Camp Experience Research Articles

Therapeutic aspects of Connection to Country and cultural landscapes among Aboriginal peoples from the Stolen Generations living in urban NSW, Australia.

Qualitative study. Our study worked collaboratively with Aboriginal traditional cultural knowledge holders to observe and analyse how participation in a 'cultural camp' on a Yuwaalaraay sacred site in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, impacted wellbeing and connection to place among older Aboriginal people who were survivors or descendants of the Stolen Generations. Eight participants (three women; five men) attended the cultural camp and took part in the yarning circle. Thematic analysis of a yarning circle uncovered memories of traumatic experiences of institutionalisation, including abuse and loss of Country, community, and culture. Experiences of the cultural camp generated a sense of reconnection, cultural pride, wellbeing and place attachment. The sensory experience of Country emphasised a sense of belonging and healing. Our findings reflect the importance of sensory-led experiences on Country for older urban Aboriginal peoples and reinforce previous evidence on the 'therapeutic' aspects of culture and natural landscapes minimally impacted by colonisation. Policies and resources supporting grassroots initiatives such as Aboriginal cultural camps are needed to ensure accessibility for older Aboriginal peoples living in urban places.

전문대학 졸업자의 첫 직장 취업성과에 대한 영향요인 분석

By analyzing the factors affecting employment outcomes of junior college graduates, this research aimed to provide the basic data needed at a university level to enhance employment outcomes of college graduates. Accordingly, the data of junior college graduates were extracted from the 2020 Graduate Occupation Mobility Survey (GOMS) data of the Korea Employment Information Service. Both objective (i.e., employment status, salary) and subjective (i.e., job satisfaction, work satisfaction, work-education level concordance, necessary skills and retained skills concordance) employment outcomes were analyzed in this study.
 First, age, major field, job experience programs, interviews/creating a resume, and employment camp experience had a statistically significant effect on employment status. In terms of wages, gender, age, university location, major field, and job experience programs had a significant impact. Second, regarding job satisfaction, major field, career counseling and support system satisfaction, and major curriculum and content satisfaction had a significant effect. Third, regarding work satisfaction, grades, university location, teaching method and quality satisfaction, and job camp experience showed a significant effect. Finally, regarding work-education level concordance level, grades, major field, overall school satisfaction, and job experience programs had a statistically important effect, and regarding necessary skills-retained skills concordance level, grades, university location, major field, career counseling and support system satisfaction, overall school satisfaction, and job experience programs had a significant impact.
 The findings suggest that the efforts at the institution level should made to develop a career and employment education roadmap and strategies tailored for each field and major, provide diverse voluntary job preparation opportunities, and expand and strengthen major curriculum based on field-centered curriculum.

A multi-year study of camp-based reunification and the well-being of siblings separated by out-of-home care

ABSTRACT Camp-based reunification is a developmentally informed approach to strengthen the relationships of siblings in out-of-home care. Little is known about the collective impact of these programs, or if there is a benefit to multiple camp experiences. To address this, data were collected from 2,260 youth who were campers at one of 16 sibling reunification programs in the U.S. or Australia between 2013-2019. Increases in resilience, decreases in sibling support, and decreases in sibling conflict were observed among first-time campers. For repeat campers, changes to resilience were greatest during youths’ first year of camp. Recommendations for research and practice are provided.

Impact of Behavior Modification on Female Campers’ Physical Activity in Summer Camp

In order to combat rampant health and wellness deterioration over the summer months, residential summer camps have been presented as a possible solution to thwart such declines in overall health and wellbeing. The purpose of this study was to determine the differential effects of prompting, and prompting combined with reinforcement on female campers’ step counts at a residential summer camp. The participants in this study were 104 female campers (Mage = 13.71), all attending the same residential summer camp. An alternating treatment design was implemented to evaluate campers’ daily physical activity across three conditions (baseline, prompting, and prompting combined with contingent reinforcement) throughout the duration of the 51 days camp experience. In accordance with standard Applied Behavior Analysis research, data were plotted graphically in order to employ visual analysis to determine functional relationships between the intervention (prompting only, prompting plus group contingency, and target behavior [step count]). Results of this study indicate that prompting with group contingencies (29%) and without (13%) successfully led to an increased amount of daily physical activity. Further, small variance within the group contingency group illustrates the breadth of success for this technique. This is the first comprehensive intervention focused primarily on influencing female campers’ physical activity levels in the residential camp context and demonstrates a cost-effective strategy for improving activity among female campers.

