BU ll ETIN - Statistical Society of Canada

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Vol. 1 , no 1
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Autumn / Automne 1986
Statistical Society of Canada
Societe Statistique du Canada
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EDITOR/R E DACT R I C E
N icole P.-Gendreau,
B u re a u d e la statlst l q u e du Q u ebec,
117. S a i nt-Andre. Q u e bec (Q u e bec).
Gi,, 3 Y 3
(418-643-5030).
ASSOCIATE EDITORS/R E DACT E U R S ADJ O I N TS
Dr. Christian Genest,
U n iversity of Wate rloo,
Onta r i o.
Philip E.J. G reen,
Consu It I ng Statlstl c l a niStatlst l c l e n-consel l ,
Mlsslssa u g a . O ntario.
I N T E R NATIO N A L M E E T I N G SI
R E N C O N T R E S I N T E R N AT I O N A L E S
Dr. Agnes M . Herzberg,
I m pe r i a l Col le g e , lo n d o n , E n g la nd
Prof. George P.H. Styan,
U n iverslte M cG i l l .
Liaison IS p u b l ished b y t h e Statist i ca l SOCiety
of C a n a d a a n d i s s e n t f r e e of c h a rg e to a l l
m e m be rs th ree t i m es a year: Wi nter. S p ri n g S u m m e r a n d Autumn. T h e a i m of Liaison is to
foster I n c r e a sed a n d bette r c o m m u n i c a t i o n
a m on g C a n a d i a n statist i c i a ns.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS) CONSEIL D'AbMINISTRATION'
MEMBERS OF THE EXECUTIVE CO MMITTEE/
MEMBRES DU COMITE EXECUTIF
P R E S I DE NT f P R ESIDE NT:
Martin B. Wilk, Statistics C a n a d a
P R E S IDE NT - E LE CTfP R E S I DE NT -EL U :
James V. Zidek, UniverSity o f British Co l u m b i a
S E C R E TARYfS E C R E TAIRE:
John F. Brewster, U n iversity of M a n itoba
TREAS U R E RiTR E S O R I E RE:
Mary E . Thompson, U n iversity of Wate rloo
P U B LI C R ELATI O N S O F F I C E Rf
R E S PO N S A B L E D E S R E LATI O N S P U BLI Q U E S :
Nicole P.-Gendreau, B u re a u d e l a statist i q u e d u Q u e bec
PAST-P R E SIDE NTf P R E SIDE NT S O RT ANT:
David F. Andrews, U n iversity of Toronto
REG IO NAL REPRESENTATIVES /
REPRESENTANTS REG IONAUX
Atlan tic Provinces/Provinces Maritimes
louise Dionne, M e m orial U n iversity
Christopher A. Field, Da lhousie University
Quebec
Liaison est p u b l i e p a r l a Societe Statlst i q u e
d u Ca n a d a e t e s t rem ls g ratu lte m e nt a u x m e m­
bres trois f o i s p a r a n n e e. a I ' h l v e r. a u p r l n ­
tem ps-ete e t a I ' a u to m n e . l e b u t de Liaison est
de contr l b u e r a de m ei l l e u res co m m u n i cations
a u s e l n de l a c o m m u n a u t e statlst l q u e c a n a ­
dienne
Alain Boulanger, U n lverslte de S h erbro o k e
Correspo n d e n ce r e l a t l n g t o " N ews a bo u t
M e m bers" a nd " R e gi o n a l News" s h o u ld b e sent
to:fTo u t e c o r r e s p o n d a n c e r e l a t i v e a u x r u ­
brlques " Nouve l le s des mem bres" e t " E c h os des
reg i o n s " dOlt etre a d ressee a:
Geoffrey J . C. Hole, Statistics C a n a d a
Christian Genest,
Statistics a n d Actuarial Science,
U n iversity of Waterloo,
Waterloo, Onta rio,
N2l 3G1
(519-888-4481).
Correspo n d e n c e p e rta i n i ng to "The C o n s u l ­
ta nts' C o l u m n " a n d advert i se m e n t s h o u l d be
sent to:iToute corresp o n d a n ce c o n c e r n a n t l a
r u b r l q u e "le statistici e n -conseil" e t l a pub l iCite
doit etre a d ressee a:
P h i l i p Green,
930 Crozier Court,
Mississauga, Ontario,
l5H 2T3
(416-278-3483).
Correspond e n ce relat i n g to " I n te r n a ti o n a l
Meet i n g s" s h o u l d b e s e n t t o : fLa c o r r e s p o n ­
d a n ce c o n c e r n a n t les " R e n co ntres Inte r n at l o­
n a l es" dOlt etre a d ressee a:
George P.H. 5tyan,
Depart. of Mathematics and Statistics,
McGill U n i versity,
805 Sherbrooke West,
Montreal, Quebec,
H3A 2 K6
(514-392-8284).
Andre Pla nte, Universite d u Q u ebec a M o ntreal
Carl- E rik Sarndal, Unlversite de Montre a l
Serge Tardif, U n lverslte de M o ntrea l
Ontario
J e r a l d F . lawless. U n iverSity of Waterloo
John N.K. Rao, Ca rleton U n iversity
Richard Snillington, Consultant, Ottawa
Manitoba-Saskatchewan-N. W. T.!
Manitoba-Saskatchewan- T. N. -o.
K. Lai Chan, U n iversity of M a n itoba
David J a cobson, U n iverSity of Reg i n a
Alberta-British Columbia- Yukon/
Alberta-Colombie Britannique- Yukon
Na ncy M . Reid, U n iverSity of B r itish Col u m bia
K. larry Weldon, S i m o n F raser U n iverSity
HO N ORARY MEMBERS /
MEMBRES H O N ORAIRES
Charles S . Carter, Daniel B. DeLury, George l. Edgett,
Simon A. Goldberg (deceasedfdecede), Cyril H. Goulden
(deceasedfdecede), John W. Hopkins, Vinayak M. Joshi,
Esnest S. Keeping (deceasedfdecede), Nathan Keyfitz,
He rbert Marshall (deceasedfdecede), Stanley Nash,
Jacques St-Pierre.
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Vol .
1,
no
Autumn / Automne 1986
1
A Word from the Editor
4
Le mot de la redactrice
Mailbox
5
La boite aux lettres
617
Le nouveau Liaison
The New Liaison
Update on SSC Affairs
8
La SSC en bref
A M essage from the Presi d ent
8
Le bi l l et d u Presi d ent
The Board of D i rectors' M eeti ng
9
Reu n ion du Consei l d ' ad m i n i strati o n
B a l a nce Sheet, Dece m ber 3 1 s t 1 985
11
E tat f i n a n c i e r a u 3 1 decem bre 1 985
An n u a l M eeting 1 987
12
Congres a n n u e l 1 987
What's H appening?
13
Au fait de I' actualite
News about Mem bers
13
Nouve l l es des mem bres
Reg i o n a l N ews
14
E chos d es reg i ons
I nternati o n a l M eeti ngs
18
Rencontres i nternati onales
Statistics in the Capitals
24/25
La statistique en capitales
The Consultants' Column
28/31
Le statisticien - conseil
" Fi rst Experi ences with a Stati sti c a l
Consu lti ng Co u rse"
by 1 . Te rry Smith
28/31
" Cours sur l a consu l tati on stati stique:
prem i e res i m pressions"
"Stat i stics: M athematical Speci a l ty
or Separate Disc i p l i ne ? "
by K. L. Weldon
34/36
Career Opportunities
par 1 . Terry Smith
38
" La stati st i q u e est-e l l e u n e branche des
mathemat i q u es ou u ne d i sci p l i n e d i sti ncte ? "
par K. L. Weldon
Le babillard des carrieres
Dead l i n es for submisSion of a rticles a re as fol l ows: S p r l n g ­
S u m m e r: April 30 th; Autu m n : August 31st; Wi nte r : December
3 1 st Texts m u st be typed o n 8+ x 11 paper, at one and o n e- h a lf
spaC i n g .
Les dates de tom bee des textes sont les s u ivantes: P rintem ps­
ete: 30 avril; Auto m ne: 31 aout; H iver: 31 decembre. Les textes
doivent etre d a ctylo g r a p hies a u n Inte r l i g n e et d e m l , s u r format
8+ x 1 1 .
N o responsi b i l ity f o r t h e views expressed b y t h e a ut h ors i s
ass u m ed b y Liaison, ItS ed itors o r t h e S Se.
Les POi nts d e v u e expn m e s p a r les a ute u rs n'e n g a g e n t pas la
responsa b i l lte d e Liaison, n i d e ses redacteu rs, n l d e l a sse.
Any c h a n g e of a d dress s h o uld be n ot i c e d to: M a r y E .
Thompson, Depart. of Statistics and Actuarial Science, U n iv. of
Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, N2l3G1.
Tout c h a n g e m e n t d ' a d resse d o it etre com m u n i q u e a: Mary E .
Thom pson, Depart. o f Statistics a n d Actuarial Science, Univ. of
Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, N2l3G1.
We a c k nowledge the s u p p o rt of the B u re a u de la statlst i q u e
d u Q uebec.
N o u s rem emons I e B u re a u de la statlstl q u e d u Q u e bec po u r
Ie su p port a p porte d a n s l a preparation d e ce b u l letin.
C i rculati o n : 750 copies
ISS N: 0832-9095
Reproduction is a uthorized with the mention of the source.
T l r a g e 750 exem pla l res
I S S N: 0832-9095
Toute reproduction est autorisee sous reserve de fa men­
tion de fa source.
A WORD FROM THE EDITOR
LE MOT DE
Le voi c i d a n s sa form e nouve l l e,
Liaison,
LA REDACTRICE
I e b u l l et i n d ' i nformation d e l a
Societe statistique du
Canada.
Inspi re d es recom m a n d ati ons d u Com ite su r l es nouve l l es com m u n i cati ons et fru it d e l a reflexion d e
nom breuses person nes, Liaison com porte p l u s i e u rs i n novati ons.
Liaison, c'est un com ite d e redaction qui se pa rtage la tache d e prod u i re I e b u l l eti n . Ce sont
ega l em ent des col l a bo rate u rs q u i prennent en charge certa i nes r u b ri q u es.
Liaison, ce sont d es r u b ri q u es reg u l i eres q u i vous d evi e nd ront fa m i l i eres (el l es vous sont presentees
pl u s en d eta i l a l a page 7). C' est a u ssi la presence d ' a rticles ved ettes. Liaison, c ' est m a i nten a nt l a presence
de p u b l i c ite. C'est un contenu pl u s e l a bore et u ne presentati on visu e l l e a m e l i oree.
Liaison eta b l i t d es com m u n i cations nouve l l es, renforce d es l i ens, m et en contact l es mem bres d e l a
SSC avec d e nouve a u x a u d itoi res et susc i te l a pa rti c i pation des m i l i eu x prives, gouvernementa u x et
u n i ve rsita i res d e l a statistique. Liaison, ce sont vos refl exi ons, vos comm entai res. Fai tes- nous pa rt de vos
reacti ons et de vos besoi ns. Nous vou l ons fai re de Liaison votre veh i c u l e, votre i nstr u m ent d e
com m u n i cation.
Liaison est prod u i t trois foi s I ' a n , a I 'a utom n e apres l a reu n i o n du Com ite d e d i recti on d e la. SSC, a
I ' h i ver en p repa rati on a u cong res et a I ' ete a pres l a rencontre a n n u e l l e des mem bres.
Dans ce pre m i er n u m e ro, Terry S m ith nous fai t d ecouvri r d es aspects i m portants d e l a consu ltati on
en nous fa isant part de son experi ence de la m i se s u r pied d'un cou rs su r la consu l tati on stati sti q u e . Q ua nt
a Larry Wel don, ses refl exions su r l a statisti q u e " branche des m athe m ati q u es ou d i sci pl i ne d i sti ncte " ,
d evra i ent susciter d es courts et d e l ongs commentai res ...
J e n e vou d ra i s pas o u b l i e r d e remercier V i ctor Tre m bl ay, mon p red ecesseur, pou r Ie trava i l
rem a rq u a b l e q u ' i l a a ffect u e avec des m oyens l i m i tes. Ses conse i l s m ' ont ete fort uti l es. J e l u i sou h a i te Ie
mei l l e u r succes d a ns sa nouve l l e e ntreprise q u ' i l vient de m ettre su r pied.
La Redactri ce,
N i cole P.-Gend rea u
The ed itori a l tea m has been feverish l y active over the past few weeks. Here it i s with its new l ook,
the SSC newsl etter.
Liaison has e m e rged from recommendations by the New Com m u cati ons Com m i ttee a nd refl ects
the thoughts of m a n y people. It i ncorporates severa l i n novati ons.
Liaison i s a n editori a l tea m that sha res the task of prod u c i ng the newsl ette r. It i s a l so correspon­
d e nts who h ave ta ken charge of certai n sections.
Liaison i s a ser i es of reg u l a r secti ons that wi l l become fa m i l i a r to you (they a re d escri bed in greater
d eta i l on page 6) . It i s a l so feat u re a rticles a n d , for the fi rst ti me, Liaison wi l l conta i n advertising. The
content is more e l a borate and the visual presentati on i m proved.
Liaison esta bl i shes new l i nes of com m u n i cation, rei nforces l i n ks, puts SSC m e m bers in contact with
new a u d i e nces a n d sti m u l ates the pa rtici pati on of the statistical com m u n ities in pri vate sectors, the
governments, a n d the u n i versiti es. Liaison is you r thoug hts, you r comments. Let us know what you need .
We want Liaison to be your ve h i c l e, your i nstru m e nt for com m u n i cati o n .
Liaison i s p u b l i shed th ree ti mes a yea r: i n t h e autu m n after t h e S S C Board o f Di rectors' meeting, i n
t h e wi nter i n prepa ration f o r t h e conference a n d i n t h e s u m m e r fol l ow i n g the a n n u a l meeting o f mem­
bers.
In th i s fi rst i ssue, Terry S m ith reveals i m portant aspects of the consulting world by d escri bing his ex­
perience i n setti ng up a course i n stat i stical consu l t i n g . La rry Wel d o n ' s m u si n gs on stati stics, " M athema­
tical Speci a l ty o r Sepa rate Di sci pl i ne?" , shou l d gene rate a l i ve l y response from read ers.
I can not concl u d e without tha n k i n g my pred ecessor, V i ctor Tre m b l ay, for the re m a rkab l e work he
accompl i shed with l i m i ted resou rces. H i s advice has been extremely u sefu l . I wish him m u c h su ccess in his
new busi ness he has j ust set u p.
The Editor,
Liaison,
N i co l e P -Gend reau
MAILBOX
LA BOlTE AUX LETTRES
Sai nte-Foy, October 2 0
Sai nte-Foy, I e 20 octobre
Dear Statisti ci a n s :
Che r(e)s stati sti c i e n ( ne)s,
At t h e l ast g e n e r a l m eeti ng held i n B a n ff, i n
M ay 1 986, we passed a reso l ution ask i n g fo r the
removal of the restricti o ns on the adverti sem e nt of
positi ons for statist i c i a ns in Canada. The a i m of the
proposa l was to fac i l i tate the h i ri n g of non Cana­
d i ans. At the vote, m ost part i c i pa nts were try i n g to
m a ke the best of the steak that the B a nff Centre
was se rv i ng that even i ng . It appears that they d i d
not g i ve the reso l ution a l l the atte nti on it d eserved .
This vote was premature i nd eed; the wo rd i n g of
the proposa l see m s to be a m b i g u ous and the facts
p resente d , n a m e l y t h e d i ff i c u l t i e s t h a t t h r e e
u n i versi ties experi enced i n h i ri ng com petent statis­
ti c i a ns, d i d not d e m a n d a n i m m ed i a te res ponse
from the Soci ety.
Lors d e I ' asse m b l ee g e n e ra l e a n n u e l l e de l a
Soci ete ten u e en m a i dernier a B a n ff, nous avons
adopte u ne resol uti on d e m a n d ant la l evee d es res­
trictions concernant I ' affi chage de postes en stati s­
t i q u e au Ca nada. On voula i t a i nsi fa ci l i ter I ' e m ­
b a u c h e de non Canadi ens. Lors d u vote, l a p l u part
des pa rti ci pa nts essaya i ent de t i re r Ie mei l l e u r parti
poss i b l e du steak q u e Ie B a nff Centre offra it ce soi r­
la. l i s n ' ont pas, sem b l e-t-il , accord e a cette reso l u ­
tion toute I ' attenti on q u ' e l l e meri tait. C e vote eta it
premature; la form u l ation d e l a proposition paraTt
a m bi g ue et l es fa its presentes, a savoi r l es d i ffi c u l ­
tes q u ' ont eues trois u n i versi tes a recruter des sta­
ti sti ciens compete nts, ne j u sti fi a i ent pas u ne prise
d e positi on i m m ed i ate.
What have we voted for? It see m s that the
word u n i versity d oes not a ppear in the word i ng of
the reso l uti on and that our vote appl i es to a l l j obs
i n stati sti cs, the " b l u e col l a r " and the "white col­
l a r "j obs to u se M a rti n Wi l k 's te rm i no l og y Are the
j ob opportu n i t i es i n stati sti cs so n u m e ro u s that
Canad i a n u n i versi t i es ca n n ot m eet the d em a nd? I
d o not kn ow. A l l I can say is that at U n i versite Laval
m ost g ra d uates of the Bachel ors prog ram i n statis­
tics fi nd govern m e nt rel ated j o bs. Thus even i f the
j ob situation is g ood , i t can d eteriorate ra p i d l y i f
o n e o f the g overn m e nts ca l l s a h i ri ng freeze. The
need , in the U n ited States, for q u a l i fi ed statist i c i a ns
is not fel t at Lava l . T h i s contrasts with the situation
i n actu a r i a l sc i e n c es w h e re m a n y US j o bs a r e
ad vertised on cam pus. T h e statist i cs stu d e nts I ta l k­
ed to are agai nst the proposa l .
Po u r q u e l l e propos i t i o n avons-nous vot e ? I I
se m b l e q u e I e mot u n i versite n ' a p pa ra i sse pas dans
I e l i bel l e d e l a proposition et q u e notre vote s'appl i ­
q u e a tous l es e m p l o i s en statist i q u e , tant ceux d e
"cols b l e u s " q u e d e " co l s bl ancs" pou r empl oyer l es
expressions de M a rti n Wi l k. Le nom bre d ' empl o i s
d i spon i bl es en stati stique est-i l tel q u e l es u n i versi­
tes ca n a d i e n n es n ' a rr i vent p l u s a repond re a la
demande? Je n ' en sa i s rien. Tout ce q u e j e peu x d i re
c ' est q u ' a l ' U n i v e rsite Lava l , ce sont s u rtout d es
organi smes gouvernementa u x q u i e m ba u chent l es
fi n i ssa nts d u bacca l a u reat e n statist i q u e . A i n s i ,
m e m e si n os fi n i ssa nts se pl acent b i e n , l a situati on
est fragi l e car el l e est a l a merci d ' u n gel d es postes
des gouvernem ents fed eral ou provi nci a l . La penu­
rie d e statisti ci ens q u e con n a i ssent actuel l ement l es
Am eri cains ne sem ble pas avoi r d e reperc u ssi ons
chez nous. E n actu a ri at, par contre, on retro u ve
bea u c o u p d ' offres d ' e m p l o i a m e r i c a i n e s s u r I e
campus. E n fa i t l es etu d i a nts e n statisti q u e q u e j ' a i
consu ltes sont contre cette propositi o n .
B ecause, o n th ree i n sta n c es, C a n a d i a n i m m i ­
g rati on pol i c i es m a y have h a m pe red , or even have
prevented the h i ri n g of com petent statisti c i a ns, the
Soci ety m a kes a sta nd and asks to be exe m pted . A
sa m p l e s i z e o f t h r e e i s n ot m u c h ( e v e n fo r
dedi cated B ayes i a n s w i th st rong p r i o rs ! ) . B efore
com m i ting itsel f a m ore m atu re soc i ety, l i ke the
ASA, wo u l d u n d o u bted l y h a v e g a t h e r e d m o r e
i nform ation on the i ssue.
It wou l d be i nteresti ng a n d benefi c i a l to deba­
te this issue p u bl i cl y . The refore I u rg e the Presi d ent
to use Liaison to l et u s know how h e i nte n d s to
fol l ow up on this reso l ution and to make p u bl i c the
case he wi l l eventu a l l y present to the Depa rtment
of I m m i grat i o n . Soci ety m e m bers who m a y have
had d i ffi c u l t i es with the Department of I m m i g ra­
tion and its reg u l ations sh o u l d exp ress the i r vi ews
i n Liaison . T h i s w o u l d m a k e for an i nterrest i n g
L iaison a n d , w h o k n ows, poss i b l y i n c r e a se t h e
mem bersh i p o f the S oc i ety.
B est regards
Louis-Pa u l Ri vest
U n i versite Lava l
Pa rce q u ' a trois reprises l es pol iti qu es d ' i m m i ­
gration canad ienne a u ra i ent n u i , ou a u ra i ent m e­
me em peche I ' e m ba u che d ' u n statisticien com pe­
tent, la Soc i ete prend pos i t i o n et d e m a n d e u n e
exempt i o n . U ne ta i l l e d ' echanti l l on de trois, c ' est
peu ( m e m e pou r d es B ayesi e n s si nceres avec d e
fortes opi n i ons a pri ori ! ) . Ava nt d e se prononcer,
u ne soc i ete eta b l i e com me I 'ASA a u rait sa ns d oute
a pprofon d i la q u esti o n .
I I sera i t i nteressa nt e t ben efi q u e q u e I e d ebat
reste ou vert et p u b l i c. Je sou h a i te v i vement q u e I e
president d e l a Soci ete uti l ise l es pages de Liaison
pour nous fai re savo i r I e s u i vi q u ' i l d o n nera a cette
resol uti on et pou r nous com m u n i quer, I e cas eche­
ant, I e d ossi er q u ' i l entend presenter au m i n i stere
de I 'lm m i g rati o n . Les mem bres de la Soc i ete ayant
eu d es d e m e l es avec I m m i g rati o n C a n a d a pou r­
ra i ent e u x a u ssi uti l i ser ces pages pour nous fa i re
part d e l e u rs opi n i ons. Cela ren d ra i t Liaison pl u s
i nteressa nt et, q u i sait, a u g m entera it peut-etre I e
nom bre d e mem bres d e l a Soci ete.
Sal utati ons,
Lou i s-Pa u l Ri vest,
U n i versite Laval
THE NEW LIAISON
A number of sections will be appearing in each issue of Liaison. The following paragraphs describe the
objectives of each one and its typical content. Unfortunately, in some eyes at least, instructions are also given to
guide the literary flights of authors.
A WORD F RO M TH E E DITOR
WHAT' S HAPPENING?
Liaison's E d itor w i l l use t h i s space to
i nf o r m m e m bers of t h e Ed ito r i a l C o m ­
m ittee's objectives a n d c o n c e r n s , t o c a l l
upon contributors, i nvite com m e nts, d raw
readers' atte ntion to an a rt i c l e o r eve nt of
pa rti c u l a r i nterest, etc. T h a t ' s r i g h t, t h i s
space has a n "infi n ite deg ree of freed o m".
H owever, the Editor pledges that her word
w i l l prov i d e n o t h i n g but "re l i a b l e i n d i ­
cators" .
T h ese "spa t i a l a n d t e m p o r a l v a r i a ­
tions" g e n e rated b y tech n o l o g y a n d t h e i r
a u t h o r s ' own h i g h e n e r g y w i l l prov i d e
n e w s a b o u t m e m b e r s ( a pp o i n t m e n t s ,
p u b l i c a t i o n s , e t c . ) a n d l i st t h e m a j o r
a c t i v i t i e s a t t h e reg i o n a l , n a t i o n a l a n d
i nternat i o n a l levels ( m eet i n g s , c o n f e r e n ­
ces, conventions, etc.). as wei! as a n y other
eve n t th a t m a y be of i n t e rest t o sta ­
tist i c i a n s .
MAILBO X
STATISTICS IN TH E CAPITALS
T h i s i s t h e r e a d e rs' p a g e Y o u a r e
i n v i ted to s e n d u s y o u r c o m m e n ts o r
t h o u g h t s t h a t m a y b e o f i n te r e st t o
m e m bers o r f o r t h e profeSSi o n . T h e I n d ica­
tions a re that this page will be g iven over
to "va riations and sta n d a rd deviations"
E a c h issue of Liaison w i l l conta i n texts
dea l i n g with activities, pro g ra m s or deve­
lopm ents u n d e r way In the v a r i O U s g o ­
ve r n m e nta l statistical a g e n cies (fed eral or
provi n c i a l ) , o r in depart m ental sta t i sti cal
sect i o n s . Yes I n d e e d , eve ry "st a t i st i c a l
a g g regate" w i l l be asked to c o n t r i bute I
S o m e , more t h a n oth ers. s i n ce Stat i stics
Ca n a d a wlil contri bute to each Issue.
UPDATE O N SSC AHAIRS
T h i s sect i o n of Liaison w i l l c o n c e n ­
trate·on activities a n d n ews conce r n i n g the
E xecutive, the B o a rd of Directors and the
Soci ety's va r i o u s co m m itte e s . The PresI­
dent of the S S C will have a word to sa y .
T h e ot her m e m be rs o f t h e Executive, co m ­
m ittee c h a i r m e n a n d re g i o n a l represe n ­
tatives ca n a l s o i n cl u d e m essa ges. In fact.
t h i s sect i o n c o u l d be g i v e n t h e t i t l e :
"Tre n d s a t the Top"
N
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u
their thoughts on t h e a ctu a l process of
c o n s u lti n g , f o r t h e b e n ef i t of t h e p r o ­
fess i o n i n g e n e ra l .
FEATURE ARTICLES
Liaison w i l l i nc l u d e fe a t u re a rt i c l e s ,
papers, su m m a r ies, a n a l yses, new app l i ca ­
tions, reflect i o n s , pedagogical a rticles, etc . ,
presented I n a n o n -tech n i cal way, a n d o f
g e n e rai I n te rest f o r statisti cia n s o f a l l
backgrounds. T h i s IS the "a lpha" a n d the
"om ega" of statistics.
CAREER OPPORTU N ITIES
Positions w h i c h may I nterest S o c i ety
m e m be rs will be posted for "pa i ri n g " p u r­
poses.
TH E CONSULTANTS' COLUM N
T h i s f e a t u r e IS t h e d o m a i n of c o n ­
s u lta nts f r o m private f i r m s, aca de m iC I n sti­
tutions, i n d ustry or g overn m e nt ad m i n i S­
trati o n s . All these "i n depe n d ent va r i a b l es"
a re i n vited to s h a r e , i n a n o n -te c h n i c a l
way, t h e resu lts o f work they a re curre ntly
e n g a g ed in, have recently completed , or
C T
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u
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o
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M a n u scri pts m u st be typed on 8t x 1 1 paper, at one and one- h a l f spac i n g . The ma x i m u m n u m ber of manus­
cri pt pages, i n the ori g i na l l a ng u age, i s :
Mailbox: 1 page
Feature Articles: 4 pages
Statistics in the Capitals: 2 pages
Career Opportunities: m a x i m u m of 1 2 5
words for each pos i t i o n (adverti si ng
rates wi l l apply beyond this l i m i t).
The Consultants' Column: 2 pages
All articles should be submitted with their translation as much as possible.
Correspondence rega rd i ng "News about Members" and "Regional N ews" shou l d be add ressed to Christi a n
G e n est, wh i l e G eorge Stya n i s t h e person t o contact conce rning "I nternational Meetings". F o r a n y i nformati on on
a d vertisi n g a n d "The Consultants' Column", pl ease contact P h i l i p G reen. (Add resses are i n d i cated on page 2.)
--------��r-
LE NOUVEAU LIAISON
Un certain nombre de rubriques reviendront a chaque numero de Liaison. Les objectifs poursuivis par ces
rubriques et leur contenu-type sont exposes dans cette page. Helas, diront plusieurs, des instructions y sont
egalement indiquees afin de contenir les elans litteraires des auteurs.
LE MOT DE LA REDACTRICE
AU FAI T DE L'ACTUALI TE
La Redactrice d e Liaison co m m u n i q u e
a u x m e m bres d a n s cette page l e s orie nta­
tions ou les preoccu pati o n s de la R e d a c­
t i o n , fait a p p e l a des c o l l a borate u rs , s o l ­
l i cite des co m m enta i res, atti re I ' attent i o n
s u r u n texte ou u n even e m e nt d ' i nte ret
p a rt i c u l ier, etc. Vous avez bien l u , e l l e a
carte b l a n c h e . E l l e s ' e n g a g e tout de m e m e
a c e q u e son m ot presente d es "ind i c e s
f i a b l es" .
Ces " v a r i a t i o n s spati a l e s et t e m po­
re l i es" d u es a l a tech n o l og i e et au rayon
laser d e l e u rs a uteurs d onne ront des nou­
velles des m e m bres (nom inati o n s, p u b l ica­
tion, etc.) et e n u m ereront les princi p a l e s
a ctiv ites q u i m a rq u e n t l e s sce n e s reg i o­
nale, nationa l e et i ntern ationa l e (rencon­
tres, confe rences, cong res, etc . ) o u t o u t
a utre evene ment su sce pt i b l e d ' i nte ress e r
l e s statlst l c i e n s .
LA BOlTE AUX LETTRES
LA STATI STIQUE EN CAPITALES
La page reservee a u x lecte u rs . Ceux-ci
sont invites a y exposer un po i nt de vue ou
une reflexion d ' interet pour les m e m bres
o u pour la profess i o n de stati stlc i e n . D e
toute eVidence, I I s ' a g l ra s o u v e nt i c i d e
"va ri ances e t d ' eca rts types " .
On y trouvera, dans c h a q ue n u m e ro
de Liaison, de courts textes s u r les a ctivites,
les p rogra m m es , ou les deve l o p pe m e nts en
cours dans les d i ffe rentes u n ites statlsti­
q u es gouvernem enta les, que ce soit dans
les a g ences statist i q ues centra les (federa l e
ou provlnc i a l es). OU d a n s l e s d i re ctions d e
statistiq u es de m inisteres o u d'org a n l smes.
Eh oui, t o u s l e s " a g reg ats sta t i st l q u es"
sont mlS a contribution I Ce rta i ns plus q u e
d'a utres, p u isq u e Statist l q u e Ca nada sera
a u rendez-vous a chaque n u m e ro .
LA sse EN BREF
Cette r u b r i q u e de Liaison est c o n ­
sacree a u x activites e t a u x n o u v e l l e s d e
l ' E xecutif, d u Cons e i l d ' a d m i n i st r at i o n e t
des d i vers com ites d e l a Societe. L e presi­
d ent de l a SSC y d i ra son m ot. Les a utres
m e m bres de l ' E xecutif, les p r e s i d ents d e
co mite e t l e s r e p r esenta n t s r e g i o n a u x
p o u r ront e g a l e m ent y passer d e s m es s a ­
ges. Cette r u b r i q u e pourra i t en f a i t s ' inti­
t u l e r : "Les tendances au som m et".
N S T
R U C T
ou encore des a d m i n i strations g o u v e r n e­
m e nta les. Toutes ces " va r i a bles i n d e pen­
d a ntes" sont i n vitees a com m u n iq u e r , d e
fa�on non tec h n i q u e et pour I e benefice d e
l a profession e n genera l , l e s resu ltats d e
l e u rs travaux e n cours , l e u r s rea l i sa t i o n s
recentes ou l e u rs reflexions s u r I e processus
m e m e de l a consu ltati o n .
