While focus group discussions have become popular across the communication research field, some researchers have pointed out the importance of studying group interactions within focus groups. However, most researchers used a qualitative approach and mostly explored the interaction between participants or between participants and the moderator.…

Metabolomics applies multivariate statistical analysis to sets of high-resolution spectra taken over a population of biologically derived samples. The objective is to distinguish subpopulations within the overall sample population, and possibly also to identify biomarkers. While metabolomics has become part of the standard analytical toolbox in…

A multiweek protein purification suite, suitable for upper-division biochemistry or biotechnology undergraduate students, is described. Students work in small teams to isolate the enzyme lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) from a nontraditional tissue source, mammalian blood, using a sequence of three column chromatographic procedures: ion-exchange, size…

Our paper describes a solution we found to a still existing need to develop mathematical modeling courses for undergraduate biology majors. Some challenges of such courses are: (i) relatively limited exposure of biology students to higher-level mathematical and computational concepts; (ii) availability of texts that can give a flavor of how…

Biotechnology constitutes one of the most challenging, cutting-edge, and rapidly growing fields in science today. Both the practical implications and the hands-on nature of this "modern science" make the topic of biotechnology an attractive addition to the high school science curriculum. The current study is the first of its kind to…

The author presents an historical account of scientific work conducted at a commercial biotech firm in San Diego called Hybritech. It tells of disruptions in research programs following the acquisition of the company by the pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly in 1986. The story centers on responses to an organizational challenge that research managers…

California's community colleges continue to play a crucial role in the state's economy by providing students with the skills and knowledge to succeed and by advancing the economic growth and global competitiveness of California and its regional economies through the Economic and Workforce Development Program (EWD). The EWD program invests in the…

The California Community Colleges Workforce and Economic Development program (WED program) helps students, incumbent workers, business partners and industries develop skilled competencies in critical industry sectors. As a source for developing and implementing training and curriculum, the WED program is instrumental in helping the community…

The California Department of Education is in the process of revising the Career and Technical Education (CTE) Model Curriculum Standards. The Educational Policy Improvement Center (EPIC) conducted an investigation of the draft version of the Health Sciences and Medical Technology Standards (Health Science). The purpose of the study is to…

This report offers California college faculty a closer look at contextualized teaching and learning (CTL) as a promising set of strategies and practices that can be expanded through the state's Basic Skills Initiative. The report is relevant to a range of instructional and counseling faculty, including academic and career and technical education…

California has achieved considerable economic success through technological innovation and the formation of businesses based upon those technologies. This paper addresses some of the roles of universities in that success story. It starts with some measures of the contributions of innovation and a robust university structure to the California…

This article introduces the subject of bioprospecting to students. It is a very old biotechnology that involves some very new techniques. Genetic engineering and other processes allow biologists, chemists, and biotechnologists to collect microorganisms and change them in ways that previously were not possible. Organisms that thrive under adverse…

Is California's Imperial Valley a watershed? If so, at what level and by what topographic logic? Is it a region? If so, at what level and by what geographic logic? Are its boundaries natural, political, or multivalent on different scales? In short, this essay looks at the special (re)production of environmental conditions within a cyborg world.…

This study analyzes urban youths' career decision-making in a career and technical education program that provided work-based learning experiences and a pathway linking high school, community college, and work in biotechnology laboratories. The program provided work experiences not generally available to adolescents, and enabled students…

Getting people back to work has become a national concern. The nation's economy lost jobs as of July 2003 for six months in a row, dealing another blow to a slow reviving labor market. According to the Labor Department, 486,000 jobs disappeared from the economy. And, the Employment Development Department in California reported a decline of 21,800…