He applied this data-driven approach to correction, measuring employee performance on more than 130 statistical yardsticks, from inmate violence to officer overtime and sick time and the speed at which broken equipment was repaired.
But measuring GDP in current dollars shows an economy's international clout and by that yardstick, Brazil needs no statistical smoke and mirrors.
We only include it to serve as an yardstick for the four statistical methods.
Internationally recognized experts such as Philippe Grandjean [ 23, 24] and David Gee [ 25] challenge traditional reductionist approaches as well as the yardstick of perfect information and strict statistical standards with respect to environment and health research.
Currency devaluations muddy the waters, but Hong Kong, with the statistical clarity of an unchanged currency, is a good yardstick: Malaysians are spending half what they did a year ago, Indonesians and Thais two-thirds, Singaporeans and Filipinos three-quarters.
In recent years, the so-called "eight-thousanders" have become a universal yardstick for success among high-altitude mountaineers: by statistical coincidence, there are only fourteen peaks standing higher than 8,000 meters (26,247 feet) above sea level.
Although, many studies have employed traditional statistical methods in identifying the factors responsible for the disparity, the statistical tool for setting a yardstick is yet to be established.
The errors should include both the statistical errors (due to finite sampling) and the estimated systematic errors (for example, due to the use of incomplete performance yardsticks).
