An Eight-Step Guide to Creating and Sustaining a Mentoring Program

Mentoring is an extremely valuable activity for both individuals and organizations. Mentoring within organizations can develop and integrate employees into their corporate culture. Mentoring outside the mentees’ work groups or through professional development organizations can give broader perspective and support, especially in times of transition. But mentoring programs require tremendous effort to start, organize, and maintain. Few last more than two years. This article provides a structured approach to starting and sustaining a successful program. The steps include understanding an organization’s particular needs, learning from small pilot programs, following up with mentoring pairs during a committed formal mentoring period, and evaluating results from each program’s cycle to learn and grow the program. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.     

治学报国:民国时期的统计留学生

民国时期统计留学生主要求学地分布在英美等国,其中既有专门研究数理统计方法的许宝騄等人,也有利用统计学方法研究生物学、经济学、教育学、社会学、心理学等问题的朱君毅、陈达、吴定良等人。这批统计留学生求学于当时的世界统计中心或顶尖大学,其中不乏令世界统计学界为之瞩目的杰出人才,以相对较小的规模取得了比肩国际一流水平的学术成就,为世界统计学发展贡献了中国智慧。他们的教育背景和学术水平,奠定了我国近代统计教育的较高起点和坚实基础,值得学术界深入挖掘和研究。其学术报国的家国情怀,至今仍是激励后辈学人的精神力量。     

Response

This article focuses on the roles consulting units can play in statistics departments, universities, and the statistics profession. An opinion on what constitutes legitimate academic activity is given. The roles endorsed are consistent with the view that statistics is both a science and an integral part of scientific methodology and hence that statistics departments need to be concerned with both the development of new methods and the proper application of those methods in the pure and applied sciences. Consulting units serve as an interface between the developers and users of statistical methodology. Communication between developers and users can be carried on effectively through consultants who are actively involved in the education of users and in the education of statistics students, either formally or informally. Such communication is also enhanced when consultants are publishing in both statistics and nonstatistics journals. Routine data analysis is not endorsed as a justifiable academic activity for consulting faculty. Supervision of graduate students on such analyses, however, can be justified. The success a consulting unit can have in playing its roles depends on appropriate funding, staffing, and administration of the unit.     

Experience Simpson's Paradox in the Classroom

Simpson's paradox is a challenging topic to teach in an introductory statistics course. To motivate students to understand this paradox both intuitively and statistically, this article introduces several new ways to teach Simpson's paradox. We design a paper toss activity between instructors and students in class to engage students in the learning process. We show that Simpson's paradox widely exists in basketball statistics, and thus instructors may consider looking for Simpson's paradox in their own school basketball teams as examples to motivate students’ interest. A new probabilistic explanation of Simpson's paradox is provided, which helps foster students’ statistical understanding. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.     

Elementary statistics laboratory

Students in elementary statistics traditionally see experiments and data as words and numbers in a text. They receive little exposure to the important statistical activities of sample selection, data collection, experimental design, development of statistical models, the need for randomization, selection of factors, etc. They often leave the first course without a firm understanding of the role of applied statistics or of the statistician in scientific investigations. In an attempt to improve elementary statistics education, we have developed a statistics laboratory similar to those of other elementary science courses. We will discuss our experiences in teaching a laboratory component with the traditional elementary statistics course. In each lab session, students, working in teams, discuss the design of an experiment, carry out the experiment, and analyze their data using Minitab on a Macintosh or MS-DOS based computer. The students then individually either answer a series of short answer questions or write a formal scientific report. The labs are designed to be relatively inexpensive and portable. They do not require a prior background in science, statistics or computing.     

从市场实现看应用统计方法研究的桥梁作用

 台湾统计学者谢邦昌教授曾经有过这样的认识：任何领域都有其上中下游，统计也不例外。但统计的上游中，一些功力高强的学者不见得愿意帮助中下游解决问题，而中下游又感觉上游遥不可及，不敢把问题高告诉上游，觉得上游的理论太过高深。于是统计的上中下游出现了断层，影响了统计的发展（参见《统计的出世观与入世观》，《中国统计》1999年第二期）。对此我深有同感。这里先对统计做一个层次划分，然后从需求和供给两个方面对其进行分析，以期促进统计研究中的学科定位和工作定位。     

