Health care prices and quality debated
Georgia lawmakers are debating a tool that will either aid or further strain the state's already stretched heath care system. Before hospitals can expand or begin service, they must obtain what's called a Certificate of Need from the Department of Community Health. This planning process is intended to control health care prices, improve quality and maintain access to health care services.
However, Glenn Landers, senior research associate in the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies Georgia Health Policy Center says, "the Certificate of Need program is challenging because you cannot look at rural and urban the same way. Rural markets are much more fragile, because of limited competition and higher numbers of uninsured."

The crux of the Certificate of Need debate is cost-shifting. "Hospitals have to treat everyone regardless of insurance status or ability to pay," Landers says. "So to make up for deficits, hospitals charge higher prices to private individuals and private insurers."

The center recently published an issue brief for Georgia lawmakers that delves into the pros, cons and challenges of addressing the Certificate of Need program. The issue brief can be found at http://aysps.gsu.edu/ghpc/762.html. Landers can be contacted at 404-463-9562 or glanders@gsu.edu. Reporters and editors may also contact Sallie K. Barker, Georgia Health Policy Center, at her office 404-463-9337, cell 404-358-0870 or sbarker@gsu.edu.

March Madness heads to Georgia Hills and Streams
Forget basketball. Rivalries are heating up this weekend between Georgia State University, the University of Georgia and Auburn University as students head to northwest Georgia to find out who's the best . herpetologist? No joke. Herpetology clubs (that would be the study of reptiles and amphibians for the uninitiated) from each school are launching the first-ever herp census of the 7,000-plus acre Paulding Forest on Saturday and Sunday (March 17 and 18). Students are competing in what's called a Bioblitz to document lizards, salamanders and other species to help forest officials prioritize wildlife management goals in the area. Although Georgia boasts one of the largest populations of reptiles and amphibians in the United States, biologists have yet to fully record species' range and habitat within parts of the state. About 40 students are expected to participate in the competition, which includes overnight camping in the Paulding Forest. The winning school gets to bring home a trophy. For more information, contact Aaron Baca at 404-651-1444 or abaca@gsu.edu.

Why are you yelling at me, teach?
The culprit behind why many native English speaking students and customers have trouble understanding an international speaker in the classroom or at a call center may not be pronunciation. Rather, rising and falling intonation, or lack of, not only alters meaning in English, it can also give different impressions of speaker attitude and emotion, says Lucy Pickering, assistant professor in the Department of Applied Linguistics and ESL at Georgia State. Pickering says that errors involving verb conjugation rarely impede comprehension. Changes in intonation or monotonic speaking, however, tend to be interpreted as a personality issue. Based on a second language speakers' tone of voice, a North American English speaker might misinterpret that speaker as uninterested, bored, sarcastic or even aggressive. To speak with Pickering, contact William Inman at 404-651-3578 or winman@gsu.edu.

Accomodating students with Asperger syndrome
Accommodating students with Asperger syndrome (AS), a disorder on the autism spectrum, is an emerging issue in higher education today. Up from two years ago, the latest figures reveal that autism affects one in 150 individuals. Problems with social skills, organization and sensory sensitivity, along with literal thinking distinguish these adults who also have normal or high intelligence. Their highly focused interests, particularly in technical fields, can bring new perspectives and energy to their preferred areas of study. Accommodating individuals with this disorder under the Americans with Disabilities Act is a highly interesting, yet challenging task on the Georgia State campus.

An AS thinker, having an inherently alternate perspective of the world, could become the next Albert Einstein or Bill Gates when enabled with appropriate campus supports and programmatic access. For more information, contact Leah Harris at 404-651-3575 or lvh@gsu.edu.

HAPPENINGS AT GEORGIA STATE

Open house for Health Law Partnership
The Health Law Partnership (HeLP), an interdisciplinary community collaboration among Georgia State Law's Center for Law, Health & Society, the Atlanta Legal Aid Society, and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, is hosting an open house with remarks by Dean Steven J. Kaminshine from 3 to 5 p.m. Tuesday (March 13) in the College of Law, Suite 669, 140 Decatur Street. HeLP is dedicated to improving the health of low-income children and their families in metropolitan Atlanta. For more information, contact Michael Wall at 404-651-3572 or mtwall@gsu.edu.

Professor to discuss racially-tailored medicine
"Racially-Tailored Medicine: Troubled History, Current Controversy" examines the concept of race within the history of American law as well as the use of that term as a contemporary medical category. The program will be presented by Sharona Hoffman and Dr. Paul Lombardo at 4 p.m. Wednesday (March 14) in the Georgia State University College of Law, Room 170, 140 Decatur Street, followed by a reception at 5:30 p.m. For more information, contact Michael Wall at 404-651-3572 or mtwall@gsu.edu.

Mayor Franklin to speak at spring Leadership Series event
Mayor Shirley Franklin will be the guest speaker at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies' Public Administration and Urban Studies Spring Leadership Series from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. March 22 in Room 749 of the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies building, 14 Marietta Street. Franklin, the first female mayor of Atlanta and the first African-American woman to serve as mayor of a major southern city, will discuss "Policy Leadership: Making Things Happen." The presentation is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Michael Wall at 404-651-3572 or mtwall@gsu.edu.

Acclaimed child advocate to lecture
The 40th Henry J. Miller Distinguished Lecture Series at the College of Law from noon to 1:15 p.m. March 29 at the Georgia State University Student Center First Floor State Ballroom will feature Professor Elizabeth Bartholet of Harvard University, who will discuss challenging issues awaiting tomorrow's child advocates. Bartholet, the Morris Wasserstein Public Interest Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the Child Advocacy Program at Harvard Law School, will speak on "International Adoption: Thoughts on Children's Rights Issues." In 2004, Bartholet founded the Child Advocacy Program (CAP), to advance children's interests by facilitating interaction between academia and the world of policy and practice, and through training generations of students to contribute in their future careers to law reform and social change. She teaches civil rights and family law, specializing in child welfare, adoption and reproductive technology. The luncheon and lecture are free and open to the public, however reservations are required by March 20. R.S.V.P. to Vickie Dye at 404-651-4360 or by e-mail at vdye@gsu.edu.

Georgia State Leads is a publication from the Department of University Relations. For more information about the publication or to sign up to receive Georgia State Leads, contact Andria Simmons at 404/651-3579 or asimmons2@gsu.edu.

©2005 Georgia State University