Section Officers: Chair Katherine Faust University of California, Irvine [email protected] Chair-Elect Mathematical Sociologist Noah Friedkin University of California, Santa Barbara ([email protected]) VOLUME 15, ISSUE 2 SPRING 2012 Past Chair Robert Hanneman University of California, Greetings from the Chair...Katherine Faust Riverside ([email protected]) The spring newsletter gives good foundation for moving Secretary-Treasurer me the welcome opportuni- forward. And, as sociolo- David Wagner SUNY Albany ty not only to communicate gists, our models must be ([email protected]) the latest section news, but grounded in empirical evi- also to reflect on the state dence. Models completely Council Members Alison Bianchi and future of mathematical detached from reality don’t University of Iowa ([email protected]) sociology more generally. In do much to advance our un- both cases, I believe news is derstanding of the social Matthew Brashears mathematical sociology, University of Arizona encouraging and points to a world. Many thanks to ([email protected]) robust future for the section Carter Butts for organizing though this has not al- and the discipline. both ASA Math. Soc. paper ways been true, nor will Peter Burke University of California, sessions this year! it necessarily be so in the Riverside ([email protected]) The section has been active future. What is true is this year – planning contin- Also looking to the future, that opportunities Jane Sell ues both for section activi- Mathematical Sociology abound for people who Texas A&M ([email protected]) ties at the ASA meetings in Council (with the encourage- can bring together a Denver (more elsewhere in ment of Geoff Tootell) voted keen sense of social or- Arnout van de Rijt SUNY Stony Brook University the newsletter) and for the overwhelmingly to increase ganization with formal (Arnout.VanDeRijt@ stonybrook.edu ) Fifth Joint Japan-North the amount of the Disserta- skills for modeling and America Mathematical Soci- tion in Progress Award from understanding social da- Robb Willer ology Conference (to be $1000 to $1500. This in- ta (to continue my earli- University of California, Berkley ([email protected]) held in Denver prior to the crease sustains our commit- er theme on models and ASAs). ment having the award Student Member Emma Spiro make a meaningful differ- INSIDE THIS ISSUE: University of California, The two section paper ses- Irvine ence in the career of a ([email protected]) sions at ASAs reflect my young mathematical sociol- Greetings from the Chair 1-2 sense of fruitful directions ogist. The award com- Newsletter Co-Editors Publications of Interest 2-3 Pamela Emanuelson for mathematical sociology. mittee is currently deliber- North Dakota State University ([email protected]) One session focuses on ating, and this year’s recipi- Book Highlight 4-5 Donna Lancianese model assessment and the The University of Iowa ent will be announced in (donna- other on empirical applica- Conferences 6-7 [email protected]) August. tions. As mathematical soci- Webmaster Matthew Brashears ologists, our signature con- With regard to prospects ASA Annual Meetings 8-9 University of Arizona ([email protected]) tributions are formal models for mathematical sociolo- for social structure and pro- gy, I largely view this cess, but those contribu- through my (rosy) lens of tions are only as solid as the social networks. Social models are robust. Fragile network research currently models do not provide a makes up a large portion of P A G E 2 VOLUME 15, ISSUE 2 empirical evidence). Technological advances ward developing social insights for the 21st Century. have put astounding computational capabili- ties at most of our fingertips, and technologi- So, on many fronts I am optimistic about the future of cal advances are also bringing mind-boggling mathematical sociology – we have a bumper crop of amounts social data within reach (need I say students as members of the section (25.7%), Ph.D.’s “twitter”?). What a great playground for with formal skills place well in the discipline, and intel- mathematical sociologists! However, to push lectual opportunities abound. That said, we should the playground analogy a bit, we need to continue to recruit new members, encourage students make sure that the “big kids” from other disci- to join the section (consider subsidizing their section plines don’t hog all of the good toys. Mathe- dues), and colonize new research frontiers. Onward! matical sociologists have the insights and for- mal dexterity to make the most of this conflu- I look forward to seeing everyone in Denver! ence of opportunities by developing robust social models for large scale social observa- Katie Faust tions. Such advances can go a long way to- You might remember