DECISION SCIENCE POSTDOC IN BASEL SWITZERLAND

Decision Science News has been to visit the Center for Cognitive and Decision Sciences in Basel and can vouch for it as a center of excellence.

Applications are invited for a postdoctoral research scientist at the Center for Cognitive and Decision Sciences at the Psychology Department of the University of Basel, Switzerland.

The ideal candidate will have completed his/her graduate work in the autumn or by the end of 2007 and will have interest in one or two of the following research areas: behavioral decision making, models of bounded rationality, or risk. Experience in computer modeling is desirable. Applicants may be of any nationality, and the required teaching may be conducted in German or English. The Center for Cognitive and Decision Sciences at the University of Basel is directed by Ralph Hertwig. Please visit our website for more information: http://www.psycho.unibas.ch/cds

The position is available for two to six years at an annual starting salary of 91,664.30 Swiss Francs, with the earliest starting date of October 2007.

To apply, please send a CV, two letters of recommendation, reprints of published papers, and a cover letter describing your research interests and skills. Review of applications will start September 15 and continue until the position is filled.

Electronic applications should be submitted to: Laura Wiles at the Center for Cognitive and Decision Sciences. E-mail: Laura.Wiles at unibas.ch

If you wish to find out more about this opportunity, you may also contact Ralph Hertwig by phone at (+41 61) 267 06 11 or by e-mail at ralph.hertwig at unibas.ch

Decision Science News opts not to put circonflexes in post titles because they mess with RSS feed readers. Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ffgoatee/296439978/

DISASTERS: RECIPES AND REMEDIES

A Social Research Conference at The New School for Social Research
November 1 and 2, 2007 www.newschool.edu/disasters

This conference is convened at a time at which we are seriously threatened by an increasing number of disasters of all kinds: those conventionally considered “natural,” like hurricanes and tsunamis, and those normally considered man-made, like pandemics and large-scale bioterrorist attacks. This increasing threat is not only due to urbanization, globalization, coastal development, inadequate infrastructure design, and international hostilities, among other things, but is also a consequence of global warming.

The need for serious reflection on how we can best think about, prepare for, respond to and prevent disasters is urgent. At this conference, leading experts will explore the commonalities of all disasters. They will examine the unequal protection and treatment of populations made vulnerable by their location and or socioeconomic status; the impact of disasters on the economy and overall human development; how hazards develop into disasters; and how design factors either mitigate or amplify their effects.

The two-day conference is organized into 5 sessions:
I. Definitions: What We Talk about When We Talk about Disasters
II. Acquiring Vulnerabilities that Potentiate Disasters
III. Keynote by Nicholas Scoppetta, NYC Fire Commissioner
IV. What “Really” Happens: Preparations and Responses
V. The Impact of Disasters on Human Development

TICKETS
Regular full conference: $50; Regular single session: $12; ACLU members: $35; New School alumni: $15; Other full-time students: $15; Full-time New School students: Free

LOCATION
John L. Tishman Auditorium, The New School, 66 West 12th Street, NYC (between 5th and 6th Ave)

CONTACT
Social Research Conferences, The New School, 65 Fifth Avenue, Room 375, New York, NY 10003, t: 212.229.5776 x3121, f: 212.229.5476, socres@newschool.edu, www.newschool.edu/disasters

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/37996586683@N01/42148248/

PROFESSORSHIPS AT HARVARD’S KENNEDY SCHOOL

The Kennedy School of Government seeks to appoint exceptional scholars to tenure-track positions at the nexus of psychology, public policy and public leadership We especially seek individuals with research interests related to public policy and public leadership from the fields of social psychology, organizational behavior, personality psychology, behavioral decision research, sociology, and/or combinations thereof.

The Kennedy School has growing programs in judgment and decision making, broadly defined, with strength in such topics as emotional influences, negotiations, risk perception, resource allocation, trust, and group perception. For example, the Kennedy School has recently approved a field of interdisciplinary doctoral study in judgment and decision making, which draws primarily on faculty strengths in behavioral economics, organizational behavior, and psychology. The Kennedy School also has a new, state-of-the-art laboratory dedicated to supporting research in these areas. It includes, among other features, capability to collect biological measures as well as behavioral and cognitive measures.

