Education professor: Schools need to improve outreach to Hispanic families
As Georgia's Hispanic population continues to grow, schools may face additional challenges in working with an influx of new immigrants, according to a professor in Georgia State University's College of Education. Language is often the biggest barrier to student learning - but a language gap between teachers and non-English speaking parents can be dangerous if parents can't read critical school-related messages, says Suzanne Vargas Anastasi, assistant professor of early childhood education. Schools can improve their outreach efforts by not only translating school-wide information into other languages, but also by encouraging teachers to maintain personal contact, conduct home visits and create bilingual parent liaisons who can assist families with social services tasks, says Anastasi, an expert in bilingual education. "If survival needs of families are not met, children may not come to school ready or able to learn," she says. Anastasi can be reached at 404-541-4878, or ecesva@langate.gsu.edu.

Want a good cry? Go to a movie
Movie studios traditionally release their Oscar hopefuls in the fall, and viewers can expect to be enticed by films designed to tug at the heartstrings, wrench the gut or set nerves on edge. Why do films affect us? Greg Smith, associate professor of communication at Georgia State University and author of "Movie Moods: The Emotional System and Film Structures," examines how filmmakers manipulate our emotions. "All people feel and express emotion differently," says Smith, "but there are certain basic structures that are just blasted difficult to change. If emotions were really all subjective and vague, film would fail as a mass medium." Contact Smith at 770-490-6758 or gsmith@gsu.edu.

Music file swapping: An old problem with a new name?
No one has yet demonstrated that Internet file sharing is a genuine public policy problem, according to Michael Rushton, associate professor of public administration and urban studies at Georgia State University. "The entertainment industry has in the past 'cried wolf' about new recording technologies, whether photocopying, taping music onto cassettes, or recording on home VHS machines - while throughout these changes, the industry has flourished," says Rushton. "Even if it can be shown - and the jury is still out - that file sharing has led to a significant decline in industry sales, it is not necessarily the case that society as a whole would gain from an enforceable ban on file sharing." Contact Rushton at 404-651-0333 or michaelrushton@gsu.edu.

Social insecurity
Federal proposals to partially privatize the U.S. Social Security system, allowing people the option of allocating some of their money into individual accounts, lost a lot of appeal after the stock-market collapse of recent years ruined many people financially. But the need for reforming the system hasn't gone away, says David Richardson, assistant professor of risk management and insurance at Georgia State University. "I think the general consensus is that it's unsustainable in its current form," says Richardson, who studied Social Security reform closely during his six years working at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. He is available to provide in-depth discussion on administrative hurdles to partial privatization and other reform options, such as decreasing future benefits. Contact Richardson at 404-651-0962 or insdpr@langate.gsu.edu.

Understanding the herpes B virus
Georgia State University researchers are one step closer to understanding the deadly herpes B virus. Harmless in monkeys - its natural host - the virus becomes more virulent when transmitted to humans, often causing encephalitis. In a study led by Ludmila Perelygina of Georgia State's Viral Immunology Center, researchers have for the first time sequenced the entire herpes B genome, discovering that the virus lacks the gene previously believed to be responsible for its deadliness. By defining all genes on the herpes B genome, Perelygina's team has laid the foundation for the search for herpes B-virus genes that may affect the human central nervous system. For more information, contact Perelygina at 404-651-0002 or lperelygina@gsu.edu.

Happening at Georgia State University:

University Symphony Orchestra performs free concert
The Georgia State University School of Music Symphony Orchestra will perform a free concert at 3 p.m. Sept. 28 at the Rialto Center for the Performing Arts. The program will feature Mozart's Overture to "Don Giovanni," Prokofiev's "Lieutenant Kije Suite" and Górecki's "Third Symphony (Symphony of Sorrowful Songs)." Leo Najar, visiting director of orchestra, will conduct. For more information, call the School of Music's concert information line at 404-651-INFO or visit www.music.gsu.edu.

Debate on U.S. mission in Iraq
Georgia State University's Jean Beer Blumenfeld Center for Ethics and Pi Sigma Alpha, the political science student honor society, will sponsor a debate on the U.S. mission in Iraq. Speakers include Samir Moukaddam, American Friends Service Committee; Benjamin Works, Strategic Issues Research Institute; John Duffield and Chip Carey, Georgia State University political science faculty; and Larry Taulbee, Emory University political science faculty. The debate will be held at 2 p.m. Oct. 7 at a location to be announced. For more information, contact Chip Carey at 404-651-4845 or polhfc@langate.gsu.edu.

Georgia State Leads: Business/Law is a quarterly e-mail tip sheet from the Department of University Relations. For more information about the publication, contact Beth Flannigan at 404-651-3576 or bflannigan@gsu.edu.

Don't see what you're looking for? Call University Relations at 404-651-3025 for fast access to faculty experts and university news. After hours and on weekends, contact Betsy Robertson, assistant director, via pager at 404-655-3456.

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