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Grant Recipients 2005-2006

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B

Name: Andrew Barnes
Title: Assistant Professor
Department: Political Science
Institution: Kent State University
Project Title: Black Gold after the Cold War and 9/11: Reshaping the Political Economy of Oil in the Caspian Basin
Countries Visited: Moscow and Tiumen, Russia
Project Abstract: Dr. Barnes will conduct research for a large-scale project to understand the sources and implications of the conflict over oil, drilling rights, and distribution capacity in the Caspian Basin since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Dr. Barnes will conduct interviews with businesspeople, journalists, and officials connected to the oil sector in both Russia and Kazakhstan.

Name: Jeffery Brown
Title: Associate Professor
Department: College of Law
Institution: Northern Illinois University
Project Title: Restricting the Autonomy Local Administrations in the Informal Sector: A Challenge to the Creation of a Civil Society in Post-Communist Russia?
Countries Visited: St. Petersburg and Petrozavodsk, Russia
Project Abstract: Mr. Brown will assess the impact of recent presidential decrees that purportedly curtail the autonomy of local Russian governmental administrations and professional organizations to interact with foreign partners. Mr. Brown will conduct a series of interviews with Russian judges, lawyers, and NGO representatives in the legal sphere to assess how recent presidential decrees have impacted their ability to interact with and receive funding from foreign donor institutions and civil society partners.

Name: Andrew Buck
Title: Lecturer
Department: Sociology
Institution: University of Reading
Project Title: Popular Claim Making in Socialist and Post-Socialist Russia
Countries Visited: Moscow, Russia
Project Abstract: Dr. Buck will analyze the transformation of popular claim making through a comparative content analysis of "letters to the editor" from two Russian localities before and after the collapse of the Soviet Union. He will collect letters at the central newspaper archive of the Russian State Library in Moscow.

C

Name: Michele Commercio
Title: Postdoctoral Fellow
Department: Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies (CERES)
Institution: Georgetown University
Project Title: Contrasting Historical Legacies: How Informal Social Networks Influence Russian Minority Politics in Post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan and Latvia
Countries Visited: Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan; Riga, Latvia
Project Abstract: Dr. Commercio will interview representatives of local Russians in Kyrgyzstan and Latvia in order to investigate the role of informal social networks in processes of political and economic organization among Russians in these countries.

Name: Gordana Crnkovic
Title: Assistant Professor
Department: Slavic Language and Literature
Institution: University of Washington
Project Title: "America" vs. "Europe," or the World They Want to Belong to: New Attitudes towards the US in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina
Countries Visited: Zagreb, Rijeka, Split and Osijek, Croatia; Sarajevo, Mostar, and Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Project Abstract: Dr. Crnkovic will examine the area's current attitudes towards the US as seen in the cultural manifestations of both popular and "high" culture, and the ways in which these attitudes interact with nationalist and anti-nationalist trends in the region. Dr. Crnkovic will utilize the resources of the area's main libraries, book stores, and film archives, as well as contacting relevant people both inside and outside of academia.

E

Name: Robert Edwards
Title: Associate Professor and Graduate Director
Department: Sociology
Institution: East Carolina University
Project Title: Lithuanian Rural Community Organizations: Dynamics of Mobilization and Impact
Countries Visited: Vilnius, Lithuania
Project Abstract: This project will examine the effectiveness and impact of rural community organizations in Lithuania. Questions relating to current status of rural community organizations prior to 2004 and organizational and community characteristics related to (a) mortality and survival and (b) effectiveness and impact of those community groups still active in 2005 will be investigated.

F

Name: Jack Friedman
Title: Postdoctoral Fellow
Department: Committee on Human Development
Institution: University of Chicago
Project Title: Culture and Mental Health Care in Romania's Jiu Valley: Everyday Anxiety and Clinical Psychopathology in the Context of Economic Decline
Countries Visited: Bucharest, Petrosani, Vulcan, and Lupeni, Romania
Project Abstract: Dr. Friedman's research project will examine cultural understandings of mental illness and mental health care in Romania's Jiu Valley with an eye toward informing health care reform in Romania through an anthropological study of cultural knowledge about mental illness and revealing the social, cultural, and mental health costs of structural readjustment on local, working class communities in post-state socialist Eastern Europe.

