Stats + Stories

What do farmers in Kenya, fishers in the Philippines and teenagers in Boston have in common? They all need to balance risks when making decisions ranging from seed choice after considering predicted rainfall to life vest and chance of shark attacks to social distancing and emotional impacts. Understand risk is the focus of today’s episode of Stats+Stories with guest Tracey Brown.  Brown is the director of Sense about Science since 2002. Under her leadership, the charity has translated the case for sound science and evidence into popular campaigns to urge scientific thinking among the public and the people who answer to them. It has launched important initiatives including AllTrials, a global campaign for the reporting of all clinical trial outcomes; and the Ask for Evidence campaign, which engages the public in requesting evidence for claims. In 2010, the Times named Tracey as one of the ten most influential figures in science policy in Britain and in 2014 she was recognized by the Science Council for her work on evidence-based policy making. In June 2017 Tracey was made an OBE for services to science, and most recently in 2020 she was made an honorary Professor at UCL in the Department of Science, Technology and Engineering in Public Policy. She is also the author of a recent article in Significance magazine describing “What is risk know-how?”

What does 2022 have in common with 2018 and 2026? What is special about 2023? These years include a month where work productivity will be reduced in many countries around the world. Each year will have a month when attention is split between work email and the most beautiful game. The World Cup once again draws the attention and passion of much of the world. Today’s episode focuses on the economics of global sporting events with guest Adam Beissel. Beissel is a professor of sports leadership and management at Miami University. His primary research interests include: the political economy of Sport Mega-Events; Global Politics of International Sport; Sport Stadiums and Urban Development; Social and Economic (in)justice in College Sport; Sports Labor Markets and Global Athletic Migration. Beissel is currently working on two interconnected and interdisciplinary research projects critically examining the cultural and political economies of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup joint hosted by Australia and New Zealand and the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup joint hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

In this special episode of Stats+Stories we announce our new guest host Regina Nuzzo, a professor at Gallaudet University and freelance Science writer, who will be joining us for the next couple of months. We will also be looking back at some of our favorite interviews from the past 12 months from the likes of... Michelle Cardel - What is Nutrition Science - https://statsandstories.net/health1/what-is-nutrition-science Timandra Harkness - The Data Economy - https://statsandstories.net/society1/the-data-economy Sander van der Linden - Conspiracy Dissemination Dilemma - https://statsandstories.net/society1/conspiracy-dissemination-dilemma Mike Orkin - The Stats of Skill vs. the Stories of Chance - https://statsandstories.net/society1/the-stats-of-skill-vs-the-stories-of-chance

Erik van Zwet (@erikvanzwet) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Data Sciences of the Leiden University Medical Center where he has been since 2009. He joined the school wanting to do more applied work in the areas of statistics and data analysis and has since published a paper in Significance Magazine which was the focus of our previous episode.

Most articles that appear in academic journals are kind of mundane in that they’re extending the work of scholars who have come before, or sometimes taking an old theory in a new direction. There are those moments however, when a piece of research holds the possibility of fundamentally remaking a field. How should those articles be handled? What’s the ethical way to review such research? That’s the focus of this episode of Stats and Stories with guest Andrew German. Andrew Gelman (@StatModeling) is a professor of statistics and political science, and director of the Applied Statistics Center at Columbia University. His research interests include voting behavior and outcomes, campaign polling, criminal justice issues, social network structure, and statistical and research methods. He has received the Outstanding Statistical Application award three times from the American Statistical Association, the award for best article published in the American Political Science Review, and the Council of Presidents of Statistical Societies award for outstanding contributions by a person under the age of 40. Timestamps Could you just describe what a big if true article is? (1:37), Editor motivations and making a splash (9:00), How can reviewers be better? (12:47), Attributing credit in this new post publishing review system (15:21), Why you felt compelled to start your ethics article (18:43), Changing thoughts? (25:03)