关于统计学的性质与发展问题

一、对统计学学科性质的基本认识　　“什么是统计学 ,怎样发展统计学”在我国统计学界是一个有争议的问题。统计学者对统计学的性质问题历来众说纷纭 ,远在 1 869年的第七次国际统计会议上 ,在讨论关于统计学的定义时 ,据说竟有 1 80余种之多。对于学科性质的理解既是学术问题 ,也有思想认识问题 ,只能通过研讨和交流来加深理解 ,以达到提高认识、促进学科健康发展的目的。笔者的基本观点是 :既不赞成统计学属于数学范畴 ,也不赞成统计学属于经济学范畴 ,更不赞成“社会经济统计学”与“数理统计学”分立的观点。我推崇“大统计”思想 ,认…     

The Democratization of Data Science Education

Abstract

Over the last three decades, data have become ubiquitous and cheap. This transition has accelerated over the last five years and training in statistics, machine learning, and data analysis has struggled to keep up. In April 2014, we launched a program of nine courses, the Johns Hopkins Data Science Specialization, which has now had more than 4 million enrollments over the past five years. Here, the program is described and compared to standard data science curricula as they were organized in 2014 and 2015. We show that novel pedagogical and administrative decisions introduced in our program are now standard in online data science programs. The impact of the Data Science Specialization on data science education in the U.S. is also discussed. Finally, we conclude with some thoughts about the future of data science education in a data democratized world.     

Environment

Abstract

This study surveys the development of collections of foreign-language ethnic newspapers in American libraries and archives since the 1960s. Relying on a review of historical and media studies scholarship as well as library and archival science literature, the article aims to identify the main sources of non-English ethnic newspapers available in the United States and to examine the difficulties such newspapers present for libraries, from older print publications to today’s born-digital media, regarding collection development, bibliographic control, and preservation. After a brief historical survey of the foreign-language ethnic press in the United States, the article analyzes the development of library collections since the 1960s as well as libraries’ efforts to preserve them and improve access to them. It then evaluates the state of digitization and online availability of foreign-language ethnic newspapers and initiates a reflection on the need to collect current print and digital ethnic newspapers.     

Scholarly Communications Training: Professional Development for the Next Generation of Scholars

Abstract

Many campuses are seeing increased needs for support in scholarly communications areas such as open access, research identity management, scholarship metrics, and related topics. This article discusses a professional development program that addresses scholarly communications needs for online and in-person graduate students and faculty at UNC Greensboro (UNCG), through a collaborative, interdepartmental effort that brings together librarians from the departments of Research, Outreach, and Instruction (ROI) and Technical Services. The authors provide a brief overview of the literature related to scholarly communications needs and training in academic libraries and discuss the UNCG program’s inception, modules, format, assessment, and future directions.     

渔业统计制度的国际比较及对我国的启示

随着全球经济一体化和信息技术的快速发展,我国的经济和贸易交往将进一步增强,社会经济现象将越来越复杂。因此,了解渔业统计制度并进行国际比较分析显得十分重要,它对国家制定渔业发展及经济管理政策有着重要意义。本文通过对各国渔业的统计制度和组织机构、统计法规和统计指标以及渔业统计管理和方法等方面的比较研究,为完善我国的渔业统计制度和运行机制提供借鉴。     

美国统计教育研究热点探析

本文对美国《统计教育杂志》（Journal of Statistics Education）近十年（2000-2009）发表的学术论文进行了统计分析。结果表明,近十年来美国统计教育研究在＂统计教育理论探索＂、＂新手段在统计教育中的应用＂、＂统计在实际生活中的应用＂三大领域发表论文相对较多,占全部论文的81.9%。本文对此三大热点问题进行了归类和分析,旨在把握美国统计教育研究的热点和趋势,使其对我国的统计教育研究具有一定的借鉴和指导意义。     

A Bayesian Analysis of Synchronous Distance Learning versus Matched Traditional Control in Graduate Biostatistics Courses

Distance learning can be useful for bridging geographical barriers to education in rural settings. However, empirical evidence on the equivalence of distance education and traditional face-to-face (F2F) instruction in statistics and biostatistics is mixed. Despite the difficulty in randomization, we minimized intra-instructor variation between F2F and online sections in seven graduate-level biostatistics service courses in a synchronous (live, real time) fashion; that is, for each course taught in a traditional F2F setting, a separate set of students were taught simultaneously via online learning technology, allowing for two-way interaction between instructor and students. Our primary objective was to compare student performance in the two courses that use these two teaching modes. We used a Bayesian hierarchical model to test equivalence of modes. The frequentist mixed model approach was also conducted for reference. The results of Bayesian and frequentist methods agree and suggest a difference of less than 1% in average final grades. Finally, we discuss barriers to instruction and learning using the applied online teaching technology.     

