Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

“The reason I talk to myself is that I’m the only one whose answers I accept.”—George Carlin

Some people say it’s okay to talk to yourself as long as you don’t answer yourself. But carrying on an internal conversation with oneself is not necessarily an indication of mental illness. Dr. Thomas Brinthaupt, psychology, along with Dr. Michael B. Hein and Tracey E. Kramer, developed a Self-Talk Scale (STS) to measure a person’s frequency of self-talk. In the Journal of Personality Development, they wrote, “In general, people who talk more to themselves are more inwardly self-focused, experience more frequent automatic self-statements, show greater obsessive-compulsive tendencies, have a higher need for cognition, and use more verbal compared to visual information processing. … An important clinical question is to what extent individuals can be taught to be more aware of their self-talk.”

Contact Brinthaupt at 615-898-2317.
tbrintha@mtsu.edu
Contact Hein at 615-898-2127.
mhein@mtsu.edu

A HELPing hand

Project HELP is a not-for-profit early intervention program on the MTSU campus that helps children with developmental delays or disabilities free of charge from six to 36 months of age. A one-time donation of $50 to Project HELP will provide baby wipes and paper towels for one week or 870 hours of direct services to approximately 65 children. A pledged donation of $3.75 per week for one year will provide one entire week’s worth of speech, occupational and physical therapies for a child on the autism spectrum. Studies in Tennessee and Colorado show that for every dollar spent on early intervention, a savings of four to seven dollars was realized within 36 months due to prevention or delay of special education placements and services.

Contact Project HELP at 615-898-2837.

Buyers’ remorse

We consumers are becoming much pickier as the economy continues to languish in the doldrums. A study from Deloitte shows consumers using words such as “remorse,” “embarrassment,” and “wasteful” to describe pre-recession expenditures. Dr. Don Roy, management and marketing, says, “These feelings should serve as a call to brand marketers for a renewed focus on how they add value for consumers. It may not be enough to be a prestigious brand, and the perceived quality advantage national brands have enjoyed over private labels has been erased to an extent. Experience and relationship may overshadow awareness and image as marketing priorities. The key for brand marketers is to remain competitive in an environment in which brand relevance will matter more than brand image.”

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

TR EXTRA

“A HEALTHY STATE ENCOURAGES MANY VOICES—AND LOTS OF LISTENING.”—HHS SECRETARY KATHLEEN SEBELIUS--Expressions of confidence, faith, defiance, togetherness, satire and sobriety characterize the second edition of Voices We Haven’t Heard, a publication of MTSU’s June Anderson Center for Women and Nontraditional Students. The latest Voices is larger than last year’s edition, and it includes feminist poetry and prose nestled between glossy, colorful covers. Center Director Terri Johnson says the magazine empowers students by providing them with a creative outlet for their observations on racism, sexism, classism, homophobia and other forms of oppression. Voices We Haven’t Heard is free and available from the June Anderson Center in its new home, Room 320 of the Keathley University Center. For more information, call 615-898-5989 or go to www.mtsu.edu/jac.

I’M PLAYING WITH MY BOOKS, MOMMY.--“Books and Children in the 19th Century: A Small Portrait” is the theme of an exhibit on display now and throughout this summer in the fourth floor Special Collections area of MTSU’s James E. Walker Library. The purpose is to show the variety of ways children and the adults around them engaged with books in the 1800s and early 1900s. The works available for viewing are indicative of the children’s book as an object of moral and educational value. The idea behind the books is to teach values and build character. Entertainment techniques are employed strictly to attract the children and hold their interest. Highlights include several movable books, which are books that contain text or illustrations that the child can manipulate. Pop-up books are one such type of movable book. Many items in the display have never been exhibited previously. Call the James E. Walker Library at 615-898-2772.

APRENDA CON ME--The University School of Nashville is hosting MTSU’s 2010 Summer Language Institute, where you can learn Spanish in a fun, low-stress environment. The methods employed are Total Physical Response (TPR) and Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling (TPRS). These methods mimic the way you learned your first language. Movement, games, songs and storytelling are all part of the instruction. Brian Roberts will teach Spanish I for ages 16 and up from Aug. 2-6 at the O’More School of Design in Franklin. The cost is $350 with a $20 materials fee due on the first day of class. Contact Dr. Shelley Thomas at 615-898-5757 or shthomas@mtsu.edu.