José M. Bernardo, M. J. Bayarri, James O. Berger, A. P. Dawid, David Heckerman, Adrian F. M. Smith, and Mike West (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199694587
- eISBN:
- 9780191731921
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199694587.001.0001
- Subject:
- Mathematics, Probability / Statistics
The Valencia International Meetings on Bayesian Statistics – established in 1979 and held every four years – have been the forum for a definitive overview of current concerns and activities in ...
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The Valencia International Meetings on Bayesian Statistics – established in 1979 and held every four years – have been the forum for a definitive overview of current concerns and activities in Bayesian statistics. These are the edited Proceedings of the Ninth meeting, and contain the invited papers each followed by their discussion and a rejoinder by the author(s). In the tradition of the earlier editions, this encompasses an enormous range of theoretical and applied research, highlighting the breadth, vitality and impact of Bayesian thinking in interdisciplinary research across many fields as well as the corresponding growth and vitality of core theory and methodology. The Valencia 9 invited papers cover a broad range of topics, including foundational and core theoretical issues in statistics, the continued development of new and refined computational methods for complex Bayesian modelling, substantive applications of flexible Bayesian modelling, and new developments in the theory and methodology of graphical modelling. They also describe advances in methodology for specific applied fields, including financial econometrics and portfolio decision making, public policy applications for drug surveillance, studies in the physical and environmental sciences, astronomy and astrophysics, climate change studies, molecular biosciences, statistical genetics or stochastic dynamic networks in systems biology.Less
The Valencia International Meetings on Bayesian Statistics – established in 1979 and held every four years – have been the forum for a definitive overview of current concerns and activities in Bayesian statistics. These are the edited Proceedings of the Ninth meeting, and contain the invited papers each followed by their discussion and a rejoinder by the author(s). In the tradition of the earlier editions, this encompasses an enormous range of theoretical and applied research, highlighting the breadth, vitality and impact of Bayesian thinking in interdisciplinary research across many fields as well as the corresponding growth and vitality of core theory and methodology. The Valencia 9 invited papers cover a broad range of topics, including foundational and core theoretical issues in statistics, the continued development of new and refined computational methods for complex Bayesian modelling, substantive applications of flexible Bayesian modelling, and new developments in the theory and methodology of graphical modelling. They also describe advances in methodology for specific applied fields, including financial econometrics and portfolio decision making, public policy applications for drug surveillance, studies in the physical and environmental sciences, astronomy and astrophysics, climate change studies, molecular biosciences, statistical genetics or stochastic dynamic networks in systems biology.
Frederic Wakeman
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520234079
- eISBN:
- 9780520928763
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520234079.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
The most feared man in China, Dai Li, was chief of Chiang Kai-shek's secret service during World War II. This sweeping biography of “China's Himmler”, based on recently opened intelligence archives, ...
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The most feared man in China, Dai Li, was chief of Chiang Kai-shek's secret service during World War II. This sweeping biography of “China's Himmler”, based on recently opened intelligence archives, traces Dai's rise from obscurity as a rural hooligan and Green Gang blood-brother to commander of the paramilitary units of the Blue Shirts and of the dreaded Military Statistics Bureau: the world's largest spy and counterespionage organization of its time. In addition to exposing the inner workings of the secret police, whose death squads, kidnappings, torture, and omnipresent surveillance terrorized critics of the Nationalist regime, Dai Li's personal story opens a unique window on the clandestine history of China's Republican period. This study uncovers the origins of the Cold War in the interactions of Chinese and American special services operatives who cooperated with Dai Li in the resistance to the Japanese invasion in the 1930s and who laid the groundwork for an ongoing alliance against the Communists during the revolution that followed in the 1940s. The book illustrates how the anti-Communist activities Dai Li led altered the balance of power within the Chinese Communist Party, setting the stage for Mao Zedong's rise to supremacy. It reveals a complex and remarkable personality that masked a dark presence in modern China—one that still pervades the secret services on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. The book illuminates a previously little-understood world as it discloses the details of Chinese secret service trade-craft.Less
The most feared man in China, Dai Li, was chief of Chiang Kai-shek's secret service during World War II. This sweeping biography of “China's Himmler”, based on recently opened intelligence archives, traces Dai's rise from obscurity as a rural hooligan and Green Gang blood-brother to commander of the paramilitary units of the Blue Shirts and of the dreaded Military Statistics Bureau: the world's largest spy and counterespionage organization of its time. In addition to exposing the inner workings of the secret police, whose death squads, kidnappings, torture, and omnipresent surveillance terrorized critics of the Nationalist regime, Dai Li's personal story opens a unique window on the clandestine history of China's Republican period. This study uncovers the origins of the Cold War in the interactions of Chinese and American special services operatives who cooperated with Dai Li in the resistance to the Japanese invasion in the 1930s and who laid the groundwork for an ongoing alliance against the Communists during the revolution that followed in the 1940s. The book illustrates how the anti-Communist activities Dai Li led altered the balance of power within the Chinese Communist Party, setting the stage for Mao Zedong's rise to supremacy. It reveals a complex and remarkable personality that masked a dark presence in modern China—one that still pervades the secret services on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. The book illuminates a previously little-understood world as it discloses the details of Chinese secret service trade-craft.
