Yearbook photos being shot today, this week
The WolfTracks Yearbook will be holding its annual Yearbook Picture Week this week. All faculty and staff are greatly encouraged to have headshots made. These headshots frequently provide identifying images for faculty and staff items in Inside ASU and are sent to the news media when required. Faculty and staff must bring a valid ASU ID to the 1st floor of the Student Union. The dates and times are: Monday, Sept. 13, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.; Tuesday, Sept. 14, -9 a.m.-2 p.m.; Wednesday, Sept. 15, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Thursday, Sept. 16, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Friday, Sept. 17, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. For more information, contact Natalie Eskew, ext. 2055.

Dr. Reeve and Dr. Allen are awarded patent
Dr. Scott Reeve, Chemistry, and Dr. Susan Allen, Arkansas Center for Laser Applications and Science, were awarded a patent on August 3  for a Multicolor Cavity Ringdown Based Detection Method and Apparatus (U.S. Patent # 7,768,647 B2). Dr. Reeve and Dr. Allen, along with colleagues Dr. J. Bruce Johnson, Physics, and Dr. William Burns, Chemistry also coauthored a proceedings paper, "Optical Detection of Special Nuclear Materials: an alternative approach for standoff and remote sensing," which was presented at the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives (CBRNE) Sensing  XI conference held in conjunction with the SPIE Defense, Security, and Sensing 2010 meeting in Orlando, Fla., in April. Dr. Reeve, along with postdoctoral research associate Dr. Trocia Clasp and Dr. William Burns, coauthored a second proceedings paper, "Measurement of ammonia skin gas using a mid-infrared Pb-salt tunable diode laser," which was also presented at this same meeting.

Dr. Tusalem publishes article in international journal
Dr. Rollin Tusalem, Political Science, recently published an article in the June 2010 issue of the journal International Political Science Review (31(3):346-365), the leading journal of the International Political Science Association. Dr. Tusalem's article, "Determinants of Coup d’État Events 1970-90: The Role of Property Rights Protection." The article explores the factors that contributed to the success of coups d'état launched by the military during a period when developing states encountered problems with state legitimacy. The findings suggest that nation-states which protected property rights and elite class “interests” were at a lower risk of experiencing a coup d'état event. Dr. Tusalem's study implies that states, during the period examined, were at a higher risk of reactionary coups if state threats against property rights were pervasive. Furthermore, as modernization reached a peak in the early 1970s, the masses of the third world became empowered through the populist programs that incumbent regimes began to implement. Such programs, that often involved property re-distribution or land reform programs, went against the entrenched interests of the elites. Together with an international environment where cold war politics was at play, the military establishment concomitantly developed an alliance with the land-owning and investment classes to secure their hierarchical dominance in a very stratified social system. Top generals and ranked soldiers also received western educations and were exposed to the doctrines of western capitalism. Thus, elite segments in Latin America, Africa, and Asia began to lose the ability to control the excesses that wayward populist regimes wrought, and they frequently courted the military to intervene in the polity to maintain their oligarchic hold on politics and society. This approach saw the entrenchment of the alliance between the military and the landowning and investment classes which was clearly evident in the long repressive military regimes of many developing states.

Dr. Coleman publishes article in journal 
Dr. Amanda Coleman, Geography, recently published an article, “Rehabilitating the Region: The New Deal, Gender and the Remaking of the Rural South,” in the summer 2010 issue of the Southeastern Geographer. The paper concerns the rural resettlement communities (such as the Dyess Colony, now the town of Dyess, Arkansas) that were constructed by the federal government throughout the South during the 1930s. Dr. Coleman's paper specifically examines the participation of women in these farming communities. She found that the role of rural farmwomen within the family changed drastically when families moved into the communities. The farming communities were structured so that women were largely isolated inside the home; previously many women had worked in the fields, but within these farm communities, women were intended to act as stereotypical “housewives.” Dr. Coleman's study contends that women were often ambivalent about this changed status, and also argues that participation in the farming communities altered social relations within families in ways that placed women at an economical disadvantage.The paper fits within Dr. Coleman's larger research agenda, which focuses in part on the changing role of women in agriculture in the south as the region transitioned from a tenancy-based agricultural economy to an agribusiness-based agricultural economy after World War II.

