THE STATISTICAL SOFTWARE NEWSLETTER 335

68283463, Fax: +86.10.68283458, (For matters related to the congress program): Li Xinoming, l ~ t of Compum S~mce and Technology, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.Phone: +86.10.62756231, Fax: +86.10.62751792, URL: http://www, cie-china.org/wdocument.htm

2,8.3.99: CAL99- Virtuality in Education: What are the future educational contexts?, London, U K (until 31.3.99) Scope of the confereacu: A radical effect of the combination of multimedia and pervasive networks has been the emergence of virtuality. What are the implications of virtuality for learning and teaching? In particular, what are the implications of emerging notions of virtuality which conceive virtual repre- sentations as part of the wad world in themselves. For example, how will cybor-societies, which are viewed as no less real by their participants than local neighbourhoods, impact on learn- ing and ~hing. What are the questions that educators need to debate for the future in which virtuality is commonplace? CAL99 aims to provide a forum in which to engage with issues of virtuality and education. Key topics will include: Ixatrning in virtual environments (Theories of leanfing and virtuality; The changing role of the learner, New forms of educational software; Identity in virtual educational e n ~ a n t s ) ; Teaching in virtual e n v ~ t s (Virtuality and the curriculum; The changing role of the teacher. Continuing Profeuional Development in an on-line environment); Education without walls (Learning communi- ties; The National l.~tming Grid; Lcaming in the home; Learning in public - museums, art galleries; Learning at work; Lifelong leau'ning) Deadline for abstracts (500 words) for oral and poster preson- tation: 30 September 1998. All abstracts will be refereed and a crit~ion of rejection will be lack of originality. Abstracts must be supplied by emall. One of the following formats should be used: Word for Windows, WmdPer~t, ASCII with line breaks. Do not encode or compress the text Information: Phillipa Orme, CAL99 Conference Secretariat, 12 Church Street, West l-innney, Wantage, Oxon OXI2 0LN, UK. Phone: +44.1235.868811, Fax: +44.1235.868811, E-mail: p.orme@dinl.pipex.cum

28.8.2000: MIE 2000 of the European Federation for Medical lnformatics (EFMI) and 45 th Meeting of GMDS. Hannover, Germany (until 1.9.2000) Information: Dr. R. Eagelbrecht, GSF - Medis l~stitut, Ingol- stidtex Landslr. I, D-85764 Ncuhcrbcrg, Germany. Phone: +49.89.3187-4138, Fax: +49.89.3187-3008, E-mall: engelOgsf.de

Courses , workshops and s u m m e r schools - new entries only 1.10.98: Workshop on Parallel Symbolic Computation. Ber- keley, CA, USA (anti13.10~98) The workshop will involve approximately 50 mathes~ficians, compotet scientists and scientific users of symbolic computing tools. We will explore the state of the art in symbofic comput-

ing, including algocithmR and compom techniques, with an emphasis on parallel, high l~rformance computer systems. Information: Parallel Symbolic Cmnputation, Mathematical Sciences Research Institute, 1000 Omteunial Drive, Berkeley, CA 94720-5070, USA. E-mall: pata~isc~msri.org, URL: hilp://www.msri.org/activities/programs/9899/symbcomp/paral lelsc/

2.10.98: Seminar: Guidelines fiir klinische Priifungen. Bo- chum, Germany Information: Walter Di~.kmann~ 7.~flU'um Biometrie, Akade- mie for 6ffentiiche C,~--'undhait e.V., Ruhr Universitlt Bochum, D-44780 Bochum, Germany. Phone: +49.234.700-5162, Fax: +49.234.709432.5, E-mail: walter.dieckmann@mhr-uni. bochum.de

4.10.98: School on Wavelets in the Geosciences. Delft, The Netherlands (until 9.10.98) The basic obj~five of the School is to provide the necessary information to understand the potential and limitations of the application of wavelets in the geoscionces. This includes: the mathematical representation in one and more dimensions like on the sphe~; the properties as compared w Fourier tech- niques; the signal representation and analysis ability;, the use of operators in terms of wavelets; gaining expc~'iea~ With wavelets using examples from geo~imces in computer exer- cises. Inforamfion: Secretariat IAG School ca Wavelets in the Geo- sciences, cYo Wil Coops-Laijten, DEOS, Faculty of Civil Engi- neering and Geeeciences, Delft University of Technology, Thijsseweg l l , NL-2629 JA Delft, The NetheHands. Phone: +31.15.2783289, Fax: +31.15.2783711, E-mail~ wavelet. school@goo.tudelfl.ni, URL: hUp://www.goo.tudelfCnl/fmr/ waveletschool.html

