Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'The Camp Fire Girls'

The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file. Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on November 16, 2009). Thesis advisor: Dr. David R. Vaught. Includes bibliographical references.

This study investigated friendship formations of two girls with Down Syndrome who were integrated into a unit of 34 ten and eleven-year-old girls at a residential summer camp. While acting as participant observer, in the role of co-counsellor, I recorded behavioural observations and informal interviews in a journal, friendship log and personal log. A quantitative data analysis investigated the frequency with which campers elected to be with these two girls, as well as the number of campers who chose them as their best friends, as preferred bunkmates for next year and as those with whom they would want to keep in touch. A qualitative data analysis investigated the comments made by campers and counsellors concerning the program and the two girls of interest to this study. Results indicated that these two girls formed friendships during this month-long program. Limitations of this investigation are considered and some suggestions for further research are explored.

This dissertation investigates how girls develop new affinities towards and capabilities in media and technology. Thirty co-researchers, girls aged 10 to 13, were recruited into 101 Technology Fun, a series of summer camps with learning labs in animation, game design, movie production, robotics programming, and web development. The design studio setting, created by the How We Learn (Media & Technology Across the Lifespan) collective, offered girls their own makerspace to explore new roles as media and technology producers. Highlighting the importance for youth voices to be recognized and given influence in the academic research concerning their lives and learning circumstances, the findings focus on the catalytic or generative artifacts and “little stories” (e.g., Lyotard’s petits récits) revealing the co-researchers’ experiences and expressions of girlhood-in-interaction-with-technology (the key unit of analysis). Artifacts are addressed as they relate to stories made or analyzed by the girls, including their concerns, needs, talents, inspiration, literacy, and volition. The artifacts, such as music videos, robotic amusement park, and the momME alternate reality game, are catalytic for storymaking and, symmetrically, the stories are catalytic to artifact production and sharing. Four distinct yet interrelated elements characterize the co-researchers’ fieldwork and designworks: (1) agency (girls having influence and power); (2) ingenuity (girls being clever and inventive); (3) self-interpretation (girls making sense and significance); and (4) self-efficacy (girls believing in or judging their technological capabilities). Findings underscore the matter concerning how, why, and where do girls learn to become innovators, leaders, and producers of media and technology (thereby overturning traditional gender and generational stereotypes)? Indeed, how a group of female youth story changes in their sense of technological self-efficacy, self-interpretation, ingenuity, and agency is one of the most important contributions of this study. Another contribution involves the formation of the Tween Empowerment & Advocacy Methodology (TEAM), a design-based and participatory research approach that emphasizes relational ethics through artifact production, storymaking, mind scripting, invention, and imagination. Questions, both guiding and emergent, are articulated in artifact and text to motivate further scholarly inquiry, action, and advocacy, thus generating more opportunities for girls to participate in, design, make, and transform technology culture.
Education, Faculty of
Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of
Graduate

Large fires (400 ha +) occur about every seven to ten years in the vegetation types located at US Army Garrison Camp Williams (AGCW) practice range located near South Jordan, Utah. In 2010 and 2012, wildfires burned beyond the Camp’s boundaries into the wildland-urban interface. The political and public reaction to these fire escapes was intense. Researchers at Utah State University were asked to organize a system of fuel treatments that could be developed to prevent future escapes. The first step of evaluation was to spatially predict fuel model types derived from a random forests classification approach. Fuel types were mapped according to fire behavior fuel models with an overall validation of 72.3% at 0.5 m resolution. Next, using a combination of empirical and semi-empirical based methods, potential fire behavior was analyzed for the dominant vegetation types at AGCW on a climatological basis. Results suggest the need for removal of woody vegetation within 20 m of firebreaks and a minimum firebreak width of 8 m in grassland fuels. In Utah juniper (Juniperus osteosperma (Torr.) Little), results suggest canopy coverage of 25% or less while in Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii Nutt.) stands along the northern boundary of the installation, a fuelbreak width of 60 m for secondary breaks and 90 m for primary breaks is recommended.