Philipp Lepenies
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780231175104
- eISBN:
- 9780231541435
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231175104.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Economic History
Widely used since the mid-twentieth century, GDP (gross domestic product) has become the world’s most powerful statistical indicator of national development and progress. Practically all governments ...
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Widely used since the mid-twentieth century, GDP (gross domestic product) has become the world’s most powerful statistical indicator of national development and progress. Practically all governments adhere to the idea that GDP growth is a primary economic target, and while criticism of this measure has grown, neither its champions nor its detractors deny its central importance in our political culture. In The Power of a Single Number, Philipp Lepenies recounts the lively history of GDP’s political acceptance—and eventual dominance. Locating the origins of GDP measurements in Renaissance England, Lepenies explores the social and political factors that originally hindered its use. It was not until the early 1900s that an ingenuous lone-wolf economist revived and honed GDP’s statistical approach. These ideas were then extended by John Maynard Keynes, and a more focused study of national income was born. American economists furthered this work by emphasizing GDP’s ties to social well-being, setting the stage for its ascent. GDP finally achieved its singular status during World War II, assuming the importance it retains today. Lepenies’s absorbing account helps us understand the personalities and popular events that propelled GDP to supremacy and clarifies current debates over the wisdom of the number’s rule.Less
Widely used since the mid-twentieth century, GDP (gross domestic product) has become the world’s most powerful statistical indicator of national development and progress. Practically all governments adhere to the idea that GDP growth is a primary economic target, and while criticism of this measure has grown, neither its champions nor its detractors deny its central importance in our political culture. In The Power of a Single Number, Philipp Lepenies recounts the lively history of GDP’s political acceptance—and eventual dominance. Locating the origins of GDP measurements in Renaissance England, Lepenies explores the social and political factors that originally hindered its use. It was not until the early 1900s that an ingenuous lone-wolf economist revived and honed GDP’s statistical approach. These ideas were then extended by John Maynard Keynes, and a more focused study of national income was born. American economists furthered this work by emphasizing GDP’s ties to social well-being, setting the stage for its ascent. GDP finally achieved its singular status during World War II, assuming the importance it retains today. Lepenies’s absorbing account helps us understand the personalities and popular events that propelled GDP to supremacy and clarifies current debates over the wisdom of the number’s rule.
Harry Collins
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780226052298
- eISBN:
- 9780226052328
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226052328.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
Based in the sociology of scientific knowledge the book describes, in real time, two potential discoveries of gravitational waves, known as the Equinox Event and Big Dog. These were made by the LIGO ...
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Based in the sociology of scientific knowledge the book describes, in real time, two potential discoveries of gravitational waves, known as the Equinox Event and Big Dog. These were made by the LIGO and Virgo detectors. There is additional tension because the signals might have been deliberately injected into the detectors – so called ‘blind injections’. Scientific discovery is shown to depend on many kinds of decisions not normally thought of as belonging to science. The role and nature of statistics is also examined. Wider conclusions are drawn about the moral nature of science and about the methodology of the social sciences, particularly participant observation.Less
Based in the sociology of scientific knowledge the book describes, in real time, two potential discoveries of gravitational waves, known as the Equinox Event and Big Dog. These were made by the LIGO and Virgo detectors. There is additional tension because the signals might have been deliberately injected into the detectors – so called ‘blind injections’. Scientific discovery is shown to depend on many kinds of decisions not normally thought of as belonging to science. The role and nature of statistics is also examined. Wider conclusions are drawn about the moral nature of science and about the methodology of the social sciences, particularly participant observation.
David Rhind
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781447348214
- eISBN:
- 9781447348269
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781447348214.003.0010
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Research and Statistics
This chapter describes the evolution of UK Official Statistics over an 80 year period under the influence of personalities, politics and government policies, new user needs and changing technology. ...