ARTICLES VEDETTES
On p re s e n t e r a d a n s L i a is o n d e s
a rticles d e fond, des textes d e conference,
des res u mes, des a n a l yses, des a p p l icat i o n s
nouvelles , d e s reflexions, des a rticles p e d a ­
g o g i q u e s , etc . , p rese ntes d e fa�on n o n
tech n i q u e e t d ' i nte ret g enera l p o u r l e s
statlsticiens de tous l e s m i l ieux. Cest ''i ' a l ­
pha e t I 'o m ega" d e l a statisti q u e .
LE BABILLARD DES CARRI ERES
Les postes suscept i bles d ' i nteresser l e s
m e m bres de l a Soci ete y seront publ ies a
des f i n s . . "d'a p p a r i e m ent".
LE STATI STI CI EN-CONSEI L
Cette r u bri q u e est reservee a u x ex­
pe rts-statistl ciens, q u ' i l s soi ent des f i r m e s
p r l vees, de I ' e n se l gnem ent, d e I ' industrie
o
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A U T
E U R S
Tous l es m a n uscrits d o i vent etre d actylogra p h i es su r papier 8+ x 1 1 , a u n i nterl igne et d em i . Le nom bre
maxi m u m d e pages d e m a n u scrit, dans la l a ng u e ori gi nale, est:
La boite aux lettres: 1 page
Articles vedettes: 4 pages
La statistique en capitales: 2 pages
Le babillard des carrieres: ma x i m u m de
1 2 5 m ots pour chaque poste ( a u - d e l a
d e cette l i m i te, on d evra reco u ri r a u
ta rif prevu pou r l a publ i ci te) .
Le statisticien-conseiI: 2 pages
La traduction des textes doit. dans toute la mesure du possible. etre fourni e.
On d oi t ad resser a Christi a n G enest toute corresponda nce rel ative a u x "Nouvelles des membres" et "Echos
des regions", et a G eorge Stya n cel i e concerna nt l es "Rencontres internationales". De m eme, on s ' ad ressera a
Phi l i p G reen pour toute q u esti on se ra p portant a l a rubrique "Le statistici en-conseil" et a l a pu b l i c i t e . (Les
ad resses d e ces perso n nes sont fou r n i es a la page 2).
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UPDATE ON
LA
sse AFFAIRS
sse EN BREF
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
LE BILLET DU PRESIDENT
T h i s i s the i na u g u ra l i ssue of SSe's "Liaison ", the
su c cesso r j o u r n a l to the SSC "Newslette r ". T h e
c h a n g ed format, coverage a n d p o l i c i es o f t h i s
j o u r n a l a re a prod u ct of j o i nt pl a n n i n g b y the New
C o m m u n i ca t i o n s C o m m i ttee ( c h a i red b y J a n e
G e ntl e m a n ). i n c o m i n g P u b l i c R e l a t i o n s O ff i c e r
N i co l e G en d reau a n d t h e Liaison Ed itori a l Board. O f
course, the changes have the fu l l approval of the
SSC B oa rd of Di rectors.
Voici I e prem i e r n u m ero d e Liaison, l a revue q u i
succede a u Bulletin d e l a SSe. La presentation, I e
contenu et l es pol itiques d e cette nouvel l e revue
sont d i fferents; ils sont I e fru i t com m u n d u trava i l
d e pl a n i ficati o n accompl i par I e Com i te d es n o u ­
vel l es com m u n i cati o n s (presi d e par J a n e G e ntl e­
m a n). par l a n o u v e l l e respo nsa b l e d es re l at i o n s
p u b l i q u es, N i co l e G en d reau , e t p a r I e C o m i t e d e
red a cti on de Liaison . N at u r e l l e m e nt, l es m od i fi ­
cations apportees ont ete plei nem ent a pprouvees
par I e Conse i l d ' ad m i n istrati o n d e l a SSe.
On beh a l f of the SSC, I w a nt to e x p ress o u r
a pp rec i ati o n f o r t h e e x c e l l e nt w o r k o f V i ct o r
Trem b l a y as Ed itor of the N ewsl etter over severa l
years . W h e n s o m e c a reer c h a n ges req u i r e d h i s
resig n ati o n as SSC Pu b l i c Relations Offi cer, the SSC
Board voted u n a n i m ously to ask N i co l e G e n d re a u
t o succeed h i m , a n d h a p p i l y s h e accepted .
J o u r n a l d evelopm ents are but one aspect of a
matu ri n g of t h e S S C a cti v i t i e s a n d p o l i c i es i n
represe nti n g , a n d a d v a n c i n g , the p rofess i o n o f
stati sti cs i n Canada. T h e v i a b i l ity a n d va l u e o f the
S S C to Ca n a d i a n s t a t i s t i cs h a s b e e n fu I I y
d e m o n strate d . A g a i n st that b a c k g r o u n d , t h e r e
seem s n o w t o be com m o n agreement that: t h e SSC
s h o u l d w o r k to e n l a r g e a n d b r o a d e n i t s
m e m be rshi p; ta ke a m o re aggressi ve and proactive
rol e in i m provi n g research s u p po rt for stati sti cs;
take p rofessi o n a l res p o n s i b i l i t y for p u b l i c a n d
sc i e nti fic a ppl i ca t i o n s o f statist i c a l c o n c e pts a n d
tech n i q ues; take a m ore active rol e i n i m prov i n g
l i a i son o f aca d e m i c statisti c i a ns with govern m e n t
and i nd u stry statisti c i a ns; a n d expa n d t h e servi ces
of SSC to its m e m bers ( e. g . by the d evelopment of
Liaison, by workshops, by l ectu re prog r a m s , b y
other p u b l i cati o n-rel ated acti vities, etc . ) .
T h e S S C m ust m a n a g e its deve l o p m e nt w h i l e
deal i n g rea l i sti c a l l y a n d prod u ct i v e l y w i t h t h re e
chal l en g i ng factors: ( i ) t h e need to operate as a
bi l i ng u a l soci ety ; ( i i ) the vast geog ra p h i c d i spers i o n
o f statisti c i a ns i n C a n a d a a n d ( i i i ) the d o m i n a nt
prox i m ity of A m e r i c a n stati sti c a l orga n i za t i o n s ,
espec i a l l y t h e A m e r i c a n Statistical Assoc i at i o n .
At the sa m e ti m e , Ca nad i a n statistics h a s the
potenti a l advantages o f : (i) a h i g h l y ce ntra l i ze d
offi c i a l statist i c a l syst e m , c e ntered on Stati sti cs
Ca n a d a ; and ( i i ) a r e l a t i v e l y c l ose-k n i t ( a l b e i t
sm a l l i sh) acad em i c stati sti c a l com m u n ity. At t h e
present ti m e , the l i a i s o n betw e e n the O ffi c i a l
Statisti c i a n s and the Acad e m i c Statist i c i a ns i s rather
rud i m entary. The enti re profession sta nds to g a i n
a s the con necti v i ty between those two g ro u ps i s
strengthe ned .
Au nom de l a SSC, je vou d ra i s rem ercier V i ctor
Trem b l ay du trava i l re m a rq u a b l e qu ' i l a rea l i se
pendant pl usi e u rs a n n ees a titre de red a cte u r e n
chef d u Bulletin. Apres q u e des c h a n g e m e nts d e
nature professi onnel l e eu rent a m e n e V i ctor Tre m ­
bl a y a dem issi onner d e s o n poste d e responsa b l e
des relations p u b l i q u es d e l a SSC, les mem bres d u
Consei l d'ad m i n istrati o n d e. l a SSC o n t u n a n i m e­
m ent demande a N i co l e G e n d reau de l u i succeder.
Et cel l e-ci a heu reu sement accepte de rem pl i r ces
foncti ons.
Les changem ents apportes a u bu l l eti n sont I e
refl et d e nom breuses m od i fi cati ons a ven i r d a n s l es
a cti vi tes et l es pol itiques d e l a SSC, orga n i sm e q u i
rep resente I e monde d e l a stati st i q u e e t q u i fa i t
progresser cette d i sci p l i n e dans n otre pays. L a vi a b i ­
l i te d e l a SSC ai nsi que son uti l ite pour l a stati sti q u e
a u Ca n a d a ne sont pl us a d e m o ntre r . D a n s c e
contexte, i l se m b l e m a i nte n a nt y avo i r u n con­
sensus sur ce que l a SSC devra i t fa i re : s ' effo rcer
d ' a u g m enter Ie nom bre d e ses m e m bres et d ' e l a rg i r
s a composition, j ou e r u n role p l u s dynamiq u e d e
fa<;on proact i v e afi n d'a m e l i o rer I e souti e n a l a
rec herche statistique, assumer d es respo n sa b i l i tes
professi o n n e l l es re l ativement a I ' appl i cati o n d e
concepts et d e tec h n i q u es a des d omai nes genera u x
e t sci entifiques, j ouer u n rol e p l us actif afi n d ' ac­
croitre la com m u n i cation e ntre l es statisti ciens q u i
trava i l l ent a I ' u n i versite et ceux q u i sont a u serv i ce
d e l ' E tat et d u secte u r prive et, enfi n, e l a rg i r l es
servi ces oHerts a ses mem bres (par exe m p l e , I ' eta­
b l i ssement de Liaison, des ate l i ers, des conferences,
d i verses activites rel i ees a des p u b l i cati ons) .
La SSC d oit s ' occu per d e sa croissa nce tout e n
te n a nt com pte, d ' u n e m a n i ere rea l i ste e t prod uc­
tive, d e troi s d efis i m po rt a n t s : ( i ) la n e c es s i t e
d ' exercer ses activites en tant q u ' orga n i sm e bi l i n­
g u e , ( i i ) l a d i spersi on geogra p h i q u e des stati sti ciens
au Ca n a d a , ( i i i ) I 'i m po rta nce d e s o rg a n i sati o n s
statisti ques a m e ri cai nes, com m e l 'American Statisti­
cal Assoc i ation, en raison de la proxi m i te des Etats­
Unis.
UPDATE ON sse AFFAIRS / LA sse EN BREF
The d i sci pl i ne of stati st i cs i n its wide spectru m
of coverage - ph i l osop h i ca l con cepts and precepts;
m a them ati c a l a n d m eth o d o l o g i c a l te c h n i q u e s;
m od e l bu i l d i ng a n d d ata a n a l ys i s, i n c l u d i n g g ra­
p h i cs ; stati stical com puti ng and d ata m a nagement;
d es i g n of su rveys and exper i m e nts; d ata col l ection
a n d compi l ati on - is a fasc i n ati n g fi e l d , i ntellec­
tu a l l y a m biti ous, perhaps pretentious. It has m u c h
t o offer t o the d eve l opment o f sc i e nce and t o the
prov i s i o n of effect i ve i nformati on systems need ed
for a modern, d e m ocrati c i nd u strial soci ety. W h i l e
o perati ng t o serve the i nterests a n d n e e d s o f i ts
m e m bers h i p, the overri d i n g obj ective of the SSC i s
t o expl oit t h e fu l l pote nti a l o f statist i cs t o serve the
Ca nad i a n p u b l i c i nterest.
Martin B. W i l k
THE BOARD O F DIRECTORS'
MEETING
The B oa rd of Di rectors of the Soci ety m et i n
Ottawa on October 18 and 1 9, 1 986. The agenda
com p r i sed some forty i t e m s for d i scuss i o n. T h e
m e eti n g w a s d o m i nated b y t h e B o a rd ' s d et e r­
m i nati o n to expand the activities of the Soci ety
and to broaden its appeal. T h i s preoccu pati on was
at the h e a rt of a!1 the d i sc u ssi o n s a n d l ed to a
n u m be r of acti ons.
The m ost i m m e d i ate a n d tang i b l e c h a n g e is
certa i n l y the n ew a ppearance of the Soc i ety' s news­
l etter, starti ng with this i ssue. It is hoped that the
i nc l usi o n of a n u m be r of new col u m n s a n d the
i ntrod u ction of paid adverti s e m e nts w i l l prov i d e
for better coverage a n d representation from u n i ­
versi ti es, govern m e nt agenc i es, a n d i nd u stry, wh i l e
l i m i t i n g prod u ction costs. T h e ed i to rs of L iaison,
w h o ag reed with the suggest i o n s fo rm u l ated by
J a n e F . G e ntl ema n ' s New Com m u n i cati ons Com m i t­
tee, ex pect to p u b l i sh three i ssues the fi rst yea r.
In the sa m e spirit, the Ed i tor of The Canadian
Journal of Statistics (CJS), Donald L. M c Le i s h , h a s
esta b l i shed a n e w secti on i n order to foster better
com m u n i cati o n among pri vate a n d u n i versity sta­
tistical consu lti ng u n its i n Canada and the stati sti cal
com m u n i ty at l a rge. The new section, whose title is
yet to be d eterm i ned, wi l l p u b l i sh a rti c l es of a m ore
tec h n i ca l nature than those a ppeari ng i n Liaison's
consu l ta nts' col u m n . Al l m a n u scri pts su b m i tted to
this col u m n of the CJS wi l l be refereed.
I n yet a n oth e r d evel o p m e n t c o n c e r n i n g
p u b l i cati ons, the Pres i d ent of the Soci ety confi rmed
that a rra ngem ents have been made with Statist i cs
Canada to provide the Journal of Survey Metho-
Par a i l l e u rs, I e m o n d e d e l a sta t i st i q u e a u
Canada peut profiter d e ce rta i n s avantages : u n
syste m e statisti q u e offi c i e l h a utement centra l i se
a yant Statist i q u e Ca n a d a c o m m e foyer et u n e
com m u n a u te sta t i sti q u e u n i v e rs i t a i re d o nt l e s
mem bres (meme s ' i l s sont peu nom b reux) entre­
ti ennent d es l i ens re l a ti ve m ent et roits Les l i ens
entre l es stati st i c i e n s offi c i e l s et l es stati sti c i e n s
u n i versitai res eta nt plutot rudimentai res a I ' heure
actuel l e , toute notre professi o n beneficiera d u ren­
forcement d es re l ations entre ces deux grou pes.
La stati stique est une d i sci pl i ne fascinante q u i
exige bea ucoup d u poi nt d e v u e i ntel l ectuel, peut­
etre m e m e de la pretention, en raison de ses d i ­
verses facettes : concepts et reg l es phi l osop h i ques;
tec h n i ques math e m ati q u es et m et h od o l o g i q ues;
m od e l i sati o n et a n a l yse d e d on n ees, y com pris l es
m ethodes gra p h i q ues; cal c u l stati sti q u e et gestion
d e d o n n ees; conception d ' enq u etes et d ' experien­
ces; col l ecte et com pi l ation d e d o n n ees. E l l e peut
contri buer a u prog res d e la sc i e nce et a la pres­
tation de systemes d ' i nform ati o n efficaces dont a
beso i n une soc i ete i n d u str i e l l e , d e m ocrati q u e et
m oderne. M e m e si dans I ' exercice de ses activites, l a
SSC vise a servi r l es i nte rets d e ses mem bres e t a
repond re a l e u rs besoi ns, son o bj ecti f princi pal est
d ' e x p l o i t e r d a n s I ' i n t e r e t p u b l i c to u t e s l e s
possi bi l i tes q u ' offre l a stati st i q u e .
Martin B . Wi lk
REUNION DU CONSEIL
D'ADMINISTRATION
Le consei l d ' a d m i n i strati o n d e l a Societe s ' est
reu n i a Ottawa l es 1 8 et 19 octobre 1 986. Une
q u aranta i ne d e suj ets fi g u rait a I ' ordre d u jour d e l a
reu n i o n , au cours d e l a q u e l l e s' est m a n i festee l a
vol o nte g ra n d i ssa n te d u c o n se i l d ' i n s u ffl e r u n
nouvel essort a l a Soci ete et d'elargir I'eventa i l des
services q u ' e l l e o f f r e a s e s m e m b r e s . Cette
preoccu pation a d om i n e tous l es d ebats et plusi e u rs
m esu res ont ete adoptees en ce sens.
A cet egard , Ie changem ent Ie p l u s tang i b l e et
I e pl us i m m ed i at concerne I e b u l l eti n d ' i nformati on
d e l a Soci ete, q u i se presente dorenavant sous un
nou veau j ou r . L' i ntrod u c t i o n de n o u vel l e s r u b r i ­
q u es e t I ' i ncl usi on d e p u b l i c ite payante devra i ent
favo r i se r u n e m e i l l e u re couve rtu re d e s m i l i e u x
u n i versitai res, d es agences gouvernementa l es et d e
I ' i nd ustrie, tout e n l i m itant l es coOts d e prod ucti on.
Le com i te d e redacti on d e Liaison, q u i a end osse l es
reco m m a ndations d u com ite d es nouvel l es commu­
n i cati ons presi d e par Jane F. G entl eman, proj ette l a
p u b l i cation d e trois n u m e ros l a pre m i e re an nee.
UPDATE ON sse AFFAIRS I LA sse EN BREF
to SSC m e m b e rs at a red uced price of $ 1 4
per a n n u m . Provisions wi l l b e m a d e to i ncorporate
the su bscri pt i o n to t h i s j ou rn a l as an o pti on on the
Soci ety ' s m e m be rsh i p renewal form.
do/ogy
The Treasu rer, M a ry E. T h o m pson , rema rked
that i n t h e s h o rt term, t h e S oc i ety ' s d es i re for
e n h a nced servi ces w i l l l ea d to a fee i ncrease. At the
req u est of the Executive Com m i ttee, the B oa rd of
Di rectors a p p roved a new fee str uctu re for 1 987. As
of Ja n u a ry 1 , 1 987, the sched u l e of fees wi l l be as
fol l ows: $200 for i nstituti o n a l m e m bers, $45 for
i nd i v i d u a l m e m bers, and $20 for assoc i ate m e m ­
bers.
The a n n u a l m eeti ng of the Soci ety is proba b l y
t h e activity that g e n e rates t h e m ost e n t h u s i asm
among the m e m bersh i p . In recog n i ti on of this fact,
the Board of Di rectors conti rmed the appoi ntm e nt
of R. J a m es Tom k i ns, of the U n i versi ty of Reg i na , as
Prog ra m Sec retary w i th a m a n d ate to coord i nate
meeting pians over a l ong term hori zon i n consu l ­
tati o n with Prog ram C h a i r m e n a ppoi nted a n n u a l l y.
Dr. Tom ki ns' n o m i nati on i s effecti ve u nti l J u ne 30,
1 990.
The Pro g r a m C h a i r m a n for the 1987 ann u a l
meeting, M a rc M oo re, reported that a rra ngem ents
for the meeti ng at Universite Lava l a re goi ng wel l .
M ore d eta i l s o n the prog ram h e has prepa red are
prov i d ed on p a g e 1 2 . C o n s i d e ra b l e efforts have
been m a d e t h i s yea r to d esi g n a program w h i c h wi l l
g e n e rate a g r e a t e r l e v e l o f i n t e r est a m o n g
governm ent and i nd ustry statisti c i a ns. The meeti ng
wi l l feature, among other t h i ngs, i nvited add resses
by Dr. Ivan P. Fe l l eg i , C h i ef Stati sti c i a n of Canada,
Professor C h a r l es W . D u n n ett, second SSC g o l d
m ed a l l i st, a n d S i r Da v i d R. Cox. I n order to ensure
the fi n a n c i a l su ccess of the m eeti ng, the B oa rd of
Di rectors has approved a reg i strat i o n fee of $ 1 00,
i nc l u d i ng the ba n q u et.
The Board has resol ved to a ccept the i n vitation
of the Ameri can Sta tistical Assoc i at i o n (ASA) a n d
t h e SIAM Inst i tute for M at h e m ati cs a n d Soci ety
(S I M S) to co-spo nsor the Env i ronmetrics 87 confe­
rence w h i ch wi l l be h e l d i n Washi ngton, D . C . , i n
N ovem ber, 1 987. As i m pl i ed b y i ts na me, the focus
of t h i s conference wi l l be on a p p l i cati ons of m athe­
mati cs and stati sti cs to pro b l ems of envi ronmental
q u a l i ty . Some 300 reg i stered part i c i pa nts attended
a si m i l a r confere nce held i n 1 98 1 .
F i n a l ly, i n v i ew of the suggesti ons made by the
Ad Hoc Com m i ttee on Resea rc h Su pport, a Conti­
nuing Comm ittee on Resea rch has been struck by
the Boa rd to i m plem ent some of th ese i n i t i at i ves.
As a fi rst step, the co m m i ttee, to be chai red by
Da ns Ie m eme esprit, Ie red a cteu r en chef d e L a
Revue Canadienne de Statistique ( RCS) , Donald L
M c Leish, a a n nonce l a creation d ' u n e nouve l l e r u ­
bri q u e v i sa nt a favoriser d ava ntage l a c om m u n i ­
cat i o n entre l es agences d e consu ltati on u n i vers i­
ta i res ou pri vees et I 'ense m b l e d e l a profess i o n . L a
nou vel l e rubriq ue, d o n t I e nom n ' a p a s ete d evoi l e ,
a u ra u n ca ractere pl us tec h n i q u e q u e celie q u i
paraitra regu l i erement dans Liaison. Tous l es m a ­
n u scrits sou m i s a cette rubrique d e l a RCS se ront
eva l u es par un comite d e l ectu re .
Touj o u rs a u cha pi tre d es p u b l i cati ons, I e conse i l
a ete saisi d ' u n accord q u i est i ntervenu entre l a sse
et Stati sti q u e Ca nada et en vertu d u quel l es m e m ­
bres d e l a Soci ete pou rront d orenavant s'abonner a
l a revu e Techniques d'enquete a u ta r i f prefere n ­
tiel d e 1 4 $ par an nee. Une d i spositi o n a cet effet
sera i ncorporee a I ' avis de cotisation a n n u e l l e.
La tresori ere, M a ry E . Thom pson, a esti m e q u ' a
court terme, l es efforts d'expa nsi o n d e l a Soci ete se
trad u i ra i ent pa r u ne ha usse d es coti satio ns. A l a
d e m a n d e d u Com ite exec uti f, I e conse i l d ' a d m i n i s­
trati on a approuve de nouveaux tarifs d ' ad h esi o n .
A com pter d u prem i er j a nv i e r 1 987, l es cotisati o n s
s ' eta b l i ront d o n c com me su i t : 200 $ po u r l es i ns­
ti tuti ons, 45 $ pou r l es membres i nd i v i d u e l s et 20 $
pour l es mem bres associ es.
Le congres a n n u e l est sa ns d oute I ' acti vite q u i
suscite I e p l u s d ' i nteret au pres d es membres. Cons­
ci ent de ce fait, I e conse i l d ' ad m i n i stration a confi e
a R. Ja m es Tom k i ns, de l ' U n i versite de Reg i n a , I e
mandat d ' assurer l a planification a long terme d e s
congres, d e concert avec l es pres i d ents de progra m ­
me nom m es a n n u e l l e ment. M . Tom ki ns a g i ra a titre
d e secreta i re du progra m m e j u sq u ' au 30 j u i n 1 990.
Pou r sa part, Ie pres i d e n t du progra m m e d e
cette an nee, M a rc M oore, a soul i g n e que l es prepa­
rati fs vont bon tra i n en previ s i o n du congres d e
1987 a l 'Uni versite Lava l . Vous trou verez d e pl u s
am p l es d eta i l s a ce sujet e n page 1 2 Des efforts
cons i d era b l es ont ete d e p l oyes cette annee dans I e
but d e con cevoi r u n progra m m e capa b l e d e raviver
I ' i nteret d es statistici ens evol u a nt d a ns I ' i nd u st ri e
ou a I 'em ploi d ' age nces gouvernementa l es. Le con­
gres sera re hausse par l a prese nce du statisti c i e n en
chef du Canada, M. Ivan P. Fell eg i , du second m e­
d a i l l e d'or de l a SSC, Charl es W. D u n nett, et de S i r
Dav i d R . Cox. Afi n d ' assurer l a viabi l ite d e cette en­
treprise , I e conse i l d ' ad m i n i strati o n a etabl i a 1 00 $
l es fra i s d ' i nscri pti o n (y com p r i s I e cout d u b a n ­
q u et) .
SSC
Par reso l ution d u conse i l d ' a d m i n i strati o n , l a
s' est engagee au pres d e l 'Associ ati o n d e
UPDATE ON sse AFFAIRS I LA sse EN BREF
Professor J e ra l d F . Lawl ess of t h e U n i vers i ty of
Waterl oo, wi l l w rite an a rti c l e for Liaison o n the
v a r i o u s s o u rces o f resea r c h s u p p o rt c u r r e n t l y
avail a b l e i n Ca n a d a .
Statisti q u e Ameri ca i ne (ASA) e t d u S IA M I n stitute
for M athem atics and Soci ety (SI M S) a. parra i n er l a
conference Environmetrics 8 7 q u i se ti e n d ra a
Washi ngton en novem bre 1 987. Com m e son nom
I ' i nd i q u e, cette conference portera sur les appl i ca­
tions des mathemati ques et de la stati sti q u e aux
probl emes rel atifs a la q u a l ite de I ' envi ro n n ement.
U ne conference sem b l a b l e ava i t attire q u e l q u e 300
part i c i pa nts en 1 98 1 .
E nfi n , suite a u x recom mendations d u com ite ad
h o c p o u r Ie su pport a la re c h e r c h e , u n comite
permanent pour la recherche a ete i nsti tue par I e
conse i l d ' a d m i n i strati o n , sous l a p r e s i d e n c e d e
J e ra l d F . Lawl ess, d e l ' U n i versite d e Waterl oo. Dans
un prem i e r tem ps, Ie com i te red i g e ra un a rti c l e
pou r Liaison d a ns l eq u el seront decrites l es sou rces
cana d i e n nes de fina ncement de la reche rc he.
STATISTICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA/SOCIETE STATISTIQUE DU CANADA
BALANCE SHEET (unaudited)IETAT FINANCIER (non w§rifie)
D E C E M B E R 3 1 , 1 98 5 (with comparative figures for 1984)IAU 3 1 DeC E M B R E 1 98 5 (avec donnees comparatives pour 1984)
ASSETS/ACTIF
Current assets/Elements d' actif a court terme
Cash/E n c a i sse
Accou nts recei vabl e/Com ptes a recevo i r
Prepa i d expenses/Frais payes d ' avance
LIABILITIES AN D MEMBERS' EQUITY/PASSI F ET AVOI R DES MEMBRES
Current liabili ties/Elements du passi f a court terme
Accou nts paya b l e a n d accrued l i a b i l ities/Comptes et d ette a payer
Cu rrent portion of d efe rred m e m bersh i p reve n u e/Tra nche a c o u rt terme
(moins d'un an) d u reve n u d i ffere d es m e m bres
Total current liabilities/Total du passif a court terme
Deferred membership revenue/Revenu differe des membres
Less c u rrent portion a bove/ M o i ns l a tra n c he a cou rt terme m enti o n n ee ci-haut
Members' equity (deficiciency)/Avoir des membres (excedent du deficit sur
Ie capital d'apport)
1 98 5
1 984
$
$
1 ,3 1 0
6,368
1 ,423
9,101
3, 1 32
937
518
4,587
3 , 68 3
1 ,809
3,3 08
6,991
3, 1 07
4,916
3 ,548
3,308
240
3,137
3, 1 07
30
1 ,870
9,101
{359}
4,587
ERRATA
Two corrections should be made to the 1984 financial
statement of the sse which appeared in Vol. 14, No.1 of the
Newsletter:
on page 4, line "partial refund of NSERC gra n t ", we should read
"$3 10070" (instead of "$3 100.00");
on page 5, line "Cash at Bank ", we should read "$3 131.89"
(instead of "$760.89")
Deux erreurs se sont glissees au bilan financier de 1984 de
la sse publie dans Ie vol. 14, nO 2 du Bulletin:
en page 4, a la ligne "partial re fund of NSERC grant", on doit lire
"$3 100.70" (plutMque "$3 100.00");
en page 5, a la ligne "Cash at Bank ", on doit lire "$3 731.89"
(plut6t que "$760.89").
--------��r--
sse
The 1987 Annual meeting will
be held in Quebec city from May
31 to June 3.
ANNUAL MEETING
The spec i a l l y i nvi ted spea kers
wi l l be : Professor S i r D a v i d Cox,
Professor C h a r l es W. D u n nett and
Professor Christi a n G e n est.
CONGRES ANNUEL
1
9
8
T h e fol l ow i n g i n v i ted p a p e r
sessions are p l a n ned :
7
Le congres annuel 1987 s e
tiendra a Quebec du 3 1 mai au 3
juin.
Les c o n f e re n c i e rs s p e c i a l e ­
ment i nvites seront: I e Professe u r
S i r David Cox, I e Professeu r Char­
l es W . D u n n ett et M . C h r i st i a n
G e n est.
Les sess i o n s s u i v a n t e s s o n t
prevues:
Organizer/Organisateur
Topic/Sujet
•
•
•
Professor M. A. Stephens
Goodness-of-fit techniques
Simon Fraser University.
Techniques d'ajustement
Mr. T. J . O'Driscoll
Statistics in industry
General Foods Ltd.
Statistique dans I'i ndustrie
Teaching statistica l consulting
Professor J. T. Smith
L'enseignement de la consultation statistique
Queen's University.
Mr. P.E.J. Green
Case studies
• •
Etude de cas
•
•
Consulting Statistician, Toronto.
Mme N . Gendreau
Admin istrative files for statistica l purposes
Bureau de la statistique du Quebec.
Fichiers administratifs a des fins statistiques
Professeure C. va n Eeden
Non parametric methods
Universite de Montreal.
Methodes non-pa rametriques
La session su r I ' etude de cas est u ne experi ence
nouve l l e a n otre congres. A la fi n d e la prem i e re
m ati nee d u cong res, d e u x cas seront presentes. Les
d on nees perti nentes a ces cas seront d i spo n i bles .
Les cong ressi stes seront i n v i t es a refl e c h i r a u x
p r o b l e m e s s o u l eves et p o u r r o n t a n a l y s e r l e s
donnees pa r ord i nate u r. Lors d e l a derni ere sessi o n
d u cong res, l es partici pa nts pou rront echanger e t
com parer l e u rs suggesti ons.
The sessi o n o n case stu d i es is a new experi ence
at our m eet i n g . At the beg i n n i ng of the m eeti ng,
two cases wi l l be presented (with d ata sets) . The
parti c i pa nts wi l l be i nvited to thi n k a bo u t these
d ata . Com puti ng fac i l ities wi l l be avai l a b l e for the
a n a l ysis. At the end of the meeti n g , there wi l l be a
sess i o n w h e re s u g g esti o n s wi l l be rece i ved a n d
d i scussed .
It i s p l a n n e d t o h a ve contri b uted paper
sess i o n s. T h e c o n t r i b u tor w i I I h a ve t h e c h o i c e
b e t w e e n t w o f o r m a t s: a ta l k o r a p o s t e r
presentati o n . 1 5 m i n utes wi l l be a l l oted to e a c h
ta l k .
Des sessions sont prevu es pou r l a presentati o n
d e com m u n i cati ons l i bres. Les form ats conference
et affi chage sont d i sponi b l es Avec Ie format con­
fere n c e , c h a q u e p a rt i c i p a n t d i s p o s e r a de 1 5
m i nutes.
All titles of contributed papers must be
provided by January 31, 1987. The type of
presentation must be indicated, All abstracts with
100 to 200 words, must be received before March
1, 1987.