This study documented the gender-responsive youth programing strategies within Girls Rock camps using grounded theory methodology. Experiencing gender oppression is a stressor that creates an increased risk for mental and physical health concerns for gender-marginalized people. The risks for mental illnesses, because of gender-based oppression, is compounded when an individual holds additional marginalized statuses (e.g., age, race, ethnicity, social class, sexual orientation, ability status, etc.; APA, 2007). Gender bias has also been shown to negatively impact young people’s self-esteem, academic achievement, and vocational aspirations (Kamsler, 1992). Given this negative impact of gender bias, it is important to address gender related discrimination early in adolescents’ lives to mitigate the harmful ramifications of living in a sexist society. Gender-responsive youth programs are extracurricular, community-based organizations that incorporate the specific concerns of girls and gender non-conforming youth into organizational policies, practices, and activities. Girls Rock is a music-based, gender-responsive youth program that teaches young people empowerment through music. The resulting grounded theory model of the Girls Rock Camp Alliance positions authentic relationships as the active ingredient that makes Girls Rock camps effective worldwide. This model can be used to understand the components of a successful Girls Rock camp and can be adapted to gender-responsive youth programs of any discipline.

Underrepresentation of women and minorities in the science, technology, and engineering (STEM) fields is a perennial concern for researchers and policy-makers. Many causes of this problem have been identified. Less is known about what constitutes effective methods for increasing women’s participation in STEM. This study examines the role that identity formation plays in encouraging girls to pursue STEM education and careers utilizing data from a cohort-based, informal science enrichment program that targets middle-school-aged girls. A Mixed-methods design was employed to examine girls’ science interests, efficacy, attitudes, and identity—referred to as affinities. Quantitative data were collected before and after program participation using science affinity scales. Qualitative data included observations, focus groups, and individual interviews. This study builds on past research conducted on the same program. The study is presented in three components: fidelity of implementation, participant affinities, and science identity theory building. Quantitative and qualitative measures reveal that the program was implemented with high fidelity. Participants had high initial affinities for science as compared to a contrast group. Analysis of qualitative data of science affinities revealed several themes in girls’ attitudes, experiences, and intentions toward science. Emergent themes discussed include girls’ preferences and interests in science, gender and science efficacy, attitudes toward science, and elements of science identities. Archetypes of emergent science identities developed in this study (expert, experimenter, and inventor) inform different ways in which girls engage with and envision science study and careers. Implications for best practice in fostering science engagement and identities in middle-school-aged girls include the importance of hands-on science activities, the need for enthusiastic relatable role models, and an emphasis on deep understanding of scientific principles.

Fire occurrence and behavior were determined by collecting and analyzing fuel , weather , and fire history ii data. Fuel plots were used to measure average fuel loading by vegetation type and integrated with weather to make worst - case fire behavior prediction s . A fire history was developed using oakbrush (Quercus qaffibelli Nutt . ) sprouts to determine age and the Global Positioning System (GPS) for mapping the burned areas . Average fuel loading was highest in the oakbrush fuel type with 16.8 t/ha , then juniper (Juniperus ost eosoerma Torrey ) with 6 . 72 t/ha , and the lowest was in sagebrush (Artemisia triden~at a Nutt. ) with 4 . 93 t/ha . Fire behavior predictions were similar for all fuel types. The fire rotation for the study area was calculated to be 30 years. The fire history showed the most hectares burned were in the oakbrush fuel type due to fuel loading and horizontal continuity. Prescribed burns and negative fuel breaks were suggested as management alternatives. The effect of fire on deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) density in oakbrush was determined by using a trapping web design with distance sampling techniques . Webs were set in four pairs with one web of each pair being in 7- year- old burned oakbrush and the other web in unburned oakbrush. Variables such as shrub height and litter depth were recorded in order to reduce variance . Trapping occurred in June 1994 with each web set for two consecutive nights using 80 Museum Special snap traps spaced 6 m apart on eight lines . Density estimates were determined by using a computer program called DI STANCE and then analyzed using analysis of variance with a randomized block design . No significant differences between deer mouse densities were detected between burned and unburned oakbrush. Although litter depth and shrub height were both significantly less in burned sites, it did not affect deer mouse density . The conclusion from these result s was that after 7 years oakbrush had recovered to a point that the effect of fire on deer mouse density was negligible.