the spe- cial issue "Micro-Macro Links and Microfoundations" of Jour- nal of Mathematical Sociology . Routledge has re-edited the special issue as a book: Buskens, Vincent, Werner Raub & Marcel van Assen (eds.) Micro-Macro Links and Microfoundations. London: Routledge 2012. http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415698979/ http://www.amazon.com/Micro-Macro-Microfoundations-Sociology-Vincent-Buskens/ dp/0415698979 P A G E 3 VOLUME 15, ISSUE 2 Journal of Mathe- matical Sociology Volume 35, Issue 4, 2011 “The Cultural Evolution of In- Check out discriminate Altruism in a Large Randomly Matching Population” by Noah P. Mark – these recent pages 235-248 publications in “Coordination in Dynamic So- cial Networks Under Heterogeneity” by Michał & Vin- cent Buskens – pages 249-286 Mathematical “Recovering Social Networks from Individual Attrib- Sociology!! utes” by Arnold Polanski & Duncan McVicar – pages 287-311 Journal of Mathematical Sociology Volume 36, Issue 1, 2012 “Individual Strategy Update and Emergence of Co- operation in Social Networks” by Carlos P. Roca, An- gel Sánchez & José A. Cuesta – pages 1-21 “SEM Modeling with Singular Moment Matrices Part II: ML-Estimation of Sampled Stochastic Differential Equations” by Hermann Singer – pages 22-43 “Optimality in Social Choice” by Gennaro Amendola & Simona Settepanella – pages 44-77 P A G E 4 New from Phillip Bonacich and Philip Lu Introduction to Mathematical Sociology Mathematical models and computer simulations of complex social systems have become everyday tools in sociology. Yet until now, students had no up-to-date textbook from which to learn these techniques. Introduc- tion to Mathematical Sociology fills this gap, providing undergraduates with a comprehensive, self-contained primer on the mathematical tools and applications that sociologists use to understand social behavior. Phillip Bonacich and Philip Lu cover all the essential mathematics, including linear algebra, graph theory, set theory, game theory, and probability. They show how to apply these mathematical tools to demography; patterns of power, influence, and friendship in social networks; Markov chains; the evolution and stability of cooperation in human groups; chaotic and complex sys- tems; and more. Introduction to Mathematical Sociology also features numerous exercises throughout, and is accompanied by easy-to-use Mathematica-based computer simulations that students can use to examine the effects of changing parameters on model behavior. Provides an up-to-date and self-contained introduc- tion to mathematical sociology Explains essential mathematical tools and their appli- cations Includes numerous exercises throughout Features easy-to-use computer simulations to help students master concepts "A first-rate introduction. The coverage is exemplary, starting with basic math techniques and progressing to models that incorporate a number of these techniques. Chapters on evolutionary game theory, cooperative games, and chaos are significantly innovative, as is the incorporation of simulations. This book brings mathe- matics to life for students who may entertain doubts about the role of math in sociology."--Peter Abell, profes- sor emeritus, London School of Economics and Political Science "This book provides a concise and up-to-date introduction to mathematical sociology and social network anal- ysis. It presents a solid platform for engaging undergraduates in mathematical approaches to sociological in- quiry, and includes Mathematica modules with which students can explore the properties and implications of a variety of formal models. I plan on using it in my courses on social networks."--Noah E. Friedkin, coauthor of Social Influence Network Theory: A Sociological Examination of Small Group Dynamics MATHEMATICAL SOCIOLO GIST VOLUME 15, ISSUE 2 P A G E 5 Table of contents: 12. Scale-Free Networks 1. Introduction Power-Law Distribution Epidemics Residential Segregation Preferential Attachment Network Damage and Scale-Free Networks 2. Set Theory and Mathematical Truth Disease Spread in Scale-Free Networks Boolean Algebra and Overlapping Groups Truth and Falsity in Mathematics 13. Balance Theory 3. Probability: Pure and Applied Example: Gambling Classic Balance Theory Two or More Events: Conditional Probabilities Structural Balance Two or More Events: Independence A Counting Rule: Permutations and Combinations The Bino- 14. Markov Chains mial Distribution Examples Powers of P, Paths in the Graphs, and Longer Intervals 4. Relations and Functions Symmetry The Markov Assumption: History Does Not Matter Reflexivity Transition Matrices and Equilibrium Transitivity Weak Orders—Power and Hierarchy 15. Demography Equivalence Relations Mortality Structural Equivalence Transitive