Brigitte Roth Tran

The CSWEP article on economics seminar culture raised a couple of questions for me. Below is (my first) poll.

(See article on front page of this newsletter https://www.aeaweb.org/content/file?id=17929 H/t @paulgp )

Does your department have a policy of no questions in the first 5 or 10 minutes of a seminar?

Yes, and people stick to it
19.2%
Yes, but it's generally ignored
3.8%
Nope
76.9%
Poll ended at .
Dec 29, 2022 at 3:51pmWeb
Show threadBrigitte Roth TranDec 29, 2022

@paulgp and here is my second poll inspired by the CSWEP article by Katherine Silz Carson, referenced in toot above.

How often do you read the paper before attending a seminar?

Always -- you mean some people don't??
0%
Often/usually -- sometimes life gets in the way
18.4%
Rarely/sometimes -- when it seems really important
50%
Never -- isn't that what's covered in the talk?
31.6%
Poll ended at .
Show threadMarciano Siniscalchi 🇺🇦Dec 29, 2022

@Rothtran @paulgp the 5/10m rule is an interesting proposal. Some thoughts.

1. I would be in favor, provided it is accompanied by another rule (known by different names in different depts): if there is no model on the screen / board by minute 10, people are free to leave. (NU currently has neither rule.)

2. While this addresses some of the symptoms, I am not sure it will cure the disease. What if people just wait and then get nasty at minute 11?

1/2

Show threadMarciano Siniscalchi 🇺🇦Dec 29, 2022

@Rothtran @paulgp 3. A couple of complementary proposals:

3a. Have a formal moderator (a senior person). Why not?

3b. Have a grad student keep a tally of questions asked in each seminar, much like in the research my colleague Silvia Vannutelli describes in her CSWEP article, and then share the results to all faculty, on a regular basis -- so people can hopefully see for themselves and self-regulate (one hopes).

2/2

Show threadBrigitte Roth TranDec 30, 2022

@msiniscalchi @paulgp
The senior moderator idea is encouraged in the article. And I think I have seen it play out well in practice.

The tally idea sounds interesting. I wonder how feasible it is given the demands on the scorers in terms of training and focusing on scoring rather than the talk itself?

Are the original tally team doing more follow-up? It was interesting that in the original study it seemed people didn't really know it was being done, or did they?

Show threadLuís CabralDec 30, 2022
@Rothtran @msiniscalchi @paulgp
Why not use some software like sli.do, whereby the audience vote each other's questions and only the "best" questions get asked?
Show threadBrigitte Roth TranDec 30, 2022
@msiniscalchi @paulgp What does it really mean for people to be "free to leave"? How does this rule play out in departments?
Show threadMarciano Siniscalchi 🇺🇦Dec 31, 2022

@Rothtran @paulgp I don't know for sure -- we don't have such a rule at NU. I think it started at UPenn in the econ theory seminar.

What I do know is that many people in my line of work get visibly upset if there is no model by minute 10, and you can definitely tell by their body language 🙂

Show threadGarret CDec 29, 2022
@Rothtran @paulgp Wait, this is a thing? Love it, wish that was the default.
Show threadBrigitte Roth TranDec 30, 2022
@GarretHasOneT @paulgp Yes! We have been following it in the seminars at my jobs in recent years. It works great, in my view. But the willingness to implement such a guideline may correlate with a generally respectful culture to begin with. So I wonder about the causal impact.
Show threadGarret CDec 30, 2022
@Rothtran @paulgp Shared the newsletter with my group this morning and might try with our flyouts this recruiting cycle.
Show threadBrigitte Roth TranDec 30, 2022

@GarretHasOneT @paulgp Definitely worth a try! FWIW, I think I have mainly seen the 5-minute rule in action, not the 10-minite rule.

Five minutes has worked well and gives the presenter some time to get a good start but also gives people a chance to clear some things up without going super deep if there are clarifying questions.