ASA Member News Archive
ASA Member News December 2012
December 2012 Edition
Statistical Outreach & News
FORMER CENSUS DIRECTOR CHARLES LOUIS KINCANNON PASSES AWAY
Former Census Director Charles Louis Kincannon passed away the night of December 14. A member of the ASA for more than 35 years, Kincannon was director of the U.S. Census Bureau from 2002 to 2008. A short biography is available on the Census Bureau website. Also, his obituary can be found here. The leadership and staff of the American Statistical Association express their condolences to Kincannon’s family and friends.
COMMENTS WANTED FOR HOW TO BETTER SUPPORT THE STATISTICAL SCIENCES WITHIN NSF
“StatsNSF,” the committee recently charged with examining the structure of support for the statistical sciences within the National Science Foundation (NSF), is requesting the American Statistical Association’s help in gathering comments from the statistical community. Please send your comments for how to bolster statistics at NSF to president@amstat.org. Read more here.
ASA PRESIDENT ASKS ASA MEMBERS TO HELP AVOID STEEP BUDGET CUTS TO NSF, NIH, AND FEDERAL STATISTICS AGENCIES
ASA President Bob Rodriguez contacted ASA members in the United States earlier this month, asking that they urge their senators and representatives to prevent the 8.2% cuts to NSF, NIH, and the federal statistical agencies set to take effect in January. Rodriguez warned the cuts would mean statisticians and biostatisticians seeing far fewer funding opportunities and statistical agencies having to scale back their vital work. Rodriguez’s email provided three ways to communicate this message to elected officials. For more information, see this ASA Community blog entry.
ASA FELLOW ROD LITTLE WRITES ON ROLE OF FEDERAL STATISTICAL AGENCIES AS GUARDIANS OF DEMOCRACY
ASA Fellow and board member Rod Little extolled the importance of the U.S. Census Bureau to U.S. society and governance in his piece, "Statisticians: Guardians of Democracy," published in the fall issue of the University of Michigan School of Public Health's publication Findings. Addressing issues such as the "public perception that [Census Bureau employees] do the Decennial Census and then twiddle their collective thumbs for 10 years," Little provides many examples to justify statements like "The knowledge generated from government statistical agencies like the Census Bureau forms the backbone of our information society." ASA Director of Science Policy Steve Pierson urges ASA members to share this piece with your nonstatistician friends and elected officials.
FRANKLIN, GOULD TALK K–12 STATS ED ON GOOGLE+
On November 28, ASA members Christine Franklin and Rob Gould were featured guests during a Google+ Policy by the Numbers Hangout on Air talk about K–12 statistics education. With the ever-increasing number of students taking AP Statistics each year and the inclusion of statistics in the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics, Franklin and Gould addressed the value of statistical literacy, the increasing interest among students, preparing teachers for teaching statistics, and the importance of teaching students using real data sets. Click here to watch this informative session.
STATISTICS2013 LAUNCH VIDEO RELEASED
The International Year of Statistics launch video is now available for you to view, use, and distribute. Created by SAS, the video does an excellent job portraying the many and varied ways that statistics affects our lives. We encourage you to view the video; post it to your organization’s website; email the link to your coworkers; share it with your organization’s stakeholders; promote it to the public, media, and other external audiences in your area; and show it at your organization’s meetings and other events. The members of the Statistics2013 Steering Committee send a special thank you to SAS leadership and staff for their support of the International Year of Statistics and especially for developing and producing the Statistics2013 launch video. Titled “Improving Human Welfare in 2013 International Year of Statistics,” the video is accessible via the SAS YouTube channel.
To receive updates about ASA science policy activities or news, follow us on Twitter: @ASA_SciPol. See recent Tweets at http://www.amstat.org/policy/.
Meetings, Education, & Events
USING R EFFECTIVELY TO CONDUCT LINEAR REGRESSION ANALYSIS - Webinar – January 7, 2013
This webinar demonstrates the effective use of R for performing linear regression analyses while emphasizing good practices to be followed when implementing them in R and the importance of correctly interpreting the results produced by R. After attending this webinar, participants will be able to develop their own R workflow for conducting linear regression analyses based on the R commands and statistical analysis and interpretation practices covered during the webinar. To learn more and to register, visit the website.
