Search

The article discusses the uncertainty about the rate of unemployment in the U.S., citing in particular the contribution of sampling techniques in this uncertainty.

The author states that not all differences in earnings between genders in the U.S. and Great Britain explain the higher pay of men.

The article reports on the release of several studies which found that it is difficult to convert calories into weight and that the amount of calories needed to cut to reduce weight is lesser than the 3,500 advised by nutritionists.

The article focuses on the prediction of the sales of iPad tablet computer from Apple Inc. by investor Victor Castroll and blogger Daniel Tello in the U.S. on March 19, 2010.

This article examines the economic impact of the February 2010 earthquake in Chile.

The article focuses on methodologies being used for measuring the appeal of celebrities in the U.S., including Q Scores from Marketing Evaluations Inc., to assist entertainment and marketing executives in deciding which celebrity is the best choice for a film role or product endorsement which, according to the author, can produce different results.

The author comments on the difficulty and conflicting results of tracking Web traffic, with Google, Yahoo and Facebook as the top rivals.

The article reports on the milestone round-number thresholds for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) stock price index in the U.S. as of February 2010, which are said to draw attention amid uncertainty over their effect.

The article focuses on the practice of the U.S. Census Bureau of obscuring personal data to protect the privacy of respondents in which results of study describe such practice as excessive that can lead to errors in research.

The article discusses the ranking of a film in the U.S. by looking at box-office revenue and offers insights on the suggested alternative to base ranking on the number of audience.

The author claims that the tally of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of H1N1 cases is incomplete as only a small percentage were reported.

The article reports on the refusal of British bookmaker Ladbrokes to pay graphic designer Cliff Bryant his entire projected winnings of 27 million U.S. dollars in accumulator bets that Great Britain will have a white Christmas in 2009 because it claims the bet was invalid.

The article examines a study conducted by economist Victor Stango on the impact of the scandal created by golfer Tiger Woods on the stock prices of his corporate sponsors. Results of the study show that the scandals cost as much as 12 billion U.S. dollars in wealth destruction. Stango admits that his study experienced problems, one of which is the slow disclosure of the infidelity of Woods. It is said that the statistical power of the study was undermined by using only the sponsors of Woods as basis.

The author discusses the challenges in creating reliable mirth meters, citing studies on happiness as example. He mentions a November 2009 well-being report in which Mississippians were ranked 48th in 50 states, yet an online study ranked it the seventh merriest U.S. state. He notes that a state that has many married, rich people may rank high in happiness but not because its residents have chosen it an ideal place to live. He is concerned that because Americans do not differ much in reporting their satisfaction, it is difficult to tell their happiness.

The article analyzes the claims of several advertisements of health and hygiene products like hand sanitizers that they can kill 99.9% of common bacteria and fungi. Jason Tetro, a microbiologist at the University of Ottawa, explained why hand sanitizers can whitewash actual human usage from their laboratory testing. Meanwhile, advertisers argued that U.S. regulation tends to be restrictive of the claims they make. The order of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for companies making claims for over-the-counter products killing germs is noted.

The article focuses on the imprecision behind a set of numbers in a research on breast-cancer screening conducted by the U. S. Preventive Task Force in which 1,900 women who are 40 years old would need to be screened once a year to save one life. It notes that the 1-out-of-1,900 figure was derived from comparing death rates in women with breast cancer with those who were not. The task force gathered results from several studies, using meta-analysis, to arrive at the figure. The reason why the said figure comes with massive uncertainty is mentioned.

The article focuses on the claim that the number of turkeys that will be eaten on Thanksgiving Day is 46 million and the number of flights taken makes this holiday the busiest travel time of the year in the U.S. The consumption of turkey was estimated by the organizations IBISWorld USA and the National Turkey Federation. Figures from the Department of Transportation (DOT) showed that the busiest days for the airports are during summer vacation.

The article compares the estimated arrest rate in the U.S. based on old and new reports. A 1967 report from the Commission on Law Enforcement and administration of Justice of President Lyndon B. Johnson estimated that 52% of men will be arrested in their lifetime. New studies estimated that the arrest rate for men could stand at about 50%. One recommendation in the said report was to limit the role of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as a main database of crime statistics.

The article looks at the nature of the decision of New England Patriots football team head coach Bill Belichick to let his offense try to win with one play the game with the Indianapolis Colts on November 15, 2009. Such decision led to his team's 35-34 loss. It notes the fact that punting in American football has become the hallmark of sensible coaching. The punt is considered to be a clear indication of surrender and retreat.

The article focuses on the statistical time-machine techniques developed by statisticians to answer various historical hypotheticals. It notes that the techniques were used by law professor Kevin Quinn and Andrew Martin of Washington University in Saint Louis, Missouri to track the ideological evolution of the judges. It mentions the capability of the techniques to help settle the debate between nostalgic sports spectators and those who insist that the tournaments have never been played better.

