ASA Member News Archive

Welcome to the April edition of ASA Member News, the ASA's monthly e-newsletter.

STATbit

Did you know April is Mathematics Awareness Month? Join the American Statistical Association, the American Mathematical Society, the Mathematical Association of America, and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics as they celebrate mathematics. The theme for 2009 is “Mathematics and Climate.”

In Amstat News

AMSTAT NEWS ONLINE

Amstat News, the monthly membership magazine of the American Statistical Association, is available online.

Upcoming Deadlines

PROJECT COMPETITION DEADLINE FOR GRADES 10–12 EXTENDED – Deadline: May 30, 2009

Introduce K–12 students to statistics through the poster and project competitions directed by the ASA/NCTM Joint Committee on the Curriculum in Statistics and Probability. The competitions offer opportunities for students to formulate questions and collect, organize, analyze, and draw conclusions from data. Projects for grades 10–12 are now due May 30 to accommodate AP Statistics students who will be taking the AP Statistics exam in early May. Winners will be published in Amstat News and recognized with plaques, cash prizes, certificates, and calculators (donated by Texas Instruments).

NISS/ASA WRITING WORKSHOP FOR JUNIOR RESEARCHERS – Deadline: June 1, 2009

The National Institute of Statistical Science (NISS) and the ASA will hold a writing workshop for junior researchers. The goal of the workshop is to provide instruction in how to write journal articles and grant proposals. Applications are due by June 1, 2009, and successful applicants will be notified by June 30. Applications received after June 1 will be considered if space is available.

2009 NEW ENGLAND SYMPOSIUM ON STATISTICS IN SPORTS CALL FOR ABSTRACTS – Deadline: June 15, 2009

The 2009 New England Symposium on Statistics in Sports will be a meeting of statisticians and quantitative analysts connected with sports teams, sports media, and universities to discuss common problems of interest in statistical modeling and analysis of sports data. The symposium format will be a mixture of invited talks, a poster session, and a panel discussion. Students are particularly encouraged to submit abstracts; a prize will be awarded for the best student poster as decided by a panel of judges. Please email abstracts as a Word or plain text file by June 15, 2009, to nessis09@gmail.com for consideration. Further details about the conference, including registration information, are forthcoming.

Events Outlook

SPRING 2009 LEARNSTAT COURSES

Survival Analysis in Clinical Trials
Presenter: Danyu Lin, Department of Biostatistics, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
One-Day Course: Thursday, April 30
Location: Teaneck, New Jersey

Introduction to Meta-Analysis
Presenter: Michael Borenstein, Biostat
One-Day Course: Friday, May 1
Location: Teaneck, New Jersey

THE FEDERAL STATISTICAL SYSTEM—RECOGNIZING ITS CONTRIBUTIONS; MOVING IT FORWARD – Washington, DC – May 8, 2009

The symposium, hosted and organized by the Committee on National Statistics and the American Academy of Political and Social Science, has a stellar line up of speakers. It will be held at the National Academies Building in Washington, DC, and is cosponsored by the ASA.

GRAYBILL CONFERENCE VIII – Fort Collins, Colorado – June 22–26, 2009

This year’s Graybill Conference will bring together a wide range of researchers, practitioners, and graduate students whose work is related to the analysis of extreme values. The program emphasis will be on both probabilistic aspects and statistical modeling in a variety of applications. 

SEMINAR ON INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO TURN STATISTICS INTO KNOWLEDGE – Washington, DC – July 15–16, 2009

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, U.S. Census Bureau, and The World Bank are pleased to invite you to attend a jointly sponsored seminar themed “Innovative Approaches to Turn Statistics into Knowledge.” The seminar builds on the progress made during the successful seminars held in 2007 and 2008. The seminar focuses on the art of making statistics understandable and appealing to modern audiences. Leading-edge products will be showcased.

THIRD BIENNIAL UNITED STATES CONFERENCE ON TEACHING STATISTICS – Columbus, Ohio – June 25–27, 2009

The third biennial United States Conference on Teaching Statistics (USCOTS 09) will be held at The Ohio State University and hosted by CAUSE, the Consortium for the Advancement of Undergraduate Statistics Education. The target audience for USCOTS is teachers of undergraduate and AP statistics, from any discipline or type of institution. Teachers of statistics at two-year colleges and those planning a career in statistics education are especially encouraged to attend.

