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News about activities of the Washington Statistical Society
A Chapter of the American Statistical Association


March 2000

 


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Herriot Award Nominations Sought

Nominations are sought for the 2000 Roger Herriot Award for Innovation in Federal Statistics

After the sudden death in May, 1994 of Roger Herriot, an Associate Commissioner for Statistical Standards and Methodology at the National Center for Education Statistics, the Washington Statistical Society, the Social Statistics and Government Statistics Sections of the American Statistical Association established an award in his memory to recognize individuals who develop unique approaches to the solution of statistical problems in federal data collection programs.

The award is intended to reflect the special characteristics that marked Roger Herriot's career:

The recipient of the 2000 Roger Herriot Award will be chosen by a committee of representatives of the Social Statistics Section and Government Statistics Section of the American Statistical Association and a representative of the Washington Statistical Society. Roger Herriot was associated with and strongly supportive of these organizations during his career. The award consists of an honorarium of $500 and a framed citation.

Joseph Waksberg (Westat), Monroe Sirken (National Center for Health Statistics), Constance Citro (National Academy of Sciences), Roderick Harrison (U.S. Bureau of the Census), Clyde Tucker (Bureau of Labor Statistics), and Tom Jabine (Consultant) are previous recipients of the Herriot Award.

The award is not restricted to senior members of an organization; nor is it to be considered as a culmination of a long period of service. Individuals at all levels, from entry to senior, federal employees, private sector employees, or employees of the academic community, may be nominated on the basis of the significance of the specific contribution.

A nomination form can be obtained by contacting Fritz Scheuren at 202-261-5886, by fax at 703-549-1119, or e-mail scheuren@aol.com.

All nomination forms should be returned to the Roger Herriot Award Committee, c/o Fritz Scheuren, 1402 Ruffner Road, Alexandria, VA 22302. Completed nomination forms must be received by April 28, 2000.

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WSS Is Well Represented in This Year's ASA Elections

Over the years, the Washington Statistical Society has been the home chapter of many ASA officers nationally and for individual sections --- especially Government Statistics, Social Statistics, and Survey Research Methods, and this year is no exception. Our chapter can be proud of the following members who have been nominated for national positions in the American Statistical Association.

National Offices

To lead off, Miron Straf, of the National Academy of Sciences, has been nominated to run for President of the ASA. Miron is currently Deputy Director of the Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, which is the commission that includes the Committee on National Statistics. He received his Ph.D. in statistics from the University of Chicago. He has served previously as chair of the Social Statistics Section, as regular contributor to CHANCE, and as a member of several ASA committees.

Ron Fecso, of the National Science Foundation, has been nominated to run for Chair of the Council of Sections.

Connie Citro, a study director at the Committee on National Statistics, has been nominated to run for Vice Chair of the Council of Sections. Connie received her Ph.D. in political science from Yale University. She is currently serving as council of sections representative for the Social Statistics Section. She previously served as member and chair of the ASA Committee on Fellows, and as publications officer and program chair of the Government Statistics Section.

Phillip Kott, chief research statistician of the National Agricultural Statistics Service, has been nominated to run for Chair of the Council of Chapters. Phil received his Ph.D. in economics from Brown University. He has previously served as methodology section chair and president of WSS, and as associated editor of JASA.

Section Offices

Section on Business and Economic Statistics

Brian Monsell, mathematical statistician for the Census Bureau, has been nominated to run for Secretary/Treasurer of the Section on Business and Economic Statistics. Brian received his M.S. in statistics from Florida State University.

Stuart Scott, mathematical statistician for the Bureau of Labor Statistics, has been nominated to run for Program Chair of the Section on Business and Economic Statistics. Stuart received his Ph.D. from Catholic University. He served previously as methodology chair for WSS.

Section on Government Statistics

John Czajka, senior researcher for Mathematica Policy Research, has been nominated to run for Chair of the Section on Government Statistics. John received his Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Michigan. He has served previously as program chair of the Government Statistics Section, as secretary/treasurer and representative to the council of sections for the Social Statistics Section, as vice chair from district 2 to the Council of Chapters Governing Board, and as Board Representative-at-Large, Representative to the ASA Council of Chapters, and co-chair of the social and demographic statistics program all for WSS.

Wendy Alvey of the Census Bureau, has been nominated to run for Program Chair of the Section on Government Statistics. Wendy has served as a member of the ASA Committee on the Office of Scientific and Public Affairs, the ASA committee on privacy and confidentiality, and as secretary of the Council of Sections Governing Board. She has also served as co-editor of the Survey Research Methods newsletter, the Government Statistics and Social Statistics Sections joint newsletter, and as publications officer for the Government Statistics Section. Finally, Wendy has also served as associate editor of the American Statistician. For the WSS, Wendy has served as co-editor of WSS News, as representative-at-large, and as chair of the WSS short course committee.

Suzanne Dorinski, mathematical statistician for the Census Bureau, has been nominated to run for Secretary/Treasurer for the Section on Government Statistics. Suzanne received her M.S. in applied statistics from Michigan State University. She previously served as social event coordinator for WSS and as membership chair for the Government Statistics Section.

