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World Statistics Day

World Statistics Day. United Nations: World Statistics Day 2010. The UN Secretary-General : ‘World Statistics Day, proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly to recognize the importance of statistics in shaping our societies. Statistics permeate modern life...’

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World Statistics Day

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  1. World Statistics Day Timo Alanko timo.alanko@stat.fi

  2. United Nations: World Statistics Day 2010 • The UN Secretary-General: ‘World Statistics Day, proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly to recognize the importance of statistics in shaping our societies. Statistics permeate modern life...’ • United Nations Statistics Division: ‘Celebrating the many contributions and achievements of official statistics’. • Both go on mainly about social, economic and environmental figures, the way they are produced and used, i.e. official statistics. • Note: There is no mention of statistics, as a scientific discipline or craft, permeating modern science and technology!

  3. Celebrating official statistics • Official statistics are, indeed, well worth celebrating… • Quantifying our social, economic, health, environmental etc surroundings. Used in politics, policies, governance, by citizens • Improved production, dissemination, quality, ethics • Dissemination: modern portals • Finland: Statistics Finland, Findikaattori, SVT... • Other nations - as above • Europe: Eurostat, ECB, UN/ECE … etc • World: UNSD, OECD, IMF, … IPCC….etc • Have a brief look at how we got there - Hacking(1990)

  4. Celebrating the achievements of statistical science • Official Statistics - statistics(o) vs Statistical Science - statistics(s) • Statistics(s) is an academic discipline or profession or even art balanced between (i) applications/data, (ii) mathematics/probability and (iii) computation/IT • In science and technology statistics(s) has become as omnipresent as statistics(o) in society. • Statistics(s) is embedded in economics, demography, social sciences, psychology, education,…,medicine, biology, microbiology, genetics, geology, meteorology, engineering (of all kinds),…you name it! • And … there is researchand development in statistics(s)

  5. Connections between statistics(o) & -(s) • Statistics(o) uses statistics(s) in production • ex. quality control, seasonal adjustment, imputation... • Statistics(s) uses [data] from statistics(o) extensively • ex. Economic models, population forecasts... • There are statisticians working in both statistics(o) & (s) • Yet, the main connections (at present) appear to be institutional: • Statistical societies (national), e.g. The Finnish Statistical Society • International Statistical Institute (ISI) • Q: Who is celebrating also statistics(s) on October 20, 2010? • A: Statistical societies: ASA, RSS, ... and FDPSS today!

  6. The Finnish Statistical Society • Founded in 1920 (one of the oldest scientific societies in F.) • Membership 400, statisticians, statistical professionals, both o&s. • Main activities: short seminars, annual Statistical Days, a yearbook, Leo Törnqvist price. • Next short (afternoon) seminar 28.10. ‘Developments in statistical software’ • Next statistical days 30.-31.5. Theme: ‘Population: migration and aging’ Keynote speakers: Joel E. Cohen, Juha Alho • See our web page: www.tilastoseura.fi • Please join us! Membership only € 20 a year.

  7. Reference • Hacking, Ian (1990), The taming of chance, Cambridge University Press.

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