Les titres des communications libres doivent
etre re<;us avant Ie 31 jan vier 1987. On doit men­
tionner si la communication sera presentee sous
forme de conference ou par affichage. Un resume
de 100 a 200 mots doit etre re<;u avant Ie 1er mars
1987.
Titles and abstracts should be addressed to:ILes titres et resumes doivent etre envoyes a:
M. MARC MOORE
Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal
Departement de mathematiques appliquees
Case postale 6079, Succursale "Au
Montreal (Quebec) Canada
H3C 3A7
12
WH AT'S H APPENING ?
AU FAIT DE � ACTUALITE
NEWS ABOUT MEMBERS
NOU VELLES DES MEMBRES
The U n i versity of Waterl oo annou nces that S i r
David R. Cox has been a ppoi nted Adj u nct Professor
i n t h e D e p a rtm e n t of Stat i st i c s a n d A ct u a r i a l
Sci ence. H e plans t o vi sit the d e pa rtment reg u l a rl y .
L ' U n i ve rs i te de Wate r l o o a n n o n c e l a n o m i ­
nati on d e Si r David R. Cox a u paste honori fi q u e d e
professe u r asso c i e a u d e pa rtement d e statisti q u e et
d ' actu a r i at. Le professe u r Cox prevoit v i s i te r I e
d epartement a i nterva l l es reg u l i ers.
Robert J . E lliott ' s boo k , " Stoc h a st i c Ca l c u l u s
a n d A p p l i c ati o n s " ( S p r i n g e r- V e r l a g , 1 9 8 2 ) h a s
recen t l y b e e n tra n sl ated i nto R u ss i a n . Professor
E l l i ott, who holds a D.Se. d eg ree from Cambridge, is
F u l l Professor of Statist i cs and Appl i ed Proba b i l ity
at the U n i ve rsity of Al berta .
Mr. Rod Ell i ott has bee n h i red as manager of
the O nta r i o Ass u ra nce Centre (QU A LAB) w h i c h has
recently been created by the U n i versity of Western
Onta r i o .
Fi rst S S C g o l d m ed a l l i st, Donald A. S . F raser, has
accepted a posi tion of F u l l Professor of Stati st i cs i n
the Department o f Mathematics at York U n i versity,
effecti ve J u l y 1 , 1 986.
P r o fe s s o r J a m e s G. K al b fl e i s c h , f o r m e r
p resi d ent of the SSC and author of a popu l a r text i n
pro b a b i l ity a n d statisti cs, has been a p poi nted Dea n
of the Facu l ty of M athemati cs of the U n i versity of
Wate rl oo for a fi ve-yea r term, effecti ve J u l y 1 .
Three Canad i a n s were a m ong the statisti c i a ns
w h o were honored at the Aug u st meeti ng of the
I n stitute of M athematical Statisti cs ( I M S ) a n d the
American Stati sti cal Assoc i ation (ASA) in C h i cago.
Statisti cs Professor Robert E. Odeh of the U n i versity
of V i ctoria and Proba bi l i st Radu Theodorescu of
U n i ve rsite Lava l were el ected fe l l ows of t h e I M S
w h i l e Professor Muni S. Srivastava of the Depart­
m e nt of Stati stics at the U n i versity of Toronto was
e l ected a fe l l ow of the ASA.
George P. H . Styan o f t h e D e p a rt m e n t of
M athemati cs and Stati sti cs at the M c G i l l U n i versity,
has been a p poi nted Ed i tor of The I nstitute of Ma­
them ati cal Statistics B u l l eti n , the American cousi n
of L iaison. G eorg e ' s fi rst i ssu e wi l l be Vol u m e 1 6,
N o . 1 , J a n u a ry 1 987.
P rofessor Cesareo V i l l egas of Si m a n F r a s e r
U n i v e rsity, w h o h a s reac h e d n o r m a l reti r e m e n t
age, has b e e n rea ppoi nted for a th ree-year peri od.
Le traite " Stoc h a sti c Ca l c u l us a n d A p p l i ca ­
t i o n s " (Spri n g e r- Verl a g , 1 98 2 ) d e M . Robert J .
Ell i ott a recemm ent ete trad u i t en l a ng u e russe. M .
E l l i ott, q u i porte I e grade d e d octe u r es sci e n c es
( D . Se.) de l ' U n i ve rsite C a m b r i d g e , est p rofesse u r
titu l a i re d e statist i q u e et d e proba b i l ite appl i q u ee a
l ' U n i versite de l 'Al berta .
M. Rod Elliott a ete nom m e a l a d i recti on d e
l ' Ontario Qual i ty Assura nce Centre ( Q U A LAB) q u i a
rec e m m ent ete fonde par I ' U n i ve rs i t e Weste rn
Onta ri o.
Le pre m i e r med a i l l e d ' or d e l a SSC, M. Donald
A. S . F raser, a a c c e pte u n paste d e p rofesse u r
titu l a i re a u d e p a rtement d e m a t h e m ati q u es d e
l ' U n i versite York, a com pter d u pre m i er j u i l l et 1 986.
M. James G. Kalbfleisch, a n c i en presi d ent d e l a
S S C e t a u t e u r d ' u n m a n u e l tres repa n d u su r l a
stat i st i q u e et l es pro ba b i l i tes, a ete n o m m e a u
paste d e d oyen d e l a fac u l te d e m athemati q u es d e
l ' U n i versite d e Waterl oo. I I o c c u pe ses n o u ve l l es
fonctions depu i s I e pre m i er j u i l l et ; son m a ndat est
de c i nq ans.
Trois Ca nad i ens eta i e nt du nom bre d e ceux q u i
ont ete hon ores a u congres conj oi nt d e I ' l nstitut d e
statistique math emati q u e ( I MS) et d e l 'Associ ation
statisti q u e america i ne (ASA) qui s ' est t e n u a C h i ­
c a g o en aout d e rn i e r M . Robert E. Odeh, pro­
fesseu r d e statisti q u e a l ' U n i versite d e Vi ctori a , et I e
proba bi l i ste Radu Theodorescu, professeu r titu l a i re
a l ' U n i versite Lava l , ont tous d e u x ete el us fe l l ows
de I ' I M S Po u r sa pa rt, I e p rofess e u r Muni S .
Srivastava d u d e parte ment d e statistique d e l ' U n i ­
versite d e Toronto a ete nom m e fel l ow d e l 'Asso­
ciation statisti q u e a m ericaine (ASA).
M. George P . H. Styan, d u d e pa rt e m e n t d e
mathemati q u es et d e statisti q u es d e l ' U n i versite
M cG i l l , a ete nom m e red acte u r du B u l l eti n d e l ' l ns­
ti tute of Mathematical Statistics, cousi n a m e ri ca i n
d e Liaison. L e pre m i er n u m ero p u b l i e sous s a d i rec­
tion sera Ie Vol u m e 1 6, no 1 , j a nvier 1 987.
WHAT'S HAPPENING ? / AU FAIT DE l'ACTUAlITE
Professor Donald G. Watts, of Queen ' s U n i ­
versity , has j ust bee n a ppoi nted to a second term as
Assoc i ate E d itor to The American Statistician.
M artin Wilk, former C h i ef Stati sti c i a n of Sta­
tist i cs Canada, has bee n a ppoi nted mem ber of the
Canad i a n I nsti tute for Adva nced Research .
Dr. J. Clifton Y oung, Assoc i ate Professor of
Statist i cs at the U n i ve rsity of Waterl oo, has been
a p p o i n t e d fi rst d i r e c t o r o f t h e I n st i tute fo r
I m p rovement i n Qua l i ty a n d Prod ucti vity ( I I Q P).
REGIONAL NEWS
M. Cesareo Villegas, qui v i e nt d 'atte i n d re I ' a g e
d e l a retra ite, a accepte d e prolonger son contrat
avec l ' U n i versite S i mon-Fraser pour une periode d e
tro i s a ns.
M. Donald G. Watts, de I ' U n i versite Queen 's a
K i n gston , vi ent d ' entrepre n d re un second mandat
a titre de red acteur adjoi nt d e l a revue The Ame­
rican Statistician.
M. Martin Wilk, a n c i e n Stati st i c i e n en c hef d u
Canada, a ete nom m e mem b re d e I ' l nstitut c a n a ­
d i en d e recherches ava ncees.
August 1 1 - 1 5, the University of Victoria and the
International Statistical Institute co-spo n sored a
conference on Tea ch i n g Statisti cs. The conference
was a g reat success. It attracted som e 300 parti c i ­
pa nts from 4 0 d i fferent countri es.
M. J. Cl i fton Young, professeur agrege a l ' U n i ­
versite d e Wate rl oo, a ete choisi com m e d i recteur
fond ateur de I ' l nstitut pour I ' a m e l i o rati o n de l a
qua l ite et d e l a productivite ( IAQP) .
The 1 9 8 6 Annual M eeting of Alberta Sta­
tisticians was held at the U n i ve rsity of Al berta on
Saturd ay, Octo ber 4. The m eeti ng featured ta l ks by
E . E .A.A. A l y, M . R.T. Da l e , E . G . E n n i s, E. G o m bay, G .
Lasz l o, J . L i n d , K .S . M . R a o a n d K . L. We l d o n .
Du 1 1 au 1 5 aout derni er, I ' Universite de Vic­
toria a ete I ' hate d ' un c o n g res i n te rnati o n a l sur
I 'ense i g nement d e l a statisti que orga n i se en col l a­
boration avec I ' Institut international de statistique.
Le cong res, auquel ont parti ci pe envi ron 300 repre­
senta nts d e 40 pays, a ete un fra nc succes
October 6-8, a conference o n d ata a n a l ysis a n d
i ts appl i cati ons t o health a n d safety i n t h e work i ng
envi ro n m e nt was h e l d at the U n i versite d u Quebec
a M o ntrea l . T h i s conference was sponso red by the
Institut de recherche en sante et en securite du
travail du Quebec ( I RSST) Proceed i n g s o f t h e
co nference wi l l b e ava i l a b l e i n a few months. For
i nfo rmation, write to M m e M i chel i ne Levy, I RSST,
505, boul . d e M a ison neuve ouest, M o ntrea l (Que­
bec) H3A 3C2.
The 1 986- 1 987 seaso n ' s program of the Statis­
tical Society of Ottawa was i n augurated by we l l ­
atte n d e d ta l k s b y M i c h a e l Wol fso n o f Stati sti cs
Ca n a d a and Professor M a l ay G h osh of the U n i ver­
sity of Fl ori d a . M rs. D i a n Cohe n , the we l l - k n own
eco n o m i st, colum n i st and com m e ntato r on econo­
m i c eve nts, wi l l be the keynote spea ker at the Asso­
c i a t i o n ' s C h r i st m a s c e l e b r a t i o n m e e t i n g o n
Dece m ber 3 . Her conference wi l l be entitl ed "The
role of statist i cs in pub l i c perceptions of econom i c
performance" .
ECHOS DES REGIONS
La rencontre annuelle des statistici ens alber­
tains a eu l i eu Ie sa medi 4 octob re dernier a l ' U n i ­
versite d e l ' Al berta . Les pri n c i paux confere n c i e rs
ont ete E . E .A.A. A l y, M . R . T . Da l e , E . G . E n n i s , E .
G o m ba y, G . Lasz l o , J . L i n d , K . S . M . R a o et K . L .
Wel d o n .
D u 6 a u 8 octobre d e r n i e r s ' est t e n u a l ' U n i ­
versite d u Quebec a M o ntreal u n c o l l oque sur
I ' a na l yse des donnees a p pl i quee a l a sa nte et a l a
securi te a u trava i l . Cet atel i e r m et h od o l o g i q u e
a v a i t ete orga n i se p a r I ' l nstitut d e recherche en
sante et en securite au travail du Quebec ( I RSST) .
Les Actes d u co l l oque s e r o n t d i s p o n i b l e s d ' i c i
quel ques mois. S ' ad resser a M m e M i c hel i n e Le vy,
I RSST, 505, boul . de M a i sonneuve ouest, M ontrea l
( Quebec) H 3A 3C2.
Le progra m m e d ' autom n e d e l a Societe sta­
tistique d' Ottawa a recemm ent re<;u I e coup d ' en­
voi al ors que M M . M i chael Wol fson d e Stati sti que
Canada et M a l a y G hosh de l ' U n i ve rsite de la F l o r i d e
o n t prononce des conferences fort goutees d ' un
pub l i c venu nom breux. A I ' occasion d e sa rencontre
du tem ps des fetes, Ie 3 d ecem bre, I ' associ ati on re-
"Statistics - a lot of numbers looking for an argument.
"
- M rs . W K i l b ride
WHAT'S HAPPENING ? / AU FAIT DE l'ACTUAlITE
T h e M a t h e m a t i c s a n d Statistics Days of t h e
Atlantic Provinces Council on the Sciences (APCS)
wi l l be h e l d at Aca d i a U n i versity on Octo ber 3 1 and
N ove m be r 1 . The i nvited spea ker i n stati stics wi l l be
Professor Donald L . M c Leish of the U n i ve rs i ty of
Waterl oo.
The Pacific Northwest Statistics Group wi II hoi d
its next m eeti ng at Si mon F raser U n i ve rsity (S F U ) on
F r i d ay, Nove m ber 1 4. I n vited speakers a re Professor
David M . Eaves of S F U and Dr. J on Wel l n er of the
U n i versity of Washington (Seattl e). These m eeti n gs
are reg u l a r l y atte nded by u n i versity stati sti cians i n
B ritish Col u m bi a a n d Washi ngton state.
The next Inter-University Sem inar wi l l be held
at the U n i versity of Western Onta r i o on Febru ary
1 9, 1 987. T h i s sem i n a r bri ngs together stati sti ci ans
from a n u m ber of u n i versities in southwestern On­
tario. Dr. Robert E. Kass of Ca rneg i e- M e l l on U n i ver­
sity has a l ready ag reed to spea k on this occasion .
The second spea ker w i l l b e a n n o u n ced l ate r.
The annual joint regional m eeting of the
Montreal, Ottawa and Southern Ontario regional
associations w i l l be h e l d i n t h e nati o n ' s c a p i ta l
someti m e d u ri ng M a rc h , 1 987. Topics u nd e r consi­
d eration for t h i s m eeti ng are m i c ro-co m puters and
the i r u se in d ata a n a l ysis, as we l l as categorical d ata
a n a l ysis.
A Sym posium on statist ical uses of adm i­
nistrative data wil l be h e l d i n Ottawa d u ring the
fa l l of 1 987 . T h i s sym posi u m sponsored by Statistics
C a n a d a w i l l foc u s o n the m et h od o l o g i c a l re­
sea rc hes being carri ed out on this s u bj ect and wi l l
i n c l u d e sess i o n s o n to p i cs s u c h a s u ses o f a d m i ­
n i strative d ata i n t h e d evel o p m ent o f sa m p l i n g
fra m es , i n est i m a t i o n a n d i n su rvey eva l u a ti o n .
Top i cs on i nteg rati on o f d ata from d i fferent sou r­
ces as we l l as confi d enti a l ity and p u b l i c relations
wi l l a l so be i ncl u d ed to prov i d e a fu l l er perspecti ve
of t h e i ss u e s i n v o l ved . F o r m o re i n form a t i o n ,
contact D r . M . P. S i n g h of the M ethod o l ogy B ra n ch
at Statist i cs Canada i n Ottawa .
A Statisti cal Servi ces Centre is i n the p rocess of
be i ng set u p by the Depa rtment of Statistics a n d
Appl i ed Proba b i l ity o f t h e University o f Al berta.
This centre wi l l p rovi d e consu lti n g se rvices both
withi n and outside the u niversi ty com m u nity. This
i n iti ative was m a d e possible by a b u d geta ry a l l o­
cati on gra nted by the Spec i a l I niti ati ves Funds 1 986
of the U n i versity of Al berta .
cevra M m e D i a n Cohen, econom i ste, c h ron i q u e u re
et a n a l yste b i e n connue de I ' actu a l ite econom i q u e .
S a conference a u ra p o u r titre " T h e rol e o f Stati stics
in p u b l i c percepti ons of econom i c performance " .
U n e rencontre d e mathemati ci ens et d e statisti­
ci ens a u ra l i eu a l ' U n i versite Acad i a Ie 3 1 octobre et
I e p rem i e r nove m bre. Cette renco ntre est parra i nee
par Ie Conseil des provinces atlantiques pour l es
sciences (CPAS) . Le conferencier i nvite en statist i ­
q u e est M . Dona l d L. M c Leish, de l ' U n i versite d e
Waterloo.
Le G roupe de statistique du Pacifique nord­
ouest se re u n i ra a 1 .' U n i ve rsite Si m o n - F raser (S F U ) I e
vend red i 1 4 novem b re proc hain. Les conferenci ers
i n v i tes p o u r cette occasi on seront M . D a v i d M .
Eaves d e S F U et M . J on We l l ner d e l ' U n i versite d e
Washington (Seattle). Les stati sticiens u niversi tai res
de Col o m b i e- B rita n n i q u e et de I ' etat de Washi ng­
ton part i c i pent activem ent a ces rencontres.
Le p roc h a i n Seminaire inter-universitaire se
tiend ra a l ' U n i versite Weste rn Onta rio Ie 1 9 fevri er
1 987. Cet evenem ent reg rou pe l es stati stici ens de l a
p l u part des u n i versi tes d u sud-ouest onta r i e n . M .
Robert E . K a ss d e l ' U n i versite C a r n e g i e - M e l l o n
p re n d ra l a parole a cette occasi o n . L ' i d e ntite d u
d e u x i e m e conferencier sera d evoi l ee u n peu p l u s
tard .
La rencontre conJ ol nte annuelle des asso­
ciations regional es de Montreal, d' Ottawa et du
sud de l ' Ontario a u ra l i eu dans la capita l e nationale
a u cou rs d u mois d e mars 1 987. Les themes abord es
seront vra i se m b l a b l ement I ' a n a l yse de d o n n ees
categoriq ues et/ou I ' u ti l i sati o n d e m i c ro-ord i n a­
te u rs po u r I ' a n a l yse de don nees.
Un Sym posium sur I ' em ploi de fichiers admi­
nistratifs a des fins statistiques se t i e n d ra a Ottawa
au cou rs de I ' automne 1 987. Ce sym posi u m , qUi est
com mand ite pa r Statistique Canada, portera s u r l es
aspects m ethod ol ogiq ues d u sujet I I y sera q u es­
t i o n de I ' e m p l oi de f i c h i ers a d m i n i strat i fs d a n s
I ' e l a borati on de p l a ns de sondage, I ' esti m ation et
I ' eva l u ation d ' enquetes. Les p ro b l e m es d e confi­
denti al ite, d e rel ati ons avec I e p u bl i c et d ' i ntegra­
tion de d o n n ees d e d i verses sou rces y seront ega l e­
ment a bordes. Po u r en savoi r d ava ntage, contacter
M . M . P. S i n g h a la directi on de la m ethod o l o g i e d e
Statistique C a n a d a a Ottawa.
"Si vous torturez les donnees assez longtemps, elles finiront p a r avouer. "
-
R o n a l d Coase
WHAT'S HAPPENING ? / AU FAIT DE l'ACTUALlTE
The Statistics Consu lti n g S e rv i c e of t h e Uni ­
ve rsite de M ontreal ( S C l R U ) h a s rece n t l y b e e n
awa rded i ts fi rst i nfrastruct u re grant by N S E RC . The
serv i ce, which is staffed i n part by Professors G i l l es
D u charme, Yves Lepage a n d Roch Roy, deals with
a n average of 75 c l i ents per year.
A new body enti t l e d the Nati onal Stat i st i cs
Council has recentl y been created by the fed e r a l
gove r n m ent f o r t h e pu rpose of advisi ng Statist i cs
Canada on i ts pri oriti es, prog rams a n d pol i c i es. The
co m m i ttee consi sts of a bo u t 35 representati ves
from a l l reg i on s of Canada and a reas of p u bl i c l i fe.
Among the m e m bers of ou r soci ety sitti ng on this
cou n ci l a re Dr. I va n P. Fel l eg i , C h i ef Stati sti c i a n of
Canada, D r . M a rt i n B. Wi l k, Presi d ent of the SSC,
M m e N i co l e P . - G e nd reau, d i rector of the B u reau d e
l a stat i sti q u e d u Q u e bec, a n d Professor M i chael A .
Stephens o f Si m o n Fraser U n i ve rsity . T h e cou n c i l i s
chai red b y Professor T h o m a s B . S y m o n s o f Trent
U n i versity.
The Department of Stati st i cs at the University
of M anitoba has recently bee n h o n ored by the
visits of Professors G u nnar K u l l d o rff and L u i Hang
Wen . Professor K u l l d o rff, who spent si x weeks i n
W i n n i peg, i s D i rector o f the I n st i tute o f M athe­
m a t i c a l Statist i cs at the U n i versity of U m e a , i n
Swed e n . D r . H a ng Wen i s vi siti n g from Aca d e m i a
S i n i ca u nt i l December 5 . H i s i nte rests l i e i n q u a l ity
control theory and especial l y the Tageuchi m ethod .
The si x vol u m es of the Proceedi ngs of the Joshi
Festschrift w i l l be p u b l ished by the Rei del P u b l ish­
i n g Com pa n y at the end of t h i s ye a r . For m o re
i nform ati o n , contact Dr. R . E . B u tts of the Depart­
ment of Phi l osophy at the U n i versity of Western
O nta r i o .
The I nstitute for I m prove ment i n Q u a l i ty a n d
P r o d u ct i v i t y ( I I Q P ) w a s e s t a b l i s h e d b y t h e
University of Waterloo i n Dece m be r of 1 985. Core
f u n d i n g for the I nst i t u te h a s b e e n prov i d ed b y
thi rteen i nd ustri a l p a rt n e rs w h o h a ve a g reed t o
contri b u te 1 0 0 0 0 $ p e r y e a r f o r a m i n i m u m o f
three years. T h e m aj o r focu s o f t h e I nsti tute 's work
to d ate has been i n the a rea of a ppl i ed statistics.
With the active i nvolvement of seve ra l m e m bers of
the Department of Statistics and Act u a ri a l Sci ence,
five short cou rses ra ngi ng in l ength from one to
fi fteen d a ys have been d evel oped and presented
on stati sti cal process control , reg ression and d esi g n
o f expe r i m e nts. I n terms of resea rch a n d consu l ti ng
activity, th ree contracts are c u r r e n t l y u n d e rway.
The tota l va l u e of all contracts u nd e rtaken to d ate
i n the a rea of a p pl i ed stati st i cs exceeds $ 350,000
Le d e p a rtement de statist i q u e et de proba b i l i te
a p pl i q u ee de l' Universite de l'Alberta est en tra i n
d e m ettre s u r pied u n b u reau d e consu ltati o n e n
statisti q u e q u i offri ra ses serv i c e s a u x c h e rc h e u rs
u n i versitai res a i nsi q u 'a u x secte u rs p u b l i c et prive.
Cette i n iti ative est fi n a ncee par Ie Speci a l I n iti atives
Funds 1 986 de l ' U n i versite de l 'Al berta .
Le serv i ce d e consu l tati o n e n stati sti q u e d e
l' Universite de Montreal (SCI R U ) s' est rece m m e n t
vu octroyer u ne prem i e re su bvention d ' i nfrastruc­
t u re du C RS N G . Le serv i ce d essert p l u s de 75 cl i ents
par a n n ee . M M . G i l l es Ducharme, Yves Lepage et
Roch Roy y sont d etaches a d e m i -tem ps.
Le gouvernem ent fed eral v i e nt d e m ettre su r
pied u n org a n i s m e con s u l tati f a p pe l e I e Conse i l
nati onal de la statisti que d ont I e m a n d at consiste a
conse i l l e r Stati sti q u e Canada s u r ses pri o r i tes, ses
prog ra m m es et ses pol itiq u es. Le com i te est com­
pose d ' e n v i ron 35 p e rson n a l i t es p r o v e n a n t d e
toutes l es reg i ons d u pays. Pa r m i l es mem b res d e
notre soci ete q u i si egent sur ce consei l , sou l i g nons
M. Iva n P. Fel l eg i , stati st i c i e n en c hef du Canada, M .
M a rt i n B . W i l k, presi dent d e l a SSC, M m e N i cole P.­
G en d re a u , d i rectrice du B u reau d e l a stati sti q u e du
Q u e bec, et M. M i chael A . Stephens, d e l ' U n i versite
S i m o n - F raser. Le presi d ent du n o u veau conse i l est
M . Thomas B . Symons d e l ' U n i ve rsite Trent.
Le d e pa rtement d e stati st i q u e d e l' Universite
du Manitoba a rece m m ent eu Ie p l a i s i r d ' accuei l l i r
M M . G u n n a r K u l l d orff et L u i H a ng Wen. M . K u l l ­
dorff, q u i a sej o u rne a Wi n n i peg pend a nt si x sem a i ­
nes, est d i recte u r d e I ' l nsti tut d e statist i q u e m athe­
mati q u e de l ' U n i versite de U m e a , en S u ed e . M .
H a n g Wen, dont l a visite se term i nera I e 5 d ecem­
bre, est affi l i e a l 'Acad e m i e chi n o i se d e Beij i n g . I I
s ' i nte resse a u x tech n i q u es d e l a m a it r i s e d e l a
q u a l i te et nota m ment a l a m ethod e d e Tage uch i .
Les s i x tomes d es Actes du symposium en I' hon­
neur de V . M. Joshi pa raitront chez Rei del avant l a
fi n d e cette a n n ee . P o u r d e p l u s a m p l es d eta i l s ,
contacter M . R. E . B u tts d u d e pa rte ment d e p h i l oso­
ph i e a l ' U n i versite Western O nta r i o .
L ' l nsti tut pou r I ' a m e l i oration d e l a q u a l ite et d e
l a prod uctivite (IAQP) a ete cree p a r l' Universite de
Waterloo en d ecembre 1 985. L ' l nsti tut est soutenu
fi nanci erement par tre i z e p a rte n a i res i n d u str i e l s
q u i s e sont engages a l u i verser 10 000 $ p a r a n n ee
pou r u ne peri ode m i n i m a l e d e tro i s ans. J usq u ' i c i ,
l es acti vites d e I ' l nstitut ont surtout porte su r l a
statisti q u e appl i q u ee . G race a l a col l aborati on ac­
ti ve d e pl u si e u rs mem b res d u departement de
WHAT'S HAPPENING ? / AU FAIT DE L'ACTUALlT� -
Stati stica l a ct i v i ty i n Ottawa i s certa i n l y n ot
confi ned to Stati sti cs Canada and the u n i versities. A
n u m be r of g ove r n m e nt d e p a rt m e nts a n d se m i ­
pri vate orga n i zati ons are ca rryi ng out a vari ety of
pol i cy revi ews that are suff i c i entl y specu l ative as to
have a su bsta nti a l stati sti c a l component. N ota b l e
a m ong these i s the Forget Commi ssion of Inqu i ry
on u n e m p l oyment i ns u ra n ce, whose report is d u e
a t the year e n d . The q u a ntitati ve as pects of t h i s
report enta i l t h e pool i ng together o f a n u m ber of
d i spa rate, very l a rge d ata sets, som e m od el l i ng to
rel ate these sets, a consi d e ra b l e a m o u nt of d ata
a n a l ysis, and si m u l ati o n s o f the m a c ro-eco nom i c
i m pl i cati ons o f va rious po l i cy o pti ons. A parti c i pa nt
has been q u oted to say that "the fi n a l report wi I I
have more n u m bers per sq u a red i n ch than most i n
recent memory " .
Fu nds are avai l a b l e f o r i nv i t i n g V i siti ng
Professors to spend from three m o nths to one yea r,
between 1 986- 1 990, in the Department of Statistics
at the U n i versity of Poona, Pune, I nd i a . The Visiting
Professor/Fel l ow can i nteract with the fac u l ty mem­
bers which have i nterests in I n ference, I n ference i n
Stocha st i c Proc esses, Rel i a b i l i ty, N o n p a ra m et r i c
M ethods, Sa m pl i ng Theory, Stati stical Ecol ogy, by
way of se m i n a rs or j oi nt resea rch proj ects. Teac h i n g
of a grad uate cou rse can be m utua l l y benefi c i a l .
Sem esters are J u l y 1 5 Novem ber 3 0 and December
1 5 - Apr i l 30. Depa rtment of Stati sti cs has 20 fa c u l ty
mem bers_ The n u m ber of Ph . D ' s awarded i n past
fi ve years is ten . Depa rtment has two years pro­
g ra m m e lead i ng to M. Sc . , post M . Sc. progra m m e
lead i ng t o M . Ph i L There a r e a bout si xty stu d e nts
stu d y i n g for M .S c . , about ten for M . Ph i l . and about
five worki ng for thei r Ph. D . 's.
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Conta ct: S _ R. Pa ra njape, Head , Department of
Stati sti cs, U n i versity of Poon a , P u ne 4 1 1 007, I nd i a ,
si x months i n advance o f the i ntended visit pe riod_
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R
E
M
N
D
E
R / R
A
P
P
E
L
A new sse Membership Directory will be coming out in
early 1 987.
Please provide any cha nge of address as soon as possible
to:
U n nouveau repertoire des membres de fa sse paraitra au
debut de 1 987.
Veuillez com m uniquer au plus tot tout cha ngement
d'adresse a :
Mary E . Thom pson
Depart. of Statistics and Actuarial Science
U niversity of Waterloo
Waterloo, Ont.
N2l 3G1
stati stique et d ' a ctu a r i at, c i nq cours porta nt su r la
maitri se d e la q u a l ite, la r e g ress i o n et la p l a n i ­
fi cati o n d ' e x p e r i e n c e s o n t d ej a e t e c o n c; u s et
offerts. Ces c o u rs peuvent s ' ec h e l o n n e r s u r u n e
d u ree de u n a q u i nze j ou rs. Trois proj ets d e cons u l ­
tati on e t d e recherche sont egal ement en cours d e
rea l i sati o n . L a va l e u r tota l e d es contrats a l l ou es a
I ' l nstitut d e passe 350 000 $.
I I n ' y a pas q u ' a Stati stique Canada et q u e d a ns
l es u n i versi tes q u e I ' on fa i t d e l a stati st i q u e a
Ottawa. Les n o m b reu ses etu d es et I ' eval u ation d e
pol i t i q u es publ i q u es a u xq u el l es se l i vrent u n bon
n o m b re d e m i n i steres et d ' org a n i sm e s p u b l i cs et
para pu b l i cs comportent sou vent u n e com posante
d ' a n a l yse statist i q u e qui est l o i n d ' etre neg l i geable.
( ' est nota m m ent I e cas d e l a Commission d'enque­
te Forget s u r l ' assura nce-ch6mage, d ont I e rapport
doit etre sou m i s avant l a fi n de I ' a n n ee . Les con­
c l u s i o n s du ra pport seront eta yees de c h i ffres,
d ' a n a l yse d e d o n n ees et de previsi ons fond ees su r
I ' ex p l orati o n d es conseq u e n ces m a cro- e c o n o m i ­
q u es d e s d i ffere ntes p o l i t i q u e s e n v i s a g ees a u
moyen d e si m u l ati ons. Tous ces ca l c u l s font i nter­
ven i r d es masses de donn ees h eteroc l i tes q u ' i l a
fal l u reg rou per, i ntegrer et rel i er a u m oyen de m o­
d e l es et de m ethod es statistiques. U n mem bre de l a
com m i ssion a d i t d e ce rapport q u ' i l "cont i e n d ra
p l u s de c h i ffres p a r pouce ca rre q u ' o n en a v u s
d e p u i s bel l e l u rette " .
