SLAMM! IA 2013


SLAMM! 2013 will be hosted by the Department of Political Science at the University of Iowa on Friday, April 19. After 5 successful years under Jeff Gill at Washington University, SLAMM! is finally hitting the road. We are excited to host the premier regional methods meeting in the country and promise a program filled with high quality political methodology research and an experience harkening back to the smaller, more intimate Political Methodology Summer meetings of yore (ask your advisor).

Support for SLAMM! IA is provided by the Department of Political Science. Planning and coordination handled by Fred Boehmke.

Registration


For those interested in attending SLAMM 2013, please fill out our registration form by March 15. There is no registration fee for SLAMM!.


Program


Our prelimary program (subject to change). All presentations will take place in S401 Pappajohn Business Building, at the corner of Clinton and Jefferson streets.
8:30-9:30 Breakfast on site
9:30-9:45 Welcome
9:45-10:45 Lightning talks
1.    Olga Chyzh
2.    Scott Cook
3.    Bryce Dietrich
4.    Rebecca Kreitzer
5.    Jamie Monogan
6.    Mark Nieman
7.    Evangeline Reynolds
8.    Jonathan  Ring
9.    Emily Schilling
10.    Keith Schnakenberg
11.    Caroline Tolbert
12.    Yang Zhang
11:00-12:15 "Randomization Inference in the Regression Discontinuity Design" (pdf)
     Rocio Titiunik, University of Michigan
Discussant: Jake Bowers, University of Illinois
12:15-1:45 Lunch at One Twenty Six (upstairs), 126 E. Washington Ave (map)
2:00-3:00 "Spatial Analysis of Population Health: Pitfalls and Potential of Integrating Genetics and Geography" (pdf)
     Margaret Carrel, University of Iowa Department of Geography
3:30-4:45 "Revealing Latent Clusters from Dirichlet Process Mixtures Models Using Product Partitions" (pdf)
     Jeff Gill, Washington Univerisity
Discussant: Kate Cowles, University of Iowa, Department of Statistics
6:30-9:00 Dinner at Takanami, 219 Iowa Avenue (map).

Travel


The University of Iowa is located in Iowa City, a couple miles off of Interstate 80. It takes about 3.5 to 4.5 hours to drive from Chicago, Minneapolis, or (most notably) St Louis.

The closest airport is the Eastern Iowa Airport (CID) in Cedar Rapids, about 25 minutes away.  Airport Express (800-383-2219), Airport Shuttle Service (800-725-8460), and Airport Super Shuttle (319-626-5466) offer car and shuttle van service to Iowa City. Reservations are recommended. Taxi service is also available. The fare should be around $30-$35. Try Marco's Taxi (319) 337-8294; Five Stars Taxi (319) 358-5859; or Black and Gold Cab Company (319) 887-1976.

Accommodations


We recommend staying at the Sheraton Iowa City in dowtown Iowa City. Space is limited (there is another conference in town that weekend), but special rates may be available through the Department. Contact Fred Boehmke with your arrival and departure date to see if any space at our rate is available.

For alternate accommodations, we recommend that those interested in even more deluxe accommodations consider the Hotel Vetro, which is affiliated with the Sheraton but does not feature a special conference rate.

For those with cars, there are a number of cheaper hotels available with one to two miles of downtown. The new University Area Hampton Inn is particularly close. The Travelodge on Dodge Street is also relatively close, more affordable, and on city bus lines.

Guests should dlan to arrive on Thursday evening and depart on Saturday morning.


Conference Venue


The conference will meet in the Pappajohn Business Building in Room S401.


Parking


If you plan to stay at the Sheraton or Vetro, you should park in their lot. The meeting space is close, so you won't need your car while you are in town. If you plan to stay further away or drive in for the day, there are city parking lots very near the conference area. I would recommend the Tower Place ramp.