The article discusses a recent veto by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to the state legislature. The body of the message consisted of a four-line paragraph and a three-line paragraph. It was noted by the "San Francisco Bay Guardian" that the first letter of each of the seven lines spells out a profane rebuke. According to mathematicians, there are chances that profanity was intentionally encoded in the veto's text.

The article deals with the application of numerology in buildings. A condominium in Hong Kong, China built by real property developer Henderson Land Development Co. is said to have become controversial due to the unusual numbering of its floors. Some buildings avoid the number 13, which is usually considered unlucky, by renaming it as the 14th floor as in the case of the Skirvin Hotel in Oklahoma City. Marc Realty marketing coordinator Dan Krc stated that the fear of 13 or triskaidekaphobia seems to be disappearing.

The author focuses on the 37th place ranking given by the World Health Organization (WHO) for the U.S. health-care system. He notes that the ranking has contributed to misconceptions about the quality of the medical system in the country. He cites that the ranking relies on statistics that are old and incomplete. He explains the reason why the WHO ranking was criticized.

The author talks about the continued existence of shortcomings in statistical analysis of effects of spanking on children's cognition. Researcher Lisa A. Berlin traced the link between punishment and children's scores on cognitive tests. A study which examined how 1,510 children were disciplined and their performance on standardized cognition tests found that children aged 2 to 4 who were not spanked gained an average of five points four years later compared with those who had been spanked three times or more per week.

The article examines an incident in Bulgaria in which a 1-in-5.2 million shot came through as the same six winning numbers turned up in two consecutive drawings. The incident supports the possibility that despite sheer lottery numbers, the uncanny happens. Information is also presented on the disagreement caused by the probability in the country's repeated winning numbers.

The article discusses the difficulty of measuring the impact of the 787 billion U.S. dollar federal stimulus package on jobs. The challenge posed by measuring the impact of a specific cause on job creation to economist is reflected by the lack of a specific number of jobs created by the stimulus program from the White House's Council of Economic Advisers. Information is presented on the method adopted by the Office of Management and Budget.

The article reports on a foot-fault call received by tennis player Serena Williams and a point penalty she incurred for cursing the lineswoman during a match with Kim Clijsters at the U.S. Open Semifinal on September 12, 2009. The U.S. Tennis Association (USTA) officials plan to change its rules to review if there was a foot-fault. Paul Hawkins of Hawk-Eye Innovations Ltd., which creates the computerized line-calling system used at the game, said its digital cameras can only track images of the ball for close line calls.

The article features U.S. tennis player Melanie Oudin and the way she utilizes digital-video analysis and statistics as part of the strategy in playing the game. It is said that Oudin is unique compared with other players because she focuses more on watching than playing tennis. The skepticism about the use of statistics and analysis in tennis is tackled. Coach Brian de Villiers states that he spends about four hours on the court training Oudin and supervises her physical training.

The article reports on signs of progress against cancer in the U.S. which are concealed by grim reports about the fight against cancer. According to a study published in "Cancer Research," cancer mortality rates have begun to decline, particularly among younger individuals in the last few years. It was also found that cancer victims are dying at older ages.

The article reports on the introduction of hybrid electric cars which could spark an overhaul of the miles-per-gallon (mpg) standard. A flaw with the mpg standard is highlighted by the high mileage claims for the Chevrolet Volt and other plug-in-automobiles as automobiles rely on multiple fuel sources. Another problem with the standard is the failure of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to finalize rules for how it will measure fuel economy on the Volt or other cars.

The article focuses on the failure of U.S. supermarkets to improve customer queues at registers. Other retailers are adopting the single line practice of banks and airports while some are relying on technologies to speed up customer waiting. Observers believe that the simplest way to reduce the wait time is to hire more employees which retailers could not afford amid the recession. Customers who lined up in fastest registers to pay for milk and eggs are dismayed that another line is moving faster.

The article examines the difficulty of forecasting the future due to several economic factors such as the recession and the increase in oil prices. According to economist Tancred Lidderdale, economic forecasting is compounded by unpredictable events. Some forecasters claim that a better benchmark would be reasonable alternative predictions.

The article focuses on the inaccuracy of claims that online-dating sites lead to many newly wedded couples in the U.S. Based on survey findings by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 3 million Americans had entered into long-term relationships or marriages with people they met on dating Web sites. The author discusses varied approaches by Match.com to calculate the number of its users who reported marriages. In order to measure the impact of EHarmony on marriages, the dating site has commissioned studies from Harris Interactive.

This article discusses the declining number of childhood obesity incidence in the U.S., Australia, France Switzerland, Sweden and New Zealand. Some social scientists proposed that the obesity rates have reached a plateau to explain the decline in rates. However, it explains that the obesity rate is still higher than in the 1960s and 1970s. Some researchers contend that the data used to produce conclusions leading to the decline in obesity rate are flawed.

