Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

The fog of studying war

A study by the Dr. Patricia Sullivan of the University of Georgia says that the world’s most powerful nations failed to achieve their objectives in 39 percent of their military operations since World War II, despite their military superiority. But Dr. Derek Frisby, assistant professor of history and Desert Storm veteran, questions the study’s conclusions. He says, “Dr. Sullivan’s reduction of warfare to a few quantitative variables and a formula to predict the outcomes of military operations appears to misinterpret or fail to appreciate the nature of warfare … Sullivan’s hypotheses, while engaging and thought-provoking, reduce the human factor in warfare whenever possible, except for determining ‘target compliance,’ or the willingness of the enemy to accept the major actor’s objectives and aims.”

Contact Frisby at 615-494-8856.
dfrisby@mtsu.edu

Don’t drop out—drop in!

As youngsters across the state return to school for a new academic year, their teachers are concerned about statistics that show about three out of 10 American ninth-graders don’t graduate with their class. Dr. Ellen Slicker, psychology, says, “More individualized counseling assistance for students and parenting education for their parents can help these students to fulfill their outside needs that are distracting them from benefiting from their educations. … In addition, emphasizing to parents the importance of their children remaining in school and helping the parents to locate other sources of social and financial support can be the role of the school, as well.”

Contact Slicker at 615-898-5966.
eslicker@mtsu.edu

Five-yard penalty—too many rules on the field

After a study by the University of North Carolina concluded that NFL players who suffer at least three concussions triple their risk for neurological disorders, the league embarked on its own study. But since it could be two to three years before those results will be available, why not adopt the position of the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA)? Dr. Helen Binkley, health and human performance, says, “This statement provides recommendations on defining and recognizing concussions, evaluation and making return-to-play decisions, concussion assessment tools, when to refer an athlete to a physician after a concussion, when to disqualify an athlete, home care and equipment issues.”

Contact Binkley at 615-904-8192.
hbinkley@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

WORKING IT OUT--Labor and management are celebrating “20 years of listening, learning and leading in collaboration” this year at the Tennessee Labor-Management Conference Wednesday through Friday, Aug. 15-17. The conference will take place at the Sheraton Music City Hotel, 777 McGavock Pike in Nashville, and is expected to draw more than 500 attendees. “Labor-Management participants at the August conference will have the opportunity to discuss possible solutions to problems in the health care, pension, and other workplace areas,” says Dr. Barbara Haskew, director of the MTSU-headquartered Tennessee Center for Labor-Management Relations and professor of economics. Contact Catherine Sutton at 615-895-4166.

AUDIO AUGMENTATION--Give your kids a wholesome, fun extracurricular activity this school year. Enroll your child in the Youth Culture and Arts Center’s (YCAC) next recording workshop at MTSU. The current enrollment period is in effect through Sept. 7 for the upcoming Sept. 13-Oct. 12 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 615-631-9479 or contact York at bororecording@gmail.com.