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Workshops
Upcoming Workshops
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Recent Workshops
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Applied Environmental Statistcs Workshop for Idaho
Department of Environmental Quality.
Held in
Boise Idaho, August 13-15, 2003 by special request of the Idaho
Department of Environmental Quality.
Abstract:
KERN Statistical Services presented a
customized workshop in applied environmental statistics for the State of
Idaho Department of Environmental Quality. The workshop was
comprised of 20 contact hours over a two and one half day period
covering statistical methods for Superfund, RCRA, Land Application of
Wastewater, and Natural Resource Damage Assessment. The workshop
included a conceptual discussion of the application of statistics for
regulatory decisions including the notions of replication and
pseudoreplication, model vs. design based analysis, tests of
bioequivalence and data quality objectives. The workshop proceeded with
a review of standard applied topics including hands on examples
illustrating estimation and testing for means with normally distributed
data. Because environmental data are rarely normally distributed,
nonparametric and computer intensive methods such as bootstrapping and
randomization were heavily emphasized.
The workshop
will then proceed through and introduction to regression and analysis of
variance using Excell©, R and other software packages. These topics
lead naturally into time series analysis which were also discussed. The
time series section included sections on temporal autocorrelation; long
term monitoring and control charts; and tests for temporal trends.
The workshop
concluded with a discussion of Geostatistics applied to regulatory
decision making providing participants with a sound understanding of the
basic tools as well as the knowledge necessary to effectively evaluate
geostatistical reports.
IDEQ
provided example data and/or a brief description of problems that are
currently of primary interest to IDEQ. These data and examples were
used thorughought the custom workshop. One evening during the
workshop for participants to attend an informal consulting session where
specific data or issues can be discussed.
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Geostatistics for Environmental, Ecological and Site Characterization
Studies.
Held at the
2002 annual meetings of the
Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
Salt Lake City, Utah. Nov. 17, 2002 and at the 2003 fall meeting of the
Laurentian Chapter of SETAC.
Some feedback
from participatns is available.
Abstract:
With the advent of more powerful desktop computers and user friendly
mapping and analysis software, RI/FS and risk management decisions
increasingly rely on geographic information systems (GIS) analyses. The
increase in descriptive information has proven invaluable for
risk/resource managers although, over-reliance on graphical displays may
result in a false sense of confidence in remedial and risk management
decisions. Standard geostatistical methods available in most software
packages are often designed for contouring and small scale estimation,
and may not be directly applicable to risk management decisions,
remedial design and resource damage assessment decisions. This workshop
includes a review of standard geostatistical tools, the variogram,
kriging and conditional simulation, and proceeds through specifically
integrating GIS analyses and valid statistical inferences for management
decisions. Actual site data from superfund and NRDA sites are used to
illustrate geostatistical and other spatial methods for cost benefit
analysis, remedial alternatives analysis, risk management, and NRDA
analysis. The presentation is heavy on conceptual and graphical material
appropriate for risk managers, soil scientists, and wildlife biologists
interested in using spatial data to make valid statistical inference for
regulatory decisions. Dr. Kern has 9 years experience in statistical
consulting with industrial, governmental and academic investigators in
15 states and Canada
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Geospatial
Statistical Analysis: A Seminar
Objectives:
This seminar is designed to
provide training for advanced environmental science students in geospatial
statistical methods, by providing both overview and hands-on experience with
fundamental and state-of-the-science analyses. These methods are used to display
and interpret patterns of data on the landscape, explore and interpret
relationships between different types of data in a spatial context, and account
for spatial patterns in the context of other types of analyses. Training will be
provided by experts brought together for this seminar, and include participation
by research scientists applying these techniques to current environmental
issues.
Date: June
2-6, 2003
Venues :
Mornings -The Coastal Institute on Narragansett Bay Auditorium, URI
Bay Campus
Afternoons - The Policy Simulation Lab, Coastal Institute in Kingston
Web Page-
www.ci.uri.edu/projects/geostats/
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Why Attend Environmental Statistics Workshops
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Environmental and ecological data are
characterized by sampling biases, small sample size, lack of normality,
missing and censored observations, nonlinearity and a host of features
not often addressed in standard introductory or even graduate level
statistics courses.
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Standard statistics service courses in most
university curricula often fail to adequately train engineers,
ecologists and environmental scientists in the basic techniques central
to ecological and environmental statistics.
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As a result, powerful sampling, study design
and statistical analysis methods are often underutilized or even avoided
by practitioners in order to sidestep critical review in contentious
regulatory and wildlife management settings.
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This avoidance of statistical procedures
leads to inefficient study design, protracted arguments over data
adequacy, and often inadequate understanding of
the strengths and weaknesses of site
characterization, risk assessment and risk management data.
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In many cases,
practitioners have been so overly sensitized to the limitations of
standard statistical procedures that data are often collected and simply
warehoused in databases and never used to support the decision making
process.
KERN
Statistical Services Inc. provides statistical training, short-courses and
workshops aimed at helping ecologists, environmental-scientists, risk
assessors, and risk and wildlife managers to make the most of valuable
environmental and ecological data to support
regulatory decision making.
Dr. Kern has
presented short-courses and workshops at regional and national meetings of
the Society of Environmental Toxicology
and Chemistry and The
Wildlife Society, as well as for state and federal agencies
including the Office of Surface
Mining and Reclamation and
North Dakota Public Service
Commission, New Mexico Energy,
Minerals and Natural Resources Department,
Utah Division of Oil Gas
and Mining, and, Montana and
Wyoming Departments of Environmental
Quality. Following are some
representative topics that have been presented recently. |
Selected Workshop Topics
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The Practice
of Environmental and Ecological Statistics
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Geographic
Information Systems, Geostatistics and Risk Management Decisions:
The Stories Pictures Tell
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Geostatistics - I Tools For Risk Managers and Regulatory Decision
Makers
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Geostatistics
- II Hands-on Training in Selected Geostatistical Software
Packages
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Regression
and Analysis of Variance
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Resource
Selection, Logistic Regression and Generalized Linear Models
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