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While it is making giant advances in software,
space, and nuclear power, India is paradoxically still struggling
with questions of basic literacy for a large segment of its population. The Ekal Vidyalaya movement aims to help eradicate illiteracy from rural and tribal India by 2010. To date, Ekal Vidyalaya is a movement of over 9,000 teachers, 2,000 voluntary workers, 10 field organizations (scattered in 16 Indian states), and 7 support agencies. |
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Turmoil in the Dusk
Written By: Vinod Sangwan (Physics Ph.D. Student)
Dispersing clouds bade farewell to the blue
Naked sky with woolen broom sweeping
Foggy shrouds of hope wrapping an unborndew
And a crystal star- flying on a dove's wings.
Clouds have dispersed leaving behind in view
The pale-blue sky unveiled in one swing
Of foggy broom bidding farewell to
A single star- entangled in the hours of evening.
Blue stretch of sky streaked with silver hue
Flung mobile monoliths of gray mass-dispersing.
While turmoil in foggy fringes said "Adieu"
To an infant star- left alone at dusk to sing.
The mathematical foundations of statistics as a separate
discipline were laid by Fisher, Neyman and Wald during the second quarter
of the last century. Subsequent research in statistics and the courses
taught in the universities are mostly based on the guidelines set by
these pioneers.
Statistics is used in some form or other in all areas of human endeavor
from scientific research to optimum use of resources for social welfare,
prediction and decision-making. However, there are controversies in
statistics, especially in the choice of a model for data, use of prior
probabilities, especially quantifying uncertainty in decision making
and subject-matter judgments by experts. The same data analyzed by different
consulting statisticians usually lead to different conclusions.
What is the future of statistics in the present millennium dominated by information technology encompassing the whole of communications, interaction with intelligent systems, massive data bases, and complex information processing networks? The current statistical methodology based on simple probabilistic models developed for the analysis of small data sets appears to be inadequate to meet the needs of customers for quick on line processing of data and making the information available for practical use. Some methods are being put forward in the name of data mining for such purposes. A broad review of the current state of the art in statistics, its merits and demerits, and possible future developments will be presented.