Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

“I like to move it, move it.”—from “Madagascar”

Would overweight and obese 8- to 14-year-old children respond better to a community-based intervention than a clinical intervention? Dr. Jennifer Caputo, health and human performance, and Dr. Janet Colson, human sciences, are among the co-authors of a study of a five-week pilot program that involved eight such children. The kids performed curl-ups and modified pull-ups, a cardiovascular endurance run and a back-saver sit-and-reach. Measurements included muscular fitness, aerobic capacity, body composition, body mass index and flexibility. There was a significant post-test reduction in BMI and a significant post-test decrease in body fat for boys. The study was supported by a grant from the Center for Physical Activity and Health in Youth at MTSU.

For more information about the center, contact Dr. Don Morgan at 615-898-5549.
dmorgan@mtsu.edu

The competitive edge

Has your employer ever required you to sign a noncompete agreement? If you decide you want to break that deal later on, you might just have the upper hand. Then again, you might not. Drs. Patrick Geho and Stephen Lewis write, “Although there are a few states that hold noncompete agreements as prima facie void, most state courts will rule for partial enforcement. Thus, a promise in a noncompete agreement should be enforceable by and large when public policy issues are not in conflict and where the agreement is in severable terms. There is much case law on the subject of noncompete agreements, and while it is not easy to reconcile because the law is far from being settled, entrepreneurship students should be exposed to the subject matter since there is a high probability that they will be faced with the issue sometime during their business careers.”

Contact Geho at 615-898-2745 or pgeho@mtsu.edu.
Contact Lewis at 615-898-2902 or slewis@mtsu.edu.

Ups and downs

The Tennessee economy showed some improvement during the third quarter, according to Tennessee Housing Market, a publication of MTSU’s Business and Economic Research Center. THM states, “Employment gains pushed the unemployment rate down to 9.6 percent from 10.3 percent in the previous quarter. The unemployment rate remains very high, however—16th highest among the 50 states. Initial claims for unemployment insurance fell during the third quarter following a rise in the previous quarter. An important indicator of the future unemployment rate, initial claims averaged 6,800 a week, moving closer to the pre-recession level of 6,000 per week.”

Contact the Business and Economic Research Center at 615-898-2610.

TR EXTRA

EXPLORE THE WAR--After two excursions to the South Pacific to expose students to some of the critical sites of World War II, an MTSU historian prepares to embark on a tour of some of the pivotal sites of the European Theater of Operations for his “Warfare and Public Memory in Western Europe” class (HIST 3070). Dr. Derek Frisby, associate professor of history, will escort students across the continent May 19-June 3, 2011, in tracing the war’s “Great Crusade.” The 16-day tour will include an examination of Normandy; Bastogne; Dachau; Operation Market Garden, a campaign fought in Germany and the Netherlands; and the “Eagle’s Nest,” Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler’s retreat in the mountains above Berchtesgarden. Students also will follow the route of the 101st Airborne Division’s “Band of Brothers.” Tours of Omaha and Utah beaches, Arnhem and the “Battle of the Bulge” site are on the itinerary, as well as the Bayeaux Tapestry, Paris, Verdun and Waterloo. For more information, contact Frisby at 615-904-8097 or dfrisby@mtsu.edu. Financial aid is available. Apply as soon as possible. Contact the Office of Education Abroad and Student Exchange (MT Abroad) at 615-898-5179 or mtabroad@mtsu.edu.

HOW COULD YOU VOTE FOR THAT $@#&!?# IDIOT!--Dr. Robb McDaniel, associate professor of political science at MTSU, will lecture on “Civility in Public Discourse at 6:30 p.m. tonight, Nov. 16, at in the amphitheater of the Paul W. Martin Sr. Honors Building. This lecture is free and open to the public and is sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County. For more information, contact LMV co-president Leslie Collum at lesliecollum@bellsouth.net or McDaniel at rmcdanie@mtsu.edu.

TOO LEGIT NOT TO QUIT--The 35th annual Great American Smokeout, a day which encourages people who smoke to make a plan for quitting and/or to quit smoking that day, is slated for Thursday, Nov. 18. Members of the MTSU Raider Health Corps will have free Tobacco Quit Kits available at tables outside the Keathley University Center and the John Bragg Mass Communication Building, weather permitting, until 4 p.m. or as supplies last. For more information, contact Lisa Thomason Schrader at 615-494-8704 or thomason@mtsu.edu.

DON’T LET YOUR FELLOWSHIP SAIL WITHOUT YOU.--Qualified high-school seniors interested in applying for the Buchanan Fellowships at MTSU must meet a Wednesday, Dec. 1, deadline in order to be considered. The fellowship pays full tuition (up to 16 hours a semester) and most fees for four years of eligibility as well as an annual book allowance of $1,000 and other perks such as early registration and study-abroad opportunities. Students interested in securing applications for Buchanan Fellowships should go online to mtsu.edu/honors/scholarships.html. The fellowships are limited to 20 students per year. The fellowship is named in honor of Dr. James M. Buchanan (Class of 1940), a Nobel Prize-winning alumnus. Contact Dr. John Vile, dean of the University Honors College, at 615-898-2596 or jvile@mtsu.edu.

COUCH POTATO COMMUNITIES--Dr. Steven Hooker will discuss “Partnering with Communities to Promote Active Living: Accomplishments, Challenges and Lessons Learned” at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 18, in the State Farm Lecture Hall of MTSU’s Business and Aerospace Building. This event, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the MTSU Center for Physical Activity and Health in Youth as part of its Distinguished Lecture Series. Hooker is director of the Prevention Research Center, Graduate Director of the Master of Public Health Program in Physical Activity and Public Health and Research Professor in the Department of Exercise Science at the University of South Carolina. For more information, contact Dr. Don Morgan at 615-898-5549 or dmorgan@mtsu.edu.

A RADICAL IDEA--A series of six Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) classes will be offered at no charge from 6-8 p.m. each Thursday through Dec. 2 at MTSU police headquarters, 1412 East Main St. in Murfreesboro. The class will be open to all female MTSU students, faculty and staff, as well as to the general public. A workbook/training manual will be provided to each student. Enrollment is limited. For more information or to enroll, contact MTSU RAD instructor Sgt. David Smith at 615-692-2424 or 615-494-7858.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS--It’s time again for “Operation Christmas Care,” the project that sends holiday cheer to wounded warriors. The service, which was started in 2006 by Lee Ann Newton, executive aide for the Tennessee Mathematics, Science and Technology Education Center, has sent more than 20,000 Christmas cards to hospitalized military personnel. “Unfortunately, our soldiers’ individual support systems often dwindle after the life-threatening danger has passed,” says Norton, “and yet their painful daily regiment toward recovery continues. E-mails are nice, and they’re appreciated, but a colorful card or letter with a heartfelt message of support and encouragement can beam from the walls of their hospital rooms until they leave.” Contact Newton at 615-904-8573 or lnewton@mtsu.edu.