Monday, March 30, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

C.Y.A. (Covering your art)

Do you have a favorite album or CD cover? Dr. Mike Alleyne, recording industry, writes in the March 21 edition of Billboard magazine, “Album cover images speak volumes. In the digital age, though, as listeners’ relationships with recorded music becomes (sic) ever more tenuous, the album cover is fading away.” Alleyne says this is regrettable because album art has been part of the listening experience in that covers are part of the overall artistic statement. “If a picture still paints a thousand words, then the growing absence of memorable cover imagery makes paupers of us all,” Alleyne opines.

Contact Alleyne at 615-904-8336.
malleyne@mtsu.edu

A sporting chance?

Researchers have targeted the ACTN3 gene, one among more than 20,000 in the human genome, as a key indicator of a child’s athletic abilities. Now a Colorado-based company claims to have developed a test that can assess those abilities by swabbing the inside of the child’s cheek and along the gums and collecting DNA. Dr. Mark Anshel, health and human performance, sees the potential for some children to be cast aside. “The children who receive ‘high’ scores on this genetic test will receive most of the resources toward skill development,” Anshel says. “We will be giving most of the opportunities to compete to so-called ‘future elite athletes’ while ignoring or reducing the amount of resources toward skill development to lower test scorers.”

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

Keep me in with the ball game.

Why will Major League Baseball’s new 24/7 cable television network succeed? Dr. Don Roy, management and marketing, cites a strong brand and a lot of content as two reasons. Also, it has distribution. “Lack of distribution dooms more new products to failure than any other factor,” Roy says. “MLB Network launched with an audience of more than 50 million households, larger than the other three networks’ audiences at their launches. … I am looking forward to my first season having MLB Network as a resource to help with my fantasy baseball efforts... and I can use all the help I can get!”

Contact Roy at 615-904-8564.
droy@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

SHOWING OFF SCHOLARSHIP--Scholars Week 2009, slated for today, March 30 through Friday, April 3, has become an anticipated campus event each spring as MTSU scholars eagerly share their research findings as well as their enthusiasm for doing research. Dr. Kris McCusker, associate professor of history and organizing committee member, says that selected MTSU students are inviting others to visit the universitywide poster and multimedia event at 12:40 p.m. on Friday, April 3, in the Murphy Center track area and will act as hosts during the event. Presentation titles range from “Hurricane Ike vs. an Atomic Bomb;” “How to Build a Better Mousetrap: Sanitation Issues in the Food Industry;” and “Knock It Off!: Consumers’ Perceptions Toward Purchasing Counterfeit Products.” A schedule and a link to poster abstracts are at www.mtsu.edu/~research. For more information, contact McCusker at 615-898-2544 or Dr. Andrienne Friedli at 615-898-2071.

PROJECT RUNWAY--The MTSU Fashion Promotion class will conduct a fashion show at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 2, in the Tennessee Room of MTSU’s James Union Building. Admission is $5 per person at the door. All proceeds will be donated to Pennies for Peace. For more information, contact Dr. Jasmin Hyunju Kwon, assistant professor of textiles, merchandising and design, at 615-904-8340.

IT’S A PRIVILEGE--Dr. Peggy McIntosh, associate director of the Wellesley Centers for Women, will guide a workshop for MTSU students titled “Coming to See Privilege Systems: The Surprising Journey” at 4 p.m. tomorrow, March 31, in the State Farm Lecture Hall of the Business and Aerospace Building. For more information, contact the Women’s Studies Program at 615-898-5910 or womenstu@mtsu.edu.

“ARE YOU REALLY JUST A SHADOW OF THE MAN THAT I ONCE KNEW?”—FROM “DOCTOR WU” BY STEELY DAN--How do you teach students the art of filmmaking? By letting them make a film. But how do you pay for it? With a national economic recession and the threat of budget cuts hitting close to home, Dr. Bob Pondillo, electronic media communication, is going viral and asking for donations to pay for it online. Pondillo is the writer and director of “The New, True Charlie Wu,” a movie made with an all-MTSU student crew. The film is now in post-production. It’s “the story of a young man caught in a job he hates,” says Pondillo. He compensates for his malaise through conspicuous consumption, thinking that things can “fill the hole in his heart,” as Pondillo puts it. To contribute, go to www.youandcharliewu.com. For each dollar contributed, the donor gets a point. The more points the donor gets, the more prestigious the mention in the credits. Contact Pondillo at 615-904-8465 and pondillo@mtsu.edu.

THE NITTY GRITTY--The Girls Raised in Tennessee Science (GRITS) Collaborative, a statewide initiative to encourage girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) is inviting you to register your program in the National Girls Collaborative Project Program Directory. Teachers, community groups and other organizations committed to collaborating with, informing and motivating girls are encouraged to register. The online program directory lists programs and resources that encourage girls to pursue careers in STEM. The purpose of the directory is to help organizations and individuals network, share resources, and work together on STEM-related projects for girls. With the online program directory, you can enter a program for inclusion in the directory, sign up for the e-newsletter listserv and search for programs using various criteria. For more information, contact Cacy DeSheles, assistant director of GRITS, at 615-494-7763 or cdd3b@mtsu.edu.

BRIGHT AND BRASSY--“Pistons and Pipes,” a free concert featuring the MTSU Faculty Brass Quintet, the MTSU Symphonic Brass Ensemble and First United Methodist Church organist and MTSU faculty member Sandra Arndt, will be held at 7:30 p.m. tonight, March 30, at the church at 265 W. Thompson Lane in Murfreesboro. Festival music selections include J.S. Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor, multiple brass choir works of Giovanni Gabrieli, David Sampson’s Fanfare for Canterbury Cathedral, Ingolf Dahl’s Music for Brass, and Craig Phillips’ energetic and lyric Suite for Organ, Brass, and Percussion. The concert will conclude with Ottorino Respighi’s brilliant Ancient Aires and Dances. The concert is free and open to the public. For more information, call 615-898-2493 or go to www.mtsumusic.com.

PLEASE DON’T SQUEEZE THE CHARMIN.--MTSU Theatre will present “Urinetown the Musical” at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday April 1-4 and at 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 5, in the Boutwell Dramatic Arts Building’s Tucker Theatre. The three-time Tony Award-winning musical provides a satirical and comedic look at a future in which water supplies have dried up and the public must use pay-to-pee toilets regulated by the Urine Good Company. When Bobby, a custodian at the filthiest toilet in town, decides enough is enough, he leads a rebellion to free the citizens. Deborah Anderson, a member of MTSU’s speech and theatre faculty and the play’s director, says, “We’re all going to experience this (environmental) ruin that is rocketing toward us at such a speed that we will probably not be able to turn it away no matter how much recycling we do. But at least we should try, and this show provides a humorous look at what could happen.” Tickets are $10 for general admission and $5 for MTSU staff and K-12 students. MTSU students are admitted free of charge with a valid ID. For more information, call 615-494-8810.

RECYCLED KNOWLEDGE--The American Association of University Women will hold its annual Book Sale to benefit the Ruth Houston Memorial Scholarship for MTSU students from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. today, March 30, and tomorrow, March 31, in front of Phillips Bookstore in the Keathley University Center. Books, CDs, DVDs, tapes and records will be available. For more information, contact Ann Funkhouser at 615-898-2538 or afunkhou@mtsu.edu.