Reading in juvenile justice
Far too many incarcerated youth have reading difficulties and learning problems. But until recently, few researchers examined reading instruction in juvenile justice. David Houchins and Kristine Jolivette, experts in educational psychology and special education, participated in the first national juvenile justice reading study. Results indicated that when students were provided with explicit instruction in fluency, decoding and comprehension skills, their reading scores significantly improved. The impact of improving students' reading abilities may be of great value since being able to read well is associated with reduced relapse into criminal habits, increased employment, and an overall higher quality of life. For more information, contact Leah Harris at 404-651-3575.

Building a better wheelchair
The wheelchair, which has been largely unchanged for more than 100 years, is due to get a major overhaul - making it easier to use for even the most severely injured patients - thanks to Georgia State University physical therapy professor Yong Tai Wang. The professor, who is a specialist in mobility issues, has long been looking for ways to reduce shoulder injuries common among paraplegics and other wheelchair users. His approach was to address the very way chair users propel themselves. After six years, Wang's advancement is a system that combines modern electronics and a single-action lever that can move and steer the chair with a simple one-handed push. Gone is the need to grab and turn hard rubber tires with both hands. A prototype of Wang's E-Z Push wheelchair is in development now and should be finished within a few months. For more information, contact Aaron Baca at 404-651-1444 or abaca@gsu.edu.

Does better technology mean more productivity?
Technological innovations are largely credited with sparking a historic productivity surge in the latter half of the 1990s. But what role does workplace innovation have today? And what role will it have in the future? Researchers have recently begun to examine this dynamic relationship between technological growth and economic productivity. On the forefront of this new area of study is Lisa M. Lynch, William L. Clayton Professor of International Economic Affairs at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. Lynch will be the guest speaker at the third annual W.J. Usery Distinguished Lecture at 2 p.m. April 19 in the 7th floor seminar room in the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, 14 Marietta St. For more information, contact Michael Wall at 404-651-3572 or mtwall@gsu.edu.

The solo ensemble
Imagine playing in one of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos supported by the Cologne Chamber Orchestra. Now imagine doing the same thing in your pajamas. Students in Georgia State's School of Music are now enjoying the ability to practice their instruments with full accompaniment to more than 30,000 titles with a new computer program called SmartMusic from the comfort of their dorm rooms. With SmartMusic loaded on a computer, students can plug in a microphone and practice with full accompaniment and receive, in real time on the computer, detailed feedback on their performance. Not only that, musicians can tweak the arrangements to suit their style, tempo or key. The school has set up eight mobile stations with the program in a mix of ensemble rehearsal rooms and individual practice rooms. For more information, contact William Inman at 404-651-3578 or winman@gsu.edu.

HAPPENINGS AT GEORGIA STATE

Jazzing up Shakespeare
The Georgia State department of English is presenting a lecture by renowned author and Shakespeare historian Douglas Lanier, author of Shakespeare and Modern Popular Culture, who will discuss the fascinating individual appropriations of Shakespearean materials in such media as radio, film, and especially, jazz music. Lanier will speak at 7:30 p.m. Thursday (April 12) at the Troy Moore Library on the 9th floor of the General Classroom Building located at 38 Peachtree Center Ave. For more information, contact William Inman at 404-651-3578 or winman@gsu.edu.

Grammy winning trombonist at Rialto
The Georgia State School of Music and Rialto Center for the Arts will present multi Grammy award-winning jazz trombonist and composer Slide Hampton in concert with the University Jazz Band at 8 p.m. Friday (April 13). Hampton will also lead a free master class from 2 to 4 p.m. Friday in Room 150 of the Haas-Howell Building, 75 Poplar St., in downtown Atlanta. For more information, contact William Inman at 404-651-3578 or winman@gsu.edu.

Annual Brain Awareness Expo at Zoo Atlanta
Brain cells, brains and animals will be the main attraction at Georgia State University's annual Brains Rule! Neuroscience Exposition, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:40 p.m. Saturday (April 14) at Zoo Atlanta. The education fair will feature activity booths throughout the zoo to teach visitors about brain health and science. Exhibits will include a 40-foot walk-through model of a neuron, preserved human brains for visitors to touch and examine, a neurotoxins demonstration and special equipment to simulate the negative effects of alcohol intoxication. Additionally, the Georgia State education fair will include exhibits running in conjunction with zoo animals including some reptiles and the giant panda bears. The expo is held each spring as a public service to disseminate information about brain health, learning disorders and diseases like Alzheimer's. The expo is open to all visitors at the zoo and will include numerous children's and family activities. For more information, contact Aaron Baca at 404-651-1444 or abaca@gsu.edu.

U.S. foreign policy and colonialism
Michael Yellow Bird, the Founder and Director of the Center for Indigenous Peoples' Critical and Intuitive Thinking and Associate Professor of Indigenous Nations Studies at the University of Kansas, will present, "Arresting the Pandemic of American Colonization: Indigenous Peoples, Public Health, and the Iraq War," from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 18 in room 330 of the Georgia State University College of Law, 140 Decatur St. Yellow Bird's research focuses on the following topics related to indigenous peoples: critical and intuitive thinking, neuroscience, juvenile justice, public health, United States foreign policy and colonialism and methods of decolonization. For more information, contact Michael Wall at 404-651-3572 or mtwall@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