Accent on Teaching Materials

Review of International Association for Statistical Education Proceedings: Proceedings of the First Scientific Meeting of the International Association for Statistical Education, Lina Brunelli and Guiseppe Cicchitelli, Editors. U.S. $5 (cost of postage) from International Statistical Institute, 428 Prinses Beatrixlann, 2270 AZ Voorburg, The Netherlands. Includes 49 papers presented in Perugia, Italy, in August 1993; 476 pages. Reviewed by Peter Holmes     

Accent on Teaching Materials

A linear combination test for combining several tests of the correlation coefficient in the bivariate normal distribution is proposed. The linear combination test is compared with the well-known Fisher method of combining tests. It is shown by a Monte Carlo study that the linear combination test has a larger power.     

Accent on Teaching Materials

Estimation of covariance components in the multivariate random-effect model with nested covariance structure is discussed. There are two covariance matrices to be estimated, namely, the between-group and the within-group covariance matrices. These two covariance matrices are most often estimated by forming a multivariate analysis of variance and equating mean square matrices to their expectations. Such a procedure involves taking the difference between the between-group mean square and the within-group mean square matrices, and often produces an estimated between-group covariance matrix that is not nonnegative definite. We present estimators of the two covariance matrices that are always proper covariance matrices. The estimators are the restricted maximum likelihood estimators if the random effects are normally distributed. The estimation procedure is extended to more complicated models, including the twofold nested and the mixed-effect models. A numerical example is presented to illustrate the use of the estimation procedure.     

Accent on Teaching Materials: Notices and Reviews of Important Teaching Materials

This article examines the probabilities of outcomes from rolling dice with the dimension 1 × 1 × r for various values of r. Experiments were conducted by school students and university students. The results of the experiments are given and the probabilities examined using a generalized linear model. Notes are also made about the value of the experiment in teaching the groups of students.     

Statistical Computing Software Reviews

This section is similar in organization to a Book Review section in other journals; however, software of interest to statisticians is the subject of review here. Emphasis is on software for microcomputers. Programs that operate only in larger mainframe computers will seldom receive review. Normally, producers of programs make a copy of their product available to the Section Editor, who then selects one or more persons to test the product and prepare a review.

Producers of computer software who wish to have their product reviewed are invited to contact the Section Editor, Professor Kenneth Berk, Department of Mathematics, 313 Stevenson Hall, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61761.

Findings and opinions expressed in every review are solely those of the author. They should not be construed as reflecting endorsement of the product, or opinions held, by the American Statistical Association, nor is any warranty implied about any product reviewed.

STAN, Version II.0. David M. Allen. Available from Statistical Consultants, Inc., 462 E. High Street, Lexington, KY 40508. $300. Reviewed by Peter A. Lachenbruch     

Book Reviews

Statistics for Engineering Problem Solving.: Stephen B. Vardeman. Boston, MA: PWS Publishing, 1994. 840 pp. $59.95. Reviewed by Soren Bisgaard

A Data-Based Approach to Statistics.: Ronald L. Iman. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing, 1994. xiv + 898 pp. $51.95. Reviewed by Katherine Halvorsen

Concepts in Probability and Stochastic Modeling.: James J. Higgins and Sallie Keller-McNulty. Belmont, CA: Duxbury Press, 1995. xi + 420 pp. $67.43. Reviewed by David M. Nickerson

Statistics (6th ed.).: James T. McClave and Frank H. Dietrich II. New York: Dellen/Macmillan College Publishing, 1994. xix + 967 pp. $66.00. Reviewed by Katherine Halvorsen

Data Analysis for Monitoring Human Rights.: Herbert Spirer and Louise Spirer. Washington, DC: American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1994. xiv + 126 pp. $15.00. Reviewed by Diane G. Saphire