24TH INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON STATISTICAL MODELING – Ithaca, New York – July 20–24, 2009

The 24th International Workshop on Statistical Modeling will be held at Cornell University.

THIRD WORKSHOP FOR CHAIRS OF PROGRAMS IN STATISTICS AND BIOSTATISTICS – Alexandria,Virginia – July 31 – August 1, 2009

The Caucus of Academic Representatives will hold its third Workshop for Chairs of Programs in Statistics and Biostatistics July 31 – August 1, at ASA headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. This workshop is designed to provide information and discussion for leaders of statistics and biostatistics groups and departments. In particular, it will try to stimulate discussion between new and experienced chairs about a range of topics as broad as development of long-range planning goals to topics as specific as recommendations for dealing with the media.

BEYOND AP STATISTICS WORKSHOP – Washington, DC – August 3, 2009

The ASA/NCTM Joint Committee is pleased to sponsor a Beyond AP Statistics workshop at the annual Joint Statistical Meetings in Washington, DC, August 3 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Organized by Roxy Peck, the BAPS workshop is offered for experienced AP Statistics teachers and consists of enrichment material just beyond the basic AP syllabus. The cost of the workshop is $50, which covers all materials and lunch.

MEETING WITHIN A MEETING WORKSHOP FOR K–12 MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE TEACHERS – Washington, DC – August 3–4, 2009

MWM will take place in conjunction with JSM this summer in Washington, DC. The workshop is meant to strengthen K–12 mathematics and science teachers’ understanding of statistics and to provide them with hands-on activities they can use in their own classrooms. Teachers will apply concepts from the Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education (GAISE) Report: A Pre-K–12 Curriculum Framework by exploring problems that require them to formulate questions and collect, organize, analyze, and draw conclusions from data. This year’s MWM workshop will include a field trip to the U.S. Census Bureau. The cost of the workshop is $30, which covers all materials and lunch.

2009 ASA FDA/INDUSTRY STATISTICS WORKSHOP – Washington, DC – September 24–25, 2009

The 2009 workshop will be held at the Capitol Hilton in Washington, DC. Please join statisticians from industry, academia, and the FDA for two days of sessions focused on the science and statistics associated with the development of medical products. Additional short courses will be available on September 23.

CONFERENCE ON FRONTIER OF STATISTICAL DECISION MAKING AND BAYESIAN ANALYSIS – San Antonio, Texas – March 17–20, 2010

In honor of James O. Berger and his contributions to the statistics community, this conference will be held at the downtown campus of The University of Texas at San Antonio. Also on March 17, short courses on various statistical topics will be offered. The conference consists of plenary, invited, and poster sessions. Plenary speakers include Donald Berry, Lawrence Brown, Persi Diaconis, Stephen Fienberg, and Alan Gelfand. The conference will provide an overview of the past, present, and future developments of statistical decisionmaking and Bayesian analysis.

EVENTS CALENDAR

Statistical events are happening around the country and the globe. View our Upcoming Events Calendar.

@amstat.org

JSM 2009 REGISTRATION OPENS MAY 1

Registration for JSM 2009—to be held in Washington, DC—will open May 1, 2009.

ASA ELECTIONS

The ASA election will be open until midnight on May 15. If you have not received your ballot electronically, please log in to members only to ensure we have your correct contact information and notify Monica Clark for a new or replacement ballot.

JSM 2008 PROCEEDINGS NOW AVAILABLE

The JSM Proceedings are, for the first time, available online to those who attended the 2008 JSM in Denver, Colorado.  If you were a registered attendee, log in to ASA Members Only and select My Resources & Opportunities, followed by Online Archives and JSM 2008 Proceedings. If you prefer you can request the Proceedings on CD-ROM.

FREE ONLINE ACCESS TO JABES

ASA members now have free online access to the Journal of Agricultural, Biological, and Environmental Statistics (JABES). JABES, published quarterly, is a joint publication of the American Statistical Association and the International Biometric Society. To access the journal, visit ASA members only.

Special Opportunities

YOU ARE INVITED: JSM CONGRESSIONAL VISITS

The ASA would like you to spend Thursday, August 6, on Capitol Hill during your stay in Washington, DC, for JSM. We will advocate on issues of importance to statisticians and to the field of statistics. This is a wonderful opportunity to educate our elected leaders about the contributions statistics can make to societal challenges. Sign-up for the visits begins on April 20, 2009.