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This chapter describes the evolution of UK Official Statistics over an 80 year period under the influence of personalities, politics and government policies, new user needs and changing technology. These have led to changing institutional structures – such as the Statistics Commission - and periodic oscillations in what statistics are created and the ease of their accessibility by the public. The chapter concludes with the impact of the first major statistical legislation for 60 years, particularly as a consequence of its creation of the UK Statistics Authority. This has included major investment in quality assurance of National and Official Statistics and in professional resourcing. These changes are very welcome, as is the statutory specification of government statistics as a public good by the 2007 Statistics and Registration Service Act. But problems of access to some data sets and the pre-release of key economic statistics to selected groups of users remain. Given the widespread societal consequences of the advent of new technologies, what we collect and how we do it will inevitably continue to change rapidly.Less
This chapter describes the evolution of UK Official Statistics over an 80 year period under the influence of personalities, politics and government policies, new user needs and changing technology. These have led to changing institutional structures – such as the Statistics Commission - and periodic oscillations in what statistics are created and the ease of their accessibility by the public. The chapter concludes with the impact of the first major statistical legislation for 60 years, particularly as a consequence of its creation of the UK Statistics Authority. This has included major investment in quality assurance of National and Official Statistics and in professional resourcing. These changes are very welcome, as is the statutory specification of government statistics as a public good by the 2007 Statistics and Registration Service Act. But problems of access to some data sets and the pre-release of key economic statistics to selected groups of users remain. Given the widespread societal consequences of the advent of new technologies, what we collect and how we do it will inevitably continue to change rapidly.
Sonja Tiernan
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781526145994
- eISBN:
- 9781526152145
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7765/9781526146007.00019
- Subject:
- Sociology, Marriage and the Family
This chapter examines the final stages of the campaigns for and against voting for marriage equality in the forthcoming referendum in May 2015. This includes an examination of the Catholic Church’s ...
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This chapter examines the final stages of the campaigns for and against voting for marriage equality in the forthcoming referendum in May 2015. This includes an examination of the Catholic Church’s stance and their actions in the weeks before the referendum.Less
This chapter examines the final stages of the campaigns for and against voting for marriage equality in the forthcoming referendum in May 2015. This includes an examination of the Catholic Church’s stance and their actions in the weeks before the referendum.
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780973007374
- eISBN:
- 9781786944672
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5949/liverpool/9780973007374.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Maritime History
This collection provides a tribute to the career of maritime historian Yrjö Kaukiainen, composed upon his retirement from the University of Helsinki. It collects seventeen of his maritime essays ...
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This collection provides a tribute to the career of maritime historian Yrjö Kaukiainen, composed upon his retirement from the University of Helsinki. It collects seventeen of his maritime essays written in English, reprinted in order to celebrate his career and impact on the field of maritime history. The selected essays encompass the following themes: maritime Finland; maritime labour; sail, steam, coal, and canvas; the timber-trade; maritime communication and networks; ship measurement and shipping statistics; the economics of merchant shipping; managerial skills in Finnish merchant fleets; and international freight markets. The collection primarily concerns Finnish shipping, and the maritime relationships between Finland and the wider international community, including the British timber-trade, the wider Baltic timber-trade, and Dutch shipping in relation to the Swedish Navigation Act. The essays are prefaced by three tributes of Kaukiainen’s career, penned by Lars U. Scholl, Merja-Liisa Hinkkanen, and Lewis R. Fischer, respectively. The volume concludes with a bibliography of Kaukiainen’s work on maritime history, in both Swedish and English, from 1981 to 2003.Less
This collection provides a tribute to the career of maritime historian Yrjö Kaukiainen, composed upon his retirement from the University of Helsinki. It collects seventeen of his maritime essays written in English, reprinted in order to celebrate his career and impact on the field of maritime history. The selected essays encompass the following themes: maritime Finland; maritime labour; sail, steam, coal, and canvas; the timber-trade; maritime communication and networks; ship measurement and shipping statistics; the economics of merchant shipping; managerial skills in Finnish merchant fleets; and international freight markets. The collection primarily concerns Finnish shipping, and the maritime relationships between Finland and the wider international community, including the British timber-trade, the wider Baltic timber-trade, and Dutch shipping in relation to the Swedish Navigation Act. The essays are prefaced by three tributes of Kaukiainen’s career, penned by Lars U. Scholl, Merja-Liisa Hinkkanen, and Lewis R. Fischer, respectively. The volume concludes with a bibliography of Kaukiainen’s work on maritime history, in both Swedish and English, from 1981 to 2003.
Ralph Davis
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780986497384
- eISBN:
- 9781786944467
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5949/liverpool/9780986497384.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Maritime History
This volume is a reprint of Ralph Davis’ seminal 1962 book, The Rise of the English Shipping Industry in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. The aim was to examine the economic reasons for the ...
