Some Reading For After the Course Concludes

Here is a brief annotated list of things you might look at.  Only the last one is specifically economics.

1.  Finish reading B&D.  It is a good and interesting book.  The second half is on leadership, which we didn't mention at all.  Perhaps we should have spent more time on other parts of the book than Chapter 8.  Particularly, the parts on politics and on the symbolic frame are interesting and perhaps things outside your current experience.

2.  Schon The Reflective Practitioner - I think of teaching as reflective practice.  Nobody mentioned this in their comments but the blogging could very well have been about things after we covered them in class.  Your learning should be reflective practice too.  Sometimes this is called metacognition.

3.  NAS How People Learn - The first few chapters are very useful, particularly the one on the expert-novice distinction and the next one on transfer.

4. Ericsson et. al.  The Role of Deliberate Practice - The issue of why some people plateau while others keep on learning has to do with deliberate practice, which means on an ongoing basis trying things that are a little bit out of reach but not totally impossible.  It takes a lot of determination to do that or it takes turning the activity into something fun so you persist at it.

5.  Herbert Simon's Nobel Lecture - While this essay was mentioned in the Syllabus at the outset, we didn't spend any time on it.  Now you may be ready to appreciate the ideas that are in it.

6.  Alchian and Demzetz on Economic Organization - This is the definitive piece on the firm as arising from team production and the need for a "residual claimant" to address the monitoring and incentive issues. This is a scholarly paper published in the American Economic Review, one of the very top journals.  But there is no math.  You might find the writing style a bit hard at first because they are writing for academics, not a general audience.

An Interesting Read That Might Help You With The Blogging

TP Msg. #1209 The Practice of Writing | Tomorrow's Professor Blog via kwout

Update

First, let me apologize to the class for the cloud of uncertainty the situation with my shoulder has created in addition to the already missed classes. Here is what I know now about my health. But before that a word on my technology capabilities from the hospital.

I can post messages like this one (obviously) but I can' do it for a long time, because I'm connected to a bunch of wires and it is awkward to do.I don't have access to Excel here. So I can't finish and then post the now infamous homework on bargaining. Nor can I post the grades from midterm1 and from the first half of your blog posts. All of that can be taken care of, I hope in short order, once I return home.

I have an infection under my skin but so far above the shoulder. So it is bad, but it would be worse if it were in the shoulder. The treatment is to take antibiotic via IV and then with medicine applied locally to the shoulder. Every time they clean the area and apply new medicine locally, that is a trip to the OR. I have now had two of these with a third scheduled, probably for Sunday. I expect to go home after that, likely on Monday.

If once home, I can take a pill instead of the IV then I probably can teach class the rest of the semester. If I need to have an IV like thing at home, then I will be stuck at home. I'd prefer not to entertain that possibility at present. But you should be aware that it is possible, which would mean the class would turn into an online offering in some fashion as the only means to close out the semester.

I should know which of these possibilities will happen after the next trip to the OR and will post about that a few hours after it happens.

Again, let me apologize to the class for the uncertainty this situation has created. I know that none of you signed up for it.

Professor Arvan

Sent from my iPad

Reminder David Kinley Lecture This Thursday

Austan Goolsbee

Public Lecture – “ America’s Economy and the World: Why the Long Face?”

4:00-5:30 pm

Knight Auditorium, Spurlock Museum

Reception to Follow

Goolsbee was an economic adviser to then candidate Barack Obama in 2008.  Recently he served as Chair of the President's Council of Economic Advisers.  I'm guessing that the talk will be, at least in part, a reflection of that experience.

Noble Nobel

Al  Roth won the Nobel Prize in Economics along with Lloyd Shapley.  The story is here.

A Eulogy for Arthur Ochs Sulzberger

Sulzberger was the publisher of the NY Times.  This piece makes him seem a saint.  I'm sure he wasn't that.  The piece is useful to us because it shows what attributes of senior management are prized by those who work under that management, particularly in news organizations.

A good read that is relevant to our class

Doug Glanville has an unusual combination of gifts.  He is a graduate of Yale and he is former Major League Baseball player.  Now, among the things he does, he is a writer.  This column about brotherhood, meant as a tribute to his dad, gives an eloquent description of the social climate to be found in an organization bound by "the invisible handshake."

Annual David Kinley Lecture

When:  Thurs, Oct 25, 4 - 5:30
Where:  Spurlock Museum, Knight Auditorium
Who: Austan Goolsbee
Topic: AMERICA’S ECONOMY AND THE WORLD: WHY THE LONG FACE?

home after my procedure

the thing itself went ok.  but i'm groggy from the pain meds.  we'll figure out in a day or two the effect on our class.

Cheating and Social Responsibility

This Op-Ed from the NY Times makes you want to ask whether the same sort of attitudes prevail outside of academia.  There is a concept known as the white lie.  One should whether that in itself is benign or if it paves the path to much darker falsehoods.

The piece is also interesting in asking whether Harvard students are so different from those at the U of I.

Rotator Cuff Surgery

I will have a procedure to fix my right shoulder on September 21, a Friday.  I'm not quite sure how the following week will go.  If I'm on strong pain medication, teaching may be difficult.  If it's only over the counter stuff, then I think I can manage.  So I thought I'd alert the class so we can plan for some alternative if I will be drugged up that next week.  (Canceling class without any substitute activity might make some students happy, but it is below my bar for a reasonable alternative.)  In any event, we should discuss this when it gets closer to the actual date.

Please be careful this weekend.

From: Chancellor Phyllis M. Wise [mailto:chancellor@illinois.edu]
Sent: Thursday, August 30, 2012 2:16 PM
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Subject: MASSMAIL - Possibility of Dangerously High Water - Please Register for Emergency Alert Messages

			Dear members of the campus community: The National Weather Service is predicting that the remnants of Hurricane Isaac could drop as much as 10 inches of rain on the Champaign-Urbana area. If you have not already done so, please register for the campus emergency messaging system, Illini Alert, at http://emergency.illinois.edu. Also, when the storm arrives, please use caution when traveling around campus. High water can be extremely dangerous. Although street crews are clearing drains in the community, heavy rains often cause temporary - but dangerous - flooding in the campus area. If you are planning to attend this weekend's athletic events, please know that the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics department is closely monitoring the weather and will alert fans of any changes in schedules, and is prepared with evacuation plans for athletic facilities. Visit http://fightingillini.com for the latest information. Have a safe weekend, and thank you for registering at http://emergency.illinois.edu. Sincerely, Phyllis M. Wise Vice President, University of Illinois Chancellor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
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