Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Wilderness'

This thesis explores the search for the sublime in a contemporary context. The 'Wilderness' can be viewed as a metaphysical space which can only be circumscribed. The dust storms of the Australian continent provides the space where in this experience is located, metaphorically. If the perceptions of reality are to be seen as filtered through the experiences and conditions of the human spirit, the sites or 'Stations' as the author has called them layer and reveal a personal reflection on the timelessness and commonality of the human condition. Space and time seem to collapse folding over and into itself, with a layering of memories and senses. Growing up in the Mallee in Victoria the author's formative years were shaped particularly by the land and the elements. In these works, the sense of identity is enveloped into a rather cosmic sense of being, when the author became inseparable from the red earth, its duststorms, the sense of space and the feeling of isolation. The most constant experience is that of the sense of interconnectedness and of being able to reach down and stroke the land from a distant vantage point. Consequently, the spiritual found in nature has been a re-occurring motif in the author's artistic practice. The location of the duststorm entitled 'God's Breath', is in flying over Adelaide, towards the Mallee. The grid indicates the impositions of perception which is projected on the land by the viewer, often from a cultural or political viewpoint. In this case the author's perception is influenced by the auto-biographical gaze and the duststorm itself becomes a metaphor for memory and interiority. The medium of wax as a preserving substance is used in the artworks, however this can be seen as being an agent of change, able to re-define it's form according to environmental conditions. The land as 'Self' or 'Mother' is not a constant location, but as in the 'Wilderness' can be seen as a spiritual and/or psychological space, a multi-dimensional filter for the senses and the mind, wherein the spirit can be expanded and be still in it's receptiveness. The four wax rectangles are representative of a duststorm, as seen from the interior perspective of the sensory. These works suggest a multitudinal level of experiences, not necessarily definable but open ended in concept. The void as a creative fullness nurtures the more transient moments of the sensory and temporal. From scarification and pain, through breath and loss, the journey through the wilderness results in a melodic tonal experience, indicative of memory, place and identity
Master of Arts (Hons) (Visual Arts)

This thesis explores the search for the sublime in a contemporary context. The 'Wilderness' can be viewed as a metaphysical space which can only be circumscribed. The dust storms of the Australian continent provides the space where in this experience is located, metaphorically. If the perceptions of reality are to be seen as filtered through the experiences and conditions of the human spirit, the sites or 'Stations' as the author has called them layer and reveal a personal reflection on the timelessness and commonality of the human condition. Space and time seem to collapse folding over and into itself, with a layering of memories and senses. Growing up in the Mallee in Victoria the author's formative years were shaped particularly by the land and the elements. In these works, the sense of identity is enveloped into a rather cosmic sense of being, when the author became inseparable from the red earth, its duststorms, the sense of space and the feeling of isolation. The most constant experience is that of the sense of interconnectedness and of being able to reach down and stroke the land from a distant vantage point. Consequently, the spiritual found in nature has been a re-occurring motif in the author's artistic practice. The location of the duststorm entitled 'God's Breath', is in flying over Adelaide, towards the Mallee. The grid indicates the impositions of perception which is projected on the land by the viewer, often from a cultural or political viewpoint. In this case the author's perception is influenced by the auto-biographical gaze and the duststorm itself becomes a metaphor for memory and interiority. The medium of wax as a preserving substance is used in the artworks, however this can be seen as being an agent of change, able to re-define it's form according to environmental conditions. The land as 'Self' or 'Mother' is not a constant location, but as in the 'Wilderness' can be seen as a spiritual and/or psychological space, a multi-dimensional filter for the senses and the mind, wherein the spirit can be expanded and be still in it's receptiveness. The four wax rectangles are representative of a duststorm, as seen from the interior perspective of the sensory. These works suggest a multitudinal level of experiences, not necessarily definable but open ended in concept. The void as a creative fullness nurtures the more transient moments of the sensory and temporal. From scarification and pain, through breath and loss, the journey through the wilderness results in a melodic tonal experience, indicative of memory, place and identity

This honor’s thesis and my solo exhibition, borne from the love of wilderness, seek to connect with the reader/viewer personally as nature is connected with us. My art refers to the responsibility we all share for a connection to and stewardship of nature. Through my show and thesis and through the lens of art, I hope to inform and raise consciousness of our waning and coveted American wildernesses and natural wonders. Each piece in my show has a historical context that provides information about my thought process and my need to educate. With my research providing the backlighting, the paper starts from my education and ends with a conclusive idea for a better way to consider wilderness.

Painter's Wilderness is a transition between painting strictly from imagination to painting with the use of drawings and sketches to interpret and authenticate an observation. The transition became an exploration of value patterns, compositional shapes and color correspondence in building a technically successful painting while allowing the piece to have its own life.

Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Western Sydney.
Title from electronic document (viewed 2/6/10) Interviews held with: "James' Dharug, Traditional Custodian; Dr. Rob Lesslie, conservation biologist, Dr. Val Plumwood, environmental philosopher, Virginia Young, Director WildCountry Project, Professor Mike Archer, Dr. Deborah Bird Rose, anthropologist, Ms. Penny Figgis, former Vice President of ACF, Dr. Tim Flannery, Director South Australian Museum, Mr. Dean Stewart, Aboriginal Education Officer, Melbourne Botanic Gardens, Dr. Rosemary Hill, ACF Northern Lands Project Officer, Professor Harry Recher.

In the wake of Lynne White's 1967 thesis contending Christianity is the historical root of our environmental crises, theologians have struggled to articulate an environmentally friendly theology. These efforts, while substantive, have proven insufficient to reorient Christian environmental ethics and practice en mass. Pope Francis argues in Laudato Si, that dogma, doctrine, and arguments are always insufficient for redeeming human relations and instead calls for an ecological conversion via a wild spirituality. I answer this call by offering a phenomenological theology of wilderness spirituality that grounds environmental ethics in the experience of encountering God in the wilderness. I use the existential phenomenology of American philosopher Henry Bugbee and Czech phenomenologist Erazim Kohák to map phenomenological practice as spiritual discipline. By engaging in lived, practical, and embodied practices bracketing one's intellectual and physical common-sense attitudes, the practitioner is opened to and made receptive to the redeeming work of God. This topology of phenomenology as spiritual discipline illustrates how wilderness functions in scripture. In conversation with Dietrich Bonhoeffer's reading of the Genesis 3 curse as both curse and promise I argue that wilderness functions by killing sicut-deus-humanity and thereby becomes the site of redemption, healing, and benediction. This spiritual and ethical function of wilderness is also evident in the early desert monks and grounds their praxis and ethical development. Ultimately, it is by being made vulnerable and receptive in the wilderness that the early desert monks were able to participate in the reestablishment of the paradisaical innocence. This suggests that redeemed relations between humanity and the non-human world is dependent upon the sanctifying experience of wilderness deconstruction and encounter and thus the efficacy of environmental ethics depends upon the invitation to practice a wilderness spirituality.

I challenge the dualistic view of wilderness that has influenced wilderness philosophy, politics and experience in recent years. In its place, I offer an alternative vision that recognizes wilderness areas and working landscapes as complementary elements of a larger, inhabited landscape characterized by a heterogeneous mixture of human-land relational patterns representing various points along an urban-wilderness continuum. In chapters 2 through 4, I explore the philosophical, political and experiential implications of this wilderness-in-context vision. Experienced and understood as part of the landscape we call home, wilderness may engender, renew, and sustain an engaged and integrated wilderness practice involving regular contact with wilderness places, committed activism on behalf of wild lands and their inhabitants, and grounded reflection on the meaning and value of wilderness in our everyday lives.

Thesis: M.C.P., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Urban Studies and Planning, September, 2020
Cataloged from student-submitted PDF of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 53-56).
The City Wilderness (1898), a settlement study conducted in Boston's South End neighborhood. The study was greatly influenced by European values of settler colonialism, and subsequently shaped traditional methods of early planning efforts. This process is now ingrained in the institutional knowledge of the field and built into the foundations of the former industrialized city center of the South End. By overlaying resident narratives on expert city plans, I reveal new spatial patterns of oppression to unearth the voices of those who the history of our profession once silenced and erased. In response to a statement recently released by the American Planning Association (APA) asking planners to address the structural disadvantages inflicted on the Black community by the profession and in support of our efforts to "raise the voice of the voiceless," the APA claims to provide new tools. In response, I argue that instead of wasting time, money and resources to create new tools, practitioners and the APA should work to apply a historic lens to existing tools and planning efforts to ensure we understand where the roots of structural racism grew to divide our communities. To achieve this goal, I will focus on pivotal decades between 1880 and 1910 that provided the foundation and framework for contemporary planning practices and settlement efforts. I predict that in doing so, planners and practitioners will gain a clearer understanding of where traditional methods and studies may have built the racial divides felt deep in the hearts of our communities still to this day.
by Meesh Zucker.
M.C.P.
M.C.P. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Urban Studies and Planning

This paper examines formal wilderness designation and is presented in two parts. The first section offers a general classification and comprehensive review of the benefit and cost variables associated with wilderness designation and management. The second section investigates recreation use, which society has historically perceived to be the highest valued element in the network of wilderness benefits. Variables associated with the benefits of wilderness designation are presented under three major categories: 1) naturalness preservation, 2) solitude or primitive and unconfined types of recreation, and 3) special features of scientific, educational, scenic, or historic value. Costs attributed to wilderness designation are presented under two major categories: 1) administration/general management costs and 2) opportunity costs. The second section of this thesis establishes growth rate comparisons of wilderness and non-wilderness recreation use on United States Forest Service lands in Utah, the Intermountain Region, and the overall national Forest Service system from 1967 to 1986. The High Uintas Wilderness area was also analyzed for its use over the same twenty-year period. Data used to measure recreational use at these levels was obtained from United States Forest Service Recreation Information Management records and are measured in recreational visitor days. Growth rate comparisons are measured with respect to recreation use in general terms as well as on a per acre basis at all levels examined. Because of general trend discrepancies in recreation use over the twenty-year study period, growth rate estimates of recreation use at all levels are also measured with respect to two separate time periods--1967 to 1976 and 1977 to 1986. This analysis shows that non-wilderness/ primitive recreation use per acre increased during the last decade at all levels examined, whereas wilderness/primitive .recreation use per acre showed marked declines during the same period. Growth rate estimates established on a per acre basis provide a general indication of the marginal value of wilderness and non-wilderness recreation use. This thesis shows that, with respect to recreation use, marginal utility has diminished in designated wilderness since 1977. In contrast, this research also infers that the marginal value for non-wilderness recreation use has increased. These findings suggest that, from a recreation perspective, adding wilderness areas to the National Wilderness Predervation System is unwarranted.

