Dear {Contact_First_Name},
|
About 18 months ago, our outgoing President asked me to consider becoming Vice-President of the Society. I had a little chuckle, and thought to myself - thank you, but no. Then I reflected on the leadership that I had been privileged to observe a little more closely in recent times from Ian Gordon, Jessica Kasza, and Adrian Barnett from my years of chairing the SSA Accreditation Committee. I then reconsidered Ian’s proposition, knowing there is a lot of support in our Society from others in the Executive, the Central Council, and the wider statistical community. So with some trepidation, I agreed. Organisations such as ours need people to play their part in whatever way they can, big or small. It’s how we can promote the value of our members and our profession more widely. I don’t need to tell readers that statistics is a terrific discipline, not least because of the people who work in the field!
For those members who don’t know me, I am an Associate Professor of Biostatistics in the School of Public Health at The University of Adelaide, with a mixture of teaching, research, supervision, and administration (the latter always growing) in my role. Most of my career has been in applied biostatistics, mainly focussed on child health and, more recently, on evaluating the effectiveness of vaccination for limiting the occurrence of invasive meningococcal disease. I teach biostatistics in the University’s undergraduate Bachelor of Health and Medical Sciences and Master of Public Health, and in the Master of Biostatistics, the latter through The University of Adelaide’s membership of the Biostatistics Collaboration of Australia.
Along with my term as President commencing, there are multiple changes in our Executive team this year. We have welcomed Vanaja Thomas as our inaugural General Manager, and farewelled Marie-Louise Rankin when she retired from her role as Executive Officer after many years of exceptional service to the Society.
I’m sure members will join me in warmly welcoming Teresa Dickinson, PSM, as our new Secretary. Teresa will be well-known to the Australian statistical community. She is currently the Deputy Australian Statistician and leads the Data and Statistical Practices group for the Australian Bureau of Statistics, a role she is stepping back from in the next few months as she transitions to retirement. We are delighted that she has agreed to become our Secretary. Her wealth of experience in leadership and governance will be extremely valuable for us as we work towards realising our Strategic Plan initiatives.
I recently pulled out the very first newsletter I received when I joined SSA, and several names leapt out from that March 1990 edition: Doug Shaw, one of the Newsletter Editors at the time, and Ian Gordon, who had given a talk to the Victorian Branch in November of the previous year which was reported on in Branch News.
Doug Shaw is stepping down after 20 years in his role as Secretary (after a host of other roles for the Society prior to this, including many years as Newsletter Editor). Twenty years! It has been amazing to watch Doug patiently support various members, me included, as they have taken on different roles in the Society over time. His encyclopedic knowledge of our Rules and Regulations, and the legal requirements that we must comply with as a Society, cannot be matched. He is a willing guide to all of us with positions on Central Council, and he is ever helpful in answering questions we might have about governance, processes or people – all of those behind-the-scenes things that help to make SSA ‘tick’. Doug has reassured us that he will support Teresa as she transitions in to the role, so he is not leaving us completely. Our most sincere thanks Doug for your incredible tenure as our Secretary!
Finally, grateful thanks to our departing President (and new Vice-President) Professor Ian Gordon. His responsive and thoughtful presidency, leading us in developing our Strategic Plan, carefully reviewing our existing structures and processes, and recruiting many members into various roles within SSA have laid a strong foundation to help us continue to adapt, thrive and grow. Our Society is so much richer for your service as President. Thanks Ian!
President To View in Browser |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ECSSN/NZSA Event Over 400 attendees joined Olivia Angelin-Bonnet's follow-up talk on applying software engineering best practices to statistics and data science. Building on last year’s presentation, Olivia demonstrated how to set up a reproducible data analysis project in R, covering essential tools like GitHub for version control, renv for documenting the computational environment, and targets for creating reproducible analytical pipelines. The session highlighted practical approaches to organising analysis directories and ensuring the reusability of code. |
|
|
|
|
A Personal Journey The first in a series of webinars spotlighting the personal journeys of influential Australian statisticians, this session featured an insightful interview with Brian Phillips. Conducted by Dennis Trewin, Brian reflected on his unique career trajectory, from secondary school mathematics teacher to Associate Professor at Swinburne University. The session offered attendees the opportunity to learn from Brian’s experiences in applied statistics and his significant contributions to statistics education. The event also included an engaging Q&A, allowing participants to explore deeper insights into Brian's career and its impact on the field. |
|
|
|
|
VIC/ TAS Branch Event On 20th August 2024, Dr Daisy Shepherd presented on "Causal machine learning in health research" for the SSA Vic branch. Daisy provided an accessible introduction to causal inference and machine learning methods, before describing the role of machine learning in causal inference and recent advances in the field. Much discussion was generated following the talk. Approximately 50 people attended the event, joining either in-person or online.
