Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Swine flu, take two

Public health officials have the responsibility of informing the public about the swine flu outbreak, but they walk a tightrope in determining how to do so without alarming people unduly. Dr. Stephen Wright, biology, says, “At this point, there have been no travel prohibitions although caution is advised. No cases have been reported from Tennessee. The good news is that the swine flu virus is treatable with oseltamivir. Certainly common sense precautions are in order—wash hands frequently to help prevent transmission and if sick with respiratory symptoms of influenza, stay home. Excellent information is available from the CDC at cdc.gov as well as the WHO at who.int.”

Contact Wright at 615-898-2056.
smwright@mtsu.edu

Touchdown, Titans!

The Tennessee Titans are still the most popular professional sports team in Middle Tennessee, according to the MTSU Sports Affinity Index. The Titans increased five points to a score of 80 in the team ratings, followed distantly by the Nashville Predators with a score of 46. The Preds fell two points from their score last year and 12 points below their peak in 2007. Dr. Don Roy, management and marketing professor and sports business studies coordinator, says, “This decline is inconsistent with the Predators’ solid showing in ticket sales during the 2008-2009 season. It is unclear if the drop signals a trend of less local interest in the team.” The Nashville Sounds remained in third place with a score of 41, a six-point gain over 2008.

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

Making all the difference

MTSU’s Positive Behavior Support Initiative will welcome Dr. Mel Levine to its third annual conference from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. tomorrow, April 30, in Tucker theatre. The conference is free and open to teachers, parents, MTSU students—anyone who is involved in teaching children. Levine’s presentation is titled “The Difference that Differences Make: What we are learning about learning processes and the differences they bring out in students.” Dr. Levine takes an alternative view when he talks about learners and learning differences,” notes Dr. Zaf Khan, assistant professor of elementary and special education and director of PBSI. “He’ll ask us pivotal questions such as, ‘Can we teach without labels?’” Khan says Levine will focus on the “misunderstood child” and approaches to dealing with individual learning differences.

For more information, go to www.mtsu.edu/pbsi or contact Khan at zkhan@mtsu.edu.

TR EXTRA

PICTURE PERFECT--MTSU’s Public History Program will present Visions of the Past: Through the Lens of Shacklett’s Photography, a free exhibit featuring the historic collection of Shacklett’s photographs, beginning tomorrow, April 30, from 4-7 p.m. at The Heritage Center, 225 West College Street in Murfreesboro. “The exhibit looks at four aspects of local culture: religion, education, sports and the changing landscape,” says exhibit director Layton Carr. Bill Shacklett adds, “The Heritage Reclamation Project is setting a standard through such exhibits for preserving historically significant photographs.” The exhibit will be on display through July 31. The Heritage Center is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. Contact Tom Tozer in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919 or ttozer@mtsu.edu.

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS--“People are shouting too many philosophies of health and happiness at us,” notes a commentator on the recent explosion of interest in a topic of vital interest to us all—our own perceived well-being. But long before the shouting began, philosophers like Aristotle, Epicurus, Montaigne, Spinoza, Mill, Hume and James were carefully considering the question of how to get happy and stay that way. Dr. James Oliver will lead students through an examination of this subject in “The Philosophy of Happiness,” a class slated for Tuesdays and Thursdays this fall at MTSU. “In this course, we’ll survey older philosophical ideas about happiness, the new approach in psychology, and some of the best fictional literature,” says Oliver. ”Our approach will be calm, reasonable and interdisciplinary, with no gratuitous shouting.” Contact Oliver at 615-898-2050 or poliver@mtsu.edu.

GET A CLUE!--MTSU is expanding its popular CSI: MTSU four-day program for students entering the 10th, 11th and 12th grades in Rutherford and surrounding counties. This year’s event is slated for June 16-19. The goals of CSI: MTSU are: to allow students to explore many unique career possibilities in forensic science; to provide a “real life” reasons to tackle higher level math and science courses; and to develop skills in teamwork, seeing and understanding details, critical thinking and presentation skills. The student investigators will be presented with a re-creation of an actual crime scene. Each student is trained in the fundamental processes of collecting evidence, including DNA, fingerprints, hair and fibers, simulated blood spatter, and shoe prints. For more information or to register, call 615-898-2462 or send an e-mail to eshockle@mtsu.edu.

ART FOR OUR SAKE--The Department of Art at MTSU will serve as host for the third of three spring 2009 art exhibits by seniors who are candidates for the department’s Bachelor of Fine Arts degree beginning through May 1. “Port Folio” is the title of the final spring ’09 show, and it will be on display in the Art Gallery at Todd Hall. The exhibit, which is free and open to the public, will showcase student projects that utilize their skills in print, Web, motion, book arts and more. For more information, contact Eric Snyder at 615-898-5653.