Modern culture has not yet learned to live in harmony with the rest of the natural world. This is largely because we are afflicted with inadequate institutions and personal habits. These habits and institutions are also responsible for many social ills sexism, homophobia, etc. In particular, the imperium is a way of thinking and acting which encourages us to practice a heavy-handed form of standardization; it encourages us to ignore particularity. These habits and institutions the imperium are a result of, and reinforced by, our interpersonal interactions. The standardization of these interactions drains the wildness out of them. But to relate to an other in an ethical manner, I must assume that the other is wild, with its own integrity, will, and path. Because our experiences in wilderness are radically different than our experiences outside wilderness, the wilderness can instill in us different, better habits and understanding of relationships. In particular, the wildness of wilderness shows us the falseness of the standardized ideas and beliefs. This wildness also causes us to forge new habits of relating to others, and new beliefs about relationships and others. These new habits are social benefits, especially once we allow them to reform our identity.

Includes bibliography.
The aim of the present study is to produce, and to begin to illustrate the use of, a theoretical model by which varying attitudes to, and experiences of, wilderness may be understood. A classical Jungian developmental framework is utilised for these purposes. The paper begins with brief definitions of the concepts pertinent to this work followed by a fairly comprehensive summary of Neumann's developmental model. The author's model, constructed on this theoretical basis, is then outlined and applied at a mythological level to the attitudes to wilderness manifest in the Judaeo - Christian religions. In the discussion, indications are given as to how the model might be applied at individual and cultural levels. One person's experience of wilderness is interpreted within the context of the theory followed by a brief discussion on the use of the model in informing therapeutic wilderness programming. Traditional North American Indian and contemporary Western attitudes towards wilderness are then briefly interpreted. It is concluded that this paper illustrates the usefulness of a Jungian model in understanding wilderness experience. Within the context of this framework, the value of a developmental perspective is noted.

Virginia Woolf makes clear in her book A Room of One's Own that "[A] woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write…." This statement extends to all endeavors by women, including sport. The gap between men and women's sports is not bridged by monetary compensation. The domination of women exists in conceptual ideals and how those are expressed through our roles in this world. I use Val Plumwood's ecological feminist theory to expose the blatant masculinity imposed upon sport. I shall argue that sport is an arena of constant struggle over basic social conceptions of men and women. My endeavor is to implore traditionally masculine territory, and show sport as the domain of no single gender, but a field of simplicity and cooperation.

Book Summary: The state of Tennessee is widely recognized as a home of great music, and its geographic regions are as distinct as Memphis blues, Nashville country, and Bristol old-time sounds. Tennessee’s literary heritage offers equal variety and quality, as home to the Fugitive Agrarian Poets, as well as a signature voice from the Black Arts Movement. Few states present such a multicultural panorama as does the Volunteer State.The poems in The Southern Poetry Anthology, Volume VI: Tennessee engage the storied histories, diverse cultures, and vibrant rural and urban landscapes of the region. Among the more than 120 poets represented are Pulitzer and Bollingen Prize-winner Charles Wright, Brittingham Award-winner Lynn Powell, and Agnes Lynch Starrett Prize-winners Rick Hilles and Arthur Smith.The book includes an introduction from renowned poet Jeff Daniel Marion, who in 1978 received the first literary fellowship from the Tennessee Arts Commission. Too, the book celebrates relatively young and gifted voices. This important anthology will stand for many years as the definitive poetic document for the state of Tennessee.Conceived by Series Editor William Wright in 2003, The Southern Poetry Anthology is a multivolume project celebrating established and emerging poets of the American South. Inspired by single-volume anthologies such as Leon Stokesbury’s The Made Thing, Gil Allen’s A Ninety-Six Sampler, and Guy Owen and Mary C. Williams’ Contemporary Southern Poetry: an Anthology, The Southern Poetry Anthology aspires to provide readers with a documentary-like survey of the best poetry being written in the American South at the present moment.Published exclusively by Texas Review Press, the series provides the most comprehensive representation of Southern poets currently available and is currently being used in university classrooms across the South.

