Dennis Trewin is a pioneer of social statistics that are leading to meaningful measurement of social capital in Australia. He was the head of the Australian Bureau of Statistics between 2000 and 2007, and held other senior appointments in Australia such as Electoral Commissioner and an Adjunct Professor at Swinburne University. Dennis is also a mem…

We leave data behind as we travel across the internet, our preferences and purchases transforming into a veritable goldmine of information for companies hoping to convince us to buy their new product or service. We often imagine this data mining and tracking as an invention of the so-called information age, but Victorians were tracking and mining d…

When a gene in the human body goes bad, it can cause illness and disease. Scientists have been working for decades to develop therapies to address faulty genes. In the U.S. gene therapy has been approved as a treatment for illnesses such as cancer, hemophilia, AIDS. However, as researchers explore treatment possibilities. The ethics and costs of su…

Pandemic Education History | Stats + Short Stories Episode 332 by The Stats + Stories TeamBy The Stats + Stories Team

We’ve always said that data science is a gateway to other fields on this show. From climate change to medical research, knowledge around numbers can be useful in just about every aspect of life. This is why we’ve brought back Kobi Abayomi to talk about his journey using data to get into the music industry on this episodes of Stats+Short StoriesDr. …

Community leaders regularly make decisions that impact the lives of community members. From where green space will be located to what businesses to approve to what public health interventions to put in place. There’s a growing recognition that such decisions should be informed by data that come from the community itself. Community analytics are the…

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hospital mortality rates in the US were on the decline in the early 2000s, even as total hospitalizations rose. This came after a 1999 U.S. Institute of Medicine report that suggested tens of thousands of individuals died in hospitals unnecessarily each year. The report focused attention o…

More than 27 million individuals are the victims of human trafficking globally that’s according to the US State Department. The 2022 United Nations report on global trafficking suggests that 39 percent of trafficking is associated with sexual exploitation, while also noting that’s likely an underestimate. An initiative at the University of Alabama …

Journalists are often tasked with making complicated information accessible to a wide audience. Given mere minutes or inches to communicate information that might have taken a researcher pages to explain. Financial data can be particularly tricky to translate as it can require not only a comfort level with numbers but also some understanding of fin…

How do you learn about what’s going on in the world? Did a news headline grab your attention? Did a news story report on recent research? What do you need to know to be a critical consumer of the news you read? If you are looking to start developing your data self-defense and critical news consumption skills, this book is for you! It reflects a lon…

As you reach the end of a long day with an excess of stress how do you recharge? Have you found that a long stroll in the sun or through the woods can provide this renewal? Walking in nature is the focus of this episode of Stats+Stories with guest Dr. Altea Lorenzo-Arribas.Dr. Altea Lorenzo-Arribas is a socio-economic statistician at Biomathematics…

Would you be surprised if a wombat won a statistical achievement award? well our guest Noel Cressie is here to talk about the WOllongong Methodology for Bayesian Assimilation of Trace-gases and how it can impact the environmental landscape. Noel Cressie is Distinguished Professor at the University of Wollongong, Australia, and Director of its Centr…

Newsrooms struggle with communicating climate data. Some worry about being too alarmist, while others worry about communicating the data clearly. One American newspaper has a column devoted to breaking down climate data, which is the focus of this Episode of Stats+Stories with guest Harry Steven. Harry Stevens is the Climate Lab columnist at The Wa…

How do you learn about what’s going on in the world? Did a news headline grab your attention? Did a news story report on recent research? What do you need to know to be a critical consumer of the news you read? If you are looking to start developing your data self-defense and critical news consumption skills, this book is for you! It reflects a lon…

What fundamental values should data scientists and statisticians bring to their work? What principles should guide the work of data scientists and statisticians? What does right and wrong mean in the context of an analysis? That’s the topic of today's stats and stories episode with guests Stephanie Shipp and Donna LeLondeStephanie Shipp is a resear…

Welcome to Stats+Stories today we are trying something a bit different, with Major League Baseball’s opening day just hours away from the release of this episode we thought we would go back into the vault and throw some old school Stats+Stories baseball episodes at you. The first of which is as far back as you can go into the Stats+Stories archive,…

Communicating clearly about data can be difficult but it’s also crucial if you want audiences to understand your work. Whether it’s through writing or speaking telling a compelling story about data can make it less abstract. That’s the focus of this episode of Stats+Stories with guest Sara Stoudt. Sara Stoudt is an applied statistician at Bucknell …

