CIS Paper Award

At the MBAA International Conference last week, Associate Professor Charles Apigian (Computer Information Systems) and student Johnathan Gilliam presented their paper "An Analysis of the Factors that Contribute to Intellectual Property Theft." The paper received the McGraw-Hill/Irwin Distinguished Paper Award from the Society for the Advancement of Information Systems, which is the best paper award for the IS track.

Gilliam is an undergraduate majoring in history and minoring in CIS and will begin working on a master's degree in CIS in the fall. Apigian was his mentor in the McNair Program, and this paper is the result of that research.

Johnathan Gilliam & Charles Apigian with McGraw-Hill/Irwin Distinguished Paper Award at MBAA  

Job Heat Charts Updated

http://www.mtsu.edu/~berc/tacir/tacir.html

Through Feb. 2011: Employment growth by industry for Tennessee and 10 MSAs

Tennessee 2010 Census Population Totals

http://www.mtsu.edu/~berc/census.html

These data from the U.S. Census Bureau provide the first look at population counts for small areas and race, Hispanic origin, voting age and housing unit data released from the 2010 Census. The census data are used by state officials to realign congressional and state legislative districts in their states, taking into account population shifts since the 2000 Census.

Tennessee 2010 Census Results

Tennessee Census Map

http://tinyurl.com/4v6nlpu 

Interactive map of population change by county and chart of state population by race

Tennessee Jobless Rate Rises

Japan's Disasters May Have Impact

From the Tennessean March 18:

"In the short-term, I don't expect to see any layoffs related to the Japanese disaster," said economist Murat Arik, associate director of the Business & Economic Research Center at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro.

Still, the situation is fluid, and to the extent that local auto-sector firms need parts or production from Japan, they could be forced to close temporarily until that supply returns, cautions Steven Livingston, editor of a global trade newsletter and a political science professor at MTSU.

[article]

BERC in the News

David Penn, director of the Business and Economic Research Center, is quoted in the following recent articles on the area economy:

• Local jobless rate up, but good sign ahead
• Green jobs take root in Tennessee
• Home sales dip in Feb.

Rise in Nashville-Area Jobless Rate Seen Only as a Blip

From the Tennessean: But most economists attribute the spike to seasonal changes such as the layoff of temporary workers or the loss of extra retail employees after Christmas — not a renewed economic swoon. "I don't attribute the increases to the economy getting worse," said economist David Penn, director of the Business and Economic Research Center at Middle Tennessee State University. [article]

Global Commerce 4th Quarter 2010

http://www.mtsu.edu/~berc/globalcommerce.html

"Tennessee—Significant Links to the Middle East?"
How significant are the countries of the Arabian world to Tennessee and its economy? What might be the economic fallout of the dramatic events we are witnessing? [more]

Tennessee Housing Price Index

http://frank.mtsu.edu/~berc/tacir/hpisummary.html

New from the Business and Economic Research Center (BERC): Housing Price Index with graphs for Tennessee and 10 MSAs

Hannah Travels to Bangladesh to Aid University Partners

Muhammad Yunus

Dr. Richard Hannah [Department of Economics and Finance] spent two weeks in December visiting Chittagong University in Bangladesh, one of MTSU's international partners, and making contact with Dr. Muhammad Yunus, former MTSU professor and founder of the Grameen Bank in the capital city of Dhaka. A second shipment of books is on its way to CU students through the efforts of MTSU's Yunus Program.

In addition, Hannah met with the executive staff at Grameen to discuss expanding internships at the bank. The first MTSU student to intern with Grameen, Steve Sibley, is in his second year of a doctoral program at Purdue University. [See Sibley's letters from Grameen describing his internship experience.]

[Read complete article in the Record.]

Dr. Richard Hannah, second from right, meets staff members at a medical facility in rural Bangladesh that has been set up as a social business.

Take a Stand: Stop Bullying

March 17, 6-8 p.m., BAS State Farm Room

National expert on workplace bullying Dr. Gary Namie will speak on March 17, 2011, from 6 to 8 p.m. in the State Farm Room in the Business and Aerospace Building on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University. Dr. Namie taught the nation's first university course on workplace bullying. He was the expert witness in the nation's first bullying trial in Indiana with the verdict upheld by the state Supreme Court.

Dr. Namie and his wife, Dr. Ruth Namie, are the most recognized individuals associated with bullying in the U.S., due in large part to the eight public websites devoted to education about bullying for individuals, lawmakers, unions, and employers. Their work has been featured on the Today Show, Good Morning America, CNN, NPR, and in print.

Dr. Namie directs a national network of state coordinators [the Healthy Workplace Campaign], acting as citizen lobbyists, who work to pass into law the anti-bullying Healthy Workplace Bill.

This event, free and open to the public, sponsored by the Distinguished Speaker Series and the Jennings A. Jones College of Business. For more information, contact Jackie Gilbert, 615-898-5418. More information regarding bullying, civil discourse, and respectful interaction can be found at OrganizedforEfficiency.com.

[Download promotional flyer pdf.]

Insurance Career Fair

Martin Chair of Insurance / Gamma Iota Sigma Career Fair today in Keathley University Center rooms 322 and 316 [more]

Tennessee Housing Market 3rd Quarter

The Business and Economic Research Center has posted its Tennessee Housing Market Report with 4th Quarter 2010 data - 
http://frank.mtsu.edu/~berc/housingbrief.html

Tennessee Business News

Latest business headlines for Tennessee and its 10 metropolitan statistical areas: 

http://frank.mtsu.edu/~berc/tacir/tacir.html#news

Tennessee Initial Unemployment Claims

New graph from the Business and Economic Research Center:
http://www.mtsu.edu/~berc/tacir/taciruiclaims.html

FBLA Region 4 Conference

Tennessee’s Region 4 Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) held its annual conference at MTSU on February 8, 2011. The Department of Business Communication and Entrepreneurship (BCEN) hosted a reception for the participants and teachers and served as judges and proctors for the competitive events.

The events involved over 300 students from local high schools and middle schools in numerous business disciplines. Region 4 consists of Hickman, Lawrence, Lewis, Marshall, Maury, Perry, Rutherford, Wayne, and Williamson counties.

Update: Tennessee's Economic Recovery

http://www.mtsu.edu/~berc/ppts/recoveryfeb11.ppt

David Penn's presentation "Update: Tennessee's Economic Recovery" (.ppt) to TACIR (Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations)

Jones College Research Cited by Atlanta Fed

The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta's blog Southpoint cited research by MTSU's Office of Consumer Research and Business and Economic Research Center in its post "Confidence Improving in the Region": 

• In their December publication, Dr. Timothy Graeff writes that: "On the positive side, consumers feel slightly better about the current economy. The current situation index rose modestly to -90 from -93. The percent who said that business conditions in the country as a whole are 'good' gained only slightly to 7 from 5, but the percent who said that business conditions are 'bad' dropped to 34 from 41."
• As an aside and a plug for our friends at MTSU's Business & Economic Research Center, see their heat maps of Tennessee's employment picture. They also provide similar maps for major state metro areas, including Nashville."

Census City Population Widget

On the Business and Economic Research Center site:
http://www.mtsu.edu/~berc/citypopulation.html

Poll: Consumers More Optimistic about Future

Consumer confidence in Middle Tennessee rose significantly this week, with consumers polled by telephone expressing more optimism about the economy, the job market and their stocks.... "Even though consumers are more confident and more hopeful about the future, the future economy and future jobs, they don't see it right now," said Timothy Graeff, director of MTSU's Office of Consumer Research, which conducts the consumer poll periodically. [Daily News Journal article]