Scalpel and Scenery: A Surgical Camp Experience in the Valleys of Chitral

Chitral, found in the mountains of the Hindu Kush is a landlocked area. It faces numerous health problems which are exacerbated by its geography, the harsh climate, and lack of both healthcare infrastructure and professionals1. Data are scarce on health-related outcomes for Chitral, which results in challenges when forming targeted and effective health policies2.

Girls are good at STEM: Opening minds and providing evidence reduces boys' stereotyping of girls' STEM ability.

Girls and women face persistent negative stereotyping within STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics). This field intervention was designed to improve boys' perceptions of girls' STEM ability. Boys (N = 667; mostly White and East Asian) aged 9-15 years in Canadian STEM summer camps (2017-2019) had an intervention or control conversation with trained camp staff. The intervention was a multi-stage persuasive appeal:a values affirmation, an illustration of girls' ability in STEM, a personalized anecdote, and reflection. Control participants discussed general camp experiences. Boys who received the intervention (vs. control) had more positive perceptions of girls' STEM ability, d = 0.23, an effect stronger among younger boys. These findings highlight the importance of engaging elementary-school-aged boys to make STEM climates more inclusive.

CampEDU: An Educational Camp Management System

In recent years, educational camps have gained popularity as effective platforms for experiential learning and skill development. However, organizing and managing educational camps efficiently can be a daunting task. This paper presents "CampEDU," a novel Python-based framework designed to streamline the planning, management, and engagement aspects of educational camps. CampEDU integrates various technological tools to enhance participant registration, communication, activity scheduling, and feedback collection. This framework not only simplifies the administrative workload but also enhances the overall camp experience for both organizers and participants.

Retaining Camp's Most Valuable Resource: A Study on the Fulfillment of Counselor Autonomy, Competence, and Relatedness and their Impact on Willingness to Return

Within the United States, recruiting, hiring, and retaining seasonal staff continues to be a major concern for the summer camp industry. In fact, retention of qualified seasonal staff was the number two (of seven) top emerging issues among American Camp Association professionals. Low staff retention rates are problematic because training is expensive, re-hiring consumes resources, and too much turnover creates instability. Camp administrators need solutions and tools to better understand, and support components of counselor needs, which in turn could improve staff retention. The current study utilized Basic Needs Theory (BNT), a sub theory of Self Determination Theory (SDT), to explore how the degree of need fulfillment and counselor experiences impact a staff member's willingness to return to work the following summer. Data were collected at a large rural coed residential summer camp and a total of 114 staff (mean age = 20.5, SD = 2.07) participated. The Work Basic Needs Satisfaction Scale (W-BNS) was administered to understand the fulfillment of autonomy, competence, and relatedness among camp counselors throughout the summer. A quasi-experimental design was used and baseline responses (pretest) for W-BNS items, dosage (weeks worked), camper years, counselor years, and willingness to return to work at camp were compared to posttest responses using independent sample t-tests and analysis of variance (ANOVA). Multiple regression analysis was used to develop the process and final model to understand the predictors for the dependent variable of staff willingness to return the following summer. Results indicated that dosage was not a significant predictor of willingness to return the following year. In addition, the number of years working at camp was negatively related to staff retention (β = -.402) and camper years positively predicted retention (β = .282). Relatedness (not autonomy or competence) was the most salient basic need predictor of staff retention (β = .288). Camp experience predictors of dosage, camper years, and staff years did not relate to measures of W-BNS but were the only predictors directly related to willingness to return. Results indicated that camp experience and W-BNS items were separate and distinct predictors of a staff member’s choice to return to work. This study expands upon a model for understanding need fulfillment and motivation amongst emerging adults within a summer camp work setting. Camp managerial and programmatic implications related to need fulfillment, training, and culture are discussed.