Name: Cathy Frierson
Title: Professor
Department: History
Institution: University of New Hampshire
Project Title: "For the Sins of Their Fathers and Mothers": Children of the Soviet Terror
Countries Visited: Moscow, Vologda, Kotlas, Severodvinsk, and St. Petersburg, Russia
Project Abstract: This project will concentrate on oral history interviews with survivors who were "Children of the GULAG," 1918-1956 to explore their experiences as children and re-entry into post-Stalinist society. Dr. Frierson will survey history students and instructors in the Russian Federation to assess their knowledge and attitudes about Soviet repression of children.

G

Name: Diane Gal
Title: Assistant Professor
Department: Education
Institution: Queens College
Project Title: Emerging Trends in Supporting Education Policy Initiatives for Democratic Citizenship: The Role of Intermediary Organizations in Slovenia and Croatia
Countries Visited: Ljubljana, Slovenia and Zagreb, Croatia
Project Abstract: This study will describe the role that intermediary organizations in Slovenia and Croatia have played in supporting the policy dialogue and capacity building for education policy initiatives aimed at building democratic citizenship. Document and interview data will be compiled from several key sources, including the Research and Education Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Citizenship at the Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb and the Center for Educational Policy Studies of the Faculty of Education, University of Ljubljana.

Name: Jo-Ann Gross
Title: Professor
Department: History
Institution: The College of New Jersey
Project Title: Islamic Shrine Culture and History in Tajikistan
Countries Visited: Dushanbe, Khorogh, and Ishkashim, Tajikistan
Project Abstract: The purpose of this project is to conduct archival and field research on the Muslim shrines of Ishkashim, Badakhshan, and to collaborate with Tajik scholars to open a traveling exhibition of the photographs of the shrines of Tajikistan.

H

Name: Lynn Haney
Title: Associate Professor
Department: Sociology
Institution: New York University
Project Title: Transnational States of Punishment: Gender and Incarceration in the East and West
Countries Visited: Budapest and Kalocsa, Hungary
Project Abstract: This project examines the policies and practices of the US and Hungarian penal systems and analyzes their implications for women's lives. Dr. Haney will conduct research of ethnographic works for two months in a Hungarian women's prison.

Name: Robin Hessman
Title: Filmmaker in Residence
Department: Local Productions
Institution: WGBH Boston
Project Title: The Last Soviet Children: Exploring Russia's Generation X
Countries Visited: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Byeliye Stolby, and Krasnogorsk, Russia
Project Abstract: Ms. Hessman will conduct research in state film and television archives, screening material made for Soviet children in the 1970s and early 1980s and will explore private collections of home movies, personal photographs, and diaries of this period. Ms. Hessman will interview representatives from this generation, examining issues that faced young people at the time of glasnost and the choices they made while navigating their country's transition from one society to another.

Name: Alexandra Hrycak
Title: Associate Professor
Department: Sociology
Institution: Reed College
Project Title: Engendering the Orange Revolution: Women, the 2004 Elections and Protest Mobilization in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Lviv
Countries Visited: Lviv, Kyiv and Kharkiv, Ukraine
Project Abstract: Dr. Hrycak's project analyzes women's participation in the 2004 elections and the Orange Revolution in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Lviv. It builds on previous in-depth interviews with leaders of women's NGOs in the three cities. Focus groups will be used to examine the impact on women's political participation of three channels of involvement in Yushchenko's campaign: the youth group Pora, Yushchenko's election campaign headquarters, and local women's organizations. Dr. Hrycak will also focus on the impact of local political environments on how women understood their political interests, how they participated in elections and protests, and why they supported Yushchenko.

J

Name: Paul Josephson
Title: Associate Professor
Department: History
Institution: Colby College
Project Title: Science and Society in Russia from Stalin to Putin: A Biography of Zhores Ivanovich Alferov
Countries Visited: St. Petersburg and Moscow, Russia
Project Abstract: Dr. Josephson will evaluate the impact of rapid political change and economic crisis on science policy for basic research in Academy institutes during the Yeltsin and Putin administrations. He will gather published and archival materials, conduct interviews with scientists and officials such as Zhores Ivanovich Alferov, a central figure in the Russian science establishment and recent Nobel laureate.

