Announcements

QSS 41 student publishes article on "Chaos from order"

Darren Colby, a member of the Class of 2022 at Dartmouth College, is the author of a new article, "Chaos from order: a network analysis of in-fighting before and after El Chapo's arrest."   Published in the journal Connections, this article began as a project in a course QSS 41 in network analysis in the Program in Quantitative Social Science (QSS).

The abstract of the article is as follows:

The effect of leadership decapitation—the capture or killing of the leader of an armed group—on future violence has been studied with competing conclusions. In Mexico, leadership decapitation has been found to increase violence and in-fighting among drug cartels. However, the causal pathways between leadership decapitation and in-fighting are unclear. In this article, it is hypothesized that leadership decapitation will weaken alliances between armed actors, lead to greater preferential attachment in networks of cartels and militias, and result in greater transitive closure as cartels seek to expand their power. These hypotheses are tested with a stochastic actor oriented model on a network dataset of episodes of infighting among cartels and the militias formed to opposed them between the five years before and after Joaquín, "El Chapo" Guzmán Loera, the former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, was arrested in 2016. The results show that alliances have virtually no effect on the decision of cartels and militias to fight each other; weaker organizations faced a higher reputational cost after El Chapo's detention, and post-arrest cartel in-fighting did not increase as a result of uncertainty about the relative balance of power among cartels.
 

Darren's professor in QSS 41 was Antonio Sirianni, who is a post-doctoral fellow in QSS.  Dr. Sirianni has taught QSS 41 for the past several years, and of Darren's project he writes, "Darren came into QSS41 with a really fascinating topic and data set to examine. He skillfully applied methods covered in the course to reveal important insights on cartel structure and interaction. The resulting article shows expertise in both a sophisticated dynamic network modeling technique and broader network science concepts."

Applying to Grad School Panel

Join us on October 20 to hear from professors, post-doctoral fellows, and current Ph.D. students.

The panel takes place at 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm, and you can attend in person in Life Sciences Center 205 or on Zoom (Meeting ID: 496 706 2684).

Add it to your calendar.

QSS search for a new assistant professor

The Program in Quantitative Social Science (QSS) at Dartmouth College is searching for an assistant professor who uses modern research methods to address the topics of race and racism.  QSS is a vibrant and growing program at Dartmouth, and a new faculty member will facilitate QSS coursework in the area of race and contribute to the research enterprise of the program.

Details on the position and a link to apply are available at Interfolio.  Review of applications will commence on October 1, 2021.  A short description of the position is as follows.

The Program in Quantitative Social Science (QSS) at Dartmouth College seeks a scholar for a tenure-track appointment as Assistant Professor, to be appointed as early as July 1, 2022. QSS is an interdisciplinary program that integrates modern statistical, computational, and mathematical tools with social science. Qualified candidates should have a Ph.D. (or be ABD with degree in hand by the appointment date) in a social science field. Potential fields include: economics, demography, sociology, political science, geography, or related disciplines. We are particularly interested in applications from qualified quantitative scholars whose research and teaching centers on race and racism in the United States. Qualified candidates should demonstrate strong, applied skills in quantitative methods and should be highly motivated and qualified to teach undergraduate courses in methodology. The person in this position will be expected to foster cross-disciplinary connections at Dartmouth around quantitative methods. Dartmouth is highly committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive population of students, faculty, and staff. We are especially interested in applicants who are able to work effectively with students, faculty, and staff from all backgrounds, including but not limited to: racial and ethnic minorities, women, individuals who identify with LGBTQ+ communities, individuals with disabilities, individuals from lower income backgrounds, and/or first generation college graduates. Applicants should state in their cover letter how their teaching, research, service, and/or life experiences prepare them to advance Dartmouth's commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

New Course offering: QSS 30.09/QBS 181 Data Wrangling

QSS is offering the opportunity for undergraduates to take a fall quarter course in the Quantitative Biomedical Sciences program. The course is QSS 30.09/QBS 181, Data Wrangling. It is a cross-listed graduate course and fulfills a methods-oriented requirements in either the QSS major or minor.

Interested students should note that this course will be offered at a special time on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 4:00 - 5:30 pm. However, the course appears on the timetable as ARR. As a graduate seminar, QSS 30.09/QBS 181 is offered at a different time than undergraduate courses are normally offered. QSS 30.09/QBS 181 conflicts with the 2A time slot. 

The instructor of QSS 30.09/QBS 181 will be Dr. Carly Bobak.

QSS major Elliot Ng served as a marshal of the Class of 2021

Elliot Ng, a member of the Class of 2021 and a Quantitative Social Science Major at Dartmouth College, was chosen by his class to be a marshal. Marshals are chosen by their class for traits that create a positive impact.

The 2021 marshals were asked to write about their time at Dartmouth and to answer this question:
 

As a marshal, it is your job to lead your class into the graduation ceremony. Given the circumstances of the past year, what is your message to rally the Dartmouth Class of 2021 on this graduation day?

See what Elliot and the rest of the marshals wrote to their fellow class members: Marshals Lead the Class of 2021 With Words of Inspiration.