Satisfaction of cardiac surgery trainees with the residency training program in Saudi Arabia: a survey-based study

BackgroundThere is a direct relationship between the degree of trainees’ satisfaction and their productivity. The Saudi Board of Cardiac Surgery is a new training program established by the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties. As a result, we aimed to provide helpful information and data in order to improve the overall quality of the local cardiac training program. This is the first study to look at how satisfied residents are with the Saudi cardiac surgery training program.ResultsThe study included 55.3% central region residents (N = 26), 31.9% western region residents (N = 15), and others from other regions, resulting in a total of 47 participants out of 60 with a 78.3% response rate. Only 42.6% of all residents were satisfied with their training in the Saudi Board of Cardiac Surgery program, 23.4% were neutral, and 34.0% were dissatisfied with the program. The most essential area for improvement was operative experience (63.8%), followed by workplace climate (8.5%) and mentorship (6.4%), whereas the area least in need of improvement was research opportunities (2.1%).ConclusionsOur results indicate a decline in satisfaction level with the training program. In reference to our findings, implementing simulation-based surgical learnings and providing more frequent exposure to Boot Camp experience in cardiac surgery is recommended. Adequate and constant mentoring, and constructive feedback, represent a valuable resource for improvement theoretically and surgically.

AI Made by Youth: A Conversational AI Curriculum for Middle School Summer Camps

As artificial intelligence permeates our lives through various tools and services, there is an increasing need to consider how to teach young learners about AI in a relevant and engaging way. One way to do so is to leverage familiar and pervasive technologies such as conversational AIs. By learning about conversational AIs, learners are introduced to AI concepts such as computers’ perception of natural language, the need for training datasets, and the design of AI-human interactions. In this experience report, we describe a summer camp curriculum designed for middle school learners composed of general AI lessons, unplugged activities, conversational AI lessons, and project activities in which the campers develop their own conversational agents. The results show that this summer camp experience fostered significant increases in learners’ ability beliefs, willingness to share their learning experience, and intent to persist in AI learning. We conclude with a discussion of how conversational AI can be used as an entry point to K-12 AI education.

Dispositif, Biopolitical Governance, and Significance of Genealogical Approach in Navigating Refugees’ Experiences of Camp and Community

Foucault’s distinction between biopolitics and biopower is significant to society, a normative body in terms of seeing biopower as the practical production of the visible and invisible poles of the dispositif through interdependent discursive and institutional practices of administration. This paper fundamentally discusses two theoretical ideas ingrained with the notion of Foucauldian biopolitics---dispositif and genealogy that Foucault brought into account for merging them into modern biopolitical administrative forces. First, it discusses the idea of dispositif as a mechanism of governance and critically examines its connection to biopower and biopolitics. Second, it analyzes the notion of genealogy as a tool to navigate the politics of forced migration and refugees’ local memories, discursive construction, and fragmentation of previously-coherent ideas and practices and the cohering of formerly disparate ones through a lens that does not privilege the present as the destination of the past.

580 Burn Camp in the Midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract Introduction Previous literature has shown that pediatric burn camps provide numerous benefits to childhood burn survivors. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the inability to host camp for fear of viral transmission to burn survivors and camp personnel alike. A comprehensive burn center, with assistance from the firefighter community, hosted its first burn camp since the onset of the COVID pandemic in August of 2022. A camp staff of 54 volunteers modified the previous camp processes to ensure camp was safe, fun and accessible to 20 pediatric burn survivors. Methods This is an academic short report that reviews the process changes necessary to host a safe pediatric burn camp in the midst of the COVID pandemic. All attendees and staff were required to show a negative PCR test result 48 hours prior to arrival at camp. COVID vaccination was encouraged in all participants, however, staff and patients were not required to be vaccinated. Daily symptom tracking was implemented immediately upon arrival to camp. All participants were assigned a thermometer, and daily temperatures and symptom monitoring was performed by the camp director. Masks were mandated when indoors or within close proximity or group activities. There was a quarantine plan in place in the case a camper or staff member became symptomatic, or tested positive for COVID. Lastly, the number of people per cabin decreased from 12 to 8. Results In the early planning phase of camp, it was discovered that some of the participants and staff were unable to obtain a PCR test prior to camp. Therefore, onsite testing was implemented to allow testing as the participants and camp staff arrived to camp. The onsite testing facility was available for the entirety of camp in the case anyone became symptomatic. Implementation of additional camp processes resulted in a successful and safe camp. There were no reported cases of COVID during or after camp. Conclusions As the Public Health Emergency from COVID-19 continues, group activities, such as summer burn camps, with medically vulnerable populations must be altered to protect all stakeholders. We described the steps taken by one burn-center-run camp that enabled children and firefighter volunteers to participate in the full burn camp experience. Plans for the 2023 burn camp are already in process, and the processes implemented in 2022 will be implemented in all upcoming camps to ensure the children and staff are safe from the transmission of COVID. Applicability of Research to Practice N/A

