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Catalogue Firms Find Data Quality Essential
According to a front page article in the December 7th issue of The Washington Post, as competition in the catalogue business intensifies, high quality data and the sophisticated statistical techniques needed to analyze data are essential for success. And both statistical methods and high quality data are used to make increasingly complex decisions for catalogue companies.
Catalogue companies typically use massive amounts of data from customers' past purchases to predict what customers will buy in the future. High quality data is essential for decision making because most of the industry's growth is coming from existing buyers. Historical data about customer purchases not only drives a catalogue company's ordering and inventory but more subtle activities like catalogue design and package shipping. According to the Post, catalogue retailers are hiring marketing consultants who conduct "focus groups" to obtain more data about their customers. In the future, catalogues may be custom tailored for certain types of customers, based upon data from a variety of sources. The article was written by Post staff writer Margaret Webb-Presssler.
Social Security Data: Too Many Have Access
A front page report in the weekend edition of USA TODAY (December 5-7) alleges that too many employees of the Social Security Administration have too much access to Americans' financial and personal records. Although a recent internal Inspector General audit didn't raise concerns about computer hackers obtaining access to Social Security databases, it did criticize the agency for having too many employees who have the capability to access, modify, and disclose sensitive data.
The audit reports that several dozen Social Security employees (the agency has 65,000) have recently been charged with various federal offenses. Most of the offenses involved employees either disclosing or modifying sensitive information.. The audit urges the Social Security Administration to restrict employee computer access, and to better track employees' computer activity. The report was written by USA Today staff reporter Peter Eisler.
Internet 'Gatekeepers' Control Net Information
A special report in the December 8th issue of The Wall Street Journal, looks at some of the people who run the Internet. Among those featured in the report are the Internet "gatekeepers" employed by the Web search service, Yahoo Inc.
According to the report, Yahoo employs about 60 "surfers" to control admittance to Yahoo's giant Internet directory. Links in Yahoo's database feed users to Internet sites - such links are vital to commercial Internet users (no links = no income).
The "rules" for admittance to Yahoo's directory are subjective and objective. Web sites must conform to several objective criteria. Web sites are placed in one or two categories. Web sites must be well-constructed. So-called "porno" sites are not considered. Nor are those that offer "get rich quick" schemes. Yahoo "gatekeepers" also use subjective criteria to keep other sites out of the Yahoo directory. Site content should be interesting (and slightly off-beat). Site graphics should be superior. Site descriptions must be edited to conform to Yahoo's style. According to the Journal, Yahoo accepts about half the sites that are submitted.
A recent search of Yahoo using the term "data quality" retrieved two obsolete commercial Web sites. The article was written by Journal staff reporter Kara Swisher and appears on page R18.
Digital Hearing Aids Improve Sound
Quality,
But Prices Are High
According to an article in the December 8th issue of The Wall Street Journal, digital hearing aids that are just coming on the market can significantly improve sound quality vis a vis analog models. The problem with analog models is that background sounds and noise are amplified together with speech. Analog hearing aids are also plagued by "feedback" (sound amplified and re-amplified to the point where it is painful to hear).
According the the Journal article, digital hearing aids employ small microprocessor chips to both filter and process incoming audio so both background noise and "feedback" are significantly reduced. According to user reports, digital hearing aids essentially eliminate feedback, and background noise is attenuated to the point where hearing is "comfortable."
The technology comes at a price - about $2,000 - $3,000 per ear. Analog hearing aids cost about $1,000 - $2,000 per ear. Most HMOs and insurance providers don't provide insurance coverage for purchasing hearing aids. According to the Journal, about 6 million of 28 million hearing-impaired Americans wear hearing aids. Many of those who don't aren't aware of the benefits of hearing aids, or can't afford them. Others, who have tried hearing aids, find the performance of those they've worn is "terrible." Consumers can expect digital technology to deliver better hearing in quiet and mildly noisy environments. The article was written by Marilyn Chase and appears on page B1.
Oxford Health Plans Nemesis - Data Quality
A report in the December 11th issue of The Wall Street Journal examines how disaster struck Oxford Health Care Plans Inc. Oxford's shares closed down over 75% compared to previous selling prices earlier this year.
According to the Journal, poor data and information quality played a key role in Oxford's downfall. Oxford not only purchased a computer system that was poorly designed to handle the vastly increased volume of data that resulted from Oxford's explosive growth, but Oxford's computer software was incapable of filtering errors and/or correcting and processing records that contained relatively minor errors. For example, one error in one record could cause Oxford's billing software to reject an entire batch of 1,000 records.
The Journal reports while the volume of database errors wasn't high, their effect proved to be disasterous for Oxford's accounts payable and accounts receiveable systems. Patients didn't receive bills for months. Nor were physicians paid for months. Oxford's cash flow data quality was so bad that Oxford had to rely on estimates and guesses for key variables. According to the Journal, Oxford's response to data problems was entirely reactionary - Oxford piled people onto fixing what appeared to be the most serious immediate problem while ignoring how the problems occurred. The report was written by Journal staff reporters Ron Winslow and George Anders, and appears on page B1.
Israel Blocks Palestinian Census In East Jerusalem
According to a report in the December 11th issue of The New York Times, the Israeli Government has blocked efforts by Palestinians to expand the Palestinian Census to Arab neighborhoods in East Jerusalem. The Palestine Central Bureau of Statistics is conducting the first census of Palestinians in 30 years. The current census is viewed by many Palestinians as a step toward statehood. The Israeli Government calls plans for a census in East Jerusalem a challenge to Israel's sovereignty.
According to the Times, the census is the first systematic attempt by Palestinians to take stock of their own resources. The census is counting the population, housing units, and businesses in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It is also measuring education, employment levels, medical disabilities, agricultural land ownership, and living standards.
On one hand, Palestinians assert that East Jerusalem is the capital of a hoped-for Palestinian state. But the Israeli Government sees any census-taking in East Jerusalem as an attack on Israel's right to rule Jerusalem. Therefore, the Israeli "Authorites" are using the Israeli police and military to prevent the Palestinians from taking an accurate census in East Jerusalem. The report was written by Joel Greenburg, and appears on page A3.