January 2012 - Methoden - mailman.uni-konstanz.de

Microfoundations of Diffusion Research
by Sprecher der Methodensektion 27 Jan '12

27 Jan '12

Call for Papers: Microfoundations of Diffusion Research - Actors, Mechanisms, Institutions September 13-14, 2012, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, Cologne, Germany Organizers: Mark Lutter (Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies), Christian W. Martin (University of Kiel) The idea of different units influencing each other and triggering processes of "diffusion" (of policies, innovations, institutions, and other outcomes) has been with social scientists for a long time. Recently, theoretical advances have questioned some of the assumptions long taken for granted in the diffusion research tradition. At the same time, more sophisticated empirical methods have become available to explicitly address unit interdependence in a variety of settings. We are inviting papers that build on these developments and seek to go beyond them by explicitly taking into account the causal mechanisms that are underlying processes of diffusion. Specifically, we are interested in bringing together approaches that can serve as building blocks towards a micro-foundation of diffusion research. Possible theoretical perspectives and methods include, but are not limited to, theories informed by rational choice approaches, agent based simulation modeling, social learning, and institutional, or cultural perspectives. On an empirical level, we are seeking to bring together contributions that focus on the causality of diffusion processes, either by empirically assessing the validity of theoretical claims, or in the form of case studies that trace the processes of diffusion events. We wish to bring together researchers from various disciplines in the social sciences, most notably from sociology, economics, and political science. Together, these disciplines are in a unique position to develop a trans-disciplinary framework that can subsequently be used in diffusion research. With the near ubiquity of unit interdependence in social phenomena we feel that it is high time to address causal mechanisms more carefully and model them more rigorously. As a tangible product, we propose publishing a special issue of a scholarly journal that will make the workshop results visible to the larger research community. Please submit your 400-word abstract no later than May 15, 2012. If an abstract is accepted for the workshop, please submit your paper by August 1, 2012. Please send your abstract containing author information, affiliation, e-mail address, and the title of your presentation to one of the workshop organizers, Mark Lutter (lm(a)mpifg.de) or Christian Martin (martin(a)politik.uni-kiel.de) Notification about acceptance will be no later than May 30, 2012. Conference website: http://www.mpifg.de/projects/microfoundations/index_en.asp _____________ Dr. Mark Lutter Max-Planck-Institut für Gesellschaftsforschung Paulstr. 3, 50676 Köln Tel.: 0221-2767-154 Web: www.mpifg.de/people/lm

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Conference New Developments in Signaling and Game Theory
by Sprecher der Methodensektion 18 Jan '12

