Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

“My sexuality has never been a problem to me, but I think it has been for other people.”—Dusty Springfield

“Sexuality” is the theme of the 2009 Interdisciplinary Conference in Women’s Studies at MTSU, which is slated for Thursday and Friday, March 26-27, in Cantrell Hall in MTSU’s Tom H. Jackson Building. Learned scholars from across the country, as well as the Netherlands and the Czech Republic, will present research on topics representing the vast panoply of perspectives on sexuality, including biology, culture, and sexuality; sex trafficking; feminism and sexuality; and gender construction and sexuality. “At MTSU, we have an inclusive definition of diversity,” says Dr. Kaylene Gebert, Executive Vice President and Provost. “The Women’s Studies Program and this conference give the campus and the community and opportunity to hear national speakers and scholars who focus on contemporary issues.”

For more information, go to www.mtsu.edu/womenstu, or contact the Women’s Studies Program at 615-898-5910.
womenstu@mtsu.edu

Google economics

According to a December 2008 survey by ComScore, the number of times the word “coupons” was used in Internet searches skyrocketed from 7.6 million to 19.9 million in December. Dr. Don Roy, management and marketing, says, “These trends undoubtedly are garnering the attention of marketers that use paid search advertising and search engine optimization to drive traffic to their Web sites. Consumers have a need for information on ways to save money and make money. And, the quest for this information is taking place on the Internet, not in a newspaper’s classified ads section or other traditional mass medium. All signs point to search advertising becoming a more prominent part of marketing communications budgets in the short and long term.”

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

Booze you can use

The four Tennessee industries that appear to have been the most susceptible to changes in the value of the dollar over the past decade are nonelectrical machinery, electronic equipment and appliances, food products and chemicals. So writes Dr. Steven Livingston in the latest edition of Tennessee Global Commerce. Livingston says some exports “respond more to changes in U.S. demand than to global conditions or exchange rate moves.” But Livingston says buyers just don’t seem to be sensitive to the prices of certain products. “In Tennessee, the best example is the beverage industry,” Livingston says. “Beverage exports here are mostly whisky exports. … whisky sales rise almost every quarter, no matter what the dollar is doing.”

Contact Livingston at 615-898-2720.
slivings@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

RAD STREET CRED--A series of six Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) classes will be offered at no charge every Thursday through Mar. 26 from 6-8 p.m. in the MTSU police training room located at 1412 East Main Street. The class will be open to all female MTSU students, faculty and staff as well as to the general public. For more information or to enroll, call RAD instructor David Smith at 615-692-2424.

MONEY FOR SCHOOL--Applications materials are being accepted through March 15 for the Ruth Houston Memorial Scholarship. The Murfreesboro Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) will award a $1,000 scholarship each semester—Fall 2009 and Spring 2010—to the MTSU undergraduate student who best demonstrates academic promise and financial need. To be eligible for consideration, applicants must have successfully completed their freshman year at MTSU. Returning adult students, in particular, are encouraged to apply. The scholarship is renewable each semester as long as full-time status and a 2.5 GPA are maintained. AAUW advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education and research. For complete scholarship criteria, contact Dr. Tanya M. Peres, chair of the Ruth Houston Scholarship Committee, at 615-904-8590 or tperes@mtsu.edu.

YOUNG MCDONALD TOOK A CLASS--MTSU is the first four-year university in the state to be included in the Perkins IV Reserve Fund Grant that allows high school students to take a Career Technical Education class for high school and college credit simultaneously. High school agriculture students taking Greenhouse Management will receive dual credit for the Introduction to Ornamental Horticultural Science course (ABAS 1101). Dr. Cliff Ricketts, professor, and Alanna L. Neely, instructor, will explore how this new dual credit program works in a professional development program for teachers from 3:30-4:30 p.m. CST (4:30-5:30 p.m. EST) tomorrow, March 5. This presentation will be delivered by the Satellite and Webcasting Center. For more information, call 615-898-2737.