Monday, January 29, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

This is your brain on TV.

While many parents have concerns about using television as a babysitter, it’s a quantum leap to assume that heavy TV viewing by children results in autism. So says Dr. Zaf Khan, elementary and special education. A Cornell University study found that there is a statistically significant relationship between rates of autism and television viewing by children under the age of three. Khan says, “I believe we are making ‘premature’ assumptions … because further intensive study is required to support or ‘nullify’ such a hypothesis.” Khan acknowledges that the American Academy of Pediatrics already recommends no TV for children under the age of two.

Contact Khan at 615-498-5678.
zkhan@mtsu.edu

The human element

Science depends upon the testing of hypotheses and the objective assessment of data. But Dr. Preston MacDougall, chemistry, reminds us that scientists are human, after all, and human beings are fallible. Case in point: the 1986 Challenger disaster. By now we all know that the failure of booster rocket O-rings led to the catastrophe. But MacDougall notes that Richard Feynman, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist and member of the commission that investigated the explosion, blamed human factors when he said, “The guys who know something about what the world is really like are at the lowest levels of these organizations, and the ones and the ones that know how to influence people by telling how the world would be nice, they are at the top. And there seems to be a certain amount of lack of communication.”

Contact MacDougall at 615-898-5265.
pmacdoug@mtsu.edu

We’d be honored!

The McNair Scholars Program and University Honors College will hold a joint recruiting reception for current students from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. WEDNESDAY in Room 106 of the Paul W. Martin Sr. Honors Building. “(They) will talk about their experiences, and the deans or directors of the programs will offer a welcome and talk about general information about their programs,” Michelle Arnold, Honors College program coordinator and adviser, says. “It’s very informal. People in the audience will ask questions. It was a great success last year. Food will be provided. The event is open to students with a 3.0 grade point average or higher and who meet respective McNair and Honors College qualifications.

Contact Arnold or Honors College Dean Dr. Phil Mathis at 615-898-2152.
Contact McNair Scholars Program Director Dr. Diane Miller or Coordinator Steve Saunders at 615-904-8462.

TR EXTRA

CAUGHT IN THE ACT—Sandra Hawkins, instructor, MTSU ACT Preparation Course, will conduct an enrichment program for high school juniors and seniors titled “Don’t Take the ACT Without Preparation!” through the auspices of the Satellite and Webcasting Center at 9 a.m. CST TOMORROW. This program will provide strategies for the English/Reading sections, skills needed, Web sites and hard copy practice tests suggestions. For more information, call 615-898-2737 or send an e-mail to itsc@mtsu.edu

THE SIGHTS AND SOUNDS OF PEACE--Internationally acclaimed documentary filmmaker Lilly Rivlin will visit WEDNESDAY to show her 2006 film “Can You Hear Me? Israeli and Palestinian Women Fight for Peace.” The viewing, which is free and open to the public, will be from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the State Farm Lecture Hall of the Business Aerospace Building. Rivlin will present the film and will be available afterward to answer questions. Directed, written, and produced by Rivlin and narrated by actress Debra Winger, “Can You Hear Me?” focuses on how dialogue, even among those who have profound disagrements, can bring about positive and significant change. Contact Dr. Allen Hibbard, director, Middle East Center, at 615-494-8809 or ahibbard@mtsu.edu or Dr. Sonja Hedgepeth at 615-898-2280 or shedgepe@mtsu.edu.

PRIME TIME FOR CRIME--“Crime—Causes, Detection, Punishment, Fact and Fiction” is the theme for the Spring 2007 Honors Lecture Series. Each talk will take place at 3 p.m. each Monday from TODAY through April 9 in Room 106 of the Paul W. Martin Sr. Honors Building. Dr. Phil Mathis, dean of the Honors College, says, “Today, crime is an unwelcome growth industry: correction facilities, law enforcement officers, lawyers, detectives and crime laboratories continue to grow in number.” The opening topic TODAY will be “The Sociology of Crime and Punishment” and will be presented by Dr. Andrew Austin, associate professor of social change and development chair of sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Contact Mathis or Associate Dean Scott Carnicom at 615-898-2152.

SOUTH OF THE BORDER--“Landscapes of Mexico,” a photography exhibit featuring the works of Hector Montes de Oca, is on display through February 28 at Baldwin Photographic Gallery in the Learning Resources Center. The exhibit is made up of 40 silver gelatine black-and-white prints. He is considered to be one of the most prominent Mexican photographers of his generation. He is especially distinguished for his black-and-white landscapes, which reveal his native country in a most striking and intimate manner. The exhibit will be open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays. Mr. de Oca will present a slide show/lecture on his work at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 28, in the State Farm Lecture Hall of the Business Aerospace Building. Exhibitions and lectures are free and open to the public. Contact Tom Jimison at 615-898-2085 or tjimison@mtsu.edu