No connectivity, better connections: teenagers’ experiences of a phone-free summer camp in the United States

ABSTRACT Phones have become pervasive in many teenagers’ lives, and outdoor educators are increasingly faced with making decisions regarding technology. This case study sheds light on the complex relationship between teenagers, phones and residential outdoor environmental education by exploring the experiences of participants at a phone-free summer camp in the US. It was conducted over six weeks and gathered evidence from individual interviews, focus group interviews and unstructured conversations. The three main findings were: (1) participants expressed overwhelmingly positive attitudes towards the experience, especially regarding social interactions. (2) This positive experience was perceived to only be possible at CIFC, where an engaging programme and a strong community supported participants in their phone-free experience. (3) As a result of (2), teenagers expressed concerns about applying their experience outside of camp. These findings have important implications for practitioners and contribute to pedagogical discussions regarding phones on outdoor environmental education programmes.

Acquiring life skills at therapeutic recreational based camp among Hungarian youth

Even though a considerable number of studies proved that specialty camps working with therapeutic recreation (TR) have several psychosocial benefits for children and adolescents with serious illness, less is known about outcomes of the camp experience in the long term. The main purpose of this research is to investigate which life skills youth living with serious illness consider important in their daily life and how they perceive thatcamp was critical in the acquisition of those skills. Our sample consisted of (N = 60) alumni members aged 18–25 from Hungarian Camp of Courage (Bátor Tábor) with a previous medical diagnosis of childhood cancer, hemofilia, diabetes mellitus, inflammatory bowel disease, or juvenile idiopathic arthritis. The research applied a retrospective online survey method. The questionnaire was developed based on previous interviews with camp alumni and included a set of questions regarding subjective importance and the camp’s role in the acquisition of 18 life skills. Descriptive analysis and principal component analysis were applied. Results showed that perseverance, the ability to live close to peers and to appreciate diversity, empathy, relationship skills, self-confidence and teamwork were the areas that are subjectively important for youth and also attributed to camp in their development. Participants rated the camp’s role important in developing all 18 skills, especially the development of individual growth skills and the ability to enjoy the moment with an empathic open presence. Significant correllations between demographic groups were observed both on the daily importance of the skills as well as in the camp’s role in their acquisition. Results were discussed in the framework of Basic Needs Theory and implications were made to camp program planning based on the found demographic differences.

The Unexpected Positive Outcomes for Summer Camps in the Time of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic completely upended the camping industry, posing unique and significant challenges to youth summer engagement experiences, with many camps choosing not to operate in the summer of 2020. These canceled programs resulted in staff layoffs and loss of revenue. Some state requirements necessitated camp closures, while other camps closed due to uncertainty about the ability to provide a safe, healthy camp experience that retained the essence of summer camp. The small portion of camps that did open were forced to be cre-ative in how they offered programs. Some camps chose to run limited in-person programs, some offered family camps for family units, while others transitioned to virtual camp experiences. For these camps that did run in some capacity, several national organizations were able to gather data regarding operational challenges and benefits. Using document analysis, this project examined research findings from four national camp organizations. This cross-organizational analysis high-lights the experiences of camps offering in-person summer programs and services in implementing nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) to minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission in 2020. Camps used a variety of NPIs that involved both personal responsibility and community cooperation to create a camp experience that was socially distant and as sanitary as possible. This study also examines the experiences of camps offering virtual programs and services as a means to connect with individuals and support socialization needs of youth. These virtual programs varied widely, but all provided youth the opportunity to connect with like-minded campers and staff to have community building experiences despite isolation. In the context of many COVID-19 challenges, this study identifies positive benefits associated with operating camp in the summer of 2020. These unexpected positive impacts encompass health center operations, food service, programmatic changes, changes to the structure of camper units, and a shifting focus toward mental, emo-tional, and social health. Many of these positive outcomes are perceived by camp administrators as beneficial changes that will likely remain after the pandemic and continue to impact the camping industry for the foreseeable future.

