Doctoral Dissertation Research:The Social Construction of Nature and Health through Engagement with National Parks in Southeast Alaska

阿拉斯加的特点是寒冷、偏远、崎岖，最重要的是自然，每年吸引100多万游客。与此同时，与自然互动也被广泛认为是健康的。有了“创造健康的户外娱乐”机会的明确目标，作为许多人寻求体验自然的地方，许多公园作为一个焦点，对健康与自然的关系进行了复杂的解释。关于什么是“真实的自然体验”，以及什么是“健康的自然体验”，矛盾一直存在。很少有研究将健康的综合观点作为探索人与环境相互作用的平台。这项研究将进一步探索改善健康的机会，并为游客和公众利用现有的户外项目。这项工作将产生重要的信息，可以直接改善国家、地区和潜在的地方户外目的地的公共规划。通过鼓励对参与和潜在的全面健康惠益提出更具包容性的看法，可以丰富公众参与和经验，并接触到更多不同的受众。本研究将利用跨学科的社会科学视角，利用地理学、人类学、健康和行为科学，进一步从理论上理解影响健康和与自然接触的综合感知的因素。很少有研究将健康的整体观作为探索人类与环境相互作用的平台，其中包括嵌入社会构建的自然和健康观中的权力动态。这个项目是阿拉斯加斯卡格威的一个户外目的地的案例研究，它研究了两种主要游客群体的健康感知，游轮游客和尝试33英里野外小径的人，是如何受到自然感知的影响的。通过探索健康与自然关系的复杂性，该项目试图扩大谁可以参与并从自然环境中获得健康益处的定义，超越性别、种族、身体健全、户外爱好者的理想。这项工作将产生重要的信息，可以直接改善：规划户外目的地旅游和其他游客，以及一般公众；由公园管理员、户外教育人员和当地导游为公众讲解和指导；并且有潜力为公共宣传中使用的营销和招聘材料提供信息。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Paragraph 1Alaska is commonly characterized as cold, remote, rugged and, above all, natural, and attracts over one million visitors per year. In parallel fashion, interacting with nature is widely viewed as healthy. With the explicit goal of "creating healthy outdoor recreation" opportunities, and as places where many people seek to experience nature, many parks function as a focal point where complex interpretations of the health-nature nexus play out. Tensions persist as to what constitutes an "authentic nature experience" and therefore what constitutes a "healthy nature experience." Few studies have engaged a comprehensive view of health as a platform for exploring human-environmental interactions. This research will further explore opportunities to improve health, as well as leverage existing outdoor programs for visitors and the general public. This work will produce important information that can directly improve public programming in national, regional, and potentially local outdoor destinations. By encouraging more inclusive views of engagement and the potential comprehensive health benefits, public engagement and experiences can be enriched and reach more diverse audiences. Paragraph 2This research will further a theoretical understanding of what factors influence a comprehensive perception of health and engagement with nature using an interdisciplinary social science perspective drawing on geography, anthropology, and health and behavioral science. Few studies have engaged a holistic view of health as a platform for exploring human-environmental interactions that incorporate the power dynamics embedded in socially-constructed views of nature and health. This project is a case study of an outdoor destination in Skagway, Alaska that examines how the perceived health of two primary visitor populations, cruise ship tourists and people attempting a 33-mile backcountry trail, is influenced by perceptions of nature. By exploring the complexity of health-nature relationships, this project seeks to expand the definition of who can participate and receive health benefits from the natural environment beyond the gendered, racialized, able-bodied, ideal of an outdoor enthusiast. This work will produce important information that can directly improve: programming for outdoor destination tourism and other visitors, as well as the general public; inform public interpretation and guidance given by park rangers, outdoor education staff, and local guides; and has the potential to inform marketing and recruitment materials used in public outreach.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.