Master of Public Health
Human Nutrition
Richard R. Rosenkranz
Background: Children who obtain insufficient physical activity (PA) have increased risk for chronic diseases. From childhood to adolescence, there is typically a decline in overall PA, with a more rapid decline in girls, at a younger age. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of two types of organized PA instructional conditions (structured no-choice, structured choice) on girls’ PA levels, as compared to free-play at a summer camp in Russia. We hypothesized that free-play would elicit the highest levels of PA. Methods: This study used a within-subjects cross-over trial design. Thirty-two girls (aged 10.7± 0.6yr; BMI percentile 47± 31%) at a Russian summer camp, attended daily 35-minute PA sessions for three weeks. Using the evidence-based Coordinated Approach to Child Health physical activity box, three PA instructional conditions (structured choice, structured no-choice, free-play) were implemented each day. Actical PA monitors collected step count and PA intensity data. Mixed model ANOVAs were used to assess differences in step counts and percentage of time in Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activity (MVPA) by instructional condition. Results: Twenty-five of the 32 participants attended all sessions, and 31 attended at least two of three sessions for each condition. Both structured conditions, no-choice steps/min (mean= 42.7 steps/min; 95%CI= 39.6–45.7; p= 0.0003) and choice condition steps/min (mean= 41.0 steps/min; 95%CI= 37.9–44.1; p= 0.004) were significantly higher than free-play steps/min (mean= 33.4 steps/min; 95%CI= 30.2–36.5). Percent time in MVPA was higher in the no-choice condition (mean= 30.9%; 95%CI= 28.1–33.8; p<0.0001) and choice condition (mean= 30.8%; 95%CI= 27.9–33.7; p< 0.0001) when compared to free-play (mean= 21.2 steps/min; 95%CI=18.2–24.1). There was no difference in steps/min or percentage time in MVPA between both structured conditions. Conclusion: Both types of instruction were superior to free-play with regard to PA level. Although contrary to our hypothesis, our results fit with previous literature that suggests evidence-based instructional interventions can promote higher PA levels in physical education sessions. Our results suggest that well-planned, stimulating PA sessions can increase short-term PA levels in girls compared to free-play opportunities in a Russian summer camp setting.

Misty McElroy had no idea when she crafted her senior undergraduate capstone project at Portland State University in 2001 that she was starting a worldwide phenomenon—the Rock ‘n’ Roll Campfor Girls. What started as a week-long summer camp for girls ages 8 to 17 to teach them how to play rock music has since blossomed into an organization with over 40 branches worldwide, serving 3000 girls every year and affecting the lives of thousands more women and girls in the surrounding communities. The Girls Rock Camp Alliance operates as the organizing body for the dozens of Rock Camps across the globe. Together, these organizations work to build girls’ self-esteem through music creation and performance and further, to create feminist cultural change. Rock Camp, like so many other nonprofits, exists on a political continuum, with radical direct-action groups on the far left and mainstream, foundation-funded organizations on the right. Misty’s original vision for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls was rooted in radical feminist politics that followed in the footsteps of Riot Grrrl and made an explicit connection between girls playing music and political movement. While feminist politics continue to form the foundation of the work that every Rock Camp does, from its pedagogy and curriculum in its programming to its organizational structure, and every organizer will agree that Rock Camp is a fundamentally feminist organization, it has made a series of choices over the past decade that now places it closer to the center of the continuum.

Thesis (M.A.)--Georgia State University, 2006.
Title from title screen. Susan Talburt, committee chair; Kathryn McClymond, Layli Phillips, committee members. Electronic text (145 p.) : digital, PDF file. Description based on contents viewed May 16, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 120-131).

