The Survey Statistician
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No. 52 July 2005 In This Issue No. 52, July 2005 No. 52 July 2005 1 Letter from the President 2 Report from the IASS Scientific Secretary 3 IASS Short Courses in Sydney 2005 4 Report on IASS Lisbon 2007 Programme Committee 4 Report from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics 7 Country Reports 7 Australia 8 Canada 8 Hungary 9 Italy 11 Philippines 11 Poland 12 Country Representatives 15 Software Review Editor Steven G. Heeringa 16 Ask the Experts Section Editors 17 Articles John Kovar — Country Reports Letter from G. Theodore James Lepkowski — Software Review Response from Anders Christianson Anders Christianson — “Ask the Experts” 18 New Members Production Editor Gail Arnold 21 Announcements Circulation 21 ICES III Claude Olivier 21 SAE2005 Anne-Marie Vespa-Leyder 23 IASS Web Site The Survey Statistician is published twice a year in English and French by the 24 In Other Journals International Association of Survey 24 Survey Methodology Statisticians and distributed to all its 25 Journal of Official Statistics members. Information for membership in 27 Statistics in Transition the Association or change of address for current members should be addressed to: 29 IASS Officers and Council Members Secrétariat de l’AISE/IASS c/o INSEE-CEFIL Change of Address Form Att. Mme Claude Olivier 3, rue de la Cité Institutional Members 33500 Libourne - FRANCE E-mail: [email protected] Comments on the contents or suggestions for articles in The Survey Statistician should be sent via e-mail to [email protected] or mailed to: Steven Heeringa Institute for Social Research 426 Thompson St., POB 1248 Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1248 - USA Let me begin my first Survey countries was low, largely due to the Statistician letter to you as withdrawal of expected funding shortly President of IASS by thanking my before the meetings. We are predecessor, Luigi Biggeri, for his determined to continue with these leadership of the Association over courses for the Lisbon meetings in the past two years. Thanks are 2007 as they constitute one of the also due to Marina Signore, our tangible ways in which we can achieve outgoing Scientific Secretary, our objective of supporting the training especially for her work in of survey statisticians in developing organizing the short courses countries. We will be looking for a offered in Sydney, and to all our broader base of funding for trainees retiring vice-presidents and council from developing countries, and if you members. Recent elections have have any suggestions or contacts that given us a new President-Elect could lead to potential funding sources (Pedro Silva), a new Scientific please contact our Scientific Secretary (Lilli Japec), two new Secretary, Lilli Japec vice-presidents (Jelke Bethlehem ([email protected]). and John Kovar), as well as six new Council members. As reported in the last Survey Congratulations to those newly Statistician, a working group of elected and thanks to Claudio European statisticians has been very Quintano who headed our active in looking for ways to strengthen Elections Committee this past contacts among survey statisticians year. within Europe and to enhance the European activities of IASS. A Those of you able to attend the ISI proposal to create a European meetings in Sydney will have regional section of IASS was put appreciated the excellent scientific forward and considered during the program organized by our program Sydney meetings but not acted upon committee under Pedro Silva. We due to some concerns about the are very grateful to Pedro, to impact a distinct section might have on members of the program the cohesion of IASS as a whole. committee, and to organizers of However, there was widespread sessions who put in so much work appreciation and support for the to ensure successful meetings. initiative and activities of our European Preparations for the sessions to be members and the Executive is sponsored or co-sponsored by pursuing means by which the IASS IASS during the 2007 meetings in can support these activities to the Lisbon are well underway under benefit of IASS broadly. The the leadership of David Steele, and previously announced Q2006 a list of the topics for these Conference (April 24-26, 2006, Cardiff, sessions appears later in this Wales) is one of the initiatives of our issue. European members that IASS will be supporting. A report on the six short courses held in Sydney appears below. Our network of country representatives Letter from the President These were successful thanks to has for many years been an important the valuable time donated by the element of communication within instructors, the tremendous IASS. We would like to strengthen and support of the Australian Bureau of extend this network to ensure that it is Statistics, and the great fully effective for communications (in coordinating efforts of Marina both directions) and for promoting the Signore. Nevertheless, we