I have been reading a lot of articles on The Conversation in the past few weeks, and one article this week struck a chord with me. It was about disability inclusion. The phrase that really caught my eye was, "Disability has been called the world's largest minority, and anyone can join it at any time in their life." This led me to google the exact definition of a minority group, which surprisingly proved difficult to find a unanimous answer for! The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) does provide an interesting explanation for categorising cultural and ethnic minorities, but when it comes to disabilities, the census seems toask very different questions. I have included a link to the article at the bottom of this week's newsletter.
In this week's newsletter, we have included a notice about the ACSPRI Masterclasses in Choice Modelling hosted by the University of Brisbane. Additionally, there is a link to a survey conducted by ACOLA in consultation with Australia's Chief Scientist, Dr. Kathy Foley. The survey aims to explore how assessment practices in universities, governments, and the private sector shape research careers and influence the choices and priorities of researchers. Lastly, a member shared an article highlighting a recent UK House of Commons Report. The report recommends dedicated funding for the presence of statistical experts and software developers in research teams to enhance scientific reproducibility. Also linked at the bottom of the newsletter.
SSA Office Closure
The SSA Office will be closed from 27 April until 30 May 2023
while the Executive Officer is on leave.
SSA Events
Statistical Consulting Network May Meet-Up
26 May 2023, 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM AEST, held online
Come along with your thinking cap, maybe a problem, and some lunch!
The Statistical Consulting Network invites you to their monthly meet-up, a virtual lunchtime meeting where statisticians help each other out with problems that they aren’t sure how to deal with. This virtual meeting is held on Zoom at lunchtime on the last Friday of each month, 12:30-1:30 PM (AEDT). We start each meet-up with announcements, or occasionally a special topic discussion, then discuss problems that attendees have brought along with them.
We also have a Slack workspace where members of the consulting network can communicate between meetings, or post problems or relevant materials they would like to discuss during a meeting.
These two Masterclasses are presented by Stephane Hess. Stephane is one of the developers of the Apollo software – an R package for estimating choice models. Please use the links above for more information.
ACSPRI offers discounted fees to individuals from member organisations and from non-profit organisations (for example, research organisations, public and private schools), and also to SSA members. Please contact Len Coote if you have questions about the courses or wish to obtain an SSA membership discount (l.coote@business.uq.edu.au).
Hosted by the Statistical Society of Australia (SSA), this week-long conference covers both new developments and interesting applications of statistical methods. The theme for 2023 is ‘Statisticians in society’. The last two days overlap with OZCOTS, providing a great opportunity to dip into the teaching of statistics.
A diverse program includes speakers from academia, government and industry across a range of disciplines and career stages. The conference will be delivered in-person, with some hybrid sessions online. Highlights include: tips on statistical communication from Sir DavidSpiegelhalterwho holds a Cambridge Chair in Risk Communication, and a workshop on “Deep Statistics for More Rigorous and Efficient Data Science”, by Professor Xiao-Li Meng from Harvard.
Academies consulting on research assessment practices
The Australian Council of Learned Academies (ACOLA) and the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia are seeking the views of researchers in Australia on how assessment practices in universities, governments and the private sector shape research careers and how they influence researchers’ choices and priorities. The consultation is being undertaken for Australia’s Chief Scientist, Dr Cathy Foley AO PSM FAA FTSE and will inform her advice to the Australian Government on the future of assessment practices in Australia’s research system.
UK MPs call for research sector reforms to address concerns with reproducibility of science
The Commons Science, Innovation and Technology Select Committee has released a report expressing concerns about the reproducibility of scientific research. Despite increased government investment in research and innovation, some studies have faced difficulties in reproducing claimed findings, leading to what is being called a 'reproducibility crisis.' The report recommends the establishment of a sub-committee on research integrity focused on addressing reproducibility issues and calls for funders to make reproducibility a condition for grants. It also urges publishers to prioritise timely retractions and corrections and avoid bias toward publishing novel findings over confirming previous studies.
Ableism and disablism – how to spot them and how we can all do better
The Disability Pride movement is gaining momentum and people with disability are becoming part of the diversity conversation.
On the surface, it would appear we have come a long way in our collective attitudes towards disability. But two of society’s biggest “-isms” still go largely unnoticed and unaddressed: ableism and disablism.
What do these terms mean? And how can we all do better to dismantle them?
If you have news from the Australian statistical community to share in Stats Matters and Events, please get in touch with us! We love getting feedback too.
