Collaboration, Partnerships, and the Involvement of Racial /Ethnic Minorities With Public Outdoor Recreation Resources: An Interorganizational Collaboration Theory Perspective

222 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2003.This study drew on Inter-organizational Collaboration Theory to investigate factors that may be impeding efforts by the newly established Boston Harbor Islands National Park Area Partnership to get racial and ethnic minorities involved in the planning, management, and use of recreation and tourism resources. The study adopted qualitative research methods including participant observation, document analysis, personal interviews, and informal discussions to collect the data. A Computer-based Data Analysis Program (QSR N5 version of NUDIST program) was used to analyze the interview transcripts. Several factors emerged from the study that impact collaboration between the partnership and minority-based neighborhood environmental and social justice groups in several dimensions of involvement with outdoor recreation resources. Based on the study data and conclusions, a new conceptual diversity enhancing collaborative partnership model for natural resource-based recreation and tourism areas has been proposed for future testing in specific contexts. The findings of the study have significant implications to public policy, practice, and managerial decision-making within public outdoor recreation and tourism areas.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD