UCLA Department of Statistics

Statistical Moments, Spring-Summer 2010 Edition Released

The Spring/Summer 2010 edition of the department's newsletter, Statistical Moments is now available.

Articles in it include:

• Greetings from the Chair
• Department's Vision Brings Census At School Program to the U.S.
• JSM 2010 Presentations
• Mark S. Handcock Appointed Professor of Statistics
• Foreign Exchange Programs
• Department Profiles: Jennifer Ono and Vivian Lew Commencement 2010
• Awards Granted to Department Members
• Recent Papers
• Online Site for Giving

Back issues can be found at http://moments.stat.ucla.edu/back_issues.html.

To receive the newsletter release dates by e-mail, join the Moments mailing list.

Department's Vision Helps Start a Major International Program for the Promotion of Statistical Literacy in Schools in the United States

In the Summer of 2008, with a small amount of funds gathered from the office of the Dean, miscellaneous sponsors, including the Department, and a lot of hard work, we managed to bring to UCLA the major stakeholders of the Census at School international program for children together with representatives of the American Statistical Association and the United States Census Bureau for Census at School's 2nd Annual Workshop. At the time, it was only a wish that this collaboration would result in the adoption of the CensusAtSchool program in the United States. For many years, it was not even considered in the country.

We are glad to announce that our effort in preparing that workshop has paid off. This year, 2010, the American Statistical Association started Census at School in the United States. As reported in Amstats News of April 2010, in the section: "The Origin of the U.S. Census at School:", (http://magazine.amstat.org/2010/04/censusatschool/)

"The genesis for the idea of a U.S. Census at School program began at a workshop at UCLA in 2008 organized by Juana Sanchez. At this workshop, participants developed an understanding of each country's program and experiences in creating, promoting, and maintaining Census at School. In 2009 a membership initiative was submitted to the ASA Board of Directors to develop a Census at School pilot project for the United States. The ASA's Committee on International Relations in Statistics submitted the initiative, with strong backing from ASA members Cynthia Clark and Katherine Wallman. The ASA Board of Directors enthusiastically decided to fund it. ThePopulation Association of America gave additional funding; PAA is partnering with ASA on the project through its Committee on Population Statistics, chaired by Linda Gage."

The acknowledgement is an indication of how far a small amount of money can go if we think strategically and outside the box. The vision of our department in supporting a workshop whose outcome was unknown, running a small risk, is only an indication of the creativity of our department in placing itself in the national campaign for the promotion of statistical literacy. When we don't have funds to initiate major initiatives, we bring together those who have those funds and outreach to do it. Imagine what the Department could do with more funds.

Please consider giving to the department, so we can continue innovating, at: http://giving.ucla.edu/statistics

Contributed by Juana Sanchez

Irina Kukuyeva Receives the NASA Graduate Student Researchers Program Followship

First Student Exchange Program Created Between UCLA Statistics and University College London (UCL)

We are pleased to announce the establishment of the department's first student exchange program with the University College London (UCL).

The initial five year agreement (2010-2015) establishes a framework enabling the two institutions to pursue mutually beneficial academic and research collaborations.

"Each institution will screen exchange student applicants consistent with its respective procedures and recommend the most suitable student applicants to the other institution. The deadline for UCLA students applying to study at UCL is March 31 for admission in September, and September 30 for admission in January.

UCLA students applying to study at UCL must provide a completed application form, two academic references, and a verification that the applicant meets the minimum GPA requirement of 3.3.

The period of exchange will not exceed one academic year (summer excluded), and shall not be for purposes of obtaining a degree at the host institution. While at the host institution, exchange students are expected to take a full academic course load."[1]

Other exchange programs are being developed with Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona and Lermontow Moscow State University. Please visit our exchange webpage for updates.

For any questions regarding the exchange program, please contact Hongquan Xu.

[1] From the Student Exchange Agreement.

Mark S. Handcock Appointed Professor of Statistics

It gives us great pleasure to announce the appointment of Mark S. Handcock as Professor of Statistics.

Mark has made significant, influential, contributions to environmental and spatial statistics, economic mobility, social networks, computational statistics, survey sampling, demography, and health statistics.

Mark comes from the University of Washington where he has been chair since 2007 and on the faculty since 2000.

The appointment, which fills a senior position left vacant since Richard Berk's retirement in 2006, restores the department's commitment to social statistics and strengthens its commitment to environmental statistics.

Immediate effects of the appointment are the formation of the Center of Social Statistics in collaboration with Social Sciences and resumed collaboration with the Institute of the Environment. Additionally, relations with the Center of Embedded Network Sensing may be strengthened.

Mark is Fellow of the American Statistical Association.

Jessica Jaynes Receives the Ott Scholarship

We would like to congratulate Jessica Jaynes who has received the American Society for Quality's 2009 Ellis R. Ott Scholarship for Applied Statistics and Quality Management.

"The scholarship recipient must be a student who is planning to enroll or is currently enrolled in a masters degree or higher level US or Canadian program that has a concentration in applied statistics and/or quality management. Complete scholarship information and additional criteria are included in the application and instructions."[1]

[1] http://www.asqstatdiv.org/awards.htm

First Volume of Journal of Environmental Statistics Published

We are pleased to announce the publication of the first volume of the Journal of Environmental Statistics. The editors-in-chief of the journal are Rick Paik-Schoenberg and Nicolas Christou.

The mission of the journal is: (from the website)

"The Journal of Environmental Statistics' purpose is to contribute to the development of statistical techniques aimed at addressing questions related to environmental data. In particular, we encourage papers devoted to the development of computational methods and models for spatial and spatial-temporal data, especially point process and geostatistical data. Of special interest also is the incorporation of geographic information systems software. Important areas of application include environmental disturbances such as earthquakes, wildfires, hurricanes, and volcanic eruptions, as well as problems relating to air pollution, climate change, water quality, mining, oceanography, geology, and meteorology. Emphasis is on applied statistics and it is expected that published papers will be of practical use for researchers working in the environmental sciences."

The issues of the first volume are:

• Estimating Oil Spill Occurrence Rates: A Case Study for Outer Continental Shelf Areas of Gulf of Mexico
  Ted G. Eschenbach, William V. Harper, Cheryl M. Anderson, R. Prentki
  Vol. 1, Issue 1, Feb 2010
  Submitted 2009-03-10, Accepted 2009-11-24
  Url: http://www.jenvstat.org/v01/i01
  Paper: http://www.jenvstat.org/v01/i01/paper
• Diagnostics for Nonparametric Estimation in Space-Time Seismic Processes
  Giada Adelfio, Marcello Chiodi
  Vol. 1, Issue 2, Feb 2010
  Submitted 2009-11-02, Accepted 2009-12-22
  Url: http://www.jenvstat.org/v01/i02
  Paper: http://www.jenvstat.org/v01/i02/paper
• Exponentiated Gumbel Distribution for Estimation of Return Levels of Significant Wave Height
  Klara Persson, Jesper Rydén
  Vol. 1, Issue 3, Feb 2010
  Submitted 2008-11-25, Accepted 2009-12-19
  Url: http://www.jenvstat.org/v01/i03
  Paper: http://www.jenvstat.org/v01/i03/paper
• Mining and Heavy Metal Pollution: Assessment of Aquatic Environments in Tarkwa (Ghana) using Multivariate Statistical Analysis
  Armah Frederick Ato, Obiri Samuel, Yawson David Oscar, Pappoe Alex Nii Moi, Bismark Akoto
  Vol. 1, Issue 4, Feb 2010
  Submitted 2008-08-12, Accepted 2009-11-10
  Url: http://www.jenvstat.org/v01/i04
  Paper: http://www.jenvstat.org/v01/i04/paper
• Practical Geostatistics Case Studies 2009
  Reviewed by David Zes
  Vol. 1, Book Review 1, Feb 2010
  Submitted 2009-12-12, Accepted 2009-12-12
  Url: http://www.jenvstat.org/v01/b01
  Paper: http://www.jenvstat.org/v01/b01/paper

Undergraduate Major Does Research Abroad

Undergraduate statistics major Max Schneider spent four months this year working on a statistics research project with Serge Guillas at University College London (UCL) in London, England.

