Camp Environment Research Articles

Understanding the process of psychological development in youth athletes attending an intensive wrestling camp

This study used a grounded theory methodology to understand if and how psychological development in youth athletes was facilitated by an ‘intensive’ summer wrestling camp experience. The theoretical sampling approach involved 10 athlete participants of the camp, nine parents of athletes, the director of the camp, and four camp staff members, who took part in a series of interviews before, during, and after the camp. Two researchers were also embedded in the camp and attended all sessions, took detailed notes, collected camp materials, and conducted observations. Following a grounded theory analysis approach, a model is presented that outlines how youth participants’ developed psychological qualities from the coach-created challenges and adversity that were systematically designed to facilitate sport performance enhancement and life skills. Variations emerged in psychological antecedents and characteristics, how the challenging wrestling camp environment was interpreted and experienced, and how learning was transferred to sport and life domains outside of the wrestling camp. This study provided insight into a unique youth sport context that was able to simultaneously develop psychological qualities to be used as sport performance enhancement and life skills.

Microbiology: lessons from a first attempt at Lake Ellsworth.

During the attempt to directly access, measure and sample Subglacial Lake Ellsworth in 2012-2013, we conducted microbiological analyses of the drilling equipment, scientific instrumentation, field camp and natural surroundings. From these studies, a number of lessons can be learned about the cleanliness of deep Antarctic subglacial lake access leading to, in particular, knowledge of the limitations of some of the most basic relevant microbiological principles. Here, we focus on five of the core challenges faced and describe how cleanliness and sterilization were implemented in the field. In the light of our field experiences, we consider how effective these actions were, and what can be learnt for future subglacial exploration missions. The five areas covered are: (i) field camp environment and activities, (ii) the engineering processes surrounding the hot water drilling, (iii) sample handling, including recovery, stability and preservation, (iv) clean access methodologies and removal of sample material, and (v) the biodiversity and distribution of bacteria around the Antarctic. Comparisons are made between the microbiology of the Lake Ellsworth field site and other Antarctic systems, including the lakes on Signy Island, and on the Antarctic Peninsula at Lake Hodgson. Ongoing research to better define and characterize the behaviour of natural and introduced microbial populations in response to deep-ice drilling is also discussed. We recommend that future access programmes: (i) assess each specific local environment in enhanced detail due to the potential for local contamination, (ii) consider the sterility of the access in more detail, specifically focusing on single cell colonization and the introduction of new species through contamination of pre-existing microbial communities, (iii) consider experimental bias in methodological approaches, (iv) undertake in situ biodiversity detection to mitigate risk of non-sample return and post-sample contamination, and (v) address the critical question of how important these microbes are in the functioning of Antarctic ecosystems.

Changi: A Penal Genealogy across the Pacific War

Anglophone scholarship on the Pacific War in Singapore is largely focused on records and memoirs of captive allied forces, extending imperial histories of that period. The punitive environments that incarcerated soldiers and civilians are examined through that lens. This essay approaches the Pacific War as an interregnum in a longer penal genealogy and a historical border to political decolonisation. It reviews this literature as significant for understanding the evolution of the colonial prison and its wartime transformation into a Prisoner of War (POW) camp environment posing questions about incarceration, citizenship and penal labour. It asks how residential carceral facilities such as the prison, the POW camp and the home are adapted and transformed. The main foci of this paper and its genealogy are the Changi Prison and the Changi POW Camp.

ПОЗАТАБОРОВИЙ ПРОСТІР ІНТЕРНОВАНИХ ВІЙСЬК УГА В ЧСР: ПОВСЯКДЕННЯ РОБІТНИЧИХ ВІДДІЛІВ (1922–1923 рр.)

