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CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENT

Second Joint Japan-North America Conference on Mathematical Sociology(May 31 - June 2, 2002) Coast Plaza Suite Hotel at Stanley Park Vancouver, BC, Canada

Organized by the Mathematical Sociology Section of the American Sociological Association, in cooperation with Japanese mathematical sociologists, and designed to continue and expand on the successful First Joint Japan-America Conference held in Hawaii in 2000.

Sessions: Conference sessions will accommodate papers on various formal, mathematical, methodological and computational approaches (both qualitative and quantitative) to the study of social phenomena, including: Formal and Mathematical Models Social Networks Methodology and Statistics Rational Action and Rational Choice Group Processes Computational Social Science and Simulation Theory and Meta-Theory Applications and Empirical Studies Abstracts of papers to be presented should be 250 - 300 words in length and submitted by e-mail to Eugene Johnsen at johnsen@math.ucsb.edu or via air mail to his address below. They should include title of paper, names of all authors and their professional affiliations, and regular mail and e-mail addresses. Deadline for Abstracts: April 8, 2002 An overhead projector will be furnished for all presentations.

Registration: Fee (including banquet): US$95 - employed professionals US$65 - students and unemployed professionals (please submit information verifying these statuses)

Deadline for Conference Registration: April 8, 2002. Send registration and fee by check made payable in US$ to Eugene Johnsen - Math Soc Conference Department of Mathematics University of California Santa Barbara, CA 93106-3080, U.S.A. Japanese participants should submit abstracts and arrange their registration and fee payment by March 1, 2002 with Professor Yoshimichi Sato Faculty of Arts and Letters Tohoku University Kawauchi, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8576, Japan e-mail: ysato@sal.tohoku.ac.jp -

Accomodations: Coast Plaza Suite Hotel in Vancouver: According to someone who lives there, this hotel is "... in a perfect part of the city -- close to the beach and Stanley Park, close to the downtown core, over 50 restaurants within a 3-block radius, ... " Hotel Rooms are at conference rates, taxes not included (mention that you are with the conference): Standard Rooms: Can$175 single/double occupancy One Bedroom Suites: Can$205 single/double occupancy Additional Persons: Can$20 per person, per night, per room Children under 18 stay free in same room as parents Rates valid for 3 days prior and 3 days following conference, subject to availability Reserve rooms directly with the hotel: Coast Plaza Suite Hotel at Stanley Park 1763 Comox Street Vancouver, BC V6G 1P6, Canada phones: (800) 663-1144, (604) 688-7711 fax: (604) 688-5934 Book your rooms as soon as possible, and certainly by April 8, 2002. Conference rates are subject to availability, since only a limited number of rooms have been set aside for the conference. After April 30, rooms at this hotel are subject to availability but conference rates are no longer applicable. Current published rates are Can$230-345 for Standard Rooms and Can$280-500 for Suites.

Questions? Send inquiries to Eugene Johnsen at johnsen@math.ucsb.edu

Background: One object of this conference is to familiarize mathematical social scientists from the U.S. and other countries with the work of their Japanese counterparts, much of which is published only in Japanese and thus relatively inaccessible to English and other language speakers. We are particularly interested in fostering professional acculturation and scholarly exchange among Japanese and American students and faculty and professionals in the social sciences. In Japan, mathematical sociologists are much more interdisciplinary than in the U.S. and include economists, mathematical biologists, and mathematicians as well. These are disciplines either poorly represented or completely missing in the Mathematical Sociology Section of the American Sociological Association. Thus, Japanese mathematical sociology includes perspectives in which American and other sociologists are probably less well informed, such as bio-sociology and rational choice from evolutionary game-theoretic perspectives.

Other Information: Following the conference banquet on May 31 there will be an invited panel discussing subjects in mathematical social science of common interest to both Japanese and other participants. We are attempting to obtain financial support from NSF to cover much of the cost for U.S. and Japanese student participants to attend the conference. American students will experience many benefits from the conference. Some will learn what Japanese mathematical sociologists are doing and, because of the greater disciplinary heterogeneity among the Japanese, they can gain exposure to mathematical work by economists and biologists. They will be able to interact with Japanese sociologists, which may lead to future collaborations. Finally, they will be able to present their own work, a particularly valuable experience at the start of their careers. Patrick Doreian, Editor, has indicated that papers presented at this conference will be considered for publication in one or more special issues of the Journal of Mathematical Sociology.