In his own words, Max worked on a project to "statistically validate the effectiveness of international measures such as the Montreal Protocol in promoting recovery and health in the ozone layer. In order to answer such a complex question, I used a variety of climate models (mostly chemistry transport models) under different emissions scenarios: one in which emissions of CFCs were equal to current levels (that is, a scenario under the Montreal Protocol) and one in which emissions of CFCs stayed at the levels on the 1980s before the Protocol's passage in 1987 (that is, a scenario without the MP). The climate models employed included MOZART (http://www.acd.ucar.edu/gctm/mozart/), the Community Atmosphere Model (http://www.ccsm.ucar.edu/models/atm-cam/), both of which are 3-dimensional, and a 2-dimensional model from the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign. Later, I performed principal component analysis on the outputted ozone values, as well as doing some functional data analysis. Unfortunately, I could not finish the project entirely while in London because of tremendous issues porting the code of MOZART onto the platform I was using (a supercomputer named Legion: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/research-computing/information/services/cluster). But I learned a huge amount about statistical computing and environmental/climate statistics that I hope to take with me to future endeavors."

Max helped inaugurate a formal exchange agreement between UCL and UCLA. Beginning next year, undergraduates from these institutions will be able to spend a year abroad and get course credit for classes taken at the partner institution.

Two Statistics Majors Win Summer Internships

Two Statistics Majors have won spots in competitive summer internship programs for undergraduates.

Rose Putler will be attending the Summer Institute for Training in Biostatistics at the University of Pittsburgh. The Institute emphasizes collaborative research, cardiovascular health, and minority populations.

Stephanie Finck is currently an intern at Bovitz Research Group, a marketing research firm. She's responsible for survey programming and checking, designing and checking data tabulations, designing and creating reports for presentations, as well as other responsibilities.

UCLA Statistics' Blended Instruction Cited by 2009 WASC Review

The instructional work of Dr. Mahtash Esfandiari incorporating a blend of in-class instruction and Moodle's Quiz Tool has been cited in UCLA's 2009 WASC[1] (Western Association of Schools and Colleges) reaccreditation review.

Dr. Esfandiari's work is cited as part of UCLA's third accreditation phase in the report "Educational Effectiveness Review"[3]. The history, description, and results of Dr. Esfandiari's experiment are given in essay D of the report[4]. Some of the highlights of the essay:

• Winter 2005, Dr. Mahtash Esfandiari (Senior Lecturer in Statistics) extensively redesigned Statistics 10 by using online quizzes, weekly labs, and homework to maximize students' roles as active learners, and minimize their roles as passive recipients of information.
• Moodle's Quiz Tool function allowed Dr. Esfandiari to develop an automated test bank of nearly 1,500 multiple-choice statistics questions that engage students' higher order thinking skills, including application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.
• The first quiz is administered via Moodle the day after lecture, prior to the week's discussion section in order to measure student comprehension of lecture material. Teaching assistants have the ability to monitor student progress online, allowing future instruction and discussion to be tailored to the strengths and weakness of students' quiz results. They can also assess which students are progressing similarly and create compatible small groups for in-class discussions. This allows the teaching assistant to focus on the groups' needs more efficiently and encourages students to discuss their misconceptions as a group, thus further developing their knowledge through peer collaboration.
• After students attend the week's discussion section, the second quiz is administered via Moodle. This quiz addresses the same concepts as the first quiz by using similar questions from the test bank, which are easily identifiable through the test bank's search function.
• An experimental study was designed to investigate the educational effectiveness of blending standard in-class teaching methods with Moodle's Quiz Tool when teaching introductory statistics to a large group of students (100 or more). For the purpose of this study, educational effectiveness was defined by a student's ability to apply statistical principles to solve or interpret real world questions versus simply mastering statistical formulas. This included the ability for higher order thinking such as application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.
• At the end of the term, students from both the experimental and control groups were surveyed about their impressions of how, and why, they developed understanding throughout the course. Attendance, homework, student interactions, active learning, memorization, knowledge application, and critical thinking elements were all addressed. Students also completed a final examination to assess learning outcomes that ranged from solving mathematical equations to evaluating real world cases.
• Overall, the findings supported Dr. Esfandiari's premise that blended instruction would foster student reflection and self-generated learning and lead to higher order thinking. For example, students from the experimental and control groups performed equally well when asked to respond to open-ended questions that related to hypothesis testing calculations. However, experimental group students performed much better than control group students on open-ended questions that related to the Central Limit Theorem, which involved analysis and evaluation. When control group students responded to these questions they were able to use the correct statistical terminology to describe the problem, but they were unable to elaborate on what the terminology meant.