On the basis of the involvement of a wide range of sources the main manifestations of everyday routine of internee soldiers of the Ukrainian Galician Army (UGA), consisting of sections of workers sent to different areas of Czechoslovakia for a wide range of activities. In particular, UGA internee soldiers used to perform security services, military service, worked at the Czechoslovak military units, the others worked in construction, carried out repairing works, harvested wood. Internees were very motivated workers during their stay in the working team, because it gave the opportunity to earn extra money for their own maintenance, and sometimes collect even small amounts to maintain their parents or families in Poland. Instead, staying in the camp deprived of such opportunities, putting this category of internees in quite difficult conditions sometimes tight survival beyond their capabilities. The vast majority of internees bravely withstood all the difficulties in the works, but some soldiers left working units illegally in search of a better life, which was due to the desire to earn extra money. In this situation the Ukrainian military leadership soldiers considered it appropriate to give all internee soldiers permission to work in private, thereby significantly reducing the number of deserters. Being outside the camp workers kept the military organization units, each team was assigned to Josef UGA officers. In their spare time members of working units trying to organize their leisure time, operated educational courses and schools for uneducated. From the camp Josef of the workers took books, literature and periodicals. In some units of the workers it was organized the group of fans who were preparing for soldiers improvised theater. Internee soldiers from the workers’ units always participated in the collections of funds for national and boundary needs, thus making a contribution to the struggle for the liberation of Ukraine. But outside camp environment had not only bright and positive side for UGA internee soldiers. Difficult conditions in a foreign country, transferred soldiers disease, unsettled life, nostalgia — everything affected harmfully their health, and sometimes resulted in deaths among soldiers. In addition, it is negatively reflected on the state of disciplines, including individual archers refused to follow orders of their immediate superiors. The situation is complicated by the fact that the unity of the soldiers from the workers tried to ease division’s agents of some neighboring countries. Nevertheless Home Team of UGA units in Czechoslovakia largely managed to effectively counter these hostile attempts to maintain morale and interned at a sufficiently high level. The devotion to the national cause UGA soldiers gave all Ukrainian examples worthy of emulation, and their endurance in difficult conditions of existence in a foreign land to further inspired a new generation of Ukrainian patriots.

Medical Research in Stalin’s Gulag

Recently declassified Gulag archives reveal for the first time that the Stalinist leadership established medical research laboratories in the camps. The present work offers an initial reading of the medical research conducted by and on prisoners in Stalin's Gulag. Although Gulag science did not apparently possess the lethal character of Nazi medicine, neither was this work entirely benign. I argue that the highly constrained environment of the Stalinist camps distorted medical science. Scientists were forced to produce work agreeable to their Gulag administrators. Thus they remained silent regarding the context of mass starvation and forced labor, and often perpetuated Gulag myths concerning the nature of diseases and the threat of deceptive patients. Rather than aggressive treatment to save lives, they often engaged in clinical observations of dead or dying patients. At the same time, a few courageous scientists challenged the Gulag system in their research, in both subtle and overt ways.

Building Trust: Children Experiences with Food Allergies at Summer Camp

Introduction: The objective of this study was to explore the experiences and perceptions of children with food allergies at summer camp. Methods: Qualitative draw-and-tell interviews were conducted with 14 food allergic individuals aged 5 - 12 years to capture their lived experience with food allergies at summer camp. Results: Four key interdependent themes: trust, accommodation, proactive parents and coping strategies were identified in how children perceive their food allergies in unregulated summer camp environments.

Refugee Health and Wellbeing: Differences between Urban and Camp-Based Environments in Sub-Saharan Africa

Refugees are increasingly migrating to urban areas, but little research has been conducted to compare health and wellbeing outcomes of urban refugees with those based in camps. This analytic cross-sectional study investigated differences in health-related quality of life (QoL) for urban and camp-based refugees in sub-Saharan Africa, and assessed the influences of both the environment and the perceived environment on refugees’ health-related QoL using the World Health Organization’s Quality of Life scale (WHOQOL-BREF.) Data for urban refugees were drawn from an administrative database used by an international agency that serves refugee populations in South Africa. Data for campbased refugees were collected via surveys conducted at two refugee camps in sub-Saharan Africa. Refugees in urban environments reported significantly higher satisfaction with overall health, physical health and environmental wellbeing than refugees placed in camps. In multivariate analyses, urban environments were associated with better physical health for refugees, compared to camp environments. In addition, refugees’ perceptions of their environment, particularly feeling safe in daily life and in the home environment, as well as being satisfied with living conditions, were more strongly associated with physical health than the environment itself, whether urban or camp-based.

Going to Camp Together: Lighting the Group Work Fire in a New Generation

This article describes the structure and process of Group Work Camp, an experiential training program sponsored by the International Association for Social Work with Groups (IASWG). The purpose of this 3-day event, which offers workshops and activities in a camp environment, is to transmit the skills, culture, and philosophy of social work with groups to students and new professionals. Camp also aims to connect participants to the group work community through interaction with skilled and enthusiastic professionals and educators. Participants live together as a large group and engage in ever-changing small groups. They learn primarily by experiencing group membership in the present moment, reflecting on this experience, and then discussing its implications. As the Chinese proverb says, “Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I will remember. Involve me and I will understand.” In the course of this experiential learning process participants develop strong connections with peers and mentors and become familiar with IASWG, a resource for support and stimulation that will be invaluable as they pursue group work practice in an environment likely to isolate them from group work peers. The article ends with a discussion of the implications of this model for group work education, supervision, and practice.