Another highlight of the evening was the presentation of the SSA's service award to Prof Jessica Kasza for an exceptional and sustained contribution to the society. The award is very well deserved. Congratulations to Jess! |
|
|
Partner with SSA Interested to partner with us from a simple event sponsorship, conferences to long-term collaboration, please reach out to Jodi Phillips at events@statsoc.org.au . |
|
|
|
|
SSA Early Career & Student Statistician Conference
18 - 21 November 2024 | Perth | Hobart | Christchurch |
|
|
Register for Your Spot!
We are excited to announce that registration is open for the ECSSC 2024! This event is a fantastic opportunity for students, early career statisticians, and established professionals to come together for mentorship, networking, and the exchange of innovative statistical ideas.
Conference Highlights
Keynote presentations
Workshop and panel discussions
Opportunities for presenting your own research
Early Bird registration close 14 Sep 2024 Registrations close 10 Nov 2024
We are especially dedicated to supporting students and early career statisticians by fostering a supportive environment where they can connect with mentors, share ideas, and receive guidance on their professional development. This is your chance to build valuable connections and gain insights that will help shape your future in statistics.
We look forward to seeing you at the conference! |
|
|
|
|
SSA Vic
& Tas 2024 Social Event - Bowling
5 Sep 2024 | 6:00 PM | Kingpin Crown Melbourne (Crown Melbourne, 8
Whiteman St, Melbourne, AU 3006) and Belgian Beer Cafe (5 Riverside Qy,
Southbank, Melbourne, AU 3006).
The annual social event will be ten-pin bowling at Kingpin Crown Melbourne
(arrive by 6:15pm), followed by dinner at the Belgian Beer Cafe at 7:45 pm.
Register
for bowling. Dinner is at your own expense. You may also RSVP to be present at
bowling but not bowl (and have a drink). |
|
|
|
|
Recent studies have shown that behavioural variables, such as attitudes, serve as significant predictors of travel mode choices. However, few transport models have effectively incorporated these variables, often relying on fuzzy estimations that limit predictive accuracy. This study employs exploratory factor analysis to identify key latent constructs influencing travel behaviour and uses structural equation modelling to examine the causal relationships of various latent variables and journey experience by different travel modes.
We analyse data from New Zealand residents across varying transport modes, demographic segments, and regional differences. Key factors affecting travel experience, including safety, value for money, and ease of use, are identified. Results indicate significant regional variances. This research highlights the importance of habit formation in transport decisions and recommends infrastructure enhancements alongside interventions that foster positive travel experiences to promote sustainable mobility. Our findings provide valuable insights for developing tailored transportation strategies responsive to New Zealand's diverse traveller needs.
|
|
|
|
|
SSA QLD Branch Meeting: Almost all log-scale output is readily interpretable-Mark Chatfield
18 Sep 2024, 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM (AEST) @ 223 Teaching Suite, 308 Queens St, Brisbane/Online
As statisticians, we frequently come across log-scale output when modelling binary, count, time-to-event and skewed continuous data. While log-scale regression coefficients, SDs, SEs, bias and RMSE can be exponentiated and interpreted, this is often not the only way. Building on the work of others, Mark will explain how almost all loge-scale output is readily interpretable, without exponentiating. As well as seeing meaning in log-scale output, such knowledge provides more tools in the statistician’s toolbox. He will show this for the analysis of log-transformed data, the Cox model, random-effects meta-analysis of risk ratios, and the performance of odds ratio estimators.
|
|
|
|
|
The New South Wales branch of the Statistical Society of Australia warmly invites all undergraduate, postgraduate and early career statisticians and data scientists to attend our annual event for Early Career and Student Statisticians on Thursday 19th September 2024 at 6 pm. The event will take place at The Bevery, the University of Sydney (entrance is through the Courtyard Cafe or the Holme Building, there will be guides on the day).
This year we have the pleasure of hosting a handful of inspiring early-career speakers and mid-career speakers, working in various industries. The speakers have been invited to share what they’ve learned, what they’ve achieved, what they’ve enjoyed and what surprised them, as well as, perhaps, what they don’t like, what they haven’t learned, and so on. We also have a number of senior industry speakers who have been invited to provide their sage advice, insights and general guidance to those interested in developing a fruitful career in the industry.
Each speaker will give a 5-minute talk, followed by a networking session. Catering and drinks will be provided at the event. There will be plenty of opportunities for attendees to approach the speakers and each other freely.
|
|
|
|
|
ECSSN and
NZSA webinar: Analysing haphazard Surveys with mild-ish Assumptions with
Gordana Popovic
24 Sep 2024, 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM @ Online
While statisticians generally recommend collecting
data via probability sampling, applied researchers studying humans frequently
use haphazard and other non-probability samples to conduct surveys, and
statistical consultants are regularly asked to help analyse such data.
Principled analysis of non-probability samples relies on having reference data
from probability samples or censuses, to adjust for non-response bias by say
weighting or covariate adjustment. What can be done without auxiliary
information?
