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The paper argues that statistics should be seen as organizational products and that growth in the range and variety of statistics testifies to growth in the power of organizations. The paper emphasises the importance of identifying the functions of statistical systems, and recommends a genealogical approach to help identify the unwitting testimony given by the assumptions and motivations associated with the categorizations and data creation procedures used in the production of statistics. The paper examines the motivations, assumptions, and functions associated with statistical systems involving the Census of Population, the British National Food Survey, economic management, and unemployment. The discussion focuses on the evidence these case studies provide on the role of statistics in society and of the influence of organizational meanings on society.

AbstractIntra-orgartisationally statistics are commonly perceived, both in government and in other organisations, as a tool of management. But the dominant function of statistics is to contribute to inter- and intra-organisational coordination. The value of statistics lies in their use as an instrument of self-management. The paper identifies an unacknowledged degree of participation by users in statistical systems and advocates an ought-to-know principle for the design of such systems. The ought-to-know principle should guide the distribution of statistics within governmental organisations and policy for statistical publication. Contributor and user organisations (e.g. local government and private firms) should play a greater part in deciding what statistics should be collected and how they should be distributed and could well share responsibility for meeting the costs.

Intraorganizationally, statistics are commonly perceived in government & other organizations as a tool of management; but the dominant function of statistics is to contribute to inter- & intraorganizational coordination. The value of statistics lies in their use as an instrument of self-management. An unacknowledged degree of participation by users in statistical systems is identified, & an ought-to-know principle for the design of such systems advocated. ought-to-know principle should guide the distribution of statistics within governmental organizations & the policy for statistical publication. Contributor & user organizations (eg, local government & private firms) should play a greater part in deciding what statistics should be collected & how they should be distributed ; they could share responsibility for meeting the costs. 30 References. HA.

The Production and Presentation of Statistics of Unemployment: Comparability Issues

ABSTRACTFor decades, political and private polling operations have informed about the public's perceptions regarding a range of topics. In particular, universities (e.g., Marist and Quinnipiac) provide noteworthy research to inform and predict the outcomes of US elections. Yet, what role do our classrooms play in advancing the public opinion polling skills of our students? This article uses experiential learning as a descriptive framework to illustrate how a yearlong, immersive, and student-led public opinion polling experience, the Big Sky Poll, advances students' social-science and data-fluency skills. Our findings suggest important insights into the future of public opinion polling from the vantage point of a rural Western state, which can be replicated in other academic institutions.

In this retrospective cohort analysis of all adults who were members of Kaiser Permanente, Northern California, between July 1995 and June 1996 (N = 2,076,303), the authors estimated the prevalence, average annual costs per person, and percentage of total direct medical expenditures attributable to each of 25 chronic and acute conditions. Ordinary least squares regression was used to adjust for age, gender, and comorbidities. The costs attributable to the 25 conditions accounted for 78 percent of the health maintenance organization's total direct medical expense for this age-group. Injury accounted for a higher proportion (11.5 percent) of expenditures than any other single condition. Three cardiovascular conditions—ischemic heart disease, hypertension, and congestive heart failure—together accounted for 17 percent of direct medical expense and separately accounted for 6.8 percent, 5.7 percent, and 4.0 percent, respectively. Renal failure ($22,636), colorectal cancer ($10,506), pneumonia ($9,499), and lung cancer ($8,612) were the most expensive conditions per person per year.