LIBRARY SLIPPED? LET THEM KNOW

It is no secret that libraries are under tremendous budget pressure.  When your library lets the subscription lapse on your favorite ASA journals, let them know you miss it. You can now recommend ASA titles right from the ASA publications page. Click on any title and, at the top, you will find a link to “Recommend this title to your Librarian.” Your ASA journals are a vital link for you, and they are also valuable resources for students and practitioners of so many other disciplines. Has your librarian heard from you? Maybe it is time to let them know about statistics, the ASA, and our journals.

GOT SUPPLEMENTS?

When the ASA moved its publications home we got more than a much-improved platform for our journals. We greatly increased our ability to help authors publish more journal articles. Authors can submit any materials that support their article—R code, video, data sets, etc. Instructions for submitting can be found online from any journal’s Information for Authors page. For more information, see the April issue of Amstat News.

FREE TRIAL TO THE JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL AND BEHAVIORAL STATISTICS

The Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics (JEBS) is jointly sponsored by the ASA and the American Educational Research Association. From now through May, you can sample JEBS online for free. Register online for free online access through May 31, 2009, to all JEBS issues going back to 1999. Each quarterly issue of JEBS offers original statistical methods that are useful for the applied statistician working in educational or behavioral research; new methods of analysis; and critical reviews of current practice, tutorial presentations of less well-known methods, and novel applications of already known methods. And beginning this year, JEBS will increase in size to publish even more important statistics research.

JUDGES SOUGHT FOR ASA PROJECT COMPETITION

The ASA/NCTM Joint Committee is seeking judges for the ASA Project Competition. Judging takes place via email during the summer and requires about four hours of your time. If interested, email Megan Mocko or call (352)-273-2975.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS AND DATING MINING CALL FOR PAPERS

Wiley-Blackwell and the American Statistical Association have entered into a new, cooperative publishing agreement for the journal Statistical Analysis and Data Mining. Under terms of the agreement, the ASA and Wiley-Blackwell will cooperate in the development of the journal’s editorial policy and scope. Submit your paper today.

STATISTICS EDUCATION WEB (STEW) IN SEARCH OF ASSOCIATE EDITORS AND REVIEWERS

The editor of Statistics Education Web, an online bank of peer-reviewed lesson plans for K–12 teachers of mathematics and science, is accepting applications/nominations for associate editors and reviewers. Those chosen will review lesson plans that 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) Report: A Pre-K–12 Curriculum Framework. Associate editors and reviewers will be selected for each of the three GAISE levels. Interested persons should electronically submit a letter of interest and a current CV or résumé to the STEW editor, Scott Street, and Rebecca Nichols.

FREE STATISTICS EDUCATION WEBINARS & RESOURCES

The American Statistical Association offers free webinars on K–12 statistics education topics. This series was developed as part of the follow-up activities for the Meeting Within a Meeting (MWM) Workshop for K–12 Mathematics and Science Teachers, held in conjunction with the Joint Statistical Meetings. The Consortium for the Advancement of Undergraduate Statistics Education also offers free webinars on undergraduate statistics education topics.

BUREAU OF JUSTICE STATISTICS WORKSHOP ON QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF CRIME AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE DATA

For 24 years, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) has sponsored a four-week intensive seminar on quantitative analysis of crime and criminal justice data. Social scientists and researchers from colleges and universities, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies are eligible to participate in this workshop. Enrollment will be limited to no more than 10 participants, selected on the basis of their interests in the topical areas, prior methodological training, and potential for research contributions to the topical area. The BJS will provide stipend support to offset transportation and per diem expenses for enrolled participants.

STATISTICS TEACHER NETWORK (STN) IS NOW ONLINE

The Statistics Teacher Network (STN) is a free newsletter published by the ASA/NCTM Joint Committee on Curriculum in Statistics and Probability for Grades K–12. STN is now online. Be informed when future editions are available by subscribing to the STN newsletter by visiting the STN website. Paper copies of STN issues will no longer be mailed. We welcome your feedback on the electronic format. As always, readers are encouraged to submit articles for publication to mdwebb@bemidjistate.edu.

WHAT’S BETTER THAN SPRING FEVER? A $25 CREDIT!

Spring is in the air, and now is the perfect time to start using the ASA VISA Card! If you apply now, you’ll receive a $25 statement credit when you spend just $30 in the first 90 days. The ASA card is a perfect way to show your support for the association while earning great rewards and privileges. Every time you make a purchase with your card, a percentage of your purchase helps the ASA continue to fund important programs and activities.