Research and teaching excellence are the highest priorities for the position. Also important is enthusiasm for working in an environment that emphasizes the marriage of discipline-based scholarship and applied, public-policy scholarship. Applicants for the position should also be committed to teaching professionally oriented students, including middle-level and senior executives, in ways that will help them perform well in professional roles.

Interested candidates should mail their applications to Professor Jennifer S. Lerner, Faculty Search Committee, Kennedy School of Government, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 no later than November 1. Review of applicants will begin as soon as they are received, and early applications are encouraged. Applications should include a current curriculum vita, representative publications, and the names of those who can provide references. Qualified women and members of minority groups are encouraged to apply. Harvard University is an Affirmative Action/Equal opportunity employer.

JOURNAL OF CHOICE MODELLING

Open-access journals all officially the rage. Here’s another newbie, possibly of interest to you, the Decision Science News reader.

We are pleased to announce the launch of the “Journal of Choice Modelling”, a new open access peer reviewed journal dedicated to the field of choice modelling.

The journal publishes theoretical and applied papers in the field of choice modelling. It is not limited to one area of study, such as transport or marketing, but invites contributions from across a range of disciplines where the analysis of choice behaviour is a subject of interest. The journal also seeks to be non-specific in terms of the topics covered, with papers dealing with methodology, data, survey and experimental design all being of equal interest. Similarly, we welcome papers discussing the use of advanced choice modelling techniques in actual real world applications.

The Journal of Choice Modelling is an open access journal. Papers published in the journal can be freely accessed by anyone with an internet connection. This greatly increases visibility, and allows access by academics, practitioners and the general public, without the need for registering or paying access fees. The Journal of Choice Modelling is a web-based journal, with no paper version. This not only greatly reduces costs, but also significantly improves turnaround times.

We are now inviting contributions for the inaugural issues of the Journal of Choice Modelling. We welcome papers discussing any topic related to the study of choice behaviour.”

For detailed information on the journal including a listing of current members of the editorial board and submission guidelines, see: http://www.jocm.org.uk

Recommended reading:

Discrete Choice Methods with Simulation
Stated Choice Methods: Analysis and Applications
Applied Choice Analysis: A Primer

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO, HIRING MARKETING PROFESSORS

UCSD’s business school is small but growing fast, and is already home to decision researchers such as On Amir, David Schkade, Uri Gneezy, Craig McKenzie. The Marketing area is hiring. Since Marketing is JDM with teeth, Decision Science News readers may be interested:

The Rady School of Management (http://rady.ucsd.edu/) at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) invites applications for assistant, associate and full professor positions in marketing. Preference will be given to experienced applicants who have distinguished scholarly records, have demonstrated teaching expertise with graduate students and executives, and are good institution builders. All applicants must have a Ph.D. or will be working towards a Ph.D. by the start date of the new academic year. Associate-level candidates must show evidence of a strong research record in their specialization, while candidates for senior rank must demonstrate a continuing publication record in leading journals. Salary and appointment level are dependent on experience and based on University of California pay scales. The positions are expected to have a start date of July 1, 2008. A detailed vita (PDF or Word document form) will be accepted only by email to radymarketing at ucsd.edu. Please indicate reference job code ACRMKTG on the subject line and state the level of position you are applying for in the cover letter. Review will begin October 1, 2007 and will continue until positions are filled. UCSD is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer with a strong institutional commitment to the achievement of excellence through diversity among its faculty and staff.

For information contact:
Monique M. Tanjuaquio, Academic Personnel Coordinator, radymarketing at ucsd.edu

ARGUMENTS AGAINST ALL SIGNIFICANCE TESTS

This week, the always-provocative J. Scott Armstrong submits this comment to Decision Science News:

“About two years ago, I was a reasonable person who argued that tests of statistical significance were useful in some limited situations. After completing research for “Significance tests harm progress in forecasting” in the International Journal of Forecasting, 23 (2007), 321-327, I have concluded that tests of statistical significance should never be used. Here is the abstract:

I briefly summarize prior research showing that tests of statistical significance are improperly used even in leading scholarly journals. Attempts to educate researchers to avoid pitfalls have had little success. Even when done properly, however, statistical significance tests are of no value. Other researchers have discussed reasons for these failures. I was unable to find empirical evidence to support the use of significance tests under any conditions. I then show that tests of statistical significance are harmful to the development of scientific knowledge because they distract the researcher from the use of proper methods. I illustrate the dangers of significance tests by examining a re-analysis of the M3-Competition. Although the authors of the re-analysis conducted a proper series of statistical tests, they suggested that the original M3-Competition was not justified in concluding that combined forecasts reduce errors, and that the selection of the best method is dependent on the selection of a proper error measure; however, I show that the original conclusions were correct. Authors should avoid tests of statistical significance; instead, they should report on effect sizes, confidence intervals, replications/extensions, and meta-analyses. Practitioners should ignore significance tests and journals should discourage them. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijforecast.2007.03.004

