AROUNDTHE
ARCH Do volunteers make better employees? A Terry College of Business study shows that employees who also volunteer are more productive in the job and more satisfied with their work. The study, published in the Academy of Management Journal, indicates that “overwhelmingly, employees who volunteered gave more time and effort to their jobs, were more willing to help out their colleagues, talked more positively about their companies and were less likely to do detrimental things like cyberloaf or waste time on the job,” said Jessica Rodell, assistant professor of management and author of the research. Rodell’s theory is that the improved productivity comes from an influx of meaning in employees’ lives gained through charitable work. Read the study here: http:// media.terry.uga.edu/socrates/ publications/2013/11/Rodell2013.pdf.
Got flowers? A new app developed by a UGA Extension coordinator can help identify flowers, trees, ferns and shrubs that populate North Georgia’s yards and forests. “Native Plants of North Georgia,” now available for iPad, iPhone and Android devices, is a consumer-oriented field guide that allows the public to browse photos of plants organized by their blooming periods and includes leaf and bloom descriptions as well as their scientific and common names. All versions of this app are free and ready for download through the Apple App Store and Google Play. A PDF version of the guide is available for free download, and the original pocket-sized flipbooks are available for purchase ($12) at www.caes.uga. edu/publications.
12 GEORGIA MAGAZINE • www.uga.edu/gm
PAUL EFLAND
From left, Shajira Mohammed and Aashka Dave help run PreMed Magazine, an online, student-run magazine that helps students prepare for medical school.
Where journalism meets pre-medicine Two UGA students merged their separate degree interests to create an online publication focusing on science and pre-medicine topic areas. PreMed Magazine was the result, an e-magazine that publishes twice a semester and involves nearly 40 student staff writers. Editor-in-chief Shajira Mohammed, a junior biology major, has worked closely with executive editor and journalism major Aaskha Dave in creating the magazine, which provides UGA students with practical knowledge, such as how to conduct research and the best way to study for organic chemistry. Stories covered in the e-magazine include “Bizarre Medical Careers” and “The Pros of Clinical Research Trial.” Mohammed says the idea stemmed from her desire to create a compilation of useful information pertaining to students and science-related news all in one convenient place. And that’s where Dave comes in. “The divide between us works really well because Shajira is a pre-med student and then I’m a journalism major,” she says. “We sort of bridge that divide between our fields with the magazine.” Check out the magazine at www.premedmag.org.
Peanut genome sequenced The International Peanut Genome Initiative, led by a UGA faculty member, has successfully sequenced the peanut’s genome. The new peanut genome sequence will be available to researchers and plant breeders across the globe to aid in the breeding of more productive and more resilient peanut varieties. Peanut, known scientifically as Arachis hypogaea and also called groundnut, is important both commercially and nutritionally. While the oil- and protein-rich legume is seen as a cash crop in the developed world, it remains a valuable sustenance crop in developing nations. Chaired by Scott Jackson, director of the Center for Applied Genetic Technologies in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, the initiative has been underway for several years. Get more at http://peanutbase.org/files/genomes and www.peanutbioscience.com.