L ' U n i versite d e Poona , a P u ne e n I n d e , nous i n­
forme d e l a d i spo n i b i l ite d ' u ne bou rse perm ettant
a un professeu r i n vite de fa i re un stage d ' u n e d u ree
d e 3 m o i s a un a n , entre 1 986 et 1 990, au d eparte­
ment de Statistiq ues de cette u n i versite Les mem­
bres d e l a fac u l te avec l esq uels I e boursier sera en
rel ation s ' i nte ressent aux questi ons re l ati ves a I ' i n­
ference statisti q u e , a I ' i nference d a ns l es processus
stochast i q u es, a la fi a b i l ite, a u x m ethod es n o n
para m etri q u es, a l a theorie de I ' echa nti l l on nage, a
l a statist i q u e e n ec o l og i e . Cette re l at i o n pou rra
s ' eta b l i r par Ie b i a i s d e sem i n a i res o u de p roj ets
conj oi nts de reche rche. Les sem estres s ' ete ndent d u
15 j u i l l et a u 30 novem bre, et d u 1 5 d ecem b re a u 3 0
avri L L e d epartement d e Statisti q u es c o m porte 20
professe u rs. Dix d octorats ont ete d ecernes a u cours
d es c i nq d erni eres a n nees. Le d eparte ment offre u n
prog ra m m e d e d e u x a n s m e n a n t a I ' o bt e n t i o n
d ' u n e m ait r i se, e t u n progra m m e p ost- m aitr i se .
E nvi ron 6 0 etu d i a nts sont i nscrits a l a maitrise, 1 0
au post- m altrise et envi ron 5 trava i l l ent a I ' obte n­
tion d e l e u r d octorat.
Pour tout rensei gnement, on d oi t contacter si x
mois avant l a d ate souhaitee de visite: S. R. Paran­
j a pe, D i recteu r, d e pa rtement d e Statisti q u es, U n i ­
versite d e Poona, Pune 4 1 1 007, I nd e .
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WHAT'S HAPPENING ? / AU FAIT DE L'ACTUALITE
I NT E R NATI ONAL M E ETI N G S/R E N CONTR E S I NTERNATI O N A L E S
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Dec 3-5, 1 98 6 - A tlantic City, NJ, USA
Forty-second Annual Conference
on Applied Statistics.
W. R . Y o u n g ,
M e d i c a l Resea rch D ivision,
A m erica n Cya n a m i d C o m p a n y ,
B u ilding 60,
R o o m 2 0 3 , Pearl R i ve r,
New York, 1 09 6 5 , U S A .
D e c 4-5. 1 986 - New York, USA
Third Conference on Criminal
J ustice Statistics.
L E. C h rist,
Cri m i n a l J ust ice,
City U n iversity of New Y o r k ,
445 W . 5 9 Street,
New Y o r k , 1 00 1 9 , U S A .
D e c 6-8, 1 986 - Ottawa, CA N
Canadian Mathem atica l Society:
Winter Meeting.
W. B u rgess,
Depa rt . of M a t h e m atics
U n iversity of Ottawa
Ottawa , Ont., K 1 N 9 B 4 .
Dec 8-1 0, 1 986 - Washington, DC, USA
1 986 Winter S i m ulation Conference.
S Roberts,
Progra m C h a i r m a n WSC86,
Regenstrief I n st.,
1 00 1 W . 1 0th St.,
I n d ia n a po l is, I N 4 6 2 0 2 , U S A .
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J a n 7-9, 1 98 7 - Orlando, FL, USA
ASA Winter Confe rence:
Statistics in the Information Age.
ASA, 806 1 5th St., N W ,
Wa s h i ngton, DC 2000 5 , USA.
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Jan 1 2- 1 4, 1 987 - Claremont, CA, USA
Conference on Industry-University
Collaborations in the Mathematical
Sciences .
E . C u m be r batch,
C l a re m o nt G rad u a te School,
Claremo nt, CA 9 1 7 1 1 , U SA .
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D e c 8 - 1 0 , 1 986 - Newark, Ni, USA
42nd Annual Conference on Applied
Statistics.
B. We l c h ,
7 6 H e n d e rson Roa d ,
K e n d a l l P a r k , N J , USA.
(ASQC, ASA)
Dec 1 0- 1 2, 1 986 - Tokyo, Japan
Second Pacific A rea Statistical
Conference. Recent Developments in
Statistical Theory a nd Data Ana lysis.
( K e l o Plaza H ote l )
Dec 1 5- 1 7, 1 986 - Cirencester, U K
IMA Conference on Cryptogra phy
and Coding.
The Dep uty Secreta ry,
I MA,
M a i t l a n d H o use,
Warrior S q u a re,
Southe nd-on-Sea ,
Essex. S S 1 2 J Y , U K .
( I MA)
Dec 1 5- 1 9, 1 986 - Santiago, Chile
International Workshop on
Multivariate Approxim ation.
Prof. F . Utreras,
D e pt. of Appl ied Math e m atics,
U n ive rsity of C h i l e ,
Casa l l a , 1 70/3 , Correo 3 ,
Sa ntiago, C h i l e .
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Jan 1 2- 1 6, 1 987 - Havana, Cuba
Seminar on Approx i m ation and
Optimization.
H . T . B a n ks,
A p p l ied Mathem atics Division,
Brown U n i versity,
Providence, Rhode I s l a n d , 0 29 1 2 , USA.
Jan 1 6. 1 987 - Pittsburgh, PA, USA
4t h Annual Grad Student Presentations
on Statistical Methodology.
R. A. B i lonlck ,
Conso l idation Coa l C o . ,
Consol P l a z a ,
Pittsburg h , PA 1 5 24 1 , U S A .
Jan 29-3 1 , 1 987 - Logan, UT, USA
Utah State U n iversity Department of
Mathematics Second Conference on
Matrix Theory.
L. B. Beasley,
Dept. of M at h e m atics,
Utah State U n i ve rsity,
Log a n , UT 843 2 2 -4 1 2 5 , U S A .
Feb 1 3- 1 8, 1 987 - Chicago, IL, USA
Annual Meeting, A m erican Association
for the Advancement of Science.
AAAS Meet i n g s Office,
1 3 3 3 H St , N. W ,
Wash i n gto n , DC 2000 5 , USA.
Feb 1 7- 1 9, 1 987 - St. Louis, MO, USA
ACM Computer Science Conference.
A . R. DeKock , Confere n ce C h a i r
Or D r . G . Zobr ist,
Program C h a i r, C S C ' 8 7 , M C 3 2 5 ,
U n iversity of M isso u r i ,
Rol l a , MO 6540 1 , U S A .
(Assoc i a t i o n f o r Co m p uting Mach i n e ry)
Ma rch 8 - 1 1 , 1 987 - Philadelphia. USA
Computer Science and Statistics:
1 9t h Symposium on the Interface.
R . M. H e l be r g e n
Department of StatistiCS.
Schoo l B U Si ness Ad m i n istration
T e m p l e U n ive rsity
P h i lad e l p h i a , P A 1 9 1 2 2 , USA.
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March 22-25. 1 987 - Dallas. TX. USA
Institute of Mathematical Statistics
Central Regional Meeting.
R. A. Joh nson,
Dept. of Statistics,
U n iversity of Wisco n s i n ,
1 2 1 0 W. Dayton S t . ,
Madiso n , W I 5 3 70 6 , USA.
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March 22-26. 1 987-Philadelphia. PA, USA
Computer Graphics '87.
E d ucation Coo rd i n ator.
Nationa l Com p ute r G ra p h iCS Ass n . ,
S u ite 200,
F a i rfax, VA 2 2 03 1 , USA.
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March 23-28. 1 987 -Haifa. Israel
Fifth International Conference on
Geometry, Combinatorial Structures.
Convexity.
R . Artzy or J. Z a k s
Department of Math e m atics
U n i versity of H a ifa
H a if a , 3 1 999, I s ra e l .
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March 23-30. 1 98 7 -Columbus. Ohio. USA
N SF-CBMS Conference on
Mathematical Statistics.
S. Leurg a ns,
Department of M athem atics,
Ohio State U n i versity,
Col u m bus, O h i o 4 3 2 1 0 , U SA .
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A p r i l 8 - 1 0, 1 987 - Cambridge, UK
Charter Centenary Conference of
the Royal Statistical Society.
I . H . B l e n k i nsop,
Exec. Secretary,
Royal Statisti ca l Society,
25 E nford St ,
London, W1 H 2 B H . U K .
(RSS)
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April 2 8- Ma y 1 , 1 987 - Uxbridge, UK
The Mathematics of Finite E lements
and its Applications 1 987.
The Secretary
The I n stitute of C o m p utatI O n a l
Math e m a tiCs
B r u n e i U n iversity
Uxbridge, Mddx , O B 8 3 P H , U K .
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M a y 4-6, 1 987 - Minneapolis, NM, USA
Annual Quality Congress.
S .A . H a l l a d a y
A m e r ican Soci ety for Q u a l ity Contro l ,
2 3 0 W We l l s St.,
M i lwa u k e e , W I 5 3 2 0 3 , U S A .
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1 8. 1 9. 2 0 mai, 1 987 - Lausanne. Suisse
Journees de statistique 1 987.
P rofesse u r M i c h e l Leje u n e
J o u rnees de sta tisti q u e
U n i versite
Lausa n n e , 1 0 1 5 , S U isse
WHAT'S HAPPENING ? / A U FAIT DE L'ACTUALITE
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May 27-29, 1 987 - Blacksburg, VA, USA
Institute of Mathematical Statistics
E a stern Regional Meeting.
R. A. J o h n s o n ,
D e pt. of Statistics,
U n iversity o f Wisco n s i n ,
1 2 1 0 W. Dayton St ,
M a d i s o n , WI 5 3 70 6 , U S A .
May 3 1 -J une 5, 1 987 - Raleigh, NC, USA
International Conference
on Qua ntitative Genetics.
Dr. B . S . Weir,
Conference Secretary,
D e pt. of StatistiCS,
N orth Ca ro l i n a State U n i versity,
Box B 2 0 3 ,
R a l e i g h , N o rt h Ca ro l i n a 2 7 6 9 5 , U S A
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J u n e 1 -4, 1 987 - Tampere, Finland
Second International Tampere
Conference in Statistics.
C o n ference Secreta ry,
C 1 2 3 , Dept . of Math . S c i e n ces,
U n iversity of Tam pere,
PO B ox 607, S F - 3 3 1 0 1
T a m pere, F i n l a n d .
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J u ne 29·July 1 , 1 987 - Aachen, FRG
Conference on Classification and
Related Methods of Data Analysis.
H . H . Bock
I n stitut fur Statist i k und W i rtschafts
mathematik
Tec h n i ca l U n iversity
W u e l l n erstrasse 3
Aa c h e n , D-5 1 00 , F RG
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July 1 9-24, 1 987 - Prague, CZE
Conference on Potential Theory.
F a c u lty of Mathem atics a n d P h ys i cs
C h a rles U n i ve rsity
S o k o l ovska 83
Praha 8 , 1 8 600, Czechosl ova k i a .
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A u g 1 0- 1 6, 1 987 - St. Louis, MO, USA
Sixth International Conference on
Mathematical Modeling.
E. Y Rod i n
Depart. o f Syste m s S c i e n c e
a n d Mathematics
Washi ngton U n i versity
Ca m p us Box 1 040
O n e B rook i n g s Drive
St. Lou IS, MO 6 3 1 3 0 , U S A .
May 27-30, 1 987 - Kingston, Ont., CAN.
Canadian Mathematical Society
Summer Meeting.
G. O rzech
Depa rt m e nt of Mathem atics
a n d Statistics
Q u e e n ' s U n i ve rsity
K i n g sto n , O nt., K7L 3 N 6 , CAN.
· 3 1 mai - 3 juin 1 987 - Quebec, CAN
Societe Statistique du Canada
M. M o o re, president
du Com ite du prog ra m m e
E cole polytec h n i q u e ,
M o ntre a l ( Q u e bec) H 3 C 3 A 7 , Ca n a d a .
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J u ne 29-July 5 , 1 987 - Paris, France
Premiere conference internationale
conjointe sur les mathematiques
industrielles et a ppliquees
Dep uty Sec retary,
I MA,
M a itl a n d H o use,
Wa r r i o r S q u a re,
S o u t h e n d -o n -Sea,
Essex, SSl 2JY. U K .
( I MA, G A M M , S I A M , S M A I )
J u ly 1 1 - 1 3, 1 987 - Montgomery, AL, USA
International Conference on Data Bases
in the H u m a nities and Social Science.
L. J M cCra n k ,
Dea n , AU M Li bra ry a n d Resou rce Centre,
A u b u r n U n iversity,
M o ntgom ery, AL, U S A .
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A u g 1 6-2 1 , 1 987 - Stanford, CA , USA
Sixteenth Conference on Stochastic
Processes and Their A pplications.
D . L . I g l e h a rt,
Dept. of O pe ra t i o n a l Resea rch,
Sta n ford U n i versity,
Sta nford, CA 94305-40 2 2 , U SA .
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A u g 1 7-20, 1 987 - San Francisco, CA , USA
1 987 Joint Statistical Meetings,
American Statistical Association,
Biometric Society, IMS.
ASA,
806 1 5th St., N . W . ,
Washi ngto n , DC 2000 5 , U SA.
( I M S B i o m et r i cs Society, ASA)
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Aug 1 7-20, 1 987 - Boston, MA, USA
International Congress on Planning
and Design Theory.
The A m e r i c a n Society
of M e c h a n i c a l E n g i n ee rs,
345 e . 47th St.,
New Y o r k , N Y 1 00 1 7 , U S A .
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Aug 2 1 -23, 1 987 - Thessaloniki, Greece
The Mathematics of E x perimental
Designs Stochastic Systems.
S Kounias
Aristotle U n iversity
T h essa l o n l k l , G reece.
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Aug 24-28, 1 987 - Thessaloniki, Greece
European Meeting of Statisticians.
S. K o u n l a s
Aristotle U n iversity
Thessa l o n l k i , G reece.
( B e r n o u l l i SOCiety)
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Aug 24-28, 1 987 - Seattle, WA, USA
Sixth National Conference
on Artificial Intelligence.
L. Cooper,
American Assoc i ation for
Art i f i c i a l I nte l l i g e n ce ,
4 4 5 B u rg ess D r . ,
M e n l o P a r k , C A 9 40 2 5 , U S A .
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Aug 24-28, 1 987 - Thrace, Greece
Equadiff 87 Conference on
Differential Equations.
E q u ad iff 8 7 ,
Dem omtas U n i ve rsity of T h race,
Section o f Appl ied Mathemat i cs,
X a nt h " 6 7 1 00 G reece.
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Sept 8- 1 6, 1 987 - Tokyo, Japan
46th Biennial Session of the International
Statistical Institute.
l S I P e r m a n e n t Office,
428 P r l nses Beatrl x l a a n ,
PO Box 950,
V o o b u r g , 2 2 70 AZ , Neth e r l a n d s .
. 29 sept · 2 oct, 1 98 7 - Versailles, France
Cinquieme Symposium international
sur les a n a lyses et les transformations
de donnees.
B u re a u des c o l l o q u e s
Do m a i n e des V o l u ce a u - B P - 1 0 5
Le C h e s n a y Cedex, 7 8 1 5 3 , F r a n c e .
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D e c 1 2- 1 9 , 1 987 - Vancouver, BC, CAN.
Canad i a n Mathematical Society
Winter Meeting.
D. SJe rve
Depa rt m e nt o f M at h e m atics
U n ive rsity of B r itish Co l u m bi a
V a n c o u v e r , B C , V B T l W 5 , Ca n a d a .
WHAT'S HAPPENING ? I AU FAIT DE L'ACTUAlIT�
CRI M I N O M ETRICA
V o l u m e 1 , 1 98 5 of C ri m i n o m etma was released i n e a r l y
s u m m e r . A few co m p l i m e nta ry copies o f t h e j o u r n a l a r e sti l l
a va i l a b l e o n a f i rst co m e , fi rst served basis.
L e vol u m e 1 ( 1 9 8 5 ) d e C r i m i n o m et r l ca a ete p u b l i e a u d e b u t
de I ' ete. Q u e l q ues exe m p l a i res p e u v e n t e n core e t r e o bte n u s
g ratu ite m e nt. P re m i e rs a r rives, prem i e rs serv i s l
Please send i n $2.00 for postage to:
O n est prie d'envoyer 2,00 $ pour les frais de poste il :
Crim inometrica,
Department of Sociology,
The Un iversity of Alberta,
Edmonton, A l berta, Canada
T6G 2 H4,
Criminometrica,
Departement de sociologie,
Un iversite de I'Alberta,
E d monton (Alberta) Canada
T6G 2 H4.
The second vol u m e of C ri m i n o m et r i ca is p l a n n e d to be
released in e a rly 1 98 7 . S u bscri pti o n rates: $ 5 00 i n d i v i d uals, a n d
5 1 0 .00 i nstitutions. P l e a se m a i l y o u r s u bscr i pt i o n t o C ri m l nome­
t r i ca a s e a r l y a s possi b l e .
Le second vol u m e d e C ri m i n o m etma paraftra au d e b ut de
1 98 7 . Tarif d e sousm pt i o n 5 ,00 S p o u r les I nd i v i d u s, et 1 0 ,00 5
p o u r les i n stitut i o n s . P rt t ? re de rem ettre vos sousc r l ptlons a C r t ­
m i n o m etrica I e p l u s tot poss i b l e .
CAll FOR PAPERS/I N V ITAT I O N
TENTH CONFERENCE ON PROBABILITY AN D
STATISTICS I N ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCE
The Tenth Confe rence on Probabil ity a n d Statistics in
Atmospheric Science W i l l be h e l d J O i n t l y W i t h the Seventh
Conference on Hydrometeorology a n d the E leventh Conference
on Weather Modification In October 1 98 7 in Al berta . The p ro­
g ra m is be i n g a r r a n g e d by the AMS C o m m ittee on P roba b i l ity
a nd Statistics.
P a pers are req u e sted o n a l l a s p ects o f p r o ba b i l ity a n d
stat istics i n atm o s p h e r i c science. Pa pers d e a l i n g With statistical
i n ference, part i c u l a r l y I n hydrology, weat h e r m o d if icati o n , a n d
c l i m atology W i l l b e k e y e l e m ents of t h i s con fere n c e . I n a d d iti o n ,
pa pers desc r i b i n g n e w statistica l tec h n i ques a n d a p pl ications o f
n e w a n d eXist i n g tech n i q ues, i n c l u d i n g work o n forecast i n g , the
util ity and i m pact of forecasts, sig n a l detect i o n and c l i m ate a n a ­
lysis are e n c o u r a g e d .
Titles a n d reviewe r's a bstracts of 200 w o r d s o r l e s s s h o u l d
be s e n t n o later t h a n Ma rch 1 5, 1 987 to :
Prog ram Chairman Fra ncis W. Zwiers,
Ca nadian Clim ate Centre,
4905 Dufferin Street,
Downsview, Ontario, Canada,
M3 H 5T4
(telephone:
(4 16) 667-4963).
The a bstracts s h o u l d co nta i n the co m p lete m a i l i n g a d d ress
a n d the te l e p h o n e n u m ber of the lead a ut h o r . Notifi cati o n of
the accepta n ce of the papers W i l l be com pleted by A p r i l 1 5 ,
1 987.
A preprint vol u m e W i l l b e prepared a n d d i st r t b uted a t the
Conference. C a m e ra-ready m a n uscri pts of n o m o re than 8 pa­
ges, i n c l u d i n g d i a g r a m s and p h otog raphs, m u st be recei ved at
AMS H e a d q u a rters n o later t h a n J u n e 1 5 , 1 98 7 . I n structions a n d
speci a l ty p i n g p a p e r w i l l b e f u r n ished t o a uthors w e l l before
that date. Page c h a rges will be assessed to help defray p r t n t i n g
costs.
Further enquiries should be directed to the Program Chairman.
A
S O U M ETTRE D ES TEXTES
DIXI E ME CONF ERENCE SUR LES PROBABILITES
ET LA STATISTIQUE DANS LES
SCIENCES DE L'ATMOSPHERE
La dixieme conference sur les probabilites et la statistique
dans les sciences de I'atm osphere se t l e n d ra conj O l nte m ent avec
la Septieme conference sur I'hydrometeorologie et la Onzie me
conference sur les modifications du temps a u mOls d ' octo b r e
1 987, en A l berta . L e progra m m e est e l a bore par I e Com lte s u r l e s
proba b l l ites e t l a statlst l q u e de I ' A M S .
O n e s t I n v i te a fou r n l r d e s textes s u r t o u t a s p ect d e s
proba b i l ites e t d e l a statist l q u e d a n s les s C i e n ces de I ' atmosphe­
reo Les textes a yant p o u r sUjet l ' l nference statlst l q u e , part l c u ­
l i e re m e nt e n hydrolog l e , e n m od ificat i o n s d u tem ps e t en c l i m a ­
to l o g i e , seront l es e l e m e nts-cles de cette confere n c e . O n e n c o u ­
r a g e l a presenta tion d e textes d e c r l v a n t d e n o u velles tec h n i q ues
stat isti q u es ou des a p p l ications d e tec h n i q ues n o u v e l l e s o u deja
exista ntes, y com prls les travaux sur les previSions, I ' ut i l isation et
I ' i m pact des previsions, la detection d es s i g n a u x c l i m atiques et
les a n a lyses du c l i mat.
Le titre d e ces textes, d e m e m e q u ' u n resu m e d e 200 m ots
ou m o ins, d o ivent etre e n voyes au p l u s tard I e 1 5 m a rs 1 987 a u :
Responsable d u progra m me, Francis W . Zwiers,
Canadian Clim ate Centre,
4905, rue Dufferin,
Downsview (Ontario) Canada,
M3 H 5T4
(telephone:
(4 16) 667-4963).
O n d o it y i nd i q u e r I ' a d resse postale co m plete et I e n u mero
de te l e p h o n e d e I ' a ute u r principal. Un avis d ' a c c e ptatl o n d u
d o c u m e nt sera re m i s avant I e 1 5 a v r i l 1 9 8 7 .
U n vo l u m e reg r o u p a n t c e s textes sera constltue e t d i st r l b u e
a la Confe rence . L e s m a n u scrits prets a etre repro d u its e t a y a n t
a u p l u s 8 pages (y com pris les g r a p h i q ues e t les photos) doivent
etre sou m i s a u q u a rt i e r general d e I 'A M S a u p l u s ta rd I e 1 5 j U l n
1 98 7 . Les I n formations tec h n i q u es relative s a l a presentation des
textes, d e meme que d u pa p i e r spec i a l seront fo u r n ls aux a u ­
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l ' avance, par
l'ordre de Les
IT H E P I E RR E R O B I L LA R D AWAR D 19871
1 R E S EARCH F E L LOWS H I PS A N D I NT E R N S H I PS I
The objective of t h i s award is to recog n i z e t h e best P h . D .
thesis defended i n a Ca n a d i a n u n iversity i n 1 986 a n d written i n a
field covered by The Ca n a d i a n J o u r n a l of Statistics.
Statist i cs C a n a d a offe rs v i s it i n g sc h o l a rs a n d s c i e n t i st s
opport u n ities for q u a ntitative r e s e a r c h t h ro u g h its R e s e a rch
F e l l ows h i ps and I n t e r n s h i ps P r o g ra m . As Ca n a d a ' s n a t i o n a l
statisti ca l a g e ncy, Statistics C a n a d a provides a strong tec h n i c a l
a n d profess i o n a l e n vironment a nd a large col l ection of data i n
su pport o f soc i a l , eco n o m i c , a n d statistical stud ies.
S u bm itted theses w i l l be eva l u ated by a pa n e l of j u d g e s
a p p o i nted b y t h e Presid e nt o f t h e Statistical Soci ety o f Ca n a d a ;
t h e i r decision w i l l be f i n a l . J u d g i n g w i l l b e on the b a s i s o f t h e
level of ori g i n a l ity i n t h e i d e a s a n d te c h n i q u e s , t h e poss i b l e
a p p l ications a n d t h e i r treatm e nt, a n d t h e pote ntial i m pact o n
t h e statistical scien ces. T h e p a n e l m a y a rrive a t t h e concl usion
that m ore t h a n one, or a lternatively, that n o n e of the subm Itted
t h eses m e rits the award .
The award consists of a certificate, a m o n etary prize, a n d a
free one-ye a r m e m be rsh i p in the Statistical Society of Ca n a d a .
The w i n n e r w i l l b e i n vited t o present a com m u n l cation based o n
t h e thesis at the 1 987 a n n u a l m eeti n g of the Statistical Society o f
Ca n a d a ; assista nce with expenses t o attend the m eeti n g m a y b e
provided . The w i n n e r w i l l a l so b e I n v i ted t o s u b m I t a p a p e r
based o n t h e thesis t o T h e Ca n a d i a n J o u r n a l o f Statist i cs . I f
s u b m itted with i n a year of receipt o f t h e award, t h e paper w i l l
b e g i ven speci a l atte nti o n (rapid decision, rapid p u b l icati o n i f
accepted, h e l p f r o m the e d ito r i a l board ) I f a c ce pted , t h e
paper w i l l be i d entified when p u b l ished a s being based on the
theses w h i ch won the Pierre Ro b i l l a rd Award; the n a m es of t h e
u n iversity a n d the t h esis s u pervisor w i l l be clea rly I nd icated. T h e
t h e s i s su pervisor c o u l d b e co-a uthor of the paper.
The Award Coordinator m ust receive four (4) copies of the
theses tog e t h e r w i t h a c o v e r i n g letter from the t h e s i s
supervisor indicating why the thesis i s suitable as an entry i n
the competition (description o f the problem, techniques a n d
results, pote ntia l i m pact . . . ), b y J a n u a ry 1 5 , 1 98 7 . O ff i c i a l
confirmation that the thesis h a s been defended in 1 986 m ust
also be provided.
Coordinator:
Professor J . T. Smith
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Queen's U niversity
Kingston, Ontario
K71 3 N 6
Telephone: (6 1 3 ) 545-24 1 9 .
1
E x a m ples of poss i b l e a reas for research a r e : m a n p o w e r
s u p p l y a n d d e m a n d , price m e a s u re m e nt, data q u a l i ty a s s e s s ­
m e nt, hospita l util isation, m i n ority g r o u p stu d i e s , confide n ti a l ity
assurance tec h n i q ues, t i m e series a n a lySIS, s m a l l a rea data esti­
m ati o n , i n c o m e d istribution, dev e l o p m e n t of new d a t a , a n d
a n a lysis of data from a variety of spec i a l s u rveys.
A l i m ited n u m be r of fel lows h i ps w i l l be awarded to I n d ivi­
d u a ls with d e m o n strated releva nt expertise. A p p l i ca nts w i l l be
asked to s u b m it a clear proposal for research they wish to carry
out at Statistics Ca n a d a on a topic of m utua l i nterest a n d benefit
to the a g e ncy a n d to t h e VISiting resea rcher. F o r some prOJets,
i nterns h i ps may be awarded at the req u e st of t h e f e l l o w to
support a visiti n g g r a d uate student a s research assista nt.
The te n u re of a n awa rd w i l l n o r m a l l y be one year, but i s
n e g oti a b l e . S t i pe n d s f o r f e l l o w s a n d i n t e r n s w i l l r e f l e c t
q u a l i f i ca t i o n s a n d e x p e r i e n c e , w i t h a p o s s i b l e a d d i t i o n a l
a l l owance made for relocat ion a n d travel expenses.
A pplication deadlines are May 31
and Nove m ber 30 annually.
For further informa tion, write to:
Research Fellowships and Internships Program
International a nd Professional Relations Division
Statistics Canada
Ottawa, Ontario K 1 A OT6
Canada
Telephone: (6 1 3 ) 990-8920.
N O M I NAT I O NS I NV IT E D F O R COPSS PRE S I D E NTS' AWAR D
COPSS, The Co m m ittee of Preside nts of Statistical Societies,
sponsors a n d presents the Presidents' Award to a young m e m ­
b e r o f t h e stat isti cal com m u n ity i n recog nition of outsta n d i n g
contri butions t o t h e p rofess i o n of stat i s t i c s . T h e P r e s i d e nts'
Award is j o i ntly sponsored by the A m e r i c a n Statist i c a l Asso­
ciation, the I n stitute of Mathematica l Statistics, the B i o m e t r i c
Society E NAR, the B i o m etric Society W N A R , a n d t h e Stat i st i c s
Society o f Ca n a d a , operati n g t h rou g h C O P S S . T h e Award con­
s i sts of a s u itable p l a q u e a n d a cash awa rd in the sum of $ 1 ,000
a n d i s presented a n n u a l l y at a "joint m eeti n g " of the sponso r i n g
societies.
The rec i p ient of t h e Preside nts' Award shall be a m e m be r of
at l e a st one of the partici pati ng societies. The cand idate may be
c h osen for a s i n g l e contri bution of extraord i n a ry m e rit, o r a n
outst a n d i n g a g g regation o f co ntributions, to the profess i o n of
statistics. T h e Presidents' Award is g ra nted to an i n d i v i d u a l w h o
1
h a s not yet reached h e r/his 40th b i rthday a t the t i m e of p resen­
tation of the awa rd .
Members of the constituent societies are invited to send
nominations of candidates to :
R. Gnanadesik a n
Chair, C O P S S Presidents's Award Com m ittee
Bell Communications Researsh
Room 2 Q-386
435 South Street
Morristown, NJ 07960- 1 96 1
Com plete a n d c u rrent res u m es a s w e l l as a letter conta i n i n g
s u p po rt i n g a r g u m e n t s f o r t h e n o m i n a t i o n m u st a l so b e
subm itted for each n o m i n ee a n d t h e d e a d l i n e f o r rece i pt o f t h e
m at e r i a l is December 3 1 , 1 986.
--------��r--
I
LE PRIX PI E RR E ROB I L LA R D 1 987
I
L ' o bj ectif de ce prix est de s o u l i g n er la m e i l l e u re these d e
doctorat soute n ue d a n s u n e universite c a n a d i e n n e e n 1 98 6 et
portant s u r I ' u n des d o m a ines couverts par La Revue Canad ienne
de Statist i q u e .
L e s theses s o u m ises seront eva l uees p a r u n j u ry nom m e p a r
I e Presid ent d e l a Societe Statist i q u e d u Cana d a ; sa d e c i s i o n s e r a
s a n s a p p e l . L e s criteres seront: I e nivea u d ' orig inal ite d e s idees
et d e s tech n i q ues e m ployees, les a pp l ications poss i b l e s et l e u r
tra ite m e nt a insi q u e I ' i m pact pote nti e l s u r les sc i e n c e s sta t i s­
t i q ues. Le j u ry peut a rriver a la concl u s i on q u e p l u s d ' u n e these
ou, a I ' o p pose, q u ' a u c u n e des theses sou m ises ne m e rite I e p r i x .