This Master's thesis examines girls' self-esteem through a qualitative research project held in the summer of 2010 at Portland, Oregon's Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls. I interviewed ten white, middle class girls between the ages of ten and thirteen on various subjects including demographics, self-esteem, music, Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls and finally, experiences and pressures associated with being a girl. One key finding was the unique set of circumstances and experiences present which may foster higher self-esteem: 1) freedom from gender normative behavior; 2) skill mastery associated with learning an instrument; 3) support for a wider range of self-expression; 4) removal of the male gaze and male approval [in a female only space]; and 5) access to female role models. This thesis suggests that through their involvement with the Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls, these ten girls experience greater self-esteem.

Los incendios forestales son desastres naturales que todos los años causan cuantiosas pérdidas. Conocer de antemano su evolución resulta de gran importancia para mitigar sus efectos. Existen diversos modelos que proporcionan una predicción de la propagación del incendio. El viento es un parámetro fundamental de estos modelos, pero hay que considerar que se ve modificado por la orografía del terreno, y es necesario acoplar modelos de campo de vientos. Los simuladores de campo de vientos, como es el caso de WidnNinja, discretizan el terreno formando una malla y aplican las ecuaciones correspondientes para establecer un sistema de ecuaciones de la forma Ax=b. En el caso particular de WindNinja, se aplican las ecuaciones de conservación de la masa y las condiciones de contorno de Dirichlet. Cuando el mapa es muy grande, el sistema de ecuaciones llega a tener centenares de millones de incógnitas y no puede ser resuelto por métodos directos, de modo que se aplican métodos iterativos, como es el Gradiente Conjugado con Precondcionador (PCG). Resolver tales sistemas toma un tiempo que no puede ser asumido en situaciones operacionales. Por tanto, es necesario aplicar técnicas de paralelización. En concreto, se han aplicado tres técnicas para acelerar el cálculo del campo de vientos con WindNinja: • Se ha explotado el paralelismo de datos, aplicando partición del mapa. Se ha desarrollado una metodología que determina la partición del mapa, para reducir el tiempo de ejecución sin perder precisión en el cálculo del campo de vientos, más allá de unos límites aceptables. • Se ha aplicado descomposición del dominio que permite paralelizar la resolución del sistema de ecuaciones aplicando métodos con solapamiento (Schwarz) o métodos sin solapamiento (Schur). • Se ha determinado que la operación más costosa del PCG es la multiplicación matriz dispersa-vector y se ha desarrollado un formato de almacenamiento (Vectorizing Diagonal Sparse Matrix VDSpM) que permite acelerar dicha operación. Los tres métodos consiguen reducir los tiempos de ejecución, pero cuando los mapas son muy grandes, ninguno de los tres presenta la escalabilidad necesaria para conseguir reducir el tiempo por debajo de 100 segundos. Sin embargo, los métodos desarrollados pueden ser integrados en una aplicación híbrida MPI-OpenMP, que consigue alcanzar los objetivos de tiempo establecidos para mapas muy grandes.
Forest fires are natural disasters that every year cause significant losses. Knowing in advance their evolution is of great importance to mitigate their effects. There are several models that provide a prediction of fire propagation. The wind is a fundamental parameter of these models, but it is modified by the terrain, and it is necessary to couple wind field models. Wind field simulators, such as WidnNinja, discretize the terrain in a mesh of points and apply the corresponding equations to constitute a system of equations of the form Ax = b. In the particular case of WindNinja, mass conservation equations and Dirichlet boundary conditions are applied. When the map is very large, the system of equations has hundreds of millions of unknowns and cannot be solved by direct methods, so that iterative methods are applied, such as Precondcionated Conjugate Gradient (PCG). Solving such systems takes too much time that cannot be taken in operational situations. Therefore, it is necessary to apply parallelization techniques. Specifically, three techniques have been applied to accelerate the calculation of wind field with WindNinja: • Data parallelism has been exploited, using partition map. A methodology that determines the partition map, to reduce the execution time without losing accuracy in the calculation of wind field, beyond acceptable limits, has been developed. • Domain decomposition has been applied. It allows parallelizing the resolution of the system of equations by applying methods with overlaping (Schwarz) or methods without overlaping (Schur). • It has been determined that the most time consuming operation of the PCG is the sparse matrix-vector multiplication and a storage format (Vectorizing Diagonal Sparse Matrix VDSpM) speeding up the operation has been developed. The three methods are able to reduce execution times, but when the maps are very large, none of the three has the scalability to reduce the time to get below 100 seconds. However, the methods developed can be integrated into a hybrid MPI-OpenMP aplication, getting achieve the execution time objectives for very large maps.

