Current Graduate Students Looking For A Job:

Stephen Benard (swb24@cornell.edu)

Curriculum Vitae

Personal Web Site

In my research, I develop and test theories aimed at two lines of inquiry: the dynamics of intergroup conflict and the persistence of inequality. In my dissertation, I examine a fundamental sociological question: how does conflict between groups affect relations within groups? The results of a set of small group studies show that conflict influences group cohesion, the emergence of social norms, and the creation of hierarchies. The project has broader theoretical implications for the study of institutions, social change, and collective action, as well as practical relevance for developing conflict resolution strategies.

The second line of research is the study of inequality, particularly gender inequality in labor markets. This research includes a series of studies (with Shelley Correll and In Paik) examining discrimination against mothers during the hiring process, a project with Emilio Castilla examining the relationship between meritocratic beliefs and gender bias, and several theoretical papers developing arguments about the mechanisms underlying inequality.

Both lines of research share a common theoretical orientation, which focuses on how structural patterns emerge from interactions between individuals and relations within social networks. I address these questions with a range of methods, including laboratory experiments, computational models, and nationally representative surveys.

Ed Carberry (ejc36@cornell.edu)

Curriculum Vitae

My research interests lie at the intersection of institutional organizational sociology and social stratification. More specifically, my research analyzes the social construction of management practices that influence patterns of inequality at the organizational level. I am particularly interested in incorporating theoretical insights from the literature on social movements to explain how these management practices are actively constructed and contested by different field-level actors. I have explored this broad theoretical space by conducting empirical research on 1) the institutionalization of executive compensation practices in the United States, 2) the international diffusion of human resource practices, and 3) the characteristics and consequences of employee ownership and systems of decentralized authority at the organizational level. My dissertation examines the institutionalization of executive and employee stock options since the early 1990s, with a focus on how the recent corporate scandals challenged the legitimacy of the practice and how corporations responded to these challenges.

Judy Rosenstein (jer33@cornell.edu)

Curriculum Vitae

My research focuses on the relationship between groups with unequal power. I am particularly interested in the ways in which dominant groups strive to maintain their position of power and the socio-political and economic consequences faced by subordinate groups. The question driving my research is why group membership is a basis for differential treatment. I want to understand why humans have a tendency to dislike, mistreat, hurt, and kill others for no reason except group affiliation. My dissertation, entitled “Threat and Bias: Understanding the Role of Threat in Attitudes towards Race, Gender, And Sexual Orientation” examines dominant group members’ views of policies benefiting subordinate groups. My analysis builds on theories from the group threat literature, while also drawing on arguments from the literatures on prejudice, conflict, and bias motivated violence, to name I few. In my dissertation I investigate the relationship between individual threat, group threat, and policy attitudes in the three areas of gender, race, and sexual orientation. My findings indicate an association between both threats and policy attitudes and the suggestion of a relationship between the two types of threat.

John C. Scott (jcs86@cornell.edu)

Curriculum Vitae

My dissertation is concerned with the micro-foundations of political life. I look broadly at the role and practice of lobbying as compared to non-institutional actors such as social movement organizations. I particularly examine the social norms among lobbyists in one policy domain. Related to my dissertation is a current project that examines linkages among activists and compares these linkages with connections among opposing lobbyists. Using unique or underutilized data sources and techniques, I examine the structure of Internet-based networks among activists and compare such structures to those of lobbyists who oppose them. A third area of policy-related research is a study of the spread of same-sex policies around the globe from the 1980s to the present. With my collaborators, we identify and model the diffusion of several dimensions of same-sex policies, including military service, hate crimes and civil unions. I also have an interest in population aging and its effects on social pension systems and the transition from work to retirement. Specifically, in a couple of papers with my co-authors, I look at the phenomenon of phased retirement, which is the gradual reduction of hours worked or job responsibilities as one approaches full retirement. A second focus for my current work is connecting the erosion of retirement income security with changes in political and economic institutions. I argue that the system of tax laws and institutions governing private pensions both directs political change as well as responses to such change in a way that has facilitated the erosion of old age income security for workers.

Zun Tang (zt22@cornell.edu)

Curriculum Vitae

My research interests include economic sociology, social networks, organizations, labor market, and inequality. My dissertation examines the contingencies for social networks to be effective in the labor market in mediating the match between workers and employers. I evaluate both the supply side and demand side of the story, but pay special attention on the hiring process as employers’ behavior and strategy have profound impact on the functioning of social networks and yet have been under-research so far. My findings show that employers’ goals (i.e. in recruiting trustworthy and easy-to-control employees) provide strong motivation for the reliance on social networks. My other research includes a study of institutional change in the Japanese youth labor market with Mary Brinton, a study of rent destruction in the US labor market with Steve Morgan, and work in progress with Victor Nee on entrepreneurship.