The Intersection of “Natural” Edutainment and Perceptions of Natural Resource Uses

Bir, Courtney; Widmar, Nicole Olynk; Clifford, McKenna

doi:10.1080/17524032.2019.1601634

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 14 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Three motives for visiting the zoo were extracted (Table 2). Edutainment (x̄ = 3.89) [a combination of learning and education (Bir et al , 2020)] was the primary motive, followed by escapism (x̄ = 3.75). Escapism is a combination of relaxation and social interaction.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Packer and Ballantyne (2004, p. 68) refer to zoos as free-choice learning environments that present opportunities where visitors can “can learn for fun” since the experience combines education and entertainment in a synergistic environment. The combination of learning and entertainment has been coined “edutainment” (Bir, Widmar, & Clifford, 2020). Zoo visitors typically value entertainment (or recreation and leisure) more than the welfare of animals and education (Lee, 2015), which illustrates conflicting needs (Frost, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Encouraging pro-conservation intentions in urban recreational spaces: a South African zoo perspective

Kruger

Viljoen

2022

IJTC

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose Zoos are important urban tourism attractions. The challenge for zoos is finding a balance between attracting visitors and enhancing education and conservation management. This research contributes to a greater understanding of the conservation intentions of zoo visitors and how zoos can emphasise conservation management principles sustainably. This study aims to identify the variables that encourage conservation intentions among visitors to a South African zoo. Design/methodology/approach A destination-based survey was conducted in 2019 at the Johannesburg Zoo, and 445 questionnaires were administered through convenience sampling. Findings Exploratory factor analyses identified visitors’ conservation awareness because of zoos (pre-conscious, conscious and unconscious), behavioural intentions (advocating and supporting), motives (engagement, edutainment and escapism) and satisfaction (interaction and facility quality, and service and interpretation quality). The behavioural intentions were the dependent variables. Advocating conservation intentions (ACI) is an active role where zoo visitors feel a strong responsibility towards conservation and encourage others to the conservation cause. Supporting conservation intentions (SCI) relates more to loyalty towards visiting the zoo and subsequently supporting conservation. Stepwise linear regression analyses revealed that enhancing ACI relies on SCI, edutainment, conscious awareness, service and interpretation quality and total spending. However, enhancing SCI relies on ACI, interaction and facility quality and the motive, escapism, while engagement revealed a negative relationship. Originality/value The results show that zoos can encourage SCI to ACI by using interactive and entertaining interpretations to teach visitors about the zoo’s mandate and the importance of conservation while balancing their need to escape.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Encouraging pro-conservation intentions in urban recreational spaces: a South African zoo perspective

Kruger

Viljoen

2022

IJTC

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Role of macroeconomic determinants on the natural resource commodity prices: Indonesia futures volatility

Ekananda

2022

Resources Policy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

What Does the Future Hold for the Public Display of Cetaceans?

Clegg¹

2021

J. Appl. Anim. Ethics Res.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In order to continue its business sustainably, any industry that uses animals must largely align their ethical position with that of the general public: ‘the mainstream social ethic’. Although zoos are transitioning from entertainment venues to conservation actors, many cetacean (whale and dolphin) facilities present the animals in unnatural-looking enclosures and entertainment-driven contexts. But what is the ‘mainstream social ethic’ regarding cetacean facilities, and what might it mean for the industry’s future? The evidence is first reviewed on cetacean welfare and the purported purposes for displaying cetaceans in the past and present. The mainstream social ethic is then defined, suggesting we may be at a crossroads for this industry. Welfare has improved in the last decades but could be further enhanced through providing more choice and control in cetaceans’ environments, particularly in enrichment, training and social groupings. Sanctuary settings provide a potential environment with more choice and control, but are still in the very initial stages of development. Fundamental, structural changes to the mission, presentation of the cetaceans and business model seem to be needed to realign the public display of cetaceans with the mainstream social ethic of the times.

show abstract

The Intersection of “Natural” Edutainment and Perceptions of Natural Resource Uses

Cited by 3 publications

References 14 publications

Encouraging pro-conservation intentions in urban recreational spaces: a South African zoo perspective

Encouraging pro-conservation intentions in urban recreational spaces: a South African zoo perspective

Role of macroeconomic determinants on the natural resource commodity prices: Indonesia futures volatility

What Does the Future Hold for the Public Display of Cetaceans?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About