This thesis is a study of several texts written by Margaret Atwood, and is motivated by a desire to demonstrate the polysemous irreducibility of literary meaning and to suggest ways in which critical theory and textual practice may meaningfully interact and correspond. The first chapter examines poems in The Circle Game in order to observe how Atwood's persistent scrutiny of the constitution of images creates a world almost entirely detached from a consciousness of time and history, and considers how this generates a radical split between textual self-sufficiency and the psychic wilderness through which the poems move. Here we can see Atwood deploying language in a pared-down, restrictive manner that circulates through the book with particular tension. The second chapter studies her first novel The Edible Woman, and attempts to trace through analysis of its linguistic patterns, how Margaret Atwood controls her subject matter and deploys her chosen narrative form in a way that expreses the conflict between consumption and production which is embodied in the novel's architectonic symbol. Moving through a specific historical period, her characters struggle to achieve self-definition and linguistic mastery of their environment. The third chapter is concerned with her critical study of Canadian literature, Survival, and the relational framework it suggests between Canada's uneasy post-colonial status, the writer's expressive predicament, and the universal experience of victimization. Consideration is given to aspects of Atwood's political and social philosophy, and comparison made between her conclusions and those of other contemporary Canadian writers.

Involuntary turnover among field staff at wilderness therapy programs can result in therapeutic and financial difficulties for the program. This study sought to examine what factors field staff attribute their intent to turnover to. The factors of organizational commitment, burnout, age, and length of days spent in the field were examined to identify if factors identified as predictors of turnover in previous literature were also true for field staff employed by wilderness therapy programs. Three programs agreed to participate by forwarding emails to their field staff containing a link to the survey, and were also emailed a program director survey that asked some basic demographic questions about their program. The field staff survey was comprised of the Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey, The TCM Employee Commitment Survey, the intent to leave scale, as well as general demographic questions. A total of 13 field staff participated in the study, and as a result the use of multiple regression models was not possible due to the sample size. Six simple linear regressions were conducted to test the predictive hypotheses, and findings suggest that none of the six factors predicted turnover intentions among field staff. Pearson's correlations were conducted to examine the relationship between factors, and suggested that age is negatively related to intent to turnover and that burnout was identified as a stronger contributing factor of intent to turnover than organizational commitment, and the sub factor of continuance commitment. Findings suggested that wilderness therapy programs may want to consider the costs and advantages associated with a workers age when hiring new staff, and to consider using burnout measurement tools to identify burnout in staff so they may employ preventative measures to reduce the number of voluntary turnover among field staff. Future researcher may want to explore additional predictors of turnover intentions not examined in previous literature to continue developing knowledge about programs and those who are employed by wilderness therapy programs.

This thesis is a study of the federal Australian Labor Party (ALP) in Opposition. It seeks to identify the various factors that shape the political direction of the party when it is out of office by examining three important periods of Labor Opposition. It is argued in the first period (1967-72) that the main factor in the party’s move to the left was the radicalisation that occurred in Australian (and global) politics. Labor in Opposition is potentially more subject to influence by extra-parliamentary forces such as trade unions and social movements. This was true for this period in the case of the reinvigorated trade union movement and the Anti-Vietnam War Movement, whose policy impacts on the ALP under Gough Whitlam are examined in detail. While every one of the party's policies cannot be attributed to the tumult of the period, it is argued that Labor's Program embodied the mood for social change. The second period (1975-83) records a much different experience. After Labor's Dismissal from office in November 1975, the enduring conclusion drawn by the party was that it had failed in government as economic managers, and that in future it would need to embrace responsible economic management and to jettison programmatic-style reform. This conclusion was accepted and argued by both federal leaders during this time, Gough Whitlam (1975-77) and Bill Hayden (1977-83). The thesis argues that the key reason for Labor's abandonment of reformist politics was the dramatic shift in the economic context wrought by the collapse of the post-war boom in 1974, which undermined the economic basis of the Program. The degree to which 'economic responsibility' governed Labor's approach to policy-making is highlighted through case studies of uranium mining and the Prices-Incomes Accord. The final period of Opposition (1996-2001) commences with the party’s landslide defeat at the 1996 Federal Election. Under the leadership of Kim Beazley, the party continued in the pro-free market policy tradition of Labor Prime Ministers Bob Hawke and Paul Keating. In conjunction with this, it employed a 'small-target' strategy that pitched its electoral success on community anger towards the government, rather than any alternative policies of the Opposition. The free-market policy continuity is set in the context of the ideological effects of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the collapse of the Soviet Bloc, in the aftermath of which all political players accepted that there was no real alternative to the market. Furthermore, the overall state of the Australian and world economies was not conducive to a return to 'tax and spend' policies. The party’s bipartisanship on globalisation and economic rationalism effectively robbed it of an alternative political approach to that of the Coalition. Thus, in a sense it was hemmed into the 'small-target' strategy. The thesis concludes by comparing and contrasting the three periods, and assigning weight to the various factors that shape Labor in Opposition.

