Eeva Latosuo, Associate Professor of Outdoor Studies, Alaska Pacific University & Senior Avalanche Educator, Alaska Avalanche School
Where do you want to go? Exploring Backcountry Travelers’ Destination Choices
Social sciences, such as psychology, social psychology, and behavioral economics, have improved our understanding of cognitive processes of individuals and groups engaging in decisions on how to reduce avalanche risk. This growing field of science has yet to ask the simplest of questions: how does a backcountry traveler decide where to go from all the available options? Avalanche education offers practical decision making frameworks for the effective information flow and communication patterns focusing on four major factors - terrain, weather, snowpack, and human/group. We will study the variables in play and the steps taken to reach the destination decision by the individual. Analyzing the different elements, such as information sharing, group membership, and logistical planning, will improve the insight on where people go to ski and ride and why.
This longitudinal research will use weekly online questionnaires to learn about the destination choices made by recreational backcountry skiers and riders over the winter season 2021-22. The six questions probe into the role of ordinary factors that contribute to their choice on where they actually went to recreate that week; the response time is approximately 5 minutes. For the best quality data set, we are asking participants to commit to weekly text or email communication with the researchers for a minimum of two months. Research participants are recruited through social media and regional workshop outreach, with an intention to collect data in Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and Finland. The results of the study will be shared with the avalanche community through the industry publications and conference presentations.
The research project is approved by Alaska Pacific University Institutional Research Board and the principal investigator has a current CITI training.
Негізгі бет NSAW 2021 - Eva Latosuo: Where do you want to go? Exploring Backcountry Destination Choices
Пікірлер