Evaluation of Safety Measures at a Medical Summer Camp During the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic.

SARS-CoV-2 poses challenges for the safe delivery of a camp experience with a medically complex camper population. Multiple studies have investigated the effect of nonpharmaceutical interventions for preventing SARS-CoV-2 transmission in traditional summer camp settings, but none in the medical summer camp settings. Our objective was to describe and evaluate the nonpharmaceutical interventions on SARS-CoV-2 transmission rate in a medical summer camp setting. This was a single-institution cross-sectional study conducted between June 2021 and August 2021 in a rural summer camp setting in upstate New York. Nonpharmaceutical interventions consisted of prearrival guidance on low-risk activities, obtaining negative SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction results within 72 h prior to arrival, adult SARS-CoV-2 vaccine mandate, universal masking mandate, small cohorts, daily symptom screening, and rapid testing on site. Primary cases were defined as an individual with a positive SARS-CoV-2 test result of any type while at camp or 2 wk after departure from camp without any known exposure at camp; secondary cases were defined as cases from potential exposures within camp. Two hundred and ninety-three campers were included. Nine individuals were tested owing to potentially infectious symptoms while at camp. Thirty-four campers were tested because they arrived from a county with an a priori intermediate level of SARS-CoV-2 community spread. Zero on-site rapid tests were positive for SARS-CoV-2. We describe the implementation of multilayered nonpharmaceutical interventions at a medical summer camp during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

Jak w czasach niegodnych zachować godność. Kazimierz Stołyhwo podczas II wojny światowej

How to Maintain Dignity in Undignified Times. Kazimierz Stołyhwo during the Second World War Kazimierz Stołyhwo (1880-1966) was an outstanding Polish anthropologist. On November 6, 1939, together with other professors of the Jagiellonian University, he was arrested by the Germans during the “Sonderaktion Krakau”, and then transported to the concentration camp in Sachsenhausen. Stołyhwo described his camp and wartime experiences in detail in a little-known, but valuable publication In captivity of the NSDAP. Biographical Summary in the Period from September 1, 1939 to January 18, 1945 (Kraków 1946). During this difficult time, he proved to be a righteous and uncompromising man. Sick and exhausted, he was finally released from the camp on April 23, 1940 – it was the result of pressure from European politicians and scientists. After the war, Stołyhwo continued to work at the Jagiellonian University.

"A Word for Nature": A Reflection on a Contemplative Teacher-Training Course in the Desert

This paper reflects on an interdisciplinary, environmental, and contemplative course the authors taught at Kibbutzim College of Education in Tel Aviv. Entitled "I am in Nature," the course was co-taught by an ecologist and a literary scholar. It included a two-day base camping and hiking experience in the Negev Desert and three on-campus meetings. The students read Nature Writing and Ecopoetry, practiced guided mindfulness meditations in the field, and kept contemplative-writing journals. In this community voices piece, we offer an innovative pedagogy for higher education that centers on the integration of the learner’s mind, body, and heart through interdisciplinary, contemplative, and holistic approaches and ways of being.

