Georgia State University News & Events

University Relations Tip Sheet - November 11, 2008

Vote-by-mail system increases Oregon’s voter turnout
In 2000, Oregon became the first state to vote exclusively by mail. New research by Sean Richey, an assistant professor of political science at Georgia State University, finds that the state’s voter turnout has increased by 10 percent in both presidential and midterm elections since the implementation of the vote-by-mail system. “These results suggest that one of the reasons that the United States has comparatively lower turnout is due to its more onerous voting procedures,” Richey said. Oregon’s increase in voter turnout could make a compelling case for other states looking to adopt their own vote-by-mail systems. For more information, contact Lisa Spires at 404-413-1353 or lspires@gsu.edu.

Overall cost of food has declined
While recent rises in food prices has many families stretching their monthly budgets, researchers at Georgia State say that over the past several decades, the cost of most food has declined while the cost of the fruits and vegetables has steadily risen. In an article forthcoming in the journal Economics and Human Biology, assistant economics professor Inas Rashad and doctoral student Thomas Christian track the cost of food from 1950 to 2007. Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that tracks consumer spending, they find a more than 12 percent drop in food prices from 1974 to 2007, but an uptick in what consumers pay for fruits and vegetables, and meals away from home. While restaurant meals are “cheaper to produce, demand for them is high because they’re so convenient,” says Rashad. One factor in the higher cost of fruits and vegetables, in addition to subsidies and simple demand, is that produce isn’t processed like so many other supermarket foods. To speak with Rashad, contact Michael Davis at 404-413-1361 or mdavis6@gsu.edu.

Helping struggling adolescent readers
Nearly one out of every 10 students has difficulty decoding words, a problem that can prevent students from reading on grade level. Typically, older students with reading difficulties are given remedial programs meant for younger students. Mary Beth Calhoon, assistant professor of educational psychology and special education at Georgia State, has developed a remedial program for students in 6th, 7th and 8th grade who are two to seven grade levels behind in reading. Calhoon found when students are given a heavy, upfront loading of phonics, their abilities improve not only in phonics, but spelling and reading comprehension as well. Older students with and at-risk for reading disabilities improved their reading skills by two to four grade levels with 77 to 97 hours of program instruction, Calhoon found. “There has been a prevailing thought in adolescent remedial reading that if phonics is taught in isolation, students will become unmotivated word callers who do not comprehend what they read,” Calhoon said. “However, I’m showing the opposite is true.” For more information, contact Liz Babiarz at 404-413-1356 or lbabiarz@gsu.edu.

New administration, Congress, to include public health and prevention in health care reform
President-elect Obama and Congress will undoubtedly wrangle with health care in 2009, but the action will go beyond the debate over health insurance coverage, according to Georgia State’s Russ Toal, associate professor and Distinguished Fellow in Health Policy Reform will also encompass public health measures, prevention efforts, beefed-up regulatory enforcement, and investment in health care technology. “I want to be quick to note that there is much that can be done without expenditure of money. And much of it can be done quickly,” said Toal. “Public health is far broader than health insurance matters.” Even in the face of difficult financial times, the government can take measures to improve health care in the United States, including the improvement of health-related regulatory enforcement by agencies like the Occupational and Safety Hazards Administration, the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency, Toal said. For more information or to speak with Toal, contact Jeremy Craig at 404-413-1357.

Happenings at Georgia State University

College of Education hosts state lawmakers for hearing on teacher preparation
Georgia State’s College of Education will welcome state lawmakers to campus from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Nov. 19. The Joint Study Committee on Teacher Training and Certification will hold its last of three hearings in Room 150 of the college. The committee was created recently by the Georgia General Assembly to look at teacher training, recruitment, certification and retention, said Chairman Brooks Coleman, a two-time Georgia State alumnus and former teacher. For more information, contact Liz Babiarz at 404-413-1356 or lbabiarz@gsu.edu.

Researcher to speak on the genetics of smell
Leslie Vosshall, head of the Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Behavior at The Rockefeller University in New York, will speak about how genetics are involved in the perception of smell during a lecture sponsored by Georgia State University's Neuroscience Institute at 10 a.m. Nov. 11. The event will be held on the 14th floor of the Commerce Club, 34 Broad St. N.W. Vosshall's laboratory seeks to understand how the brain interprets olfactory signals in the environment which signal food, danger or potential mating partners. The long-term goal is to understand how different odor stimuli are processed to allow animals to consciously perceive a particular smell. The talk is part of the 2008-2009 Brains and Behavior Distinguished Lecture Series. The event is free and open to all Georgia State students, faculty and staff, as well as members of the Atlanta neuroscience community. For more information, contact the Neuroscience Institute at 404-413-5445.

What factors encourage exercise?
University of South Carolina associate economics professor Melayne McInnes will discuss factors that influence a person’s level of physical activity during a lecture at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies. The lecture will be from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday (Nov. 14) at the Andrew Young School, 14 Marietta Street. For more information, contact Michael Davis at 404-413-1361 or mdavis6@gsu.edu.

New South Writing Workshop Conference on Literary Publishing
The fourth annual New South Writing Workshop Conference on Literary Publishing will be held at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 13 in the Troy Moore Library, 939 General Classroom Building. Creative writing teacher and author of “An Arsonist’s Guide to Writers’ Homes in New England” Brock Clarke and Copper Canyon Press executive editor Michael Wiegers will speak. For more information, contact Heather Russel at heather@gsu.edu or visit www.review.gsu.edu.

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