Emmy winner Pansy Hall part of R-TV series Sept. 15-16
Pansy Hall, a 1985 graduate of Arkansas State University and an Emmy award-winning news producer, is the first of four distinguished alumni to return to campus as part of the ASU R-TV Alumni Professional-in-Residence Series. She will be on campus Wednesday-Thursday, Sept. 15-16. The series, started by the Department of Radio-Television in the spring of 2010, invites R-TV graduates who have excelled in their field to share their experiences with students and interact with faculty over a two-day period. Hall is a news producer who currently works at the ABC/CW affiliate in Memphis, Tenn.  She graduated from ASU with a bachelor of science in Radio-Television and a minor in Computer Information Systems. Hall won a regional Emmy in 2009 in Best Light Feature category for a story with FOX13 reporter Tom Dees and photojournalist Derric Curran. She began her television career at KAIT in Jonesboro in 1985. For details, contact Dr. Mary Jackson-Pitts, interim chair, Department of Radio/Television at ext. 3070, or see the NewsPage release.

MacDonald to speak on Nabataean uses of water Sept. 16
Julie K. MacDonald, ASU Museum,  will present a lecture, "Ritual Use of Water by the Nabataeans at Petra," at this month's meeting of the Central Mississippi Valley Archeological Society on Thursday, Sept. 16, 7 p.m., in the ASU Museum, Room 182. Archaeologists, hydrologists, and tourists marvel at the ingenuity of Nabataean construction of large cisterns, complex irrigation systems, and miles of water channels to supply water to their desert settlements. ASU Museum curator Julie K. MacDonald has researched the role of water in Nabataean ritual, including cultic and funerary rites conducted in Petra and surrounding lands. MacDonald will take her audience on a journey to the cradle of human civilization as she describes her multiple seasons of fieldwork in Jordan as she worked toward her master’s degree from Brigham Young University. A Mediterranean feast from a local culinary artist will be provided. Arkansas Archeological Survey publications and CMVAS T-shirts will be offered for sale, and information will be available on upcoming archeological meetings and local fieldwork opportunities. For details, contact Dr. Julie Morrow, Arkansas Archeological Survey's ASU station archeologist, at ext. 2071.

ITTC launches new concept; provides new resources
The Interactive Teaching and Technology Center (ITTC) announces several resources now available to ASU faculty and staff. These new offerings will facilitate designing and developing quality courses. These resources include the Course Development Life Cycle, the ITTC Institute, ITTC Quality Teaching and Learning at ASU, and ITTC Learning Centers. ITTC has created a process framework, the "Course Development Life Cycle" (CDLC), that can be used to help instructors focus on different components of providing a quality learning experience for students. To fine-tune the CDLC, the ITTC used it as the foundation in teaching the 2010 ITTC Summer Institute, which was attended by 56 faculty members this year. Beginning Tuesday, Sept. 14, and Friday, Sept. 17, faculty members will be able to participate year-round in the highly sought-after ITTC Institute. The Institute will be taught this fall on Tuesday afternoons and Friday mornings. Much of the material covered in the Institute is also available online in the Blackboard course “ITTC Quality Teaching and Learning at ASU.” ITTC Learning Centers provide another component. ITTC Learning Centers, available as online courses and as training seminars, are a set of activity-based modules designed to provide faculty with essentials skills to develop quality courses. They are designed to be short in duration (1-2 hours) and present materials in an interesting and engaging way. They provide a hands-on overview of the subject and also include resources that can be used to gain a deeper understanding and serve as reference materials. Currently there are eight Learning Centers that include topics such as Course Planning and Design Toolkit, Blackboard Boot Camp, and Creating Online Tests Using Respondus. Additional Learning Centers will be included as they become available. To register for the ITTC Institute or the Learning Centers seminars, visit the ITTC homepage and scroll down to ITTC Apps, and click Scheduler. All current ASUJ faculty should already have access to these two online courses by logging into Blackboard. For details, e-mail the ITTC directly, call ext. 2334 or visit ITTC in the Dean B. Ellis Library, Suite 301.

Kays Foundation celebrates 100 years of service Sept. 18
The Kays Foundation will hold a celebration marking its 100 years of service to Arkansas State University on Saturday, Sept. 18, from 2:30-4:30 p.m. The celebration is open to the public and will take place at the foundation offices, located at 1212 University Loop East, Jonesboro. The Kays Foundation is a nonprofit corporation which exists to promote the interests of Arkansas State University. Guests will enjoy lemonade, cookies, and a live band while being given tours of the foundation’s Pleasance Garden. At 3 p.m., Dr. Ruth Hawkins, Dr. Michael Dougan, and Dr. Eugene Smith will offer remarks on the past, present, and future impact of the Kays Foundation on the development of ASU. At 3:30 p.m., recipients of Kays Foundation grants will provide demonstrations of the advancements they have made with funding provided by the foundation. Representatives from the College of Nursing and Health Professions, the department of Biological Sciences, the department of Computer Science, and the College of Fine Arts will participate. For more information, contact Wayne Blake or Maxine Pruitt at (870) 931-7898.E-mail the Kays Foundation or visit the Kays Foundation online. Learn more about founders V. C. Kays and V. H. "Buddy" Kays online.

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