8.10.98: 2nd. International Workshop on Randomization and Approximation Techniques in Computer Science. Barcelona, Spain(wuil 7O.7O.98) Information: RANDOM ~8 Workshop Secretariat, Departa- merit de Llengnatges i Sistemes Informafics, Univexsitat Po- litecnica de Catalunya, Modul C6 - Campus Noni, Jordi Gi- r ~ a Salgado, 1-3, E-08034 Barcelona, Spain. Fax: +34.93. 4017014, E-mall: random9801si.upc.es, URL: http:llwww. isi.upc.es/-random98/

9.10.98: Seminar: Anwendangen yon Fuzzy-Mengen und Fuz~-Logik in der Medizj'n. D~sseldorf Ilxformation" ~ M~li~iniw, he Infotmat~ Prof. Dr. Th. Wetter, Universittlt l-leidelbe~, AbL Medizinische lnformatik, hn Neueaheimer Feld, D-69120 H e i d e l ~ , Germany. Phone: +49.6221.56-7398, Fax: +49.6221.56-4951, E-mall: Thomas- Wet te~ ukL uni-helzielborg.de 19.10.98: ~ g in die Biometrle. Bochum, germany (until 21.10.98)

21.10.98: S/AM Workshop on Object Oriented Methods for Inter-operable Scientiftc and Engineering Computing. New York, USA (untU 23.10.98) There is a gowing awarmms in the universities, and industrial and governmental labs, that object oriented methods have the potential for greatly imwoving the usefulness of computers in science and engincedng. There are already many efforts un- derway to redesign and reimplement large codes that were written in the 70's and 80's to take advantaS¢ of the improve- merit in maintainability and flexibility that OO de~gus offer. There still remains a large opportunity to improve the amoont of reuse Within the community. Repmitories such as Netlib

336 THE STATISTICAL SOFTWARE NEWSLETTER

and indices like GAMS have improved our ability to share code, but making the shared code useful requires widespread agreement about how the code is structured and how scientific and engineering codes should interoperate. The world is changing. It used to be that large companies had their own internal development teams, which implemented techniques from the open literature or developed their own proprietary methods. University researchers looked for meth- ods for new classes of problems, and pushed the limits of problem size. Software companies provided application pack- ages aimed at solving common problems, bundled with every- thing from front-ends, to mesh generation and back-ends. Now, as many large companies are cutting back on in-house software development, universities and government labs seem to be doing increasingly more software development and soft- ware vendors are springing up to provide special purpose codes. What are the new roles for academics, software companies, and industry?. Can a university department support a software product? How does a company test and fire-harden research code? How can software companies quickly incorporate new methods into a professional quality product? Who owns what, and who supports what? This interdisciplinary workshop will bring together representa- fives from academia, software vendors, industry, and govern- ment labs, to identify current and future challenges to imple- menting and using mathematical algorithms in scientific and engineering computing. Topics: Current state of the art; Tools that work together well (or poorly); The environments in which codes are used; How new techniques make their way to industrial use;Developing interoperuble scientific codes; Packaging codes; Balancing in. teroperability with performance; Maintenance and ownership of codes; Future directions; The language of the future; Design techniques; Standards for the interoperatiou of mathematical software. Information: URL: http://domino.watson.ibm.com/MathSci/ SIAMWork.nsf/AIi/

22.10.98: Industrial Workshop on Compater-Aided Design and Manufacturing (CAD~CAM). Troy, MI, USA (until 23.10.98) This workshop addresses the mathematical aspects of features in computer-aided design, engineering, and manufacturing. It will bring together researchers, developers and users of "fentures" from industry, academia, and government laborato- ries. The application of mathematics in computer-aided design has already demonstrated the requirement for greater utiliza- tion of geometric information in manufacturing processes. This workshop seeks to forge a closer link between people who design, manufacture and use products, and the researchers who provide the mathematical concepts and computational tools. A central topic of the workshop will be mathematical models that abstract how people view a design, a manufacturing process or the functional uses of a manufactured product. One of the big- gest challenges continues to be the lack of a solid mathemati- cal foundation for defining, exploring and utilizing processes and concepts that embody features. This workshop seeks to improve the understanding of the concept and use of features by discussing mathematical terms, principles and directions. The workshop will consist of technical presentations from two invited plenary speakers: Michael J. Pratt, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Christoph M. Hoffinann, Purdue University, West Lafayette, each of whom will organize a minisymposium that elaborate upon their presentations. In ad-

dition to the invited speakers and their minisymposia, other minisymposia and contributed paper sessions will be organ- ized. Information: E-mail: meetings~slam.org, URL: http://www. siam.org/meOings/ed98/

