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Box's paper helicopter has been used to teach experimental design for more than a decade. It is simple, inexpensive, and provides real data for an involved, multifactor experiment. Unfortunately it can also further an all-too-common practice that Professor Box himself has repeatedly cautioned against, namely ignoring the fundamental science while rushing to solve problems that may not be sufficiently understood. Often this slighting of the science so as to get on with the statistics is justified by referring to Box's oft-quoted maxim that “All models are wrong, however some are useful.” Nevertheless, what is equally true, to paraphrase both Professor Box and George Orwell, is that “All models are wrong, but some are more wrong than others.” To experiment effectively it is necessary to understand the relevant science so as to distinguish between what is usefully wrong, and what is dangerously wrong.

This article presents an improved analysis of Box's helicopter problem relying on statistical and engineering knowledge and shows that this leads to an enhanced paper helicopter, requiring fewer experimental trails and achieving superior performance. In fact, of the 20 experimental trials run for validation—10 each of the proposed aerodynamic design and the conventional full factorial optimum—the longest 10 flight times all belong to the aerodynamic optimum, while the shortest 10 all belong to the conventional full factorial optimum. I further discuss how ancillary engineering knowledge can be incorporated into thinking about—and teaching—experimental design.     

A Survey of the Teaching of Statistics in M.B.A. Programs

A survey of business schools was conducted to obtain information about the current state of the teaching of business statistics to students enrolled in M.B.A. degree programs. The survey was undertaken for and presented at a June 1986 conference on “Making Statistics More Effective in Schools of Business,” held at the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business. Information was elicited concerning both the required statistics sequence and elective statistics courses for M.B.A. students, as well as computer usage in these courses. This article summarizes the information obtained from the survey.     

A Question of Ethics

This article identifies three consulting roles—helper, leader, and colleague; recommends that statistical consultants ask more questions about basic mechanisms; suggests that statistical consultants regard their primary responsibility as providing guidance about the scientific method itself; discusses the need for continuing education to help improve consulting skills; and describes Wisconsin's Master's degree examination, which was designed to help students become effective practicing statisticians.     

Bill Cochran: His Contributions to Medicine and Public Health and Some Personal Recollections

There is a tremendous need in our technological society to train statisticians for all sectors of education, government, and industry. Because statistical training has largely been restricted to graduate schools, the profession is losing many good students to other fields of study. Members of the statistics community are encouraged to reach out to high-school students and undergraduate students to increase the awareness of statistics as a scientific field of study and as a professional career. The ASA Council of Chapters has recently completed a slide presentation entitled “Statistical Science: The Profession,” which was professionally developed to aid this endeavor. In addition, high-school teachers, high-school counselors, and professors of mathematics and science education are identified as important audiences for hearing this message and for broadening general public awareness of what our profession has to offer.     

Statistics for Quality and Productivity: A New Graduate-Level Statistics Course

The growing popular realization that American product quality and productivity are no longer without challenge for world leadership presents an opportunity for the American statistical community to make stronger contributions to sound industrial practice than it has in the past. Management consultants, such as Deming and Juran, are promoting philosophies that contain strong statistical components and are being heard by top U.S. executives. There are thus growing opportunities for industrial statisticians. Upon reviewing the content of typical graduate-level statistical quality control courses and books in the light of the present situation, we find them to be inadequate and in some cases to suffer from inappropriate emphases. In this article we discuss our perceptions of what is needed in the way of a new graduate-level course in statistics for quality and productivity (SQP). We further offer for discussion a syllabus for such a course (which is a modification of one used at Iowa State in the 1983 spring semester), some comments on how specific topics might be approached, and also a partially annotated list of references for material that we believe belongs in a modern SQP course.     

On the total sojourn time of particles in semi-markov compartmental system with branching particles

We consider a semi-Markov compartroental system with branching particles, Me study the total sojourn time of all the particles and obtain the asymptotic behaviour of its mean. We also discuss some special systems.     

‘Trapped between two worlds’ – Muslim Palestinian women from Israel in Jordanian universities: new identity and the price it demands

Interviews were held with 12 Muslim Palestinian women from Israel, presently studying in Jordan (6) or who had completed their higher education in Jordan (6). They explained the factors that pushed or pulled them to study in Jordan, the independence that they experienced there, the empowerment they achieved, and the price they paid when they returned to Arab society in Israel. The Arab cultural space in Jordan is defined as both foreign and close, due to its geographical and cultural proximity, and yet its distance from home and patriarchal supervision. The research findings indicate that this situation influences the formation of these women's gender identity and their empowerment but also creates much pain and conflict. The Palestinian women's new identity, formed during their studies, assists them in their efforts to reintegrate and establish their status when they return from their academic studies abroad to their society of origin, Muslim Arab society in Israel.     

Personal identity versus national identity among Hong Kong youths – personal and social education reform after reunification

This paper examines the use of Chinese traditions for the formation of a felt Hong Kong identity and a national identity among students in the personal and social education curriculum before and after reunification with China in 1997. This paper argues that the addition of China elements to the curriculum after reunification contributes to the continuous ambiguous identity of students, which is consistent with the results of various poll surveys about the civic identity of Hong Kong people in a larger context. This is because the personal and social education reform after reunification assumed a simple correlation between the patriotic feelings of students and their knowledge of China. It does not question how the promotion of an intensely unifying ‘cultural identity’ as political commitment is differentiated from the day-to-day ‘cultural experiences’ of students.     

高等教育投资回报率估算：基于西部三个城市的微观数据

本文基于中国西部三个城市,7949个住户的微观数据,利用内生的处理效应模型测算了城市家庭20-35岁青年的高等教育投资回报率。经验研究的结果显示：1. 现阶段青年人的高等教育投资内部报酬率大致在7%左右;按照30年工作时间计算的收入增加现值大约在8万元上下,高等教育使得月收入期望值平均增加80%。高等教育还能够使青年就业的可能性增加8%左右;2. 从性别的视角观察,高等教育对于女性的回报率高于男性,女青年内部报酬率大约在8.3%（男青年7.6%）;就业概率增加15.9%（男青年4%）,每月工资期望值增加122%（男青年67.5%）;3. 如果高等教育的全部花费增加到平均6万元,则从单纯的现金流意义上说,高等教育没有增加收入的价值了。     

后现代思潮中青年学子的生命教育

后现代思潮张扬＂颠覆＂和＂解构＂,宣扬＂边缘＂,追求＂另类＂,躲避＂崇高＂,倡导生活＂无厘头＂化。受其消极影响,一些青年学子失去了对生命存在的敬畏感,否定了生命延续的神圣意义,导致了一系列自杀、自残、施虐和杀人的极端行为发生。而当前我国高校中的生命教育却存在着教育体系不完善、教育方式不科学、教育内容缺乏针对性等不足。因此,在后现代思潮中应该有针对性地强化青年学子的生命意义教育：一是批判后现代思潮的虚妄性,教育青年学子正确认识历史和现实;二是尊重青年学子的个性差异,引导学子学会达成社会共识和担负生存责任;三是以马克思主义引导青年学子的＂三观＂成长,塑造青年学子正确的生命观。