The struggle continues: El Centro de los Trabajadores Agrvcolas Fronterizos

As a participating student in the Border Studies Program in the fall semester of 2000, the author did a field study working as a volunteer at El Centro de los Trabajadores Agrvcolas Fronterizos (The Border Agricultural Workers' Center, or CTAF). In this ethnography, he intertwines the exploration of several different relationships. He examines the relationship between the current struggles of farm workers in the U.S. and the movement led by Cesar Chavez in the 1970s; and the relationship between the ''periphery'' and the ''center.'' He also reflects upon his own position within the progressive movement, given the social privilege that adheres to him by virtue of race, class, and sex.     

RECEPTIVITY TO PEER TEACHING AND PEER LEARNING ABOUT THE SAFE AND APPROPRIATE USE OF MEDICATIONS AMONG OLDER ADULTS

The purpose of this study was to assess receptivity to peer teaching and peer learning about the safe and appropriate use of medications among communitydwelling older adults. The sample was predominately White (88.5%), female (75.9%) older adults with an average age of 80.2 ( - 9.1) years. On average, the participants perceived their health status as good (2.8 - 0.6). In addition, participants reported using an average number of 4.4 ( - 3.3) prescribed medications. The majority (75%) of participants also reported no problems with their medications. With respect to receptivity to peer teaching and peer learning, the participants, on average, were neutral to peer teaching (6.0 - 2.4), but were somewhat receptive to peer learning (6.7 - 2.2). The number of prescribed medications that a participant reported taking and the age of a participant were identified as significant predictors of receptivity to peer teaching and accounted for 14.5% of the total variance ( F = 5.84, df = 2, p = 0.005). For receptivity to peer learning, the number of prescribed medications also was a significant predictor ( F = 7.50, df = 1, p = 0.008). This study provides the initial step to identifying community-dwelling older adults who would be receptive to peer teaching and peer learning about the safe and appropriate use of medications.     

Brain Health Knowledge in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Aging and its effects on a person's quality of life are a growing health concern and burden for many Americans. Recently, studies have shown that adopting certain healthy behaviors may help maintain and or prevent age-related health issues such as cognitive decline. However, many people are unaware of these newfound facts. Furthermore, there is insufficient research evidence to understand how older adults view brain health and the differences between diverse groups of older adults. This study examines brain health knowledge and behaviors among Caucasian and African-American community-dwelling older adults in North Carolina. Findings were significant for level of education and total brain health knowledge scores, though there were no significant differences between races. In addition, there was a significant association between total number of health conditions and total brain health knowledge scores that warrants further study.     

DNA microarray wet lab simulation brings genomics into the high school curriculum

We have developed a wet lab DNA microarray simulation as part of a complete DNA microarray module for high school students. The wet lab simulation has been field tested with high school students in Illinois and Maryland as well as in workshops with high school teachers from across the nation. Instead of using DNA, our simulation is based on pH indicators, which offer many ideal teaching characteristics. The simulation requires no specialized equipment, is very inexpensive, is very reliable, and takes very little preparation time. Student and teacher assessment data indicate the simulation is popular with both groups, and students show significant learning gains. We include many resources with this publication, including all prelab introductory materials (e.g., a paper microarray activity), the student handouts, teachers notes, and pre- and postassessment tools. We did not test the simulation on other student populations, but based on teacher feedback, the simulation also may fit well in community college and in introductory and nonmajors' college biology curricula.