267 research outputs found
Winning the Coin Toss and the Home Team Advantage in One-Day International Cricket Matches
No full textThis paper provides a statistical analysis of 427 one-day international cricket matches played during the 1990's. Two general conclusions are obtained: (1) contrary to widespread opinion, winning the coin toss at the outset of a match provides no competitive advantage and (2) the advantage of playing on one's home field increases the log-odds of the probability of winning by approximately .5. Keywords : ODI cricket matches, statistical modelling. B de Silva is Senior Lecturer, Department of Statistics and Operations Research, RMIT University, GPO Box 2476V, Melbourne Victoria, Australia 3001. T Swartz is Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby BC, Canada V5A1S6. T. Swartz was partially supported by a grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. The authors wish to thank all 3 referees for insightful comments that led to an improved paper. 1. INTRODUCTION The game of cricket has world-wide appeal ..
Equitable Handicapping in Golf
No full textPrevious studies on handicapping have suggested that in matches between 2 golfers, the better golfer has an advantage in both medal play and match play. In this paper, we consider net medal play between 2 golfers when they are both playing well. The study uses the new slope system for handicapping. In this context we argue that it is actually the weaker golfer who has an advantage. The conclusions are based on both the analysis of actual golf scores and the analysis of theoretical models. We suggest an alternative procedure which leads to "fairer" competitions. Keywords : data analysis, statistical modelling, distribution of tails, order statistics. D Bingham is a PhD candidate and T Swartz is Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby BC, Canada V5A1S6. T. Swartz was partially supported by a grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. The authors wish to thank the Pemberton Golf and Country Club, Pe..
Assessment Plan and Design: A Model for Enhancing Instruction in Economics Courses
No full textThis paper develops a systematic approach to course assessment that aims to identify strengths and weaknesses in student achievement and course design that can be addressed through instructional change. We develop seven distinct steps for course assessment and explain these procedures with an assessment tool that was developed for an economics foundation course. Our assessment tool includes twenty five common multiple-choice questions that were developed to evaluate student achievement and assess an economics course through yearly evaluation. During a seven year process, student data were collected first to revise the assessment tool and later to evaluate the program and student performance. The analysis of student data by topic, question, and level of difficulty enabled faculty to gain a better understanding of student weaknesses and address these in the classroom through the adoption of a variety of different teaching approaches. This process strengthened both the foundation course and individual lectures and resulted in a positive impact on student performance. Continuous reinforcement of these strategies by faculty is expected to benefit both the course and students.
Statistical analysis to detect changes in rainfall patterns over the Yarra River catchment, Australia
No full textThis study aims to use statistical techniques to detect the changes in rainfall patterns over the Yarra River catchment
Participation of people with psychosocial disability in mental health policy development in South Africa
No full textThis study addressed the following question: What are the barriers and strategies to support the participation of South Africans with psychosocial disability in mental health policy development in South Africa? A systematic literature review (objective 1) addressed the question: ""What supports people with psychosocial disability to participate in national mental health policy development?"" The WHO Checklist for Mental Health Legislation, the WHO Checklist for Mental Health Policy and Plan, and domain 4 of the World Health Organisation Assessment Instrument for Mental Health Systems (WHO-AIMS) were completed, and 96 semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders were conducted, to assess current stakeholder, mental health legislation and policy support for the participation of people with psychosocial disability in South Africa (Objective 2). Nvivo-7 software was used to analysis qualitative data, using a framework analysis approach to data analysis and interpretation. These interviews were also used to ascertain the views of 56 of the 96 South African stakeholders' involved in mental health services, on environmental barriers to the participation of people with psychosocial disability in mental health policy development in South Africa (objective 3). The remaining 40 interviews with people with psychosocial disability documented their lived experience of barriers to their participation in policy development, and highlighted their priorities for policy development (Objective 4). Eleven key informants involved in leadership roles in peer led organisations for people with psychosocial disability in Africa were interviewed to inform understanding of opportunities for supporting people with psychosocial disability to participate in mental health policy development (Objective 5). The findings of objectives 1-5 were triangulated to inform the development of a conceptual framework for supporting South Africans with psychosocial disability to participate in mental health policy development (objective 6). The framework proposes the need for social transformation to overcome barriers to the inclusion of people with psychosocial disability in society, including as policy participants, support for self-directed agency, and opportunity for meaningful participation in policy development
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