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This paper presents a collaboration between Anetha Perry, who conducted dissertation research in Camden, NJ, and Stephen Danley, her faculty advisor, who is also deeply engaged in that city, which has suffered from severe disinvestment. Perry’s contribution is drawn from her year-long eff ort to return to her childhood home, Perry House, which had served as a Black settlement house during her parents’ lifetimes. Danley adds perspectives as a community-engaged scholar, overseeing and supporting this home-going eff ort. Their observations underscore the obstacles that confront those trying to invest in a deeply disinvested neighbourhood. They also point out the benefits of settlement houses, like the Perry House, which have a true ‘insider’s view’ of the struggles to achieve rootedness in the face of many displacing processes. They underscore the potential of such eff orts to aid in the creation of policies that stop disinvestment and pivot towards urban restoration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the heightened demands of social reproduction amidst the slow violence of environmental harm. In doing so, it contributes to feminist scholarship bridging environmental and reproductive justice. Through a case study of water provisioning in Camden, New Jersey, the analysis reveals the added burden of gendered care-work under racialized conditions of environmental insecurity, where many suspect threats to community health but are denied legitimacy for their claims. I show how residents contest official declarations of water quality through narratives of water insecurity, linking everyday injustices to histories of slow violence. Such insecurity intensifies the gendered and racialized labor required to care for children. As mothers mitigate risk through daily provisioning, many resort to buying bottled water in an effort to gain control over their reproductive labor. While it may seem that mothers are opting for privatized solutions, they frame this strategy as a necessary response to the state's failure to secure the conditions of social reproduction. Situating mothers' everyday care-work alongside activists' critiques of privatization, the paper advances a multi-scalar analysis of environmental justice that connects the intimate, embodied sphere of reproduction to the institutional terrain of neoliberal restructuring. Key to this struggle is combatting neoliberal logics of mother-blame that locate risk within the labor of caregiving. Ultimately, I argue, struggles to sustain reproductive labor against the threat of slow violence illuminate the need for collective infrastructures of care that prioritize life-making over profit-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the global temperature and rapid urbanization continue to rise, urban heat islands (UHIs) also continue to increase across the world. Following the heat equity concept, UHIs disproportionately impact disadvantaged or overburdened communities. Green infrastructure (GI) has been at the forefront of UHI mitigation efforts, including nature-based solutions like parks, pervious open spaces, wooded areas, green roofs, rain gardens, and shade trees. In this paper, we use a heat equity lens to analyze community perceptions of the intersection of climate change, UHI, and GI in Camden, New Jersey—a post-industrial city with a history of environmental injustices. Based on a mixed-methods analysis of survey responses (n = 107), 11 years of relevant X (formerly Twitter) posts (n = 367), and geospatial data, we present community perceptions of and connections between climate change, UHI, and GI and discuss major themes that emerged from the data: perceived heat inequity in Camden triggers negative emotions; a public knowledge gap exists regarding climate change-UHI-GI connections; and perceived inequitable distribution of GI and certain GI planning and maintenance practices may negatively impact UHI mitigation strategies. We argue these themes are useful to urban planners and relevant professionals while planning for heat equity and mitigating UHI effects in disadvantaged urban communities like Camden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Africa is one of the most carbon-intensive economies in the world, but it is presently experiencing an energy crisis, as its utility company cannot meet the country's energy demands. The use of renewable energy sources and retiring of coal-fired power stations are two important ways of alleviating this problem, as well as decarbonizing the grid. Repurposing retiring coal-fired power stations for renewable energy generation (RCP-RES) while maintaining energy sustainability and reliability has rarely been researched. This paper proposes macro- and microelements for repurposing retiring coal-fired power stations for renewable energy generation in Camden with the aim of improving power generation through a low-carbon system. In this model, concentrated solar power (CSP) and solar photovoltaics (SPV), in combination with storage technologies (STs), were employed for RCP-RES, owing to their excellent levels of availability in the retiring fleet regions. The simulation results show that the power densities of CSP and SPV are significantly lower compared with retiring a coal-fired power plant (CFPP). Both are only able to generate 8.4% and 3.84% rated capacity of the retired CFPP, respectively. From an economic perspective, the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) analysis indicates that CSP is significantly cheaper than coal technology, and even cheaper when considering SPV with a storage system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents an abstract of the study `Excessive gestational weight gain and chronic disease risk,' by T.O. Scholl, M.L. Hediger and J.I. Schall. Highlights of the Camden Study of pregnancy in urban, low-income women in New Jersey; Influence of gestational weight gain on change in weight and the site of fat deposition over two consecutive pregnancies.

