Emmanuel Lazega to present in the SONIC Speaker Series

LazegaSONIC Lab is proud to welcome Emmanuel Lazega, who will present a talk on Tuesday, April 29, 2014 (9:00am) in SONIC Lab in the Frances Searle Building room 1.459. All are welcome to attend. To schedule a one-on-one meeting with a SONIC speaker please schedule a time at bit.ly/SonicSpeaker (april 28, from 10  am to 4 pm).

A Spinning Top Model of the Dynamics of Advice Networks

We argue that a spinning top model is a useful heuristic for intra-organizational learning in advice networks. This model proposes that a stabilized ‘elite’ shapes and preserves accumulated knowledge in an organization that overall experiences high turnover and systematic job rotation. We test the model by analysing the structure and dynamics of advice networks among 240 judges in a Commerical Court. Applying the model helps identify an endogenous process of increasing then decreasing centralization of the network over time. It raises questions about the maintenance and stability of its pecking order and about relationship between organizational learning in such an institution and joint regulation of markers.

About Emmanuel Lazega

Emmanuel Lazega is a professor of sociology at Sciences Po, Paris. He is a member of the editorial board of Social Networks. One of the focuses of his research is on collective learning in intra- and inter-organizational networks. In this area, he has published Micropolitics of Knowledge, New York, Aldine-de Gruyter (1992) and The Collegial Phenomenon, Oxford University Press (2001), as well as specialized papers theorizing collective learning based on empirical analyses, conducted with colleagues and doctoral students, of advice networks in various professional social settings. His publications can be found here: elazega.fr

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Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld to present in the SONIC Speaker Series

cutcher-gershenfeld.pngSONIC Lab is proud to welcome Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld, who will present a talk on Thursday, April 17th, 2014 (9:00am) in SONIC Lab in the Frances Searle Building, room 1.459. All are welcome to attend. Please email Nancy McLaughlin to schedule a one-on-one meeting with Professor Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld (April 17, from 10.30 am to 4 pm).

Stakeholder Alignment in Complex Systems: Lessons from Alignment and Misalignment in Geoscience, Biomedicine, and Air Transportation

The capacity for science to make progress on core societal challenges requires new forms of institutional agility, yet the track record for public-private partnerships, strategic alliances, consortia, and related multi-stakeholder initiatives is mixed. This talk presents data from several collaborative efforts targeting major societal challenges: the Biomarkers Consortium at FNIH advancing personalized medicine; EarthCube, led by the NSF creating a cyberinfrastructure for the geosciences; and Aircraft Noise and Emissions, contributing to the Next Generation Air Transportation System on environmental matters. Among key findings presented are new insights into the ways that internal alignment within each institutional stakeholder is a necessary precursor to producing the collaborative structure and processes that are needed for success.

About Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld

Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld is a professor and former dean in the School of Labor and Employment Relations (LER) at the University of Illinois, where he also holds a joint appointment in the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA). He is an award-winning author who has co-authored or co-edited ten books and over ninety articles on high performance work systems, transformation in labor-management relations, negotiations and conflict resolution, economic development, and engineering systems. His current research is centered on stakeholder alignment in complex systems – a foundation for institutions in the 21st Century. Joel was the 2009 President of the Labor and Employment Relations Association (LERA). Prior to coming to the University of Illinois, Joel had a joint appointment in MIT’s Engineering Systems Learning Center and MIT’s Sloan School of Management, as well as appointments at Babson College and Michigan State University. He has extensive experience leading large-scale systems change initiatives with public and private stakeholders in Australia, Bermuda, Canada, Denmark, England, Iceland, Italy, Jamaica, Mexico, New Zealand, Panama, Poland, Spain, South Africa, and the United States. Joel holds a Ph.D. in Industrial Relations from MIT and a B.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University.

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Noshir Contractor presented and participated in a panel at a symposium titled “Computer Science Everywhere: Exploring Collaborations Between Computer Science and Other Disciplines at Northwestern” organized by the McCormick School of Engineering, Northwestern University on November 14, 2014.

For details see: http://www.mccormick.northwestern.edu/news/articles/2013/11/mccormick-symposium-builds-connections-between-computer-science-other-disciplines.html

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