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Purdue Liberal Arts News
Liberal Arts News from Purdue University
- Children and Giving Experts
Nice holiday gifts for kids don't require big spendingJudith Myers-Walls, an associate professor, Extension specialist and certified family life educator, says you can give children nice holiday gifts without spending a lot of money. Myers-Walls can talk about at least four ways to give inexpensive gifts.
Personal home page: http://www.cfs.purdue.edu/cdfs/pages/fac_staff/myers_walls.html
Related news release: http://news.uns.purdue.edu/x/2008b/081119T-MyersWallsCheap.html
CONTACT: (765) 494-2959, jmyerswa@purdue.edu
- Holiday Experts
Dickens expert: 'A Christmas Carol' highlights 'Hard Times' of 2008
William J. Palmer, a professor of English, can talk about Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," especially how the story relates to the economically bleak 2008 holiday season. Palmer, an expert on Dickens, is the author of four mystery novels that draw on his expertise as a Victorian-age scholar to create mysteries that are peopled with fictional literary characters, such as Dickens.
Palmer's homepage: http://www.cla.purdue.edu/english/directory/index.cfm?personid=816
Related news release: http://news.uns.purdue.edu/x/2008b/081118T-PalmerDickens.html
CONTACT: (765) 494-3729, wjpalmer@purdue.edu
- Parkinson's speech treatment study looking for subjects
A Purdue University researcher is seeking Parkinson's disease patients to participate in a speech treatment study at the Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences.The study, led by associate professor Jessica Huber, will evaluate new treatment for Parkinson's disease related to speech disorders. Participants will be asked to go undergo a 14-20-week treatment plan. Some testing requires travel to Purdue, but other tests can be completed in the home. Subjects will be compensated based on participation.
- Purdue Theatre to present 'The Ministry of Funny Noises'
Purdue's Division of Theatre will present a 7:30 p.m. concert Saturday (Dec. 13) featuring The Ministry of Funny Noises in the Carole and Gordon Mallett Theatre in the Yue-Kong Pao Hall of Visual and Performing Arts.The concert, which is free and open to the public, will highlight Brad Garton, a Purdue alumnus and former member of the punk rock band Dow Jones and the Industrials that became an underground sensation in the area from 1979-81. Gregory Taylor also will be featured.
- Subjects needed for two voice studies
A Purdue University researcher is seeking individuals with vocal fatigue for two studies at the Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences.Professor Mahalakshmi Sivasankar, who is leading the studies, is looking for adults in general good health with no speaking or hearing disorders, but who are experiencing tiring of voice after speaking.
- Purdue Repertory Dance Company to perform Winter Works Concert
The Purdue Repertory Dance Company will present its Winter Works 2008 Dance Concert on Dec. 12 and 13.The dance company will perform nine new dances created by faculty and student choreographers. The concert is at the Nancy T. Hansen Theatre in Yue-Kong Pao Hall of Visual and Performing Arts.
- Prof: Think twice before giving kittens, puppies this holiday
Giving a cat or dog as a holiday gift requires the giver to do his or her homework to ensure the pet is a welcome and affordable addition to the family, says a Purdue University ethics expert."A child may ask for a puppy or a kitten, or it may sound like the perfect gift for a girlfriend, but there is a tremendous amount of thought and planning that needs to take place before adopting a pet," says Mark Bernstein, a philosophy professor and the Joyce and Edward E. Brewer Chair in Applied Ethics. "Another consideration, especially this year, is the cost associated with a pet."
- Liberal Arts students help community preserve pieces of its past
A new exhibit at the West Lafayette Public Library will showcase 11 graduate student projects that highlight local history.The "Preserving Memories, Making History" exhibit runs Dec. 13 through Jan. 9 at the library, 208 W. Columbia St.
- Prof: Give infants, toddlers the gift of language this holiday season
The holidays offer many opportunities to share the gift of language with infants and toddlers, says a Purdue University language development expert."Holiday decorating and family stories lend themselves to conversations that provide rich context to a child's developing language skills," says George Hollich, an associate professor of psychological sciences. "Most parents talk business with their children, with instructions like, 'Put on your coat' or 'Eat your peas,' but parents who keep a constant running commentary - 'Look at the tree with lights' or 'What color is that present?' - tend to have children with larger vocabularies."
- Free screenings at Purdue to test hearing, speech and language
Purdue University's M.D. Steer Audiology and Speech-Language clinics are offering free screenings on Wednesday (Dec. 3).The screenings are 9-11:30 a.m. in Heavilon Hall, Room B11, and are free and open to individuals 18 and older. Appointments are recommended and can be made in advance by calling (765) 494-4229. Screenings for walk-ins will be based on availability.
- Open forums scheduled for Graduate School dean candidates
The search committee for the dean of Purdue University's Graduate School has invited three internal candidates to participate in campus interviews in December.The candidates are:
- Prof: Lingering JFK conspiracies tarnish history
Historians should use the 45th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's assassination as a time to focus on the historical event, while debunking still popular conspiracy theories, says a Purdue University historian."Historians have pretty much ignored the assassination as a historical event, and they need to weigh in against the excesses of conspiracy theory as false history," says Michael G. Smith, an associate professor of history who will teach a spring semester course on the Kennedy assassination. "We need to begin to respect the dead rather than distort their memory.
- Dickens expert: 'A Christmas Carol' highlights 'Hard Times' of 2008
Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" may become an even more relevant tale as people cope with what is expected to be an economically bleak 2008 holiday season, says a Purdue University Dickens expert."Most people think of 'A Christmas Carol' as a sentimental story of spiritual rebirth or a ghost story to illustrate a moral purpose of taking care of fellow human beings," says William J. Palmer, a professor of English. "When Dickens wrote 'A Christmas Carol,' he really wrote it as a harsh indictment of England's Victorian society's treatment of the poor.
- Prof: 'Twilight' film may really bring vampires to life for some
The upcoming "Twilight" film may not only entertain moviegoers, but it also has the potential to encourage people to really believe in vampires, says a Purdue University mass media expert."Research on paranormal beliefs shows that when a fictional story is successfully presented in a realistic way, it can move people to believe or at least move them away from disbelief and toward more uncertainty about the supernatural," says Glenn Sparks, a professor of communication.
- Prof: Volunteering beats holiday blues, may lift spirits
Volunteering to do good this hol