Bibb Latané, Group Dynamics, Chair

Research Interests: Bibb is the author or co-author of more than 140 articles and chapters and a book about his research on social attraction in animals, bystander intervention in emergencies, social impact and group influence, and the causes and consequences of “social loafing,” or the reduction of productivity in groups. His research on the latter topic is featured in detail in Morton Hunt’s Profiles of Social Research, and his book The Unresponsive Bystander (with John Darley) was given a featured retrospective review in Contemporary Psychology.

For more details about Bibb and his research, please visit Bibb's homepage

David Buck, Psychology

Educaion Bio: David attended Hanover College where he earned a BA in Psychology and English.  He continued his graduate studies at Florida State University, David earned an MS in Social Psychology, and a Ph.D. in Social Psychology in 2010.  For the past year he has been an adjunct instructor in the Department of Psychology at F.S.U.  

Research Interest: David's research focuses on stereotypes, prejudice, and intergroup relations.  

Todd Rosendahl, Musicology

Christine Xu, Computer Science

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Marios Antoniou, Education

Education Bio: Marios has a BA (Science of Education) from the University of Cyprus, an MSA (Educational Leadership) from UNC-Chapel Hill, and a Duke-UNC Rotary Peace Center Diploma in International Development and Conflict Resolution.  He is currently a graduate student at UNC-Chapel Hill working on his Ph.D. in Education (anticipated graduation in 2014).  

Research Interest: His research interests focus on peace education, examining how social peace can best be constructed and promoted through formal education in conflicted and post-conflicted countries.

Daniel Auguste, Sociology

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Fernando Cardoso, Philosophy

Educational Bio: He has a Bachelor's degree in Philosophy and Social Sciences (UFMG 2003) and  Master's degree in Philosophy (UFMG 2007).  Fernando is currently a Ph.D. candidate (UFRJ-UFMG) and a UNC Visiting Scholar.

Research Interest: His research interests are in the areas of ethics and normativity, with his dissertation focusing on connections between the world and reasoning, and how one deals with the presence of luck and chance in their life.

Svet Derderyan, Political Science

Research Interests: Svet is mainly interested in trans-Atlantic politics. He has been reading and writing about it since his first year in Hamilton College in 2002. Svet hopes to continue focusing on that in the years he will spend in Chapel Hill, perhaps looking in greater detail into how European Enlargement [adding new member countries to the EU] affects different members' foreign policy orientations and their respective relationships with the U.S. in particular.

Connection to human science: Comparative politics focuses on the study of various phenomena and actors shaping the social, economic and political environment in today's world. It compares and contrasts the roles of political elites, international organizations, public opinion, socio-economic policies, globalization and so forth on various aspects of life in both developing and developed nations. The complex interplay among these various phenomena and actors has a profound effect on societies and individuals and determines their directional path of development.

Mark Elliott, Environmental Engineering

Research interests: In broad terms, I am interested in issues related to international water and health. My research is on household water treatment technologies for developing countries, so that people without access to safe drinking water sources can treat their water in the home. The most exciting thing about my work is the practicality of it and how it's directly applicable to literally billions of people today.

What is an interesting debate or controversy going on in your field right now? Efforts to assess the effect of water treatment technologies on health have (on average) shown between 20-60% reduction in diarrheal illness in developing countries. None of those studies were blinded or placebo controlled because of ethical concerns. But two placebo-controlled blinded studies that took place in the United States have shown no statistically significant effect. It is possible that the reported reductions in diarrhea are the result of placebo effects and biases inherent in the way the studies are designed. I believe that the historical record of health gains following centralized water treatment and distribution should also be realized following household water quality interventions. The placebo controlled studies that took place in the US and found no effect were conducted in settings where the risk due of diarrheal illness and proportion of illness due to drinking water quality are comparatively low, making it very difficult to see an effect of a water quality intervention. I think that the reductions in diarrheal disease in developing country settings are real, but may be inflated due to placebo effect and study design.

Connection to human science: Solutions to international water issues are inextricably linked to social, behavioral, political and institutional issues. I believe that my academic background has provided me with knowledge, analytical skills and a way of thinking and addressing problems that is different from those in other disciplines.

Guillaume Filteau

Research Interests:Longitudinal data analysis, computer simulation, regime-switching models.

Interest in Human Science: How it helps to understand the world better, and have opinions that are more firmly grounded.

Ryan, Chef

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