Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Your money or your life

What circumstances provide the best model for a satisfying life, despite the pressures of the material world? Dr. Tom Tang, management and marketing, used survey data from managers in 29 geopolitical entities across six continents. He found that “high corporate ethical values and low love of money were related to high ethical behavioral intention that was related to low irritation that, in turn, was related to high life satisfaction. Corporate ethical values had a positive ‘double-whammy’ effect: increasing ethnical behavioral intention and reducing job stress.” The entities that were studied ranged in gross domestic product from high (more than $20,000) to low (less than $5,000).

Contact Tang at 615-898-2005.
ttang@mtsu.edu

“Old age is not for sissies.”—Bette Davis

Aging women in prisons face unique health and safety issues that we might not think about in relation to other inmates. Dr. Ron Aday, sociology and anthropology, and a group of graduate students did research on 327 older (50+) female inmates in the states of Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi and Arkansas. Eighty-four percent of them said they needed a lower bunk bed because age and infirmities made it difficult for them to get up into and down out of higher bunks. Fifty-seven percent said they have problems walking long distances, which can be debilitating in large prisons. Fifty-nine percent said they have difficulty standing for longer than 15 minutes at a time. And, while only nine percent on average said they cannot walk independently, that figure was nearly 88 percent among the Georgia inmates and 91 percent among the Tennessee inmates.

Contact Aday at 615-898-2509.
raday@mtsu.edu

And justice for all?

Social justice activists have attempted to reform the juvenile justice system by using four different strategies, according to Dr. Sekou Franklin, political science. They are policy interference, issue convergence, framing and intergenerational collaboration. Policy interference happens when activists use tactics designed to disrupt the implementation of measures they believe to be harsh or unfair. Issue convergence occurs with the linkage of juvenile justice issues with other issues, such as education and prevention. Framing is the packaging of a belief system “into a coherent and effective message that appeals to youth, aggrieved populations and other advocates." And intergenerational collaboration is the act of getting the young people themselves involved in attempts at reform. Franklin says, “Intergenerational collaboration efforts can aid mobilization campaigns as long as there is continuity between the goals and objectives of the adults and the youth.”

Contact Franklin at 615-904-8232.
franklin@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

THE PAPER CHASE—The James E. Walker Library and the MTSU Department of Art are joining forces again this year to raise student awareness of paper usage through an imaginative project that will be on display in the waning days of the spring semester. The “Paper Rewind” project will remain in place through tomorrow, May 7. While students are studying for final exams and preparing research papers, they will be surrounded by paper animals, trees and people created by Professor Thomas Sturgill’s 3D design classes. In fact, students might find themselves sitting next to a paper person or look up to see a paper person sailing a paper airplane off the fourth floor balcony. “Students are printing 6,500,000 copies a year from computer printers, and this art project is intended to raise awareness on the part of the students to conserve natural resources and think before they print,” says Bill Black, library professor in charge of administrative services. Contact Black at 615-898-8378 or wblack@mtsu.edu; contact Sturgill at 615-898-2460 or sturgill@mtsu.edu. For more information, go to http://www.paperrewind.com/.

WOOF!—The See Spot Run 5K Run/Walk, a fun event for people and their dogs to support the MTSU Habitat Blitz Build and Rutherford County Habitat for Humanity will take place at 8 a.m. on Saturday, May 10, at MTSU. Registration will begin at 6:30 a.m. at Peck Hall. The entry fee is $25. The first 200 participants will get T-shirts, and the top age group finishers will get awards. To register, go to http://www.active.com/event_detail.cfm?event_id=1489959. For more information, contact the Office of Leadership and Service at 615-898-5812, or send an e-mail to Meagan Flippin at camporgs@mtsu.edu.

WHERE YOU LEAD, I WILL FOLLOW--The June Anderson Women’s Center will present its final Career and Professional Development Brown Bag lecture of the semester at noon today, May 6, in the Hazlewood Dining Room of the James Union Building. Meagan Flippin and Leslie Merritt will discuss “The Leadership Challenge.” The event is free and open to the campus community and the public. Take a brown bag lunch and join the discussion! For more information, contact the Women’s Center at 615-898-2193.

BRINGING IT UP TO PAR--The National Advisory Board for the Scholars Academy at MTSU presents the first annual Diversity and Multicultural Golf Outing on Wednesday, May 28, at Gaylord Springs Golf Course in Nashville. Founded in 2005, the Scholars Academy was developed to support bright and talented college students who may be underachieving. The Academy generally serves minority and other underserved students who benefit from a culturally rich learning environment. Throughout their collegiate careers, students are mentored and their development enhanced in the following areas: academics, psychological, social, bio-physical, and careers. All students remain in the program until college graduation. For sponsorship, golfer packages, or more information, contact Jerry M. Whitmore, Jr., in the Office of Institutional Diversity at 615-898-5975 or whitmore@mtsu.edu.