Roberta Sangster, research psychologist for the Bureau of Labor Statistics, has also been nominated to run for Secretary/Treasurer for the Section on Government Statistics. Roberta received her Ph.D. in sociology from Washington State University. She is currently serving as a member of the ASA Survey Review Committee.

Lynda Carlson, Director of the Science Resource Studies Division at the National Science Foundation, has been nominated to run for Representative to the Council of Sections for the Section on Government Statistics. She previously served as Program Chair for the Government Statistics Section.

Stephanie Shipp, assistant division chief of the Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division of the Census Bureau, has also been nominated to run for Representative to the Council of Sections for the Section on Government Statistics. Stephanie received her Ph.D. in economics from the George Washington University. She has also served as program chair for the Social Statistics section, as chair of the ASA Committee on Women in Statistics, and as chair of the Cox Scholarship Committee. She also served as membership chair for WSS.

Health Policy Statistics Section

Gerald Adler, social science research analyst of the Health Care Financing Administration, has been nominated to run for Program Chair of the Health Policy Statistics Section. Gerald received his Ph.D. from Columbia University.

Social Statistics Section

Carolee Bush, special assistant to the associate director of the Census Bureau, has been nominated to run for Chair of the Social Statistics Section. Carolee received her A.S. from Southeastern University. She has served, for ASA, as director of Chapter and Section Relations, as Chair of the New Building Dedication Committee, and as member and chair of the Committee on Women in Statistics. She has also served as program chair for the Social Statistics Section. For WSS, Carolee has served as representative-at-large, as representative to the Council of Chapters, and as co-chair of the section on statistics and public policy.

Fritz Scheuren, senior fellow at the Urban Institute, has been nominated to run for Chair of the Social Statistics Section. Fritz received his Ph.D. in mathematical statistics from George Washington University. He has served as Vice President of ASA and in a multitude of other capacities at all levels of ASA and WSS.

B.K. Atrostic, of the Census Bureau, has been nominated to run for Program Chair of the Social Statistics Section.

Robert Santos, principal research associate for the Urban Institute, has also been nominated to run for Program Chair of the Social Statistics Section. Rob received his M.A. in statistics from the University of Michigan. He has also served as program chair for the Section on Survey Research Methods, and as a member of the following ASA committees Committee on Career Development (also as chair), Committee on Privacy and Confidentiality, and Committee on Minorities in Statistics (also as chair).

William Butz, Director of the Division of Social and Economic Sciences of the National Science Foundation, has been nominated to run for Publications Officer of the Social Statistics Section. Bill received his B.A. in economics from the University of Chicago, and continued his graduate studies there.

Gerald Gates of the Census Bureau, has been nominated to run for Representative to the Council of Sections for the Social Statistics Section

Paul Siegel, mathematical statistician for the Housing and Household Income Statistics Division---Small Area Estimates Branch, of the Census Bureau, has also been nominated to run for Representative to the Council of Sections for the Social Statistics Section. Paul received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.

Section on Survey Research Methods

Patrick Cantwell, supervisory mathematical statistician for the Census Bureau, has been nominated to run for Program Chair of the Section on Survey Research Methods. Patrick received his Ph.D. in statistics from the University of Connecticut.

David Judkins, senior statistician at Westat, has also been nominated to run for Program Chair for the Section on Survey Research Methods. He received his M.A. in mathematics from Indiana University. David has served previously as the editor of the WSS newsletter.

Vicki Huggins, of Abt Associates, has been nominated to run for Secretary/Treasurer of the Section on Survey Research Methods.

Karol Krotki, Statistics Director for InterSurvey has been nominated to run for Publications Officer for the Section on Survey Research Methods. Karol received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. He has previously served as Statistical Society of Canada's representative on the Board of the ASA, and as representative to the Council of Sections for the Section on Survey Research Methods.

Finally, Alan Tupek of the National Science Foundation, has been nominated to run for Publications Officer of the Section on Survey Research Methods. Alan received his M.S. from the University of Connecticut. He has served in several capacities, including web master, for the Government Statistics Section.

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Summer Program at Ohio State University

Beginning in the Summer of 2000, The Ohio State University starts a new program on applied statistical methods. There will be a total of 10 courses (8 one-week long courses, one day long course and one half-day long course). The courses are applied in orientation rather than theoretical. The schedule is as follows:

Week 1:

Sunday, June 18:
Applied Regression Analysis 8:30 am - 4:30 pm
    Instructor: Stanley Lemeshow, Ph.D.

Monday June 19-Friday June 23

Mornings: 8:30 am - 12:15 pm

Statistical methods and web-based technology in Clinical Trials
    Instructors: Stanley Azen, Ph.D. and Joyce Niland, Ph.D.
Applied Logistic Regression
    Instructor: Stanley Lemeshow, Ph.D.

Afternoons: 1:15 pm - 5:00 pm
Applied Longitudinal Data Analysis
    Instructor: David Kleinbaum, Ph.D.
Sampling of Human Populations
    Instructor: Paul S. Levy, Sc.D.

