• The Foxes and the Hounds
• TERRA Firma

STATIONS: NOTE THE DATING ON BOTH SETS OF STORIES.

1. Two young men leave the mountains of Kentucky to seek their fame and fortune only to encounter shady characters and a world of trouble. That's the basis of The Foxes and the Hounds, a new novel by MTSU professor emeritus Jack Justin Turner. The Kentucky native writes about how the youths try to exploit the coal mining interests that move in for their own benefit by capitalizing on their relationships with their neighbors.

foxes1.mp3 :19 OC: "we're buying them"

Turner based his novel on real people and events discovered through 20 years of research. He will read part of his book and sign copies at a reception at the MTSU Foundation House at 6 p.m. on Monday, November 10.

2. Former MTSU political science professor Jack Justin Turner knows the mountains of Kentucky perhaps better than any other author. He captures the region in his latest historical novel, The Foxes and the Hounds. Turner says it's about two young men who leave the security of their community to attend college--Lawton, to become a lawyer and Adrian to become a teacher. But both of them, especially Adrian, lose their way when they enter the mineral rights business.

foxes2.mp3 :17 OC: "looks at things"

Turner will read and sign copies of The Foxes and the Hounds at a reception at the MTSU Foundation House at 6 p.m. on Monday, November 10. This event is free and open to the public.

3. Jack Justin Turner traveled far and wide as a professor of international relations at MTSU. Now retired, Turner is firmly nestled back in his native Kentucky and describes it in his latest novel, The Foxes and the Hounds. Turner is slated to read part of the book and sign copies at a reception at the MTSU Foundation House at 6 p.m. on Monday, November 10. He says the book is set around the turn of the century in a region known for its roughness and its aversion to strangers.

foxes3.mp3 :13 OC: "the way it is"

It is through their connections that two local boys, Lawton and Adrian, make it big in the outside world by delving into the mineral rights business. However, they learn that life outside their little community isn't necessarily safe, either.

4. Tullahoma's Arnold Air Force Base will host the annual conference of the Tennessee Employment Relations Research Association November 19-21. Several MTSU faculty members, including Dr. William Canak, belong to the organization. TERRA, as it is called, brings together labor relations practitioners and academics to share their knowledge. Canak says one of his challenges is to explain the often brutal impact of the American capitalistic system on the workforce to his overseas peers.

terra1.mp3 :20 OC: "fundamental human right"

Canak says the economy is increasingly globalized and job insecurity is widespread as workplace settings that previously were insulated from global competition are coming under siege.

5. The Tennessee Employment Relations Research Association will hold its annual conference November 19-21 at Arnold Air Force Base in Tullahoma. TERRA, as it's called, enables labor relations practitioners and academics to share knowledge from the working world and the collegiate world. Dr. William Canak is one of several MTSU faculty members who belong to TERRA. The sociology professor says these professionals come together to try to strengthen the workplace, which needs updating for the 21st century.

terra2.mp3 :19 OC: "areas of the economy"

Topics to be tackled at the TERRA conference include workplace health, discrimination and harassment, sustainable change, and strategic negotiations.

6. Labor relations professionals and academics who study labor-management relations will come together to share information November 19-21 in Tullahoma. It's the annual conference of the Tennessee Employment Relations Research Association, or TERRA. Dr. William Canak, an MTSU sociology professor, is one of several faculty members who belong to the group. He says the organization is keeping an eye on the fragile national economy, but he is not worried about the degree of government intervention in trying to keep a recession from turning into a depression. For example:

terra3.mp3 :18 OC: "the TVA's contribution"

Canak also notes that the railroads would not have been able to spread westward without government land grants and the Internet was a Defense Department invention. Many of TERRA's members come from government, the business world and labor unions, as well as academia.