MAXIMIZING THE USE OF SAS PROC TABULATE - Webinar – January 30, 2013
This unique webinar explores core syntax options for up to 26 key summary table structures, including mixing both continuous and categorical data with ODS. By applying the simple SAS examples provided throughout the webinar, you can master SAS Proc Tabulate in your daily programming environment. Each participant receives the companion SAS e-guide, which is a great reference tool for searching, cutting, and pasting concise model SAS examples. To learn more and to register, visit the website.
2013 ASA CONFERENCE ON STATISTICAL PRACTICE – New Orleans, LA – February 21–23, 2013
Join us for the Conference on Statistical Practice. CSP 2013 brings together hundreds of statistical practitioners—including data analysts, researchers, and scientists—who engage in the application of statistics to solve real-world problems on a daily basis. The conference will provide an opportunity to learn about the latest statistical methodologies and best practices in statistical design, analysis, programming, and consulting. Learn more about CSP short courses, including “Seven Techniques to Maximize Speech Clarity if English Is Your Second Language.” View the tentative program. Register now.
6TH ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM "INNOVATIONS IN DESIGN, ANALYSIS, AND DISSEMINATION: FRONTIERS IN BIOSTATISTICAL METHODS - Kansas City,Missouri - April 18-19
The Kansas-Western Missouri Chapter of the American Statistical Association, the department of biostatistics at The University of Kansas Medical Center, and Cerner Corporation are pleased to announce the 6th annual symposium, “Innovations in Design, Analysis, and Dissemination: Frontiers in Biostatistical Methods.” Sharon-Lise T. Normand of Harvard University will deliver the keynote address. Thomas Love will provide a pre-symposium short course, titled "Using Propensity Scores to Design and Analyze Observational Studies,". To recognize the International Year of Statistics, Marie Davidian and William Neal Reynolds Professor in the department of statistics at North Carolina State University and president-elect of the American Statistical Association, will present the ASA presidential address in honor of the International Year of Statistics. Registration information, a current schedule of events, and details can be found on the website. Please check back for updates.
DELEGATION TO CUBA – May 19–24, 2013
The ASA is organizing a delegation to Cuba May 19–24 to develop an improved understanding of the roles played by statistics and statisticians in Cuba in academe, business, and government, as well as the efforts under way to train statisticians and build capacity for the profession. 2013 ASA President Marie Davidian will lead the delegation, which will discuss matters of common interest regarding the development of statistical capacity in the work force. Participants will learn about how statisticians are trained in Cuba and share information about statistical work force development in the United States. ASA members are invited to join in this unique opportunity. Look for an email message from the ASA inviting you to participate.
JSM 2013 – Montréal, Québec, Canada – August 3–8, 2013
JSM 2013 abstract submission is currently open. New for 2013, consider submitting an abstract for a new SPEED session (five minutes of oral presentation time with full presentation at an electronic poster session the same day). For further information and to submit an abstract, please visit the website. We will be accepting abstracts until February 4, 2013, at 11:59 p.m. EST.This year’s meetings also will celebrate the International Year of Statistics. Learn more about Montréal’s European charm and extensive cultural happenings.
2013 ASA BIOPHARMACEUTICAL SECTION FDA-INDUSTRY STATISTICS WORKSHOP – Washington, DC – September 16–18, 2013
The FDA-Industry Statistics workshop invites proposals for plenary/concurrent sessions, short courses, and roundtable luncheon/town hall discussions. The deadline for submission of plenary/concurrent sessions and short courses is December 31. Proposals for roundtable luncheon/town hall discussion will be accepted through March 1, 2013.
EVENTS CALENDAR
Statistical events are happening around the country and the globe. View our Upcoming Events Calendar.
Off the Press
AMSTAT NEWS
AAAS + STATISTICS = U
The work of statisticians should be known and appreciated by the broader scientific community and the public. This challenge motivates one of Marie Davidian’s initiatives as ASA president-elect: to increase the visibility of statisticians and their work. A special focus is enhancing visibility among other scientists by strengthening the ASA’s ties with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science. Read more.
SIGNIFICANCE MAGAZINE ONLINE WEB EXCLUSIVES
UNEMPLOYMENT IS HIGHEST AND LOWEST EVER – AT THE SAME TIME
More women than ever before are employed today, yet more women than ever before are still unemployed. Sound like a contradiction? This article says it is technically fact. Read more to find out why.
Read more web exclusives from Significance.
Member Opportunities
ASA ANNOUNCES 2013 MEMBERSHIP RATES
The ASA Board of Directors approved membership rates for 2013 during the August board meeting. View the membership rates.
