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University Relations Tip Sheet - April 29, 2009

Festival highlights best of Italian cinema

Atlantans will have the chance to experience some of the best recent films from Italy at the third annual Italian Film Festival, to be held at the Rialto Center for the Arts. “Italy has always been at the center of the film production industry,” said Richard Keatley, a lecturer in the Department of Modern and Classical Languages at Georgia State University. “It’s always been a very cinematic culture.” Many of the films center around human relationships and have a more literary feel than films produced in the U.S., Keatley said. Four films will be screened, each starting at 8 p.m. April 28 through May 1. The festival is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Lisa Spires at 404-413-1353 or lspires@gsu.edu or visit www.cinemaitaly.com.

Creating a safer school environment

In light of the recent suicide of an 11-year-old DeKalb County boy who was allegedly bullied at school, Georgia State researchers are stressing the importance of creating a safer school climate. Joel Meyers, director of the Center for Research on School Safety in the College of Education, and Kris Varjas, research faculty member at the center, have collected data based on interviews with teachers and students about bullying. Meyers, Varjas and their team of graduate research assistants found that while teachers often report they are intervening with bullying, students frequently state that educators are not doing enough.  “The key to a safer climate is at least one adult a child can talk to when they feel they have a problem,” Meyers said.  More information is online:  http://education.gsu.edu/schoolsafety/2300.html. Or, contact Liz Babiarz at lbabiarz@gsu.edu or 404-413-1356.

Researcher finds health improvements with use of water filters in developing countries

A Georgia State University professor has found that a type of water filter helps to significantly reduce the odds of waterborne diarrheal disease in developing countries by improving water quality. Christine Stauber, assistant professor at Georgia State’s Institute of Public Health, and her colleagues researched the effectiveness of biosand filters, which use sand to help filter microbial contaminants, in a randomized control trial. Studying households in Bonao, Dominican Republic, Stauber and her colleagues noted a 47 percent reduction in the incidence of diarrheal disease in households which used the filter compared to those which didn’t.Reducing the burden of waterborne diseases is a global public health concern, as 1.6 million people - mostly children under age 5 - die annually from diarrheal disease. Diarrheal disease also affects children’s growth and development. To speak with Stauber, contact Jeremy Craig at 404-413-1357 or jcraig@gsu.edu.

Happenings at Georgia State University

Expert to speak on how learning can prevent neuron death

Tracy J. Shores, professor of psychology at Rutgers University, will speak as part of Georgia State University's Brains and Behavior Distinguished Lecture Series at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, May 12 on the 14th Floor of the Commerce  Club, 34 Broad St. N.W. Shors' lecture is entitled "Saving New Brain Cells: How Learning Rescues New Neurons From Death." Shors' research goals are to understand how memories are formed and stored in the brain, and she studies the function of new neurons and their role in learning and memory. Her research efforts also address sex differences in the brain and how males and females differ in their ability to learn and respond to stressful experiences. For more information, contact Jeremy Craig at 404-413-1357 or jcraig@gsu.edu.

Singers to perform poetry to music

Georgia State soprano Sharon Stephenson and tenor Richard Clement will sing “Eight Personal Ads,” poems written by associate professor of English Beth Gylys with music composed by Dan Welcher. The performance will be held at 7:30 p.m. April 29 at Kopleff Recital Hall, 10 Peachtree Center Ave., Atlanta. A reception will follow. For more information, e-mail Gylys at bgylys@gsu.edu

 

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