L

Name: Faina Linkov
Title: Research Fellow
Department: Public Health
Institution: University of Pittsburg
Project Title: Domestic Violence in Kazakhstan and Central Asia: Building the Bridges between Organizations in Central Asia, FSU and the US
Countries Visited: Almaty, Astana, and Taldy-Kurgan, Kazakhstan
Project Abstract: Dr. Linkov's research will address the problem of domestic violence in Kazakhstan and will explore the barriers that prevent effective collaboration between Kazak domestic violence organizations and their foreign partners. She will implement a survey that will identify the barriers for effective information exchange and will determine ways to speed up the information flow and partnership development on domestic violence prevention in Kazakhstan, the former Soviet Union, and the United States.

Name: Susan Linz
Title: Professor
Department: Economics
Institution: Michigan State University
Project Title: Factors Influencing Employee Performance in Armenia
Countries Visited: Yerevan, Armenia
Project Abstract: What motivates workers? This project proposes to survey workers and conduct in-depth interviews with top-level managers in Armenia to collect the requisite data to analyze factors that influence worker motivation in both the short and long term.

M

Name: Trini Mathew
Title: Associate Research Fellow
Department: Medicine
Institution: Brigham and Women's Hospital
Project Title: Role of Alcohol Use in Tuberculosis Treatment Adherence and Outcomes in Tomsk, Russia
Countries Visited: Tomsk, Russia
Project Abstract: Alcohol use is under-diagnosed and under- reported in Russia, but has a high prevalence rate. The use of alcohol during tuberculosis treatment has a detrimental effect. Hence, it is important to use a screening tool to diagnose a harmful and hazardous use, a tool that is simple to administer in a primary care setting.

Name: Paula Michaels
Title: Associate Professor
Department: History
Institution: University of Iowa
Project Title: On the Trail of Dr. Lamaze: A Transnational History of Childbirth Education 1930-1980
Countries Visited: Kiev and Kharkov, Ukraine
Project Abstract: Dr. Michaels will trace the transmission of phychoprophylaxis, known in the US as the Lamaze method of childbirth, from the USSR to the West. She will visit Moscow, Kiev, and Kharkov gathering archival and published sources on the rise and spread of psychoprophylaxis in the USSR, and on the professional connections between the USSR and France that facilitated to its dissemination to the West in the midst of the Cold War.

Name: Robert Moser
Title: Assistant Professor
Department: Government
Institution: University of Texas - Austin
Project Title: Ethnicity, Electoral Politics, and Repression in Postcommunist States
Countries Visited: Kiev, Ukraine
Project Abstract: Dr. Moser will examine the representation of ethnic minorities in three post-communist states through analysis of the behavior of voters and their elected representatives. During fieldwork in Ukraine, he will collect detailed census and electoral data from government institutions and gather information on the ethnic background of legislators.

N

Name: Joelle Nisolle
Title: Associate Professor
Department: Business
Institution: West Texas A&M University
Project Title: Developing Women's Entrepreneurship in Tajikistan
Countries Visited: Khujand, Kanibadam, Dushanbe, Penjakent, Aini, Kulab, Germ, and Izfaravshan, Tajkistan
Project Abstract: This ethnographic research seeks to identify the institutional, social and cultural obstacles which limit women's opportunities to developing their own businesses in Tajikistan. Qualitative methodology including participant observations, in-depth interviews, focus groups, and on-site visits will be used in cooperation with the National Association of Business Women Tajikistan (NABWT) and the Tajik State University of Commerce (TSUC) in Khujand and in Dushanbe. The final objectives are to develop training seminars and course formats for NGOs such as NABWT and universities such as TSUC.

P

Name: Daniel Pennell
Title: Bibliographer for Russian, East European, and Germanic Studies
Department: University Library System
Institution: University of Pittsburgh
Project Title: Romanian Studies: An Annotated Guide to Bibliographies, Encyclopedias, and Handbooks
Countries Visited: Bucharest, Romania
Project Abstract: The enormous growth the Romanian publishing industry has witnessed in the last 10 years has added considerably to the volume of reference works in the vernacular. Virtually all of this recent material and the vast majority of older Romanian-language reference literature has been left out of both Romania-specific and area studies bibliographies, almost all of which include only English-language material. This project will redress this lacunae by producing a substantial, annotated bibliographic guide that will constitute a valuable reference fro researchers in all areas of Romanian studies.