Hybrid cars are everywhere now but what is your best option if you want to feel the wind in your hair, or at least under your helmet and you want to get a little exercise as well? Well, e-bikes are an answer and that’s the topic on this episode of Stats + Short Stories with guest Helaine Alessio. Helaine Alessio, PhD, FACSM is a Professor and Chair…

Dr Altea Lorenzo-Arribas is a socio-economic statistician at Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland (BioSS) working in collaboration with researchers at the Scottish Environment, Food and Agriculture Research Institutions. She is an elected council member of the Royal Statistical Society and secretary of the History of Statistics Section, as well a…

Long after Harry Nilsson said, “one is the loneliest number,” and after Bob Seger sang about feeling like a number, music streaming services are using data to help of discover new music that connects to our frequent plays and preferences. Dr. Kobi Abayomi helps break that all down in this episode of Stats+Stories. Dr. Kobi Abayomi is the Head of Sc…

How do you learn about what’s going on in the world? Did a news headline grab your attention? Did a news story report on recent research? What do you need to know to be a critical consumer of the news you read? If you are looking to start developing your data self-defense and critical news consumption skills, this book is for you! It reflects a lon…

Good data visualization can catapult a news story or research article from ho hum to extraordinary. A new book series is exploring the careers of information graphic visionaries. And that's the focus of this episode of Stats+Stories with guest RJ Andrews.Data storyteller RJ Andrews is a practicing data storyteller and creator of several books on in…

According to the Pew Research Center, three in ten US adults say they've used a dating app, with Tinder, Match and Bumble being the apps most likely to have been tried. Pew's research has also found that one in 10 partnered adults in the US met their significant other on a dating app or site. Dating app success is a focus of this episode of Stats a…

Remember the pressure of taking a test when the teacher was glaring at you, daring your eyes to roam. Cheating was not a temptation unless your were desperate and willing to risk the everpresent teacher catching you. However, the offering of online classes exploded in recent years. So what happens when you’re testing during online classes that’s th…

According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics the number of people prosecuted for human trafficking offenses has more than doubled between 2011 and 2021. The National Human Trafficking hotline reports that it has identified more than 82,000 instances of human trafficking involving close to 165,000 victims. Researching human trafficking is the …

How do you learn about what's going on in the world? Did a news headline grab your attention? Did a news story report on recent research? What do you need to know to be a critical consumer of the news you read? If you are looking to start developing your data self-defense and critical news consumption skills, this book is for you! It reflects a lon…

As researchers and medical professionals struggle to get a handle on the COVID-19 pandemic, journalists struggle to tell the pandemic’s story with many news outlets increasingly turning to info graphics and data visualizations to help them do so. Visualizing data for news is the focus of this episode of Stats and Stories with guest Harry Stevens. H…

For some people, shopping for clothes can feel like a step into Dante’s Inferno, all suffering and punishment. Even for those that do enjoy shopping it can hard to find something that fits well. The data for size is the focus of this episode of Stats+Stories with guest Jordi Prats who recently wrote an article about the issue in Significance Magazi…

By the end of 2023 Bourbon is expected to be an almost 9 billion dollar industry. That’s a lot of mint julips and bourbons neat. But what makes bourbon so appealing, the chemistry behind this drink is the focus of this episode of Stats+Stories with guest Michael Crowder. Dr. Michael Crowder is a Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Dean of t…

Stats educators are continually looking for ways to get students excited about the subject and help them understand all stats can help them do. One high school educator discovered one way to do that was to throw out a standard curriculum and connect lessons more closely to student interests. That's the focus of this episode of stats and stories wit…

How do you learn about what's going on in the world? Did a news headline grab your attention? Did a news story report on recent research? What do you need to know to be a critical consumer of the news you read? If you are looking to start developing your data self-defense and critical news consumption skills, this book is for you! It reflects a lon…

It's been 70 years since Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay summited Mount Everest. Since then hundreds of people attempt to climb the mountain each year. Many of those climbers are injured during their attempts. And during the 2023 climbing season 17 people died. Preparing for Everest takes years of training. Though there's disagreement among mount…

It’s been almost two years since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine with the UN estimating that more than 27,000 civilians of Ukraine have been killed or injured in the conflict. Tens of thousands of Ukrainian troops have been killed or injured while Russian forces have suffered over half a million casualties. The current situation has many wo…

