A Case Study of the Undergraduate Biomedical Research Component of a Federally Funded Minority Student Development Program

Tremendous growth in the biomedical science workforce has increased the need for trained scientists. The current workforce is severely underrepresented by minority groups, particularly Native Americans. To address this issue, the federal government funded programs that encouraged Native American students to participate in undergraduate biomedical science courses and research. One such program, funded by the National Institutes of Health, is the Minority Student Development Program at Northern Arizona University. Little research has been done on educational programs for minority populations. The purpose of this study was to identify and describe qualities and characteristics of the undergraduate research component of the federally funded Minority Student Development program from the perspective of Native American student participants. Qualitative case study methods were used to: (a) determine program qualities and characteristics, (b) develop a knowledge base about the experiences of Native American undergraduate student participants, ( c) identify career goals of students to determine if program participation influenced career choices, (d) understand the degree to which a student\u27s cultural background influences career goals, and (e) evaluate the effectiveness of the program. Data were collected through interviews, observations, focus group discussions, informal discussions, questionnaire responses, meeting attendance, and document analysis. In all, 15 students, two program staff members, and eight faculty participated in the study. Findings from this study include a description of the background and experiences of three subjects: Leroy, Samantha, and Jeremy. While the three were selected for their Native American ethnicity, differences were discovered in their cultural experiences. The three subjects were positive about their program experiences. Career goals of students were greatly influenced by program participation. Findings related to program qualities and characteristics were identified and found to be closely aligned with stated program goals. Suggestions for program improvement included: (a) formalizing the application process, (b) matching student researchers with faculty mentors based on common research interests and personality, (c) faculty mentors closely supervising students to provide support and encouragement, and (d) communicating program expectations for students regarding conference attendance, presenting, and publishing research results

EN CARNE PROPIA: EMBODIED IDENTITIES IN CUBAN AND MEXICAN CULTURAL PRODUCTION

In twentieth-century Cuba and Mexico, each post-revolutionary state consolidated power through cultural production, especially film and literature, by funding national cinema and institutions such as the Union of Cuban Writers and Artists. This project examines the ways in which contemporary writers, filmmakers, and performance artists (1980-2006) emphasize personal, embodied experience to examine and frequently contest the generalized and overarching identity constructs propagated as part of an explicitly national post-revolutionary culture in Cuba and Mexico. Writers such as Ena Lucía Portela, Abilio Estévez, Pedro Juan Gutiérrez, Antonio José Ponte, Jorge Volpi, Federico Campbell, performance artist Astrid Hadad, and filmmakers Tommy Lee Jones, Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, and Alfonso Cuarón explore how the destabilization of revolutionary ideology and increasing economic and political changes in each country affects the daily lives of artistic subjects, thereby underscoring the social role of art and the tensions between art and commerce in contemporary Cuba and Mexico

Charge Asymmetry in 1-1000 GeV Electromagnetic Showers and Possibility of Its Measurementnt

For the high energy electromagnetic showers the thickness dependence of a) the development of electron and positron components, b) the difference between the secondary electron and positron numbers, c) the charge asymmetry of high energy electromagnetic showers, as well as d) the spectral distributions of the components at the shower maxima for various energies of primary particle energies,1 - 1000 GeV were investigated employing GEANT Monte Carlo simulation package. Using these simulation results it is discussed the possibility of observation and study of the charge asymmetry with the help of a magnetic spectrometer which is important for the current and future experiments on the detection of radiowaves produced by high energy neutrinos.Comment: TEX file and 4 figure

Neutron charge form factor at large q2q^2

The neutron charge form factor $G_{En}(q)$ is determined from an analysis of the deuteron quadrupole form factor $F_{C2}$ data. Recent calculations, based on a variety of different model interactions and currents, indicate that the contributions associated with the uncertain two-body operators of shorter range are relatively small for $F_{C2}$, even at large momentum transfer $q$. Hence, $G_{En}(q)$ can be extracted from $F_{C2}$ at large $q^2$ without undue systematic uncertainties from theory.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figure

The deuteron: structure and form factors

A brief review of the history of the discovery of the deuteron in provided. The current status of both experiment and theory for the elastic electron scattering is then presented.Comment: 80 pages, 33 figures, submited to Advances in Nuclear Physic

Photon asymmetry measurements of γ→ p→ π0p for Eγ= 320-650 MeV

High-statistics measurements of the photon asymmetry Σ for the γ→ p→ π0p reaction have been made in the center-of-mass energy range W= 1214 - 1450 MeV. The data were measured with the MAMI A2 real photon beam and Crystal Ball/TAPS detector systems in Mainz, Germany. The results significantly improve the existing world data and are shown to be in good agreement with previous measurements, and with the MAID, SAID, and Bonn-Gatchina predictions. We have also combined the photon asymmetry results with recent cross-section measurements from Mainz to calculate the profile functions, Σˇ (= σ0Σ) , and perform a moment analysis. Comparison with calculations from the Bonn-Gatchina model shows that the precision of the data is good enough to further constrain the higher partial waves, and there is an indication of interference between the very small F-waves and the N(1520) 3 / 2 - and N(1535) 1 / 2 - resonances