Name: Yelena Perkhounkova
Title: Research Associate
Department: Research Division
Institution: ACT, Inc.
Project Title: A Review of End-of-Secondary-School Examination Systems in Russia
Countries Visited: Moscow, Russia
Project Abstract: Ms. Perkhounkova will review and compare the end-of-secondary-school examination systems currently used in Russia: traditional examinations for maturity certificate, Centralized Testing, and Unified State Examination. Ms. Perkhounkova will observe the actual examinations, research archives, and interview state officials, school administrators, and developers of the examinations.

Name: William Pyle
Title: Assistant Professor
Department: Economics
Institution: Middlebury College
Project Title: The Role of Business Associations in Post-Soviet Russia
Countries Visited: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Archangelsk, and Rostov, Russia
Project Abstract: Dr. Pyle will conduct interviews with Russian researchers and members of the business association community, which will shed light on important questions that have arisen during preliminary analysis of survey responses (from a survey Dr. Pyle conducted in Spring 2004).

S

Name: James Sadkovich
Title: Affiliate Researcher
Department: History
Institution: George Mason University
Project Title: Franjo Tudjman: A Political and Intellectual Biography
Countries Visited: Zagreb, Croatia
Project Abstract: This study analyzes the evolution of Franjo Tudman's thinking on war, politics, revolution, nationalism, and related topics from his first work, Rata Protiv Rata, to his last major publication, Bespuca. Franjo Tudjman's work is a case study which should be generalizable for intellectuals in politics and for the leaders of small states in Eastern Europe.

Name: Andrei Simic
Title: Professor
Department: Anthrpology
Institution: University of Southern California
Project Title: A Field Study of Serbian Refugees from Croatia and Bosnia: Implications for Domestic and Foreign Relations Policy
Countries Visited: Belgrade, Novi Sad, and Indjija Vrsac, Serbia and Montenegro, and Karlovac, Kolaric, Kuplensko, Drenov Klanac, and Vrbovsko, Croatia
Project Abstract: Dr. Simic will interview refugees in Serbia from Croatia and Bosnia, which will explore attitudes regarding the following issues: repatriation to their native regions, perceptions of other ethnic groups in former Yugoslavia, US policies toward former Yugoslavia and the Serbs, perspectives regarding "democracy and free markets", the strength of nationalistic and/or chauvinistic sentiments, and their economic and political integration into Serbian society. Shifts in attitudes since an earlier field study in 2001 will also be assessed, and a comparison will be derived from an ongoing study of Serbian refugees in America.

Name: Cynthia Simmons
Title: Professor
Department: Slavic & Eastern Languages
Institution: Boston College
Project Title: Spheres of Influence: Women in Post-War Bosnia-Herzegovina
Countries Visited: Sarajevo, Tuzla, and Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina
Project Abstract: This study will examine the impact of women's contributions since the Bosnian War (1992-1995) in the areas of 1) government and non-government organizations; 2) business; and 3) high culture/the arts, particularly in light of the changed status of many women. The result of this study will lead to articles and a book manuscript.

T

Name: Daniel Teodorescu
Title: Director
Department: Institutional Research
Institution: Emory University
Project Title: An Assessment of Corruption and Academic Dishonesty in Romanian Universities
Countries Visited: Bucharest, Romania
Project Abstract: This project will cover corruption among faculty and administrators and cheating among students at three large public universities in Romania. In addition to surveying students, the investigator plans to conduct a series of interviews with academic leaders (deans and department chairs) and faculty members, together with a content analysis of corruption-related stories revealed in the main media outlets between 2000 and 2005.

V

Name: Veljko Vujacic
Title: Associate Professor
Department: Sociology
Institution: Oberlin College
Project Title: The Social Bases of Party Politics and Elite Recruitment in Serbia
Countries Visited: Belgrade, Novi Sad, and Nis, Serbia and Montenegro
Project Abstract: This research project concentrates on the social composition of Serbian parliamentary and party elites with the goal of ascertaining whether diversity of social origin, individual (social) biographies, and political outlook impede the transformation of Serbia's democratic elite into a coherent political establishment. The main hypothesis is that an established political elite is a necessary precondition for democratic consolidation and stability.