Abstract: The concept of “territorial stigmatisation” identifies the role of symbolic denigration in the production of marginalised places. In this paper, I draw on ethnographic research with a food justice organisation in Camden, New Jersey, to examine youth's responses to territorial stigma. The analysis demonstrates how Black and Latinx youth rewrite the story of Camden in a way that locates the “good” within it, using narratives of the city's prosperous history and possible futures to recuperate value within a stigmatised place. I argue that the perspectives of youth illuminate the temporal dimensions of territorial stigma, situating the blemish of place in relation to conceptions of individual and social change. The article contributes to a growing literature examining the strategic responses of those who dwell in pathologised places. Because youth are uniquely situated within the production of place, their perspectives offer important insights in this process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to scholarship exploring the affective politics of environmental education. Building on Nixon's (2011) conception of slow violence, I argue that the slow violence of ecological destruction presents not only a representational challenge but also a pedagogical one: how to confront violent systems that degrade and harm particular people and places without reinscribing this damage? Drawing on qualitative research with youth-focused environmental organizations in Camden, New Jersey, I explore two very different responses to this challenge. In an effort to shield youth from the affective injuries of confronting slow violence, pedagogies of immediacy mobilize feelings of personal accomplishment through immediate action in the local environment. By contrast, pedagogies of excavation interrogate the historical and structural underpinnings of environmental injustices and channel associated affects into collective visions for more just futures. My analysis interrogates the racial, scalar, and affective politics at work in these pedagogies and considers the implications for feeling environmental (in)justice. While pedagogies of immediacy are framed as well-intentioned efforts to counter territorial stigma and generate good feelings through individual impact, I argue that such efforts ultimately reinscribe the very deficit perspectives they seek to challenge. These pedagogical differences have material implications in an inequitable and racialized funding landscape, where environmental organizations must compete for resources and may find themselves beholden to the very corporations that perpetuate ecological injuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasingly partisan perceptions of neoliberal education reforms and resistance to such reforms from communities they negatively impact have created challenges for some neoliberal reformers. This article uses a case study of the state takeover and dramatic reshaping of the Camden, New Jersey school district to examine how some reformers have responded to those challenges. We find that Camden's state-appointed superintendents used multiple messaging and framing techniques to diffuse community resistance to unpopular policies. We refer to these techniques collectively as window dressing because they are intended to create a perception of movement away from neoliberalism without actually changing neoliberal policies. These strategies are intended to move public opinion and discourage resistance without having to fundamentally address critiques of neoliberal reform. We posit that neoliberal reformers are likely to expand their use of window dressing techniques in response to a growing rejection of neoliberal education policies, particularly by Democrats and progressives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Joseph T. Angelo quit a well-paid job at the DuPont Powder Works in Carney's Point, New Jersey, to join the army. On September 26, 1918, he saved the life of then Lt. Colonel (temporary) George S. Patton Jr., an act that earned him the Distinguished Service Cross and provided him with a lifetime of minor renown. By 1931, during the Great Depression, Angelo was unemployed. He walked 160 miles to Washington, DC, from his hometown of Camden, New Jersey, to testify in front of Congress in support of immediate payment of the wartime bonuses promised to veterans of World War I. The following summer, he was among the Bonus Marchers who were brutally driven out of their encampments in the nation's capital by the same U.S. military in which they had served during wartime. This article tells Angelo's story, and by doing so, it tells the story of the tens of thousands of desperate veterans of the Great War who united to form an ethnically and racially diverse movement to protest for what they believed was right and just. They had made sacrifices to defend American values on the battlefield and now sought to be treated in a manner they saw as fair. