ASA Member News Archive
ASA Member News January 2013
January 2013 Edition
Statistical Outreach & News
INPUT WANTED ON SUPPORT FOR STATISTICAL SCIENCES AT NSF
ASA President Marie Davidian is asking members in the United States to respond to questions regarding the statistical sciences and the National Science Foundation. Davidian requests such input at the request of “StatsNSF,” the NSF committee charged with examining the current structure of support for the statistical sciences. Noting the opportunity to influence how the statistical sciences are supported by the NSF, Davidian urges ASA members to email her at president@amstat.org by February 1. For more information, see this ASA Community blog entry.
FISCAL CLIFF DEAL DELAYS ACROSS-THE-BOARD BUDGET CUTS; THREAT TO BUDGETS OF NIH, NSF AND, FEDERAL STATISTICAL AGENCIES REMAINS
The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, signed into law by President Obama early this year, averted tax increases for most Americans and delayed the across-the-board budget cuts for two months. However, ASA members in the United States are urged to communicate again to their U.S. senators and representatives the importance of the NIH, NSF, and federal statistical agencies. For more information, see this ASA Community blog entry.
POLICY FELLOWSHIP FOR SCIENTISTS/TEACHERS
There are numerous opportunities for scientists to spend a year working with policymakers. ASA Director of Science Policy Steve Pierson urges statisticians to apply for such fellowships, pointing out the opportunity to bring statistics to policymakers and for statisticians to better understand the needs of policymakers. See this ASA Community blog entry for more information and this ASA Community blog entry to read the five lessons learned by an applied mathematician who spent a year in the U.S. Senate.
KINCANNON TRIBUTES
Both The Washington Post and National Public Radio paid tribute to the late former U.S. Census Bureau Director C. Louis Kincannon. Read about these tributes and others in this ASA Community blog entry.
EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGIST URGES FELLOW BIOLOGIST, REVIEWERS, AND PUBLISHERS TO BETTER GRASP BASIC STATISTICS
Writing in Nature magazine last month and noting the "incidence of papers in cell and molecular biology that have basic statistical mistakes is alarming," David L. Vaux provides a short summary of basic statistics he urges his fellow experimental biologists to master. Acknowledging some criticism of the statistical guidance, ASA Science Policy Director Steve Pierson points out the advantage of the messenger not being a statistician in this ASA Community blog entry and the opportunities for the International Year of Statistics.
ASA RESPONDS TO SPRINGFIELD REPUBLICAN OP-ED
On January 3, the Springfield (Mass.) Republican newspaper ran an editorial that was less than flattering of statistics. ASA drafted a response and board member Nick Horton, who lives and works near Springfield, signed the letter to the paper’s op-ed editor. The Horton-ASA letter was published January 6. If you see an editorial or article about statistics in your local newspaper or other publication to which you think the ASA should respond, please forward it to Jeff Myers, ASA’s public relations coordinator, at Jeffrey@amstat.org. He will work with you to draft a letter you can submit to the editor or other appropriate individual at the publication.
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
MAXIMIZING THE USE OF SAS PROC TABULATE WEBINAR – JANUARY 30
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.
APPROXIMATE BAYESIAN COMPUTATION (ABC) TO COMPUTE AND DISPLAY PRIORS AND POSTERIORS WEBINAR – FEBRUARY 14
This course will explore the potential uses of ABC, with numerous applications. The goals are to provide a full understanding of Bayesian inference using ABC, while avoiding complex analytical and computational problems, and to provide adequate training so that ABC can be applied in realistic applications to clearly set out the logic involved, even if complex analytical and computational methods cannot be fully avoided. To learn more or to register, visit the website.
ASA CONFERENCE ON STATISTICAL PRACTICE – New Orleans, LA – February 21–23
Join us for the Conference on Statistical Practice. CSP 2013 will bring 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. This year’s conference will be held at the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel, in the heart of New Orleans and near the French Quarter. This hotel has recently been fully renovated. The deadline for reserving your room in the CSP room block is January 25. All guest rooms booked by ASA attendees will feature complimentary Internet service. Check out all the things to do in New Orleans!
THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA 6th ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON STATISTICAL ISSUES IN CLINICAL TRIALS: Dynamic Treatment – Philadelphia, Pa – april 17
The 2013 conference will bring together leading scientists, who will make presentations and lead open discussions about state-of-the-art and developing methods in new designs for evaluating treatment strategies when regular time-varying adaptive changes in treatment are expected. People from academic institutions, industry, and governmental agencies with an interest in contributing to these discussions are encouraged to register. The conference will be held at the Biomedical Research Building Auditorium on the campus of the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Registration deadline is April 4. For program and registration materials, go to the website. For further information, contact Marissa Fox at (215) 573-2728.
DELEGATION TO CUBA – MAY 19–24
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
JSM 2013 abstract submission is 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 http://www.amstat.org/meetings/jsm/2013/abstracts.cfm. We will accept abstracts until February 4 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
The 2013 FDA-Industry Statistics workshop will be held September 16–18 at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park, Washington, DC. Roundtable discussions will take place during lunch on September 17. Each table will accommodate 8–10 participants. Roundtable discussion topic proposals will be accepted through March 1. For more information and to submit a proposal, visit the proposal submission website.
EVENTS CALENDAR
Statistical events are happening around the country and the globe. View our Upcoming Events Calendar.
Off the Press
AMSTAT NEWS
INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF STATISTICS TO INCREASE VISIBILITY OF PROFESSION
Statistic2013 is a worldwide celebration and recognition of the contributions of statistical science. It is a grassroots effort involving more than 1,300 organizations from more than 100 countries. Through the combined energies of these organizations worldwide, Statistics2013 is promoting the importance of statistics to the broader scientific community, business and government data users, the media, policymakers, employers, students, and the general public. Read more.
SIGNIFICANCE MAGAZINE ONLINE WEB EXCLUSIVES
RPI VERSUS CPI: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE? WHY DOES IT MATTER? WILL IT MAKE YOU POORER OR RICHER?
This article examines the difference between RPI (Retail Price Index) and CPI (Consumer Price Index) and how they affect the way inflation is measured. Read more.
Read more web exclusives from Significance.
Featured ASA Articles
The following articles have been chosen by the ASA Editors to be freely available for a limited time. Pass these on to friends and colleagues.
JASA
APPLICATIONS AND CASE STUDIES
"Modeling Criminal Careers as Departures from a Unimodal Population Age–Crime Curve: The Case of Marijuana Use," by Donatello Telesca et al.
THEORY AND METHODS
"Correct Ordering in the Zipf–Poisson Ensemble," by Justin S. Dyer & Art B. Owen
REVIEW ARTICLE
"Instrumental Variable Estimators for Binary Outcomes," by Paul S. Clarke and Frank Windmeijer
THE AMERICAN STATISTICIAN
"The Equivalence of Neyman Optimum Allocation for Sampling and Equal Proportions for Apportioning the U.S. House of Representatives," by Tommy Wright
JOURNAL OF BUSINESS & ECONOMIC STATISTICS
"Generalized Shrinkage Methods for Forecasting Using Many Predictors," by James H. Stock and Mark W. Watson
"Further Results on the Limiting Distribution of GMM Sample Moment Conditions,” by Nikolay Gospodinov, Raymond Kan, and Cesare Robotti
JOURNAL OF COMPUTATIONAL AND GRAPHICAL STATISTICS
"A Brief History of Statistical Models for Network Analysis and Open Challenges," by Stephen E. Fienberg
"Statistical Challenges in Biological Networks," by George Michailidis
"Computational Statistical Methods for Social Network Models," by David R. Hunter, Pavel N. Krivitsky, and Michael Schweinberger
TECHNOMETRICS
"A General Strategy for Analyzing Data from Split-Plot and Multistratum Experimental Designs," by Peter Goos and Steven G. Gilmour
STATISTICS IN BIOPHARMACEUTICAL RESEARCH
"Estimation of AUC or Partial AUC Under Test-Result-Dependent Sampling," by Xiaofei Wang et al.