Earth Observation-Based Dwelling Detection Approaches in a Highly Complex Refugee Camp Environment — A Comparative Study

For effective management of refugee camps or camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) relief organizations need up-to-date information on the camp situation. In cases where detailed field assessments are not available, Earth observation (EO) data can provide important information to get a better overview about the general situation on the ground. In this study, different approaches for dwelling detection were tested using the example of a highly complex camp site in Somalia. On the basis of GeoEye-1 imagery, semi-automatic object-based and manual image analysis approaches were applied, compared and evaluated regarding their analysis results (absolute numbers, population estimation, spatial pattern), statistical correlations and production time. Although even the results of the visual image interpretation vary considerably between the interpreters, there is a similar pattern resulting from all methods, which shows same tendencies for dense and sparse populated areas. The statistical analyses revealed that all approaches have problems in the more complex areas, whereas there is a higher variance in manual interpretations with increasing complexity. The application of advanced rule sets in an object-based environment allowed a more consistent feature extraction in the area under investigation that can be obtained at a fraction of the time compared to visual image interpretation if large areas have to be observed.

‘The strawberry generation… they are too pampered’

This paper explores pre-service PE teachers’ conceptions of outdoor education (OE) in Singapore. Survey questionnaires were administered to 120 pre-service teachers; 14 teachers participated in follow-up semi-structured interviews. The findings indicate that OE is predominantly situated within the outdoor camp environment. Pre-service teachers regularly envisioned the purpose of OE as to instil a sense of discipline among students and to ameliorate the negative health impacts of an urban and wealthy lifestyle. We propose that the dislocation of OE from local and situated school contexts as well as the instrumental nature of OE pedagogy runs contrary to aims of fostering acquisition of life skills and character development. We concomitantly question how the pre-service teachers’ envisioning of OE can convincingly support holistic learning outcomes deemed beneficial to Singaporean youth and society more broadly.

The role of liminality in residential activity camps

Residential activity camps have been widely studied for their positive outcomes providing a broad multi-disciplinary analysis of the effects of camps in a range of contexts. However, there has been limited exploration of these camp experiences from the perspective of tourism studies. This article addresses this omission by exploring the potential offered by the concept of ‘liminality’ to explain the ways in which camps produce positive experiences for participants. This article discusses the idea of the camp environment as a liminal zone relating touristic aspects of the experience (such as being away from the familiar and placed into contact situations with a new social group) to the achievement of successful outcomes. The context for the investigation was residential camps organised by the Youth Hostel Association (England and Wales) and funded by a UK government pilot programme, which aimed to overcome issues of community cohesion within urban neighbourhoods in England, thus a form of ‘social tourism’. This article contributes to the understanding of the role played by novel environments in creating a context for liminal tourist experiences and outcomes for positive social interventions.

Mud, Dust, and Marougé: Precarious Construction in a Congolese Refugee Camp

This photo essay combines text and images to convey how the Congolese who reside in Nyarugusu, a United Nations refugee camp in Tanzania, interact with and interpret camp architecture. To establish the camps as temporary spaces, the Tanzanian government requires that refugees construct their houses with sundried mud brick and thatched roofs so that they can eventually be destroyed without a trace. The red dirt of their homes and the camp environment colours almost every facet of Nyarugusu residents' lives, adding a sense of dirtiness to the camp. The violence built into the camp architecture is not only contained in its eventual destruction, but also in the ways in which it visibly marks the residents' alienation and subordination in Tanzania.

Encampments: Spatial Taxonomies of Sri Lanka's Civil War

The escalation of human displacements occurring during the twenty-first century has seen the emergence of humanitarian relief accommodation as a new architectural type worthy of close analysis. Yet, these isolated physical phenomena and related design interventions alone are inadequate for theorising spatial violence. This paper broadens the analysis of camps to encompass notions of “encampment” related to war, militarisation, and urban security, using dispossession, eviction, and refugee movement as its empirical lens. Focusing on two examples from Colombo, Sri Lanka, where the spatial violence of radical human displacement is domesticated as everyday urban phenomena, this paper links the wartime emergence of camp environments, of temporal urban spaces, and the militarisation of the public sphere to economic liberalisation and political change.

