STATS MATTERS & EVENTS

30 July 2020

Dear {Contact_First_Name}, 

My name is Jessica Kasza, and I’m the Society’s new President. I’ve recorded a short video introducing myself, which you can watch here.

On behalf of the entire Society, I would like to thank Adrian Barnett for his incredible leadership of the Society over the past two years. Adrian has worked tirelessly for the Society, and has strived to ensure that our Society is welcoming and inclusive. I hope to continue his work, ensuring that our Society, and the statistical community in Australia more broadly, is welcoming, inclusive, and respectful.  

 

Please get in touch if you have suggestions for our Society. You can reach me at president@statsoc.org.au.

Don’t forget our virtual AGM, taking place on Tuesday August 4, 5:30pm AEST, to be followed by a talk by the RSS President, Professor Deborah Ashby.

I hope to see you there!

Jess

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Seeking input from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members on the creation of an Indigenous STEM Professionals network

Science and Technology Australia (STA), of which SSA is a member, is working on its inaugural STA Reconciliation Action Plan. This work has been led by STA’s RAP Working Group. It comprises Quandamooka First Nations man and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mathematics Alliance Chair Professor Chris Matthews, Kamilaroi man and Deadly Science founder Corey Tutt, STA’s equity, diversity and inclusion committee co-chair Associate Professor Sumeet Walia, EDI committee member and CEO at AeRO Sam Moskwa, and Misha Schubert as STA CEO. 

The STA is seeking the input of Indigenous members of SSA on the creation of an Indigenous STEM Professionals network. Any Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander members of SSA who are interested in having input into the development of this network or being contacted about this network are invited to get in touch with Marie-Louise Rankin before August 10.  

Apply to become one of Australia’s Superstars of STEM

The search is about to begin for Australia’s next constellation of Superstars of STEM.

Science & Technology Australia created #SuperstarsofSTEM in 2017. This trailblazing program builds a critical mass of high-profile women scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians to serve as role models to inspire young women and girls into STEM. It aims to smash society’s gender assumptions about STEM careers – and lift the public visibility of women in STEM – to make gains towards more equal media representation of women in STEM.

Over the first three years of the program, Science & Technology Australia have developed the profiles of 90 women in STEM. These women acquired advanced communication skills and exciting opportunities to use these skills in the media, on stage and speaking with Parliamentary and industry decision-makers.

Science & Technology Australia are  launching the search to find their next 60 Superstars of STEM to be part of another brilliant and diverse cohort for 2021-22. Applications open on 4 August. Apply by August 31.


News from the Bayesian Section

There are some conferences coming up soon that will be run wholly online: the 14th International Conference in Monte Carlo & Quasi-Monte Carlo Methods in Scientific Computing (MCQMC) will be held from August 9-14. StanCon will be a 24-hour event, held on August 13, for those interested in the Stan software for Bayesian computation. Also, the Bayesian Young Statisticians Meeting: Online (BAYSM:O) to be held online from November 17-18, 2020. Our update includes some brief reviews of the book “Bayesian Probability for Babies” and the software packages JASP and Jamovi.

Read more

Statistics + X: what's your X?

The SSA National Statistics Poster Competition encourages teams to develop, implement and creatively report upon an investigation on any topic of interest to them (the 'X')... for prizes!

Form teams of 2 to 5 participants (of any ages and relationship*) and conduct a small-scale version of a real-world investigation, developing core STEM and cross-functional skills Create an informative e-poster presentation communicating your investigation clearly, concisely and creatively and utilising quantitative comparisons, displays and analysis.

Submissions received before 15 August 2020 will go into the draw for a special National Science Week $100 prize.

All submissions received prior to 10 November 2020 will be eligible for the grand prize ($400) and runner-up prizes ($100) - which may be split in the event of multiple winners.

To register for the Community Division:

SIGN IN/REGISTER

(*Teams can be comprised of families, friends, relatives, associates, etc. from within the same, or across multiple, households. We aim to inspire interest from adults who may wish to collaborate with their family and children on a project, or who may enjoy such pursuits but lack the conduit to explore or have their ideas heard.)

Join us for the following webinar:

Random Effects Inference in Linear Mixed Models: The good, the bad, and the misspecified

held on Friday, 25 September 2020 at 12:00PM AEST via Zoom, exclusively for members of SSA.

This event is presented by Francis K.C. Hui and Alan H. Welsh (Research School of Finance, Actuarial Studies & Statistics, Australian National University) and their talk is a culmination of two projects on the topic of random effects inference in linear mixed models.

