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May 2001

Contents:


Note from the President

June 11th, 2001 is WSS President's Day. We are honoring a former WSS President - Sam Greenhouse (president in 1967-68) - as well as research in areas of interest to many past WSS presidents from the federal statistical agencies. There are two WSS events planned for Monday June 11th the conference in honor of Sam Greenhouse to be held at NIH (sponsored by WSS, GWU, and NIH) and the Funding Opportunity in Survey Research to be held at BLS (sponsored by WSS Methodology and WSS Data Collection Sections and AAPOR-DC).

Sam Greenhouse Memorial Symposium
June 11, 2001, Bethesda, MD

The George Washington University Biostatistics Center, the Washington Statistical Society and the National Institutes of Health will jointly sponsor a one-day symposium to celebrate the scientific contributions and career of Dr. Samuel Greenhouse; former NIH scientist and GWU Professor. This symposium will feature speakers from various time periods in Dr. Greenhouse's career covering the diverse and exciting facets of statistics, epidemiology, clinical trials, consultant and mentor in which he served. Speakers presently committed include Joel Greenhouse, John Lachin, LJ Wei, Gordon Lan, Jim Dambrosia, Dan Seigel, Howard Hoffman, Mitchell Gail, Raymond Bain, Paul Meier, Marvin Zelen, Seymour Geisser, and Scott Zeger, The symposium will be held on Monday, June 11, 2001, preceded by a cocktail hour and dinner with speakers on Sunday evening, June 10, 2001. Both events will be held in the Bethesda, Maryland area. More details about the program and the registration form for both events will be forthcoming on the GWU Biostatistics Center website http://www.bsc.gwu.edu. Attendance will be limited and all who plan to attend must be registered by the date indicated on the form.

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2001 Annual Dinner

The WSS Annual Dinner will be held Tuesday, June 19, at China Garden Restaurant in Rosslyn. Please see the dinner announcement for details and a reservation form.

This is a great opportunity to join with friends, meet colleagues, and make new acquaintances!

All are invited. We look forward to seeing you there!

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2001 Science Fair Winners

The Department of Mathematics and Statistics of American University is pleased to WSS presented awards to 51 Washington area students at five regional science fairs this spring (District of Columbia, Fairfax County, Montgomery County, Northern Virginia, Prince George's County). Since 1986, WSS has been recognizing students whose projects demonstrate excellence in the application of statistical methods. This year, the Gallup Organization generously donated $1000 for prizes. Of this amount, a total of $700 was divided among 6 first place winners (prizes ranged between $50 and $150) and the balance will be used to purchase ASA school memberships for the winners' schools. There were 10 second place winners and each received a copy of Statistics: A Guide to the Unknown, by Tanur, et al. All first and second place winners will also receive a one-year subscription to STATS magazine. Others received certificates of honorable mention.

The judging was coordinated by Lee Abramson. Thanks to all WSS members who volunteered as judges. They are: Lee Abramson*, Gene Burns, Jo Burns, Bill Cleveland, Bob Clickner*, Michael Cohen, David Des Jardins, Ellen Hertz, Gene Heyman*, Tzu-Cheg Kao, Jurate Landwehr, Ruey-Ping Lu, John Rogers, Fritz Scheuren, Sid Schwartz, Stuart Scott*, Mike Stoto, Dan Weinberg, Glenn White*, David Whitford and Lorie Wijntjes.

* Chief Judge

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FCSM Seminar On The Funding Opportunity In Survey Research

A consortium of Federal statistical agencies, collaborating with the NSF Methodology, Measurement and Statistics Program, and supported by the OMB Federal Committee On Statistical Methodology, recently established the Funding Opportunity In Survey Research. This program funds peer reviewed investigator initiated projects in basic survey research of potential value to Federal agencies. A June 11 seminar will feature reports by the principal investigators of the four currently funded research projects, with comments by Federal agency staff members. The present status and future prospects of the program will also be discussed.

The seminar is open to the public. There is no fee. Reservations are requested to guarantee space, and to arrange for light refreshments that will be served. Please RSVP to Barbara Hetzler by May 18 at: bhetzler@cdc.gov or 301-458-426. The seminar will be held at the BLS Conference and Training Center, Rooms 1, 2, and 3 in the Postal Square Building, 2 Massachusetts Ave, NE, DC. To gain entrance to BLS either e-mail name, affiliation and name of meeting to Wss_seminar@bls.gov by noon on June 10, or call Karen Jackson (202-691-7524) by June 9. Also, bring a photo ID.

Program Of The Funding Opportunity In Survey Research Seminar
June 11, 2001

8:30 a.m. – Continental breakfast

9:00 a.m. – Session 1: The Funding Opportunity In Survey Research
Chair: Norman Bradburn, National Science Foundation
Speaker: Cheryl Eavey, NSF

9:30 a.m. – Session 2: Cognitive Basis For Seam Effect InPanel Surveys Chair: William G. Barron, Bureau of the Census
Speaker: Lance Rips, Northwestern University
Discussants: Gordon Willis, NCI and Elizabeth Martin, BOC

10:45 a.m. – Session 3: A Computer Tool To Improve Questionnaire Design
Chair: Robert Parker, General Accounting Office
Speaker: Arthur Graesser, University of Memphis
Discussants: Theresa De Maio, BOC and Fran Featherston, GAO

11:45 a.m. – Lunch on your own

1:00 p.m. – Greetings from the WSS president – Cynthia Clark, BOC

1:05 p.m. – Session 4: Cognitive Issues In Designing WebSurveys Chair : Katherine G. Abraham, Bureau of Labor Statistics
Speaker: Roger Tourangeau, University of Michigan
Discussants: Fred Conrad, BLS and David Mingay, BOC

2:00 p.m. – Session 5: Application Of Jackknife Theory In Small Area Estimation
Chair (invited): Ashish Sen, Bureau of Transportation Statistics
Speaker: P. Lahiri, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Discussant: William Bell, BOC

3:00 p.m. – Session 6: Future of the Funding Opportunities In Survey Research
Chair: Edward J. Sondik, National Center for Health Statistics
Speakers: Monroe Sirken, NCHS and Nancy Kirkendall, DOE

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Note From The WSS NEWS Editor

Items for publication in the Summer 2001 WSS NEWS should be submitted no later than July 5, 2001. E-mail items to Michael Feil at michael.feil@usda.gov. Any items received after this date will appear in the next issue of the WSS NEWS.

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First posted May 3, 2001
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