Le g a gnant recevra u n certificat, u n e reco m pe n se en a rgent
et a u ra g ratu ite m e nt pend a nt u n an tous l e s p r i v i l e g e s d e s
m e m bres d e l a Societe Statist i q u e d u Cana d a . L e reci p i e n d a i re
sera i n vite a assister a la r e u n i o n ann u e l l e de la Societe Statis­
t i q u e du C a n a d a et a y presenter une co m m u n ication basee s u r
sa these; certains d e s e s fra is d e d e p l a c e m ent ou d e sej o u r p o u r­
ront i!tre defrayes p a r la Societe. Fina l e m e nt, Ie g a g n a nt sera
invite a s o u m ettre a La Revue Cana d i enne d e Statist i q u e u n a rt i ­
cle b a s e s u r sa these. S i cet a rticle e s t so u m is d a n s l ' a n nee s u i v a n t
I ' attr i b u t i o n d u prix, u n e attention spec i a l e l u i s e r a a c c o r d e e
( d e c i s i o n ra p i d e , p u b l i cation ra p i d e d a n s I e c a s d ' u n e accepta­
tion, a i d e des redacteurs . . -l- S i I ' a rtlcle est accepte, i l sera m e n­
tio nne l o rs de sa p u b l ication q u ' i l est base s u r la these q u i a m e ri­
te I e Prix P i erre Ro b i l l a r d ; les noms d e I ' u n ive rsite et d u d i recte u r
d e t h ese seront c l a i rem e nt I n d i ques. L e d i recte u r d e these pour­
ra lt i!tre co-a ute u r de cet a rticle.
Le responsable du prix doit recevoir quatre (4) copies de
chaque these soumise a u plus t a rd Ie 1 5 ja nvier 1 98 6 a i ns i
qu'une lettre du directeur de these justifiant la participation it l a
com petition (description du probleme, origina lite• . . .) . U n e attes­
tation officielle certifiant que la these fut soutenue en 1 986 doit
etre annexee.
I
B O U RS ES D E R E C H E RC H E ET D E STAG ES
I
Statisti q u e Cana d a offre a ux c h e rc h e u rs et scienti f i q u es e n
visite, l a poss i b i l ite d e m e n e r d e s recherches q u a ntitatives, g race
a son prog ra m m e de bou rses de rech e rc h e et de sta g e s . A t i tre
d ' o rg a n i s m e national de l a statist i q u e , Statist i q u e Canada four­
nit une l a rg e g a m m e de services tech n iq ue s et specia l i ses, de
mElme q u ' u n g rand nom bre d e donnees s u scepti bles d e serv i r a
la real isation d 'etu d es soc i a l es, econo m i q u e s et statist i q u es .
Voici q u e l q u e s e xe m p l e s de d o m a i n e s de r e c h e r c h e
poss i b l e s : I ' offre e t l a d e m an d e d e m a i n-d'oeuvre, l a m es u re des
prix, I ' eva l uation de l a q u a l ite des d o n nees, Ie ta u x d 'occupation
d e s h6pitaux, les etudes sur l e s m i n o rites, les tech n i q u e s de
confidential ite, I 'analyse d e series c h ronologiq ues, I 'esti m ation
d e s donnees pour les petites reg ions, l a re p a rtition d e s revenus,
l a prod u ction de nouve l le s d onnee s et I ' ana l yse de d on n ees
prove n a nt de d i fferentes e n q uetes speci a le s .
U n nom bre l i m ite d e bou rses s e r a accorde a u x perso n nes
q u i a u ro nt d e m o n t r e l e s c o n n a i s s a n c e s p e rt i n e nt e s . L e s
cand i d ats devront presenter u n projet d e recherche precis q u ' i l s
a i m era i ent rea l iser a Statist i q u e Cana d a s u r u n sujet p resentant
un interet et des avantages pour l es deux p a rties. P o u r certains
projets, Statist i q u e C a n a d a pou rra accorde r , a l a d e m ande d u
bo u rs i e r, une bou rse d e sta g e a u n etu d i a nt d e 2 e o u 3 e cycle
invite a titre d ' adjoint de rech e rche.
Les bou rses seront n o r m a l e m ent accordees p o u r u n e perio­
d e d ' u n an, mais ce p o i nt pourra etre n eg o c i e . L'aide f i n a nciere
versee a u x boursiers et a u x sta g l a i res sera eta b l i e en fonct i o n
d es q u a l ifications e t d e I ' experie nce, e t p o u rra s ' a ccom pa g n e r
d ' une ind e m nite de re i n sta l l ati on et de deplacement.
C h a q u e a n n e e . les d a t e s l i m it e s p o u r a d re s s e r u ne
demande sont Ie 3 1 m a i et Ie 30 novembre.
Void ou s 'adresser pour obtenir de plus amples renseigne­
ments:
Responsable:
Professor J. T. S m ith
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Queen's U niversity
Ki ngston (Ontario)
K7l 3N6
Telephone: (6 1 3 ) 545-24 1 9 .
Programme de bourses de recherche et de stages
Division des relations internationales et professionnelles
Statistique Canada
Ottawa (Ontario)
K 1 A OT6
Canada
Te/{'!phone: (61 3 ) 990-8920.
I M IS E S E N N O M I NATI O N P O U R LE P R I X DES PR ES I D E NTS DE LA COPSS I
Le Com ite des p residents de socletes statistiq ues (COPS S ) ,
p a r ra i n e e t presente I e Prix des preside nts desti n e a u n j e u n e
m e m bre d e la com m u n a ute statist i q u e e n reco n n a i ssa n ce de son
excepti o n n e l i e contri butio n a l a p rofession d e sta t i st i c i e n . Le
[,rix d es preside nts est pa r ra i n e conJoi nte m e nt pa r l'Ame r i ca n
Statist i ca l AssoCiation, I ' l nstitute of Mathem atical Statist ics, l a
B i o m etric Soci ety E N AR, la B i o m etric Society WNAR, e t la Societe
Statist i q u e du Ca n a d a , pa r I ' i nterm e d i a i re d e COPSS . A I ' occasion
d'une reunion a n n u e l l e des societes qui pa r r a i n e nt I e prix, une
p l a q u e et un m o nta nt de 1 000 $ seront re m i s au rec i p i e n d a i re .
Le rec i p ien d a i re d u P r i x d e s pres i d e nts devra etre m e m bre
d e I ' u n e o u I ' a utre des societes p a rt i c i p a ntes, et sera choisi e n
r a i s o n d e sa contri bution it l a profess i o n d e statisticien p a r u n
a p port p a rticu l i e r ou u n ense m b l e d e tra va u x d i st i n ctifs. Toute­
fois, cette personne devra avoir m o i ns d e 40 ans au m o m ent de
l a prese ntation du prix.
les membres des societes pa rti c i pa ntes sont invites a
suggerer des candidatures au plus tard Ie 31 decembre 1 986 it :
R . Gna nadesikan
Chair. COPSS Presidents's Award Com mittee
Bell Com m unications Researsh
Room 2 Q-386
435 South Street
Morristown. NJ 07960-1 961
C h a q u e so u m ission devra i!tre acco m pa gnee d ' u n cu rricu­
lum vitae exh a u st l f et a j o u r d e l a perso n n e m ise e n nom i n a t i o n ;
on d e v r a egalem ent y t r o u v e r les a rg u m ents q u i m i l i tent e n
fave u r d e cette nom i n a t i o n .
--------���--
STATISTICS IN THE C APITALS
N EWS F R O M STAT I ST I C S CANADA
This new column from Statistics Canada will appear regularly in Liaison. Its aim is to inform Society members o f
major activities and developments taking place i n Canada's federal statistical agency. I n this first column we begin
with a brief overview of Statistics Canada and its programs.
Program overview
U nd e r the a u t h o r i ty of t h e
Stati st i cs Act, Stati st i cs Canada has
been g i ven the mandate to "col­
l ect, com pi l e , a n a l ys e , a b stract
and p u b l i s h " stat i st i ca l i n forma­
tion, as wel l as a broad responsi b i ­
I ity for t h e co-ord i nati on and i nte­
grati on of the nat i o n a l statistical
syste m . T h i s wide-ra n g i n g m a n d a ­
te h a s l ed t h e Agency t o deve l o p a
va r i ed a r ray of prog r a m s a n d a
l a rge and d i verse c l i entele, i n c l ud­
i n g fed era l , prov i n c i a l and m u n i c i ­
p a l governments, busi ness, l a bo u r
u n i ons, l o bby grou ps, acad e m i cs,
com m u n i ty assoc i at i o n s a n d , o f
cou rse, t h e general pu b l i c . Th e i r
demands are met throu g h a c o r­
respo n d i n g l y d i ve rse set of i n for­
mation prod u cts.
Statisti cs Ca n a d a ' s d a ta pro­
d u c i n g prog ra ms can be g ro u ped
i nto th ree mai n a reas. The Econo­
mic Statistics P r o g ra m , w h i c h
i ncl u d es t h e System of N a t i o n a l
Accou nts, i s d esigned t o monitor
Cana d a ' s econ o m i c perfo r m a n c e .
Data a r e obta i n ed f r o m a l a rg e
n u m ber o f su rveys as we l l as from
a d m i n i strat i ve sou rces. I n forma­
tion i s p u b l i shed o n prod u ct i o n ,
i nternational trade, capital i n vest­
ment, fi n a n c i a l p e rfo r m a n c e ,
ow nersh i p a n d i n d u stri a l pri ces,
among oth e r t h i n g s . The Socio­
economic Statistics p r o g r a m ,
which i s d es i gned to monitor the
econom i c we l l -be i n g of Canad a ' s
popu l ation, obta i ns d ata pri m a ri l y
t h r o u g h h o u se h o l d su rveys a n d
a d m i n i strative sou rces. It prov i d es
d ata on e m p l oyment, u n e m p l oy­
ment, perso n a l a n d fa m i l y i n co­
mes and expend itu res, and consu­
mer pri ces. The Demographic and
Social Statistics program o bta i ns
d ata from the Census of Pop u l a ­
t i o n , from su rveys a n d from a va­
ri ety of pro v i n c i a l a n d fed e r a l
ad m i n i strative sou rces. I t prov i d es
i nfo rmati on on the g rowt h , c o m ­
position and d i stri bution o f Cana­
da's popu l ation, on spe c i fi c ta rget
groups of soc i a l pol i cy i nterest, and
on t h e h e a l t h , e d u c a t i o n a n d
j usti ce syste ms.
Criti cal to the support of these
d ata prod u c i n g prog ra m s is t h e
"te c h n i c a l i n frast r u c t u r e " t h a t
Stat i st i c s C a n a d a m a i nta i n s . T h i s
i n frastructu re i n cl udes c o m p u ti n g
a n d m ethod o l o g i c a l resea r c h ,
a n a l yt i c stu d i es, the m a i nte n a n ce
of cl assi fi cati on syste ms and s u r­
vey fra mes, and oth er acti vities to
ensu re that the req u i red tec h n i ca l
basis for an i nteg rated stati st i c a l
syste m , a n d the m ost u p-to-d ate
and effi c i e nt m ethods, are ava i ­
l a b l e to the agency ' s prog rams.
External contacts
To e n s u re the re l e v a n ce a n d
usefu l ness of i ts p rod u cts, Stat i s­
tics Ca nada has developed a n ex­
tensi ve l i a i son network. Some s i x­
teen A d v i sory Com m i ttees, e a c h
d ea l i n g with a spec i fi c p r o g ra m
a r e a , h a v e b e e n set u p . T h e s e
i nc l ude, for e x a m p l e , Com m i ttees
on Sta t i st i c a l M e t h o d s a n d o n
Resea rch and Analysis. M e m bers of
these C o m m i ttees c o m e m a i n l y
from t h e p r i vate a n d a c a d e m i c
sectors. Rece ntly the G ov e r n m ent
an nou n c ed the fo rmati o n of t h e
Nati onal Stat i st i cs Cou n c i l t o a d ­
v i s e t h e C h i e f S t a t i st i c i a n o n
program p r i o ri t i es . Cl ose l i a i s o n
with provi n c i a l a n d territori a l go­
ve rnments is mai nta i ned t h ro u g h
t h e Federa l - Pro v i n c i a l C o n s u l t a ­
tive Cou nci l on Stati stical Po l i cy
and a netwo rk of suppo rti ng com­
m i ttees d eal i n g w i th each of the
major progra m a reas. The stati sti ­
cal needs of other Federal G overn­
ment d e pa rt m e nts a re a d d ressed
in a se r i es of i nter-d e p a rt m e nta l
com m i ttees that have been set u p
with each o f the m aj o r c l i ent and
d a ta-su ppl y i n g d e pa rtme n ts . F i ­
n a l l y , Sta t i st i c s C a n a d a h a s f r e ­
q u e n t a n d c l ose c o nta cts w i t h
i nternati o n a l stat i st i c a l a g e n c i es
(su c h as the U n i ted Nations Statis­
tical Offi ce) and with stati sti c a l
offi ces i n other cou ntri es.
Other means by which Statis­
ti cs C a n a d a p r o m otes e x te r n a l
professional contacts i nc l u d e t h e
Fel l owsh i ps a n d I nternsh i ps Pro­
g ra m which stri ves to attract reco­
g n i zed researchers to Stati sti cs
Ca nada, the reg u l a r prod ucti o n of
the j ou rn a l Survey Methodology
(now ava i l a b l e to mem bers of the
Soci ety at a red u ced rate). a n d the
sponsorsh i p a n d org a n i zati o n of
sym posi a on to pics rel ated to i ts
prog ra ms. Additional i nform ati o n
on e a c h o f these i te m s c a n b e
fo u nd el sewhere i n Liaison.
Program developments
Space l i m i tati ons prec l u d e the
deta i l e d d esc ri pti o n i n th i s fi rst
col u m n of recent progra m d eve­
l opm ents at Statist i cs Ca nad a . H o­
wever, we wi l l mention three d e­
vel o p m e nts briefly.
The S m a l l B u si ness Stat i st i c s
Prog r a m , a n e w a n d a m b i t i o u s
i n itiative to d evel op a w i d e range
of stati st i cs on sma l l b u s i n ess, is
based a l m ost exc l usively on a d m i ­
n i strati ve sou rces i n order t o avoi d
i nc reasi ng the bu rd en of response
on s m a l l b u s i ness. The p r o g r a m
wi l l i n c l u d e l o n g i tu d i n al tracki n g
o f the devel opm ent o f sm a l l b u ­
si nesses, and wi l l present stati sti ­
cal ch a l l en ges i n , for exa m p l e, d e­
vel opi ng and operati o n a l d e fi n i ­
tion of " bi rths" and " d eat h s " of
busi n esses.
A l so u nd e r way is the H ealth
Acti v i t i es Li m i ta t i o n s S u r v e y
w h i c h i s a fol l ow-u p su rvey to the
1 986 Census. The su rvey see ks to
LA STATISTIQUE EN CAPITALES
N OU V E LLE S D E STATI STIQU E CANADA
::Ientify the l i m itati o n s faced by
ome two m i l l i on Ca n a d i a ns who
lave health rel ated p ro b l e m s or
l i sa bi l ities which l i m i t thei r a b i l ity
o hear, spea k, see, rea d , sta n d ,
va l k o r cl i m b sta i rs i n a way that
n ost Canad ians ta ke for g ra nted .
h i s su rvey i s p a rt of Sta t i st i cs
:a n a d a ' s r e s p o n s e t o t h e
eco m m endati ons of the 1 98 1 re­
lort " O bstacl es" , prod u ced by the
pec i a l Parl i a m e ntary Com m i ttee
I n the D i sa b l ed a n d the H a n ­
l i capped.
The fi nal d evel o p m ent to be
n e n t i o n ed is t h e S o c i a l Po l i cy
i m u l ation Data base a n d M od e l .
·his i nvolves the synthetic m atch­
n g of records from v a r i o u s s u r­
'eys and a d m i n i strati ve sou rces,
Ind the si m u l ation of models that
a n form the basi s for stud i es of
ncome sec u rity. T h e Forget
:om m i ss i o n o f I n q u i ry i nto t h e
J n e m p l oy m e n t I n s u ra n c e P r o­
Jram has m a d e use of i n forma­
i on from th i s model l i ng acti vity.
t i s an exa m p l e of how Statisti cs
:a nada supports the a n a l ytic use
If the stati stical d ata i t prod uces.
F u rther i nformati on on any of
he f o r e g o i n g i t e m s m a y b e
l bta i ned throu g h C h a r l es A . Pa­
rick, I nternational and Profess i o­
l a l R e l a t i o n s D i v i s i o n , Stat i st i c s
:a nada, 6 1 3-990-8920 . •
Cette rubrique que Sta tistique Canada publiera regulierement dans
Liaison a pour but d'inform e r les m embres de la SSC des principales
activites et des developpements en cours au sein de / 'organisme federal
de sta tistique. Nous inaugurons cette premiere rubrique par une vue
d'ensemble de Statistique Canada et de ses programmes.
Vue d' ensemble des programmes
E n vertu d e l a Loi sur l a sta­
tisti que, Statist i q u e Canada a rec;u
Ie m a ndat d e « recuei l l i r, eta b l i r,
a n a l yser, resumer et p u b l i er» des
rense i g n em e nts stati sti q u es, et,
d e fac;on g e n e ra l e , de voi r a l a
coord i nati o n et a I ' i ntegrati o n d u
systeme stat i st i q u e nati o n a l . C e
vaste m a ndat a amene I ' org a n i s­
me a mettre sur p i ed d i vers pro­
g r a m m es et a s ' a d resser a u n e
c l i ente l e l a rge et d i ve rsi f i e e , no­
ta m m ent l es a d m i n i strati ons fed e­
ra l e , provi nci a l es et m u n i c i p a l es,
Ie m onde d es affa i res, Ie m o n d e
d u travai l , l es g ro u pes d e pressi on,
l es u n i versita i res, l es assoc i at i o ns
c o m m u n a uta i res et, n a tu re l l e ­
m e nt, I e grand p u b l i c. Stati st i q u e
Ca nada repond a u x besoi ns d e ses
d i ve rses c l i entel es par un ensem­
b l e d i versi fi e d e prod u i ts d ' i nfor­
m ati on.
Les prog ra m m es de d o n n ees
d e Stati st i q u e C a n a d a p e u v e n t
etre reg roupes sous troi s themes,
pri n c i pa u x . Le progra m m e de l a
statistique economique, q u i com­
prend I e system e d e compta b i l i te
nati onale, a pour but d e su i vre I ' e­
vol ution de l a situati o n eco n o m i ­
que d u pays. Les d o n n ees provien­
nent d ' u n grand nom bre d ' en q u e­
tes et de d i verses sou rces a d m i n i s­
trati ves. Des rense i g n e m e nts sont
p u b l i es, par exe m p l e , sur l a pro­
d u cti on , Ie comm e rce i nte rnati o­
n a l , l es d e p e n se s d ' i n v e s t i s s e ­
ments, l es fi na nces, l a propri ete et
l es pri x i nd ustri els. Le prog ra m m e
d e l a statistique socio-economi­
que, pour sa part, est voue a I ' etu­
d e du b i en-etre econ o m i q u e de l a
popu l ation d u C a n a d a Les d o n­
n ees recuei l l i es d a n s I e cad re d e ce
progra m m e , provi e n n e n t p ri n c i ­
pai ement d ' e n q u etes a u pres d es
m e nages et d e d i fferentes sou r­
ces a d m i n i strati ves. O n y prod u i t
d es d o n n ees s u r I ' e m p l o i , I e cho­
mage, l es reve n u s et l es d epenses
d es parti cu l i e rs et d es fa m i l i es, et
su r l es p r i x a l a c o n so m m at i o n .
E n fi n , s u r l a b a se d e s d o n n e e s
i ssues d u recense m e nt d e l a popu­
l ation, d ' enq u etes et de d i verses
sou rces ad m i n i strati ves fed e ra l es
et prov i n ci a l es, I e progra m m e d e
l a statistique demogra phique et
sociale fo u r n i t d es r e n s e i g n e ­
m ents sur l a c ro i ssa nce, l a com po­
sition et la d i stri b uti on de la po­
p u l ation d u Canada, su r certa i ns
g rou pes c i b l es vi ses par l es pol iti­
ques soc i a l es, et sur l es systemes
d e l a sa nte, d e I ' e nsei g nement et
de la j usti ce .
Pour soute n i r t o u s ces p r o ­
g ram m es d e d o n n ees, Statisti q u e
Canada m a i nti ent u n e i nfrastruc­
ture tec h n i q u e i m portante. Cette
i n frastructu re c o m prend I ' i nfor­
m ati que, l es reche rches m ethodo­
l og i q ues, l es et u d es a n a l yt i q u es ,
I e m a i ntien d e systemes d e cl assi­
fi cation et d e bases d ' en q u ete et
d ' a utres activites qui gara nti ssent
q u e la base tec h n i q u e necessa i re a
u n system e stati sti q u e i ntegre et
l es m ethodes l es pl us modernes et
l es plus effi caces sont a la d i spo­
sition d es prog ra m m es du B u rea u .
Relations avec I'exterieur
Afi n de g a ra nti r l a perti nence
et I ' uti l i te d e ses prod u its, Statis­
tique Canad a a c o n st i t u e u n re­
seau de l i a i so n tres d eve l o p p e .
Quelque 1 6 com i tes consu l tati fs,
voues chacu n a u n e l e me nt prec i s
d u progra m m e , o nt e t e m i s su r
pied. Citons a titre d ' exe m p l e, I e
comite d es m ethodes stati st i q u es
et cel u i d e l a r e c h e r c h e et d e
I ' a na l yse. Les m e m b res d e ces co-
I L A STATlSTlQUE EN CAPITALES
m i tes v i e n n e n t p r i n c i p a l e m e n t
des secte u rs prive et u n i versita i re.
Le gouverne m e nt a a n n o n c e re­
ce m m ent l a creati o n du Conse i l
nati onal d e l a stati st i q u e afi n d e
conse i l l e r I e statisti c i en e n chef sur
l es pri orites d e prog ra m m e . U n e
l i a i son etroite avec l es a d m i n i stra­
tions provi nci a l es et territo r i a l es
est a ss u r e e p a r I ' e n t r e m i se d u
Conse i l consu ltat i f fed eral -prov i n­
c i a l d e l a pol i ti q u e stati st i q u e et
p a r u n r e s e a u d e s o u s- c o m i t es
consacres a u x p r i n c i p a u x d o m a i ­
n e s d e prog ram m e . Les besoi n s
stati sti q u es des autres m i n i ste res
fed eraux font I ' obj et d ' etudes de
la p a rt de d i v e rs com i tes i n ter­
m i n i steri e l s rattaches a chacun d es
p r i n c i p a u x c l i e nts et m i n i st e r e s
fou r n i sse u rs d e d o n n ees. E n f i n ,
Stati stique Ca nada m a i nti ent d e s
r e l at i o n s freq u e ntes et etroi tes
avec l es org a n i s mes stati sti q u e s
i nternati ona u x com m e I e B u re a u
d e statisti q u e d es Nations U n i es et
avec l es org a n i s m es stati st i q u e s
d ' a utres pays.
La promotion q u e Stati st i q u e
Canada fa i t d e ses servi ces p ro­
fessi o n n e l s s' est ega l e m ent tra­
d u i t e p a r un p r o g r a m m e d e
bou rses d e recherche et d e stages
ayant pou r but d ' atti rer des cher­
c h e u rs reconnus a Stati stique Ca­
nada, par la p u b l i cati on reg u l i ere
de l a revu e Techniques d'enquete
( m a i nte nant m i se a l a d i sposi tion
d es m e m bres d e la Soci ete a u n
pri x red u i t), et par I e parra i nage
recense m e nt de 1 986. Pa r cette
enquete, on tente d ' i d enti fier l es
l i m i tati o n s a u xq u e l l es font fa c e
q u e l q u e d e u x m i l l i ons d e C a n a ­
d i ens a u x prises avec d e s i ncapa­
c i tes a entend re, parl e r, voi r, l i re ,
m a rcher, etc . Cette e n q u ete c o ns­
titue u n e l e m ent de repo n se d e
Stati st i q u e C a n a d a a u x r e c o m ­
m a nd ati ons d u r a p p o rt d e 1 98 1
" O bsta c l es" prepare par I e Co m i te
speci a l concernant l es i n va l i d e s et
l es hand i ca pes.
et I ' o rga n i sa t i o n d e sym posi u m s
su r l es suj ets se ratta chant a ses
p rog ra m m es. On trou vera a i l l e u rs
dans Liaison des rense i g n e m ents
s u p p l e m enta i res su r chacun de ces
poi nts.
Les devel oppements recents
Les contrai ntes d ' espace nous
em pechent m a l h e u reusem ent d e
presenter d a ns cette p rem i ere ru­
bri q u e u n e d esc ri pti o n d eta i l l ee
d es d eve l o p pem ents rece nts con­
cernant l es prog ra m m es d e Stati s­
tique Canad a . N ous n ' en m e nti on­
nerons bri eve m e nt que trois.
Po u r term i n e r , m e nti o n n o n s
l a base d e d o n n ees e t I e mod e l e
d e si m u l at i o n d e s p o l i t i q u es so­
c i a l es, p rog ra m m e q u i consist e a
a pparier d e fa<;on synthet i q u e l es
d ossi e rs d e d i v e rses e n q u etes e t
sou rces a d m i n i st r a t i v e s et a s i ­
m u l er d es model es pouva nt con s­
titu e r l a base d ' etudes d e l a s€c u ­
rite d u reve n u . La C o m m i s s i o n
Forget, s u r I e prog ra m m e d ' assu­
rance-ch6mage, a uti l i se l es r e n ­
s e i g n e m e n ts fou r n i s pa r c e s
travaux d e model i sati o n . ( ' est u n
e xe m p l e d e l a f a <; o n d o nt S t a ­
ti sti q u e C a n a d a a p p u i e I ' u ti l i sa­
tion analyt i q u e d es d on n e es sta­
tistiq ues q u ' i l p rod u i t.
Le p rogra m m e de la sta t i s­
ti q u e d es peti tes entrepri ses, nou­
vel l e i n i ti ati v e ayant pou r but d e
creer u n vaste eve nta i l d e stati s­
tiq u es sur l es peti tes entre p r i ses,
re pose presq u e excl usi vement sur
des sou rces ad m i n i strati ves, et ce,
afi n d ' eviter d ' accroitre I e fard e a u
d e r e ponse d e s peti tes entre p r i ­
ses. C e prog ra m m e com p rend ra I e
su i vi l ongitu d i n a l d u d ev e l oppe­
m e nt d e s peti tes entre p r i se s et
envisagera d es probl e m es stati sti­
q u es com me, par exe m p l e, l a m i se
a u poi nt d ' u n e d efi n i t i o n o p e ra ­
tionnel l e d e s " c reati o n s " et d e s
" d i sparitions" d ' entreprises.
Pou r d e p l u s a m p l es ren s e i ­
gnem ents sur l es prog ra m mes d e
Stati st i q u e Canada, o n est pri e d e
s ' a d resser a C h a r l e s A . Patri c k ,
D i vi s i on des relations professi o n ­
nel l es e t i nternationa l es, Stat i st i ­
q u e Cana d a , a u n u m ero 6 1 3-9908920 . •
Un a utre p rog ra m m e en cours
q u i m e rite d ' etre signa l e est I ' en­
q u ete su r la sa nte et l es I i m i ta ­
t i o n s d ' a ct i v i tes, e n q u ete q u i se
situe dans I e prolongem ent d u
(4 1 6) 278-3483
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President
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SURVEY
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TECHNIQUES
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Development and Application
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S
urvey Methodology
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various aspects of statistical development,
Le developpement et l'application
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echniques d'enquete contient des articles sur les
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THE CONSULTANTS ' COLUMN
F i rst Exper i e n ces wit h a Statistica l Con s u lt i n g Cou rse
by 1. Terry Smith
Depa rtment of M athematics and Statisti cs, Q u e e n ' s U n i ve rsity
I n h i s exce l l ent aft e r-d i n n e r
add ress, " Stati sti c i a n s ve rs u s Sta­
tisti c i a n s " , p resented at the 1 985
a n n u a l m e et i ng of the Soci ety,
M a rti n W i l k, Presi dent of the SSC,
u rged the Soc i ety to h e l p bri d g e
the g a p betwee n " b l u e- c o l l a r "
and "wh ite-col l a r " stati st i c i a n s. I n
sol i d a rity with h i s posi t i o n , I a m
a d d ressi ng a n a rea o f c o m m o n
c o n c e r n both t o a c a d e m i c a n d
n o n - a c a d e m i c sta t i st i c i a n s : t h e
appropri ate pra ct i ce of stat i st i c s
as a professi o n .
S t a t i st i c a l c o n s u l t i n g i s a
centra l a ctivity i n the practi ce of
statisti cs. H ow many stat i sti c i a n s
manage to get t h ro u g h thei r
careers w i t h o ut bei ng asked to
g i ve advice on the proper use of
stati stics for a spec i f i c probl e m ?
Perhaps i t i s ti m e we ta l ked a l ot
more a bout how to i m prove o u r
consu lti ng.
The story beg i ns in the wi nter
of 1 9 8 5 . M y d e p a rt m e n t h a d
deci d ed t o take a fresh l oo k at
tea c h i n g consu l t i n g , a n d I w a s
g i ve n the c o u rse a ss i g n m e n t .
D u ri ng o n e o f the sessions a t the
S o c i ety ' s 1 9 8 5 m e et i n g i n
Wi n n i peg, I heard Dou g l as Za h n ,
Department o f Stati st i cs, F l o r i d a
State U n i ve rs i ty , te l l a b o u t h i s
approach to teach i ng consu l ti n g .
D u ri n g the few m i n utes h e spoke
h e a d d ressed m a n y of my c o n ­
cerns a bout consu l ti n g , tea c h i n g
consu l t i n g , and d esi g n i n g a con­
s u l ti ng cou rse ; after the sessi o n I
went to h i m for advi ce. Two l o n g
c o n v e rs a t i o n s a n d t w o o f h i s
a rti c l es (see the References) h e l ­
ped m e t o form u l ate a coherent
plan for a consu lti n g cou rse that
seem ed to have tre m e n d o u s p o­
tenti a l . The fol l ow i ng em erged as
key poi nts i n the d esi g n :
( i ) a n u n d e rsta n d i n g o f w h a t
m a kes for effecti ve consu lti n g ;
(ii) a set o f criteri a for criti q u i n g
a consu lting sessi o n ;
(iii) the fact that i m prove ment of
stat i st i c a l i n a d e q u a c i es i s o n l y
part o f the pro b l e m ; the way a
consu l ta nt i nteracts with c l i ents i s
easi l y a s i m porta nt;
(iv) the uti l ity of v i d eota pi ng to
com pensate for the consu l t a n t ' s
i m perfect mem ory of the sess i o n ;
(v) t h e n e e d f o r a p e r i o d o f
coa c h i n g b a s e d o n v i d e ota p e d
rec o r d s o f c o n s u l t i n g p e rfo r­
mance.
Recog n i z i n g that d i rect expe­
rie nce was m y m ost pressi ng need
at that ti me, Zahn i n vi ted me to
h i s d e p a rt m e n t to o b s e r v e h i s
cou rse a t fi rst h a n d . I j u m ped at
the c h a nce a n d i n j u l y went to
Ta l l a hassee. My i ntenti on was to
get a fee l for h ow o n e i m p l e ­
m ented the basi c outl i ne. What I
e x p e r i e n c e d , t h a n k s to Z a h n ' s
wisdom a n d g e n erosi ty, was i n ­
tensive i nvol vem ent i n the process
of teach i n g a n d l e a rn i n g . I was
v i d eota ped i n two h o u rs of role­
pl ayed consu l ti n g sessi o n s , a s
cl i ent to th ree d i fferent st u d e nt
consu ltants and as consu l ta n t to
th ree d i fferent stu d e nt c l i ents. I
then p a rti c i pated i n s u pervi si o n
sessions based on th ose tapes i n
w h i c h the th ree stu d ents and I a l l
recei ved coach i ng from Z a h n o n
t h e i m prove m e n t of o u r consu l ­
ti n g perform a n ce. That experien­
ce c l i n c h e d m y d e c i s i o n to u s e
vid eota p i n g and c oa c h i n g based
on Za h n ' s p h i l os o p h y of c o ns u l ­
ti ng a n d p r i n c i p l es of i m p rov i n g
consu l t i n g p e r fo r m a n c e . These
factors c on v i n ced me: the h i g h
l evel of mastery shown b y t h ose
stu d e nts, the d epth of i nfo r m a ­
ti o n I recei ved a bout m y o w n con-
sulti n g perform a nce, and the fact
that t h e w h o l e p r ocess f l o w e d
from a coherent, reasona b l e p h i ­
l osophy o f consu l t i n g .