A Transnational History of Forced Migrants in Europe: Unwilling Nomads in the Age of Two World Wars ed. by Bastiaan Willems and Michal Adam Palacz (review)

Reviewed by: A Transnational History of Forced Migrants in Europe: Unwilling Nomads in the Age of Two World Wars ed. by Bastiaan Willems and Michal Adam Palacz E. A. Hatto Willems, Bastiaan and Palacz, Michal Adam (eds). A Transnational History of Forced Migrants in Europe: Unwilling Nomads in the Age of Two World Wars. Bloomsbury Academic, London, New York and Dublin, 2022. xv + 279 pp. Maps. Illustrations. Notes. Index. £85.00; £76.50 (e-book). Bastiaan Willems and Michal Adam Palacz's edited volume, A Transnational History of Forced Migrants in Europe, constitutes a profound, synthesized study of mass population displacement in Europe in the first half of the twentieth century. Each chapter contributes the examination of a particular refugee movement to this collaborative volume, with a heavy focus on those caused, directly or indirectly, by the World Wars and their ramifications — most notably, the remapping of Europe as these conflicts resulted in the creation of new states following World War One and the shifting of state borders after World War Two. Additional chapters focus on mass displacement resulting from 1930s fascism, in the form of the Spanish Civil War and Nazi Germany's persecution of its Jewish population. The result is a series of snapshots of the European refugee experience in this period. In the volume's introduction, Willems and Palacz identify four key components of diasporic interactions which can be observed within European population displacements in the first half of the twentieth century: those with the host society, homeland, other members of the diaspora and other diasporas within the host society. The first three are well-established within the existing historiography, while the fourth is a new element proposed by Willems and Palacz. They argue that considering the influence of diaspora interactions upon one another, in addition to understanding all four of these components as a spectrum varying on account of factors such as socio-economic circumstances, ethnicity, religion, age and gender, allows for a more complete, multifaceted understanding of European forced migration in this period. The subsequent chapters, however, do not respond rigidly to this theoretical framework in its entirety. Rather, their respective authors focus on those components which they perceive as most noteworthy in terms of their focal [End Page 179] diaspora's experiences. Serhiy Choliy's chapter on the Habsburg Empire's World War One internments of those among its Galician population it perceived as potential enemies — mostly Ruthenians and Jews — places the strongest emphasis upon the volume's proposed four-dimensional model of diaspora interactions. This, along with Egor Lykov's contribution arguing that these Habsburg internment camps exposed all internees, regardless of ethnicity and political affiliation, to the same poor conditions on account of their shared socio-economic background, and Diego Han's work on the Croatian population evacuated inland from strategic port cities on the Istrian coast, illustrate how the artificial and temporary environments of such camps isolated these diasporas from typical host society interactions. These chapters argue that temporary diasporas often did not produce lasting identities; this is particularly evident in the case of the Ruthenian internees, who lacked a recognized Ruthenian region to return to altogether. The snapshot structure allows subsequent chapters to illustrate how this aspect of the internment camp experience was not, however, universal in the first half of the twentieth century. Lennart Onken argues that in the immediate aftermath of World War Two, Jewish survivors at Bergen-Belsen built their own diaspora identity through self-organization, in order to address the issue of their post-war statelessness. Onken's contibution can also be viewed as a case of inter-diaspora interaction, in that the establishment of purely Jewish displaced persons camps at Bergen-Belson created one Jewish community from those previously divided between separate European states. A Transnational History of Forced Migrants in Europe's format also allows for the exploration of forced migrant interactions with host societies which would become places of permanent settlement, as well as a variety of thematic approaches and focuses. A particular highlight is Jill Meißner-Wolfbeisser's contribution on the career of New York librarian Stefi Kielser, and the pivotal role she played in both introducing German and...

Camp is for Everyone: Intentional Inclusion of Gender-Expansive Teens at Camp

Camp remains a powerful experience for youth of any age, but special care must be taken to ensure camps are supportive of diverse audiences. This article describes the process by which 4-H camp organizers created a welcoming and affirming camp for teen dependents of active duty, retired, or veteran military personnel, especially those campers who identified as non-binary or LGBTQ+. This included careful consideration of language used in recruitment documents, evaluation documents, volunteer and staff training, as well as communication with campers and families. Through careful planning and implementation, the 4-H adventure camps engaged over 90 teens, and survey results showed statistically significant improvements in camper perceptions of self-worth and satisfaction after their camp experience.