18 Jan '12

Conference "New Developments in Signaling and Game Theory" Reduced fee until January 31st, 2012 Dear Colleagues, I like to invite you to a conference on signaling theory and game models at Monte Verita (the ETH conference center) in Ascona, Switzerland. The conference is scheduled for October 14-19, 2012. A call for paper is attached. You will find more detailed information on the conference on the following website and below: http://www.socio.ethz.ch/signaling2012/ The conference is interdisciplinary including scholars from sociology, political science, economics, anthropology, psychology and biology. Signaling and game models are the key topic. However, the conference is open for theories, models, and applications to strategic interaction in general. Please, disseminate this information to your doctoral and graduate students and post docs at your institute. Graduate and doctoral students are encouraged to submit a poster or paper for presentation. I would like very much to welcome you on this conference. Note that we offer a reduced fee until January 31st, 2012. The conference is subsidized by ETH and the conference center. The rate is "all inclusive" including accomodation, lunch, dinner etc. Monte Verita is a famous place situated on a hill at Lake Maggiore in the canton Ticino. A conference in the lovely landscape is a very relaxing experience. Hope, my description makes the place and the conference attractive for you. With best wishes, Andreas Diekmann New Developments in Signaling and Game Theory Model Building, Empirical Corroborations, and Applications International Conference at the Congress Centre of ETH Zurich The Centro Stefano Franscini Situated at Monte Verità October 14th to October 19th, 2012 Organizers: Andreas Diekmann, Bruno S. Frey, Wojtek Przepiorka, Eckart Voland Committee: Friedel Bolle, Lars-Erik Cederman, Jürg Helbling, Dirk Helbing, Gérard Hertig, Ryan O. Murphy, Susanne Neckermann, Werner Raub Conference Office: Stefan Wehrli (wehrlist(a)ethz.ch<mailto:wehrlist@ethz.ch>) www.socio.ethz.ch/signaling2012<http://www.socio.ethz.ch/signaling2012> Why do firms invest large sums in advertisement? Why do students spend great effort on highly selective educational courses? Why do people follow certain dress codes although norm compliance is time-consuming and costly? Why do banks invest in marble entrance halls? Why did the path of evolution lead to the magnificent tail feathers of a peacock although this luxury inhibits the movement of the bird? Signaling theory put forward by economist Michael Spence and biologist Amotz Zahavi provides an answer. Costly signals convey reliable information on an unobserved trait of the sender whereby this information is of importance for both the sender and the receiver. If signals become too cheap they may be faked and, therefore, they will loose their power to convey reliable information. Signaling theory yields an explanation for the paradox of the ubiquity and stability of costly and wasteful activities to be observed in human social life as well as in animal behavior. Game theory supplies a formal language to define signaling theory more precisely. With game models of incomplete information and signaling one can identify conditions that generate a so-called separating signaling equilibrium. Knowing these conditions the researcher can make predictions that have to be verified by field research, experiments or other empirical methods. Signaling theory is now applied in very different fields and disciplines such as economics, political science, anthropology, sociology, psychology and biology. Although applications are often still quite speculative, the principles of signaling theory are well acknowledged in biology and the social sciences. The international and interdisciplinary conference will focus on new developments of signaling theory, model building, applications in the various disciplines, and empirical corroborations of the theory. We welcome contributions on (but not restricted to) the following topics: New developments in signaling theory and model building - The impact of models from signaling and game theory on the social sciences and biology. - Experimental studies and -field experiments based on hypotheses from signaling theory. - Applications of signaling theory in economics, political science, anthropology, sociology, psychology and biology. - Applications of theories, game models, simulation models to problems of strategic interaction. Contributions (title, abstract, manuscript if available) should be submitted no later than January 31st, 2012 to one of the organizers or to Stefan Wehrli (wehrlist(a)ethz.ch<mailto:wehrlist@ethz.ch>). Please mention whether you apply for a conference presentation or a poster session.

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Neue Stellenausschreibungen auf der Homepage
by Sprecher der Methodensektion 18 Jan '12

18 Jan '12

Liebe Kollegin, lieber Kollege, auf der Homepage der Methoden-Sektion finden sich wieder neue Stellenausschreibungen. http://www.soziologie.de/index.php?id=285 Beste Grüße i.A. Heike Antoni Sekretariat Christof Wolf ------------------------- Sprecher der Sektion Methoden der Empirischen Sozialforschung der DGS

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Call for applications: 1st GESIS Summer School in Survey Methodology
by Wolf, Christof 12 Jan '12

