|
Hello Member,
We hope your holiday season was full of warmth and relaxation! Start the new year with a bang, and join us at our upcoming events!
Happy 2011, Chicagoans!
|
|
Chicago Chapter ASA Lunch Meeting |
 |
WARNING- To those thinking of attending our January 25 luncheon meeting - Register Early and Be Prompt - because you won't want to miss a single moment of this program - "The Past, Present, and Future of Statistics."
This exciting program is an offshoot of the "Encyclopedia of Statistical Science," 2nd edition - the 16 volume, nearly 9,700 page masterpiece that delivers a description of the new topics in statistical literature and a detailing of the methods and applications that have recently gained prominence.
Our friend and Wiley's seasoned publisher, Steve Quigley, has put together this special program to let us learn about these "hot topics" from an academic Editor-in- Chief as well as gain insights into the behind the scenes mechanics of publishing a major reference work. Then the Future - the greatest networking opportunity you've ever known. We call it a round-table / open-forum where a whole room full of statisticians can discuss what they see as the needs of and for statistics in the future, and what they know that can contribute to satisfying these needs. As Steve has called it, "Networking that works in Chicago, the city that works." The East Bank Club will allow this meeting to run long - to 3:00pm if needed. So suburbanites should know a commute is definitely worthwhile.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Noon to 1:30... 3PM
East Bank Club
500 N. Kingsbury, Chicago 60610
Cost: $30 for CASA members, $35 non-members
Reduced fee parking available
Register online here
View our website for more details
**Non-members join the chapter for a year for only $15 and get the discount plus all of the other benefits of membership! As usual, the Lucile Derrick Fund will purchase a limited number of tickets for students who wish to attend.
Our schedule is as follows:
12 noon - 12:15 p.m.
Steve Quigley with his PowerPoint description of a publisher's experience creating the Encyclopedia - "Behind the Scenes and Beyond the Content."
12:15 - 12:45 p.m.
Lunch and conversation with our tablemates.
12:45 - 1:15 p.m.
N. Balakrishnan, Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopedia will join us on the speakerphone from Ontario, Canada, to talk about the methods and applications that are gaining prominence. He has also indicated a willingness to answer questions at this time.
1:15 and onward
Let the Networking begin! Steve Quigley will be our host for the round-table/open-forum on the future of Statistics.
About the speakers:
A brief bio about STEVE QUIGLEY is on our website at chicagoasa.org. A little more about his resume: Since graduating from Dartmouth with degrees in French and International Relations, he has worked in Mathematics and Statistics publishing for numerous companies; in each job increasing sales (15% to 50% per year). He has won numerous awards - most notably, three times receiving the prestigious Professional/Scholarly Publishing (PSP) Award for graphic design and timely content. His works include books, reference works, journals, and most recently, online products. His hobbies include Masters' swimming (2nd in 2006 Bay State Games), sailing, tennis, singing, and computing. Steve currently works on 60 - 80 manuscripts at any one time - in addition to putting on this program for us. We're honored!
N. BALAKRISHNAN (better known as "BALA") is a professor at McMasters University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada where he has supervised 50 Masters projects/theses and 30 PhD theses since 1991. He is also a distinguished named professor at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, and Universidad Complutense in Madrid, Spain. Bala is a Fellow of the National ASA (ASA), the Institute of Math Sciences (IMS), and also is the 2008 ASA Don Owen Award winner. He has been an elected member of the International Statistical Institute since 1992.
In addition to being Editor-in-chief of the Revised (2nd edition) of the "Encyclopedia of Statistical Science," he is also Editor-in-Chief for "Communications in Statistics - Theory and Methods," and "Communications in Statistics - Simulation and Computation." He also holds the title of Executive-Editor for the "Journal of Statistical Planning and Inference;" and is Associate-Editor for the following journals: "Journal of Probability and Statistical Science," "Methodology and Computing in Applied Probability," and "Metrika."
He has edited and authored numerous research volumes and handbooks including the "Statistics for Industry and Technology" series. Numbered among his handbooks on methods and applications of statistics are "Business, Finance, and Management Science: the Life and Health Sciences," and the "Engineering, Quality Control, and the Physical Sciences." From his web page, he has authored 17 books, 4 handbooks, and edited 28 volumes. Bala is a prolific writer of articles (over 200) in many refereed journals, including the "Annals of Statistics," "Journal of Multivariate Analysis," "Journal of Statistical Planning and Inference," "IEEE transactions on Reliability," "Biometrics," "Journal of Quality Technology," and "Statistica Sinica."
|
|
Save the Date for the Spring Workshop! |
|
Please note that the date for our spring workshop has changed from April 1, 2011 to April 8, 2011, and runs from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM.