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This volume is a reprint of Ralph Davis’ seminal 1962 book, The Rise of the English Shipping Industry in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. The aim was to examine the economic reasons for the growth of British shipping before the arrival of modern technology, with a particular attention on overseas trade. The study can roughly be divided into two halves. The first is an in-depth exploration the roles within the shipping industry, from shipbuilders and shipowners to seamen and masters, from an economic perspective. The second is a chapter-by-chapter review of British overseas trade with Northern Europe, Southern Europe, the Mediterranean, East India, and America and the West Indies. The final two chapters diverge from the main sections, and focus on the interplay between government, war, and shipping. Davis attaches no extra significance to any particular nation or role, and offers an even-handed approach to maritime history still considered rare in the present day. Costs, profits, voyage estimates, ship-prices, and earnings all come under close and equal scrutiny as Davis seeks to understand the trades and developments in shipping during the period. To conclude, he places the study into a broader historical context and discovers that shipping played a measured but crucial role in the development of industrialisation and English economic development. This edition includes an introduction by the series editor; Davis’ introduction and preface; seventeen analytical chapters; a concluding chapter; two appendices concerning shipping statistics and sources; and a comprehensive index.Less
This volume is a reprint of Ralph Davis’ seminal 1962 book, The Rise of the English Shipping Industry in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. The aim was to examine the economic reasons for the growth of British shipping before the arrival of modern technology, with a particular attention on overseas trade. The study can roughly be divided into two halves. The first is an in-depth exploration the roles within the shipping industry, from shipbuilders and shipowners to seamen and masters, from an economic perspective. The second is a chapter-by-chapter review of British overseas trade with Northern Europe, Southern Europe, the Mediterranean, East India, and America and the West Indies. The final two chapters diverge from the main sections, and focus on the interplay between government, war, and shipping. Davis attaches no extra significance to any particular nation or role, and offers an even-handed approach to maritime history still considered rare in the present day. Costs, profits, voyage estimates, ship-prices, and earnings all come under close and equal scrutiny as Davis seeks to understand the trades and developments in shipping during the period. To conclude, he places the study into a broader historical context and discovers that shipping played a measured but crucial role in the development of industrialisation and English economic development. This edition includes an introduction by the series editor; Davis’ introduction and preface; seventeen analytical chapters; a concluding chapter; two appendices concerning shipping statistics and sources; and a comprehensive index.
Lars U. Scholl
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780968128886
- eISBN:
- 9781786944764
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5949/liverpool/9780968128886.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Maritime History
This book presents twelve essays by historian David M. Williams, in order to pay tribute to his career. The essays stretch from 1807 through to the end of the nineteenth century, and address both ...
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This book presents twelve essays by historian David M. Williams, in order to pay tribute to his career. The essays stretch from 1807 through to the end of the nineteenth century, and address both economic and social themes. Topics include maritime trade, deployment of merchant ships, the state regulations concerning shipping, shipwrecks and loss of life, passenger cargoes, slavery, cotton, timber and coffee trades, and the working conditions of seamen over the course of the century. The plight of the maritime labourer is at the core of this collection. The essays primarily focus on British shipping, and firmly places it within an international context. The book is introduced by Lars U. Scholl, followed by two tributes to Williams’ career, one by Peter N. Davies, the other by Lewis R. Fischer. Scholl concludes the volume with a thorough bibliography of Williams’ maritime writings: books, chapters, and articles.Less
This book presents twelve essays by historian David M. Williams, in order to pay tribute to his career. The essays stretch from 1807 through to the end of the nineteenth century, and address both economic and social themes. Topics include maritime trade, deployment of merchant ships, the state regulations concerning shipping, shipwrecks and loss of life, passenger cargoes, slavery, cotton, timber and coffee trades, and the working conditions of seamen over the course of the century. The plight of the maritime labourer is at the core of this collection. The essays primarily focus on British shipping, and firmly places it within an international context. The book is introduced by Lars U. Scholl, followed by two tributes to Williams’ career, one by Peter N. Davies, the other by Lewis R. Fischer. Scholl concludes the volume with a thorough bibliography of Williams’ maritime writings: books, chapters, and articles.
Christopher Sellers
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195150698
- eISBN:
- 9780199865185
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195150698.003.11
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health, Epidemiology
Today, environmental health professionals assess hazards in the workplace or the outside air by comparing sampled levels against official Threshold Limit Values (TLV's). But before today's reliance ...