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the emergence of baseball as America's national sporting pastime, Camden civic and business leaders decided in 1881 to organize a professional team. This article examines the brief but spectacular history of the Albert Merritt Base Ball Club, one of the best minor league teams of the nineteenth century. Examined are the social and economic reasons for organizing a professional team, the unique founding of the club, the construction of a playing facility, and team finances including player salaries. The 1883 Merritt, which advanced every player to the major leagues, was a juggernaut, dominating the inaugural season of the Inter-State Association, one of two officially organized minor leagues. But despite success on the field with a 27-8 (.771) record, the team suddenly disbanded on July 21. The case study of the promise and perils of professional baseball as a civic and community enterprise culminates in a discussion of the club's demise because of internal financial problems and inability to compete with two major league teams across the Delaware River in Philadelphia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prairie and savanna ecosystems have declined dramatically worldwide. In the Southeastern United States, longleaf pine savannas have been reduced to less than 3% of their pre-European range. Restoring longleaf pine across the area has become a regional goal. Little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium (Michx.) Nash) is critical to carrying the ecologically important fire through this ecosystem in some longleaf pine savannas. Little bluestem has a range that spans most of north America and is thought to display ecotypic variation. As a part of a longleaf pine restoration project in Camden, SC, we investigated whether the seed source of little bluestem and the site preparation techniques impacted the survival and growth of broadcasted seeds. In the field and greenhouse, we compared locally and commercially sourced seeds and field site preparation techniques including discing, raking, or no treatment. At the end of the growing season, there were significantly more plants grown from seeds collected locally compared to plants from seeds available commercially. Plants grown from locally collected seeds also invested more heavily in roots than plants grown from commercial seeds. Site preparation techniques did not appear to significantly impact plant survival. Collecting seed locally will help to ensure long-term restoration success by establishing populations of plants that are adapted to the local environmental conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extreme heat events at urban centers in combination with air pollution pose a serious risk to human health. Among these are financially distressed cities and neighborhoods that are facing enormous challenges without the scientific and technical capacity for planning and mitigation. The city of Camden is one of those economically distressed areas with a predominantly minority population, a high unemployment rate, high poverty rates, and poor air quality (PM2.5 and ozone), and it remains vulnerable to heat events. This paper focuses on studying a coupled effect of Urban Heat Islands (UHIs) and Ozone-PM2.5 pollution at the neighborhood-scale in the city of Camden, using fine scale remotely sensed land-surface temperature and air quality data from the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) Modelling System in the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) platform. To assess the impact of urban microclimate on the city of Camden, NJ, residents' health, we identified several environmental and social parameters as the root causes of vulnerability imposed by extreme-heat and poor air quality. Vulnerability in terms of environment and social wellbeing was spatially quantified as two conceptual vulnerability-index models (i.e., environmental vulnerability index (EVI) and a social vulnerability index (SVI)) using multiple linear regression algorithm. Factors such as remotely sensed earth surface properties, built-environment components, air quality, and socio-economic data were incorporated in a holistic geographic approach to quantify the combined effect. Surface temperature gradient and Proportional Vegetation (Pv) generated from 30 m resolution Landsat 8 were sampled along with other variables in the city of Camden, NJ. Models incorporating Pv suggest better fit than models with normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). Water fraction (33.5%, 32.4%), percentage imperviousness (32.5%, 32%), Pv (20.5%, 19.6%), and digital elevation model (DEM) (9%, 8%) have the highest contributions in both models. Two output maps identified the vulnerable neighborhoods in the city through comprehensive GIS analysis: Lanning Square, Bergen Square, Central Waterfront, Gateway, Liberty Park, and Parkside. This can provide useful information for planners and health officials in targeting areas for future interventions and mitigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pressure is mounting on the agricultural sector to reduce reliance on herbicides for weed control leading to increased interest in the potential of cover crops to control weeds in summer fallows. The weed suppression ability of three summer cover crop species, buckwheat, millet and teff, was evaluated in field trials at two sites near Camden, NSW in 2021. Buckwheat, millet and teff reduced weed biomass by 65%, 77% and 95%, respectively at Bringelly and by 94%, 92% and 90%, respectively at Lansdowne. Following cover crop desiccation, teff residues reduced weed emergence