Events
Past Event
WED@NICO SEMINAR: Ned Smith, Northwestern University "How 'Market Value' Can Increase Discrimination Even When Most Firms Are Fair"
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
12:00 PM
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Lower Level, Chambers Hall
Details
Title:
Can One Bad Apple Spoil the Bushel? How "Market Value" Can Increase Discrimination Even When Most Firms Are Fair.
Speaker:
Ned Smith, Associate Professor, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
Talk Abstract:
In 1957 economist Gary Becker first published "The Economics of Discrimination." In it Becker argued that efficient and competitive markets should eliminate discrimination in hiring and wage setting over the long run. Becker's argument was as profound as the logic underlying it was straightforward; because discriminating firms are willing to pay a premium to hire only those workers who fit a desired profile, competition should drive discriminating firms out of business and any wage gaps resulting from discrimination should be eliminated away over time. For Becker, this process lends to a remarkable outcome: the presence of even a single non-discriminating employer in a market otherwise composed of discriminators will reduce average discrimination to zero in equilibrium.
We begin with a contrary proposition: the presence of even a single discriminating employer in a market otherwise composed of non-discriminators can, under certain circumstances, increase average discrimination in the market to the level of the single discriminator (or greater) over the long run. Our model turns on what we view to be an increasingly common practice in professional hiring and wage setting; that is, looking to "the market" for guidance in evaluating a given job candidate. To be more specific, we endogenize the price setting process by allowing for interdependence between a given job candidate's "market value" and her valuation as determined by individual hiring firms.
Our adjustment to Becker's model is both theoretically significant and empirically justified. As "financial thinking" (Davis 2009) increasingly dominates contemporary economic and social spheres of life, and "market logics" continue to permeate labor markets in particular (Nelson and Bridges 1999), it is well time to consider the effects and potential consequence of over-weighting market-based methods of valuation at the detriment of other methods of valuation. We build explicitly on Becker's model, itself a promising testament to the power of markets for eliminating prejudice and discrimination under certain conditions, to demonstrate how an overreliance on markets can spread prejudicial and discriminatory behaviors under other conditions. For all the promise of Becker's original model we demonstrate an equally remarkable, but also very plausible, consequence. Discriminatory hiring practices and wage setting can spread through a market like an invisible virus, infecting even those who believe themselves immune.
Speaker Bio:
Ned Smith is an Associate Professor of Management and Organizations at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, and a core faculty member of the Northwestern Institute for Complexity (NICO). Professor Smith has two main areas of research. First, he studies the effects of social structure on the behavior and decision-making of individuals and organizations. His research in this area was awarded a Kauffman Foundation Fellowship in 2009. More recently, Ned's articles on investor decision-making in the hedge fund industry ("Identities as Lenses," Administrative Science Quarterly), and market responses to new executive appointments ("Better in the Shadows", with Kevin Gaughan) were awarded the (2012) Best Published Paper Award by the Academy of Management and the (2016) Best Paper Award by the Academy of Management, respectively. Second, Ned works to connect research on cognitive processes and network theories of social capital to better understand how people utilize (and squander) the resources available to them in their social networks. This research analyzes how people mentally construct their social worlds, i.e., their social networks, according to various psychological and situational factors.
Live Stream:
Time
Wednesday, November 1, 2017 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Location
Lower Level, Chambers Hall Map
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
WED@NICO SEMINAR: Lauren Balmert, Northwestern University "A Tale of Two Statisticians: Methods and Applications"
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
12:00 PM
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Lower Level, Chambers Hall
Details
Speaker:
Lauren Balmert, Assistant Professor of Preventive Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University
Title:
A Tale of Two Statisticians: Methods and Applications
Abstract:
Faculty and staff in the Biostatistics Collaboration Center (BCC) work with investigators in various aspects of their research projects, with involvement in study design, data analysis, and dissemination of findings. In the first part of my talk, I will discuss my role as a collaborative statistician in a medical department. In the second part of my talk, I will transition to my statistical methodology research interests by briefly introducing time-to-event data and existing methods of analysis. I will then describe the concept of lost lifespan, or life lost, a new summary measure for cumulative information inherent in time-to-event data. An estimation and inference procedure will be proposed, as well as an extension to a regression setting. The methodology will be illustrated with a breast cancer clinical trial application.
Speaker Bio:
Dr. Balmert's is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine – Division of Biostatistics. Her research interests are primarily collaborative and include the application of biostatistics to a wide range of areas including urology, audiology, and pediatric medicine. She is currently the biostatistician on several ongoing clinical trials (PROPHY; Cerebral Autoregulation Monitoring; High Intensity Walking Intervention; Variability in Hearing Aid Outcomes). As the lead faculty statistician for the Biostatistics Research Core (BRC), she provides ongoing statistical support to Lurie Children’s investigators. Additionally, her methodological research focuses on nonparametric methods for time-to-event data analysis.