The article presents an accounting of record sales of U.S. pop singer Michael Jackson and other pop superstars. The misrepresentation and misinterpretation of individual songs to reflect album sales is examined. A background of the modern era of music measurement which began in the U.S. in 1991 is presented. Information is also presented on other sources of record sales data, including SoundScan.

The article reports on the lack of reliable scientific explanations for menu labeling laws in the U.S. It is noted that several studies on the caloric content of foods published failed to examine the impact on overall diet. The pioneer of such laws is New York City, which claims that the menu labeling laws will reduce the number of obese New Yorkers by 150,000 over the next five years.

This article discusses the statistical method applied by University of Michigan political science professor Walter Mebane to investigate the probability of fraud in the June 2009 presidential election in Iran. It explains that the method used by Mebane is based on the statistical law discovered by General Electric physicist Frank Benford. The results of Mebane's investigation suggested the existence of fraud in Iran's election.

The article focuses on the faulty accounting of Americans who have no health insurance. The number of uninsured amounts to 45.7 million people according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The figure includes undocumented immigrants who will not be covered. Robert D. Reischauer, who headed the U.S. Congressional Budget Office when it was analyzing the health plan of the administration of U.S. President Bill Clinton, commented on a range of uncertainty in health legislation.

The article evaluates the Internet search engine Wolfram Alpha.

The article reports on the conflict between Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and Century Council, a liquor industry-funded group, regarding drunk driving in the U.S. Century Council asserted that the campaign to prevent drinkers from driving should focus on hardcore drunken drivers. Century Council also wants to increase blood alcohol limit from 0.08 to 0.15 grams per deciliter of blood.

This article focuses on the decision of the Parliament of Great Britain to approve the creation of the Statistics Authority in 2007. The Statistics Authority has the power and independence to question other government agencies on the statistics they release to the public. It explains that the Statistics Authority is now preparing to audit statistics on such topics as crime and education. The Statistics Authority is also determined to raise accountability among public officials and government agencies in Great Britain.

The article offers an overview of several studies on the so-called rebound effect of automobile fuel-efficiency standards in the U.S. The standards require vehicles to reach a fuel efficiency of 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016. The 5% estimated rebound effect by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) matches the findings of some scientists. It attributes the varied reaction of drivers to fuel efficiency than to gas prices to the fact that the latter draws stronger reactions in drivers.

This article discusses the use of popularity rankings by web sites to market products and services in the U.S. It identifies the downsides of using popularity rankings in making decisions. It discusses the tendency of people to deduce merit from popularity, according to a recent study on popularity in the music world. In addition, the article assesses the effects of popularity rankings on the sales of products.

This article questions the accuracy of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) data on the annual mortality rates of seasonal influenza in the country. It explains that the question of accuracy of CDC's data came after the swine flu outbreak in Mexico captured the attention of the world with its less than 100 death toll compared to the thousands of death a year in the U.S. due to influenza. It discusses the factors that make the CDC data less accurate.

The author discusses the need for the Internet to upgrade its numbering system for identifying Web surfers and the sites they visit as it is nearing its limit. He explains that in contrast, the U.S. Social Security Number is holding strong after 73 years and have still a long way to go before reaching its upper limit of one billion. He presents information on the numbering system used by banks and Postal Service and how they work.

The article presents updates on the Major League Baseball (MLB) as of May 4, 2009. Baseball teams Florida Marlins, Kansas City Royals and Seattle Mariners finished first place in their respective divisions at the end of April 2009. According to data compiled by Sean Forman of Baseball Reference, just 40% of teams in first place at the end of April went on to win their divisions.

The article reports on the poor track record of climatologists who yearly forecast the number of hurricanes that will pass the Caribbean and Southeastern U.S. before the storm season begins on June 1, 2009. In early 2005, predictions ranged from 11 to 14 tropical storms but the storm season instead brought 27. According to forecasters, their job is complicated by the subjectivity in determining which storms are named.

The article offers information on flaws in a 2008 study, conducted by Ohio State University at Columbus, on the link between Facebook and lower student grades. It is said that researchers Aryn Karpinski and Adam Duberstein did not examine the influence of Facebook on grades. Furthermore, the students who shared their grades were not representative of all Ohio State students. Th survey only included those students who showed up to those professors' classes on the days the study was administered.

This article discusses the reliability of the method being used by online pollster investigating the online activities and behavior of teenagers in the U.S. It explains that U.S. society has raised concerns about reports that teenagers are engaging in unacceptable behavior online such as sharing nude or semi-nude photographs of themselves online or through their cellular phones. It questions the way online pollster make their samples for their studies. It examines the mathematics behind online polls.

The article reports on the women's basketball game between the University of Connecticut Huskies and the University of Louisville teams at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament in April 2009. The teams have met twice and the Huskies gave won in routs. Teams that have won the finals have gone just 13-9 against their opponents in the previous meetings. The Huskies has made five trips to the finals under coach Geno Auriemma.