in subsequently planted wheat by 73% and 26% at Bringelly and Lansdowne, respectively. Overall cover crops were found to be effective in suppressing weed emergence, growth, and reproductive capacity. These studies identified teff grass as an important summer crop option for the northern grains region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the undertheorized intersection of ethnography and social media use by researchers by drawing upon my ethnographic research in Camden, New Jersey, on community activism and my social media presence in the same community. I argue that blogging and social media are intersecting methodologically with techniques such as keeping field notes that document observation. In doing so, social media holds great potential to further the values of standpoint theory. Active blogging and social media presence by academics also increase the transparency inherent in ethnography by providing those involved with informed choices about how to engage with such research. Finally, scholars who are digitally active in their field of study have the potential to broaden the impact of their own work, not only influencing the field after the conclusion of research but becoming a part of the local tapestry and impacting current policy and local perceptions. I argue that for the ethnographer, social media both facilitates and makes visible better qualitative data collection that acknowledges the iterative nature of knowledge development, while buttressing the ability of researchers to better engage and advocate in spaces most meaningful to local communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous research has shown fluid replacement beverages ingested after exercise can affect hydration biomarkers. No specific hydration marker is universally accepted as an ideal rehydration parameter following strenuous exercise. Currently, changes in body mass are used as a parameter during post-exercise hydration. Additional parameters are needed to fully appreciate and better understand rehydration following strenuous exercise. This randomized, double-blind, parallel-arm trial assessed the effect of high-pH water on four biomarkers after exercise-induced dehydration. Methods: One hundred healthy adults (50 M/50 F, 31 ± 6 years of age) were enrolled at a single clinical research center in Camden, NJ and completed this study with no adverse events. All individuals exercised in a warm environment (30 °C, 70% relative humidity) until their weight was reduced by a normally accepted level of 2.0 ± 0.2% due to perspiration, reflecting the effects of exercise in producing mild dehydration. Participants were randomized to rehydrate with an electrolyzed, high-pH (alkaline) water or standard water of equal volume (2% body weight) and assessed for an additional 2-h recovery period following exercise in order to assess any potential variations in measured parameters. The following biomarkers were assessed at baseline and during their recovery period: blood viscosity at high and low shear rates, plasma osmolality, bioimpedance, and body mass, as well as monitoring vital signs. Furthermore, a mixed model analysis was performed for additional validation. Results: After exercise-induced dehydration, consumption of the electrolyzed, high-pH water reduced high-shear viscosity by an average of 6.30% compared to 3.36% with standard purified water (p = 0.03). Other measured biomarkers (plasma osmolality, bioimpedance, and body mass change) revealed no significant difference between the two types of water for rehydration. However, a mixed model analysis validated the effect of high-pH water on high-shear viscosity when compared to standard purified water (p = 0.0213) after controlling for covariates such as age and baseline values. Conclusions: A significant difference in whole blood viscosity was detected in this study when assessing a high-pH, electrolyte water versus an acceptable standard purified water during the recovery phase following strenuous exercise-induced dehydration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The public policy responses to the enduring socioeconomic struggles of the urban core have dominated public discourse in postwar cities in the United States. Policy-makers have pursued numerous strategies to respond to the conditions of decline. Waterfront redevelopment is one of most common strategies to address these issues, although the benefits rarely extend beyond the core. In a case study of waterfront redevelopment in Camden, New Jersey, we analyze the politics of a project to demolish the Riverfront State Prison to capitalize on the city’s waterfront. Drawing on archival research and key informant interviews, we argue that the project failed because the problem definitions created by the political actors were misaligned with the community’s needs. We conclude by reflecting on policy impactions and questions on urban sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An essay exploring the author's experiences and encounters with the works of poet Walt Whitman is presented. He narrates some of his journeys studying the life of Whitman with particular focus on Camden, New Jersey where Whitman spent the remaining years of his life. He also recounts his experience working on the biography and other books he wrote about Whitman.

