Winston-Salem Journal
Teachers in the United States and Pakistan may have more in common than they might think. Here, teachers often complain about having to teach to standardized tests. In Pakistan, high-school students take exams that determine if they go on to college. “The teacher is bound to teach out of the textbook,” said Jesse Lutabingwa, the associate vice chancellor for international programs at ASU. “Otherwise, students will be at a disadvantage because they won’t be able to take the exam.” Change is afoot, though, and that’s one reason 15 Pakistani high-school biology teachers are spending a month in the North Carolina mountains at Appalachian State University, learning a different way to teach.

Their visit is being paid for by a grant given to ASU by the U.S. Department of State through the International Institute of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Graduate School.

The program is the only one of its kind being held at an American college this summer, Lutabingwa said, and its goal is to improve Pakistani education and strengthen American-Pakistani relations.   Read full story

Ottawa Citizen
The term “fat talk” was coined by Mimi Nichter, an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Arizona and author of Fat Talk: What Girls and Their Parents Say About Dieting (Harvard University Press, $18.50).

Denise Martz, a professor at Appalachian State University and a psychologist in private practice, is expanding on Nichter’s research to try to understand why girls (college-age in her research) fat talk and how that relates to body-image problems.

“It does create a bonding and allows women to get reassurance and support from other women,” Martz says. “But it is also continuing a norm that objectifies women’s bodies and makes that salient, makes that important.” Read full story

It’s a way to bond, but is it healthy?

Dallas Morning News

Guys know better.

When the woman in their life asks, “Do I look fat?” guys respond, “Gosh, I love you more every day, honey,” or “Now would be a great time for me to start painting the kitchen, don’t you think?” or, “Hey, is that a UFO up there?” Anything to avoid fat talk.

For women, however, fat talk is social currency.

Denise M. Martz, a professor at Appalachian State University and a psychologist in private practice, is expanding on research to try to understand why women (college-age, in her research) use fat talk and how that relates to body-image problems.

“It does create a bonding and allows women to get reassurance and support from other women,” Dr. Martz says. “But it is also continuing a norm that objectifies women’s bodies and makes that … important.” Read full story

Wilmington Star News
A recent study by researchers from Appalachian State University, UNCW and East Carolina University paints a worrisome picture for Southeastern North Carolina’s beaches.

The report, “Measuring the Impacts of Climate Change on North Carolina Coastal Resources,” states that 14 of the region’s 17 public beaches will have washed away by 2080, with nearly $3.9 billion in economic losses, without some sort of preventive measures.   Read full story

Asheville Citizen Times
A love of politics is taking two Appalachian State University professors to exotic locales.

George Ehrhardt, an assistant professor in Appalachian’s Department of Political Science and Criminal Justice, is fascinated with Japanese politics. He will spend the next six months in Japan learning more about the members of the Clean Government Party and their voting patterns through a Fulbright Hays award from the U.S. Department of Education.

Marvin Hoffman, a professor in the Department of Political Science and Criminal Justice and director of Appalachian’s master of public administration program, will travel to Serbia to research changes occurring as a Communist country transitions to a Republic form of government, and help a university there develop a training program for future government leaders.   Read full story

Winston-Salem Journal
Only seven days left.

And the Harry Potter fans are counting them down before they get in line to buy copies of the final installment of the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

But the bookstores aren’t the only ones dusting off shelves to make room for the expected megaseller.

Libraries are getting on the bandwagon, too.

There has been some criticism among academics about whether Harry Potter has as much to offer children as such classics as Lewis Carroll’s Alice books. A professor at Yale, Howard Bloom, wrote in The Wall Street Journal that Harry Potter books represent a dumbing down of child readers, asking, “Why read, if what you read will not enrich mind or spirit or personality?”

Alice Naylor, a professor of reading, language and exceptionalities at Appalachian State University, dismissed Bloom’s criticism as “academic elitism.”

“Anything that takes you out of the ordinary and the mundane and practical and concrete is wonderful because it makes the mind imagine things and that’s great fun to be taken out of your own day-to-day existence,” Naylor said. “If somebody’s concerned about (the decline of children’s classics), they should open them up and read them” to children.   Read full story

Winston Salem Journal
The economy in Western North Carolina improved for the second consecutive month in May, according to an index that measures business activity in the 25-county region.

The Western N.C. Economic Index was at 118.4, which was up a half-percentage point from April. The index includes Alleghany, Ashe, Watauga and Wilkes counties.

It is the first back-to-back positive gains from the region’s economy since November and December.

“The indicators are mixed, but it is heartening that we had two consecutive months of growth for the first time since 2006,” said Todd Cherry, an economics professor at Appalachian State University and one of the index’s authors. “While the region appears to be recovering from the economic stumble from the start of the year, there is still a lot of catching up needed.” Read full story

USA Today
Eric Church released his Sinners Like Me album last July, but the collection only now seems to be finding its audience.

The North Carolina native’s debut - a cleverly crafted set that includes songs about a pregnancy test and a condemned killer - is selling 4,000-plus units a week after hitting weekly lows near 1,000 in January.

Church attended Appalachian State University because his father offered to bankroll six months in Nashville if he got his degree first. “I went to college for the sole purpose of getting out of college and appeasing my parents,” he says. Still, the marketing degree Church picked up there has come in handy. “It’s allowed me to communicate with the label, because sometimes I can maybe speak their language.”   Read full story