International Meeting on Methodology for Empirical Research on Social Interactions, Social Networks, and Health

May 2-3, 2008

CGIS Knafel, 1737 Cambridge Street Room N354, Cambridge, MA (Map)

Objective: To bring together econometricians, social statisticians and social network analysts to improve research on the relationship between social interactions and healthy. Additionally, it is expected that meetings will be useful in developing methodology for empirical study of many social interactions, such as the interactions of researchers in producing new scientific discoveries or inventions.

Agenda

Friday, May 2

9am: Opening Remarks, Charles Manski, Northwestern University
9:30am: "Social Contagion in Health Behaviors in Current and Future Longitudinally Resolved Social Network Datasets" Nicholas Chistakis, Harvard University
10:10am: "Stochastic Blockmodels for Networks with Mixed Membership and Challenges for Modeling Dynamically Evolving Networks" Steve Fienberg, Carnegie Mellon University
11:10am: "Social Interactions from the Perspective of Economics" Steven Durlauf, University of Wisconsin-Madison
11:50am: "New Models for Dynamic Analysis of Multi-Sided (Large Scale) Conflict" Peter Bearman, Columbia University
2pm: "Human Dynamics: From Priorities to Human Travel Patterns" Laszlo Barabasi, Northwestern University
2:40pm: "Superspreaders or Limited Access Highways? Explaining Generalized Epidemics and Prevalence Disparities in HIV" Martina Morris, University of Washington
3:40pm: "Separating Social Influence from Social Selection on the Basis of Longitudinal Data and Statistical Models" Tom Snijders, University of Oxford

Saturday, May 3

9am: "Longitudinal Model of Network Formation: Heider's Theory of Balance vs. Simmel's Triadic Formation (with David Krackhardt and Martina Morris)", Mark Handcock, University of Washington
9:40am: "Network Topology and its Implications for Model-Building" Pip Pattison, University of Melbourne
10:40am: "Selection and Influence: Models for Individual Attributes and Social Network Structures" Garry Robins, University of Melbourne
11:20am: "The Average Outcome and Inequality Implications of Segregation in the Presence of Social Spillovers (with Guido Imbens)" Bryan Graham, University of California, Berkeley
12pm: "Point Process Estimation of Large-scale Spatial Dependencies (with Martin Burda)", Matthew Harding, Stanford University
12:40pm: lunch and closing remarks, Nicholas Christakis, Harvard University