meaning

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Boaz, L. E. (2020). Meeting the Personal Environment: Exploring Environmental Sensitivity of Appalachian College Students [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1590752066473921

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Boaz, Lindsey. Meeting the Personal Environment: Exploring Environmental Sensitivity of Appalachian College Students. 2020. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1590752066473921.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Boaz, Lindsey. "Meeting the Personal Environment: Exploring Environmental Sensitivity of Appalachian College Students." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1590752066473921

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1590752066473921
212
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