My i m m ed i a t e t a s k u p o n
retu r n i n g to K i n g ston w a s t h e
pu rc hase o f v i d e o e q u i p m e n t. A
vari ety of d e c i s i o n s h a d t o b e
made, for exa m ple, V H S o r B eta ,
c o n s u m e r o r i n d u st r i a l g r a d e ,
sec u re o r access i b l e fac i l iti es, etc .
T h e e q u i p m e n t I c h os e w a s
p u r c h a s e d w i t h fi n a n c i a l h e l p
from t h e G e o r g e L . E d g ett
Stati st i c a l La b o ratory ( Q u e e n 's
S TA T L A B ) a n d t h e A l l i e d
Fou n d at i o n v i a the S u bco m m ite e
o n Stat i st i c a l Cons u l t i n g o f t h e
ASA S e ct i o n o n S t a t i s t i c a l
Ed u cati o n . The v i d eo record e r i s a
profess i o n a l V H S m o d e l w h i c h
u s es h a l f- i n c h T 1 2 0 ta p e a n d
cou nts tape i n h o u rs, m i n utes, a n d
seconds. T h e cam era ope r ates at
l ow l i g ht l evels. The 2 0 - i n c h
col o u r m o n itor i s fa i rl y sta n d a rd .
The m i crophone that ca m e w i t h
t h e c a m e ra proved m o re u sefu l
w h e n fitted w i t h a n exte n s i o n
cable a n d a d esk sta n d .
C o u rse d esi g n a n d p l a n n i n g
were the order of busi ness for the
re m a i n d e r of t h e s u m m e r . I
n e e d e d to reso l ve s o m e o f t h e
q u e st i o n s t h a t h a d b e e n m y
concern for som e ti m e :
(i) H ow d o we hel p stud e nts t o
i nteg rate t h e stati st i c a l m at e r i a l
i n thei r cou rses so that t h e y c a n
choose the a p p ro p r i ate st rategy
in tac kl i ng a consulting pro b l e m ?
(ii) H ow d o w e c o n v i n c e
st u d e n ts t h a t t h e s u c c e s s o f a
c o n s u l t i n g sess i o n d e p e n d s o n
m a n y factors besi d es the m a stery
of m ateri a l i n sta t i st i c a l t h e o ry
a n d m ethods cou rses?
THE CONSULTANT'S COLUMN
(i i i) What shou l d we put forward
a s a st a n d a r d of e f f e c t i v e
consulting agai nst w h i c h stud ents
can m easure thei r i m provement?
(iv) H ow c a n w e p r ov i d e s t u dents with adequate feed back on
th e i r perfo r m a n c e so that l e a r­
ni ng prog resses?
(v) H ow c a n we h e l p stu d e nts
l ea r n to be se l f-c r i t i c a l w i t h o u t
bei n g e i t h e r s e l f-dest r u ct i ve o r
ove rly opt i m i st i c ?
(vi) C a n we devise a m ethod of
i nstru cti o n that adapts read i l y to
a se l f-t e a c h i n g m o d e b e y o n d
g rad uation from the cou rse ?
Answers beg a n to take shape
as I fi l l e d i n d eta i l s of t h e
fol l ow i n g c o u rse o u t l i n e : fo u r
weeks for i nterpe rsona l aspects of
a consu lti ng sess i o n ; fo u r weeks
for tec h n i ca l aspects such as pro­
blem sol v i n g , select i o n of statis­
tical strategi es, a nd session m a na­
gem ent; a nd fou r weeks for prac­
tice a n d coa c h i ng u s i ng v i d e o­
ta pes of ro l e p l a y e d c o n s u l t i n g
sess i o n s (see McCulloch e t a l . ,
1 985).
The key concept u a l m ateri a l
form i ng a basis for m u c h o f the
cou rse i s a ph i l osophy of consu l ­
ti n g fro m w h i c h c r i te r i a for a
successfu I consu I t i ng sessi on ca n
be deri ved . W h i l e each stu d e n t
w i l l ev o l v e h i s or h e r o w n
p h i l osophy i n t i m e , the fol l ow i ng
po i n ts p r o v i d e a sta rt i n g base
(adapted from Zahn a n d Boroto,
1 985).
1 . A statistical consu ltation i s a
m eeti ng betwee n two o r m o re
persons i n o rd e r to a d d r e s s a
stati stical questi on.
2. The pu rpose of a statisti c a l
consu ltat i o n i s to i n c r ease t h e
uti l i ty of i nformati on i n the cl i ent
d i sci p l i ne.
3. Honesty, with com passion, i s
the p o l i cy o f the consu l ta nt.
4. The c l i e nt ow n s the p r o­
blem, m a kes the f i n a l d e c i s i o ns,
and pays the b i l l s ; the consu l tant
serves the c I i ent.
5. The consu ltant can not force
the c l i e nt to adopt the consu l ta nt'
sol ution of the probl e m .
6 . T h e c l i e nt h a s t h e r i g h t to
come to the consultati on i n h i s or
her cu rrent cond i t i o n ( i n fo r m ed
or not, confident or not, prepa red
or n ot).
7. T h e c o n s u l t a n t c h o o s e s
whether o r n ot to work with the
cand i date c l i ent.
8. The consu ltant a l one b e a rs
respon si b i l i ty f o r effe c t i v e
consulti ng.
A way of i m p l e m e nti n g the
p h i l o s o p h y is fo u n d i n t h e s e
c r i t e r i a fo r t h e s u c c e s s o f a
consu l ti ng sessi o n (also adapted
from Zahn and Boroto, 1 985).
1 . The cI i e nt was g i ven a l l t h e
i nformati on relevant t o h i s or her
d e c i s i o n . T h i s was c o n veyed
without bel i ttl i ng , patro n i z i n g , or
i nti m i d ati n g .
2 . T h e consu l ta nt veri fied t h a t
t h e i n fo r m a t i o n h a d b e e n
rece i ved accurate l y.
3. M a j o r a l t e r n a t i v e s to t h e
s u g g ested sol u t i o n were c o n s i ­
d e red a n d t h e rel ati ve adva ntag es
and d i sadva nta ges of the va rious
opti ons were e x p l a i ned to t h e
c l i e nt.
4 . The i n form ati o n g i ve n was
accu rate.
5. The p l a n d evel oped i n t h e
i nteract i o n c a n b e i m p l e m e nted
by a l l pa rt i es i nvolved .
6. A l l p a rt i e s were certai n at
the end of the i nteracti o n as to
the i r roles in i m p l e m e n ti n g the
sol uti on.
As Septe m be r a p proa c h e d , I
felt more and more l i ke a cl oset
revo l uti onary a bout to go p u b l i c.
T h r e e a s p e cts o f t h e c o u r s e ,
v i d e ota p i n g , r o l e p l a y i n g , a n d
co a c h i n g , w e r e fo re i g n to m y
previous teac h i n g experience as
we l l as that of my col l eagues, and
th i s gave m e pa use for reflecti o n .
It w a s h e l p f u I f o r m e t o real i se
that videota pi ng can be reg a rded
as col l ecti n g data a n d , as such, is
q u i te fa m i l i a r to statisti c i a ns; that
rol e p l ay i n g is a type of si m u l ation,
a nother activity wel l u n d e rstood
by sta t i st i c i a n s a s to b o t h i t s
strengths a nd i ts l i m itati ons; and
that coachi n g is a form of one-to­
one teac h i ng, not u nc o m m o n i n
office h e l p sessions.
D u r i n g the c o u rs e I fo u n d
that, when e n o u g h experience of
a n a l ys i n g o n e ' s v i d e ot a p e d
ro l e p l ays h a s b e e n g a i n e d , t h e
p h i l osophy a n d c ri teri a outl i n ed
a bove beg i n to form a powerf u l
tool w i t h w h i c h t o d etect,
understa n d , a nd m od i fy aspects
of one 's consu l t i n g behav i o u r that
re peated l y l e a d t o d i ff i c u l t i es .
Z a h n uses a coac h i n g m ethod for
w o r k i n g o u t d i ff i c u l t i e s t h a t
rese m b l es i n m a n y w a y s t h e
tec h n i q u e o f a s p o rts coac h : a n
a d j u st m e n t o f t e c h n i q u e i s
suggested a nd tried out u nti l the
r e v i sed te c h n i q u e i s effect i v e ,
c o m forta b l e , a n d a u t o m a t i c .
M ore so than i n sports, however,
the student a l so m ust l earn to get
p a st t h e n e g a t i v e f e e l i n g s
a ssoc i ated w i th " b l ow i n g a
consultati o n " o r " l ooki ng stu pid " .
T h i s i s perha ps the most d i ffi c u l t
cha l l enge for a novice consu lting
coach.
What have I l e a rned from th i s
f i rst v e r s i on o f t h e c o u rse J
Pe rhaps m ost of a l l that there i s
m u c h t o b e l e a rned from further
experi e n c e . Stu d e nts responded
positively on the whole. The two
stu d e nts w o r k i n g f u l l - t i m e i n
i nd u st ry c l a i m ed t hat t h e ex pe­
rience hel ped t h e m d i rect l y a n d
i m med i atel y i n the i r work; t h i s i s
o n e o f t h e fa cto rs t h at e n c o u ­
raged m e to p u rs u e t h e p roj ect
furth e r . T h e m ost c o m m o n sug­
gestion for i m p rov e m e n t was to
i nt rod u c e v i d e ota p e d ro l e p l ays
earl i e r in the course as motivati on
for the m ateri a l on i nterpersonal
a n x i ety and c r i ti q u i n g a consu l ­
t i n g sessi on. Stu d e nts a l so wa nted
m ore practice with stati stical pro-
THE CONSULTANT'S COLUMN
b l e m -sol v i n g , a n d s u g g ested
speci a l l y desi gned exercises usi ng
vid eota pe. The two facu lty pa rtici­
pa nts, from M a t h e m a t i c s a n d
Stat i stics a n d Q u ee n ' s STAT LAB
and from the Psyc holog y Depa rt­
me nt, a l so responded favo u rably.
Thei r i nvol vement was a va l u a b l e
reso u r c e , a n d c o n f i r m e d t h e
benefits of a team effort.
The h e l p of a " s u pport net­
wor k " c a n be of c o n s i d e r a b l e
va l u e i n a n u nderta k i ng to i m pro­
ve one 's consu l t i n g , and is eq u a l l y
u sefu l t o som e o n e te a c h i n g a
cou rse l i ke this one. I n add ition to
su pport from a l l the part i c i p a nts
i n the course, I benefitted from
reg u l a r te l e phone conversat i o ns
with Doug l as Zahn about d i ff i c u l t
poi nts i n t h e tea c h i n g . I n d e e d ,
o u r conti n u i n g d i sc u ssi o n s h a ve
been mutu a l l y benefi c i a l to o u r
u nd ersta n d i ng of what i s effective
c o n s u l t i n g a n d h o w we m a y
ach i eve it.
What i s plan ned for next t i m e
a ro u n d ? Sta rti n g i n S e pte m b e r
one-half of my teachi n g t i m e w i I I
be d e v o t e d to c o n s u l t i n g i n
Queen 's STATLA B . I i ntend to u se
that opportun ity to vid eota pe m y
ow n consu l t i n g sess i o n s a n d t o
u se w h a t I l e a r n f r o m t h e i r
a n a l ysis i n the cou rse . I i ntend a l so
to have the stude nts ta pe sessions
with actual c l i ents to re pl ace som e
of t h e rol eplay work. T h i s wi l l a d d
another d i mension t o thei r expe­
rience and m i ne.
In closi ng, I encourage you to
c o n s i d e r t h i s m et h o d for y o u r
cu rrent consulting cou rse, o r for
the new i nstructi on that you have
d e c i d ed to i ntrod u c e i nto y o u r
department (and I i nc l u d e govern­
ment and i nd u strial departm e n ts
on a n eq u a l foot i n g w i t h a c a ­
d e m i c d e p a rt m e nts a s reg a r d s
appl i ca b i l i ty of this m ethod ) . As I
have tried to i nd i cate, reso u rces
a re read i l y ava i l a b l e ; these i nc l u ­
d e seed gra nts for equ i p m e nt,
Zah n ' s w r i t i n g s a n d pers o n a l
coach i ng , a n d contact w i t h a
g row i n g n u m be r of i n d i v i d u a l s
who, l i k e m ys e l f, h a ve e x pe­
rie nced the method . I t i s d efi n i te l y
worth tryi ng ! _
References
1. Zahn a n d Boroto, Increasing
Productivity by Resolving Break­
downs in Pro fessio n a l In tera c­
tions, u npublished m a n u scrip t,
1 985.
2. M cCu l l och, B o roto, M eeter,
Pol l a n d , and Za h n , An Expa nded
Approach to Educa ting Statistical
Consultants, American Statistican,
1 985.
(Presen ted a t the 1 986 A n n u a l
Meeting of the Sta tistical Society
of Canada).
"Nous devons croire au hasa rd. Autrement, comment pourrions-nous expliquer Ie succes de ceux que
nous n 'aimons pas ? "
- J ean Coctea u
"An approxima te answer to the right problem is worth a good deal more than an exact answer to an
approximate problem. "
- J o h n Tu key
"Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, anymore and it's enemy action. "
- J a mes Bond
30
LE STATISTICIEN - CONSEIL
Cou rs su r l a co nsu ltati o n statisti q u e : premi eres i m p ress i o n s
par 1. Terry Smith
Departement d e mathematiques et d e statisti que, U n i versite Quee n 's
Dans l a causerie fort i nt e res­
sante d ont il nous a g rati fies a pres
Ie diner sous Ie ti tre de " Stati sti­
ci ens contre statist i c i e n s " a I ' as­
sem b l ee genera l e 1 985 de l a SSC,
M a rt i n Wi l k, notre presi d e n t ac­
tuel , priait i nsta m m ent l a Soci ete
de contri buer a com b l e r I e fosse
q u i separe l es " cols bleus" et l es
" c o l s b l a ncs" d e l a sta t i st i q u e .
Com m e j e partage s a posi tion, j e
va i s a border u n s u j et d ' i n t e r et
com m u n p o u r l es sta t i sti c i e n s ,
ta nt theori c i e ns q u e prati ci ens, a
savo i r I e bon exerci ce d u m et i e r
d e statisti cien.
Dans cette professi on, la con­
su ltati on stat i st i q u e o c c u p e u n e
pl ace d e choix. Com b i e n d e statis­
tici ens, en effet, font- i Is ca rri ere
sans j a m a i s se fa i re d e m a n d e r d es
conse i l s sur I e bon usage d e l a sta­
tisti que dans tel ou tel cas b i e n
precis? Peut-etre I e mom ent est- i l
venu d e nous atta rder d avantage
sur l es m oyens d ' a m e l i o r e r n os
consu Itati ons.
L ' h i sto i re q u e j e v e u x v o u s
raconter com m e n ce u n j o u r d e
I ' h i ve r 1 98 5 . M o n d e p a rte m e nt
avait d eci d e d e pre n d re un n o u ­
veau d epart dans I ' ensei g n e m e nt
de l a consu ltati on, et c ' est a moi
que I e cours avait ete confi e . Lors
d ' une sea nce, org a n i see a W i n n i ­
peg d a ns I e cad re d e I ' asse m b l ee
1 98 5 de l a Soci ete, j ' a i pu enten­
d re D o u g l a s Z a h n , d u d e p a rte­
me nt de stati stique d e la F l o r i d a
State U n i versity, exposer ses theo­
ries sur I ' e nse i g n em ent de l a con­
su ltati on. Sans d oute n ' a-t- i l parle
que quel q u es m i n utes, m a i s il a
a bord e plusieurs suj ets q u i m ' i nte­
ressa i e nt person nel l ement d a ns I e
d o m a i n e d e l a consu l tat i o n , d e
son ense i g n ement e t d e l a con­
ception d ' u n cours e n ! a mati ere;
l a seance fi n i e, je s u i s a i l e l u i de-
m a n d e r conse i l . Apres avo i r eu
deux l ongs entretiens avec l u i et
l u d e u x de ses a rt i c l es (voir les
References), il m ' a ete pl us fac i l e
d e d resser I e p l a n cohere nt d ' u n
co u rs d e c o n s u l ta t i o n , d o n t I e
pote n t i e l sem b l a i t e n o r m e . Les
poi nts su i v a n ts se s o n t r e v e l es
cruc i a u x d a ns l a concept i o n :
(i) i l fa ut savoi r c e q u i rend l a
consu l tation efficace;
(ii) il fa ut pouvo i r criti q u e r l es
seances de consu l tati o n e n fonc­
tion d ' u n e seri e d e criteres;
( i i i ) rem ed i e r a u x i n s u ffi sances
statist i q u es n ' est q u ' u ne partie du
probl e m e ; l a fa<;on dont I e stati s­
t i c i e n-consei l et son cl i e nt a g i ssent
reci proq uem ent I ' u n su r I ' a utre a
sans a u c u n d oute a utant d ' i m por­
ta nce;
(iv) I ' enregistrement d e la sean­
ce a u magnetoscope est uti l e pou r
pal l i er eventu e l l ement l a m e m o i ­
r e d efa i l l a nte d u statist i c i e n ;
(v) u n e p e r i o d e d ' i n st r u ct i o n
parti cu l i ere s ' i m pose, f o n d e e su r
I ' e n registrement video d e sea nces
de consultation.
Constata nt q u e I ' e x p e r i e n c e
i m m e d i ate eta it c e d o nt j ' ava i s I e
pl us pressant beso i n a I ' epoq u e ,
Z a h n m ' a i nvite a ven i r o bserver I e
cours d e m es propres y e u x d a n s
son d e pa rtement. Sautant sur I ' oc­
casi o n , j e s u i s p a rt i p o u r Ta l l a­
hassee en j u i l l et. J ' a va i s I ' i nten­
t i o n de me fa i r e u n e i d e e d e
I ' a p p l i c ati o n d es g r a n d es l i g n es
du p l a n , m a i s ce que j 'ai ve c u ,
g race a l a sagesse et a l a g e n e­
rosite d e Z a h n , c ' est u ne pa rt i c i ­
pati on poussee a I ' ensei g n e m e nt
et a I ' a ppre n t i ssage proprement
d i ts. Pe n d a nt d e u x heu res d e psy­
chod ra m e , j ' a i ete fi l m e a u
magnetoscope ; d a n s ces seances
d e consu ltati on si m u l ees, j ' ai ten u
I e rol e de c l i e nt vis-a-vis d e tro i s
etu d i a nts q u i te nai ent cel u i d e
stati sti c i e ns-conse i l s e t I e rol e d e
conse i l e n vers tro i s etu d i a nts q u i
fa i sa i ent office d e cl i ents. E n s u i te,
p e n d a nt l es s e a n c e s d e s u pe r­
v i s i o n fondees s u r l es b a n d e s
v i d eo , Z a h n n o u s a d o n n e , a u x
tro i s etu d i a nts et a m o i - m e m e ,
u ne i nstructi o n parti c u l i ere p o u r
a m e l i o rer n otre prati q u e d e l a
c o n s u l ta t i o n . Cette e x pe r i e n ce
m ' a d e c i d e a recouri r a u x enreg i s­
trem ents v i d eo et a I ' i nstruction
particu l i ere e n m ' i ns p i ra nt de l a
theori e d e Zahn s u r l a c o ns u l ta ­
tion et d es p r i n c i pes q u ' i l p reco­
n i se pou r en a m el i orer I ' exerci ce.
Voici ce q u i m ' a conva i cu : la g ran­
d e v i rtuosite d es etu d i a nts d a n s
cet a rt, I ' i nformati on tres a p p ro­
fo n d i e q u e j ' a i re<; u e s u r m on
propre rende m e nt en l a m at i e re
et I e fa i t q u e I e process u s t o u t
enti e r reposa i t su r u n e t h e o r i e
ra i so n n a b l e e t c o h e r e n te d e l a
consultation.
La pre m i ere tache q u i m ' at­
ten d a i t a mon retou r a K i ngston
eta i t I ' ac hat du m ate riel vid eo. I I
m ' a fal l u pre nd re a cet egard p l u ­
s i e u rs d e c i s i o n s : a l l a i s-j e o p t e r
p o u r V H S ou pou r Beta, p o u r u n
a p parei l com m erc i a l o u i nd u stri el ,
po u r d es i nsta l l ations prot e g e e s
o u accessi b l es, e t a i nsi d e su i te .
U n e fo i s m o n c h o i x a r r e t e , j ' a i
a c h ete I e m a t e r i e l a v e c I e
concou rs fi n a n c i e r d u G eorge L .
E d g ett S t a t i st i c a l L a b o r a t o r y
(STATLAB d e Q u e e n ' s) et d e
l ' Al l i ed Fou n d a t i o n p a r I ' i nt e r­
m ed i a i re d u sous-com i t e s u r l a
c o n s u l ta t i o n s t a t i st i q u e d e l a
section su r I ' ense i g n e m e nt d e l a
stati sti q u e d e I ' ASA. Le m a g n e ­
toscope est u n mod e l e V H S pro­
fess i o n n e l a b a n d e T 1 2 0 d ' u n
d e m i -pouce ou I e d efi l e m e nt est
i nd i q u e en h e u res, m i n u tes et
secon des. La c a m era foncti o n n e
sous u n tres fa i bl e ecl a i rage. Le
LE STATlSTlClEN·CONSEll
m on i te u r cou l e u r de 20 pou ces est
d ' u n type fort coura nt. Q u ant au
m i cro qui accompagnait la came­
ra, i l s' est m ontre p l u s uti l e u n e
foi s m u n i d ' u n cordon de ral l onge
et d ' u n p i e d .
J ' a i consacre I e reste d e I ' ete a
l a conception et a l a p l a n i fi cati on
d u cou rs. J ' ava i s a reso u d re q u e l ­
q u es probl emes q u i m e preoccu­
pa i e nt depuis u n certa i n te m ps :
( i) C o m m e n t a i d e r l e s e t u ­
d i a nts a i nteg rer l a m a ti ere sta ­
tisti q u e a l e u rs cou rs pou r q u ' i l s
p u i ssent, d evant u n prob l e me d e
consu ltati o n , c h o i s i r l a strateg i e
vou l u e 7
( i i ) Co m m e n t l e s c o n v a i n c r e
q u e I e succes d ' u n e seance de con­
su ltation d e pend d e b i e n d ' autres
facteu rs q u e de la m a itri se de l a
m ati ere des cou rs d e theorie et d e
m ethodes stati stiq ues7
( i i i) Quel critere d' efficacite de­
v i o ns- nous proposer pou r que l es
etu d i a nts p u i ssent m e s u r e r l e u rs
prog res7
(iv) Comm ent i n former l es etu­
d i a nts en reto u r s u r l e u r rende­
m ent d e m a n i ere a fa i re ava ncer
I ' apprentissage 7
(v) C o m m e n t a i d e r l e s e t u ­
d i a nts a acqu'e ri r I ' a rt d e I ' a u to­
criti q u e sa ns tom ber d a ns I ' a uto­
d estru cti o n ni I ' exces d ' o pti m i s­
me7
(vi) P o u v i o n s- n o u s I m a g i n e r
u n e m ethode d ' i nstruct i o n g race
a l aq u e l l e , en I ' adapta nt un pe u ,
l es etu d i a nts pou rra i ent s ' i nstru i re
e u x - m e m e s u n e fo i s I e c o u r s
term i n e ?
Les reponses o n t com me nce a
p r e n d re fo r m e p e n d a nt q u e j e
prec i s a i s l es d eta i l s d es g ra n d es
l i g nes d u cou rs q u e voi c i : q u atre
sem a i nes consa c rees a u x aspects
i nterperso n n e l s d ' u n e seance d e
consu l tati o n , q u atre sem a i nes a u x
aspects tec h n i q u es comme l a sol u ­
tion d es probl emes, I e c h o i x d e s
strateg i es statistiques e t l a d i rec­
tion d e la seance et enfi n , q u atre
sem a i nes d ' exerci ces et d ' i nstruc-
tion personnel l e par l a m ethode
d u psyc h o d r a m e , a u tre m ent d i t
d e sea nces d e consu l tati on si m u ­
l ees e n re g i strees a u m a g n etos­
cope (voi r M c Cu l l oc h et ai, 1 985).
U n e bonne p a rti e du c o u rs
repose avant tout, c o n c e pt u e l ­
l e m ent parl a nt, su r u n e theorie d e
l a consu l tati on d ont o n peut t i rer
l es cri te res d u su cces d e l a sea nce.
C h a q u e etu d i a nt a c q u e r r a sa n s
d o ute avec I e tem ps s a p r o p r e
ph i l oso p h i e a cet egard, m a i s tous
tro u ve ront u n p o i nt de d e p a rt
d a n s l e s e l e m e n ts s u i v a n t s
( a d a ptati on d e Z a h n et B o roto ,
1 985).
1. La cons u l tat i o n stati sti q u e
est u n e r e n c o n t r e d e d e u x o u
pl u s i e u rs perso n n es d a n s I e b u t
d ' et u d i e r u n e q u esti o n sta t i st i ­
que.
2. L a cons u l tati on statisti q u e a
pour but de rend re pl us uti l es l es
d o n nees propres a l a d i sci pl i ne d u
c l i ent.
3 . H o n n etete et c o m passi o n ,
tel est I e m ot d ' ord re d u stati sti­
c i e n-consei I .
4. Le probl e m e est c e l u i d u
c l i ent, c ' est I e c l i ent q u i prend l es
d ec i s i o n s fi n a l es et c ' est l u i q u i
paVe l es factu res. Le stati st i c i en­
conse i l est l a pour serv i r Ie cl i ent.
5 . Le st a t i sti c i e n - c o n se i l n e
peut obl i ge r I e cl i ent a a d opter l a
sol u tion q u ' i l l u i propose.
6. Le cl i e nt a Ie d roit d e ve n i r
e n consu ltation d a ns I ' etat O U i l se
tro u ve ( b i e n i nforme ou non, sur
d e l u i ou non, prepare ou non) .
7. ( ' est a u statisti c i e n-conse i l
d e d ec i d e r s i , o u i o u n o n , i l va
trava i l l e r avec I ' eventue l cl i ent.
8. Le stati st i c i e n - c o n s e i l est
seu l responsa b l e de I ' effi cacite de
la consu l tati o n .
Pou r c e q u i est d ' eva l u e r l a
reussite d ' u ne seance d e consu l ­
tati on, on trou vera dans l es crite­
res ex poses c i -d essous ( i l s'agit u ne
fois d e pl u s d ' u ne a d a ptati o n d e
Z a h n et Boroto, 1 985), u n m oyen
de m ettre l a theorie en prati q u e .
1 . L e cl i ent a rec;u t o u s l es
re n se i g n e m e nts q u i d o i ve nt e n ­
tre r en l i g ne d e com pte d a n s sa
d e c i s i o n . l i s l u i ont ete fou r n i s sans
air condescendant et sans q u ' i l se
sente d e preci e ni i nti m i d e .
2. L e statisti c i e n -consei I s ' est
ass u re que I e c l i ent avait rec;u ces
rense i g nem ents exactem ent.
3. Le statistici en-conse i l a en­
visa g e l es pri n c i p a u x moyens d ' a c­
tion q u i pou rra i ent rem p l a c e r l a
sol uti o n proposee et en a expose
a u cl i e nt l es ava nta ges et i nc o n ve­
n i e nts respectifs.
4. L ' i nformati o n tra n s m i se e­
ta i t exacte.
5 . Le p l a n d resse pen d a nt l a
renco ntre peut etre appl i q u e p a r
toutes l es parti es en cause.
6. Toutes l es part i es con n a i s­
sa i e nt b i e n , a l a fi n d e · l a rencon­
tre, Ie role q u ' e l l es avai ent a j ou e r
d a n s l a sol ution.
A I ' a pproche d e septem bre, j e
m e fa i sa i s d e pl us e n pl us I ' effet
d ' u n revol uti o n na i re cra i g n a nt d e
se m ontrer enfi n a u g r a n d j o u r .
Com m e ni moi n i m es coi l e g u es
n ' avi o n s j a m a i s e u rec o u rs d a n s
notre e n sei g n e m e n t a tro i s d e s
el e m e n ts d u c o u rs, a s a v o i r l a
m a g n etosc o p i e , I e psychod ra m e
et I ' i nstructi on parti c u l i e re, j e m e
su i s d o n n e I e tem ps d e refl ec h i r. I I
m ' a ete tres u ti l e d e constater e n
fi n d e c o m p t e q u ' o n p o u v a i t
consi d erer I ' e n reg i strem ent v i d e o
com m e u ne forme d e col l ecte d e
d o n n ees et q u ' a c e titre, i l n ' etait
pas i nconnu d es stati sti c i ens; q u e
I e psyc h o d r a m e est u n ty p e d e
si m u l at i o n , a u tre a cti v i t e f a m i ­
l i e re a u x statisticiens tant d a n s ses
poi nts forts q u e dans ses l i m i tes,
et que I ' i nstructi on parti c u l i ere est
u n e sorte d ' ense i g nement en tete
a tete, q u ' i l n ' e st pas r a r e d e
re ncontrer dans l es entre v u e s d e
b u rea u .
Pend a nt l es l ec;ons, j e m e s u i s
a perc;u q u e l o rsq u ' o n a b i e n p r i s
I ' ha b i t u d e d ' a n a l yser I ' enre g i stre­
m e nt d e ses propres psychod ra-
LE STATISTICIEN-CONSEIL
m es, l a theori e et l es criteres d ont
j e vous parl a i s p l u s t6t d ev i e n nent
u n i n st r u m e n t p r e c i e u x p o u r
reperer, com prend re et mod i fi e r
ces aspects q u i , d a ns n otre com­
portem ent de consei l , provoq uent
re g u l i e re m e n t d e s d i ff i c u l t e s .
Pou r trancher ces d i fficu ltes, Z a h n
recourt a u n e m ethod e d ' i nstruc­
tion q u i n ' est pas sa ns ra p pel er a
bien d es ega rds cel i e d ' u n entrai­
neu r sporti f : i l propose u n e tech­
n i q u e re m a n i ee q u ' i l fait essayer
j u sq u ' a ce q u ' e l l e so i t eff i c a c e ,
a i see e t a utom ati que. Pl us encore
q u ' e n sport, toutefois, I ' etu d i a n t
doit aussi appre n d re a passer par­
d essu s l es senti ments n eg ati fs que
lui i nspi rent Ie fa i t d ' a voi r rater
une consultati o n ou d ' a vo i r I ' a i r
stu p i d e . Peut-etre est-ce l a I ' obs­
tac l e I e p l u s d i ffi ci l e a surmonte r
pou r u n i nstructe u r novice.