The 1991 Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty requires parties: 'to identify within a systematic environmental-geographical framework ... areas of outstanding aesthetic and wilderness value' (Annex V, article 3.2). In order to develop these frameworks, procedures and techniques used in environmental planning are considered for their applicability and practicality in the severe Antarctic environment. The phrase in the Protocol is taken as two separate topics. Concepts of wilderness are examined first, and it is concluded that the whole continent should be seen as wilderness, with this designation being modified only for those areas in which human influence is visible. In order to understand 'aesthetic values', interpretations given to landscape are considered, before examining the techniques developed in the United Kingdom for landscape assessment, and those used in the United States which are termed visual resource management. Procedures, primarily based on the most recent practice in the United Kingdom, are developed, before testing by fieldwork on the Peninsula. Landscape assessment is seen as a widescale planning procedure, distinct from, though essential to, the site-specific techniques required for environmental impact assessment (EIA). Objective description and classification of the landscape forms the basis of the methodology, with subjective aspects following in the form of clearly stated criteria so as to identify 'areas of outstanding value'. During evaluation comparisons may only be made on a 'like with like' basis, eg glaciers with glaciers, islands with islands. If desired, areas may then be designated under the procedures given in the Protocol.

This thesis is a study of the federal Australian Labor Party (ALP) in Opposition. It seeks to identify the various factors that shape the political direction of the party when it is out of office by examining three important periods of Labor Opposition. It is argued in the first period (1967-72) that the main factor in the party’s move to the left was the radicalisation that occurred in Australian (and global) politics. Labor in Opposition is potentially more subject to influence by extra-parliamentary forces such as trade unions and social movements. This was true for this period in the case of the reinvigorated trade union movement and the Anti-Vietnam War Movement, whose policy impacts on the ALP under Gough Whitlam are examined in detail. While every one of the party's policies cannot be attributed to the tumult of the period, it is argued that Labor's Program embodied the mood for social change. The second period (1975-83) records a much different experience. After Labor's Dismissal from office in November 1975, the enduring conclusion drawn by the party was that it had failed in government as economic managers, and that in future it would need to embrace responsible economic management and to jettison programmatic-style reform. This conclusion was accepted and argued by both federal leaders during this time, Gough Whitlam (1975-77) and Bill Hayden (1977-83). The thesis argues that the key reason for Labor's abandonment of reformist politics was the dramatic shift in the economic context wrought by the collapse of the post-war boom in 1974, which undermined the economic basis of the Program. The degree to which 'economic responsibility' governed Labor's approach to policy-making is highlighted through case studies of uranium mining and the Prices-Incomes Accord. The final period of Opposition (1996-2001) commences with the party’s landslide defeat at the 1996 Federal Election. Under the leadership of Kim Beazley, the party continued in the pro-free market policy tradition of Labor Prime Ministers Bob Hawke and Paul Keating. In conjunction with this, it employed a 'small-target' strategy that pitched its electoral success on community anger towards the government, rather than any alternative policies of the Opposition. The free-market policy continuity is set in the context of the ideological effects of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the collapse of the Soviet Bloc, in the aftermath of which all political players accepted that there was no real alternative to the market. Furthermore, the overall state of the Australian and world economies was not conducive to a return to 'tax and spend' policies. The party’s bipartisanship on globalisation and economic rationalism effectively robbed it of an alternative political approach to that of the Coalition. Thus, in a sense it was hemmed into the 'small-target' strategy. The thesis concludes by comparing and contrasting the three periods, and assigning weight to the various factors that shape Labor in Opposition.
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School of Politics and Public Policy
Full Text