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Today, environmental health professionals assess hazards in the workplace or the outside air by comparing sampled levels against official Threshold Limit Values (TLV's). But before today's reliance on quantitative tools for correlating atmospheric chemical levels to disease, industrial health practices were neither primitive nor unscientific. Medical and scientific researchers wrote at once for physicians or hygienists and for those without scientific training. Their knowledge itself remained closely tied to preventive interventions as well to curative ones. A quantitative chemical approach to occupational disease took shape following World War I, with the advent of a new community of experts, centered in the public health schools, in company medical clinics and in state divisions of industrial hygiene.Less
Today, environmental health professionals assess hazards in the workplace or the outside air by comparing sampled levels against official Threshold Limit Values (TLV's). But before today's reliance on quantitative tools for correlating atmospheric chemical levels to disease, industrial health practices were neither primitive nor unscientific. Medical and scientific researchers wrote at once for physicians or hygienists and for those without scientific training. Their knowledge itself remained closely tied to preventive interventions as well to curative ones. A quantitative chemical approach to occupational disease took shape following World War I, with the advent of a new community of experts, centered in the public health schools, in company medical clinics and in state divisions of industrial hygiene.
Philipp Lepenies
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780231175104
- eISBN:
- 9780231541435
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231175104.003.0007
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Economic History
Provides a summary and talks in detail about recent international initiatives to complement or replace GDP. Makes the point that GDP sits firmly in the saddle because together with the idea of growth ...
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Provides a summary and talks in detail about recent international initiatives to complement or replace GDP. Makes the point that GDP sits firmly in the saddle because together with the idea of growth , the notion that production is the most desirable goal (instead of issues of distribution) is still the basis of most political beliefs - and an in-depth knowledge of history is helpful to understand why this is so and so difficult to change.Less
Provides a summary and talks in detail about recent international initiatives to complement or replace GDP. Makes the point that GDP sits firmly in the saddle because together with the idea of growth , the notion that production is the most desirable goal (instead of issues of distribution) is still the basis of most political beliefs - and an in-depth knowledge of history is helpful to understand why this is so and so difficult to change.
William W. Goldsmith
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781501704314
- eISBN:
- 9781501706035
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9781501704314.003.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Urban and Rural Studies
This introductory chapter presents an overview of the four “upstream” policies on austerity, schools, food, and drugs. These policies are not typically regarded as urban policies, but they ought to ...
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This introductory chapter presents an overview of the four “upstream” policies on austerity, schools, food, and drugs. These policies are not typically regarded as urban policies, but they ought to be. In their present forms, they damage cities; but they can be changed. Such changes have the best potential for improving cities. In each of the four areas, city advocates and researchers have produced enormous bodies of evidence calling for reform. Vast troves of annual survey data as well as solid statistical analyses come from public agencies such as the National Center for Education Statistics, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, and the Food and Nutrition Service. More information comes from various state and city research organizations, new local programs, investigative journalists, and the research reports, journal articles, and books written by hundreds of individual researchers and research teams based for the most part at colleges and universities.Less
This introductory chapter presents an overview of the four “upstream” policies on austerity, schools, food, and drugs. These policies are not typically regarded as urban policies, but they ought to be. In their present forms, they damage cities; but they can be changed. Such changes have the best potential for improving cities. In each of the four areas, city advocates and researchers have produced enormous bodies of evidence calling for reform. Vast troves of annual survey data as well as solid statistical analyses come from public agencies such as the National Center for Education Statistics, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, and the Food and Nutrition Service. More information comes from various state and city research organizations, new local programs, investigative journalists, and the research reports, journal articles, and books written by hundreds of individual researchers and research teams based for the most part at colleges and universities.
Áki Jarl Láruson and Floyd Allan Reed
- Published in print:
- 2021
- Published Online:
- March 2021
- ISBN:
- 9780198829539
- eISBN:
- 9780191868092
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198829539.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Biomathematics / Statistics and Data Analysis / Complexity Studies, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
Population genetics is an inherently quantitative discipline. Because the focus of population genetics studies is usually on abstract concepts like the frequencies of genetic variants over time, it ...