Q u ' a i-j e a ppris, m e d e m a nd e­
rez-vous, de cette prem i ere ver­
sion d u cours? Peut-etre s u rtout
q u ' i l y a bea ucoup a ti rer d ' u n e
experi ence suppl em entai reo D a ns
I ' ense m b l e , l a react i o n des etu­
d i a nts a ete bonne. Les deux q u i
travai l l a i e nt a p l e i n tem ps d a ns
I ' i nd ustri e ont d ecl a re q u e I e cours
l e u r avait ete d ' u n e a i d e d i recte et
i m m ed i ate d a ns l e u r trava i l ; c ' est
d ' a i l l e u rs u n d e s fa c t e u r s q u i
m ' ont i ncite a poursu i v re I ' opera­
t i o n p l u s l o i n . Ce q u ' o n n o u s a
suggere I e p l u s so u vent com m e
a m e l i orati on, c ' eta it d ' i ntrod u i re
I ' e n reg i stre m ent v i d eo d es psy­
chodra m es plus t6t, p o u r que l a
cl asse a borde l es suj ets d e I ' an­
xi ete d a ns l es relations i nterper­
son n e l l es et d e l a c r i t i q u e d es
sea n ces de consu ltati on avec plus
d e m oti vati on. Les etu d i a nts ont
ega l e m ent m a n i feste Ie d esi r d ' u n
surc roit d ' exerci ces en sol ution d e
problemes stati stiq ues e t nous ont
propose d ' en i m a g i n e r e x p resse­
ment a I ' a i d e de bandes v i d eo. Les
deux u n i versita i res - I ' u n mem bre
d u d e pa rt e m e n t de m a t h e m a ­
t i q u es e t d e sta t i st i q u e e t d u
STALAB d e Queen ' s, I ' a utre d u de-
parte ment d e psyc h o l og i e - o nt
e g a l ement b i e n reag i . Le u r
presence s' est m ontree prec i eu se
et n ' a f a i t q u e c o n f i r m e r l e s
ava ntages d u travai l d ' eq u i pe.
Q u a nd o n e ntreprend d ' ame­
l i orer ses consu l tations, I ' a i d e d ' u n
" rese a u d e s o u t i e n " p e u t etre
d ' u n e uti l ite consi d era b l e , comme
e l l e peut I ' etre aussi pour ceux q u i
d o n n e nt u n c o u rs d e c e g e n re .
Outre I ' a p p u i d e tous l es pa rti c i ­
p a nts, j ' a i ega l e m e n t b e n ef i c i e
des conve rsati ons te l e p h o n i q u es
q u e j ' entrete n a i s reg u l i e r e m e n t
avec Dou g l as Zahn su r l es poi nts
c r i ti q u es de I ' e n se i g n e m e nt. De
fait, n os d i sc u ssi o n s freq u e ntes
nous ont ete m utuel l e m ent bene­
fiques, en ce sens que nous avons
m i e u x com pris ce q u ' eta i t la con­
sultation effi cace et comm ent on
l a rendait tel l e .
N os proj ets d ' aven i r? A parti r
d e septe m bre, j e consa c rera i l a
moitie d e m o n ense i g nem ent a l a
c o n s u l tat i o n a u S T A T L A B d e
Queen 's. J ' a i I ' i ntent i o n d e pro­
f i t e r d e c et t e o c c a s i o n p o u r
e n registrer au magn etoscope m es
propres sean ces et d e me serv i r
dans I e cours des resul tats d e l e u r
ana l yse. J ' e ntends b i e n aussi q u e
les etu d i a n ts e n re g i strent cel l es
q u ' i l s org a n i sent avec d ' a u then­
tiques cl i e nts pou r rem pl acer u n e
partie d es psychod ra m es , ce q u i
aj outera u n e d i m e nsion nouve l l e
a l e u r experi ence et a l a m i en ne.
E n g u i se d e concl usion, je vous
i n c i te a e n v i sa g e r I ' e m p l o i d e
c ette m ethode d a n s vos actu e l s
cours d e consu l tation ou l a nou­
vel l e formati on que vous v o u l e z
i n a u g u re r d a n s votre d e p a rte­
m e nt ( I es m i n i steres et l es servi ces
i nd ustriels eta nt a m es yeux sur u n
p i ed d ' eg a l ite a ve c l es d e p a rte­
m ents u n i ve rsi ta i res p o u r ce q u i
est de I ' appl i c a b i l ite d e l a metho­
d e ) . Com m e j e me su i s efforce d e
vous I e m o ntrer, l es ressou rces ne
sont pas d i ffi ci l es a trouver, no-
ta m m e n t l es s u b v e n t i o n s , l e s
ecrits d e Za h n et son i nstr u cti o n
perso n n e l l e , et l es conta cts avec
l es i n d i v i d u s d e p l u s e n p l u s
nombre u x q u i , com m e m o i , ont
experi m ente cette m eth od e . E l l e
v a u t v ra i m e nt l a p e i n e q u ' o n
I ' essa i e . -
References
1 . Z a h n et B o roto, Increa sing
Productivity by Resolving Break­
do wns in Pro fessional In tera c­
tions, manuscrit inedit, 1 985.
2. McCu l l och, B o roto, M eete r,
Pol l a n d , et Z a h n , An Expa nded
Approach to Educating Statistical
Consulta n ts, A m e rica n S ta tisti­
can, 1 985.
(Allocution prononcee a I 'assem­
blee generale 1 986 de la Societe
statistique du Canada).
Stati st i cs : M ath e m at i ca l S pecia lty o r S e pa rate D i sci p l i n e ?
by K_ L. Weldon
Depa rtment of M athematics and Stati sti cs, Si m on Fraser U n i ve rsity
Introduction
I n a recent p residential a d d ress to t h e
Roya l Statistical S o c i ety, J o h n N e i d e r m a d e
t h e fol l ow i n g p o i n t :
"If the statistician c a n rightly claim to
be interested in the theory and practice of
activities in science and technology, we
need to ask why so many scientists and
technologists believe that statistics has lit­
tle to offer them in their work. "
In an o p e n i n g add ress to t h e Second
I nternat i o n a l Confe re n ce o n Tea c h i n g Sta­
tistics, J i m Z i d e k re m i nded u s t h a t m a n y
I m porta nt statist i c a l tec h n i q u es were I n ­
vented by rese a rc h e rs w h o were experts i n
fiel ds oth e r t h a n statist i c s , a n d t h a t t h i s
sou rce of i n novation i n statistics conti n u es
to be prod u ctive tod a y . B ut h e IS concer­
ned a bo ut t h e res p o n se of today's tea c h e rs
of statistics. He says,
"All of this leads me to suggest that
there is a very realistic possibility that sta­
tistics will cease to exist. It may flow out
through its prim ordial roots b a c k into
substantive areas where it will be develop­
ed in a piece-meal fashion, as in its past, by
an army of statistical users rather than
statistical scientists. It is incumbent on all
of us to resist this process of dissolution, to
resist defining our subject out of existence.
We can begin by not de fining our curricu­
lum too narrowly. "
T h ese rece n t q u ot e s f r o m N e i d e r
( 1 986) a n d Z i d e k ( 1 986) l e n d a utho rity to
an o p i n i o n a r g u e d i n t h i s p a p e r : t h e
subj ect o f statist i cs i s u n l oved a n d u n d e r­
util ized, a n d t h e sou rce of this I g n o m i n y I S
the content of t h e s u bj e ct as It h a s been
ta u g ht. I present my own a rg u m e n t f o r
t h i s v i e w , a n d p r o p ose s o m e c o r r e c t i v e
m easu res. I n p a rti c u l a r , I a r g u e f o r t h e
treat m e n t of statistics as a sepa rate d i sci­
p l i n e , and s u g g est that deve l o p m ents to
date In t h i s d i recti o n st i l l fa l l s h o rt of the
idea l .
revels i n m essy a n d/or i n c o m p r e h e n s i b l e
m a t h e m ati cs, a nd resu lts i n m essy a nd/o r
i n com p r e h e n s i b l e n u m e r i ca l st ate m e nt s .
Even r e l a t i v e l y e n l i g h t e n e d n o n -st a t i st i ­
c i a n s a r e skept i c a l of t h e pract i c a l i m por­
t a n c e o f the m ate r i a l we tea c h in t h e
u n iversities. T h i s v i ew i s s o preva l e n t that
m a n y t e a c h e rs a cc e pt this s i t u a t i o n a s
u n a v o i d a b l e . I f t h i s d e s c r i pt i o n o f t h e
d i s m a l v i ew o f statistics a p p e a rs t o be a n
ove rstate m e nt, consid e r t h e f o l l ow i n g :
1 . D o y o u r f i rst - c o n t a c t c o n s u l t i n g
c l i e nts c o m e to y o u with t h e expecta t i o n
t h a t you w i l l h e l p t h e m w i t h t h e i r
resea rch. o r i s the i r expectat i o n rather that
you will te l l them how to l e g iti m i ze what
they h a v e a l ready co n c l ud e d ?
2 . H ow m a n y u n i v e rs i ty g r a d u ates o f
m a j o r fields ot h e r t h a n statist i cs consider
t h e i r statistics cou rses to h a ve been excit­
ing a n d relevanP
3 . W h e n d i d you l a st h e a r a b u s i n essm a n
say that, befo re h e m a d e a n i m p o r t a n t
decision concern i n g h is co m pa n y, h e wa nt­
ed to d iscuss the m atter with a statistic i a n )
D o d e c i s i o n -m a k e rs i n b u s i n ess e v e r p e r ­
c e i v e decision-m a k i n g to i n c l u d e a d a t a ­
a n a l ysis p h a s e )
4 . A g r o u p o f e d u cated i n d i v i d u a l s deci­
d e to d o a su rvey of t h e m e m be rs h i p o f
t h e i r association to dete r m i n e g U i d e l i n e s
for t h e next year's prog ra m H ow m a n y o f
t h e m w i l l t h i n k it a p p r o p r i ate t h a t t h e
desi g n o r t h e a n a l y s i s of t h e s u rvey be
d o n e by a statist i c i a n)
M ost of the i n d i v i d u a ls referred to In
t h e a bove q u estions W i l l have h a d one o r
m o r e sta t i st i c s c o u r s e s , a n d W i l l h a v e
developed a disl i k e o r even a n open sco r n
f o r the su bject. Th ese react i o n s to statistics
s h o u l d sca n d a l ize us a l l ! H ow is It that a
s u bj e ct that h a s a bea r i n g on a l m ost every
field of e n deavor, that h a s i ntri g u ed so m e
g reat g e n i uses o f t h e sCientific w o r l d . that
offers t h e o p po rt u n ity of w h i t e c o l l a r
e m p l o y m e n t a n ywhere i n the world, a n d
that holds t h e k e y t o m o d e r n i n d u st r i a l
s u rviva l , i s s o u n i versa l l y s h u n n e d ?
The dism a l image of statistics
O n e w a y to J u d g e t h e i m a g e o f
statistics i s t o i m a g i n e t h e resu lts o f t h e
fo l l ow i n g su rvey : a l l facu lty of a u n i ve rsity
a re asked to ch oose the d isci p l i n e they f i n d
m ost I nteresti n g , a fter t h e i r o w n d i sci p l i ­
n e . H ow m a n y w o u l d c h oose sta t i st i c s ?
Probably very few. N ext w e m i g ht branch
out I nto the l a rg e r p rofess i o n a l w o r l d o f
e n g i neers, sci e nt i st s , c r i m i n o l o g i sts, a n d
n u rses. Are there a n y out there w h o a p pre­
ci ate t h e i nte l l ect u a l leverage of statist i ca l
th i n k i n g ? O r w o u l d n ot m ost profess i o n a l s
expre ss t h e o p i n i o n t h a t stat i s t i c s is a
n e cessary but certa i n ly d u l l s u bj e ct, w h i c h
Is t h e problem with statistics only an i m a ­
ge problem ?
I f .t. h e d i s m a l i m a g e o f statistics were
o n l y a " p ercept io n " prob l e m , we c o u l d per­
h a ps I g nore it a n d wa it for p u b l i c e n l i g h ­
te m e nt t o occu r. O r p e rh a ps t h e professi o n
c o u l d e n g a g e a n a r m y o f p u b l i c relations
experts. B ut the I m a g e p r o b l e m is only a
sym pto m of a m o re serious d e f i c i e n c y i n
o u r tea c h i n g o f the su bject. wh i c h ste m s
from a m i sco ncepti o n : t h e m i sco n ception
is that statistics I S a specia lty with i n m athe­
m atics; that Its ess e n c e 1 5 f o u n d in the
d i sci p l i n e of m a t h e m a t i cs; that stat i stics I S
m e r e l y a n a p p l i c a t i o n o f m a t h e m at i c s .
Rath e r , statistics is a d i sc i p l i n e u n t o itse l f, it
i s in ess e n ce t h e scientific m eth o d , a nd m a ­
t h e m atics is m e re l y o n e of t h e i nt e l lectua l
tools a va i l a b l e t o c l a r i f y a n d s o l ve p r o ­
b l e m s i n statistics. The treatm e n t of sta­
t i stics as an " a p p l i cati o n " of m a t h e m atics
not o n l y leads to a l l the i m a g e p r o b l e m s
j u st m e nti o n e d , b u t i n d uces t e a c h e rs to
l i m it t h e i r i n st r u ct i o n to a very n a r ro w
port i o n o f t h e disci p l i n e .
T h u s t h e te a c h i n g of stati st i cs f r o m a
p u r e l y m a t h e m at i ca l basis is i n a p p ro p riate
for the d i sc i p l i n e of statistics: i t l e a d s to
wides p read m is u n d e rsta n d i n g of the p rac­
tical v a l u e of statistics, a nd it l e a d s to the
o m ission of i n struct i o n i n t h e p a rt s of the
basic t h eory o f statistics that h a ppen n ot
to be m a t h e m at i ca l in nature.
Are non-algebraic aspects of statistics fun­
da mental to statistical theory?
I h a v e o utl i n ed elsew h e r e ( W e l d o n .
1 986) exa m p les of n o n - a l g e b r a i c c o n ce pts
t h a t a r e at l e a s t as f u n d a m e n t a l t o
statist i c a l t h eory as a re m o m e n t g e n e rat­
i n g f u n ct i o ns. confide nce i nterv a l s. a n d t­
tests. O n e way to su m m a ri ze th ese POi nts
is to l i st q u esti o n s that a g r a d u a t e of a n
inte r m e d i ate u n d e rg r a d u ate cou rse I n sta­
tistics s h o u l d be a b le to a n swe r :
1 . W h a t a r e c r i t e r i a f o r a c c e pt i n g
ass u m pt i o n s o f i n d ependence. l i n ea rity o r
n o r m a l ity)
2 . Desc r i b e i n words t h e kind of s i t u a ­
t i o n i n w h i c h " S i m pson's parad o x " m i g ht
deceive the u n w a r y . S a m e q u e st i o n f o r
" regress i o n tow a rd the m e a n "
3 . W h at I S t h e esse ntial d i ffe r e n ce bet­
ween a st u d y desi g n from w h i c h o n e ca n
i n fer a c a u sa l relati o n s h i p a n d o n e t h a t
revea l s o n l y assoc iation of v a r i a b l e s )
4 . What featu re of a d i stri buti o n d o e s a
m e a n m e a s u re that is not m e a s u r e d by a n y
oth e r statist i c ) Sa m e f o r sta n d a r d d e v i a ­
t i o n , a n d correlation coeff i c i e n t . Desc r i be
t h ese a s p e cts I n words t h a t w o u l d b e
u n d e rsta n d a b l e to a n o n -statist i c i a n .
5 . I n a hypothesis test i n g sett i n g . w h a t
are t h e l o g i c a l l i n k s between p r i o r bel iefs.
pu rpose of a n a l ysis. P-va l u e . sa m p l e s i z e .
a n d t h e u lt i m ate conclusions of t h e hypo­
thesis test7
6. What as pects of a statist i c a l p r o b l e m
i n d i cate w h ether data a n a lysis. est i m a t i o n .
hypot h esis testi n g . o r so m e co m b i n a t i o n
of these strate g i es. is req u i red ? W h e n IS a
Bayes i a n a p proach m ost a p p r o p r i a te )
Th ese q u est i o n s a re o n l y exa m p les o f
a vast a rea of n o n -a l g e braic aspects of sta­
tistics. but t h ey do p o i n t to t h i n g s t h a t
receive sca nt attention i n m ost statistics
c o u rses a n d text b o o k s . N o w a t y p i c a l
com m e nt from a m at h e m a t i c a l ly-o r i e nted
teacher of statistics wo u l d be t h a t t h e s e
issues are t o o soph isti cated f o r a n e a r l y
cou rse a n d that t-tests s h o u l d b e l e a r n e d
fi rst. But is this rea l l y s e n s i b l e 7 T h e a s pects
of t-tests t h at students f i nd f a i r l y easy to
l e a r n are a bs o l u t e l y u s e l ess w i t h o u t a n
u n d e rsta n d i n g o f w h e n a n y h y p o t h e s i s
test ( t o r oth e r) i s a p p r o p r i a t e , w h e n i t
s h o u l d be a t-test, a n d what it m ea n s w h e n
i t i s d o n e . K n o w i n g when a test o f s o m e
sort i s needed i s s u rely m o re f u n d a m e nta l
t h a n the calcu lation deta i ls of t h e p a rt i ­
c u l a r test. F u rtherm ore, t o st u d e nts w h o
a re not d i rected to a ca reer i n statistics, the
n o n - m athematical issue is probably e a s i e r
to l e a r n . S o it i s m o re r e l e v a n t a n d e a s i e r
t o l e a r n this n o n -m athe m a t i c a l issue t h a n
to l e a r n h o w t o do a t-te st. W h y d o a l l
textbooks i n e l e m e n ta ry sta t i st i cs a p p a ­
rently i g n o re t h i s ? Perhaps it i s e r r o n e o u s l y
t h o u g ht that s u c h n o n - m a t h e m a t i c a l is­
sues do n ot belong to a n i ntrod u ct i o n to
statistics because they are n ot m a t h e m a ­
tical issues.
Are the non-m athematical a s pe<ts only
appropriate for service <ourses?
The u s u a l tra i n i n g of statist i c i a n s be­
g i n s with a tra i n i n g in m a t h e m a t i cs , i n ­
c l u d i n g the m a t h e m atics o f statistics; the
n o n - m a th e m atical aspects are pres u m a b l y
lea rned on the j o b. Appre nt i ces h i p w a s t h e
o n l y m ethod of tra i n i n g i n m ost p r o f e s ­
s i o n s u n t i l relatively recently, but h a ve w e
n o t found t h a t fo r m a l tra i n i n g i s f a r m o re
effi cienn If part of stati st i cs m u st be l e a r n ­
ed o n t h e j o b , i t i s d o u btfu l t h a t t h e n o n 3 1 g e b r a i c aspects s u c h a s th ose m e nt i o n e d
3 bove are the best pa rt to be l e f t to a p­
prentices h i p tra i n i n g . If t h e g e n e r a l ideas
Jf h y pot hesis test i n g a re u n d e rstood, say
I n the context of a sign test o r a n o r m a l
test, would it be s o d i ff i c u lt to p i c k u p a
b o o k a n d f i n d o u t a bo u t t h e t-tesP I t
;eem s t o m e that t h e n o n -a l g e b r a i c a s pects
Jf statist i c s s h o u l d be i n c l u d e d i n e a r l y
;tat istical c o u rses, whet h e r t h e cou rse is a
;erv i c e c o u rse or a c o u rse f o r a c a r e e r
;tatisticia n .
Poss i b l y t h e fa i l u re o f te a c h e r s o f
;tatlstics t o i n c l u d e adeq u ate treat m e nt o f
l o n -a l g e b r a i c a s pects o f s t a t i s t i c s i s a
:onseq u e n ce of the tea c h e rs ' b e l i e f t h a t
;uch aspects a re n ot p a rt o f t h e s u bj e ct
they a re tea c h i n g . B u t it se e m s u n l i k e l y
that tea c h e rs of statistics w h o h a v e c o n ­
; u lt i n g experi e n ce w o u l d a ct u a l l y bel i e ve
t h i s . M ost c o n s u lta nts k n ow t h a t i s s u e s
; u c h as " correlation does n ot i m p l y c a u ­
;ati o n " are a key part o f statist i c a l theory.
rhere a re m o re plausible exp l a n ations for
)m iss i o n o f n o n - a l g e b r a i c a s p e cts f r o m
;tatistics c o u rse s :
1. T h e r e are powe rfu l i n stit u t i o n a l
Jrea s u res i n d u c i n g t h e t e a c h e r t o c o n ­
:entrate o n these a l gebra i c a s pects a t the
�xpense of the " soft" concepts.
The creation of Statistics d e p a rt m e nts i s
o n l y effective i n resisti n g m a t h e m a t i c a l
dom i nation w h e n t h e facu lty c h a n g e t h e i r
aca d e m i c style accord i n g l y .
2 . T h e tra i n i n g o f t h e t e a c h e r of sta­
tistics i s proba bly st ro n g in m a t h e m a t i cs
a n d wea k i n the n o n - m ath e m at i ca l a spects
of statistics.
3 . The m ost p resti g i o u s Stat i st i cs J o u r ­
n a l s e n c o u r a g e content of the m ost m a ­
the m atica l k i n d - there is l i ttle to l e re n ce
for specu lati o n , co m m e nt on releva n ce o r
i nterp retat i o n , i n these j o u r n a l s .
4. The n o n - a l g e b r a i c a s pects o f statistics
a re d i fficult to I n c l u d e in a test or e x a ­
m i nat i o n . E v e n tea c h e rs w h o spend a m p l e
t i m e d i scuss i n g c r i t e r i a for the a ss u m pt i o n
of i n d e p e n d e n ce w i l l u s u a l l y n ot s e t exa m
q u estions in w h i c h t h e stu d e n t w i l l have to
use these crite r i a before proceed i n g with a
ca l c u lati o n .
5 . When a m a th e m a t i c i a n i s a s k e d t o
teach stat is�ics t o st u d e nts w h o are I n e pt
or u ntra i ned i n m a t h e m atics, a co m m o n
response i s to tea c h a c o u rse d e v o i d o f
i ntel lect u a l co ntent. Beca use the tea c h e r
rea l i zes that t h e stu d e nts a r e i n c a p a bl e o f
u n d e rsta n d i n g even t h e s i m p l est fo r m u l a s ,
t h e m ate r i a l i s p r e s e n t e d a t t h e g ra d e­
school level. T h e a ltern ative of tea c h i n g a
s e r i o u s , a n d p o s s i b l y u s e f u l , st a t i s t i c s
cou rse w h i c h e m p h a s i z e s n o n - a I g e b ra i c
as pects, IS seldom considered.
T h e i n st i t u t i o n a l f r a m e w o r k f o r
i n structi o n I n statistics m ust be c h a nged to
e n s u r e t h e f u t u re e f f e ct i v e n e s s of t h e
d i sci p l i n e . There m u st evolve a context for
the te a c h i n g of stat istics that rec o g n i z e s
the i m porta n ce of t h i s d i sc i p l i n e to both
science a n d social sc i e n ce , a n d a l so
reco g n izes
ItS
differences
from
m at h e m atics. O n l y t h e n w i l l t h e d i s m a l
v i ew o f stat i s t i c s be g i n t o b e d i s p e l l e d .
T h e re m a y w e l l b e a d a y i n w h i c h
statist i c i a n s a re societ y ' s h e ro e s . B u t we
h a ve a l o n g way to g o . •
With all t h e s e i n s t i t u t i o n a l i m p e d i ­
m e nts t o t h e i n c l u s i o n of a f u l l r a n g e o f
topics i m porta nt t o statistical theory, it i s
n o t s u r p r i s i n g t h a t statistics co u rses are s o
na rrowly m at h e m at i ca l i n focus.
Condusion
Most of the prob l e m s with the c u rrent
attitudes i n our soc i ety toward sta t i st i c s
c a n be t r a c e d to a s i n g l e p h i l o s o p h i c a l
issu e : I s stat i s t i c s a s p e c i a lty o f m a t h e ­
matics, o r I S It a sepa rate d iSCI p l i n e 7 S u re l y
the d i sc i p l i n e of stat i s t i c s I n c l u d e s m a n y
ideas o f m athem atics, but a l so o f science
a n d s c i e n t i f i c m et h o d , psyc h o l o g y o f
percept i o n , a n d p sy c h o l o g y o f l e a r n i n g ,
com m u n icat i o n m odes, I n fo r m a t i o n m a n a ­
g e m e n t , a n d m a n y m i sce l l a n e o u s p r i n ­
c i p l e s h a v i n g l ittle t o d o with m at h e m at i cs
p e r s e . It is v e r y h e l p f u l to t e a c h e r s ,
l e a r n e rs a n d users t o t h i n k o f statistics a s a
d i sci p l i n e d i sti n ct from m at h e m atics.
T h e t r e a t m e n t o f st a t i s t i c s as a
d i s c i p l i n e ca n m a k e a big d i fference to the
effective n ess of tea c h i n g in a u n i ve rsity o r
c o l l e g e . E va l u ation of facu lty c a n be based
o n contri but i o n s to statistics rather tha n to
m at h e m atical statistics. Stat isti ca l consu lt­
i n g w o u l d be d e e m e d a n i m p o r t a n t
activity. Te a c h i n g w o u l d g a i n new i m po r ­
t a n c e a s t h e w a y to c h a n g e a tt i t u d e s
toward the s u bj e ct, a n d i n crease the use­
f u l n ess of the s u bj ect.
Refere n ces
1 . N e i d e r . J . A . Stat i s t i c s , S c i e n c e a n d
Tec h n o logy, Journal o f the Royal Statistical
Society, Series A, 1 49 : 1 09 - 1 2 1 . 1 98 6 .
2 . We l d o n , K . L . On te a ching the non­
algebraic aspects o f statistics. Resea r c h Re­
port No. 86- 1 1 . D e pa rt m e nt of M ath
. ematics a n d Statistics, 1 9 8 6 .
3. Z i d e k , J . V. Statistica tio n : the quest
for a curriculum. Tec h n i ca l Report. Depart­
m e n t of Statist i c s . U n i ve rs i t y of B r i t i s h
Co l u m b i a . S e pte m be r , 1 98 6 .
La stati st i q u e est-e l l e u n e b ra n ch e d e s m a t h e m ati q u es
ou u n e d i sci p l i n e d i sti n cte?
p a r K. L . Weldon
Departement d e m ath e m ati q u es et de stati st i q u e , U n i versite S i m on- Fraser
Introduction
A I ' occa s i o n du d i scou rs pre s i d e n t l e l
q u ' i l p r o n o n c a i t rece m m e n t d e v a n t l a
Royal Statistical Society, J o h n N e i d e r s'ex·
p r i m a it e n ces term es :
"Les statisticiens pretende n t q u 'ils
s 'interessent a ux aspects theoriques et pra·
tiques de la science et de la technologie. Si
ce tte pretention est legitime, iI convient de
se demander p o urquoi tant de tech n o ·
logues e t de savants demeurent sceptiques
vis,a·vis de J 'apport coneret de la statisti·
que a J'exercice de leur profession ".
Pour sa pa rt, J a m es V . Z i d e k profitalt
d u d e u x i e m e c o n g res I n t e r n a t i o n a l s u r
I ' e n s e i g n e m ent d e l a statist i q u e p o u r n o u s
rappeler q u ' u n b o n n o m bre d e s m ethodes
statist i q u e s les plus i m p o rta ntes ont ete
conc;ues par des chercheurs spe c i a l ises d a n s
d ' a utres d isc i p l i n es q u e l a sta t i st l q u e , et
q u e cette sou rce d ' e n nch lsse m ent est e n ·
core tres feconde a uj o u rd ' h u l . Lors d e son
a l locution d ' o uvert u re , Z i d e k d isalt:
"Tout ceci m 'amene a envisager tres
coneretement la possibilite que la statisti·
que disparaisse un jour en tant que disci·
pline distincte. file p o u rrait fort b i e n
retqurner a ses sources prim o rdiales, les
sciences appliquees, ou e lle continuerait
comme jadis de grandir a u gre des applica·
tions, servie par une armee d'utilisa te urs
plutot que par une petite troupe de statis·
ticiens. /I nous incombe a tous de resister a
ce mouve m e nt qui sonn e rait Ie glas de
notre profession. Nous pourrions commen·
cer par faire preuve de plus de souplesse
dans i'elaboration de nos programmes ".
Ces pro pos de N e i d e r ( 1 9 8 6 ) et d e
Z i d e k ( 1 9 8 6) etayent l a these d e cet a rticle,
a savoi r que la statist i q u e est mal a i mee,
sous·uti l i see, et q u e cet etat d e choses est
i m p u ta b l e au choix traditi o n n e l de la m a ­
tiere dont n o s co u rs s e com posent. J e you·
drais exposer ici les m ot i fs q u i s o u s·te n ­
d e n t m o n raison n e m e nt e t s u g g e re r q u e l ­
q u es correctifs. A m o n avis, l a statist i q u e
m e rite d ' etre tra itee com m e u n e d i sc i p l i n e
a pa rt e n t i e r e , e n co r e q u e n o u s a yo n s
bea u c o u p d e chem i n a fa i re a v a nt d ' atte i n ­
d re cet objectif.
La statistique a m a uvaise presse
Tentons d e m i e u x c e r n e r la p e r c e p­
tion q u e I ' o n se fait de la sta t i st i q u e e n
i m a g i n a nt les res u ltats d e I ' e n q u ete s u i ­
vante: o n d e m a n d e a tous les professeurs
d ' u n e u n i v e rs ite de c h o l s i r la d i sc i p l i n e
q u ' i ls trouvent l a p l u s i nte ressa nte, a I ' ex­
ception d e l a l e u r. Com b i e n d ' e n t r e e u x
choisiraient l a statist i q u e ) Proba b l e m e nt
tres p e u . N o u s p o u r r i o n s a u ssi p o s e r l a
q u esti o n a d es m g e n i e u rs, d e s h o m mes d e
s c i e n c e , d e s c r i m l n o l o g u e s e t d e s I n f i r­
m i e res. Y en a-t- i l bea u c o u p parm i e u x q u i
a p preclent a s a J u ste v a l e u r I ' i nf l u e n ce d e
la p e n see statlst i q u e ) Parions q u e p l u s l e u rs
d ' entre e u x c o n s l d e re nt q u e la statistlq u e
est u n m a l necessa ire, q u ' e l l e est e n n u y­
euse, tru ffee de m ath e m a t i q u e s i n i n t e l ­
l i g i bles e t farcie d e c o n c l u s i o n s r e posa n t
s u r des ca l c u l s n u m e r l q u es e n i g m at i q u e s .
Avo u o ns·l e : l a v a l e u r p r at i q u e d e n otre
e n se i g n e m e n t est c o n sta m m e n t mis en
d o ute, meme p a r c e u x q u i , sa n s a p p a rte n i r
a l a profess i o n , e n o n t u n e b o n n e c o n ­
n a i ssa n c e . D e fa it, cette o p i n i o n e s t S l
l a rg e m ent repa n d u e q u e pl u s i e u rs d ' entre
n o u s se m b l e n t r e s i g n e s a s u b l r cette
situat i o n . S i cette deScription vous se m b l e
exa g e ree, posez-vous p l utot les q u est i o n s
s u i va ntes:
1 . Les c h e r c h e u r s q u i v l e n n e n t v o u s
consulter p o u r l a p re m i e r e fois s' atte n ­
d e nt- l i s a c e q u e vous l e s asslst i e z d a n s l e u r
recherche o u v e u l e nt- i l s p l utot q u e v o u s
l e g it i m l ez l e s co n c l u s i o n s a u x q u e l l e s i l s
sont deja a rr i ves?