The Life Effectiveness of Wilderness Adventure Leaders Cory Maria Dack Southern Illinois University Carbondale Introduction The call of the wild has long been accepted as a true phenomenon by mankind. Throughout history countless scores of women and men have written novels, poems, and symphonies in-spired by the ubiquitous reach of nature. As Sigurd Olson once wrote, "Wilderness to the people... is a spiritual necessity, an antidote to the high pressure of modern life, a means of regaining serenity and equilibrium" (Olson & Backes, 2001, p. 61). Eventually, musings on the powerful effects of nature branched out from the realm of artistic expression and began to take root in the domain of science and research as well. As the academic world has begun to quantify the positive benefits nature has on those who immerse themselves in the wilderness, the populace has simulta-neously looked to nature for an antidote to the ever increasing stressors of life. Wilderness adventure programs are one medium that exposes participants to the numerous benefits associated with nature, including an increase in overall life effectiveness and an increase in holistic well being. Wilderness adventure programs can be recreational, educational, developmental, or therapeutic in purpose (Hans, 2000). Programming can range from an afternoon of recreation in a city park, to a week-long stay at a summer camp, to a 45 day backpacking trip through the arctic. Whatever the level or duration of the program, participants are often attracted to wilderness adventure programming by the inherent benefits of adventure and personal growth. A vast array of nature based benefits research exists (see Brown, 1999; Ewert, 1985, 1989; Klint, 1999; Rog-genbuck & Driver, 2000; Stein & Lee, 1995). Literature concerning these benefits often focuses on researching, testing, and measuring the benefits participants receive after completing a wilderness adventure program. While most of the research has shown that participating in a wilderness adventure program increases the self-confidence, self-esteem, self-efficacy, and overall life effectiveness of participants (see Caulkins, White, & Russell, 2006; Goldenberg, McAvoy, & Klenosky, 2005; and Hattie, Marsh, Neill, & Richards, 1997), there is a deficit of research on the benefits and outcomes that occur to those who guide or lead wilderness adventure programs. To truly understand how wilderness adventure program-ming affects the human mind, body, and spirit, there needs to be more research that focuses specifically on the outcomes experi-enced by those who lead wilderness adventure programs. Methods Research was conducted at two camps located in northern Minnesota over the course of the summer during the 2009 camp season. The two camps, Camp Vermilion and Camp Hiawatha, are church affiliated and offer week long canoe adventures, houseboat trips, and residential in-camp experiences. The proposed research was based off of the following research questions: a) Do in-camp counselors experience an increase in life effectiveness after working at a summer camp over the course of one summer? b) Is there a difference between the life effectiveness reported by first-year in-camp counselors compared to the life effectiveness reported by returning in-camp counselors? b) Is there a difference between the life effectiveness reported by female in-camp counselors compared to the life effectiveness reported by male in-camp counselors? Quantitative data was collected through the use of the Life Effectiveness Questionnaire (LEQ). The LEQ was given to the in-camp counselors at the start of the summer during staff training. At the end of the summer the LEQ was then re-administered to the same research participants. Qualitative data was assessed via a short answer questionnaire that asked open-ended questions about the experiences the research participants had while working at their respective camps. This short answer questionnaire was administered at the end of the summer with the second LEQ. Results After the research data were collected, the data were run through a series of dependent t-tests and independent t-tests. The t-tests were used to compare the scores of the pre-summer LEQs to the scores of the post-summer LEQs, the scores of first-year in-camp counselors and returning in-camp counselors, and the scores of female and male in-camp counselors. The results were as follows: The changes in the results of the pre and post-test LEQ scores were t (11) = .102, p = .102. The results of the changes in post-test LEQ scores between new wilderness adventure leaders and returning wilderness adventure leaders was t (18) = .713, p = .485. Female post-test LEQ scores and male post-test LEQ scores resulted in changes of t (18) = 1.256, p = .225. The difference between post-test and pre-test mean LEQ scores was .58 standard deviations, or, a .58 effect size. The qualitative data yielded by the short-answer questionnaires were assessed using the techniques of enumeration and constant comparison. The following themes were pulled from the self-reported answers of the research participants: Increased Self-Confidence, Spiritual Connections, Personal Changes/Growth, Awareness of Strengths/ Weaknesses, Positive Community, and a 100% Job Recommendation. Participants reported that after the summer they felt that they had experienced Increased Self-Confidence. One participant wrote, "My leadership has grown incredibly - I was encouraged to own my authority and truly lead this summer. I have watched my confidence and competence grow." Another participant reported, "On my application I wrote that I wanted to gain confidence in myself and the things I do. I believe I have gained tons more than I started with." Spiritual Connections were identified from research participants who reported, "I feel like I've discovered a deeper sense of peace," "I have grown spiritually and more confident in myself," and "I don't think I would be ready, physically, emotionally, or spiritually, for my next year of school if I wasn't here this summer." Awareness of Strengths/Weaknesses were supported by self-reported responses such as, "I am stronger! I learned this summer that in order to make myself stronger I had to be vulnerable and expose my fears and anxieties." Personal Changes/Growth were evident in a participant who reported, "This summer I pushed myself farther than before in my leadership skills...it has been tough at times, but at that time is when I have experienced the most growth." Many research participants reported that they felt like they were a member of a Positive Community. One participant reported, "I have never laughed so hard, had so much fun, yet felt so proud of [what]... we were doing at camp." Another stated, "It has been an amazing experience... seeing how a community of such random personalities can become so close and grow so much in... 9 short weeks." Lastly, one participant wrote, "I am more steady. I feel loved. I feel like there is a place I belong." After reviewing all of the short answer surveys, it was found that 100% of the research participants stated that they would recommend a job as a wilderness adventure leader to others. Participants stated that "The chance to serve in this capacity is incredible," and "I hope that others are able to have the same opportunity to work with youth and learn, teach, and experience [this] leadership position." Another participant reported, "This is the best job I could ever ask for and is an amazing experience you can't find anywhere else." And finally, while reflecting on the experience of being a wilderness adventure leader, one participant reported, "It is a life changing experience!" Discussion and Implications Although the t-tests did not yield statistically significant results, the research still yielded a moderate change in effect size (.58). The self-reported qualitative data from the post-summer surveys support the idea that there are many positive benefits to be gained from being a wilderness adventure leader. This qualitative data is important, as it shows that the research participants themselves feel very strongly that being a wilderness adventure leader leads to a variety of experienced positive benefits. The moderate effect size and the self-reported qualitative data both support a call for more research in this area. Further research of greater depth could lead to a higher effect size, as well as to greater statistical significance. Previous research also reveals a need for further research in this area. Although there is a copious amount of research on the outcomes that occur after participating in a wilderness adventure program, there is a lack of studies that focus specifically on how being part of a wilderness adventure program can benefit a wilder-ness adventure guide or leader. Hattie et al. (1997) stress an overall need for more wilderness adventure research in their meta-analysis of over 96 different studies on wilderness adventure programs. After noting the diverse multitude of results found in the different studies in their meta-analysis, the authors concluded that more re-search in all of the areas of wilderness adventure programming must be done in order to validate the necessity of the existence of outdoor programming (Hattie et al.). Only through the continuation of research in this field will wilderness educators and leaders be able to conclusively offer evidence that wilderness adventure pro-grams are a vital and important part of human development.

