CURRICULUM VITAE Maria Tcherni Work address: University at Albany, SUNY 135 Western Ave, Albany NY 12222 Home address: 2351 Algonquin Rd Niskayuna, NY 12309 Cell: (518) 366-1013 Email: tcherni@gmail.com EDUCATION 2004-2011 PhD Candidate Dissertation University at Albany (SUNY) (degree expected in May 2011) Albany, US Title: The Value of Human Life: An individual- level determinant of violence Committee: Colin Loftin (Chair), Alan Lizotte, David McDowall, Bob Apel, Jim Mercy 2001-2002 M.S. Northeastern University Graduate Boston, US 1993-1998 B.A. & M.A. Moscow State University Department of Psychology Moscow, Russia AREAS OF RESEARCH INTEREST Causes and correlates of violence and violent crime Theory testing Applied quantitative analysis Research methods AREAS OF TEACHING INTEREST Quantitative Research Methods / Research Design Statistics: Introductory, intermediate, and advanced topics (such as Structural Equation Modeling, Time Series Analysis, etc.) Criminology / Theories of Crime Punishment and Corrections Graduate- level research seminars (Violence Research, Program Evaluation, Theory Testing, etc.)
Maria Tcherni (continued) 2 PUBLICATIONS Randomized Response by James Alan Fox and Maria Tcherni, in Michael Lewis- Beck, ed., Encyclopedia of Social Science Research Methods, Sage Publications, 2003. Decision making under uncertainty: Legal implications and moral choice [In Russian]. Master Thesis, Moscow State University, 1998. Psychological Criteria of Moral Choice [in Russian], Proceedings of Lomonosov- 96 Student Conference, 1996. RESEARCH REPORTS Alternative Sentencing Programs Funded by the New York State Division of Probation and Correctional Alternatives: Program Evaluation Study by Sharon Lansing and Maria Tcherni, 2009 [Confidential Internal Report of the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services]. PAPERS UNDER REVIEW Structural Determinants of Homicide: The Big Three, revised and re- submitted for publication at the Journal of Quantitative Criminology. WORKING PAPERS The dark figure of crime at the final frontier : Changes in routine activities with the advance of cyberspace (with Alan Lizotte, Giza Rodick, and Andrew Davies). The legacy of lynching revisited (with Colin Loftin and Craig Rivera) Trends in domestic violence in rural versus urban areas: Disentangling legal and cultural effects of domestic violence laws using NCVS data PRESENTATIONS 2010 (forthcoming) The Value of Human Life: An individual- level determinant of violence. American Society of Criminology, San Francisco, November. 2009 Poverty, Violence, and the Value of Life. American Society of Criminology, Philadelphia, November. 2008 Structural Determinants of Homicide: Any Changes over the Last Half- Century? American Society of Criminology, St. Louis, November.
Maria Tcherni (continued) 3 2007 Determinants of Violence in the South: An Historical Perspective. American Society of Criminology, Atlanta, November. 2006 The Legacy of Lynching Revisited. American Society of Criminology, Los Angeles, November. 2005 How Poverty Leads to Homicide: Traffic fatalities, smoking and obesity what do they have in common? American Society of Criminology, Toronto, November. 1996 Psychological Criteria of Moral Choice, Lomonosov- 96 Student Conference, Moscow, Russia. HONORS, AWARDS 2005 Research Award for a project Cultural and Deterrent Effects of Domestic Violence Laws in Rural and Urban Areas of the United States Karen R. Hitchcock New Frontiers Fund, the Initiative for Women at SUNY- Albany 2004-2007 Robert Martin Fellowship, University at Albany 2001-2002 Stipended Graduate Assistantship Northeastern University 1996-1997, 1997-1998 Lomonosov Scholarship for Outstanding Academic Performance Moscow State University 1996 Prizewinner at the Lomonosov- 96 Student Conference Moscow State University, Department of Psychology
Maria Tcherni (continued) 4 ACADEMIC/RESEARCH WORK EXPERIENCE July 2010 currently Graduate Teaching Assistant, University at Albany (SUNY) Preparing, teaching, and grading the following courses: RCRJ 302 Punishment and Correction RCRJ 282 Research Design September 2005 August 2010 Graduate Intern New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services Develop and manipulate databases for storing, tracking, and analyzing data on characteristics, program experiences, and outcomes of Alternative to Incarceration (ATI) programs; Conduct surveys of ATI programs; Produce reviews of relevant literature, conduct statistical analyses, and write up summary reports. September 2004 August 2005 Graduate Research Assistant, University at Albany (SUNY) Assembled data sets combining data from several sources and databases; data merging and restructuring; analysis of missing data patterns and solutions to the missing data problems; Presented the results of data analysis in a graphical format (PowerPoint) and writing (articles, abstracts, research proposals); Analyzed literature and produced literature reviews. September 2001 December 2003 Research/Teaching Assistant; Lab Instructor (for graduate- level courses in Statistics) Graduate, Northeastern University Developed and assembled data sets for analysis and for teaching; Learned Visual Basic programming language and used it to create exercises for classes in Statistics; Learned and used content analysis for qualitative research on serial killers; Taught seminars in graduate- level Criminal Homicide and Statistics courses.
