Second flu clinic slated for Dec. 10 in Convocation Center
The Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) will hold a second mass flu immunization clinic Thursday, Dec. 10, in the Convocation Center on the ASU campus from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. or until vaccine supplies run out. Both H1N1 and the seasonal flu vaccines will be available to the general public, and health department officials want to remind people to wear clothing that will provide easy access to administer the shot to the arm. The Yellow Entrance at the southwest corner of the Convocation Center will be the only public entrance and exit. To access the Yellow Entrance, motorists are asked to enter the Convocation Center parking area off Olympic Drive. For more information about mass flu clinics throughout the state, visit the Arkansas Department of Health online.

Dr. Zariff Chaudhury presents papers at two conferences
Dr. Zariff (Zac) Chaudhury, Metallurgical Technology, recently presented two papers at two national conferences. “Auditing Challenges” was presented at the 18th Annual Audit Division Conference in Tucson, Ariz. Audit Division works separately under the umbrella of American Society for Quality (ASQ). The second paper, “Effects of Fiber Size and Aging on the Mechanical Properties of NiTi Short Fiber and SiC Particle Reinforced Al6061 Composite” was presented at the Materials Science & Technology (MS&T’09 ) conference in Pittsburgh, Pa. The paper was presented in the Powder Metallurgy Processing and Products: Properties and Microstructure of PM products area. This conference was organized by the American Ceramic Society (ACerS), Association for Iron & Steel Technology (AIST), ASM International (Materials Society) and the Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (TMS).

Dr. Bhattacharya publishes peer-reviewed research article
Dr. Gauri Bhattacharya, Social Work, published a peer-reviewed research article, "The Indian Diaspora in Transnational Context: Social Relations and Cultural Identities of Immigrants to New York City," in Transnational Migrants: The Indian Diaspora. (W. Safran, A. Sahoo, & B. V. Lal, [Eds.] New Delhi, India: Routledge, 2009). Dr. Bhattacharya examined transnationality, cultural identity and social relationships, and acculturative stress among Indian immigrants to New York City (NYC). The participants’ lives were examined in both US and Indian sociocultural and political contexts. Individual face-to-face interviews elicited participants’ narratives of their social relationships with family in India, peers and ethnic communities in the US, and their pre-immigration expectations of life in the US versus post-immigration experiences. According to the study findings, NYC’s Diaspora community retained India’s social class system, based on income, educational, and occupational hierarchies, despite the widespread stereotype of this community as monolithically affluent and professional. Identifying their personal cultural identity as Indian and American, participants felt pride in and solidarity with NYC’s growing, increasingly visible Indian community. Transnational connections enabled participants to maintain family relations despite geographical separations. Family relations fostered participants’ post-immigration adjustment, reducing their acculturative stress. Programs for acculturating immigrants need to take community heterogeneity into account, strengthening social relations in both India and the US, and understand the Indian Diaspora in terms of global and transnational contexts, changing demographics, and emerging political and environmental situations.

Fowler Center Series presents Blind Boys of Alabama
The Fowler Center Series presents its fourth event of the 2009-10 season in Riceland Hall on Tuesday, Dec. 8, at 7:30 p.m., when it presents the Gospel Music Hall of Fame legends, the Blind Boys of Alabama, in their Christmas show, “Go Tell It On the Mountain.” Riceland Hall, Fowler Center, is located at 201 Olympic Drive, Jonesboro. This performance is also part of the Riceland Distinguished Presentation Series. Formed at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind some six and a half decades ago, the Blind Boys of Alabama are the Iron Men of the music industry. While a huge gospel sensation back in the 1940s and ‘50s, the Blind Boys—led by founding members Clarence Fountain, Jimmy Carter, and George Scott—moved into the mainstream in 2001 with the first of three consecutive Grammy-winning recordings, “Spirit of the Century,” a blend of gospel, blues, soul, and folk that won Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album. It became the best-selling album of the Blind Boys’ career, and it turned these septuagenarians into folk heroes in hipster circles, landing them the opening slot on Peter Gabriel’s 2002 worldwide arena tour. Further acclaim and another Grammy win for Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album followed in  2002 with the release of “Higher Ground.” In 2003, The Blind Boys scored their third consecutive Grammy win for Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album for “Go Tell It On the Mountain.” Their induction into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and their National Endowment for the Arts Heritage Fellowship for Lifetime Achievement only confirms that the Blind Boys of Alabama have earned the true distinction of “living gospel legends.” Visit the Blind Boys of Alabama online, learn more about the individual members of the group, and listen to them online, too. Visit Fowler Center online for additional information, call Fowler Center at ext. 3471, or see the NewsPage release.
  
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