Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

The Chinese challenge

The Chinese economy grew at a rate of 11.9 percent in the second quarter. Is this growth rate too fast to be healthy for the economy? Dr. Jinfeng Yue, management and marketing, says, “Although China’s economy had kept about an 8 to 10 percent annual economic growth rate for the past 20 years, last quarter’s number is still the fastest one in more than a decade. To understand the reasons for fast economic growth in China, we need to understand China’s economic structure. Unlike in the United States of America, where service is already almost 80 percent of the whole economy, China’s economy still focuses on manufacturing. China has become the largest labor intensive manufacturing ‘factory’ in the global economy.”

Contact Yue at 615-898-5126.
jyue@mtsu.edu

Rather cheesy

One of the hottest street drugs on the market right now is “cheese,” a combination of heroin and crushed Tylenol PM tablets. It sells for only $2 per hit and is snorted by the user. Dr. Doug Winborn, health and human performance, says, “Concerns have been raised in Texas as some middle and high school age kids have been using the drug. Of course, this also means that dealers are producing the drug, or kids are acquiring small amounts of heroin and creating their own cheese, thus becoming de facto drug dealers themselves.” Reportedly, dealers as young as 11 have been operating in the Dallas area, where arrests for possession of the drug in local schools have risen 82 percent this year.

Contact Winborn at 615-898-5110.
jwinborn@mtsu.edu

Flunking life

A recent report by the Commonwealth Fund finds Tennessee to be a rather unhealthy place to live. The think tank ranks each of the states according to their health care performance, and the South as a region was at the bottom of the heap. Tennessee ranks 40th overall, with grades of “B” for access and quality, “D” for avoidable costs and healthy lives, and “C” for equity. Dr. Judy Campbell, nursing, says, “When clients wait until their health risks become suddenly acute or eventually develop into a chronic illness, the risk of premature death increases. … We can rise from the bottom of the list of unhealthy states to the top of the list of healthy states, but it takes full commitment from all partners, including public and private partners in this state.”

Contact Campbell at 615-898-5729.
jcampbel@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

STAND AND DELIVER--The MTSU McNair Program invites you to attend the 8th annual MTSU McNair Symposium Tuesday, July 31, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Tom H. Jackson Building. The McNair Program is designed to give low-income/first generation and underrepresented undergraduate students the support they need to prepare for and successfully complete a doctoral degree in their chosen fields. McNair scholars will make oral presentations of their 2007 summer research. Their research posters also will be on display. For more information, contact the McNair office at 615-904-8462 or mcnair@mtsu.edu.

BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN--More than 300 cowpokes will be dusting off their finest Western duds to “Saddle Up for Project HELP” at the 2007 fundraiser, set for Thursday, July 26, at the Tennessee Miller Coliseum, 304-B W. Thompson Lane. The fun will get underway at 6:30 p.m. with event registration. A barbecue dinner will be served at 7 p.m., followed by live music and dancing. Silent auction bidding will close at 8:15 p.m., and auction checkout will be at 8:30 p.m. Items up for bid at the auction will include a $200 travel voucher from Southwest Airlines and a cosmetic laser facial package valued at $1,350 from Rejuvenate Cosmetic Laser Center. Founded in 1983, the nonprofit Project HELP provides early intervention and family support services to high-risk children, children with disabilities and children with developmental delays up to age 3. For ticket information, call 615-898-2458. For more on Project HELP, visit the Web site at http://www.mtsu.edu/~projhelp/.

RECORDING REDUX--It’s not too late to enroll your child in the Youth Culture and Arts Center’s (YCAC) recording workshops at MTSU. The current enrollment period is in effect through Aug. 10 for the upcoming Aug.16-Sept. 9 workshop in MTSU’s John Bragg Mass Communication Building. The workshop is for youngsters ages 12-17, and the fee is $125 per student. Classes are taught by Ryan York, a 21-year-old MTSU student and teacher of guitar, bass, and drums lessons at Chambers Guitars and Musical Instruments in Murfreesboro. Ryan will provide instruction in cassette four-track instruction, digital eight-track, computer recording and electronic music. All proceeds will benefit YCAC, a program of Youth Empowerment Through Arts and Humanities (YEAH), a nonprofit organization. Call 615-849-7140 or contact York at bororecording@gmail.com.

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.

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.