were Association. I have asked vice- somewhat disappointed that president John Kovar to lead this attendance from developing effort. We are including the current list The Survey Statistician 1 July 2005 of country representatives in this issue of Those of you who are ISI members will have Survey Statistician so that, if you live in a read of ISI initiatives on strategic planning and country without a country representative and strengthening the ISI family. One aspect of would like to volunteer, you can contact John these initiatives is a reconsideration of the ([email protected]). relationships between ISI and its sections. No proposals in this regard have yet been made, IASS is sponsoring a growing number of but an ISI committee is being struck to professional meetings between the biennial consider options and develop proposals that ISI meetings. Most recently we co-sponsored might be brought forward at the 2007 the joint IASS/IAOS Conference on Poverty, meetings. While strengthening the ISI family is Social Exclusion and Development: A an objective most of us would share, any Statistical Perspective in Amman, Jordan, in changes that may be proposed are bound to November 2004; the Conference on complex have some impact on the way IASS and other sampling, retrospective sampling and missing sections operate. As these discussions and data, in honour of Alastair Scott, in Auckland, ideas develop we will try to ensure that the New Zealand, in April 2005; and the Colloque interests of IASS members are properly francophone sur les sondages in Quebec City, considered. To this end, I would welcome any Canada. Given the increasing frequency and comments or suggestions members may have importance of such meetings, I have asked now, or in the future, on these ISI initiatives as vice-president Jelke Bethlehem to oversee they evolve. our commitments and involvements in such meetings. A listing of recent and future As you can see, a variety of issues and meetings is included for reference below. activities are facing our Association. Let me end by saying that I look forward to serving We continue to make progress in IASS over the next two years, and would strengthening both the Survey Statistician and welcome any views or suggestions members the IASS website (http://www.cbs.nl/isi/iass/). I may have on IASS issues or activities at any was very pleased to learn that the team time. largely responsible for this progress: Steve Heeringa (Editor, Survey Statistician), Anders Gordon Brackstone Christianson (Ask the Experts section), Jim President Lepkowski (Software Reviews), John Kovar [email protected] (Country Reports), and Eric Rancourt (IASS website) will all be continuing in these volunteer roles for the coming period. Report from the IASS Scientific Secretary Congratulations to the winner of the 2005 Cochrane-Hansen prize, Maiki Ilves from I like to begin my first Survey Statistician Estonia, for her paper, Variance and its report by expressing my thanks to my Estimator for a Practical Self-Weighting Two- predecessor, Marina Signore. She has Phase Design. She presented her paper already been a great support and has kindly during the Sydney meetings in a session offered her expertise in the future. devoted to winners of prizes for young statisticians. Despite the high quality of the Marina put together a very impressive course winning entry, concerns about the low number package for the Sydney meeting. There were of entries received and the future of the prize six courses altogether, covering a broad set of were discussed in Sydney. We have resolved topics. It is very important to IASS to be able to continue with this prize, but will review and to offer these courses. They are always much clarify some of the rules surrounding it. In the appreciated by the students, and we are in meantime, I encourage all members, debt to our highly committed instructors who especially those supervising students or give their time and skills to our organization. young employees from non-OECD countries, Some of these instructors have assisted IASS to start thinking now of possible nominations for a long time. For the Lisbon 2007 meeting for the 2007 prize. The official request for we hope to repeat the success from Sydney nominations will appear later. and offer a nice course package to The Survey Statistician 2 July 2005 conference participants. You can read more IASS Council, Daniel Kasprzyk and Seppo about the courses in Sydney in Marina’s Laaksonen that kindly shared their experience report below. and know-how. I am particularly grateful to Graham Kalton and John Kovar for their Although the Lisbon 2007 meeting might timely and experienced advice. seem far away, it is time to start the planning. As Gordon mentioned in the President’s letter, Program and attendance: we are looking for sponsors who can help us Course A: Workshop on Survey Sampling, 1-3 get survey methodologist from developing April, presented by: Graham Kalton (Westat); countries to attend our courses.