Maria Tcherni (continued) 5 September 1998 August 2001 Assistant Forensic Psychologist; Research Assistant Moscow Serbsky Institute for Social and Forensic Psychiatry (Moscow, Russia) Created database formats and assembled data for tracking cases undergoing psychiatric/psychological evaluation at the Center; First assisted in and later conducted forensic psychological evaluations to help psychiatrists make differential diagnoses and to determine offender s state of mind at the commission of crime; Assisted in several research projects aimed at separating the influence of mental illness from the influence of personality traits and social context in mentally ill offenders who committed violent crime; Participated in international conferences conducted at the Center. September 1997 December 1999 Research Assistant Department of Psychology, Moscow State University Assisted in experiments and statistical processing of experimental results; Participated in research under the international project An Epidemiological Study of School- Aged Children s Social- Emotional and Behavior Problems: Examining the Role of Societal Stress, Parental Psychopathology, and Family Functioning (Award CRDF #RN 1-421). Independent work on my part under this project was to conduct clinical interviews and make psychological evaluations of adolescent offenders receiving involuntary psychiatric treatment and non- offending adolescents receiving treatment in a mental hospital (control group); Conducted literature reviews on decision making and risk- taking behavior under uncertainty, on bounds of human rationality in decision making, game theory. September 1994 August 2001 RELARN Association (Research Association for Moscow State University) Processed research literature in psychology to update a computer database of Russian scholarly sources; Reviewed and translated psychology- related papers and books from and into English for publishing.
Maria Tcherni (continued) 6 OTHER PROFESSIONAL WORK EXPERIENCE February 2003 June 2004 Head Manager of Import Department Radiant- ELCOM, Ltd. (Supplier of Electronic Components) Managerial duties; Negotiations with foreign suppliers; Foreign purchasing and marketing policy; Selection and training of personnel for the Import Department. February 1996 August 1997 Sales Representative; Assistant Manager Runa, Ltd. (Law Database Software Developer and Distributor) Consulted clients (accounting departments of business companies and law firms) to help them choose law database software; Trained personnel on comparative characteristics of different types of law software; Developed psychological training programs for sales personnel to increase the company s efficiency. PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIP American Society of Criminology Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences American Sociological Association American Psychology- Law Society SKILLS Languages: Russian (native), English (fluent), Ukrainian (fluent), French (basic) Programming languages: Visual Basic Programs: Systems: In- depth extensive experience with MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint); SPSS, Stata; basic knowledge and some experience with LISREL, HLM, SAS Blackboard Learning System for online education
Maria Tcherni (continued) 7 REFERENCES Colin Loftin Professor University at Albany, SUNY Albany, NY 12222 Voice: 518-442- 5216 Fax: 518-442- 5603 E- mail: cloftin@albany.edu Alan Lizotte Dean and Professor University at Albany, SUNY Albany, NY 12222 Voice: 518-442- 5214 Fax: 518-442- 5212 E- mail: a.lizotte@albany.edu David McDowall Professor University at Albany Albany, NY 12222 Voice: 518-442- 5225 Fax: 518-442- 5603 E- mail: mcdowall@albany.edu