Historically and currently, the federal and provincial or territorial governments of Canada have neglected to ensure that Aboriginal children in foster care receive genuine, Aboriginal-centered cultural support. This research project aims to address the lack of available cultural programming for Aboriginal girls in foster care. Through interviews and a review of current literature, knowledge about cultural programming is examined and components of a successful mentorship model for Aboriginal girls in foster care are identified. Five semi-structured interviews were carried out and analyzed through grounded theory, complemented with autobiographical reflections. The study concludes that there is an evident need for cultural continuity programming for Aboriginal girls in foster care on southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and that a mentorship framework is the best applicable model.
Graduate
0452
0631
0326
kr@uvic.ca

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 2005.
Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 99-106)

碩士
臺北市立大學
藝術治療碩士學位學程
106
This is a research of how the influence on the exploring of career issues for adolescent with burn trauma who participated in 2017 Fire Rebirth Angel Camp. The research used the qualitative method by observation the group, interview, and process analysis to conclusively present information of experiences from 8 participants in comparison with the group records and journals to investigate the following conclusion. The experience during the course of participation would be presented in correlation with photography at the interpersonal relationship, external environment, and internal mind. It included the group experience and the use of photography tools to present pictures of “internal mind”, as well as the photo sharing and the “relational interaction” in a group to form results to be simulated in the “external environment” for change and transformation. With the group leader's concept of “education before therapy”, the group member would become familiarized with the correlation of photography, where the external environment provided sensory stimuli to individual level. By group attention and exploration, the psychological state would be in continuous interaction with the external environment. The impact of group experience on career exploration has also been influenced by the continuous interaction of "relationship with photography", "influence at the individual level" and "environmental and interpersonal influence", and even "exploration of the career path". According to the interview data, participants catalyze the change and perception of their own career. The influence on exploring career issues by group experience could be summarize into three points: awareness of career issues, to accept the past, cherish the possession of the future and have more clearer goal or direction. Finally, the researchers discussed the findings, and provided suggestion and direction for future workers and limitation to the experiment.

With natural disasters occurring with more frequency and severity, understanding how to facilitate survivors’ resilience and recovery is becoming increasingly important. The Camp Fire in California, which started on November 8, 2018, was one of the most destructive wildfires in recorded history in terms of loss of life and damage to property. Aid from many types of entities (e.g., non-profits, governments, and for-profits) at various levels (e.g., local, state, and federal) was available to survivors, but perhaps the most influential source of support was Disaster Facebook Groups. In the month after the Camp Fire, around 50 Camp Fire Facebook Groups (CFFGs) were created, with over 100 CFFGs existing over the course of recovery. CFFGs are Facebook Groups with the goal of helping Camp Fire survivors. The support exchanged in CFFGs was immense and ranged from financial assistance to emotional support to community building.