In the United States, like many countries, middle-aged and older workers are increasingly a larger proportion of the workforce. The needs of these workers is different than those you are younger and can run the gamut from educational to health needs. That's the focus of this episode of Stats+Stories with guests Takashi‌ ‌Yamashita‌ and Phyllis A. Cummins Takashi‌ ‌Yamashita‌ ‌‌is‌ ‌an‌ ‌associate‌ ‌professor‌ ‌of‌ ‌sociology,‌ ‌and‌ ‌a‌ ‌faculty‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌Gerontology‌ ‌Ph.D.‌ ‌program‌ ‌and‌ ‌the‌ ‌Center‌ ‌for‌ ‌Aging‌ ‌Studies‌ ‌at‌ ‌University‌ ‌of‌ ‌Maryland,‌ ‌Baltimore‌ ‌County (UMBC).‌ ‌He‌ ‌also‌ ‌has‌ ‌a‌ ‌secondary‌ ‌appointment‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌Department‌ ‌of‌ ‌Epidemiology‌ ‌and‌ ‌Public‌ ‌Health‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌School‌ ‌of‌ ‌Medicine,‌ ‌and‌ ‌serves‌ ‌as‌ ‌an‌ ‌affiliate‌ ‌member‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌Center‌ ‌for‌ ‌Research‌ ‌on‌ ‌Aging‌ ‌at‌ ‌the‌ ‌University‌ ‌of‌ ‌Maryland,‌ ‌Baltimore‌ ‌(UMB).‌ ‌His‌ ‌areas‌ ‌of‌ ‌research‌ ‌are‌ ‌social‌ ‌determinants‌ ‌of‌ ‌health‌ ‌and‌ ‌well-being‌ ‌over‌ ‌the‌ ‌life‌ ‌course,‌ ‌health‌ ‌literacy,‌ ‌wider‌ ‌benefits‌ ‌of‌ ‌lifelong‌ ‌learning,‌ ‌gerontology‌ ‌education‌ ‌and‌ ‌social‌ ‌statistics‌ ‌education.‌ ‌ Phyllis A. Cummins is a Senior Research Scholar Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology & Gerontology at the Scripps Gerontology Center here at Miami University. Her research interests include work and retirement transitions, education and training for older workers, publicly sponsored employment and training programs, the role community colleges play in education and training for older adult

A randomized controlled trial is viewed as the golden standard in medical research, particularly as it relates to treatments or interventions. But there may be pitfalls to trusting that approach too much. That's the focus of this episode of Stats and Stories with guest Erik van Zwet. -Timestamps- What is a RCT? (1:15), What are characteristic of a well designed trial? (2:00), How did you get interested in this research?(3:45), Data you obtained from Cochrane Database? 5:18), Power and how you got results (7:05), How does affect the laymen (9:49), Coverage of RCTs (12:00), Trends of exaggeration (14:17), What goes into exaggeration? (16:54), What needs to be done? (18:56), Across other fields (21:58) Erik van Zwet (@erikvanzwet) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Data Sciences of the Leiden University Medical Center where he has been since 2009. He joined the school wanting to do more applied work in the areas of statistics and data analysis and has since published multiple papers in Significance Magazine including the main focus of today’s episode, “Addressing exaggeration of effects from single RCTs”.

Cities are places where continuity and change co-exist. History shapes neighborhoods and the relationships between them, while economic forces can reshape a city’s landscape and skyline. In Washington D-C, the friction between continuity and change is ever present. The data and the research that goes into planning such a place is the focus of this episode of Stats and Stories, with guest Andrew Trueblood. Trueblood is a housing, economic development, and land use professional. Between 2018 and 2021, Andrew served as the Director of the DC Office of Planning (DCOP), where he prioritized agency efforts around housing and equity. He shepherded the update of the Comprehensive Plan and led DCOP’s support of the Mayor’s housing efforts. This included a goal of 36,000 new units by 2025, with 12,000 affordable units and area-level affordable housing targets with the goal of achieving a more equitable distribution of affordable housing. Trueblood also championed regional coordination, including through his role as Chair of the Planning Directors Technical Committee at the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, where he helped formulate regional housing targets.

Conner Jackson is a Research Instructor in the Department of Biostatistics and Informatics at the Colorado School of Public Health. He serves as the chair of the Education Committee for the Center for Innovative Design and Analysis and teaches a 6-week short course about statistics and data science to bench scientists. His research focuses on the analysis of correlated data, largely in the context of infectious diseases.

When American comedian and actor Betty White died, fans lamented the fact that she had just missed making it to her 100th birthday. They felt she’d been robbed of achieving a significant life moment. Some researchers think that this century could see more people making it to that moment and beyond. That’s the focus of this episode of Stats and Stories with guest Michael Pearce. Michael Pearce is a PhD candidate in Statistics at the University of Washington, working under the supervision of Elena A. Erosheva. His primary research interests include preference learning and developing Bayesian statistical models for social science problems. In his spare time, Michael enjoys running, biking, and paddling around the Puget Sound.