The collection of short stories “Wilderness Tips” by Margaret Atwood is a perfect example of a dialogical organization of a fictional space. Despite the fact that initially the term “dialogue” was invented in reference to novels (M. Bakhtin Problems of Dostoyevsky’s Poetics), specific features of the construction of fictional space within “Wilderness Tips” provide us with a possibility to venture a hypothesis that the term “dialogue” can also be applied to short fiction. There is no relevant criticism of Atwood’s short fiction employing a Bakhtinian perspective. Therefore what will be done in this work is the analysis of intersubjective relations between the characters of these short stories from a Bakhtinian perspective and his concept of Dialogue. Firstly, Atwood’s characters form their identity depending on their interaction with the outer world. Dialogue, in a broad meaning of this term, is something that forms the very core of their “who-I-am” sense. Secondly, a concept of language plays a crucial role in Atwood’s poetics. Her characters invent and re-invent themselves by means of language, which means, according to Bakhtin, the perfect model of a dialogical structure. Each chapter includes analyses of the short stories, which are based on observation of the concepts that were developed by Bakhtin within his Dialogical Theory (such as heteroglossia, intertextuality, carnivalization, etc.)

The wilderness is an unlikely place for Yahweh to appear; yet some of the most profound encounters between Yahweh and ancient Israel occur in this isolated, barren, arid and marginal landscape. Thus, via John A. Beck's narrative-geography method, which prioritises the role of the geographical setting of the biblical narrative, the question of 'why does Yahweh choose to appear in the wilderness?' is examined in reference to four Exodus theophanic passages (Exodus 3:1-4:17, 19:1-20:21, 24:9-18 and 33: 18-34). First, a biblical working definition of the wilderness is developed, and the specific geographic elements in each passage discussed. Subsequently, the characterisation of Yahweh's appearances is investigated, via the signs Yahweh used to appear, the words Yahweh speaks and the human experience of Yahweh in the wilderness space. In sum, five reasons for why Yahweh appears in the wilderness were considered significant. The wilderness setting allows Yahweh to be (I) actively present and intimately engaged, (2) separate and holy, (3) paradoxically creative, (4) speak transfomative and visionary words and (5) free, risky, and provoking. Finally, the implications of these findings provide new insights to theological considerations of Yahweh. Overall, Yahweh is portrayed as a wild God in the wilderness.

Freshwater fish species have been introduced into freshwater systems around the world, primarily for aquaculture, ornamental fish trade and sport fishing. Their introduction into estuarine systems is uncommon however, instances do occur and their establishment success and impacts on these estuarine systems is not well documented. The extent of invasion by four freshwater fishes in a RAMSAR listed estuarine system, the Wilderness Lakes, Western Cape was investigated. This thesis determined the relative abundance and distribution of alien fishes in relation to the native fish biota, their establishment success in the system, what factors inhibited their establishment and whether the introduction of alien fishes negatively impacted the native fish biota. The distribution and abundance of fishes were assessed primarily using fyke nets, seine nets and gill nets in each of the lakes, interconnecting channels and the Touw Estuary. The fish fauna was made up of euryhaline marine species comprising 46%, native estuarine species comprising 18%, catadromous species comprising 7% and freshwater alien species comprising 29% of the total biomass sampled. A total of 26 species were sampled in the system, three of which were considered alien; Oreochromis mossambicus, Gambusia affinis and Cyprinus carpio, and Micropterus salmoides were not sampled but confirmed in the system. Establishment success was determined by evidence of: a sustainable breeding population, a wide distribution, abundant in the sampling area, and all size classes of fish sampled. Gambusia affinis and Oreochromis mossambicus have been recorded in the system for a minimum of 13 and 26 years respectively. They were widely distributed and highly abundant and are established in the system. Micropterus salmoides was first recorded in the system in 1985 but abundances have remained low with fish appearing to be limited to Island Lake and Langvlei. Reproduction appeared to be limited by higher salinity and these factors indicated that this was a casual species which relies on repeated introductions for population maintenance. Cyprinus carpio spawned successfully in 2010 and was widely distributed but abundances were still low with a total of 15 fish being sampled throughout the system, and was thus in the establishing phase. As these are considered freshwater alien species, the physico-chemical parameters in the estuarine environment inhibiting the establishment success of the alien fishes were investigated. Gambusia affinis and O. mossambicus were not limited by the physical environment, and while O. mossambicus cannot tolerate temperatures below 11⁰C, temperatures only dropped below its tolerance for a total of two days between February 2010 and February 2011. Cyprinus carpio and M. salmoides were restricted by salinity in Rondevlei and Langvlei but could tolerate salinity in Island Lake and the Touw Estuary during closed mouth phases. While adults appeared to tolerate the salinity in the system, egg and larval development could be affected thus reducing the viability of the population. The abundance of alien fishes did not negatively impact the abundance of native fish species. The interactions between the native and alien fish biota tended towards biotic acceptance where, as alien abundance increased so did native fish abundance. The impacts of the alien fishes on the native fish biota were assessed by comparing the fish community from a study completed in 1985 to the findings of this study. From these two studies there were no apparent negative impacts on the native fish biota and the fish community composition would most likely be structured by estuarine mouth opening events.