The paper is followed by commentaries by Keith Ord, Herman Stekler, and Paul Goodwin, and by my reply “Statistical significance tests are unnecessary even when properly done and properly interpreted: Reply to commentaries” , which can be found online at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijforecast.2007.01.010

This is happy news for practitioners, researchers, and students. On the other hand, it might create anguish among faculty who teach people about statistical significance.”

APPLIED ECONOMICS RESEARCH BULLETIN

Decision Science News looks with intrigue bordering on fascination at a new chimera called Applied Economics Research Bulletin.

Some of the unusual features:

Happy being a rest stop on the way to established journals – As they say “We expect that manuscripts published in the Applied Economics Research Bulletin will, in some cases, form the foundations for more refined works that will subsequently be submitted to other leading journals.”

Immediate dissemination – Papers can be published within days or even hours of submission

No manuscript style – Writers rejoice. Also nice for attracting interdisciplinary authors.

No Editor – Just article editors, no pukka sahib.

Non-commercial, open access – Web-based, no subscription fee, author keeps the copyright

Big names – The advisory board and associate editors list includes some very big names in economics and marketing.

Decision Science News’ nutshell:

Applied Economics Research Bulletin – It’s like SSRN meets peer review.

ANNUAL MEETING OF THE BRUNSWIK SOCIETY, LONG BEACH, CA, NOV 15-16, 2007

The 23rd Annual International Meeting of the Brunswik Society will be held on Thursday and Friday, November 15-16, 2007 in Long Beach, California, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. The program begins at 12:00 noon on Thursday afternoon, and ends at 6:00 Friday afternoon.

We invite papers and/or panel discussion proposals on any theoretical or empirical/applied topic directly related to Egon Brunswik’s theoretical lens model framework and method of representative design, including approaches based on Brunswikian principles. Please send a brief abstract (75-100 words), and indicate whether the paper/discussion is theoretical or empirical, to Jim Holzworth by Friday, July 13th. Kindly respect this submission due date. Due to an increase in number of submissions, we cannot guarantee a presenting slot to those who do not meet the submission deadline. Our time is limited, so we apologize in advance if some papers cannot be scheduled this year. Meeting organizers are Jim Holzworth (jim.holzworth at uconn.edu) and Mandeep Dhami (mkd25 at cam.ac.uk). The meeting is held concurrently with the Psychonomic Society Annual Meeting and just before the Judgment and Decision Society meeting. More details about the 2007 meeting, including registration instructions, will be posted on the Brunswik Society website, at http://brunswik.org.

ACR PRE-CONFERENCE: CONSUMERS ONLINE. DEADLINE JUNE 1, 2007.

The Internet in general, and Amazon.com in particular, is still Chapter One. You’re asking me about my story, and it’s still the very beginning. –Jeff Bezos

Association for Consumer Research Pre-Conference on Consumers Online: Ten Years Later. Thursday, October 25, 2007. The Peabody Memphis. Memphis, TN

It has been about 10 years since the first research about consumer behavior in online environments was originally published. What have we learned in that time? What frameworks, theories and facts have emerged? What new questions need to be explored?

The Center for Excellence in E-Business at Columbia Business School and the Sloan
Center for Internet Retailing at the University of California, Riverside are jointly sponsoring a pre-conference, in conjunction with the 2007 Association for Consumer Research Annual North American Conference, to address these questions. The goals of this pre-conference are to (1) summarize existing knowledge (2) present state-of-the-art results, methods and concepts and (3) hopefully set exciting directions for future research. Examples of topics that presentations might address include, but are certainly not limited to:

• How does the web influence consumer behavior offline? What is the relationship between information search on and off-line and purchasing?
• What meaning do consumers ascribe to the Internet in their daily lives?
• What consumer research can be done uniquely on the web? Are there new methods that are made possible by the web?
• What is the nature of community on the web? Do virtual communities and social networking present a fundamentally novel form of word-of-mouth and social networking?
• How has data on the web changed the idea of consumer search? Have we seen, as predicted, a decrease in price dispersion? Have markets become more efficient? Have more niche markets emerged?
• What elements of online customer experience are most important in influencing consumer decision making and online purchase behavior?
• What is the latest thinking on predicting and modeling consumer search and purchasing?