能源卫星账户:演化背景、发展历史及国际经验

2019年,联合国发布《能源环境经济核算体系》(SEEA-Energy2019),为编制能源卫星账户提供了国际标准。能源卫星账户作为国际能源统计的先进方法,能够更好地满足当前我国能源可持续发展的数据需求。因此,本文探究能源卫星账户的演化背景,追溯能源卫星账户的发展历史,提炼SEEA-Energy2019的核算框架与研究视角,归纳各国编制能源卫星账户实践的一般性与特殊性,结合我国能源统计现状探讨能源卫星账户对我国的适用性,展望能源卫星账户的发展方向。     

Teaching Statistical Consulting Before Statistical Methodology

This paper outlines and discusses the advantages of an ‘Introduction to Statistical Consulting’ course (ISC) that exposes students to statistical consulting early in their studies. The course is intended for students before, or while, they study their units in statistical techniques, and assumes only a first‐year introductory statistics unit. The course exposes undergraduate students to the application of statistics and helps develop statistical thinking. An important goal is to introduce students to work as a statistician early in their studies because this motivates some students to study statistics further and provides a framework to motivate the learning of further statistical techniques. The ISC has proved popular with students, and this paper discusses the reasons for this popularity and the benefits of an ISC to statistical education and the statistics profession.     

新时代中国经济社会统计的创新与发展

新时代,我国经济社会发展产生了许多新情况,经济社会管理产生了许多新需求,经济社会统计的理论、方法和应用要实现创新与发展,以适应新时代、反映新情况、满足新需求,在服务宏观经济决策和促进经济社会健康发展,以及促进经济学、社会学发展等方面发挥更加重要的作用。本文从统计理论和方法、学术研究和人才培养等方面阐述了新时代我国经济社会统计面临的严峻挑战和重大发展机遇;从创新研究领域、创新研究方法和创新人才培养方式等方面探讨了新时代我国经济社会统计如何实现创新与发展,以服务于国家重大发展战略、助力解决我国经济社会发展现实问题、对接国际前沿研究领域;提出了新时代我国经济社会统计的若干重点研究领域,包括新经济统计理论和方法研究、全要素生产率研究、服务业核算问题研究、无形资产测度问题研究、全球价值链研究等。     

The aims of population statistics and demographic research

A detailed program for the improvement of population statistics and for the development of demographic research is presented, with particular reference to the USSR. Topics covered include global and regional population projections, special surveys on demographic behavior, and the need for improvements in migration data.     

论企业统计队伍的继续教育

加强企业统计人才队伍的继续教育,是企业统计改革与发展的关键。本文通过对企业统计人员的现状剖析,根据企业对统计人才的需求,提出了企业统计人才队伍继续教育的具体思路与方法。     

国外科技统计发展与我国科技统计改革思路

一、国外科技统计的三个重要发展阶段　　第一阶段建立了研究与实验发展 (Ｒ＆Ｄ)统计。6 0年代初期 ,在经济合作与发展组织有关专家的共同努力下 ,产生了以《弗拉斯卡蒂手册》为标志的科技统计规范。手册产生以后 ,在成员国范围内建立起了定期的科技统计调查制度 ,并有效地开展了国家之间的比较分析 ,为科技宏观管理提供了重要的决策咨询 ,受到世界各国的普遍关注。后经联合国教科文组织补充完善 ,迅速在世界各国推广开来。这一阶段科技统计的主要特点是 :测量研究与实验发展 (Ｒ＆Ｄ)的投入 ,总量指标为国内研究与实验发展总支出 (ＧＥＲ…     

Open Dialog: SciELO’s Approach to Open Access Publishing

Abstract

For over 20 years, Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) has been engaged in an ambitious program of open access journal publishing. In Brazil and 15 other countries, society journals and other publications rely on SciELO for online publishing infrastructure and a platform that gives visibility to a global audience. SciELO’s network of national level collections has expanded to 16 countries and provides an alternative model to approaches centered around commercial publishers or new open access journals.