Live Stream:
Time
Wednesday, January 23, 2019 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Location
Lower Level, Chambers Hall Map
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
WED@NICO SEMINAR: Monica Olvera de la Cruz, Northwestern University "TBA"
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
12:00 PM
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Lower Level, Chambers Hall
Details
Speaker:
Monica Olvera de la Cruz, Lawyer Taylor Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University
Title:
TBA
Abstract:
TBA
Speaker Bio:
Research in the Olvera de la Cruz group is centered around the development of models to describe the self-assembly of heterogeneous molecules including amphiphiles, copolymers, and synthetic and biological polyelectrolytes, as well as the segregation and interface adsorption in multicomponent complex fluids. Work by the group has resulted in a revised model of ionic-driven assembly: demonstrating the electrostatic spontaneous symmetry breaking of ionic fibers and membranes, and identifying its relevance to biological functions and to the design of functional materials. The group's investigations into soft and condensed matter physics have advanced scientific knowledge and opened new research fields of technological importance, including gel electrophoreses dynamics, self-organization of molecular electrolytes into bio-mimetic materials, self-assembly of heterogeneous molecules into complex nanostructures, interface adsorption and phase segregation dynamics and structure of multicomponent fluids.
Live Stream:
Time
Wednesday, January 30, 2019 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Location
Lower Level, Chambers Hall Map
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
Data Science Nights - Jan 2019 Meeting TBA
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
6:30 PM
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Lower Level, Chambers Hall
Details
JANUARY MEETING: Date TBA at 6:30pm in Chambers Hall, Evanston
DATA SCIENCE NIGHTS are monthly hack nights on popular data science topics, organized by Northwestern University graduate students and scholars. Each night will feature one hour of structured programming followed by a hacking night with data science project or learning groups of your choice.
Aspiring, beginning, and advanced data scientists are welcome!
Agenda:
TBA
For more info: data-science-nights.org
Supporting Groups:
This event is supported by the Northwestern Institute for Complex Systems, and the Northwestern Data Science Initiative.
Time
Thursday, January 31, 2019 at 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Location
Lower Level, Chambers Hall Map
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
WED@NICO SEMINAR: Leslie DeChurch, Northwestern University "TBA"
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
12:00 PM
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Lower Level, Chambers Hall
Details
Speaker:
Leslie DeChurch, Professor of Communication Studies, Northwestern University
Title:
TBA
Abstract:
TBA
Speaker Bio:
Leslie DeChurch’s research investigates teamwork and leadership in organizations. She is Professor of Communication Studies, and holds a courtesy appointment in the Department of Psychology, Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences. She is President and Chairperson of the Board of INGRoup, the Interdisciplinary Network for Group Research.
Professor DeChurch leads the ATLAS lab: Advancing Teams, Leaders, and Systems. ATLAS explores the dynamics through which teams form, and how these dynamics affect their performance as teams, and their ability to work as larger organizational systems (multiteam systems). ATLAS conducts laboratory and online experiments, meta-analytic integrations, and field studies of teams and leaders to understand their core organizing processes. Such processes include: leadership networks, team cognition, team conflict and motivation, and team information sharing.
Live Stream:
Time
Wednesday, February 6, 2019 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Location
Lower Level, Chambers Hall Map
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
WED@NICO SEMINAR: Chris Wolverton, Northwestern University "TBA"
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
12:00 PM
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Lower Level, Chambers Hall
Details
Speaker:
Chris Wolverton, Jerome B. Cohen Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University
Title:
TBA
Abstract:
TBA
Speaker Bio:
Chris Wolverton's research group is centered on computational materials science, and specifically first-principles quantum mechanical simulation tools. These computational tools have advanced to the point now where materials may be "synthesized virtually", with their properties predicted on a computer before ever being synthesized in a laboratory. These tools also open the field of "materials informatics" where we can use machine learning tools to explore materials datasets and discover new materials. In this work, his group is working towards a goal of being able to suggest new materials in the same way that Netflix and Amazon can recommend movies or books.
Live Stream:
Time
Wednesday, February 13, 2019 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Location
Lower Level, Chambers Hall Map
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
WED@NICO SEMINAR: Sera Young, Northwestern University "TBA"
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
12:00 PM
//
Lower Level, Chambers Hall
Details
Speaker:
Sera Young, Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University
Title:
TBA
Abstract:
TBA
Speaker Bio:
The focus of Dr. Young’s work is on the reduction of maternal and child-undernutrition in the first 1000 days, especially in low-resource settings. Methodologically, she draws on her training in medical anthropology (MA, University of Amsterdam), international nutrition (PhD, Cornell) and HIV (Fellowship, University of California San Francisco) to take a biocultural approach to understanding how mothers in low-resource settings cope to preserve their health and that of their families.
Live Stream:
Time
Wednesday, February 27, 2019 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Location
Lower Level, Chambers Hall Map
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)