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Visitor Monitoring Approaches in the Anthropocene: New Challenges and Novel Solutions
Provider: Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management

Activity no.: 4000-24-05-11 
Enrollment deadline: 01/07/2024
PlaceFrederiksberg Campus
Bülowsvej 17, 1870 Frederiksberg C
Date and time04.09.2024, at: 09:00 - 14.09.2024, at: 18:00
Regular seats20
Activity Prices:
  - Participant7,800.00 kr.
  - Deltager/Participant from SCIENCE1,200.00 kr.
Contact personKitt Vium Bjørn    E-mail address: kvb@ign.ku.dk
Enrolment Handling/Course OrganiserHans Skov-Petersen    E-mail address: hsp@ign.ku.dk
Teaching languageEnglish
Exam formOral presentation of an essay/assignment
Exam detailsSubmission of a reflective essay on research methodology in terms of a research-based visitor monitoring approach (research design) in relation to the doctoral students own research project (5-10 pages). The work will be presented, reviewed, and discussed as part of the post-venet workshop.
Course workload
Course workload categoryHours
Lectures27.50
Class Instruction7.00
Practical exercises7.00
Theoretical exercises62.00
E-learning7.00
Field Work34.50
Sum145.00
Aim and content
Our society is undergoing many ecological and social changes with consequences of people-nature relations. (Re)connecting people and nature has been suggested as solutions to various changes, deduced challenges such as the climate and biodiversity crisis as well as the public physical and psychological health crisis. The way most people in the Anthropocene interact with nature is in leisure time and through recreation and tourism. Hence, focus on nature-based recreation is key for understanding people-nature relations in the Anthropocene. Nature-based recreation is studied as visitor monitoring with focus on managing and mitigating ecological impacts of tourism and recreation (disturbances, trampling, pollution), while promoting satisfactory experiences of visitors (experiences of nature, tranquility, exercises and social interactions). However, our society and the way we do nature-based recreation is changing with new digital and e-technologies that both might change the act of nature-based recreation it-self, while also promoting new opportunities for visitor monitoring.

The course focuses on technologies for identifying short- and long-term changes in how and why people visit nature, at multiple spatial and temporal scales. Currently, advanced visitor monitoring approaches include counting stations and on-site questionnaires, but these approaches are costly and often insufficient in detecting rapid changes (such as caused by the pandemic) or emerging trends (such as flight shame or other underlying changes in people’s values impacting visitation). Consequently, interest in monitoring and investigating visitors with new technologies, such as PPGIS, location-based data from social/mobile media, and modern approaches to visitor counts has been rising steadily.

Despite the growing body of exploratory research during the past 10 years the conceptual and methodological framework is not yet mature for using Mobile Big Data, Public Participation GIS (PPGIS), and online content in longitudinal research and monitoring. We still lack the proper methodological conceptualization of the spatial/temporal resolution and semantics of data, as well as understanding of the biases. Ethical use of user generated data is increasingly discussed, but not duly solved. Frameworks for combining and triangulating data obtained by different techniques and approaches are in their infancy, and especially so when interested in short to long term changes in visitation. We take this as our research challenge - while embracing new analytical and interpretive approaches like machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI). We focus on how novel and classic visitor monitoring approaches can be combined to analyze short- and long-term changes in the volumes of visitation, the biological, environmental and social effects, the populations' satisfaction and well being, as approached conceptually, technically, ethically and legally.

In the course, students will be introduced to discussions of novel and classical visitor monitoring approaches and research designs, and it is expected that the student will be able to critically reflect on cons and pros of different methodologies in relation to the students own projects as well as in relation to introduced cases. The course will also have focus on research ethics, open data and GDPR rules in relation to visitor monitoring.

Theoretical readings, lectures and discussions are included in the course as well as real-life applications and exercises with various novel visitor monitoring data. This means that the student is expected to engage with analyses and visualization of visitor data through GIS, statistics, qualitative assessments, and other media (lab time) during the course. Site visits in and around Copenhagen are a part of the course, including meeting and engaging with professionals from public agencies as well as the private sector (consultants).

During the post-event part of the course the students will apply the core topics of the course to their own research which will be presented by a short manuscript and a presentation during the post-event on-line workshop.

Learning outcome

Knowledge:

  • Critical knowledge on possibilities as well as limits of conventional and novel digital approaches to visitor monitoring including issues of complementarity and dissimilarity

Skills:

  • Develop skills in quantitative big data analysis and management of big data, time series analysis, and PPGIS as well as qualitative and quantitative on-site research methods and techniques

Competences:

  • Build competences for designing and communicating solid research-based monitoring approaches of visitation to natural areas.

Target group

Doctoral students engaged in recreational planning, monitoring and design with special interest in registration, analysis, evaluation, and knowledge dissemination in relation to spatial/temporal distribution of visitor loads, as well as experiences, opinions, and expectations by visitors and location population.

Teaching and learning methods

The course is build-up three sessions:

  • Pre-event: students will attend a one day on-line workshop where they will present and discuss the objectives, expected methodologies, and cases. The course coordinators will moderate the discussion and set the scene for the on-site part of the course to come.
  • On-site (UniCPH/The Nature Agency’ visitor center at VestAmager): Including academic and industry based lectures, tech-training, and in-field exercises. Experts at professor level as well as professionals from practice are engaged in lectures and theoretical as well as practical exercises. Furthermore, field visits to sites such as Amager Nature Park as well as field work is included in the course.
  • Post-event: After the core event in Copenhagen, students will select and apply - as relevant - parts of the methods and approaches of the course to their own studies. Their findings will be presented and discussed.

Lecturers

The PhD course is conducted in collaboration with Nordic partners in the newly funded Marie Curie Doctoral Network VIMAS. VIMAS is about visitor monitoring and is funding 10 PhDs, whereof 2 will be based at Science/KU (recruitment in fall 2023).

The collaborating external partners include:

  • Norwegian University of Life Sciences (prof Øystein Aas),
  • Mid-Sweden University (prof Peter Fredman and prof Sandra Wall-Reinius),
  • University of Helsinki (prof Tuuli Toivonen),
  • University of Iceland (prof Anna Dora Sæþórsdóttir),
  • University of Eastern Finland (ass prof Henna Konu),
  • Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences (prof Agita Livina),
  • University of Copenhagen, IGN (Prof Hans Skov-Petersen and Ass Prof Anton Stahl Olafsson.

All partners will attend the course and potentially contribute with presentations, data, cases etc.

Collaborating external partners will take active part in teaching activities in the course in terms of key lectures.

Workload
Hours: pre-event/on-site/post-event

Lectures: 0/27,5/0
Class Instruction: 0/7/0
Practical exercises: 0/7/0
Theoretical exercises: 7/0/55
E-Learning: 0/0/7
Field Work: 0/7/0
Field Work: 0/0/27,5

Total: 7/48,5/89,5 = 145 hours

Total: 145 hours ~ 5.0 ECTS

Remarks
VIMAS and KU/IGN PhD students will be allowed by no charge.

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