It is well known that odds ratios are invariant
under certain types of selection bias, for example outcome dependent sampling,
which is why we use them in case control studies. We extend these results to
selection bias on both the outcome and predictor, by way of some assumptions
about how these biases are related.
In a collaboration on racial bias in police
searches from a haphazard Facebook survey, where no auxiliary data was
available, we used these assumptions to estimate odds ratios. We discuss how
the assumptions were communicated with researchers so that their plausibility
could be assessed by domain experts.
|
|
|
|
|
Statistical Consulting Network Monthly Meet-Up
27 Sept 2024 | 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM (AEST) | 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 (AEST). 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.
Zoom link
Password: 660145 Slack Workspace link
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
What is production anyway? MLOps for the curious presented by Julia Silge from Posit
6 Sep 2024, 12:00 PM @ Moore College (Level 5, 1 King Street, Newtown and online
The R-Ladies Sydney present: What is “production” anyway? MLOps for the curious
While data scientists are often taught about training a machine learning model, building an MLOps strategy to deploy and maintain that model can be daunting. In this talk, learn about MLOps concepts like model deployment and model drift, the different ways the word “performance” is used with models, what you can monitor about a model, how feedback loops impact models, and how you can set yourself up for success with model maintenance. This talk will help practitioners who are already deploying models, but this is also useful knowledge for data science practitioners earlier in their MLOps journey; decisions made along the way can make the difference between resilient models that are easier to maintain and disappointing or misleading models.
|
|
|
|
|
Behind the Expiration Date: Determining Product Shelf Life with Minitab Tuesday, September 24, 2024 Time: 9:00 AM Sydney Time
Join Minitab for a webinar where Cheryl Pammer, Senior Advisory Statistician, will delve into Stability Studies and their crucial role in the pharmaceutical and food industry. From life-saving medications to your favourite snacks, discover how these studies help ensure the safety and quality of the products we rely on every day.
|
|
|
|
|
Unlock your potential at the upcoming Women in STEM Careers and Entrepreneurship Masterclass, hosted by the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute and Western Sydney University. This exclusive event will take place from 21 - 23 October at the Parramatta City Campus, Western Sydney University.
Designed for women STEM researchers, this masterclass offers a unique opportunity to delve into Australia’s research commercialisation and innovation ecosystem. Gain insights directly from industry and university experts in research innovation, and hear success stories from researchers who have transitioned into leading roles in startups or R&D teams.
Who should attend?
If you are a STEM research student or an early to mid-career researcher, this masterclass is tailored for you. We especially encourage those who have participated in an APR Internship, funded by APR’s WISE program, to take advantage of available sponsorships covering accommodation and travel expenses.
Event Details
Time and Date: 9am - 5pm AEDT, 21 - 23 October 2024. Location: Level 9, Paramatta City Campus, Western Sydney University. Cost: $130 GA, Free for APR.Intern WiSE subsidy recipients.
Join us at the forefront of STEM innovation and entrepreneurship.
We look forward to welcoming you to Sydney this October! |
|
|
|
|
Abstract
Submissions & Registrations are now open for the 2024 ADSN conference
The ADSN Conference is heading
to Western Australia this year. It will be held at Curtin University in
Perth and is being hosted by the Curtin Institute for Data Science.
This year’s conference will
feature an additional third day which will be industry-focussed. Also, there
will be an opportunity to tour the Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre on
that day.
|
|
|
The International Environmetrics Society (TIES) is a non-profit organization aimed to foster the development and use of statistical and other quantitative methods in the environmental sciences, environmental engineering and environmental monitoring and protection. To this end, the Society promotes the participation of statisticians, mathematicians, scientists and engineers in the solution of environmental problems and emphasizes the need for collaboration and for clear communication between individuals from different disciplines and between researchers and practitioners.
All contributions related to environmetrics are welcome from across academia, research institutes, government, business and industry.
Key Dates:
| Deadline for Invited Paper Sessions |
15th July 2024 |
| Deadline for Contributed Papers |
15th Aug 2024 |
| Invited paper contributors informed of outcome |
31st July 2024 |
| Contributed paper authors informed of outcome |
9th Sept 2024 |
| |
|
| Registration opens |
15th July 2024 |
| Deadline for early registration |
23rd Sept 2024 |
For questions contact: John Boland john.boland@unisa.edu.au
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Employers can advertise job openings for statisticians and data analysts, while job seekers can post their own resume for potential employers to view – anonymously.
Members can register with the Career Centre, setting job alerts to be notified if a job meeting their search criteria is advertised. There's also the option of having one’s resume reviewed at no cost before uploading it, where it can be seen by potential employers.
Once registered with the SSA Career Centre as an employer, the site will allow users to post and manage job openings, search and manage prospective job candidates, and create a company profile. The fees for ads start at $130. |
|
|
|
|
The SSA team would love to hear from you!
If you have any feedback or news from the Australian statistical community to share in Stats Matters and Events, get in touch with us!
|
|
|
|
|
|