"Regression Modeling with Many Correlated Predictors"
Jay Magidson, Statistical Innovations
Tony Babinec, AB Analytics
Friday, April 8, 2011
8:30 AM-4:30PM
Rush University Medical Center
1653 W Congress Parkway, Chicago, IL 60612
Sponsored by the Chicago Chapter of the American Statistical Association
Abstract:
Recent advances in analysis of high dimensional data now allow reliable regression models to be developed even when the number of predictors exceeds the number of cases! In this course we begin by reviewing problems and limitations with traditional linear and logistic regression. Our applications-oriented presentation provides insight into how the new approaches work through examples and by providing an overview of the relevant theory, supplemented by the supporting equations. We use real and simulated data sets to illustrate the different approaches.
For more information or to register, please visit the Chicago Chapter website:
http://www.chicagoasa.org/
Tony Babinec
tbabinec@sbcglobal.net
|
|
Having Data is Not Enough |
|
For people in our industry, numbers
have a life of their own. We get excited when data show us new trends, patterns and possibilities. But most of the world does not view this information in the same way. In fact, believe it or not, most people think of statistical data as dry, unfathomable, even boring.
This presents quantitative experts with great opportunity. You are the bridge between the dense forest of information on one side and hungry consumers on the other. The better you are at translating raw data into interesting, usable, vital information, the more valuable you will be in the marketplace.
This four minute video was part of a BBC documentary on The Joy of Stats. In it, Swedish academic "superstar" Hans Rosling (the man who said "I kid you not, statistics is now the sexiest subject on the planet"), shows his enthusiasm for bringing statistics to life. As he says: "Having the data is not enough. I have to show it in ways that people both enjoy and understand."
Now, maybe you'll never have a media team at your disposal that can help you pull off the production values of the BBC, but you can use Rosling's enthusiasm as inspiration. Everything you do to improve your communication skills and hone your ability to translate dry statistics into accessible information will add value to your resume.
|
|
What Are the Odds? |
|
At what point do repeated episodes of chance transition into accepted scientific fact? The standard technique used to analyze data may not be used accurately or appropriately when relating to the fields of medicine and the social sciences. Benedict Carey, reporter for the New York Times, tackles the debate on data analysis in the following article.
New York Times
You Might Already Know This...
By Benedict Carey
In recent weeks, editors at a respected psychology journal have been taking heat from fellow scientists for deciding to accept a research report that claims to show the existence of extrasensory perception.
The report, to be published this year in The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, is not likely to change many minds. And the scientific critiques of the research methods and data analysis of its author, Daryl J. Bem (and the peer reviewers who urged that his paper be accepted), are not winning over many hearts.
Yet the episode has inflamed one of the longest-running debates in science. For decades, some statisticians have argued that the standard technique used to analyze data in much of social science and medicine overstates many study findings - often by a lot. As a result, these experts say, the literature is littered with positive findings that do not pan out: "effective" therapies that are no better than a placebo; slight biases that do not affect behavior; brain-imaging correlations that are meaningless.
By incorporating statistical techniques that are now widely used in other sciences - genetics, economic modeling, even wildlife monitoring - social scientists can correct for such problems, saving themselves (and, ahem, science reporters) time, effort and embarrassment.
To continue reading, please click here.
|
|
Put on Your Thinking Caps |
|
Save the date if you're interested in sports statistics...
The theme of this year's Spring CCASA Conference is Sports Statistics- please mark your calendars and dust off your baseball (thinking) cap!
Friday, May 6, 2011
Leo Burnett offices
35 W. Wacker Dr.
Chicago, IL 60601
Presenters include:
- Jay Jaffe (Baseball Prospectus and Futility Infielder)
- Ben Alamar (Editor for the Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports and Oklahoma City Thunder NBA franchise)
- Allen Sanderson (University of Chicago)
- Aaron Schatz (Football Outsiders and ESPN columnist)
The Conference VP for this event is John Vanderploeg.
For more details, please see our website.
|
|
About the Parameter |
|
PARAMETER, newsletter of the Chicago Chapter of the American Statistical Association, is published 10 times a year as a service to its members. To submit material for publication, contact the Editor, Linda Burtch, email: lburtch@burtchworks.com
PARAMETER provides a job listing service by publishing Positions Available and Positions Wanted, the latter being free to Chapter members. Companies may list positions for $75. Contact the Editor for more information.
For additional information about Chicago Chapter ASA, please visit us on the web at: www.ChicagoASA.org.
Also, visit the National ASA web site www.amstat.org.
Email change of address to: smileyr@georgetown.edu
©CCASA 2009
|