Mixed Reality Virtual Pets to Reduce Childhood Obesity

Novel approaches are needed to reduce the high rates of childhood obesity in the developed world. While multifactorial in cause, a major factor is an increasingly sedentary lifestyle of children. Our research shows that a mixed reality system that is of interest to children can be a powerful motivator of healthy activity. We designed and constructed a mixed reality system that allowed children to exercise, play with, and train a virtual pet using their own physical activity as input. The health, happiness, and intelligence of each virtual pet grew as its associated child owner exercised more, reached goals, and interacted with their pet. We report results of a research study involving 61 children from a local summer camp that shows a large increase in recorded and observed activity, alongside observational evidence that the virtual pet was responsible for that change. These results, and the ease at which the system integrated into the camp environment, demonstrate the practical potential to impact the exercise behaviors of children with mixed reality.

A146: Strategies for Assessment and Management of Severe Environmental Allergies at “Camp JRA”

Background/Purpose:Camp JRA (Juveniles Reaching Achievement) has been offering a week of fun, education, friendship, independence and support for 17 years to children with arthritis and related diseases. The number of campers has grown from 28 the first year to 120 maximum capacity for the past few years.Experienced Pediatric Rheumatology nurses and physicians provide hands‐on care in the “Med Shed” at Camp JRA. Medical information is completed by parents, pediatric rheumatologists and primary care providers. The senior medical staff review and verify the information. Over the past 5 years we identified that coping with environmental allergies consumed a disproportionate amount of time for the staff and we felt unprepared to optimally address these issues.We wish to share our strategy in addressing the growing concern about environmental sensitivities in a residential week long camp for children with rheumatic diseases.Mindfulness of drug allergies is standard of care in any environment where medications are given. Coping with food allergies has assumed a significant position in our hierarchy of medical responsibilities in the Med Shed, as well. We found ourselves struggling to manage the increasing complexity of this issue. We found that some campers had multiple allergies listed that had not been reported, and no details were provided. For many years, we have run a very organized medical camp, however, this issue confounded our care of these complex children.Methods:The emergence of the multiple allergies issue was a barrier to providing a confidently safe camp environment. New approaches were developed and implemented. 1. We developed new allergy history questionaire that triggered progression to further detailed information. 2. We consulted with our Pediatric Allergist to develop an algorithm for assessment of symptoms (Attached to poster). 3. We developed an Allergy Action Plan specific to each camper with allergy issues, approved in advance by parent and signed. 4. We developed a system for Epi‐pen storage: over the door holder with multiple clear pockets, with the Epi‐pen, the child's photo, the signed Allergy Action Plan.Results:We oriented all medical staff who worked in the Med‐Shed to the new system. When implemented at Camp JRA in July 2013 and we experienced no allergy response problems. Increasing allergy sensitivities in patients requires a proactive plan for residential camps. We have developed a model for assessing allergies and reaction preparedness. This plan has improved our confidence that we can provide safe rheumatologic AND allergy response care.Conclusion:The development of increasing allergy sensitivities and concerns by families and patients requires a proactive plan for residential camps of children with rheumatic disease. We hve developed a model for assessing allergies and reaction preparedness.

Exploring the “Black Box” of Programming

Camp scholars have designed structured curricula to engender specific outcomes and to break down the “black box” of programming. Implementation evaluation explores how well a program operates when delivered, further breaking down the black box. The purpose of this study was to explore the implementation of a new structured camp curriculum. The unit of analysis was a pilot camp program, Teens Leading & Connecting (TLC). Methods for this study included two direct observation tools and facilitator interviews. The findings suggest that TLC was implemented with quality and fidelity, and that a variety of mechanisms and contexts supported the implementation of TLC. Understanding these mechanisms and contexts can inform the implementation of TLC, and similar programs, in new camp environments. Furthermore, the results of this study demonstrate that implementation evaluation can inform program delivery in an intentional manner in camp and other youth-serving program contexts.

