Measuring the Diffusion of Information and Communication Technology in Society and its Effects: Canadian Experience

Statistics Canada has measured the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for close to 15 years in industry and more recently in households and it has developed a body of knowledge on the effects of the use of these technologies. While ICTs have long been used in manufacturing processes, the use of computers and networks, and a growing number of ways of accessing networks, are changing the way business is done and lives are led. This paper provides examples of ICT use in private and public institutions, in households, and by individuals. It goes on to illustrate the consequent development of electronic commerce and of other uses of the Internet and concludes with some implications for the development of official statistics in light of policy requirements.     

应力应变电测技术中影响测量误差的主要因素分析

分析了电测试验中电阻应变片及导线长度、温度的不同，对测试结果所产生的影响，并通过理论分析，计算及实际结构的测试，得出了应变电测试验中减小误差的方法。     

The Language of the English Biometric School

This paper considers the language devised by Karl Pearson and his associates for discussing distributions, populations and samples, the basic language for frequentist inference. The original language—some of which is still in use—is described and also the changes it underwent under the influence of R.A. Fisher and of Russian and American mathematicians. The period covered is roughly 1890–1950.     

Proxying Ability by Family Background in Returns to Schooling Estimations is Generally a Bad Idea*

When schooling is measured with error and data on ability are lacking, return to schooling estimates will be subject to positive omitted variable bias (OVB) and negative measurement error bias (MEB). We investigate how these biases are affected when ability is proxied by family background variables. We show that the effect on OVB is uncertain, while MEB invariably increases in magnitude. Our empirical analysis demonstrates that MEB generally dominates OVB. With more background variables or increased measurement error, the total bias rapidly becomes negative and increasing in magnitude, thereby driving the return estimate further and further away from the true value.     

突发信道下无线ATM的前向差错控制方案

在无线ATM网络中，无线信道的高误码率和突发特性要求对无线ATM信元进行较强的误码保护。本文提出了一种有效的前向差错控制（FEC）方案，对信元头采用较强的FEC，对信息域采用较弱的FEC，并针对信道特性和采用的前向差错控制编码的特点进行元头信元内交织，文中对无线ATM信元在突发信道下的信元丢失率和信元信息错误率进行了分析，仿真结果表明该方案在降低信元信息错误率的同时有效地降低了信元丢失率。     

Induced Innovation in United States Agriculture, 1880–1990: Time Series Tests and an Error Correction Model

An error correction model (ECM) of induced innovation, based on the two–stage CES production function allows direct tests of the inducement hypothesis, which are applied to U.S. data for 1880–1990. The time series properties of the variables include a structural break in 1920, cointegration is established and an ECM constructed, which allows factor substitution to be separated from technological change. Causality tests show that the factor–price ratios and R&D are Granger–prior to the factor–saving biases of technological change. The inducement hypothesis is corroborated, and identified as one factor in the complex development of U.S. agriculture.     

Regression to the mode

Abstract  High measurement values often show on average a spontaneous decrease when remeasured under stationary study conditions. This effect is known as "regression to the mean", a phenomenon widely met in biomedical research. In this paper a general formula is derived, which shows that this effect should be better called "regression to the mode". Further it is shown that this effect may depend on the time-spacing of repeated measurements in a stationary population.     

The locally MIMSQE of nonnormal error variance in quadratically balanced models

Without normality assumption, an explicit form of the locally minimum mean square error translation-invariant quadratic estimator for the error variance in a quadratically balanced design is obtained. The estimator depends on the kurtosis of the random error. Under the normality the estimator becomes globally optimal.     

Official Statistics on ICT in Japan

Taking into account the developments of ICT in recent years, a lot of countries are dealing with the preparation of statistics on ICT. In Japan, the Basic Law on Formation of an Advanced Information and Telecommunications Network Society (Basic Law on IT) was enforced on January 6, 2001, in which the Government is obliged to prepare official statistics related to ICT. In Japan, at least 41 kinds of official statistical surveys, including questions related to ICT, have been conducted in the past five years. Their main purpose, survey items and survey methods are various and different from each other. To grasp the new development in IT as a whole, “IT Indicators in Japan”, which is a new compendium on ICT, was compiled in 2001. Also, “Information and Communications in Japan”, which is a white paper published in 2001, presented basic data on the extent to which IT has permeated the economic activity and people's lives. In addition, the 11th revision of the Japan Standard Industrial Classification (JSIC) was published by the Statistical Standards Department, Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications (MPHPT) in March 2002 in response to the change of economy and society including the development of ICT. The Working Group on Indicators for the Information Society of OECD has been working for several years in order to prepare internationally comparable and statistically measurable ICT indicators and related ICT statistics. In this paper, an overview of the present situation of Japanese official statistics related to ICT is given with some analysis. In addition, some problems are raised which should be considered from the viewpoint of the necessity and measurability and so on for the appropriate preparation of ICT indicators and e‐commerce‐related statistics. “IT; Information Technology” and “ICT; Information and Communications Technology” are often used without any distinction. “ICT” is used in this paper except where “IT” is used as a proper noun, as it is considered almost the same as “IT”. The views expressed herein are those of the author, and are not necessarily those of the Statistical Standards Department or any other Japanese government authorities.     

Gamma-admissibility of estimators in the one-parameter exponential family

Summary Admissibility of estimators under vague prior information on the distribution of the unknown parameter is studied which leads to the notion of gamma-admissibility. A sufficient condition for an estimator of the formδ(x)=(ax+b)/(cx+d) to be gamma-admissible in the one-parameter exponential family under squared error loss is established. As an application of this result two equalizer rules are shown to be unique gamma-minimax estimators by proving their gamma-admissibility.