In the early 1950s, another doctoral student named Harry Markowitz posited a statistical approach to investment selection called Modern Portfolio Theory.

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Mr. FELCH: Value-added is a somewhat complex statistical approach.

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The algorithm could be of great interest to Twitter, which could charge a premium for ads linked to popular topics, but it also represents a new approach to statistical analysis that could, in theory, apply to any quantity that varies over time: the duration of a bus ride, ticket sales for films, maybe even stock prices.

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This is a different approach from the statistical approach that Autonomy takes, which can be pointed at any text, regardless of language.

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His approach relies on a statistical technique invented in 1943 by a British statistician, Ronald Fisher, and now widely used by geologists and ecologists to estimate the diversity of populations (of, say, fossils or beetles).

ECONOMIST: Statistics

For some, the statistical approach could lead to a disheartening conclusion: The family farm may not survive another generation.

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Faced with such objections, government statisticians in Europe and Canada have concentrated on a different approach, advocated by Mr Keuning and by Eurostat, the statistical arm of the European Union.

ECONOMIST: An invaluable environment

Juran focused more on the human-relations aspects of quality, while Deming's approach involved demonstrating that all business processes are vulnerable to a loss of quality through statistical variation.

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Irina Bokova underlined the importance of a comprehensive approach, from early childhood to higher education, as well as the need for reliable statistical data for effective planning and a broad vision of the development of the entire education sector.

UNESCO: EDUCATION