Experiential Learning and Its Impact on Students’ Attitudes Toward Youth With Disabilities

This research uses contact theory to examine the impact of a service learning class on college students’ attitudes toward people with disabilities. Students were involved in both lecture material and working directly with people with disabilities in a therapeutic camp environment. Eighty-four students responded to the questionnaires at three time periods over the course of the semester. One-way repeated measures ANOVA and mixed-model ANOVA were performed to study the changes in students’ attitudes. The results indicate that there was a change in attitudes after 12 weeks of course instruction and between the beginning of class and after the camp experience. Also, gender and academic major were found to have had little impact on students’ attitudes toward people with disabilities. Implications and limitations of this research are discussed and thoughts for future research are addressed.

A new intermediate-depth ice-core drilling system

AbstractSeveral recent projects associated with the IPICS (International Partnerships in Ice Core Sciences) 2k array have demanded the recovery of ice core to depths in excess of several hundred metres (e.g. Flade Isblink, Greenland (2006), Aurora Basin, Antarctica (2008/09), NEEM, Greenland (2011), Aurora Basin North (2013/14) and Renland ice cap, Greenland (2015)). These projects require that the overall system weight is low, that the ability to set up and operate are within the limitations of a small-camp environment and that the overall logistical and transportation costs are kept to a minimum. Using these criteria, a new drilling system capable of drilling >400m depth was seen as a useful future development. Here we report on a new intermediate-depth drilling system designed to recover high-quality 98 mm diameter ice cores from close to surface down to depths of 1000 m by two or more operators in a small deep-field camp environment. The total weight of the system on the snow surface is ∼490 kg, of which the intermediate-depth winch is the single heaviest component at 305 kg with 1000 m of cable.

Tabud ja reeglid. Sissevaateid eesti laagriromaani

The article concentrates on Estonian novels depicting Soviet prison camps in the 1940s and 1950s. The goal is to map themes, motifs and characteristics in such novels, concentrating on various taboos and rules in the prison camp environment. For a long time the Soviet prison camp theme was not publicly discussed in Estonia due to political reasons. Texts dealing with prison camps could appear in print only outside the Soviet Union; the way Estonians saw these historical events and hellish experiences were depicted mostly in exile novels. Most notable are the novels by Arved Viirlaid (b. 1922), e.g., Kes tappis Eerik Hormi? ( Who Killed Eerik Horm? ) (1974), Surnud ei loe ( The Dead do not Read ) (1975), Vaim ja ahelad ( Mind and Chains ) (1961). Estonian prison camp novels can be seen as “the literature of testimony”, to use the term by Leona Toker. Dramatic historical events are written down to record the events and to show the inhumane nature of Soviet society. These records of the dramatic past follow certain patterns and create certain self- and hetero-images. A prison camp is a closed territory within a closed territory; prison camps can be seen as small models of Soviet society. Prison camp novels give a detailed view of the environment of the prison camp, its inhabitants and activities. Two central aspects are labour and food; the life of the prisoner whirls around these. The most important thing is to survive, which often leads to moral decline, e.g., stealing, cheating. However, there are lines Estonians do not cross, e.g., cannibalism or homosexual relationships with superiors. Estonians are always depicted as political prisoners (not common criminals) and heterosexuals, while Russians are portrayed mainly as criminals and often also as homosexuals. Another important component of the image of the Estonians is their enterprising spirit and ability to manage even under very difficult conditions. Therefore, several oppositions can be identified, e.g., Estonians vs . Russians; political prisoners vs . criminals; heterosexuals vs . homosexuals; civilized vs . barbaric, etc.

The nature and impact of chronic stressors on refugee children in Ban Mai Nai Soi camp, Thailand

Refugee camps are replete with risk factors for mental health problems among children, including poverty, disruption of family structure, family violence and food insecurity. This study, focused on refugee children from Burma, in Ban Mai Nai Soi camp in Thailand, sought to identify the particular risks children are exposed to in this context, and the impacts on their mental health and psychosocial well-being. This study employed two qualitative methods – free list interviews and key informant interviews – to identify the main problems impacting children in Ban Mai Nai Soi camp and to explore the causes of these problems and their impact on children's well-being. Respondents in free list interviews identified a number of problems that impact children in this context, including fighting between adults, alcohol use by adults and children, and child abuse and neglect. Across the issues, the causes included economic and social conditions associated with living in the camp and changes in family structures. Children are chronically exposed to stressors during their growth and development in the camp environment. Policies and interventions in areas of protracted displacement in camp-based settings should work to address these stressors and their impacts at community, household and individual levels.