Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Meth madness

Buying cold medications is less convenient than it used to be. “This is because one of the active ingredients—pseudoephedrine—has a molecular structure that is easily modified, with some readily available solvents and reagents, into a highly addictive and personally destructive narcotic,” says Dr. Preston MacDougall, chemistry. “I don’t know how this recipe spread like kudzu,” MacDougall says, “but I suppose the Internet had something to do with it. Still, I suspect that pharmaceutical chemists know more organic chemistry than your average addict and can reformulate the decongestant in a way that blocks synthesis of methamphetamine. There will undoubtedly be an R&D (research and development) cost associated with this, but it must be weighed against the cost of countless ruined lives.”

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

Working out your workout

Can the promotion of exercise and wellness be helped by the new technology? Dr. Mark Anshel, health and human performance, says the dissemination of information is always important. “Improving exercise effectiveness—fitness level and adherence—requires test data (people are driven by numbers), personal coaching and other means of social support, the development of routines which occur when exercise sessions are scheduled, and a sense of accomplishment and improvement (which develops intrinsic forms of motivation),” Anshel says. “There are some rather sophisticated DVDs on exercise instruction and leadership that have been produced by private companies, and this might be helpful for individuals who prefer to avoid attending fitness clubs.”

Contact Anshel at 615-898-2812.
manshel@mtsu.edu

I think it’s time we stop, hey, what’s that sound?

SoundExchange, the Recording Industry Association of America’s performing rights organization that collects royalties from Webcasters, has issued a stay of execution on the new royalty rates that were to have gone into effect Monday, says Ken Sanney, recording industry. “Had SoundExchange tried to collect the new rates [Monday]—which included retroactive royalty payments—many in the industry predicted the end of all but the biggest Webcasters with the rest of them forced into bankruptcy,” Sanney says. “This temporary reprieve seems to be due to several reasons--not the least of which is simple market economics. All three branches of the federal government have failed greatly in their management of this issue. The administrative branch’s Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) created this problem through rates that are unreasonable and out of step with the purpose of the federal copyright law. The federal courts were unwilling to take up the issue and Congress was so caught up in gridlock that they were unable to get a bill through in time. The issue was, therefore, left up to the private industries to sort out.”

Contact Sanney at 615-456-6502.
ksanney@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

CREATIVE KIDS--Generation for Creation (GFC), a nonprofit visual and performing arts program founded in 2001, is based in Murfreesboro and housed in the local Boys and Girls Club facility. GFC’s founder, Monica Johnson, is a 1996 MTSU graduate with a B.S. in psychology and minors in speech and theatre and biology. Johnson says she created GFC to help talented children reach their artistic dreams with encouragement and positive motivation. GFC’s annual Children’s Benefit Talent Show, featuring children in the categories of art, dance, drama, music and modeling, will get underway at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, July 28, at MTSU’s Tucker Theatre. Miss USA 2000, Columbia native Lynette Cole, will host the event. Tickets are $10 each with discounts available for groups. For more information, call GFC at 615-890-7116. To request interviews with Johnson or with child participants, contact Lisa L. Rollins in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919.

GRISSOM AND WILLOWS, CALL YOUR OFFICE--For the first time, MTSU is introducing the CSI experience on campus. “CSI: MTSU” is a three-day program designed for eighth-grade students in Rutherford County and its surrounding area July 25-27. The goals of “CSI: MTSU” are to allow students to explore the many unique career possibilities in forensic science, to provide a “real life reason to tackle higher level math and science courses, and to develop skills in team work, seeing and understanding details, critical thinking, and presentations. The camp is co-sponsored by the Forensic Institute for Research and Education (FIRE) and MTSU’s College of Continuing Education and Distance Learning. Due to space considerations, we are limited to 30 student investigators. The cost is $195 per student. Meals are included. Camp hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. Students are to report to Room 313 in the Keathley University Center. To register or for more information, contact Eve Shockley at 615-898-2462 or eshockle@mtsu.edu.

UNCLE DAVE’S DAYS--With a focus on paying tribute to the beloved old-time music festival known as Uncle Dave Macon Days, the staff of The Heritage Center of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County recently unveiled an exhibit titled “Uncle Dave Macon Days: Celebrating Old Time Music in Rutherford County.” Melissa A. Zimmerman, heritage programming specialist with MTSU’s Center for Historic Preservation, said the two-panel display offers viewers a bit of history, photographs and quotes from the earliest years of the festival to the present day. Located at 225 W. College St., the history-laden center also features photographs of Uncle Dave and his home as part of its newly opened display, “Entering the Modern Era: Murfreesboro’s Jazz Age.” Open 9 a.m.-3 p.m. each Monday through Friday, admission to the center is always free. For more information, call the center at 615-217-8013. Please direct any inquiries for jpegs for editorial use to the center’s staff or by e-mailing mzimmerm@mtsu.edu.