Cutting back on holiday spending
Are retailers going to see big bucks this holiday season, or will Black Friday leave them seeing red? Georgia State marketing professor Naveen Donthu expects holiday spending to be flat this year, adding that lower-income families will spend “significantly less than last year.” The silver lining, however, may be in the virtual clouds. “In general, spending online is expected to continue to grow as it has been in the last several years,” Donthu says. “At the least,” he says, “many consumers will shop online and buy offline,” driving retailers to advertise heavily in cyberspace. Gift cards are again expected to be big sellers driven both by sales to Hispanic consumers, who are being targeted by marketing efforts, and gift buyers skiddish about Chinese-made toy recalls. Rising fuel prices will also drive online sales, he says. Donthu, the Katherine S. Bernhardt Research Professor at the J. Mack Robinson College of Business, specializes in market and consumer research, e-commerce and e-consumer behavior, and cross-cultural issues. To speak with Donthu, contact Michael Davis at (404) 413-1361 or mdavis6@gsu.edu.

Georgia State’s data center goes green
Georgia State’s Technology Operations Center is no longer using batteries, making it one of the most environmentally-friendly data centers in the southeast. The center, which monitors and supports the university’s hosts and servers, recently installed revolutionary compressed-air technology that uses less power, produces fewer emissions and helps machines run more efficiently. The center will showcase this new “green” power supply as well as its networks, supercomputers and other technical assets during an open house celebration from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Nov. 27.  The data center is located on the ground floor of Library South,103 Decatur St., room G-8. For more information, contact Liz Babiarz at (404) 413–1356 or lbabiarz@gsu.edu.

Combating the teacher shortage
Experts estimate Georgia will need approximately 14,500 new public school teachers by 2010, if the state’s retention rate does not improve. That’s why Georgia State is working hard to prepare new teachers for high-need schools in metro Atlanta. The College of Education was recently rewarded a $1.9 million federal grant to start a program that will transition other professionals into teaching. Candidates, who already hold a bachelor’s degree in another field, will receive an English as a second language endorsement and a master’s degree through the college’s Urban Accelerated Certification and Masters Program. The program will work in partnership with the DeKalb County School System to place graduates in high–need schools and retain them through a network of quality professional learning communities. The program will produce 135 newly certified teachers, impacting roughly 8,740 students. For more information, contact Liz Babiarz at (404) 413–1356 or lbabiarz@gsu.edu.

Study finds indoor smoking bans have no negative economic impact
As many cities and states debated laws to ban smoking inside businesses, a common fear was that such a ban would hurt businesses, especially bars and restaurants. A new paper, published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, by Michael Eriksen, chair of the Georgia State’s Institute of Public Health, finds that most studies have shown no negative economic impact from smoking bans, and many have found a positive impact. For more information, contact Van Jensen at (404) 413-1357 or vjensen@gsu.edu.

Economics of energy
As oil prices near the $100 per barrel threshold, a change is needed to make alternative energy more attractive to consumers and businesses. Georgia State political science professor John Duffield, whose new book Over a Barrel: The Costs of U.S. Foreign Oil Dependence analyzes the comprehensive costs of U.S. foreign oil addiction – both economic and policy-related, says the new Senate bill to establish a cap-and-trade system for carbon dioxide emissions is a step in the right direction.  “It’s a great way to attack the environmental and security costs – the externalities – of fossil fuel use.” However, Duffield worries that the decision to place carbon caps with big suppliers such as oil companies, or with the ultimate consumers, such as motorists, could make the process highly politicized and, ultimately, not very effective. Duffield can also discuss the global implications of the high price of oil, and the threat it creates for U.S. economic and national security. To speak with Duffield, contact William Inman at (404) 413-1355 or winman@gsu.edu.

Happenings at Georgia State University

Emerging Dynamics of Global Growth
The Economic Forecasting Center’s upcoming conference will address the theme “Emerging Dynamics of Global Growth.” The conference is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. Nov. 14 in the Student Center Speakers Auditorium, 44 Courtland St. Rajeev Dhawan, director of the Economic Forecasting Center, will give his quarterly “Forecast of the Nation, State and Region.” In addition to a number of Georgia State experts, scheduled speakers include the chief of policy communication for the International Monetary Fund, Prakash Loungani, and MARTA’s general manager of communications, Joselyn Baker. For more information, call (404) 413-7260 or efc@gsu.edu.

International turkey day
For dozens of Georgia State’s international students, going home for Thanksgiving just isn’t possible. So to make sure they get their fill of Thanksgiving dinner, several student organizations at Georgia State are putting together the first International Thanksgiving Feast Nov. 16 at the Rialto Center for the Arts. “The idea was to provide a community service to Georgia State’s International students who aren't able to go home during the Thanksgiving holidays,” says Kara Keene-Cooper, the Rialto’s marketing manager. For more information, contact Keene-Cooper at (404) 413-9822.

Georgia State celebrates American Education Week
As part of American Education Week, Georgia State’s College of Education will host a seminar on Thursday (Nov. 15) with guest speaker Cathy Henson, founder of the Georgia School Council Institute. The seminar, titled “The Politics of Education,” will be held at 3:15 p.m. in the College of Education, 30 Pryor St., room 1030. An attorney by profession, Henson has been an advocate for the improvement of public education in Georgia since 1990. She founded the Georgia School Council Institute, a non-profit organization that encourages collaboration among parents, educators and members of the business community to improve Georgia’s public schools. Georgia State also will hold several events to celebrate international education. Today (Nov. 13) at noon in the Student Center Speaker’s Auditorium, minority students will share their experiences of studying abroad in a panel discussion. Photographs taken by international and study abroad students will be on display and winners of the photo competition announced at 4 p.m. Nov. 15 in the Student Center Ballroom. For more information, contact Liz Babiarz at (404) 413–1356 or lbabiarz@gsu.edu.

World Media Forum
The Center for International Media Education (CIME) at Georgia State, in collaboration with CNN, is hosting the 66th World Media Forum from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Nov. 14 in the Sinclair Suite on the 2nd floor of the Student Center. Fourteen visiting journalists from four continents will discuss "Global News in the Digital Age.” The Center has hosted more than 500 journalists from every continent in its series of World Media Forums. For more information and to speak with CIME director Leonard Teel, contact William Inman at (404) 413-1355 or e-mail winman@gsu.edu.

Why hasn’t U.S. signed children’s rights treaty?
While every other country in the world with the exception of Somalia is a party to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the United States has yet to ratify the treaty after nearly 20 years. “The U.S. played a major role in drafting the Convention, primarily during the Reagan administration,” says Georgia State associate law professor Jonathan Todres, who researches children’s rights and health law issues, “so it is important to examine why the U.S. is now resisting joining a treaty aimed at improving the well-being of children.”  The Convention, adopted in 1989, guarantees a range of children’s rights – civil, political, social, economic and developmental. Todres says there are a number of areas where the treaty and U.S. law are essentially aligned, but a few where differences exist that could lead to positive change for children. The Convention on the Rights of the Child and its potential impact on the welfare of Georgia children will be the topic of discussion during a National Briefing Day Nov. 16 at Georgia State University. To speak with Todres, contact Michael Davis at (404) 413-1361 or e-mail mdavis6@gsu.edu.

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