25.10.98: "Partnering for Global Technology Management." - INFORMS Fall 1998 Meeting. Seattle, USA (until 28.10.98) Information: Albert Maimon, Boeing Company, Phone: +1.425.237-8653, E-mail: albert.maimon@boeing.com, URL: http://www.math.org/seattleinforms.html

28.10.98: ASTED International Conference on Signal and Im- age Processing (SIP'98). Las Vegas, USA (until 31.10.98) Information: lASTED Secretariat - SIP98, 1811 West Katella Avenue Suite 101, anaheim, California 92804 USA, Phone: +1.714.778-3230; Fax: +1.714.778-5463, E-mail: lasted@ lasted.corn

24.11.98:SEAL'98 (The 2 r~ Asia-Pacific Conference on Simulated Evolution And Learning. Canberra, Australia (until 27. I 1.98) Information: SEAL98, School of Computer Science, University College, UNSW, Australian Defence Force Academy, Can- berra, ACT 2600, Australia. Fax: +61.2.6268 8581, URL: http://www.cs.adfa.oz.an/eon ference/sea198/

8.12.98: Architectural Approaches to Software Engineering: Frameworks, Patterns, Components and Architectures. Semi- nar, Milton Keynes, UK (until 9.12.98) This seminar will gather renowned speakers from Europe with important research in the area of Architectural Approaches to Software Engineering. We will encourage a lively exchange of ideas in what we believe to be an extremely important area of research. Leonor Barroca, Dept of Computing, The Open University, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, U.K. URL: http://mcs.open. ac.uk/Imb3, Phone: +44.1908.654864, Secretary: +44.1908. 653037, Fax: +44.1908. 652140, E-mail: l.burroca~open. ac.uk, URL: http://mcs.open.ac.uk/SoftEngSem/SoftEngSem. Html

11.12.98: 7th International Workshop on Matrices and Statis- tics (in celebration of T.W. Anderson's 80th Birthday). Fort Lauderdale, FL. (until 14.12.98) The purpose of this Workshop, the first to be held in the United States, is to stimulate research and, in an informal set- ring, to foster the interaction of researchers in the interface between matrix theory and statistics. This Workshop will pro- vide a forum through which statisticians working in the areas of linear algebra and matrix theory may be better informed of the latest developments and newest techniques and may ex- change ideas with researchers from a wide variety of countries. Topics: Multivariate statistical analysis and rime series; Matrix inequalities. Call for Papers: October 15, 1998 Information: Fuzhen 7hang, Math, Science & Technology, Furquhar Center for Undergraduate Studies, Nova Southeast- ern University, 3301 College Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33314-7796, USA. Phone: +i .954.262-8317, Fax: +i .954.262- 3931, E-marl: zhang@polaris.nova.edu, http://www.polaris. nova.edu/MST/con f/FMW/.

16.12.98: SPC: The New Approach with Process Monitoring and Feedback Adjustment presented by George E. P. Box and J. Stuart Hunter. Taipei, Taiwan (until 18.12.98) Course Perspective: Control is a continuous endeavor to keep measures of quality on target with least variation indefinitely.

THE STATISTICAL SOFTWARE NEWSLETTER 337

This is not easily achieved. Left to themselves, machines do not stay adjusted, components wear out, raw materials vary, and managers and operators forget and mis-communicate. As Deming has said, '~o process, except in artificial demonslra- tions ... is steady and unwavering." Two different techniques that may be employed to control these disturbing influences are: prccoss monitoring and feedback adjustment. Process monitoring uses standard SPC (statistical process con- trol) tools such as Shewhart charts to provide an ongoing check on the stability of the process and points to problems whose elimination can reduce variation and permanently im- prove the system. Process adjustment employs forecasting and feedback control to compensate for sources of variation that cannot be otherwise eliminated. Since the two approaches are complementary considerable advantage is to be gained by augmenting the more standard techniques with appropriate methods of feedback control. The course is designed for those who are searching for this wider perspective. The course describes techniques for feedback control and ad- justment specifically design~:l for application in the SPC envi- ronment. The techniques are widely applicable because of their surprising robustness (insensitivity to assumptions). Methods of discrete proportional-integral control are introduced em- ploying manual adjustment charts no more difficult to use than Shewhart monitoring charts. Augmenting this material are novel process adjustment strategies that reflect the costs of adjustment, of sampling and of being off target. Throughout the course emphasis is on practical application supported by graphical exposition and simple spread-sheet computations. The course will follow closely the new book by George Box and Alberto Luceno, Statistical Control by Monitoring and Feedback Adjustment recently published by John Wiley & Sons in August 1997. The registration fee is US$995. Early registration fee for pay- ments received by Oct 31, 1998 is US$945 Information: ISAI, P.O. Box 189, Mulvane, Kansas 67110, USA. URL: http://www.isai.org/spc_05.shlml