12 Jan '12

GESIS - Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences offers a new research methods training opportunity: The 1st GESIS Summer School in Survey Methodology<http://www.gesis.org/summerschool>. This event is designed for doctoral students and junior researchers who wish to conduct their own survey or to improve their understanding of the generation and quality of existing survey data. It will take place from August 9 to 25, 2012 at the University of Cologne, Germany. The programme includes refresher courses<http://www.gesis.org/en/events/gesis-summer-school/programme/refresher-cour…>, main courses<http://www.gesis.org/en/events/gesis-summer-school/programme/main-courses/> around 10 themes, a stimulating evening<http://www.gesis.org/en/events/gesis-summer-school/programme/evening-progra…> as well as a social programme. The main course themes are: 1. Questionnaire Design 2. Complex Survey Sampling 3. Measurement, Interview and Data Quality 4. Mail Surveys 5. Web Surveys 6. Mixed Methods 7. Vignette Analysis 8. Nonresponse 9. Cross-National Comparative Surveys 10. Translation and Harmonisation in Cross-National Surveys Online application has just started, so please go to our website<http://www.gesis.org/summerschool> for further information, a pdf brochure<http://www.etracker.de/lnkcnt.php?et=qPKGYV&url=http://www.gesis.org/filead…>, and access to the application system<http://www.gesis.org/en/events/gesis-summer-school/application-and-fees/>. Also check out our facebook page<https://www.facebook.com/pages/GESIS-Summer-School-in-Survey-Methodology/28…>! We would be grateful if you could forward this information to potential participants. Best wishes, Silke Schneider and the GESIS Summer School team -- Dr. Silke Schneider Head, Knowledge Transfer Department GESIS Summer School in Survey Methodology GESIS - Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences P.O. Box 12 21 55 68072 Mannheim Germany summerschool(a)gesis.org<mailto:summerschool@gesis.org> www.gesis.org/summerschool<http://www.gesis.org/summerschool>

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Stellenausschreibung WiMi Methoden
by Sprecher der Methodensektion 11 Jan '12

11 Jan '12

Am Institut für Soziologie, Fachbereich Sozialwissenschaften, Universität Hamburg ist ab dem 1.3.2012 die Stelle einer wissenschaftlichen Mitarbeiterin/eines wissenschaftlichen Mitarbeiters der Entgeltgruppe 13 TV-L mit der Hälfte der regelmäßigen Arbeitszeit (19,5 Stunden wöchentlich) für drei Jahre zu besetzen. Bewerbungen mit den üblichen Unterlagen werden bis zum 15.1.2012 erbeten an: Universität Hamburg, Institut für Soziologie, z. Hd. Frau Frauke Johannsen, Allende Platz 1, 20146 Hamburg. Mit freundlichen Grüßen Sonja Drobnic -- Prof. Sonja Drobnic, PhD Institute of Sociology University of Hamburg Allende-Platz 1 D-20146 Hamburg Germany Phone + 49 40 42838-4659 Email sonja.drobnic(a)uni-hamburg.de<mailto:sonja.drobnic@uni-hamburg.de> http://www.wiso.uni-hamburg.de/index.php?id=1947 http://www.cgg.uni-hamburg.de/

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Stellenausschreibung
by Sprecher der Methodensektion 09 Jan '12

09 Jan '12

Am Institut für Soziologie der Universität Tübingen ist ab 1.4. die Stelle eines/r Akademischen Rat/Rätin auf Zeit (A13) zu besetzen (Vollzeitstelle, befristet auf sechs Jahre). Vorausgesetzt wird eine abgeschlossene Promotion im Bereich Makrosoziologie / empirische Bildungsforschung. Ihre Bewerbung mit den üblichen Unterlagen richten Sie bitte (gerne auch als PDF-Datei per E-Mail) bis zum 30. Januar 2012 an: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaftliche Fakultät, Institut für Soziologie, Prof. Dr. Martin Groß, Wilhelmstr. 36, 72074 Tübingen; oder per E-Mail an: martin.gross(a)uni-tuebingen.de<mailto:martin.gross@uni-tuebingen.de>. Weitere Informationen entnehmen Sie bitte der angefügten Ausschreibung. Mit freundlichen Grüßen Martin Groß -- -------------------------------------- Prof. Dr. Martin Groß Universität Tübingen Institut für Soziologie Wilhelmstr. 36 D-72074 Tübingen Tel.: ++49 (0) 7071 29 78382 Fax: ++49 (0) 7071 29 4216 E-mail: martin.gross(a)uni-tuebingen.de<mailto:martin.gross@uni-tuebingen.de>

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