The San Gorgonio Wilderness in Southern California is surrounded on three sides by roads, and receives thousands of visitors each year. Its character as a wilderness is threatened by the large populations of people nearby, as well as the humans who venture into its boundaries. This project outlines the history of human presence in the Wilderness, and describes the impact of that presence. There is a discussion of attempts by various organizations to mitigate that impact, and deal with the increasing numbers of visitors. The project concludes with predictions and suggestions for the future of the San Gorgonio Wilderness.

x, 111 p. ； ill. (some col.), maps
Mission 66 was a ten-year program that began in 1956 and concluded in 1966, the 50th anniversary of the founding of the National Park Service. The stated goal of Mission 66 was to increase public access and enjoyment of the national parks through a program of development and reconstruction. However, wilderness conservationists and environmentalists criticized the program heavily during its time. This reaction has left Mission 66 with a controversial legacy that reflects negatively on the historical developments of the program. The goal of this thesis is to delve into why Mission 66 was such a controversial program by examining the historic roots of wilderness and environmental thought in the national parks in the United States. It is hoped this study work will provide an important perspective on Mission 66 that can be utilized in the ongoing conversation about Mission 66 and its cultural legacy.
Committee in charge: Dr. Robert Z Melnick, Chair; Hugh C. Miller, Member;

The purpose of this work is to analyze the formation and development of the ethnic and national identity of the United States through the study of American literature. In the first part the basic concepts of ethnic identity, culture in th social sense and myth are analyzed from a theoretical poin of view. The second part is dedicated firtly to the study of the complex relation between the conquerors and th American territory (wilderness) and its inhabitants : the Indians; and secondly to the impact that the cultural construction of such relation has had on the behavior of the American social environment both in domestic and foreign politics.

The battle over federal Wilderness designation of Bureau of Land Management lands in southern Utah has entered its third decade. Throughout this lengthy debate numerous stakeholders have maintained involvement, including members of Utah's conservation community. Two of the most prominent wilderness advocacy groups in Utah are notable not only for their sustained involvement with the issue, but also for their divergent positions on how to resolve this public land dispute. This research examines those two organizations, the Utah Wilderness Association and the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, through an analysis of their respective structural, organizational, philosophical, and tactical perspectives. Ultimately, the background of each organization's leadership, their organizational structures, their ability to mobilize resources, and their distinctive wilderness philosophies offer an understanding of how each organization perceived its mission and its ability to provide a construct for resolution of the Utah Wilderness debate.

I used archives of wildfire perimeters (fire atlases) within a geographic information system (GIS) to describe and evaluate fire frequency patterns for the 20th century in the 486,673-ha Gila/Aldo Leopold Wilderness Complex (GALWC), New Mexico and the 785,090-ha Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness Complex (SBWC) in Idaho and Montana. I addressed questions about changing 20th century fire frequencies and landscape-scale controls of fire frequency by analyzing fire atlases along with data for topography, vegetation, and climate. Similarities and differences in comparisons between study areas highlight important aspects of fire regimes and strengthen my interpretation and inference. In the GALWC, fire rotations were shortest during the recent wildfire use period (1975-1993) and longest during the pre-modern suppression period (1909-1946). In the SBWC, fire rotations were shortest during the pre-modern suppression period (1880-1934) and longest during the modern suppression period (1935-1975). Elevations with the highest fire frequencies differed between study areas. However, forest types found at these elevations are characterized by similar overstory tree species. Steeper northeastern slopes in the GALWC and southwestern slopes in the SBWC burned most frequently. I assert that, in the GALWC, horizontal fuel continuity is a main factor determining fire frequency. In the SBWC, fuel moisture status limits fire frequency. Fires are most frequent in areas where ignitions occur and neither fuel continuity nor fuel moisture are likely to limit fire spread. Three statistical modeling approaches were used to produce maps of reburn probabilities. Log-likelihood modeling provided the most satisfactory results, while logistic regression and classification and regression trees yielded statistically insignificant models. Empirical models contributed to the assertion that fuel continuity limits fire frequency in the GALWC while fuel moisture limits fire frequency in the SBWC. Mapped fire perimeters provide a valuable source of spatial historical information for describing the role of large fires over broad areas. This dissertation enhances scientific knowledge about broad scale changes in fire regimes. Comparisons between areas facilitate identification of unique versus general patterns. Results provide a contemporary baseline for comparison with estimates of Pre-EuroAmerican fire frequencies, and a historical, spatial context for modeling and managing future fire regimes.