Discussion of "Statistical Inference: The Big Picture" by R. E. Kass

Discussion of "Statistical Inference: The Big Picture" by R. E. Kass [arXiv:1106.2895]Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/11-STS337A the Statistical Science (http://www.imstat.org/sts/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

The distribution of UK household expenditure, 1979-92

The rapid growth in income inequality in the UK over the 1980s has excited a good deal of interest and concern. A primary reason for this concern has been the widely- drawn conclusion that the living standards of the very poorest have at best failed to keep pace with the living standards of the rest of society. This report sheds new light on the living standards debate, by considering how household expenditure has changed over the period 1979-92. Examination of the expenditure of households appearing in the Family Expenditure Surveys of 1979-92 reveals some rather different trends from the well-documented changes in household incomes.

For richer, for poorer: the changing distribution of income in the United Kingdom, 1961-91

This article describes the changing patterns in income inequality and real living standards over the last 30 years. Whilst it is well documented that inequality has been rising since 1979,2 there is rather less information on how the pattern of inequality changed in the period up to 1979. This study is based on an analysis of detailed information on the incomes and characteristics of around 200,000 households between 1961 and 1991, and provides for the first time ever a consistent description of trends in household incomes over such a long period.

The Microwave Induced Pyrolysis of Problematic Plastics Enabling Recovery and Component Reuse

Recent trends toward the effective utilisation of petroleum derived materials to increase the sustainability of their use (both for economic and environmental reasons), has resulted in an increased interest in the development of recycling methods for plastics including Acrylonitrile- co-Butadiene-co Styrene and Poly Vinylchloride. The recycling of these waste plastics that include mixed monomer compositions and halogens poses a great problem, with their decomposition making them hard to recycle due to loss of their material properties or through the production of problematic compounds e.g. HCl, PCBs, PCDD, and PCDF etc. This work has investigated the microwave induced decompositions of these plastics and explored the potential of a carbon (a microwave absorber) assisted microwave decomposition process. This culminated in the examination of the carbon assisted microwave decomposition of ABS and the potential of a one and two step process for the de-hydrochlorination, then pyrolysis of PVC, which is an untried and novel approach for PVC recycling. . The influence of microwave power, exposure time, along with the effect of the proportion of carbon, was investigated for its influence upon the yields of gases, oils, chars and product components. The proportions of gases, oils and chars were quantified in terms of their product distribution and subsequently analysed for their properties/composition by TGA, FT-IR, GCMS, Py-GCMS and bomb calorimetry. From their analyses product distributions in the oils and gases were derived and decomposition mechanisms evaluated. From these investigations it was found that the microwave decomposition process of both plastics was possible and demonstrated great versatility, with oil yields for ABS of between 2wt.% to 70wt.% and gas yields of 28wt.% to 77wt.% achieved in processing times as little as 3 minutes. From this it was also possible to identify that high quantities of monomer were also able to be recovered, significantly greater than that of a thermal process (39.5%TiC as to 34.5%TiC respectively for styrene monomer). For PVC, it was identified by initial investigations that the de-hydrochlorination of PVC was possible, confirming results of Ito et al., (2006) and Moriwaki et al., (2006). However, the discovery of amplitude dependent heating was of significant interest, not previously identified in any microwave decomposition process.It was also recognized that pyrolysis was not possible after de-hydrochlorination of PVC occurred as a result of the reduction in the materials ability to absorb microwaves (lesser dielectric constant), due to chlorine was removal. Hence it was necessary to investigate the use carbon additive to enable achieving sufficient temperatures to induce the pyrolysis of the remaining polyene structure. The identification of key parameters and ensuing relationships with microwave power, heating rate and temperatures was identified herein, giving the first detailed account of the relationship between specific polymer types and microwaves during a pyrolysis process.Open Acces

Facilitating Student Documentary Projects Toward 21-Century Literacy and Civic Engagement

The author describes how he uses video making as a way to engage students in high-needs schools. Goodman believes video making projects can help counter the ways minority students are made invisible by school curriculum and the culture of testing. More importantly, creating video documentaries allows students to use multiple literacies and does not exclude those who struggle with the written word

Atmospheric electricity/meteorology analysis

This activity focuses on Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS)/Lightning Mapper Sensor (LMS) algorithm development and applied research. Specifically we are exploring the relationships between (1) global and regional lightning activity and rainfall, and (2) storm electrical development, physics, and the role of the environment. U.S. composite radar-rainfall maps and ground strike lightning maps are used to understand lightning-rainfall relationships at the regional scale. These observations are then compared to SSM/I brightness temperatures to simulate LIS/TRMM multi-sensor algorithm data sets. These data sets are supplied to the WETNET project archive. WSR88-D (NEXRAD) data are also used as it becomes available. The results of this study allow us to examine the information content from lightning imaging sensors in low-earth and geostationary orbits. Analysis of tropical and U.S. data sets continues. A neural network/sensor fusion algorithm is being refined for objectively associating lightning and rainfall with their parent storm systems. Total lightning data from interferometers are being used in conjunction with data from the national lightning network. A 6-year lightning/rainfall climatology has been assembled for LIS sampling studies

Confessions of a chagrined trialist

As a clinical trialist, I had thought that the methods I employed were far more challenging than those I had thought were needed for quality improvement. However, some personal experiences and participation in the Cliveden conference led me to a new appreciation of the methodological and conceptual challenges faced by those trying to improve medical systems

OLS data system/global survey of lightning

A global lightning climatology is being assembled from the nighttime imagery of the DMSP Optical Linescan Sensor (OLS). Lightning saturates the visible channel of the OLS at nighttime and can be identified as a horizontal streak on the order of 50-100 km in horizontal extent. Lightning streaks apparent in the film strips located at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) prior to 1991 are being digitized. An initial survey was completed for the F7 satellite observation period January 1986 - October 1987 and for the Q satellite for the period June-July 1973. Comparisons between the OLS lightning climatology with the Arkin GPI data set during the 1986-87 El Nino event shows similar regional variations in convective activity. The digital archive of global DMSP data began at the end of February. Software is being developed at both MSFC and NSIDC to extract, navigate, and view the OLS fine and smooth imagery

Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) for the Earth Observing System

Not only are scientific objectives and instrument characteristics given of a calibrated optical LIS for the EOS but also for the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) which was designed to acquire and study the distribution and variability of total lightning on a global basis. The LIS can be traced to a lightning mapper sensor planned for flight on the GOES meteorological satellites. The LIS consists of a staring imager optimized to detect and locate lightning. The LIS will detect and locate lightning with storm scale resolution (i.e., 5 to 10 km) over a large region of the Earth's surface along the orbital track of the satellite, mark the time of occurrence of the lightning, and measure the radiant energy. The LIS will have a nearly uniform 90 pct. detection efficiency within the area viewed by the sensor, and will detect intracloud and cloud-to-ground discharges during day and night conditions. Also, the LIS will monitor individual storms and storm systems long enough to obtain a measure of the lightning flashing rate when they are within the field of view of the LIS. The LIS attributes include low cost, low weight and power, low data rate, and important science. The LIS will study the hydrological cycle, general circulation and sea surface temperature variations, along with examinations of the electrical coupling of thunderstorms with the ionosphere and magnetosphere, and observations and modeling of the global electric circuit