About WASC

The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) is one of the six regional accrediting associations in the United States. WASC was formed on July 1, 1962, to evaluate and accredit schools, colleges, and universities in California, Hawaii, the territories of Guam, American Samoa, Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of Palau, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. WASC functions through a board of directors and three accrediting commissions: the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities, the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, and the Accrediting Commission for Schools. The board of directors consists of nine members, with each accrediting commission electing three members.

Each commission, with the involvement of all participating institutions, develops its own standards, proce- dures, and fiscal policies, under the authority and subject to the approval of the WASC board of directors. The accreditation actions of each commission are certified annually by the board of directors of WASC. Accredi- tation ceases whenever an institution fails to pay its annual fees, requests in writing that its accreditation be withdrawn, or when the Commission formally acts to terminate accreditation.

About WASC Accreditation

"UCLA aims to use the reaccreditation process to highlight and enhance ongoing efforts to improve our educational effectiveness. An effective process requires a high level of cooperation and collaboration among students, faculty, and administrators. Together, we engage in reflection and self-study, and then apply the insights gained to refining our goals and strengthening our programs. A variety of qualitative and quantitative data inform these endeavors."[2]

The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) is the regional organization that provides umbrella accreditation for UCLA as a whole, through its Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities. This site displays the plans, processes, data, analyses and reports associated with UCLA's reaccreditation by WASC.

To become or remain accredited, institutions must meet WASC Standards and satisfy WASC Criteria for Review. Accreditation confers a variety of benefits, especially the right to administer federal financial aid. The accreditation process is described in detail in WASC's Handbook of Accreditation. The Policies Manual provides additional information.

[1] http://www.wascsenior.org/
[2] http://www.wasc.ucla.edu/approach.shtml
[3] http://www.wasc.ucla.edu/2009effectiveness.shtml
[4] http://www.wasc.ucla.edu/EER_EssayD.pdf

New Online Calendars

The department has updated its online workgroup calendaring system. You can see the calendars being served at http://calendars.stat.ucla.edu. Two calendars are presently listed:

• Department Office — http://wikis.stat.ucla.edu/groups/office/calendar/

  The Office calendar is where you can find dates posted for office closures, staff schedule, department events.

• Instructional Labs — http://calendars.stat.ucla.edu/groups/labs/calendar/

  The Labs calendar lists the department's teaching labs' schedule (currently located at 9413 Boelter Hall). All teaching and special events being conducted at the labs are posted here.

New. Improved. Support Pages

The technical (formerly known as Support) and academic knowledge-bases of the department have been combined into a single wiki. Answers[1] is the one-stop location for finding answers to departmental questions.

New features include: keyword and content search, list by recent changes, RSS article tracking, and a mobile phone interface.

Articles include: Taking the Oral Exam, Computation and Data Set Management Guidelines, For the Web: Start Here.

You can explore these and other articles at Answers[1].

[1] http://answers.stat.ucla.edu