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Talk:Hans van Houwelingen

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Quote

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Hi @Gidonb:, there's a quote in Dutch on this Wiki-page, that reads: "dat Expecting the Unexpected een heel goede functiebeschrijving is voor een biostatisticus. Het is de taak van een statisticus om vooruit te kijken naar wat zou kunnen gebeuren en anderen te helpen daar verstandig mee om te gaan. Dat geldt niet alleen voor adviserend werk. De statisticus moet dat ook proberen te doen bij het onderzoek in zijn eigen vak.".
I translated that to: Expecting the Unexpected is a very accurate job description for a biostatistician. The task of a statistician is to anticipate what could happen and help others to deal with that sensibly. This does not only apply to consulting jobs, but also concerns research in their own field
You changed that to: Expecting the Unexpected is a very accurate job description for a biostatistician. The mission of statisticians is to anticipate what could happen and assist others in forming sensible responses. This mission is not limited to consulting work. It also concerns research in their own field.
Thank you for your help. Maybe this part can still be improved: "assist others in forming sensible responses"; I think Van Houwelingen meant people will have to deal with the anticipated situation, the scenario of what could happen, for example: the statistician finds a high probability there will be less work for people in administrative jobs, because of robots taking over the work. The mission of statisticians is to help people deal with this expectation sensibly. I think "assist others in forming sensible responses" seems to implicate only other scientists are assisted. What do you think? Laurier (talk) 10:10, 20 December 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Hi @Laurier: You're very welcome! Your entire intro proves that we agree on what Van Houwelingen meant. So I'm referring ONLY to your last phrase. This concern could have held water, however Van Houwelingen went on to say: "This mission is not limited to consulting work. It also concerns research in their own field." I.e. the sensible solutions must be equally offered in their own research. As this wasn't clear to you from reading the improved translation, I'll change work to others. BTW the original isn't so well fleshed out either. Is the original perhaps part of a transcribed speech or interview? The idea of broad responsibility for statisticians is compelling when stated by a statistician and possibly why you chose the quote. It implies deep involvement in various stages of research assisted. gidonb (talk) 13:27, 20 December 2018 (UTC)[reply]
Sorry for asking the obvious. By the title of the publication is part of a speech. Actually a good finding as it formally justifies taking somewhat more liberty in the translation. I took that liberty by context. gidonb (talk) 13:32, 20 December 2018 (UTC)[reply]
BTW "others" in both phrases can mean the researchers that one directly consults and the affected populations (in your example jobseekers or workforce) for whom sensible responses are suggested. I think this was your real concern. In response I'll also change your own consulting to advising. gidonb (talk) 14:03, 20 December 2018 (UTC)[reply]

godfathers

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Hi @Qwfp:, I just made this edit, and hope my edit descriptions makes it more clear. I think there is just a subtle difference between 'in Leiden' and 'of Leiden', but the implication is quite clear. Do you agree? Thank you for your help, Laurier (talk) 13:48, 24 December 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Authority control - links

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Hi all, I have a question about the template Authority control at the bottom of the page. I found the same template on the page Martin Schumacher, with some links to public profiles of Schumacher. The issue with Van Houwelingen is, in his publications and publications about him, he goes by different names. (As you can see here.) So it's not that easy to identify him sometimes. Can anyone help in connecting the Wikipage to these pages, for example?

Thank you in advance, Laurier (talk) 10:56, 26 December 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Maybe relevant: Wikidata item Laurier (talk) 11:41, 26 December 2018 (UTC)[reply]
I have taken a quick look. Check his Wikidata item! My process: I usually search Mix'n'match to see if the person can be matched to some external databases there, and then explore their VIAF record which, under 'History of VIAF ID' usually includes some identifiers in other databases too. Cheers, Spinster (talk) 18:17, 4 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you, Spinster! Laurier (talk) 21:17, 5 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Primary sources

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Hi GidonB, in this edit and this edit, you removed two sources, commenting these were primary sources:

Based on Wikipedia:No_original_research#Primary,_secondary_and_tertiary_sources, I am not quite convinced these sources need to be removed. Can you please explain this? Thank you, Laurier (talk) 13:22, 1 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hi User:Laurier, first is a PR item by the university where Van Houwelingen worked. Second is a conference listing. gidonb (talk) 02:00, 4 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, I know that, but I still don't see why they should be removed. A university news item is not promotional material or biased, this was an interview of one professor, who said something about three other scientists, and the conference website is a quite independent remark about Van Houwelingens field of expertise, which I fail to see why this would be irrelevant or not sufficiently sourced with this website. Can you please either put them back or explain more why these are not good enough sources? Laurier (talk) 11:45, 4 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Such sources can support phrases very limited in scope that would not improve the article. Please remember that this is a WP:BLP. Also, it would be nice if you could flesh out Van Houwelingen's main career years a bit. Right now the biography is too focused on the academic's early career and his retirement. If you can find great sources that support dry, factual statements, you could improve the article! gidonb (talk) 23:34, 30 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Yeah, thanks, I'm going to, but it might take a while. Laurier (talk) 14:46, 31 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]
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