Perhaps the most difficult aspect of constructing a multi-dimensional index is that of choosing weights for the components. This problem is often bypassed by adopting the ‘agnostic’ option of equal weights, as in the Human Development Index. This is an annual ranking of countries produced by...

Educationalists are well able to find fault with rankings on numerous grounds and may reject them outright. However, given that they are here to stay, we could also try to improve them wherever possible. All currently published university rankings combine various measures to produce an overall...

We consider the problem of fitting a linear model for a number of variables but without treating any one of these variables as special, in contrast to regression where one variable is singled out as being a dependent variable. Each of the variables is allowed to have error or natural variability...