Boomers not planning for long-term care needs
The number of Georgians over age 65 will more than double from 6 to 16 percent by 2030. During the same time frame, a one-year stay in a semi-private nursing home room is expected to climb from about $61,000 to about $190,000. That's a frightening prospect since a new a survey of 800 Georgians over age 55, conducted in October 2006 by the Georgia Health Policy Center in support of Georgia's State Plan on Aging, shows most Baby Boomers have done very little planning for their future long-term care. In fact, of those who were asked if they thought their retirement income would be above or below $29,400 - the threshold at which individuals may qualify for Medicaid reimbursed nursing home care and some community-based programs - almost half said below. To read a Georgia Health Policy Center issue brief on this growing problem, please visit http://aysps.gsu.edu/ghpc/835.html. To schedule an interview with one of the center's experts on this topic, please contact Sallie K. Barker at 404-463-9337 or sbarker@gsu.edu.
Monkeying around with math
They might not be able to do long division, but it appears monkeys learn about basic math concepts much the same way humans do, psychologists at Georgia State University's Language Research Center have found. Researchers Michael Beran, Emily Harris and LRC Director David Washburn have shown that a group of Rhesus Macaques monkeys can learn lists containing up to five items in specific orders. The tests show Rhesus monkeys can learn ordinal information, which is an abstract thought process that forms one of the foundations of learning mathematics. For more information, contact Aaron Baca at 404-651-1444 or abaca@gsu.edu.
Save gas, drive blood car!
Cross Roger Cormen's Little Shop of Horrors with The Road Warrior; add a splash of Evil Dead-era Sam Raimi and a dash of John Waters, and you'll get a taste of Blood Car, a made-in-Atlanta feature and an official selection of the Atlanta Film Festival. Set in the near future, when gas is an astronomical $40 a gallon, Blood Car tells the story of Archie Andrews, a nerdy schoolteacher working to discover an alternate wheatgrass-based fuel source. One day, he accidentally cuts himself during an experiment and discovers all his car needs to run is blood. Human blood! Georgia State alum Mike Bune stars as Archie, and My Girl child star Anna Chlumsky plays the sweet Wheatgrass Girl. Blood Car won the 2007 New Visions Director's Award at the Cinequest Film Festival for writer, producer and director Alex Orr. Orr has been making short films and developing feature-length scripts for the last six years with the Fake Wood Wallpaper collective - a handful of film makers who met as undergrads at Georgia State. To speak with Orr, contact William Inman at 404-651-3578 or winman@gsu.edu. For more information or to preview the film, visit www.bloodcar.com. Blood Car will be shown during the Atlanta Film Festival at 10 p.m. Thursday (April 26) and at 5:15 p.m. Friday (April 27) at the Landmark Midtown Art Cinema.
Teaching with technology
Digital camcorders, tripods and microphones are changing the way teachers develop their skills for the classroom. Several departments in Georgia State's College of Education are encouraging students to take advantage of the current ease of use and availability of digital video technology by taping themselves as they instruct class. Students edit the videos, analyze them for key incidents, and reflect on their experiences. Some students use editing software to categorize vignettes in the videos by theme, while others add in notes about their actions. "It is hoped that the process can help them think more deeply about their teaching as a means for self improvement," says Brendan Calandra, assistant professor of instructional technology, who with his colleagues has been investigating the idea with pre-service teachers. For more information, contact Leah Harris at 404-651-3575 or lvh@gsu.edu.
Tiny organisms combat industrial pollution, toxins in pet food
Nature's way of recycling itself through microbial degradation - the process by which tiny microorganisms just a millionth of a meter long eat plant and animal materials, causing natural decomposition - can also be useful in dealing with environmental hazards like industrial waste and toxins found in some fertilizers. Since bacteria and fungi are capable of eating things that are extremely toxic to higher life forms such as plants, animals and humans, they can help break down those compounds in the soil. Even melamine, a chemical used in fertilizers which recently contaminated the wheat gluten in national pet food brands and poisoned cats and dogs, is considered a tasty meal by some microorganisms, said George Pierce, a biologist in Georgia State University's Environmental Science Center. To talk with Pierce about the research on melamine and other pesticides, and how it relates to environmental cleanup and better agricultural yields, contact Andria Simmons at 404-651-3579 or asimmons2@gsu.edu.
HAPPENINGS AT GEORGIA STATE
Former President Jimmy Carter to visit
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter will discuss his book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, at 6 p.m. Friday (April 27) in the Student Center Speaker's Auditorium. Carter's visit is sponsored by the Middle East Institute and the College of Arts and Sciences. In Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, his 23rd book since leaving office, Carter questions how Israeli sovereignty can coexist permanently and peacefully with Palestinian nationhood. Doors will open at 5 p.m. and will close promptly at 6 p.m. For more information, visit http://www.gsu.edu/mideast or call 404-651-4239.
Nervous system development to be topic of free discussion
Georgia State University's Brains and Behavior program is hosting R. Douglas Field of the National Institutes for Health to speak on "Regulation of Nervous System Development and Plasticity of Action Potentials" at 10 a.m. May 8 in the Commerce Building's Stern Room, 14th floor. In his lab, Field explores the molecular mechanism that regulates the structure and function of the nervous system, as well as mental development, memory and learning. The talk is free. For more information, contact Aaron Baca at 404-651-1444 or abaca@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 |
