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University Relations Tip Sheet - October 1, 2008

Teaching about a financial crisis
If you think it’s hard to understand the country’s current economic crisis, try explaining it to a class full of curious students. Many teachers today are facing that challenge and the Georgia Council on Economic Education (GCEE), a unit of Georgia State University, has a solution – “The Stock Market Game.” It’s a real-world, hands-on simulation that allows students to master the nuances of the market and understand the impact larger economic forces have on everyone’s financial circumstance. Starting this week, more than 20,000 students from schools across Georgia will start off with a hypothetical portfolio of $100,000. The students, working in teams of five, will research publicly-traded companies on the Internet and decide how to invest their money. The team from each school district with the highest portfolio value at the end of ten weeks wins. “You can teach all you want about the stock market,” said Joseph Feinberg, Georgia State assistant professor of middle-secondary education and former high school economic teacher. “But the best teaching tool, in my opinion, is having students do a hands-on simulation.” The Stock Market Game is just one resource GCEE offers teachers, says Mike Raymer, who is the teacher-in-residence at the Georgia Council. To speak with Feinberg or Raymer, contact Liz Babiarz at 404-413-1356 or lbabiarz@gsu.edu.

Restraint key to debate win, says Georgia State political scientist
The upcoming vice presidential debate pits relative political newcomer Sarah Palin against longtime senator Joe Biden, and according to Daniel Franklin, associate professor of political science at Georgia State University, Biden must exercise restraint in order to win the debate. “There is an old proverb to the effect that you shouldn’t get in your opponent’s way when she is in the process of destroying herself,” he says. “Biden needs to sit back and let Palin tank her own cause. At the same time he needs to reinforce his own considerable credentials.” Franklin and other Georgia State political science experts are available to speak about the debate, as well as other aspects of the 2008 elections. To speak with one of these experts, contact Lisa Spires at 404-413-1353 or lspires@gsu.edu.

Media fact-checking could backfire
Attempts from the media to correct political misinformation is unlikely to change public perceptions and may actually backfire, according to research recently completed by Jason Reifler, an assistant professor of political science at Georgia State, and Brendan Nyhan of Duke University. Their experiments, in which groups of volunteers were given mock news stories with misleading claims, showed that groups given corrections did not change their beliefs about the misleading claims after receiving the corrections, and in some cases, believed the misinformation more strongly than they had before receiving the corrections. “Truth is somewhat in the eye of the beholder,” Reifler says. “Objective standards for what is true in terms of political events may be more difficult than we realize.” For more information, contact Lisa Spires at 404-413-1353 or lspires@gsu.edu.

Helping immigrant children excel in school
America's Latino population continues to grow, as does the number of children of Latino immigrants. High dropout rates among Latino students are causing concern among educators and policy makers, and researchers like Gabriel Kuperminc, an associate professor of psychology at Georgia State, who’s studying how parental involvement affect students' academic performance. Helping Latino students to excel is essential for the American economy, he says. "It’s a tremendous strength and tremendous opportunity for our country, because we're part of a global economy. Having well trained, highly educated Latinos, Asians and other groups who have the language skills and the familiarity with cultures of other places can only be an advantage to us." For more information, contact Jeremy Craig at 404-413-1357 or jcraig@gsu.edu.

Happenings at Georgia State University

College of Education hosts annual Benjamin E. Mays Memorial lecture
Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund, will be the keynote speaker at the College of Education’s 20th annual Benjamin E. Mays Lecture at 6 p.m. Oct. 13 at the Rialto Center for the Arts. Edelman’s lecture will focus on critical issues and trends in urban education. She has received many honorary degrees and awards including the Albert Schweitzer Humanitarian Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Robert F. Kennedy Lifetime Achievement Award for her writings, which include eight books. The annual lecture series, sponsored by Georgia State’s College of Education and Alonzo A. Crim Center for Urban Educational Excellence, began in 1989 to encourage the discussion of issues facing urban educational leaders. For more information, please call 404-413-8114.

Vice presidential debate viewing party
The Georgia State political science department, political science honor society Pi Sigma Alpha and the political science graduate student association are hosting a viewing party of the vice presidential debate at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 2 at University Commons. For more information, contact Lisa Spires at 404-413-1353 or lspires@gsu.edu.

Ben Stein to speak at Georgia State
Ben Stein, actor, writer, humorist and TV personality, will speak to Georgia State University faculty, students and staff about “How to Ruin America” at 3 p.m. Oct. 20. The event is free to faculty, students and staff and will be held in the Student Center Ballroom. Stein will have press availability before the event. He will hold a book signing after the event. Stein, a political humorist who is best known for his game show on Comedy Central, is also an economist, columnist and a lawyer. He worked as a speech writer for President Richard Nixon and President Gerald Ford, and will be sharing his astute political perspectives with the audience. For more information, contact Liz Babiarz at 404-413-1356 or lbabiarz@gsu.edu.

Hard Labor Creek Observatory to hold final 2008 open house
Georgia State's Hard Labor Creek Observatory in Rutledge, Ga. will host its last public open house for 2008 on Saturday, Oct. 4. Tours and observations will be held from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. The observatory allows astronomers to view the night sky unimpeded by metro Atlanta's overpowering light pollution, and also gives graduate students an opportunity to train on a smaller telescope before using larger ones, which are more limited for use. Admission is free and no reservations are required, but organizers of groups of more than 20 people should confirm times with the Georgia State’s Department of Physics and Astronomy at 404-413-6033 at least one week prior to the event. Monthly public open houses will resume in March 2009. The observatory is located at Hard Labor Creek State Park, about 50 miles east of Atlanta near Interstate 20. For directions, please visit http://www.chara.gsu.edu/HLCO/directions.html.

Rialto kicks off new series
The Rialto Center for the Arts kicks off its 2008-09 Rialto Series with “Flamenclorico,” a performance of singing, guitar music poetry and dance, at 8 p.m. Oct. 4. For more information, call 404-413-9TIX or visit www.rialtocenter.org.

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