GIVE THE GIFT OF SIGNIFICANCE TO YOUR LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL!
Help your local high school introduce the power of statistics to our children through a tax-deductible gift subscription to Significance magazine. Significance articles are nontechnical, appealing to everyone interested in statistics and the analysis and interpretation of data. The magazine communicates and demonstrates, in an entertaining and thought-provoking way, the practical use of statistics in all walks of life and shows how statistics benefit society. Provide your local high school with a subscription today.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY SUMMER RESEARCH PROGRAM FOR MSIS
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is offering faculty and students at minority-serving institutions an opportunity to participate in a 10-week summer research team experience at university-based DHS centers of excellence as part of its DHS Summer Research Program for Minority Serving Institutions. At the end of the summer, faculty participants are encouraged to apply for up to $50,000 in funding to continue the research collaboration at their home academic institutions during the following academic year. More information, including eligibility guidelines and application forms, can be found on the website.
2013 POSTER AND PROJECT COMPETITIONS
Introduce K–12 students to statistics through the annual poster and project competitions directed by the ASA/NCTM Joint Committee on Curriculum in Statistics and Probability. The competitions offer opportunities for students to formulate questions and collect, analyze, and draw conclusions from data. Winners will be recognized with plaques, cash prizes, certificates, and calculators, and their names will be published in Amstat News. Posters (grades K–12) are due every year on April 1. Projects (grades 7–12) are due on June 1. For more information, visit www.amstat.org/education/posterprojects.
INFORM NEW ACTIVITIES, PROGRAMS TO SUPPORT K–16 MATHEMATICS, STATISTICS EDUCATION
The National Science Foundation (NSF), in cooperation with the U.S Department of Education, is interested in input that can inform new activities and programs to support and improve K–16 mathematics education.The working group is viewing mathematics to broadly include pure and applied math, statistics, and the computational sciences. For more information and to provide input regarding K–16 mathematics and statistics education, see the NSF Dear Colleague letter and survey.
PROJECT-SET
Project-SET is a new National Science Foundation–funded project to develop curricular materials that enhance the ability of high-school teachers to foster students’ statistical learning regarding sampling variability and regression. All materials will be geared toward helping high-school teachers implement the Common Core State Standards for statistics and are closely aligned with the learning goals outlined in Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education (GAISE) Report: A Pre-K–12 Curriculum Framework. Materials will be available in January of 2013.
LESSON PLANS AVAILABLE/WANTED ON STATISTICS EDUCATION WEB FOR K–12 TEACHERS
STatistics Education Web (STEW) is an online resource for peer-reviewed lesson plans for K–12 teachers. The lesson plans identify both the statistical concepts being developed and the age range appropriate for their use. Lesson plans will showcase the use of statistical methods and ideas in science and mathematics based on the framework and levels in the Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education (GAISE). The editor of STEW, Mary Richardson of Grand Valley State University, is accepting submissions of lesson plans for an online bank of peer-reviewed lessons for K–12 teachers of mathematics and science. Consider submitting several of your favorite lesson plans according to the STEW template to steweditor@amstat.org.
ASA ACCREDITATION PROGRAM CONTINUES TO GROW
The ASA’s accreditation program recently expanded the benefits of becoming an Accredited Professional Statistician. ASA accreditation is a portfolio-based credential available to only ASA members. It is completely voluntary and intended for those who think such a credential would be meaningful in their professional lives. New benefits include free LearnStat on Demand access, a 20% discount on regular Continuing Education courses, and special recognition. The ASA would like to congratulate the following people who became accredited members during the month of November: Ji-Hyun Lee of Moffitt Caner Center, Albert Lee of Summit Consulting LLC, and Robert Muenchen of the University of Tennessee. A full list of accredited members is also available. To find out how to start enjoying extra benefits today, visit the accreditation website and review the guidelines to be sure of your eligibility.
AWARDS, FELLOWSHIPS, & CONTESTS
ASA AWARDS AND DEADLINES - Deadline: Various
ASA/NSF/BEA Fellowship – Deadline: January 18, 2013
2013 ASA/NSF/BLS FELLOWSHIPS – Deadline: January 20, 2013
International Year of Statistics: Video Contest – Deadline: February 28, 2013
Causality in Statistics Education Award – Deadline: February 28, 2013
Feedback, comments, or suggestions are welcome please email asamail@amstat.org with your ideas.