16.12.98: Enhancing TAGUCHI Methods presented by T N Goh Professor of Systems and Industrial Engineering, Na- tional University of Singapore. Post Conference Tutorial fol- lowing the I1 th IASIM Conference. Taipei. Taiwan, (until 18.12.98) Taguchi Methods are a collection of practical ideas and tools designed to be used by practitioners to solve industrial prob- lems. Taguchi Methods frequently represent the first exposure that many practitioners have to experimental design. Perhaps their greatest asset is that they are capable of being taught and learned in a short period of time. As practitioners are con- fronted by more complex industrial problems, they often dis- cover that entry-leval Taguchi Methods may be insufficient or inefficient in uncovering the optimal solution; in some in- stances, even misleading results may be obtained from stan- dard experimental data analysis. This program is intended to show industrial practitioners how to do just that: enhance the applicability and effectiveness of Taguchi Methods experi- ments. It will explain, in a non-mathematical language, how Taguchi-style experiments fit within the framework of more general statistical principles so that practitioners can effect a more varied and powerful approach to problem solving. ~nhancing Taguchi Experiments' presents useful insights into some principles and techniques of Tagnchi Methods that are not found in the usual Taguchi books and training materials. Particular emphasis is placed on Parameter Design for process and product performance optimization. Practical procedures

are offered to overcome potential difficulties posed by certain problem conditions in the design and analysis of industrial ex- perim~ts under Tagnchi Methods. These procedures thus serve to widen the scope of application of Parameter Design. The level of presentation is tailored to technical personnel who have received a typical short course or on-the-job training in Tagnchi Methods, rather than trained statisticians or academ- ics. Mathematics and theoretical considerations are kept to the bare minimum. Examples and case studies are used as far as possible to illustrate cuncepts and techniques. Information: Tracy Caldwell, Phone: +1.316.788-0805, Fax: +1.316,789-0906, e-mail: tracy~issi.org. URL: http://www. isni.org/spc O&shtml

25.1.99: IMA Workshop: Computational Modeling in Biologi- cal Fluid Dynamics. Minneapolis, MN, USA(until 29.1.99) A unifying theme in all biological fluid dynamics is the inter- action of moving, elastic boundaries with surrounding fluid. This workshop will bring together biologists, zoologists, mathemadcans and numerical analysts to focus on modeling and simulations of these complex systems. Topics covered in- clude motility of microorganisms, mucociliary interaction, pulmonary airway reoponing, red blood cell motion and leech swimming. Numerical methods well-suited to these systems, such as immersed boundary methods, boundary element meth- ods and impulse methods will be explored. Information: Institute for Mathematics and its Applications, University of Minnesota, 514 Vincent Hall. 206 Church Street S.E. Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA. Phone: +1.612.624-6066, Fax: +i .612.626-7370, E-mail: ima-staff~ima.umn.edu. URL: http://www.ima.umn.edu/biology/winter/bio6.htm 1

15.2.99:17 rh lASTED International Conference APPLIED INFORMATICS - AI'99. lnn~bruck, Austria (until 18.2.99) AI99 will act as a major forum for ~ h e r s and practitio- ners interested in the advances of applied informatics. The conferunce will cunsist of six symposia: A. Computer Ar- chitecture and Systems; B. Networks, the Internet and the Web; C. Parallel and Distributed Processing; D. Artificial In. telligence and Expert Systems; E. Software; F. Multimedia, Hypermedia and Virtual Reality Call for Papers: September 15, 1998 Information: tASTED Secretariat, A199, #80, 4500-16 Ave. N.W., Calgary, AB, Canada T3B 0M6. Phone: +1.403.288- 1195, Fax: +1.403.247-6851, E-mail: iasted@cadvision.com, URL: http://www.iasted.com/

