The sustainability of recreational fisheries is in part dependent on anglers acting as stewards of the resource. However, the psychological attributes that underpin anglers' adoption of voluntarily stewardship behaviors remain largely unknown. In this study, we tested a model of the factors that influence stewardship in the recreational fisheries sector. Specifically, we drew on identity theory to explore the role of one's identification as an angler in shaping moral norms and stewardship behaviors among anglers in Texas. Stewardship behavior was conceptualized along three dimensions related to private‐sphere, public‐sphere, and social stewardship activities. Data were taken from a statewide, mixed‐mode survey of Texas licensed anglers' attitudes, behaviors, and management preferences (n = 948). We hypothesized that one's identity as an angler and moral beliefs about acting as a steward of fisheries resources would predict three dimensions of stewardship behavior. Results indicated that one's identity as an angler is associated with normative beliefs and that these two factors have differential effects on engagement in multiple dimensions of stewardship behaviors.

Knowledge of the relationships among psychological constructs such as values and motivations that influence proenvironmental behavior provides public land management agencies with guidance on how to minimize stakeholder impacts on the environment. A rich body of research has demonstrated that values form a tripartite structure underlying environmental concern, encompassing biospheric, egoistic, and altruistic values; however, recent work has suggested hedonic values are also an instrumental basis for environmental concern. Few studies have tested this proposition. We contend that hedonic values are instrumental in explaining the psychological processes that gird individual decisions, particularly in nature-based settings where stakeholder decisions are compelled by leisure pursuits. Our results indicate that place-based motivations, particularly escape from the pressures of everyday life, can help close the prominent value–action gap and explain why outdoor recreationists engage in minimum-impact activities specified in the U.S. Leave No Trace educational outreach program.

While the social, economic, and ecological impact of recreational fisheries is well established, the inherent diversity of both fisheries resources and resource users, particularly anglers, continues to present a challenge for management agencies. To better understand the diversity of recreational anglers, agencies often utilize survey methods to collect data on angler characteristics and preferences. However, obtaining necessary and representative data is becoming more challenging, exacerbated by declining response rates and an increase in the number of single and mixed‐mode survey designs researchers can choose to collect data. We examined three survey designs—surface mail with a Web push, e‐mail, and mixed mode—each with varying modes of solicitation and response, in the context of a statewide survey of licensed Texas anglers. Our findings illustrated that response rates varied considerably among these three survey designs. We also observed significant variation in terms of anglers’ sociodemographic characteristics based on solicitation and response modes of each survey design. Interestingly, we observed limited variation in terms of anglers’ behaviors, preferences, and motivations. Our results highlight the need for researchers and managers to be aware of the various survey designs available and the variability that particular survey designs can introduce into data. Received August 1, 2014; accepted March 2, 2016 Published online July 13, 2016

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ABSTRACT. The social-ecological systems framework has guided investigations of complex interactions among ecosystems, society, and economies. In recent years, academics and practitioners have taken steps to strengthen this framework by calling for more systematic engagement with the cognitive and affective bases of human behavior. We suggest research that engages with multilevel values (i.e., individual, cultural, assigned) will be better positioned to understand how and why people cooperate in natural resource comanagement situations, and in turn, develop more effective strategies for mitigating and adapting to a changing world. We review three conceptualizations of the value concept operating within environmental governance regimes to offer a deeper understanding of how multilevel values fit within the social-ecological systems framework. Drawing on a conceptual model of these relationships, we share results from three example studies that demonstrate how values and governance can be more explicitly integrated in future research. We aim to stimulate a dialogue about the mutual benefits that can emerge from a fuller characterization of the relationship between values and environmental governance to manage for complexities of social-ecological systems.

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Study abroad is believed to be a transformative learning experience for students. However, the extent to which study abroad adds value beyond what is possible on campus needs to be demonstrated. In this paper, we document the learning outcomes assessment undertaken by a faculty-led study-abroad program at a large university in the U.S. Southeast. Specifically, we describe the development of a theory-based pedagogical model of global citizenship for short-term study abroad and efforts to document student learning associated with its constructs. The results of these efforts indicate that when student learning outcomes and study-abroad pedagogy are aligned with theory, and rigorously assessed, the opportunity to demonstrate learning is possible, and opportunities for instructional improvement present themselves.

As human environmental impacts have increased, so has the desirability of sustainable practices in multiple dimensions and at multiple scales. In this context, sustainability literacy has become a desirable outcome of higher education, driving the advance of sustainability as a core component of higher education institutions’ missions at local, regional, and global scales. However, little is known about the efficacy of different instructional delivery modalities of higher education courses in delivering desired outcomes of sustainability education. This study employed a quasi-experimental design to explore the relative influence of a limited range of instructional delivery modalities and sustainability content (study abroad/home campus and sustainability/non-sustainability) on growth of sustainability literacy among university students. Within each modality (study abroad or home campus), studying sustainability was associated with higher sustainability literacy scores than studying non-sustainability. However, studying non-sustainability courses abroad showed comparable growth in students’ sustainability literacy scores compared to studying sustainability on home campuses. These results support not only the idea that sustainability can be taught but also that study abroad, regardless of course content, may be at least as effective at increasing sustainability literacy as home campus sustainability-related courses.