Assessment of the health risks resulting from exposure to ambient polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) is limited by a lack of environmental exposure data among the general population. This study characterized personal exposure and ambient concentrations of PAH in the Village of Waterfront South (WFS), an urban community with many mixed sources of air toxics in Camden, New Jersey, and CopeWood/Davis Streets (CDS), an urban reference area located ∼1 mile east of WFS. A total of 54 and 53 participants were recruited from non-smoking households in WFS and CDS, respectively. In all, 24-h personal and ambient air samples were collected simultaneously in both areas on weekdays and weekends during summer and winter. The ambient PAH concentrations in WFS were either significantly higher than or comparable to those in CDS, indicating the significant impact of local sources on PAH pollution in WFS. Analysis of diagnostic ratios and correlation suggested that diesel truck traffic, municipal waste combustion and industrial combustion were the major sources in WFS. In such an area, ambient air pollution contributed significantly to personal PAH exposure, explaining 44-96% of variability in personal concentrations. This study provides valuable data for examining the impact of local ambient PAH pollution on personal exposure and therefore potential health risks associated with environmental PAH pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preservation of our audiovisual heritage is critical, and technical metadata is at the heart of any effective preservation program. This article documents the efforts of Rutgers University Libraries to implement the Audio Engineering Society's (AES) draft “Audio Object” schema, AES-X098B, extend it for moving images, align it with existing standards, and integrate it with technical metadata for text, three-dimensional objects, and graphics. The article compares several existing and emerging technical metadata standards, provides a description and assessment of the AES schema, and concludes with an application profile for several New Jersey repositories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fashions in social science--such as empowerment and social capital-often insinuate action, movement and practice, but too often the action in these orientations is in their conceptualization rather than their implementation. This article focuses on the perspective of Camden Churches Organized for People (CCOP) and authors who worked with CCOP. CCOP, a community organization that is affiliated with the Pacific Institute for Community Organization, a national network of community organizations, is located in Camden, New Jersey. Camden's reputation is inauspicious-in 1995 Camden had the dubious distinction of being the murder capital of the U.S., with almost 80 murders in a single year and it often ranks as one of the most dangerous cities of its size in the U.S. and for having one of the highest child poverty rates in the U.S. Camden, located across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has a population of about 80,000. Over the last 40 years, industrial decline has left poverty and squalor in its wake. According to the 2000 Census, Camden has a per capita income of $9,815, making it the poorest city in New Jersey and one of the poorest in the U.S.

This article studies the sexual behavior of male clients with female street prostitutes in Camden, New Jersey. In this study interviews were given by 62% of the clients approached. The clients were mature men (mean= 38.9 years), long-term residents of Camden, New Jersey, and currently or previously married. Clients reported a mean of 5.3 years of using prostitution, with 81% having been clients of Camden prostitutes for more than a year. Most were regular: 93% monthly or more frequently, and 63% weekly or more frequently. Also, about one-half (55%) reported sex with the same prostitute or small group of prostitutes. Furthermore, ejaculation into the vagina was most frequently reported, followed by ejaculation into the mouth. Data from this study suggest the existence of two distinct groups of clients, with different racial and residency characteristics, but with only a few differences reported in behavior patterns with regard to prostitution. Also, reports of condom use were substantial: 72% for vaginal and 33% for oral intercourse.

The fate of highly hazardous or persistent pesticides in soils and their potential for environmental and health risks depends on the physical and chemical properties of the pesticide, soil properties including biological health and climatic conditions. Assessing the fate and impact of pesticides in soil is complicated in the Caribbean due to the high diversity of soils and duality of climate. The FAO supported national competent authorities from 11 countries in the Caribbean in the assessment of obsolete stocks and potentially contaminated soil. The Environmental Management Tool Kit (EMKT) prioritised Fond Cole and Camden Base as the only critical sites. Preliminary site investigations that utilised the rapid environmental assessment (REA) methodology identified that contamination was restricted to an impervious layer at the Camden site. Pesticide properties varied across groups, with the organochlorides exhibiting greater sorptive capacity and lower leaching potential relative to the organophosphates. All tested soils were non-saline with alkaline pH and notably sandy in texture with low adsorptive capacity. Analysis of pesticide levels revealed low to undetected quantities across contaminated sites. Traces of Endrin and Dieldrin were found in Marienburg, Suriname. Overall, assessment of soil contamination from stored obsolete pesticides revealed minimal contamination, however, detailed assessment considering contamination gradients should be performed where pesticides were identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]