Taiwo Amoo

Using Humor in the Introductory Statistics Course

This paper discusses reasons for using humor in the statistics classroom. Humor strengthens the relationship between student and teacher, reduces stress, makes a course more interesting, and, if relevant to the subject, may even enhance recall of the material. The authors provide examples of humorous material for teaching students such topics as descriptive statistics, probability and independence, sampling, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, and regression and forecasting. Also, some references, summarized strategies, and suggestions for becoming more humorous in the classroom are provided.

The awareness of diabetes, its complications, and preventive measures in a developing country

Abstract Diabetes is a common disease affecting the general population in developing countries. According to the Diabetes Association of Nigeria, about six million people have reported to be living with diabetes in Nigeria. In this paper, the authors conducted a survey of educated and non-educated individuals on the awareness of diabetes and of its complications. Our results show that while there is no significant difference in the awareness of the disease, the educated group showed more awareness of its complications. Based on our results, we conclude that an effective healthcare promotional strategy should aim for awareness of both the disease and its complications. Mere awareness of the disease without cognizance of its complications will not be effective in improving healthcare in developing countries such as Nigeria.

Using Real-World Examples to Enhance the Relevance of the Introductory Statistics Course

This paper discusses various cases, stories, and examples involving the use of statistics that can add excitement to an introductory statistics course. Teaching statistics as a mathematics course does not work for students interested in careers in business and accounting. What is needed, the authors feel, are attention-grabbing examples. The authors provide instructors with interesting material for making a statistics course exciting and relevant.