Week 2:

Sunday, June 25:
Reporting Statistical Results in Applied Journals 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm     Instructor: Tom Lang

Monday June 26-Friday June 30

Mornings: 8:30 am - 12:15 pm

Statistical Methods in Medical Research
    Instructor: Albert Hofman, M.D.
Applied Survival Analysis
    Instructor: David Hosmer, Ph.D.

Afternoons: 1:15 pm - 5:00 pm
Statistical Methods in Human Genetics
    Instructor: Ellen Wijsman, Ph.D.
Categorical Data Analysis
    Instructor: Gary G. Koch, Ph.D.
For further information concerning this program, visit the web page at http://www-biostat.med.ohio-state.edu/summer/summer.htm

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Seminar Preview

On May 3, 2000, the Economics Section is sponsoring a seminar titled "Further Examination of the Distribution of Individual Income and Taxes Using a Consistent and Comprehensive Measure of Income." It will describe the different approaches that have been used to measure the distribution of individual income over time. Survey data, such as those of the Census Bureau's CPS and SIPP, have been compiled with innovative enumeration methods, but underreporting, inter-temporal consistency and inadequate coverage at the highest income levels can still jeopardize results. Administrative records, such as tax returns, may be less susceptible to underreporting of income but can be limited in scope and coverage. Record linkage studies have capitalized on the advantages of both approaches, but are severely restricted by the laws governing data sharing.

This paper is the third in a series examining trends in the distribution of individual income and taxes based on a consistent and comprehensive measure of income derived exclusively from individual income tax returns. Statistics from 1979 through 1997 on the distribution of individual income, the shares of taxes paid, and average tax burdens, all by size of income, are presented, and analyzed. In addition, Lorenz curves and Gini coefficients have been estimated to assess trends in income inequality, both before- and after taxes, and some conclusions are made on these trends and the overall redistributive effects of the Federal income tax system.

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SIGSTAT for March, 2000

SIGSTAT, the Special Interest Group in Statistics for CPCUG & WINFORMS, has resumed its monthly meetings on the 2nd Wednesday of each month. All meetings are from 12:30-1:30 in Waugh A, 1800 M St, NW. See www.econ.ag.gov/sigstat/ for directions to the meetings and a current schedule. First time attendees should contact Charlie Hallahan at 202-694-5051 or hallahan@econ.ag.gov and leave their name for inclusion on the list left at the guard's desk.

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Note From The WSS NEWS Editor

Items for publication in the May 2000 WSS NEWS should be submitted no later than March 28, 2000. E-mail items to Michael Feil at mfeil@nih.gov. FAX items to Michael Feil at (301) 443-4234.

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WSS People

President
Mary Batcher (202) 327-6740
Past President
Dwight Brock (301) 496-9795
President-Elect
Cynthia Clark (301) 457-2165
Secretary
Tom Mule (301) 457-8322
Treasurer
Jill Montaquila (301) 517-4046

Vice Chair for District 2 of
Council of Chapters

Ron Fecso (703) 306-1780 ext. 6906
Council of Chapters Representative
Carolee Bush (202) 366-6946
Representatives-at-Large
Carolyn Shettle (301) 215-9100 x 166
Linda Atkinson (202) 694-5046
 
John Czajka (202) 484-4685
Glenn White (202) 327-6414

WSS Program Chairs
Agriculture & Natural Resources
Dwight French (202) 586-1126
Economics
Art Kennickell (202) 452-2247
Methodology
Ginny deWolf (202) 395-7314
Stuart Scott (202) 606-7383
Public Health and Biostatistics
Paul Hshieh (301) 295-9762
Public Policy
Carolee Bush (202) 366-6946
Phil Ross (202) 260-5244
Quality Assurance
Amrut Champaneri (202) 690-3130
Short Courses
Robin Lee (202) 327-7575
Social & Demographic Statistics
Roberta Sangster (202) 606-7517
Manual de la Puente (301) 457-4997
Statistical Computing
Bob Jernigan (202) 885-3170
Mike Fleming (703) 235-5213 ext. 170
Data Collection Methods
Brad Edwards (301) 294-2021
Linda Stinson (202) 606-7528

Employment
Fotios Kokkotos (202) 414-4563
WSS NEWS Editor
Michael Feil (301) 443-4234
Electronic Mail
Michael L. Cohen (202) 334-3765
Michael Greene (703) 247-1575
S.V. (Vince) Massimini (703) 883-5893
Membership
Renee Miller (202) 426-1117
Antionette Martin 202) 426-1110
Fritz Scheuren (703) 549-1120
Quantitative Literacy
Pat Doyle (301) 457-3822
Wendy Rotz (202) 327-7822
Science Fair
Lee Abramson (301) 415-6180
Video Librarian
Mel Kollander (202) 537-6700
Social Arrangements
Jeri Mulrow (202) 327-6772
Local Arrangement
Kevin Cecco (202) 874-0464
WSS Historian
Michael P. Cohen (202) 219-1917
WSS Committee on ASA Fellows
Phil Kott (703) 235-5211 x 102

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First posted February 29, 2000
Last modified June 2, 2000

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