This dissertation offers a mixed-method, event-specific case study of the use and utility of Disaster Facebook Groups after the Camp Fire. I examined how CFFGs offered unique and valuable spaces for connection that allowed members to engage in resilience organizing and disaster response and recovery. To conduct this case study, after engaging in observations of the Groups for over two years, I interviewed 25 administrators of CFFGs and distributed a survey in the Groups that was completed by survivors of the Camp Fire who were members of at least one CFFG during their recovery. I used network perspectives and the Communication Theory of Resilience (Buzzanell, 2010, 2019) as lenses through which administrators’ and survivors’ experiences with CFFGs was understood. I also analyzed the two datasets using multiple and mixed methods but primarily thematic analysis and path modeling.

The analyses for this case study are presented in four studies. The first two studies provide an understanding of the spaces for connection offered by CFFGs (i.e., characterizing the CFFGs and describing the spaces for connection as both helpful and hurtful), while the last two studies examine the use and utility of CFFGs (i.e., explaining the evolution of activity in CFFGs and investigating the connectivity and social support in CFFGs).

Across the four studies, I explored three central arguments, which are the primary contributions of this dissertation. First, I advocated for incorporating network thinking into resilience theorizing. With the findings of this dissertation, I extend the Communication Theory of Resilience by offering “managing communication networks” as a refinement of its fourth process of resilience (i.e., using and maintaining communication networks). Managing communication networks addresses the active strategies people use to manage their communication networks, including expanding, contracting, maintaining, and using their communication networks, as they endure and overcome hardship. I also forward the argument that people’s resilience is encompassed by their social networks, meaning their social network can be passively implicated by their resilience or actively involved in their resilience, but can also initiate resilience on their behalf.

Second, I contended Disaster Facebook Groups offer unique and valuable spaces for connection that facilitate resilience organizing and disaster response for at least five reasons. I argued that Disaster Facebook Groups empower emergent organizing; privilege local knowledge; are convenient; lack anonymity which adds authenticity; and allow for individualization. The findings of this dissertation provide evidence of how these reasons converged in CFFGs to enable members to exchange support that was not, and could not be, available elsewhere.

Third, I hypothesized that the use of Disaster Facebook Groups would predict the utility of Disaster Facebook Groups, resilience, and recovery for survivors. I tested two models that use different variables to represent the use and utility of CFFGs and recovery from the Camp Fire. The first model investigated how activity in CFFGs influenced the perceived helpfulness of CFFGs and how both the activity in and perceived helpfulness of CFFGs influenced the extent of recovery for survivors. I used retrospective data about five time points across survivors’ first two years of recovery and found the model was most explanative up to one month after the Fire. The second model assessed how various indicators of connectivity in CFFGs impacted received social support (i.e., informational, emotional, and tangible support), resilience, and satisfaction with recovery for survivors. The intensity of survivors’ connections to CFFGs, when they joined their first CFFG, and how many Facebook Friends they gained from their participation in CFFGs were the most predictive indicators of connectivity. From the Groups, survivors reported receiving informational support more than emotional support and emotional support more than tangible support.

I put the findings of the four studies, as well as the three central arguments, in conversation with each other in the discussion section, focusing on theory, practice, and methodology. Regarding theory, I contribute network thinking to resilience theorizing: I underscore resilience as an inherently networked process; I acknowledge expanding and contracting communication networks as sub-processes of resilience that complement but are distinctly different from using and maintaining communication networks; and I forward “managing communication networks” as a refinement and extension of the Communication Theory of Resilience’s fourth process of resilience (i.e., using and maintaining communication networks). Related to practice, I call for the continuation of conversations around Disaster Facebook Groups as unique and valuable spaces for connection, particularly regarding the five reasons I established. I also give suggestions for practice related to the use and utility of Disaster Facebook Groups for disaster response and recovery. For methodological considerations, I discuss the importance of forming relationships with participants when engaging in research about online communities and natural disasters and call to question the translation of findings about social media across platforms and the role of neoliberalism in resilience and disaster research and practice. Despite its limitations, this dissertation makes meaningful contributions to theory, practice, and methodology, while offering fruitful directions for future research. This mixed-method, event-specific case study brings attention to the influential citizen-driven disaster response in Facebook Groups after the Camp Fire.