"On the Time to Conclusion of Phase II Cancer Clinical Trials and Its Application in Trial Designs," by Ying Lu and Sheng-hua Kelly Fan
Member Opportunities
CALL FOR NOMINATIONS: INTERNATIONAL REPRESENTATIVE TO THE ASA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The ASA solicits nominations for candidates for International Representative to the Board of Directors. Nominees must reside outside the United States and have continuously been members of the ASA since January 1, 2009. Please send your suggestions to Pam Craven.
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS IN IMMIGRATION RESEARCH
The National Center for Border Security and Immigration (BORDERS), headquartered at the University of Arizona, is pleased to announce a competitive research opportunity to address current challenges in immigration studies. Each project will be funded at approximately $100,000. The performance period is one year and will begin on June 1. Proposals are due March 1. This effort, sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of University Programs, invites qualified researchers to propose projects that will provide DHS stakeholders, policymakers, and the public with contemporary and innovative research that addresses current research challenges in immigration studies. View the full RFP and application materials.
SPAIG COMMITTEE WANTS TO KNOW YOUR SALARY
Once again, the Statistical Partnerships among Academe, Industry, and Government (SPAIG) committee of the American Statistical Association (ASA) will be conducting the biannual salary survey of the ASA members employed with Business, Industry, and Government (B/I/G). As in the past, the premise of this survey is that there is no other salary information for this group of people or for a comparable group. The ASA has contracted with Georgia Regents University’s Biostatistics Consulting and Survey Center to conduct the survey. An invitation to participate will be emailed in a few weeks to B/I/G ASA members, followed by email reminders, as necessary. If you have any comments/suggestions for the survey, please contact SPAIG committee chair Barry Nussbaum (Nussbaum.Barry@epamail.epa.gov) or GRU-BCSC director James Dias (jdias@gru.edu) as soon as possible.
THE SRI LANKAN JOURNAL OF APPLIED STATISTICS CALL FOR PAPERS
SLJAS is a refereed journal started in 2000 that publishes the results of original work on applications of statistics and theoretical and methodical aspects of statistics. The journal also welcomes critical reviews, including conceptual discussions, opinions, and book reviews. Applications of statistics in the area of agriculture and forestry; medical, dental, and veterinary sciences; natural, physical, and social sciences; economics; and actuarial science fall within the scope of the journal. SLJAS is now accepting paper submissions. Each paper is reviewed by experts in the particular subject area of the paper, selected from an international panel of reviewers appointed for the purpose. Papers recommended by at least two reviewers are accepted for publication. Papers should be submitted to the editor of the journal with a letter of submission. Instructions to authors are available at the IASSL website
CALL FOR PAPERS: THE COMMUNICATIONS FOR STATISTICAL APPLICATIONS AND METHODS
The Communications for Statistical Applications and Methods (CSAM), formerly Korean Communications in Statistics and one of the official journals of the Korean Statistical Society since 1994, is accepting manuscripts for publication in English. CSAM publishes articles on theoretical and methodological research in the areas of statistics and probability. It welcomes articles on innovative applications of the statistical methodology and statistical education. All manuscripts are peer-reviewed for their content and contributions to the advancement of statistical applications and methods. Please submit your manuscript online.
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 at http://www.orau.gov/dhseducation/faculty/index.html.
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 are 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.
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 December: Lynn Palmer of ASA, Samuel J. Gardner of SAS Institute, and James Wendelberger of Urban Science Applications, Inc. 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
GEORGE W. SNEDECOR AWARD – DEADLINE EXTENDED: January 30
INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF STATISTICS: VIDEO CONTEST – Deadline: February 28
CAUSALITY IN STATISTICS EDUCATION AWARD – Deadline: February 28
2013 MU SIGMA RHO WILLIAM D. WARDE STATISTICAL EDUCATION AWARD – Deadline: March 18
Feedback, comments, or suggestions are welcome please email asamail@amstat.org with your ideas.