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Journal paper: Toward a management framework for smart and sustainable resource management

November 17, 2024June 12, 2025mccricksLeave a comment

Project co-PI Shalini Misra led a paper that appeared in the Journal of Environmental Management. The paper presented our work in analyzing trail maintainer interviews from 2022, resulting in a framework for smart and sustainable resource management. The paper sets the stage for understanding how trail maintainers make decisions and get things done. Co-authors include

The work gathers results from our interviews with 18 trail managers, using grounded theory to identify four areas of interest and concern: (1) visitor monitoring and management, (2) information dissemination and two-way communication with hikers; (3) trail monitoring and maintenance; and (4) data analytics for decision-making. For each of these areas, we identified goals, strategies and objectives that were important to the managers, and we posited how digital tools could help in supporting the managers.

Leveraging these findings from the interviews, our framework put forth challenges posed by digital technologies for sustainable resource management grouped into four categories: technological, organizational, ethical, and experiential. For each category, our paper proposes management needs for smart and sustainable resource management.

To learn more about this work, read the full paper at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030147972403408X.

As an addendum,

Reading Reflection: Tim Kaine’s Walk Ride Paddle

April 21, 2024May 19, 2025mccricksLeave a comment

What an awesome birthday–to celebrate, Lisa took me to hear Senator Tim Kaine talk at the Taubman Museum in Roanoke about his new book, Walk Ride Paddle: A Life Outside. As he approached his 60th birthday, Senator Kaine sought to accomplish his own version of the Virginia triple crown by hiking all of the Appalachian Trail miles in Virginia, biking all of the Blue Ridge and Shenandoah Parkways in Virginia, and paddling the length of the James River in Virginia. He did this over several years, during long weekends and breaks from his Senate duties. He journaled about this journey, and assembled these pieces into a book.

I’ve read all of the hiking portion of his book. He mixes stories about the trials and tribulations on the trail with stories about life, family, and his time in politics. I’ve read a lot of thru hiker books but not as many by section hikers like Tim Kaine–it’s a different type of planning and experience trying to squeeze in hikes with life responsibilities rather than set things aside for 4-5 months. Senator Kaine appreciates the disconnection from the world that hiking provides, though he acknowledges he missed a great picture of a bear encounter because his phone was turned off and in his pack! I’d be remiss if I didn’t share a quote about his technology use and (dis)connection from the outside world:

I carry an iPhone with my Guthook trail app installed. I also carry a small solar-chargeable battery. But I keep the phone off during the day, stashed in a small dry bag in my backpack. I use the phone sparingly to save the battery. If I see a great view, I turn on the phone and take a picture. If I feel like I am lost or not sure how long it is until the next water source or overnight stop I turn the phone on and check the trail app. Maybe twice a day, when I get reception, I turn the phone on and send a message to Anne and my staff, letting them know where I am and maybe forwarding a picture. I will check emails once a day just to see if there is any emergency needing my attention–staff knows to keep emails to pressing priorities while I am hiking. Finally, I type a few trail notes at the end of the day about the miles I have covered and any events of note. All told, the iPhone may be on about thirty minutes a day.

I was able to talk to Senator Kaine after his talk and was able to share a bit about my trail research. He acknowledges the pull that technology has and takes steps to avoid it, though he relies on digital maps (over paper maps) and takes advantage of the ability to connect with others while on the trail.

Lisa and I got to engage with Senator Tim Kaine during a book signing event for ‘Walk Ride Paddle: A Life Outside’ at the Taubman Museum in Roanoke.

Master’s thesis: Jaitun Patel’s Digital Conservation on the AT

September 30, 2023May 18, 2025mccricksLeave a comment

Jaitun Patel came to Virginia Tech without much hiking and outdoor experience, but she jumped right in with OCVT (the Outdoor Club of Virginia Tech) on a spring break trip and subsequent maintenance trips along the Appalachian Trail. She got a hands-on view of what trail maintainers and hikers need, and she parlayed the interest and knowledge into a Master’s thesis–a tool for promoting collaboration and understanding between visitors to trails and the network of people who support those visits.

Jaitun’s research examined the role of information and communication technologies in promoting collaboration between trail agencies (like OCVT, RATC, and other 3-4 letter groups) and the hikers and other visitors that these agencies seek to support. Jaitun conducted social media analysis, interviews, and a design workshop toward crafting and testing a prototype online discussion platform called SmarTrail Board, which “centralized direct communication and streamlined information can support trail management on the AT”. Check out her thesis at http://hdl.handle.net/10919/116284

Jaitun was a big part of our group for two years, helping out with a great many projects and joining us on lots of adventures. Jaitun continues her outdoor research work as a Data Scientist at Washington State University, working with their AgWeatherNet group.

CAPWIC 2023

April 1, 2023April 4, 2023mccricksLeave a comment

A Virginia Tech group of 11 students and faculty made the trek from Blacksburg to attend the CAPWIC 2023 conference in Richmond VA. CAPWIC is the Capitol Region Women in Computing conference, an annual regional opportunity to celebrate and promote participation of women and other underrepresented minorities in computing. Virginia Tech had a big presence, featuring 20 students, faculty, and alumni: (1) we were a conference sponsor, hosting a booth for each the Blacksburg and the Capitol Region Innovation Campus; (2) Virginia Tech faculty member and VT Innovation Campus Director Lance Collins presented the opening keynote, connecting “hidden figure” and VT alumna Dr. Gladys West and the new VT Innovation Campus; and (3) we led both a workshop and a panel, detailed here:

Designing Mobile Games for the Outdoors: From Interesting Ideas to Working Games, a workshop on designing games with outdoor themes. Participants learned about ways to design mobile games and how outdoor themes can drive appeal, building on the themes of our Tech on the Trail initiative. The workshop was run by Virginia Tech researchers Scott McCrickard, Morva Saaty, and Jaitun Patel, with 20 students and faculty from 8 colleges and universities engaging in a creative design activity using the Marvel POP sketch-based wireframing tool.

Designing Apps for Diversity: Building Bridges through Mobile and Web App Development, a panel featuring three Virginia Tech alums: Joon Suk Lee, Department Chair of Computer Science at Virginia State University; Chandani Shreshtha, Assistant Professor of Computer Science at James Madison University; and Mohammed Seyam, Collegiate Assistant Professor at Virginia Tech. Scott McCrickard moderated the panel. The panel explored how mobile and web apps can help give voice to individuals from groups that are often marginalized in computer science and other computing fields. Dr. Lee presented his work on microcoordination, delving into to roles of technology in coordinating attention, task completion, and interpersonal interactions. Dr. Shreshtha discussed how the ThoughtSwap tool, developed in her lab when she was a grad student, can be used to support conscientious discourse in classrooms. She talked about how contained anonymity and ephemerality play a role in the swapping of thoughts, toward supporting a broad and diverse set of opinions. Dr. Seyam discussed his experiential learning efforts, with a focus on how synchronous and asynchronous technologies can help facilitate communication.

Below are photos from the event, including of the students, faculty, and alumni who were in attendance.