14 percent of the world’s coral has been lost since 2009, according to a report from the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network. The loss of these reefs impacts the ocean environment. Coral Reefs support almost 30 percent of marine life as well as the world economy. The plight of coral reefs is the subject of the documentary Chasing Coral who’s lead …

More than 117-million people will be forced from their homes or stateless in 20-23 according to the United Nations Refugee Agency – that’s more people than live in the entire country of Turkey. Already vulnerable, refugees, asylum seekers, and displaced persons often experience human rights violations. The data of the human rights of displaced pers…

How do you learn about what's going on in the world? Did a news headline grab your attention? Did a news story report on recent research? What do you need to know to be a critical consumer of the news you read? If you are looking to start developing your data self-defense and critical news consumption skills, this book is for you! It reflects a lon…

While Edgar Alan Poe reported that the raven quoth, “nevermore,” crows may respond with, “more likely” when forced to choose between two options. That’s according to our guest on this episode of Stats+Stories Dr. Melissa JohnstonDr. Melissa Johnston is a neurobiologist from New Zealand who investigates complex cognition in birds. Following the comp…

After producing hundreds of episodes we have lots of data lying around. Data we made available to you, asking you to crunch the numbers for a contest that told the story of our podcast. The winner of that contest Nicole Mark joins us today on Stats+Stories.Nicole Mark is a visual learner and communicator who found her passion in the field of data v…

Brazil’s 2022 census shows its population is well over 203 million people with the most populace states in the southern part of the country. The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics is responsible for the nation's census, as well as the gathering of other official statistics. Today three members of IBGE are joining us for this episode of…

The history of statistics is filled with interesting facts about the development of the field and stories of the people who helped shape it. A new column at CHANCE magazine will explore the history of stats which is the focus of this episode of Stats+Stories with guest Chiatra NagarajaChaitra Nagaraja is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Exete…

This contest is a call for lesson plans that make use of the Stats + Stories podcasts. The lesson plan should include the appropriate materials needed by both students and teachers.As examples, a good lesson plan might include: instructions for the students to carry out the activity, instructor tips, learning objectives, time to complete the activi…

A number of organizations in the United States focus on statistics education, and now you can add the U.S. Congress to the list. A bill introduced in the house earlier this year seeks to help support and improve stats education for both Pre-K through 12, as well as higher education. It is also the focus of this episode of stats and stories with gue…

Women’s World Cup action in Austrailia and New Zealand has wrapped up and Spain’s been crowned the champion. After players and fans headed home, residents were left to clean up after them. Hosts of such tournaments are also left to tackle the human rights implications of hosting an event that massive. The human rights impacts of something like the …

How do you learn about what's going on in the world? Did a news headline grab your attention? Did a news story report on recent research? What do you need to know to be a critical consumer of the news you read? If you are looking to start developing your data self-defense and critical news consumption skills, this book is for you! It reflects a lon…

Matthew Shearing is a private sector consultant working globally in partnership with the public, private and not-for-profit sectors on improving official statistics and other data systems, Monitoring and Evaluation, and embedding official statistics standards in wider international development.David Stern is a Mathematical Scientist and Educator. H…

Natalie Shlomo is Professor of Social Statistics since joining the faculty in September 2012. She was the head of the Department of Social Statistics (2014-2017). Her research interests are in topics related to survey statistics and survey methodology. She is the UK principle investigator for several collaborative grants from the 7th Framework Prog…

Tim Macuga joined the QUT Centre for Data Science at the start of 2022 where he expands connections and amplifies research for the Centre and for the Australian Data Science Network.Before he joined CDS, Tim served as Media and Communications Officer for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers (ACEMS). There, he led …

Communicating facts about science well, is an art. Especially if you are trying to reach an audience outside your area of expertise. A statistician in Norway however, is convinced that how you say something is just as important as what you say when it comes to science communication. That topic is the focus of this episode of Stats+Stories with gues…

Kelly Spoon a tenured faculty member at San Diego Mesa College. She teaches mathematics and statistics within the Mathematics department. She’s had a number of different roles on campus and within my department, including STEM Professional Learning Coordinator and is involved in statistics education and focused on culturally responsive teaching. Am…

The Consortium for the Advancement of Undergraduate Statistics Education, aka CAUSE has held the United States Conference on teaching statistics, also known as USCOTS every other year since 2005. This conference enables teachers of statistics to exchange ideas and discover how to improve their teaching. The theme of this year's conference was commu…