Kudos and K.O.M.’s: the Effect of Strava Use on Evaluations of Social
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Utah State University DigitalCommons@USU All Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies 8-2020 Kudos and K.O.M.‚Äôs: The Effect of Strava Use on Evaluations of Social and Managerial Conditions, Perceptions of Ecological Impacts, and Mountain Bike Spatial Behavior Noah E. Creany Utah State University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd Part of the Environmental Studies Commons, and the Recreation, Parks and Tourism Administration Commons Recommended Citation Creany, Noah E., "Kudos and K.O.M.‚Äôs: The Effect of Strava Use on Evaluations of Social and Managerial Conditions, Perceptions of Ecological Impacts, and Mountain Bike Spatial Behavior" (2020). All Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 7901. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/7901 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at DigitalCommons@USU. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@USU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. KUDOS AND K.O.M.’S: THE EFFECT OF STRAVA USE ON EVALUATIONS OF SOCIAL AND MANAGERIAL CONDITIONS, PERCEPTIONS OF ECOLOGICAL IMPACTS, AND MOUNTAIN BIKE SPATIAL BEHAVIOR by Noah E. Creany A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE in Recreation Resource Management Approved: ________________________________ ________________________________ Christopher A. Monz, Ph.D. Jordan W. Smith, Ph.D. Major Professor Committee Member ________________________________ ________________________________ Ashley L. D’Antonio, Ph.D. Janis L. Boettinger, Ph.D. Committee Member Acting Vice Provost of Graduate Studies UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY Logan, Utah 2020 ii Copyright Ó Noah E. Creany 2020 All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Kudos And K.O.M.’s: The Effect of Strava Use on Evaluations of Social And Managerial Conditions, Perceptions of Ecological Impacts, And Mountain Bike Spatial Behavior by Noah Eugene Creany Utah State University, 2020 Major Professor: Dr. Christopher A. Monz Department: Environment and Society The use of social media and self-tracking smartphone fitness applications (apps) like Strava is becoming an increasingly pervasive phenomenon in outdoor recreation experiences in parks and protected areas (PPAs). Concurrent in recreation research studies is the use of smartphone GPS tracking (SGT) and volunteered geographic information (VGI) data to study visitor behavior. However, limited research has critically addressed the biases of these data and critically evaluated how behavior and attitudes may be different for visitors when smartphones, connected devices, and the fitness tracking apps they interface with are a focus or mediator of the recreation experience. The first chapter of this thesis is a literature review of recreation survey and behavior research, social-psychology and technology use theory, gamification, and mountain bike social science and recreation-ecology research. The second chapter is formatted for submission to the Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism and presents results from a survey and global positioning system (GPS) tracking study of visitors to PPAs in Orange County, CA to explore the effect of Strava use on visitors’ evaluations of iv trail, management, and social conditions, ecological knowledge and perceptions of ecological impacts of recreation and differences in spatial behavior of mountain bikers who use Strava and those who do not. (125 pages) v PUBLIC ABSTRACT Kudos And K.O.M.’s: The Effect of Strava Use on Evaluations of Social And Managerial Conditions, Perceptions of Ecological Impacts, And Mountain Bike Spatial Behavior Noah E. Creany Smartphone based self-tracking fitness applications (apps) like Strava are increasingly becoming a part of recreation experiences in parks and protected areas (PPAs). Recreation research has employed smartphone GPS tracking (SGT) and volunteered geographic information (VGI) to study visitor behavior in PPAs, but little is understood about how smartphones or fitness apps affect visitor perceptions and behavior during their experience. The first chapter of this thesis is a literature review of recreation survey and behavior research, social-psychology and technology use theory, gamification, and mountain bike social science and recreation-ecology research. The second chapter is formatted for submission to the Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism and presents results from a survey and global positioning system (GPS) tracking study of visitors to PPAs in Orange County, CA to explore the effect of Strava use on visitors’ evaluations of trail, management, and social conditions, ecological knowledge and perceptions of ecological impacts of recreation and differences in spatial behavior of mountain bikers who use Strava and those who do not. vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I first would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Chris Monz, for his guidance, advice and support, and for convincing me to pursue a research focused degree which I have come to enjoy more than I initially expected. I would also like to thank my other committee members Dr. Ashley D’Antonio and Dr. Jordan Smith for their assistance, mentorship, and collaboration. This research would not have been possible without the support and collaboration with Milan Mitrovich and The Natural Communities Coalition of Orange County who were instrumental in coordinating with park managers and providing logistical support for this project. Additionally, I would like to thank my former lab mate, Dr. Abigail Sisneros- Kidd for her mentorship and assistance with the survey and study design for this project as well as fellow graduate and post-doctoral students who have provided inspiration and assistance along the way. Finally, I would like to thank my family for their support and instilling in me a sense of curiosity about the world. Noah E. Creany vii CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................ iii PUBLIC ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ......................................................................................................vi LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................ viii LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................ix LITERATURE REVIEW AND RESEARCH APPROACH ................................................ 1 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................. 1 2. UNDERSTANDING VISITOR SPATIAL BEHAVIOR .............................................................................. 2 2.1. USE OF GPS SPATIAL DATA TO UNDERSTAND AND EVALUATE VISITOR BEHAVIOR .................... 2 2.2. PAIRED SURVEY AND GPS TRACKING STUDIES.......................................................................... 6 3. GAMIFICATION AND TECHNOLOGY USE THEORY ............................................................................ 7 4. ECOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL IMPACTS OF MOUNTAIN BIKING AND STRAVA .......................................14 4.1. BIOPHYSICAL DISTURBANCE OF MOUNTAIN BIKING .................................................................15 5. RESEARCH APPROACH .................................................................................................................20 KUDOS & KOMS: THE EFFECT OF STRAVA USE ON EVALUATIONS OF SOCIAL AND MANAGERIAL CONDITIONS, PERCEPTIONS OF ECOLOGICAL IMPACTS, AND MOUNTAIN BIKE SPATIAL BEHAVIOR ............................................................. 32 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................33 2. METHODS ....................................................................................................................................42 3. RESULTS ......................................................................................................................................49 4. DISCUSSION .................................................................................................................................74 5. CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................82 REFERENCES ....................................................................................................................... 84 APPENDICES ........................................................................................................................ 91 viii LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Demographic descriptive characteristics of mountain bikes and all activity types. .......................................................................................... 51 2. Activity-Type and Strava Use ............................................................................ 52 3. Strava Use Frequency ......................................................................................... 53 4. Strava users primary motivations for using the app .......................................... 53 5. Strava use among mountain bikers by Park ...................................................... 54 6. Results of Mann-Whitney U test of mountain bike evaluations