2 . Statist i c i e n s m i s a p a rt, c o m b i e n de
d i p l o m es u n i ve rsita i res c o n s i d e r e n t q u e
l e u rs cours d e statist i q u e ont ete u t i l es et
i nte ressa nts)
3 . Avez-vous deja e n t e n d u d i re q u ' u n
h o m m e d ' a f f a i res v o u l a i t c o n s u l t e r u n
statist i c i e n a v a nt d e p r e n d re u n e decision
i m portante) Quand les fondes d e p o u vo i r
ressentent-lis I e beso i n d e f a i r e a p pel a u n e
a n a lyse d e d o n nees avant d e p re n d re u n e
decisi o n ?
4 . S u p po s o n s q u ' u n g r o u p e d e g e n s
i n st r u l ts d e c i d e d e m e n e r u n e e n q u ete
a u pres des m e m bres d e l e u r a sso c i a t i o n
d a n s I e but d e determ i n e r l e s orie ntat i o n s
d u prog ra m m e d e I ' a n n ee s u i va nte. Com·
b i e n d ' entre eux est l m eront que l a plan i­
f i c a t l o n d e I ' e n q u e t e et I ' a n a l y s e d e s
d o n nees d o i vent etre confiees a u n statis­
tic i e n )
S e l o n toute vra ise m b l a n c e , l a p l u p a rt
de ces perso n nes a u ro nt s u i v i a u m o i ns u n
c o u rs d e statist i q u e et a u ront vite fa it d e
developper d u ded a i n o u d u m e p r i s p o u r
ce sujet. N o u s devrions etre sca n d a l ises d e
l e u rs reacti o n s ! P o u rq u oi c e s g e ns-Ia font­
i l s des m a i n s et des pieds po u r esq u i ve r la
statist i q u e , a l ors q u ' e l l e a d es ra m if icati o n s
d a n s presq u e t o utes les spheres d u savoir,
q u 'e l l e a pass i o n n e ta nt d e g e n i es scientifi­
q u es, q u ' e l l e ouvre des perspectives d 'e m ­
p l o i presq u e i l l i m itees d e p a r I e m o n d e et
q u e la s u rvie de I ' i n d u st r i e m o d e r n e e n
depend)
La statistique n e souffre-t-e lle q u e d ' u n
probleme d'i mage?
S i l a m a uvaise reputation d e l a statls­
t i q u e n 'eta it q u ' u n prob l e m e de p e rc e p ­
t i o n , n o u s p o u rrions sa n s d o u t e f e i n d re d e
I ' i g n o re r e n attendant pat iem m e n t q u e I e
p u b l ic rea l i se q u ' i l est d a n s s o n tort. A
defaut, n o u s pourrlons songer a e n g a g e r
u n e p l et h o re d ' experts en relations p u b l i ­
q u es. H e l a s , ce m a n q u e de po p u l a rite est
en fait Ie reflet d ' u n e serie use c a r e n ce d a n s
n otre f a c; o n d ' e nseig n e r l a sta t l st l q u e . A
I ' o ri g i n e de ce probleme se trouve la con­
cepti o n erro n ee q u e l a statist i q u e est u n e
bra n c h e d e s m athematl q u es, u n e specia l i ­
t e q u i repose ava nt tout s u r l a c o n n a l ssa n ­
ce d es m athematiq ues, u n e si m p l e a pp l i ca ­
tion d e s m athemati q u es. Au co ntra I r e , l a
statistiq u e est u n e d i sci p l i n e d i st i n cte q U I
s ' i n s p i re p r o fo n d e m e n t d e l a m e t h o d e
sc i e n t i f i q u e e t dont la m a t h e m at i q u e n ' est
q u ' u n d es n o m b r e u x o u t l i s i n t e l l e ct u e l s
a u x q u e l s e l l e fait a p p e l p o u r c l a r i f i e r e t re­
so u d re ses problemes. Consi d e r e r la statis­
t i q u e com m e u n e a p p l icati o n d e s m athe­
m at i q u e s , c ' est a l i m e nter les p r o b l e m es d e
percepti o n d o nt n o u s p a r i i o n s t o u t a
I ' h e u r e . B i e n p l u s , (est i n citer et c o n d ition­
n e r les statistlciens a lim iter e n ce sens l e u r
e n se l g n e m e n t d e l a d i sc i p l i n e .
A l a l i m ite, ense i g n e r l a s t a t i st i q u e
d ' u n p O i nt d e v u e pu rement m at h e m a t i ­
q u e e q u i v a ut a e n tra h i r I 'esprit. ('est u n
c r i m e q u e d e passer sous s i l e n ce l es n o m ­
b r e u x e l e m ents n o n - m a t h e m a t i q u e s q u i
c o n st i t u e n t l a base d ' u n e p a rt i e d e s a
theorie . De la deco u l e I e m a n q u e d e c o m ­
p r e h e n s i o n g e n e r a l ise d e l a va l e u r p r at i ­
q u e d es m ethodes statlst l q ues.
Quelle est i ' i m portance des concepts non­
algebriques en statistique?
J ' a i d o n n e a l i l e u rs (Weldon, 1 986)
q u e l q ues exemples de concepts n on-alge­
b r i q u e s dont I e role e n statistiq u e est to u t
a u ssi i m portant q u e les noti o n s d e f o n c ­
tlon g e n e ratrice d e s m o m e nts, d ' i nterv a l l e
d e co n f i a n ce o u d e test d e Stu d e nt, pou r
ne n o m m e r q u e cel les- I a . Menti o n no n s a
titre d ' i l l u stration u ne l i ste d e q u est i o n s
a ux q u e l les d e v r a i t sa v o i r r e p o n d re t o u t
f i n issa n t a ya nt com p l ete u n c o u rs d e n i ­
vea u i nte r m ed i a i re en statist i q u e :
1 . N o m m e r d e s criteres perm etta nt d e
j usti f i e r u n e hypot h ese d ' i n d e p e n d a n c e ,
d e l i n e a rite o u d e norma l ite.
2 . Decrire e n vos propres m ots une sit u a ­
t i o n ty p i q u e d a ns l a q u e l l e I e p a radoxe d e
S i m pson p o u rrait i n d u i r e u n a n a lyste e n
e r r e u r . M e m e q u esti o n a p r o p o s d e l a
regression vers l a m oye n n e .
3. Q u ' est-ce q u i d i st i n g u e u n sch e m a
d 'experience a p a rt i r d u q u e l o n peut d e­
d u i re I 'exist e n c e d ' u n l i e n c a u s a l , et u n
a utre q u i n e p e r m et d e d iscern e r q u e l a
prese nce d ' u n e association entre l es varia­
bles?
4. Q u e l l e est la ca r a ct e r i sti q u e d ' u n e
d i stri bution q ue seule l a m oy e n n e p e r m et
de m es u re r ? M � m e q u e st i o n e n ce q u i
concerne I 'ecart-type e t I e coeffi c i e nt d e
correlatio n . Expri m e r votre reponse e n d e s
t e r m e s q u i p u i s s e n t rej o i n d re u n n o n ­
i n it i e .
5. Dans I e contexte d ' u n t e s t d ' h y po­
t h es e , q u e l s sont les l i e n s l o g i q u e s q u i
exist e n t e ntre I ' i n f o r m a t i o n a p r i o r i , I e
seu i l criti q u e d u test, l a ta i l l e d e I ' e ch a n­
t i l l o n , Ie m otif de I ' a n a lyse et les con c l u ­
sions q u 'on e n t i re ?
6 . Com m e nt fa it-on p o u r s a v o i r s i o n
doit reso u d re u n prob l e m e statist i q u e a u
moyen d ' u n e a n a l yse d e donnees, d ' u n test
d ' h y pothese, d ' u n e esti m at i o n ou d ' u n e
com b i n a ison de ces methodes? D a n s
q u e l les ci rconstances I ' a p p roche bayes ien­
n e est- e l l e l a p l u s i n d i q uee?
Ces q u estions sont des exem p i es typi­
q u es d ' u n e m u l t i t u d e d e co n c e pts n o n ­
a l g e b r i q ues q u i sont i n h erents a l a statisti­
q ue , m a is sur l esquels on ela bore peu ou
pas d a n s l a p l u pa rt des cours et des m a ­
n u e l s d e statist i q u e . Les professe u rs d e sta­
tist i q u e q u i ont u n e ori entation m ath e m a ­
t i q u e repondent souvent q ue ces q u estions
sont trop soph ist i q uees pour q u ' o n p u isse
l es a border dans u n cours de base, et q u e
d e toute fa�on l e s etudia nts doive nt d ' a ­
bord a p p re n d re a f a i re des tests d e S t u ­
d e n t . M a i s est-ce b i e n raison n a b l e ? A q u o i
bon s a v o i r c o m m e n t fa i re u n t e s t d e
Student s i o n n e sait pas q u a nd avo i r re­
cours a un test d ' h y pothese (de Student ou
a utre), ni q u e l test e m p l o y e r , ni m e m e
co m m e nt I ' i nterpreter? I I est sure m e n t p l u s
i m portant d e savo i r q u a n d a p p l i q u e r t e l
o u tel test p l utot q u e de m e m o r i s e r l a
m a rc h e a su ivre pour s e serv i r d ' u n test
p a rt i c u l i e r . D ' a i l l e u rs, les etu d i a nts q U I ne
se desti n e n t pas a une carriere e n statisti­
que a u rant proba b l e m e n t plus de facil ite a
sa i s i r les notions non-mathematiq ues. I I est
certes p l u s facile, et surtout p l u s pert i n e nt,
d e se fa m i l i a riser avec I e ralson n e m e nt 10g i q u e qui sous-te n d l a d e m a rc h e p l utot
que d ' a p p re n d re a fa i re un test d e S t u ­
d e nt. P o u r q u o i donc les bou q u i ns elem e n­
ta i res de statist i q u e ne tien n e nt-lis a uc u n
com pte d e ce l a ? J ' a i tenda nce a cro i re q u e
c'est pa rce q u e l e s professeurs s ' i m a g i n e n t
q u e l e s p ro b l e m es n o n - m at h e m at i q u e s
n ' ont r i e n a voir avec un cours d ' i ntrod uc­
tion a l a statist i q u e j ustem ent parce q u e
ces p ro b l e m es n e sont pas d e nature m a ­
thematique.
L e s concepts non-mathematiques n'ont-ils
leur place que dans les cours de service?
La formation traditi o n n e l l e d ' u n sta­
tisti c i e n est avant tout axee sur les m athe­
m a t i q u es, y com pris les aspects m athemati­
q u es d e l a statist i q u e ; c' est pres u m e m e nt
s u r Ie m a rc h e d u trava i l q u ' i l se fa m i l i a rise
a v e c les conce pts n o n - m a t h e m a t i q u e s .
Dans u n passe pas s i l o i n ta i n , i l est vrai q u e
I ' o n n e p o u v a it a c q u e r i r l e s r u d i m e n t s
d ' u n e p rofession q u ' e n trava i l l a nt co m m e
a pp r e n t i . To utefo is, n o u s recon n a i s s o n s
a uj o u rd ' h u i I ' efficacite d ' u n e sol i d e for m a ­
t i o n a ca d e m i q u e . S ' i I est vrai q u ' u n e t e l l e
formation n e p e u t p a s etre com p l et e , j e
doute fort q u ' i l s o i t p re f e r a b l e d ' a p p r i ­
voiser l e s concepts non-m ath e m atiques d e
l a statist i q u e e n d e hors d u m i l i e u sco l a i re .
U n e fois q u e I ' o n a saisi l a p h i loso p h i e des
tests d ' hypothese, d i sons dans I e contexte
d ' u n test du s i g n e o u d ' u n test norm a l p a r
e xe m ple, est-il si d i ffi c i l e d e p r e n d re u n
l i vre p o u r se rense i g n e r s u r I e test d e Stu­
d e nt ? I I me s e m b l e que les n ot i o n s n o n ­
m athem atiques q u i font p a rtie de l a statis­
t i q u e devra i e nt �tre e n se i g n e es d a n s l es
prem i e rs cours, q u ' i l s'ag isse d ' u n cours d e
service o u de concentrat i o n .
S i certa i n s p rofesseurs de statist i q u e
n e g l i g e nt les aspects non-mathematiques
d e l a statist i q u e , c'est poss i b l e m ent pa rce
q u ' i l s s ' i m a g i n e n t q u e ces q u e st i o n s n e
font pas vra i m ent p a rtie d e l e u r d i sc i p l i n e .
Toutefois, i l se m b l e i m p ro b a b l e q u e d e s
professeurs de statist i q u e q u i posse d e nt de
I ' experience e n consu ltation ajoutent foi a
cette croya nce. La p l u pa rt des consu ltants
sa v e n t q u e des q u est i o n s du g e n re " I a
corre l ation n ' i m p l i q u e pas necessa i r e m e n t
u n l i e n de c a u s e a effet" jouent u n role de
prem i e r plan e n statist i q u e . I I y a d ' a utres
expli cations poss i b l e s a ce p h e n o m e n e , q u i
sont p l u s p l a u s i b les ce l l es- I a :
1 . De fortes press i o n s i n stitut i o n n e l l e s
i nc itent les professeurs a se concentrer s u r
l es aspects a l g e b riques d u sujet a u d et r i ­
m e nt des concepts " m o us " .
2. La formation d ' u n professeur de sta­
tist i q u e i nc l ut h a b i t u e l l e m e n t u n e forte
com posa nte d e m at h e m a t i q u e s et I ' a p­
prent i ssage des notions non-algebriq ues y
est deficient.
3 . Les revues d e statist i q u e les plus pres­
t i g i e uses exhortent a p u b l i e r des a rt i c l e s
d o n t I e conte n u est a ussi mat h e m at i q u e
q u e pOSS i b l e . I I y a p e u d e p l ace d a n s ces
revues pour de la specu l at i o n ou des com­
m e ntai res concer n a nt I ' i nterpret a t i o n o u
l a v a l e u r des resultats.
4. Les noti o n s non-m a t h e m a t i q u e s q u i
I nt e rv i e n n e n t e n statist i q u e s e p r�te n t
assez m a l a exa m e n . M e m e l e s professeurs
q U i consacrent bea ucou p d e temps a e x p l i ­
q u e r les ci rconsta nces d a n s lesq u e l les I ' hy­
pothese d ' i n dependa nce est j u stifiee, pou r
p re n d re u n exe m p l e , osent rare m ent pose r
u n e q u estion a ce sujet a I ' exa m e n .
5. Lorsq u'on d e m a n d e a u n m a t h e m a ­
ticien d'ense i g n e r l a statist i q u e a d e s etu­
d i a nts q u i ont u n e formation i n a d e q u ate
d a n s ce dom a i n e , sa reaction est souvent
d e don ner un cours depourvu d e conte n u
i nte l l ectu e l . L e professe u r presente l a m a­
tiere co m m e s ' i l e n se i g n a it a I 'ecole p r i m a i­
re pa rce q u ' i l rea l ise q u e les etudia nts sont
i n ca pa b l es de com prendre les form ules
m�me les p l u s e l e m e ntalres. O n considere
rarement l a possi b i l ite de d o n n e r un cours
de statlst l q u e uti le et seri e u x m ettant e n
re l i ef les aspects non-a l ge briques d u sUJet.
Lors q u e I'on prend consci e n ce c,l e tou s
c e s obstacles i nstitutio n n a l ises q u i e m p�­
chent I ' i n c l u s i o n d ' u n l a rg e eventa i l d e
t h e m es i m porta nts d a n s I ' ense i g n e m e n t d e
l a statist i q u e , i l n ' est pas surpre n a n t q u e
nos cou rs d e statist i q u e a ie nt u n a r r i e r e ­
g o u t d e m a th e m at i q u e s si pranonce .
Conclusion
La p l u p a rt des attit u d e s q u e n otre
societe c u ltive v i s-a-vis d e l a sta t i st i q u e
peuvent s e ra m e n e r a u n e seule q u estion
p h i l osop h i q u e : l a statist i q u e est- e l l e u n e
branche d e s m at h e m atiq ues, o u est-el l e a u
contra i r e u n e d is c i p l i n e d i st i n cte ? I I est
evident que l a statistiq u e a fa it sien nes d e
n o m breuses i d e es m at h e m at i q u es, m a i s
e l l e s ' i ns p i re e g a l e m ent de l a science et d e
l a m ethode scientifique, d e l a psycholog i e
d e l a perception e t d e I ' a p p rentissage, des
modes d e com m u n i cation et de gerance de
I ' i nfo r m ation, a i nsi que d e plusieurs princi­
pes qui n 'ont a p e u pres rien a voir avec les
m athematlques. I I serait tres sa l uta i re p o u r
les professe u rs, les etu d i a nts et tous l e s
util isate u rs d e l a statist i q u e de l a percevoir
com me une d i s c i p l i n e d i st i n cte des m athe­
m atiq ues.
Traiter l a statist i q u e com m e u n e d isci­
p l i n e a p a rt entiere pourra i t fa i re toute la
d ifference q ua nt v l e nt I e temps de I 'ensei­
gner effica ce m e nt dans un college ou u n e
u n i ve rslte. O n songerait pe ut-etre enfin a
eva l u e r la perfo r m a nce des professeurs e n
fo n ction de l e u r cont r i b ution a l a statisti­
q u e , et non se u l e m e nt a l a statist i q u e m a ­
them ati q u e . La consu ltation pourra it ega­
l e m ent p re n d re l a p la ce i m portante qui l u i
revient. L'ense i g n e m e n t jouerait a l ors u n
r o l e n o u v e a u e t d e v i e n d ra i t I e m ote u r
d ' u n cha n g e m e nt d ' attitude a I 'egard d e l a
d isci p l i n e e t d e son uti l ite.
I I f a ut que c h a n g e I e cadre i n stitution­
nel d a n s l e q u e l evo l u e I 'e nseignement de
l a statist i q u e de m a n iere a assurer la matu­
ration d e notre d i sci p l i n e . II fa ut q u e I e
contexte d e I ' e n se i g n e m ent d e l a statist i­
que evo l u e pour que I'on rea l ise I ' i m por­
tance d e notre d i sci p l i n e en sciences et e n
sci e n ces soc i a l e s e t q u e I'on e n v i e n n e a
reco n n aitre en q u o i e l l e se d i sti n g u e d e s
m at h e m a t i q u e s . A l o r s s e u l e m e n t pou r ­
r o n s- n o u s conj u r e r I e m a u v a i s so rt q u i
fra ppe notre profes s i o n . I I n ' e st p a s i m ­
poss i b l e q u e les statisticiens so i e nt u n j o u r
les heros d e l a societe. M a i s ce n ' est p a s
pour d e m a i n l a ve i l l e . References
1 . N e i d e r , J . A . Statistics, S c i e n c e a n d
Tec h n ology, Journal of the Royal Statistical
Society, Series A, 1 49 : 1 09 - 1 2 1 . 1 986.
2 . Weldon, K . L . O n tea ching t h e non­
algebraic aspects of statistics. Rapport de
recherche n o 8 6- 1 1 . Depa rtement de m a ­
thematlques e t de statist i q u e , U n i v e rs i te
S i m o n - F raser.
3 . Z i d e k , J. V. Statistication: the quest
for a curriculum . R a p p o rt d e rech e r c h e .
Departement d e statist i q u e . U n i versite de
l a (olom bie-Brita n n i q u e .
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
LE BABILLARD DES CARRIERES
UNIVERSITY OF
GUELPH
UNIVERSITY OF
ALBERTA
Depart m e nt o f Math e m atics
and Statistics
D e p a rt m e n t of Statistics
a n d A p p l i e d Proba bil ity
A p p l i ca nts a re i nvited for a te n u re-track position
at t h e Assistant o r Associate Professor level i n t h e a rea
of Statistics, effective S e ptem ber 1 , 1 98 7 o r ea rl ier. Du­
t i es w i l l i n volve a com bi nation of tea c h i n g u n d e rg ra­
d uate a n d g rad u ate level cou rses, research a n d/or con­
su lti n g . T h e ca n d idate w i l l be expected to cont ri bute
s i g n ifica ntly to t h e d e p a rt m e nt's research program e m ­
p h a s i z i n g a p p l i ed statistics, p a rt i c u l a rly i n t h e B i ol og i ca l
or Natural S c i e n ce s a n d Ag r i c u lture resea rc h .
T h e Department of Statistics a n d A p p l i e d Proba­
b i l ity i n vites a p pl ications for two te n u re-track posit ions:
o n e at t h e Assista n t Professor level ($3 1 , 6 1 2 - $45,340
per a n n u m ) a n d one at the Assista nt/Assoc i ate Professor
level ($3 1 ,6 1 2 - $ 5 7, 2 3 6 per a n n u m ) in a n y a rea of Sta­
tistics a n d/or B iostatistics. E ffective date : J u l y 1 , 1 98 7 .
The U n i v e rs i ty o f A l b e rta I S an e q u a l o p p o rt u n ity
e m p l oyer, but, in accord a n ce With Ca n a d i a n i m m i g ra­
tion req u i re m e nts, t h i S a d v e rt i se m e n t IS d i rected to
Ca n a d i a n citizens and perm a n e nt reside nts.
Send curriculum vitae including
names of three referees to:
W.R. S m ith, Chairman.
Department of Mathematics and Statistics.
University of Guelph.
Guelph. Ontario.
N 1 G 2W1 .
The closing date for a p p l ications is J a n ua ry 1 5
1 987. Position subject to final budgetary a pproval.
In accordance with Canadian imm igration proce­
dures, this advertisement is directed to Canadian citi­
zens and permanent residents.
YORK UNIVERSITY,
TORONTO
De part m e nt of Mathe m at i cs
Appl ica nts a re i n vited for o n e or m o re te n u re-track
o r l i m ited-term positi ons, ra n k and field o p e n , to beg i n
J u ly 1 , 1 98 7 . Appl ica nts s h o u l d have proven a b i l ity o r
d e m o n strated pote n t i a l f o r rese a r c h a n d te a c h i n g .
S p e c i a l considerati o n w i l l be g i v e n t o ca n d i d ates i n
Statistics o r O pe rations Resea rch. Positions a re s u bject to
u n iversity a p prova l . Res u m es and at l e a st t h ree letters
of recom m e ndation s h o u l d be rece ived by J a n u a ry 1 5 ,
1 98 7 .
Address all correspondence to:
Joan Wick Pelletier. Chair.
Depa rtment of Mathematics.
4700 Keele Street.
North York. Ontario.
Canada
M3J 1 P3
York University is implementing a p olicy of e m ­
ployment e quity. Qualified women a n d men are invited
to apply. In accorda nce with Canadian immigration
requirements, this advertisement is directed to Cana­
dian citizens and permanent residents of Canada.
Interested individuals should send curriculum vitae
(including list of publications)
and names of three referees to:
Dr. J . R . McGregor. Chairman.
Department of Statistics
and A pplied Proba bility.
University of A l berta.
Edmonton. A lberta.
Canada
T6G 2 G 1 .
Closing date for applications: J a nuary 1 . 1 987.
QUEEN' S UNIVERSITY
De p a rt m ent of Mathem atics
and Statistics
The depa rtment has two posit i o n s a v a i l a ble from
J u l y 1 , 1 9 8 7 . One IS a t h ree-yea r renewa b l e (te n u re ­
track) pOSition a n d the oth e r IS a th ree-year Q u e e n ' s
Nati o n a l S c h o l a rsh i p w h i c h m i g ht becom e te n u re-tra c k .
Cand idates s h o u l d have d e m o nstrated pote nti a l i n re­
search and teach i n g .
O utsta n d i n g ca nd id ates i n a n y f i e l d w i l l b e consi­
d e re d , but the d e p a rt m e nt is p a rt i c u la rly i nte rested in
a p p l i c a nts who work i n Stat istics, Proba b i l ity o r Ana lysis.
S a l a ry will d e pe n d o n experience and q u a l ifications.
Applicants should send a vita to:
Professor L.L. Cam pbell. Head
Department of Mathematics and Statistics,
Queen's U n iversity
Kingston, Ontario K7 l 3 N 6
Applicants should a rrange f o r three letters of re­
commendation to be sent to the a bove address. At
least one letter should com ment on the candidate's
teaching ability. Applications should be sent as soon as
possible. The closing date for a pplications is J a n u a ry
3 1 , 1 987.
In a ccordance with Canadian immigration requi­
rements, this adve rtisement is directed to Canadian citi­
zens and permanent residents. Candidates of either sex
are equally encouraged to apply.
--------��r--
UNI VERSITY O F
CALGARY
UNIVERSITY OF
CALGARY
Depart m e nt of M a t h e m atics
a n d Statistics
F a c u lty of Med i c i n e
T h e U n i v e r s i t y of C a l g a r y , D e p a r t m e n t o f
Mathem atics a n d Statistics I n v i tes a p p l icati o n s f o r a n
Assi sta nt o r Asso c i ate P r ofessor i n Statistics a n d/o r
Actu a r i a l S c i e n c e co m m e n c i n g J u l y 1 , 1 98 7 .
Duties w i l l i n c l u d e u n d e rg ra d u ate a n d g r a d u a t e
level tea c h i n g , i n c l u d i n g l a rg e e n ro l m e nt i ntrod u ctory
s e r v i c e co u rs e s . T h e s u c c e s s f u l c a n d i d a t e w i l l be
r e q u i r e d t o a ct i v e l y e n g a g e in re s e a r c h a n d to
p a rtici pate in the expansion and d eve l o p m e nt of the
Act u a r i a l S c i e n ce a n d/or Applied Statistics p r o g r a m s .
Cand i d ates i n a l l a reas of statistics w i l l b e g i v e n
considera t i o n ; however, prefe re n ce w i l l b e g i v e n to
ca nd id ates In a p p l i e d statistics, p a rt i c u l a r l y th ose with
tra i n i n g in a ct u a r i a l s c i e n ce o r statistical c o n s u lti n g .
A l l q u a l ified i n d i v i d u a l s a re e n co u ra g e d t o a p p l y .
I n a c co r d a n c e w i t h C a n a d i a n i m m i g rati o n req u i r e ­
m e nts, p r i ority w i l l b e g iven t o Ca n a d i a n citizens a n d
p e r m a n e n t res i d e nts of Ca n a d a .
Applications, including a curriculum vitae,
three letters of recommendation and a brief
description of field of interest,
should be sent prior to January
1 2 1987 to:
,
Dr. J . R . Collins, Chairman
Statistitics Appointments Com m ittee
Department of Mathematics a nd Statistics.
The U niversity of Calgary
2500 U niversity Drive N.W.
Calgary. Alberta
T2N 1 N4
T h e f a c u lty o f M e d i c i n e a t T h e U n i v e r s i ty o f
Ca l g a ry IS d evel o p i n g a m a j o r m u lt i d isci p l i n a ry research
thrust in E p i d e m i o l o g y a n d B i osta t i s t i c s . S i g n i f i c a nt
o p po rt u n ities are ava i l a b l e for c l i n i c a l co l l a bo r a t i o n
a n d f o r c o m m u n i ty st u d i e s . N ew fa c i l i t i e s w i l l be
a v a i l a b l e i n early 1 98 8 . Com puti n g power and expertise
is well deve l o ped at The U n iversity of C a l g a ry .
T h e H e a lth Ca re Resea rch G ro u p o f the Facu lty o f
M e d i c i n e , The U n i ve rsity of C a l g a ry, wi l l b e rec r u iting a
n u m be r of f a c u lty w i t h a n M . D . a n d / o r P h . D . i n
B i osta t i s t i c s . A p p l i ca t i o n s a re i n v i t e d f r o m m e d ica l
scie ntists with postdocto ral experience as we l l as from
s C i e n t i sts w h o have d e m o n st r a t e d seve r a l y e a rs of
prod u ct i ve i n d e pe n d e n t rese a rc h . Seve nty-five percent
of the s u ccessfu l ca n d i d ates t i m e w i l l be protected for
rese a r c h a c t i v i t i e s . F u n d i n g w i l l be p r o v i d e d on a
c o m p e t i t i v e b a S I S f r o m t h e A l b e rta H e r i t a g e F o u n ­
d ation f o r M e d i c a l Resea rc h . S u ccessf u l c a n d idates w i l l
be a p po i nted a t a facu lty ra n k p o s i t i o n cons istent with
their tra i n i n g and experience. S a l a ry scales are those
a p p roved by the U n i versity of C a l g a ry .
I n a ccordance with Canadian immigration require­
ments. priority will be given to Canadian citizens and
permanent residents o f Canada.
Please submit a curriculum vitae, a brief
description of field of interest and three
names of referees prior to January
31. 1987, to:
Dr. E. J. love. Cha irman
Health Care Research Group
Department of Com m unity Health Sciences
Faculty of Medicine. the Un iversity of Calgary
Hea lth Sciences Centre. 3330 Hospital Drive N.W.
Calgary, A lberta. T2N 4 N 1
UNIV E RSITY O F
WATERLOO
UNIVERSITY OF
WESTERN ONTARI O
Depart m e n t of Statistics
and Act u a r i a l S c i e n ce
STATLAB
The D e p a rt m e nt of Statistics a n d Act u a r i a l S c i e n ce
at the U n iversity of Wate r l o o h a s a va c a n cy f o r a n
Assista nt Professor o f Statistics. This posit i o n i s c u rrently
f u n d ed for a th ree year term beg i n n i n g in J u l y, 1 98 7
Duties i n volve u n d e rg r a d u ate a n d g ra d uate tea c h i n g
a n d resea rch , a n d p reference w i l l b e g i v e n t o i n d i v i ­
d u a l s w h ose research i nterests a re i n t h e a re a o f q u a l ity
c o n t r o l or i n d u st r i a l a p p l i c a t i o n s o f stat i st i c s . I t i s
i ntended t h a t t h i s a p poi ntee wi l l b e actively i n v o l ved i n
the recently esta bl ished Wate rloo I n stitute for I m pro­
v e m e n t In Q u a l ity a n d Producti vity. S a l a ry w i l l be c o m ­
m e n s u rate w i t h expe r i e n ce . I n accord a n ce with Ca n a ­
d i a n i m m i g ration re q u i reme nts, preference w i l l be g i ­
ven to citizens a n d p e r m a n e n t resi d e nts o f C a n a d a .
Curriculum vitae and three letters of
reference should be sent to:
Dr. J. D. Kalbfleisch, Cha irman
Department of Statistics and Actua rial Science,
U niversity of Waterloo,
Waterloo. Ontario, Canada. N 2 l 3 G 1
Statistica l Consu lta nt/A n a l yst posit i o n in u n i versity
STATLA B . Consult with rese a r c h e rs from hospitals a n d
u n i ve rsity, data a n a lysis, report preparat i o n . M S a n d 2
years experience with facil ity i n statistical c o m p u t i n g
(SAS, B M DP, S PSS), c o m puter syste ms, a n d progra m m ­
i n g (FO RTRA N , BASIC).
Resume to:
N a ncy Korstanje.
E m ployment Relations Officer,
Room 262. Stevenson-lawson Building.
The University of Western Ontario,
london. Ontario,
N6A 5B8
T h e closing date for a pplications is Ja nuary 3 1 . 1 987.
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Return address / Adresse de retour:
Mary E. Thompson,
Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science,
U niversity of Waterloo,
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
N2L 3G1