The Academic Minute for 2019.05.20-05.24

The Academic Minute from 05.20 – 05.24

Monday, May 20th
Ken Joseph – University at Buffalo
Fighting Fake News
I am an assistant professor in the CSE Department at the University at Buffalo.

In the past, I was a postdoc at the LazerLab at the Network Science Institute at Northeastern University and a fellow at Harvard’s Institute for Quantitative Social Science. I completed my graduate work in the Societal Computing program in the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University, where I studied under Kathleen Carley in the CASOS lab.

My research focuses on obtaining a better understanding of the dynamics and cognitive representations of stereotypes and prejudice, and their interrelationships with sociocultural structure. In my work, I leverage a variety of machine learning/NLP methods, agent-based modeling strategies and socio-cognitive theories.

Tuesday, May 21st
Barry Markovsky – University of South Carolina
Mass Hysteria
Ph.D. Stanford University (1983) His research interests include group processes, social psychology, social networks, methods of theory construction, experimental research, and computer simulations. His current research addresses social status, identity, fairness perceptions, cooperation, and influence in small group contexts. He is also developing on-line tools for building, evaluating and disseminating sociological theories. He teaches courses in group processes, pseudoscience and paranormal beliefs, and theory construction.

Wednesday, May 22nd
Stephanie Jones – Harvard University
Early Childhood Care
Stephanie Jones’ research, anchored in prevention science, focuses on the effects of poverty and exposure to violence on children and youth’s social, emotional, and behavioral development. Over the last ten years her work has focused on both evaluation research addressing the impact of preschool and elementary focused social-emotional learning interventions on behavioral and academic outcomes and classroom practices; as well as new curriculum development, implementation, and testing. Jones is a recipient of the Grawemeyer Award in Education for her work with Zigler and Walter Gilliam on A Vision for Universal Preschool Education (Cambridge University Press, 2006) and a recipient of the Joseph E. Zins Early-Career Distinguished Contribution Award for Action Research in Social and Emotional Learning. Jones’ research portfolio emphasizes the importance of conducting rigorous scientific research, including program evaluation, that also results in accessible content for early and middle childhood practitioners and policymakers.

Thursday, May 23rd
Allan Rachlin – Franklin Pierce University
American’s Quality of Life
Allan Rachlin is an associate professor of sociology at Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, N.H., where he teaches a popular undergraduate course on poverty and wealth in America. His other areas of teaching, writing and academic research explore: social inequality in the United States; American political culture; race & ethnicity in the U.S.; sport in American society; and American media & democracy.

Friday, May 24th
Christopher Fee – Gettysburg College
Perceptions of the Vikings
Christopher R. Fee, Ph.D., is Professor in the English Departmentat Gettysburg College and teaches numerous courses on various medieval subjects; these include popular seminars on the Vikings, which Fee has taught for many years both at Gettysburg and at the Danish Institute for Study Abroad in Copenhagen. Fee is also author of numerous works on medieval topics, including: Gods, Heroes, & Kings: The Battle for Mythic Britain; Mythology in the Middle Ages: Heroic Tales of Monsters, Magic, & Might;  Arthur: God and Hero in Avalon;From the Round Table to the Holy Grail: A Journey with King Arthur; and The History of the Vikings: From the Baltic to Byzantium. Fee earned his PHD in 1997 from the University of Glasgow.