-----Original Message-----
From: gunter.berton at gene.com
Sent: Fri, 4 May 2012 09:49:15 -0700
To: r-help at r-project.org
Subject: [R] Off-Topic: Crime Statistics Don't Pay
WARNING: COMPLETELY OFF TOPIC -- Nothing to do with R.
I thought readers of this list might enjoy the following. The link to
the full article is at the bottom. I hope this is not "too"
inappropriate.
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Overconfidence in crime statistics doesn?t pay. In a new study, a team
of criminologists makes the case that reported crime rates should
acknowledge uncertainty in the data. The research demonstrates that
rankings of cities as safer or more dangerous ? which can influence
tourism and tax spending ? can be highly misleading.
?If you look at crime rates from year to year and you see a change,
there?s a fundamental ambiguity in whether that change is caused by a
real change in crime, a change in reporting or some of both,? says
criminologist Robert Brame of the University of North Carolina at
Charlotte, a coauthor of the new study. ?Our position is we should own
that. There?s ambiguity here and we should learn to deal with it.?
---
Aside from, "Well, duhhh...," my reaction was: what other misleading
"data" are being thrown around in the public domain whose uncertainty
has been blithely ignored.... Don't answer that!
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/340450/title/Crime_numbers_may_mislead_
Cheers,
Bert
--
Bert Gunter
Genentech Nonclinical Biostatistics
Internal Contact Info:
Phone: 467-7374
Website:
http://pharmadevelopment.roche.com/index/pdb/pdb-functional-groups/pdb-biostatistics/pdb-ncb-home.htm