5.5.98: lASTED International Conference Modelling and Simulation. Philadelphia, PA, USA (until 8.5.98) The field of Modelling and Simulation is not new, however, recent developments in research continue to allow modelling and simulation to be utilized in innovative ways. This conference is divided into three slrcams: Modelling and Simulation Methodologies; Software Engineering; and Indus- trial Applications and Environmental Systems. MS99 will in- clude keynote speeches, tutorials, paper presentations and round table discussions. Topics: Modelling and Simulation Methodologies; Software Engineering; Industrial Applications and Environmental Sys- tems Call for Abstracts: November 4, 1998 Information: IASTED Secretariat - MS99, 1811 West Katella Avenue, Suite 101, Anaheim, CA, USA 92804. Phone: +1.714.778-3230, Fax: +1. 714.778-5463, E-mail: lasted@ iasted.com, URL: http://www.iasted.com

338 THE STATISTICAL SOFTWARE NEWSLETI'ER

13.5.99: IMA Tutorial: Introduction to Epidemiology and Im- munology. Minneapolis, MN, USA (until 14.5.99) Information: Institute for Mathematics and its Applications, University of Minnesota, 514 Vincent Hall. 206 Church Street S.E. Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA. Phone: +1.612.624-6066, Fax: +1.612.626-7370, E-mail: ima-staff@ima.umn.edu

17.5.99: IMA Workshop: Mathematical Approaches for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases. Minneapolis, MN, USA (until 21.5.99) This workshop will focus on the study of ecological and evo- lutionary models in epidemiology and immunology using the theory of dynamical systems and stochastic analysis. Critical questions in these areas will be presented and discussed by re- searchers with diverse approaches and perspectives, ranging from applied mathematics and statistics to theoretical biology, epidemiology and immunology. The workshop will bring to- gether established and young theoreticians from these fields and will be of interest to those working in epidemiology and immunology, coevolutionary biology and the ecology of vec- tor-transmitted diseases. The relevant mathematical back- ground for this workshop includes familiarity with dynamical systems and/or stochastic processes. Participants do not need to be specialists in the mathematics or biology of infectious diseases. The workshop will be preceded by two tutorials on the use of deterministic models in epidemiology and immunol- ogy. Information: Institute for Mathematics and its Applications, University of Minnesota, 514 Vincent Hall. 206 Church Street S.E. Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA. Phone: +1.612.624-6066, Fax: +1.612.626-7370, E-mail: ima-stafl@ima.uma.edu. URL: http://www.ima.umn.edu/bioiogy/spring/biol I .html

19.7.99:14 th International Workshop on Statistical Modelling Graz, Austria (until 23.7.99) The annual workshop will provide a forum for the international exchange of theory, methods and applications in statistical modelling. It focuses on papers that are motivated by real practical problems and that make a novel contribution to the subject. Theoretical contributions addressing problems of practical importance or related to software developments are also welcome. The scientific program is characterised by having invited lec- tures, tutorials, conUibuted papers, posters and software dem-

onstrations. It is designed to allow plenty of time for discussion and interchange between junior and senior scientists, there are no parallel sessions, allowing everyone both to learn and to contribute. The official language of the workshop is English. Contributed papers will be referred by the Scientific Commit- tee, and a proceedings volume will be ready beforehand. The International Workshop on Statistical Modelling (IWSM) aims to bring together researchers and all those interested in the development and applications of generafised linear models and, moreover, statistical modelling in its widest sense. The workshop arose out of the idea of having a forum for present- ing and discussing advances in statistical modelling and stimulating international collaborative work. The main focus is the annual meeting (usually held in July) where a wide range of non-theoretical papers from a wide range of areas in addition to considering theoretical conlributions are covered. General Information: There are no parallel sessions, allowing everyone both to learn and to contribute. The official language of the workshop is English. Contributed papers will be referred by the Scientific Committee, and a proceedings volume will be ready beforehand. Information: Herwig Friedl, Institute of Statistics, Technical University Graz, Lessingstr. 27/1, A-8010 Grax, Austria. Phone: +43,316.873-6477; Fax: +43.316.873-6977; E-mall: friedl@ stat.tu-graz.ac.at; URL: http://www.cis.tu-graz.ac.at/ stat/iwsm

Organizers of forthcoming events are asked ~ u r g e n t l y submit material for to the

CALENDAR as soon as possible - prefera- bly at least 3 months before any deadline via e- mail to hoermann@gsf.de or write to: SSN Redak- tion, GSF Medis Institut, Ingolstaedter Landstr. 1, D-85764 Neuherberg, Germany, Fax +49.89.3187- A.A AS, Phone +49.89.3187-4199.