Research Notes
Georgia Southern Research News Roundup
College of Health and Human Sciences
NEW RESEARCH FACULTY
The Department of Health and Kinesiology is expanding its research in biomechanics with the recent hire of research professor Li Li. Prior to joining Georgia Southern, Li was a 14-year faculty member at Louisiana State University (LSU), serving as director of the biomechanics lab and director of the LSU Peripheral Neuropathy Studies. His main research projects include posture and gait for people with peripheral neuropathy, dynamics and control of human gait transition and the effect of aging on movement stability.
College of Science and Mathematics
ANTI-CORROSION COATINGS
Chemistry professor Weihua (Marshall) Ming is leading the way in the development of sophisticated, smart corrosion-detecting and anti-corrosion coatings that will be used on ships, aircraft and more for the military, with a $360,000 grant awarded by the Office of Naval Research. The coatings are expected to potentially save billions of dollars in maintenance costs for the U.S. Navy. Ming, the College’s Distinguished Chair in Materials Science, serves as principal investigator along with co-investigator John DiCesare, department chair and professor of organic chemistry.
College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
BOOK: MEXICAN WAR FORGOTTEN
A new book by history professor Michael Van Wagenen investigates the Mexican War in Remembering the Forgotten War, published by the University of Massachusetts Press. Van Wagenen’s book analyzes how the tools of collective memory — such as books, popular culture, historic sites, heritage groups, commemorations and museums — have shaped the war’s multifaceted meaning in the 160 years since it ended. Van Wagenen explores how regional, ethnic and religious differences influence Americans and Mexicans in their choices of what to remember and what to forget.
Allen E. Paulson College of Engineering and Information Technology
AHAD RESEARCHES MUSCLE HEALTH
College of Engineering and Information Technology professor Mohammad Ahad is researching painless ways to measure muscle health by using a new non-invasive technique known as Electrical Impedance Myography (EIM) to provide an accurate picture of a muscle’s condition. Ahad is also collaborating with faculty in the College of Health and Human Sciences (CHHS) to initiate research using EIM for brain injuries. “In this study we will investigate any changes that may occur in leg muscles of patients with mild traumatic brain injury,” he said.
College of Education
PRINCIPALS INFLUENCED BY SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES IN HIRING
With the rising popularity of Facebook, a College of Education professor has published a study that looks at whether school principals are influenced by posts gleaned from social networking sites of graduates seeking teaching positions.
“Your private life may not be as private as you think, especially if you are a K-12 teacher,” says Marlynn Griffin, educational psychology professor. Taking language directly from posts of students enrolled in an initial education practicum course, Griffin looked for language and images that were inconsistent with the ethical standards held for teachers by professional organizations.
The statements in the survey included vulgar, sexually explicit, violent and discriminatory language. Griffin found that principals perceive that information on social networking sites would impact their hiring decisions, and said that further studies are needed.
College of Business Administration
SUPPLY CHAIN RESEARCH
Operations Management Professor Alan Mackelprang has been named the winner of the 2012 Elwood S. Buffa Doctoral Dissertation Award for Beyond Firm Boundaries: Exploring the Interdependence between Supply Chain Partners. The internationally competitive award, which is co-sponsored by McGraw-Hill and the Decision Sciences Institute, encourages and publicizes outstanding dissertation research by selecting and recognizing the best dissertations written in the past year in the decision sciences. Additionally, he has been named to the Decision Sciences Institute’s Hall of Fame.
Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health
DISPARITIES IN CANCER OUTCOMES
A study by professors Talar Markossian and Robert Hines from the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health has found that efforts are needed to alleviate disparities in breast cancer outcomes in rural populations. The study, titled “Disparities in Late Stage Diagnosis, Treatment, and Breast Cancer-Related Death by Race, Age, and Rural Residence Among Women in Georgia,” revealed that compared to whites, African-American women had significantly increased odds of late stage diagnosis and unknown tumor stage, decreased odds of receiving radiation or surgery and increased risk of death following breast cancer diagnosis. Increased age was significantly associated with odds of late/unknown stage at diagnosis, worse treatment and survival.