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Population genetics is an inherently quantitative discipline. Because the focus of population genetics studies is usually on abstract concepts like the frequencies of genetic variants over time, it can at first glance be difficult to conceptualize and appropriately visualize. As more and more quantitative models and methods have become established in the discipline, it has become necessary for people just entering the field to quickly develop a good understanding of the many layers of complex approaches, so as to correctly interpret even basic results. An unfortunate side effect of the widespread implementation of ready-to-use quantitative software packages is that some facets of analysis can become rote, which at best might lead to implementation without the full understanding of the user and at worst, inappropriate application leading to misguided conclusions. In this book a “learning by doing” approach is employed to encourage readers to begin developing an intuitive understanding of population genetics concepts. The analytical software R, which has increasingly been the program of choice for early exposure to basic statistical programming, is freely available online, has cross-platform compatibility (Windows, Mac, and Linux all support distributions of R), and offers the potential for hands-on implementation by the students, in addition to using pre-packaged functions.Less
Population genetics is an inherently quantitative discipline. Because the focus of population genetics studies is usually on abstract concepts like the frequencies of genetic variants over time, it can at first glance be difficult to conceptualize and appropriately visualize. As more and more quantitative models and methods have become established in the discipline, it has become necessary for people just entering the field to quickly develop a good understanding of the many layers of complex approaches, so as to correctly interpret even basic results. An unfortunate side effect of the widespread implementation of ready-to-use quantitative software packages is that some facets of analysis can become rote, which at best might lead to implementation without the full understanding of the user and at worst, inappropriate application leading to misguided conclusions. In this book a “learning by doing” approach is employed to encourage readers to begin developing an intuitive understanding of population genetics concepts. The analytical software R, which has increasingly been the program of choice for early exposure to basic statistical programming, is freely available online, has cross-platform compatibility (Windows, Mac, and Linux all support distributions of R), and offers the potential for hands-on implementation by the students, in addition to using pre-packaged functions.
Jeremy Seekings and Nicoli Nattrass
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300108927
- eISBN:
- 9780300128758
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300108927.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Conflict Politics and Policy
This chapter uses the 1993 Project for Statistics on Living Standards and Development (PSLSD) survey to analyse the pattern of income inequality at the end of apartheid and on the eve of ...
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This chapter uses the 1993 Project for Statistics on Living Standards and Development (PSLSD) survey to analyse the pattern of income inequality at the end of apartheid and on the eve of democratisation. The survey shows that the mean incomes of the richest households were one hundred times greater than the incomes of the poorest households. The chapter also describes different ways of estimating the relative contribution to inequality of interracial and intraracial inequality.Less
This chapter uses the 1993 Project for Statistics on Living Standards and Development (PSLSD) survey to analyse the pattern of income inequality at the end of apartheid and on the eve of democratisation. The survey shows that the mean incomes of the richest households were one hundred times greater than the incomes of the poorest households. The chapter also describes different ways of estimating the relative contribution to inequality of interracial and intraracial inequality.
Jeremy Seekings and Nicoli Nattrass
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300108927
- eISBN:
- 9780300128758
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300108927.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, Conflict Politics and Policy
This chapter utilizes the 1993 Project for Statistics on Living Standards and Development (PSLSD) survey to analyze social stratification and income inequality in South Africa at the end of the ...
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This chapter utilizes the 1993 Project for Statistics on Living Standards and Development (PSLSD) survey to analyze social stratification and income inequality in South Africa at the end of the apartheid. It discusses the method of using household survey data to map the class position of South African households. First, the occupations of individual people are classified. Next, households are classified in terms of occupations of working members. Finally, this schema is modified to take into account income from wealth and entrepreneurial activity. The outcome is a nine-class schema. Analysis shows that class is closely correlated with household income, living conditions, attitudes, health, and education.Less
This chapter utilizes the 1993 Project for Statistics on Living Standards and Development (PSLSD) survey to analyze social stratification and income inequality in South Africa at the end of the apartheid. It discusses the method of using household survey data to map the class position of South African households. First, the occupations of individual people are classified. Next, households are classified in terms of occupations of working members. Finally, this schema is modified to take into account income from wealth and entrepreneurial activity. The outcome is a nine-class schema. Analysis shows that class is closely correlated with household income, living conditions, attitudes, health, and education.
Jeremy Seekings and Nicoli Nattrass
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300108927
- eISBN:
- 9780300128758
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300108927.003.0008
- Subject:
- Political Science, Conflict Politics and Policy
This chapter asks whether some or all of the unemployed should be viewed as a distinct underclass. It argues that one segment of the unemployed can be identified as a discrete underclass, which ...
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This chapter asks whether some or all of the unemployed should be viewed as a distinct underclass. It argues that one segment of the unemployed can be identified as a discrete underclass, which comprises of unemployed people who were heavily disadvantaged in the labour market. The chapter utilizes the 1993 Project for Statistics on Living Standards and Development (PSLSD) data to identify an underclass of unemployed people at the end of apartheid.Less
This chapter asks whether some or all of the unemployed should be viewed as a distinct underclass. It argues that one segment of the unemployed can be identified as a discrete underclass, which comprises of unemployed people who were heavily disadvantaged in the labour market. The chapter utilizes the 1993 Project for Statistics on Living Standards and Development (PSLSD) data to identify an underclass of unemployed people at the end of apartheid.
David Byrne
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781447348214
- eISBN:
- 9781447348269
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781447348214.003.0011
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Research and Statistics
This chapter reviews the forms of statistical information available across devolved levels of governance in the UK. The focus is not only on statistics from the devolved nations – Scotland, Wales and ...
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This chapter reviews the forms of statistical information available across devolved levels of governance in the UK. The focus is not only on statistics from the devolved nations – Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – but also on statistics available for other levels where these is significant roles for devolved governance including city regions. Particular attention is paid to the regional / devolved nation Government Expenditure and Revenue Statistics (GERS) given both the salience of these in political argument and their significance in understanding the imbalance in the UK’s space economy. Data for sub-national geographies in England includes not only standard regions and local authorities but other forms including combinations of authorities and Local Economic Partnerships. Data about these levels is very useful for exploring variation within the nation which contains more than 80% of the UK's population.Less
This chapter reviews the forms of statistical information available across devolved levels of governance in the UK. The focus is not only on statistics from the devolved nations – Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – but also on statistics available for other levels where these is significant roles for devolved governance including city regions. Particular attention is paid to the regional / devolved nation Government Expenditure and Revenue Statistics (GERS) given both the salience of these in political argument and their significance in understanding the imbalance in the UK’s space economy. Data for sub-national geographies in England includes not only standard regions and local authorities but other forms including combinations of authorities and Local Economic Partnerships. Data about these levels is very useful for exploring variation within the nation which contains more than 80% of the UK's population.
Jeff Evans and Ludi Simpson
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781447348214
- eISBN:
- 9781447348269
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781447348214.003.0024
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Research and Statistics
The UK-based Radical Statistics Group has a long-standing role in shaping statistics to support progressive social change. It has worked to demystify and critique official statistics, and to trace ...
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The UK-based Radical Statistics Group has a long-standing role in shaping statistics to support progressive social change. It has worked to demystify and critique official statistics, and to trace the consequences of using statistical models and their assumptions The Group has used its energies to encourage statistical literacy and campaigning effectiveness among progressive groups that seek its help. Its early days from the 1970s were characterised by a range of ‘progressive’ publications and well-received interventions in crucial debates and official consultations. In the 1990s it contributed to the wave of reforms of statistical outputs and procedures brought to fruition by the incoming Labour government. At the current time it provides ongoing resources of annual conferences, regular journal and email, a website and social media. Campaigns are often developed outside Radical Statistics structures, but with the key support of RadStats contacts, resources and ideas. At a time when it is archiving its first forty years of papers in the Welcome Library, Radical Statistics envisages a future enhanced by the activity of a range of allies, and the resources they provide, so as to formulate effective alternatives to the dominant discourses of our time.Less
The UK-based Radical Statistics Group has a long-standing role in shaping statistics to support progressive social change. It has worked to demystify and critique official statistics, and to trace the consequences of using statistical models and their assumptions The Group has used its energies to encourage statistical literacy and campaigning effectiveness among progressive groups that seek its help. Its early days from the 1970s were characterised by a range of ‘progressive’ publications and well-received interventions in crucial debates and official consultations. In the 1990s it contributed to the wave of reforms of statistical outputs and procedures brought to fruition by the incoming Labour government. At the current time it provides ongoing resources of annual conferences, regular journal and email, a website and social media. Campaigns are often developed outside Radical Statistics structures, but with the key support of RadStats contacts, resources and ideas. At a time when it is archiving its first forty years of papers in the Welcome Library, Radical Statistics envisages a future enhanced by the activity of a range of allies, and the resources they provide, so as to formulate effective alternatives to the dominant discourses of our time.
Molly Farrell
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780190277314
- eISBN:
- 9780190277338
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190277314.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, American Colonial Literature, American, 18th Century and Early American Literature
Quantifiable citizenship—in the form of birth certificates, census forms, and immigration quotas—is so ubiquitous that today it appears ahistorical. Yet before the modern colonial era, there was ...