For the abstract, for additional information and to register click on the button below.

Click here

Media from recent SSA Vic events are now available online, in case you missed them, or would like to relive them:

Mentoring Evening

Audio   Video 

'The Eye of the Beholder' : Regression Coefficients & Mechanical Objectivity in Public Health Research  

Audio        Video       Slides 

ACSPRI's Courses – Calendar out now for second half of 2020

ACSPRI (Australian Consortium for Social and Political Research Incorporated) programs are designed to cater for fundamental, changing and emerging research strategies, and to serve a wide variety of needs for training and professional development within the academic, public and private sectors. Our courses cater not only for researchers in the social and political sciences, but also in areas such as behavioural, health and medical sciences, policy research, education, economics, epidemiology, law, management, marketing, public relations and human resource management.

Here are just some of the courses on offer:

Structural Equation Modelling using Stata: Online 20-22 August (Fri-Sat) 

NVivo Essentials: Online 3-4 September (2nd course)

Collecting, Managing and Analysing Qualitative INTERVIEW Data: Online 10-11 September  (2nd course)

Foundations of R for Research: Online 11-12 September

Questionnaire Design: Online 8-9 October

Visit ACSPRI’s Event Calendar page for upcoming programs, courses and other relevant events.

Great news! We now have an app to help you stay connected

Staying in touch has been difficult for all of us during this pandemic. Download the Wild Apricot Members app and sign in with the same email address and password for your SSA account.


This app helps you:

  • Interact with fellow members anywhere from your mobile device
  • Register and make payments for events
  • View all existing event registrations
  • Update your member profile, including your address, phone and email
  • View your membership card


Scan QR Code to download OR click on one of the buttons below

Going to a conference/workshop this year? Check out the SSA Canberra young statisticians "rego" grant!

SSA Canberra is inviting young statisticians from the ACT and regional NSW, who are planning to attend a conference/workshop/short course in a field related to statistics or data science, to apply for financial support in the form of a "SSA Canberra registration grant". SSA Canberra will award an amount up to $200 AUD per successful application. 

Please click here for more information!

Entries for 2020 are now open for the

SSA National Schools Poster Competition (NSPC)

The SSA National Schools Poster Competition is a fun, project-based learning activity which encourages primary and secondary school students to develop, implement and creatively report upon an investigation on any topic of interest to them (the 'X')... for great prizes!

Students conduct small-scale versions of real-world investigations in teams, developing core STEM and cross-functional skills. They create an informative e-poster presentation communicating their investigation clearly, concisely and creatively.

The competition is judged in five divisions: one for each of Stages 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.

Select a Stage and Discipline within this excel file to see how the NSPC maps to and supports the national curriculum. The NSPC also addresses all 8 of the cross-curriculum outcomes.

Check out the NSPC website here.

And please help us to promote this competition by passing on the information about this fabulous event to your colleagues, your children’s school and anybody else who may be interested.

Data Science contacts across Australia- Can you help?

We would like to compile a list with statistical/data-science contacts. If you have a contact list that you could share, of if you would simply like to add your own details to the list, please contact me. Thank you!

Marie-Louise Rankin
SSA Executive Officer

You are invited: SSA and ASPAI AGMs - 4 August 2020

The 2020 Annual General Meetings of the Statistical Society of Australia, Inc and the Australian Statistical Publishing Association Inc will be held on Tuesday, 4 August 2020 from 5:30 pm to 6:15 pm via Zoom.

The SSA and ASPAI AGMs are available to members of SSA only. Please use the registration link below to indicate your attendance. You do not need to register separately for the talk  immediately following the AGMs.

This year’s AGMs will be followed by a presentation from RSS President, Professor Deborah Ashby at 6:15 pm. Professor Ashby is the Director of the School of Public Health at Imperial College London where she holds the Chair in Medical Statistics and Clinical Trials, and was Founding Co-Director of Imperial Clinical Trials Unit.

The title of Professor Ashby’s talk is “Florence Nightingale at 200: using data to improve health from the time of the Crimea to the time of the coronavirus” and the abstract is available on the registration page.

Register here


Tired of surveys but eager to leave feedback? Tell us what you are missing from your SSA membership. Or let us know what we do well. We will listen. 


Contact us

Statistical Society of Australia |  PO Box 213 Belconnen ACT 2616 Australia 

02 6251 3647 | www.statsoc.org.au