The objectives of this study are to better understand the lived experience of food insecurity in our community and to examine the impact of a community-based program developed to increase access to local, healthy foods. Participants were given monthly vouchers to spend at local farmers' markets and invited to engage in a variety of community activities. Using a community-based participatory research framework, mixed methods were employed. Survey results suggest that most respondents were satisfied with the program and many increased their fruit and vegetable consumption. However, over 40% of respondents reported a higher level of stress over having enough money to buy nutritious meals at the end of the program. Photovoice results suggest that the program fostered cross-cultural exchanges, and offered opportunities for social networking. Building on the many positive outcomes of the program, community partners are committed to using this research to further develop policy-level solutions to food insecurity.
Using a case study approach and employing the critical framework of just sustainability, this article examines the ambivalent intersections of marketing and social/environmental justice as articulated through the public rhetoric of corporate entities that promote renewable energy generated on American Indian tribal lands. Because of its critical interest in the empowerment of disenfranchised communities through a shift away from traditional ways of valuing environmental sustainability and economic activity, just sustainability provides a valuable frame through which to interrogate not only articulations of economic development but also the use of popular American Indian archetypes like "the Ecological Indian" in the marketing of sustainable energy. We suggest that both our corporate case studies, NativeEnergy, which markets carbon offsets to clients, and the public utility company San Diego Gas and Electric, demonstrate efforts to advance many of the goals of just sustainability, and are successful in some respects, but fall short in others. We argue that shifts towards just sustainability in renewable energy projects on tribal lands, from management to the ways in which they are communicated to the public, will lead to more equitable economic, representational, and environmental conditions for participants.
Online classes appear increasingly popular, making it critical in each discipline to study the advantages and disadvantages of learning online. Following up on anecdotal impressions that scientific/technical writing students appeared to do either better or worse in an online course than an offline equivalent (unpublished data), it was decided to study the impact of learning style and experience in using the Internet on grades. The 60 students who participated in an online course on scientific/technical writing were emailed post-course evaluations which included questions on learning styles. Of these, 37 (62%) returned the evaluations, revealing a clear and significant pattern of results. While the groups did not differ in hours spent studying online, or in total hours spent online, students who excelled in online learning reported spending significantly more hours per week online for work, and less hours online contacting families/friends than students who passed or students who failed. Students who excelled differed significantly from other students in their learning strategies and study habits and frequency with which they contacted the instructor. Students who excelled in this online class appear more experienced both in working online and have study habits conducive to the online environment. Curiously, students who performed marginally or failed were more likely to rate themselves as making good use of study time, and may spend significantly longer online on assignments than the moderate students. The need to design courses that elicit specific habits or to teach students study habits specific to online learning appear critical tasks to improve the success and retention rates in online courses.
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