In the latest feature examining the state of the US data infrastructure, the Count on Stats team spoke with three experts on the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Katharine Abraham was BLS commissioner from 1993–2001, and Erica Groshen was BLS commissioner from 2013–2017. Ken Poole is the chief executive officer of the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness and longtime and widely recognized leader in the BLS data user community.
challenges
Data for Good: The Year in Review
The year 2020 was a year of great changes and challenges. The Data for Good community was at the center of many storms in the past year, rising to the challenge to support communities, guide an economy through a sea of troubles, preserve the environment, fight for justice, and—perhaps as no year before—save lives.
2021: A Year of Hope and Helping
ASA President Rob Santos thinks now, more than ever, we as statisticians and human beings need to support each other. He encourages you to join him in devoting the year 2021 to building community.
Lessons Learned and Remaining Challenges for Online Seminars and Conferences
The spread of COVID-19 has slowed economies and stopped travel throughout the world. For academics, classes and research collaborations have moved online. But the pandemic has disrupted two other essential aspects of academic life: conferences and seminars. An obvious solution is to move conferences and seminars online, but this has proven challenging for a number of reasons.
Making a Statistical Impact with Text Data
ASA President Karen Kafadar discusses how statistics can be used to find solutions for the challenge of text data.
Five Lessons Learned Implementing a School Drought Survey in Somalia
When designing and implementing a survey in a crisis situation, a survey methodologist may find standard tasks to be more challenging (particularly in developing countries). Here, Monica Dashen outlines fives lessons she learned while implementing a school drought survey in Somalia.
Statistics Without Borders Helps UNICEF
Statistics without Borders analyzed time stamps and GPS points collected during UNICEF’s nutrition surveys and developed three tests that could be used to review the quality of interviewer-selected samples.
End-of-Year SRMS Report from Past-Chair
John Czajka, past-chair, reviews 2012’s challenges and successes. He also announces two new member benefits. Read all about it.