Office politics (science of)

Theory:
Realism. Political outcomes are attributable to the distribution of power amongst actors (cf. Machiavelli, Hobbes, Marx, Chinese Communist Party).

Unit of analysis:
Graduate student

Dependent variable:
Office space

Independent variable:
Subject matter of academic work

Causal mechanism:
Patronage. Professors will allocate office space to graduate students who work in their area of interest.

Hypothesis:
Desirability of graduate student's office space will co-vary with power of professors interested in graduate student's topic.

Evidence:
I started the year with a drab, moldy basement cubicle. Two weeks ago I presented an international political economy paper in graduate seminar. It was well received. Today, the director of the powerful political economy center offered me a new office which has "suddenly" come free (see figure one). It is spacious, sunlit, clean, stocked with computer equipment, and sits a few doors down the hall from Paul Krugman.

Fig. 1

Inference:
Power matters. Patronage is a powerful force in academia.

Policy implications:
Write what they want to hear.

Normative implications:
But at what cost?

Adventures in the back country

I have never liked cross-country skiing. It seems that if one is going to strap sticks to one's feet, it's important to have gravity working with you, not against you. But our tour into Grand Teton National Park has broadened my mind.

Perhaps it was the glorious peaks rising up from the flat valley.

Perhaps it was the beautiful sunshine.
Perhaps it was the little reminders of animals, like these wolf tracks on a frozen lake.
Or these rather intimidating bear marks on a tree
Or perhaps it was the grace with which one can swish across the frozen wilderness:



Yes, I think I may have to reconsider my opinion.

Skiing in cowboy country II

This evening we ventured out to explore the town of Jackson, Wyoming. As mom reminded everyone we met, the parents had been here 35 years ago as vagrant hippies and were eager to see what remained of the past.


The cowboy culture remains nicely commodified for tourist consumption. Wooden sidewalks. Those low-slung Western buildings.



Decor mostly consists of dead animals and the implements used to kill them.

This arch is made entirely from elk antlers (don't worry, elk shed their antlers each year).


Spent some time in the good ol' Million Dollar Cowboy Bar.

Played some pool with drunken college girls with low self-esteem. Conveniently, the bar stools have saddles.
This bear was, the bar claims, was killed by a man with his bare hands.

I can only guess what other wonders this town will reveal to us.

Skiing in cowboy country I

This week the family finds itself in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, enjoying the largest vertical rise of any ski resort in North America. It is a big and serious mountain. Today the winds were gusting over 40mph:

But of course we persevered.
This much change in elevation means that weather and snow condition are totally different on the summit and the base. The top half of the mountain has some glorious powder. The bottom half is covered with either a sticky glue-like substance. Beautiful terrain, though. I hope is snows a bit more before we leave....

The Famous Russian Dance of Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Sometimes one has to make one's own fun.

Took absolutely no pictures during A's trip to NYC because we were just sitting around doing work all the time. Ok not really. But here are some symbolic images.

Blizzard.


Merde in TOKYO!

K(orean)FC

Family
Family Guy
Kitties.

Brooklyn Biking

Madame Geneva.

New York Public Library Wind Tunnel

Dumplings

Banging on again

This review of a collection of articles from the magazine First of the Month is a bit of a wankfest, but I kind of enjoyed it. And the publication has some good stuff too.