Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Becky Thatcher’s not the only one whitewashing a fence.

Former California Governor Pete Wilson cited the Israeli fence as a model for the U.S.-Mexican border in an article he wrote for “Investor’s Business Daily.” But Dr. Karen Petersen, political science, says that analogy doesn’t work for several reasons, including geography and history. “The entire state of Israel would fit within the borders of Tennessee, and a large portion of Israel’s border consists of the Mediterranean Sea,” Petersen says. “Historically, Israel’s neighbors, unlike Mexico, are—at least implicitly—very interested in the elimination of Israel. Even Jordan and Egypt, who have backed away from that policy, do not constitute ‘friendly’ neighbors.”

Contact Petersen at 615-494-8662.
kpeterse@mtsu.edu

“Sesame Street” has been brought to you by the letter “I”—for “illiterate.”

A new adult literacy study shows that fewer than five percent of college graduates can read and comprehend a complex book. Dr. Larry Burriss, journalism, says “Sesame Street” and “USAToday” are partly to blame. “While both have made valuable contributions, they also began a trend towards faster and faster delivery of content, which fostered the idea that all complex ideas can be reduced to a few sentences,” Burriss says. “Entertainment television hasn’t helped. Almost every program introduces a problem and then resolves it in less than an hour—often in less than 45 minutes. Unfortunately, real life isn’t like that. Literacy involves more than being able to read a bunch of words. It requires understanding.”

Contact Burriss at 615-898-2983.
lburriss@mtsu.edu

The clicker is quicker.

Never mind getting students to respond to surveys with pencil and paper. Not even Scantron is clicker than the “clicker,” which now is in use at MTSU. As questions are displayed to a class on a screen with a variety of options offered, each student points the clicker at the screen and pushes a button on the device, which looks like a TV remote control, to make a selection. Albert Whittenberg, assistant director of Academic and Instructional Technology Services, has worked on a committee “testing a number of student response systems with the hopes of establishing a standard for MTSU.” Various systems have been evaluated on several criteria, including cost, ease of use, weight of layout and keys, durability, battery use/life and license or registration process.

Contact Whittenberg at 615-898-5062.
awhitten@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

HEALTHY CHOICE—Dr. Mark Byrnes, professor of political science, will moderate a panel discussion on Tennessee’s health care crisis from 7:00 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. TOMORROW at the Patterson Park Community Center in Murfreesboro. The event, titled “One Million Uninsured Tennesseans and Growing: How Do We Stop the Crisis?,” will be free and open to the public. Guests will include health care pfoessionals and some Rutherford County legislative candidates. For more information, contact Lori Smith at 615-227-7500.

DYNAMISM AND SENSITIVITY--Masaaki and Chikako Tanaka, two distinguished Japanese artists, will display their word through Friday, Nov. 3 in the Todd Gallery at MTSU. Receptions for the Tanakas are slated for 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Oct. 16 an from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, in the gallery. The receptions are free and open to the public. “(Masaaki Tanaka) is a master in the use of the paper stencil technique of screenprinting, the process by which colors and shapes are layered onto paper and coalesce, after many applications, into the finished image,” Dr. Lon Nuell, professor of art, says. By contrast, Nuell says Chikako Tanaka’s work is “fanciful, ethereal in some instances, suggesting the dream-like imagery of the surrealists.” Contact Nuell at 615-898-5653 or 615-898-2505 or lrnuell@mtsu.edu

A WHOLE NEW WORLD--Your children can be transported to Japan, China and Indonesia without flight reservations. A new exhibit at the Discovery Center enables youngsters to play dress-up with sarongs and kimonos, view animated superhero Astro Boy or learn about Japanese folklore on a 20-inch DVD player, construct their own colorful kites, make origami figures, work challenging tangram puzzles, stage their own hand puppet theatre and hold Japanese tea parties. The interactive exhibit is made possible by generous donations from Toshiba, Nissan, the Foreign Ministry of Japan and the Japan-U.S. Program of MTSU. The Discovery Center is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Saturday and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $5 for anyone age 2 and up. Contact Steve Hoskins at the Discovery Center, 502 SE Broad Street, Murfreesboro, at 615-890-2300.

WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT?--To dramatize how dating violence traumatizes the lives of young adults, the June Anderson Women’s Center and Women 4 Women, a student organization, will present “It’s Love, Isn’t It?” from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 25, in the Keathley University Center Theatre. The original play, written and produced with ABC grants from Allied Arts of Chattanooga and the Tennessee Arts Commission and directed by Dr. Ayne Cantrell, professor emeritus, follows the travails of a female college freshman whose boyfriend has jealousy and anger management issues. “It’s Love, Isn’t It?” is free and open to the public and is part of Domestic Violence Awareness Month at MTSU. For more information, contact the June Anderson Women’s Center at 615-898-2193 or jawc@mtsu.edu

REV IT UP!—The award-winning MTSU Formula Racecar and Mini-Baja vehicles will be featured at 11 a.m. TODAY at the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville. Students conceived, designed and fabricated their own small formula-style racing car for competition against some 120 other vehicles from other colleges and universities. MTSU captured “Rookie of the Year” honors at last year’s contest. In addition, students participated in three U.S. Mini-Baja races, finishing in the top 15 percent of the 142 teams that competed in the Eastern race with an amphibious vehicle. Jeff Lane, owner of Lane Motor Museum, made the vehicles possible with a generous gift. Media welcomed. For more information, contact Jim Van Wicklin at 615-542-3673.