Program Committee:
Randy Bucklin (UCLA), John Deighton (Harvard), Kristin Diehl (USC), Andrew Gershoff (Michigan), Dan Goldstein (LBS), Gerald Haubl (Alberta), John Lynch (Duke), Wendy Moe (Maryland), Jaideep Sengupta (HKUST), Venky Shankar (Texas A&M)

Submission Details: Deadline is June 1, 2007 to submit an abstract.
Consumer behavior researchers should submit a 500- word abstract for consideration by the program committee, plus a 100-word abstract which will be listed on the program in the event of acceptance, at www.cebiz.org/acr. Both abstracts should be submitted in the same file. All submissions must be submitted electronically through www.cebiz.org/acr and must be received by June 1, 2007 to be considered. Participants will be notified by June 30.

Registration Details: Deadline is October 1, 2007 to register for the conference. The registration fee is $150.00 and includes breakfast, lunch, all breaks and attendance at the pre-conference. Attendees must register through http://webpay.ucr.edu/. Conference attendance will be limited to 100 attendees, so please be sure to register well in advance of the October 1, 2007 deadline!

Hotel Details: The Peabody Memphis. A limited number of hotel rooms have been set aside at the ACR rate of $174.00 plus tax for the pre-conference. Please contact the hotel directly to book your room. The Peabody Memphis www.peabodymemphis.com 149 Union Avenue, Memphis, TN 901-529-4000; 1-800-732-2639. Conference Code: 286824.

Conference Co-Organizers:
• Donna Hoffman, Chancellor’s Chair & Co-Director, Sloan Center for Internet Retailing, UC Riverside, donna.hoffman at ucr.edu
• Eric J. Johnson, Norman Eig Professor of Business & Director CEBiz, Columbia University, ejj3 at columbia.edu

SOCIETY FOR CONSUMER PSYCHOLOGY ANNUAL CONFERENCE FEB 21-23, 2008

The Society for Consumer Psychology (SCP) will be holding its Annual Winter Conference on February 21-23 at the Omni Royal Orleans Hotel, New Orleans, LA. The SCP conference provides a relatively intimate forum, providing opportunities for a high level of interaction among participants interested in the integration of psychology and consumer research. This year’s conference will be held in the heart of the historic French Quarter in New Orleans, and the city is back and livelier than ever so the conference promises to be a memorable one.

We are seeking proposals for original competitive papers, special topic sessions, and working papers for presentation at the conference. In order to encourage a diverse set of ideas and approaches to consumer psychology, the topic areas are not limited by a particular theme or application. We also welcome diverse methodologies, including experimental research, survey research, conceptual and/or theoretical developments, ethnography, or other methods relevant to the study of consumer psychology.

SUBMISSION INFORMATION:
All submissions, reviewing, and notification regarding SCP 2008 will be conducted electronically through the conference website. (Note: the URL for the conference is currently under construction but will be posted soon on the SCP home website: http://fisher.osu.edu/marketing/scp/). The conference website will provide an interface for reviewers and submitters, eliminating the need for e-mail submissions, as well as additional information about the conference.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE:
All submissions for competitive papers, special topic sessions and working papers are due by August 3, 2007. Notification of acceptances will be sent in early October. The conference website will be available for submissions between Friday, June 15, 2007, and midnight PST of the new deadline, Thursday August 9, 2007.

HOTEL INFORMATION:
Omni Royal Orleans Hotel, 621 Saint Louis St., New Orleans, LA 70140; Phone: (504) 529-5333; Fax (504) 529-7089. Nestled in the heart of the French Quarter, this AAA Four-Diamond luxury hotel is just moments from the excitement of Bourbon Street and Jackson Square and features an artful mélange of 19th century artifacts and the essence of Creole charm. http://www.omnihotels.com/FindAHotel/NewOrleansRoyalOrleans.aspx

CONFERENCE CO-CHAIRS
Maria Cronley
Dhananjay (DJ) Nayakankuppam
If you have questions, please email the conference co-chairs at: SCP2008@gmail.com