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Quantifiable citizenship—in the form of birth certificates, census forms, and immigration quotas—is so ubiquitous that today it appears ahistorical. Yet before the modern colonial era, there was neither a word for “population” in the sense of numbers of people, nor agreement that monarchs should count their subjects. Much of the work of naturalizing the view that people can be represented as populations took place far outside government institutions and philosophical treatises. It occurred, instead, in the work of colonial writers such as Mary Rowlandson, who found, in the act of counting the “vast numbers” of Indians who held her captive, a way to imagine fixed boundaries between intermingling groups. This book explores the imaginative, personal, and narrative writings that performed the cultural work of normalizing the enumeration of bodies. By repositioning and unearthing a literary prehistory of population science, the book shows that representing individuals as numbers was a central element of colonial projects. Early colonial writings that describe routine, and even intimate, interactions offer a window into the way people wove the quantifiable forms of subjectivity made available by population counts into everyday life. Whether trying to make sense of plantation slavery, frontier warfare, rapid migration, or global commerce, writers framed questions about human relationships across different cultures and generations in terms of population.Less
Quantifiable citizenship—in the form of birth certificates, census forms, and immigration quotas—is so ubiquitous that today it appears ahistorical. Yet before the modern colonial era, there was neither a word for “population” in the sense of numbers of people, nor agreement that monarchs should count their subjects. Much of the work of naturalizing the view that people can be represented as populations took place far outside government institutions and philosophical treatises. It occurred, instead, in the work of colonial writers such as Mary Rowlandson, who found, in the act of counting the “vast numbers” of Indians who held her captive, a way to imagine fixed boundaries between intermingling groups. This book explores the imaginative, personal, and narrative writings that performed the cultural work of normalizing the enumeration of bodies. By repositioning and unearthing a literary prehistory of population science, the book shows that representing individuals as numbers was a central element of colonial projects. Early colonial writings that describe routine, and even intimate, interactions offer a window into the way people wove the quantifiable forms of subjectivity made available by population counts into everyday life. Whether trying to make sense of plantation slavery, frontier warfare, rapid migration, or global commerce, writers framed questions about human relationships across different cultures and generations in terms of population.
Arthur Lupia
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- November 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780190263720
- eISBN:
- 9780197559598
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190263720.003.0024
- Subject:
- Education, Educational Policy and Politics
This chapter is about how to word recall questions effectively. An example of why this topic matters occurred just days before the opening of the United ...
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This chapter is about how to word recall questions effectively. An example of why this topic matters occurred just days before the opening of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. At that time, a New York Times headline proclaimed that “1 of 5 in New Survey Express Some Doubt About the Holocaust.” The Times article’s lead paragraph described the finding in greater detail (emphasis added): . . . A poll released yesterday [sic] found that 22 percent of adults and 20 percent of high school students who were surveyed said they thought it was possible that Nazi Germany’s extermination of six million Jews never happened. In addition to the 22 percent of adult respondents to the survey by the Roper Organization who said it seemed possible that the Holocaust never happened, 12 percent more said they did not know if it was possible or impossible, according to the survey’s sponsor, the American Jewish Committee. . . . Reactions to this finding were swift. Benjamin Mead, president of the American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors, called the findings “a Jewish tragedy.” Elie Wiesel, a Nobel Laureate and concentration camp survivor, conveyed shock and disappointment: “What have we done? We have been working for years and years … I am shocked. I am shocked that 22 percent … oh, my God.” Similar headlines appeared across the country. In the months that followed these reports, many struggled to explain the finding. Some blamed education, as a Denver Post editorial described: . . . It’s hardly surprising that some Americans have swallowed the myth that the Holocaust never happened… . [E] ither these Americans have suffered a tragic lapse of memory, or they have failed to grasp even the rudiments of modern history… . Such widespread ignorance could lull future generations into dropping their guard against the continuing menace of ethnic intolerance, with potentially devastating consequences… . To this end, the public schools must obviously do a better job of teaching 20th century history, even if it means giving shorter shrift to the Civil War or the Revolution. . . .
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This chapter is about how to word recall questions effectively. An example of why this topic matters occurred just days before the opening of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. At that time, a New York Times headline proclaimed that “1 of 5 in New Survey Express Some Doubt About the Holocaust.” The Times article’s lead paragraph described the finding in greater detail (emphasis added): . . . A poll released yesterday [sic] found that 22 percent of adults and 20 percent of high school students who were surveyed said they thought it was possible that Nazi Germany’s extermination of six million Jews never happened. In addition to the 22 percent of adult respondents to the survey by the Roper Organization who said it seemed possible that the Holocaust never happened, 12 percent more said they did not know if it was possible or impossible, according to the survey’s sponsor, the American Jewish Committee. . . . Reactions to this finding were swift. Benjamin Mead, president of the American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors, called the findings “a Jewish tragedy.” Elie Wiesel, a Nobel Laureate and concentration camp survivor, conveyed shock and disappointment: “What have we done? We have been working for years and years … I am shocked. I am shocked that 22 percent … oh, my God.” Similar headlines appeared across the country. In the months that followed these reports, many struggled to explain the finding. Some blamed education, as a Denver Post editorial described: . . . It’s hardly surprising that some Americans have swallowed the myth that the Holocaust never happened… . [E] ither these Americans have suffered a tragic lapse of memory, or they have failed to grasp even the rudiments of modern history… . Such widespread ignorance could lull future generations into dropping their guard against the continuing menace of ethnic intolerance, with potentially devastating consequences… . To this end, the public schools must obviously do a better job of teaching 20th century history, even if it means giving shorter shrift to the Civil War or the Revolution. . . .
