Network Meta-Analysis for Decision-Making


Book Description

A practical guide to network meta-analysis with examples and code In the evaluation of healthcare, rigorous methods of quantitative assessment are necessary to establish which interventions are effective and cost-effective. Often a single study will not provide the answers and it is desirable to synthesise evidence from multiple sources, usually randomised controlled trials. This book takes an approach to evidence synthesis that is specifically intended for decision making when there are two or more treatment alternatives being evaluated, and assumes that the purpose of every synthesis is to answer the question "for this pre-identified population of patients, which treatment is 'best'?" A comprehensive, coherent framework for network meta-analysis (mixed treatment comparisons) is adopted and estimated using Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods implemented in the freely available software WinBUGS. Each chapter contains worked examples, exercises, solutions and code that may be adapted by readers to apply to their own analyses. This book can be used as an introduction to evidence synthesis and network meta-analysis, its key properties and policy implications. Examples and advanced methods are also presented for the more experienced reader. Methods used throughout this book can be applied consistently: model critique and checking for evidence consistency are emphasised. Methods are based on technical support documents produced for NICE Decision Support Unit, which support the NICE Methods of Technology Appraisal. Code presented is also the basis for the code used by the ISPOR Task Force on Indirect Comparisons. Includes extensive carefully worked examples, with thorough explanations of how to set out data for use in WinBUGS and how to interpret the output. Network Meta-Analysis for Decision Making will be of interest to decision makers, medical statisticians, health economists, and anyone involved in Health Technology Assessment including the pharmaceutical industry.




Decision Making with the Analytic Network Process


Book Description

The Analytic Network Process (ANP), developed by Thomas Saaty in his work on multicriteria decision making, applies network structures with dependence and feedback to complex decision making. This new edition of Decision Making with the Analytic Network Process is a selection of the latest applications of ANP to economic, social and political decisions, and also to technological design. The ANP is a methodological tool that is helpful to organize knowledge and thinking, elicit judgments registered in both in memory and in feelings, quantify the judgments and derive priorities from them, and finally synthesize these diverse priorities into a single mathematically and logically justifiable overall outcome. In the process of deriving this outcome, the ANP also allows for the representation and synthesis of diverse opinions in the midst of discussion and debate. The book focuses on the application of the ANP in three different areas: economics, the social sciences and the linking of measurement with human values. Economists can use the ANP for an alternate approach for dealing with economic problems than the usual mathematical models on which economics bases its quantitative thinking. For psychologists, sociologists and political scientists, the ANP offers the methodology they have sought for some time to quantify and derive measurements for intangibles. Finally the book applies the ANP to provide people in the physical and engineering sciences with a quantitative method to link hard measurement to human values. In such a process, one is able to interpret the true meaning of measurements made on a uniform scale using a unit.




Risk Assessment and Decision Analysis with Bayesian Networks


Book Description

Since the first edition of this book published, Bayesian networks have become even more important for applications in a vast array of fields. This second edition includes new material on influence diagrams, learning from data, value of information, cybersecurity, debunking bad statistics, and much more. Focusing on practical real-world problem-solving and model building, as opposed to algorithms and theory, it explains how to incorporate knowledge with data to develop and use (Bayesian) causal models of risk that provide more powerful insights and better decision making than is possible from purely data-driven solutions. Features Provides all tools necessary to build and run realistic Bayesian network models Supplies extensive example models based on real risk assessment problems in a wide range of application domains provided; for example, finance, safety, systems reliability, law, forensics, cybersecurity and more Introduces all necessary mathematics, probability, and statistics as needed Establishes the basics of probability, risk, and building and using Bayesian network models, before going into the detailed applications A dedicated website contains exercises and worked solutions for all chapters along with numerous other resources. The AgenaRisk software contains a model library with executable versions of all of the models in the book. Lecture slides are freely available to accredited academic teachers adopting the book on their course.




Fundamentals of Brain Network Analysis


Book Description

Fundamentals of Brain Network Analysis is a comprehensive and accessible introduction to methods for unraveling the extraordinary complexity of neuronal connectivity. From the perspective of graph theory and network science, this book introduces, motivates and explains techniques for modeling brain networks as graphs of nodes connected by edges, and covers a diverse array of measures for quantifying their topological and spatial organization. It builds intuition for key concepts and methods by illustrating how they can be practically applied in diverse areas of neuroscience, ranging from the analysis of synaptic networks in the nematode worm to the characterization of large-scale human brain networks constructed with magnetic resonance imaging. This text is ideally suited to neuroscientists wanting to develop expertise in the rapidly developing field of neural connectomics, and to physical and computational scientists wanting to understand how these quantitative methods can be used to understand brain organization. - Winner of the 2017 PROSE Award in Biomedicine & Neuroscience and the 2017 British Medical Association (BMA) Award in Neurology - Extensively illustrated throughout by graphical representations of key mathematical concepts and their practical applications to analyses of nervous systems - Comprehensively covers graph theoretical analyses of structural and functional brain networks, from microscopic to macroscopic scales, using examples based on a wide variety of experimental methods in neuroscience - Designed to inform and empower scientists at all levels of experience, and from any specialist background, wanting to use modern methods of network science to understand the organization of the brain




A User’s Guide to Network Analysis in R


Book Description

Presenting a comprehensive resource for the mastery of network analysis in R, the goal of Network Analysis with R is to introduce modern network analysis techniques in R to social, physical, and health scientists. The mathematical foundations of network analysis are emphasized in an accessible way and readers are guided through the basic steps of network studies: network conceptualization, data collection and management, network description, visualization, and building and testing statistical models of networks. As with all of the books in the Use R! series, each chapter contains extensive R code and detailed visualizations of datasets. Appendices will describe the R network packages and the datasets used in the book. An R package developed specifically for the book, available to readers on GitHub, contains relevant code and real-world network datasets as well.




Network Analysis, Architecture, and Design


Book Description

Traditionally, networking has had little or no basis in analysis or architectural development, with designers relying on technologies they are most familiar with or being influenced by vendors or consultants. However, the landscape of networking has changed so that network services have now become one of the most important factors to the success of many third generation networks. It has become an important feature of the designer's job to define the problems that exist in his network, choose and analyze several optimization parameters during the analysis process, and then prioritize and evaluate these parameters in the architecture and design of the system. Network Analysis, Architecture, and Design, Third Edition, uses a systems methodology approach to teaching these concepts, which views the network (and the environment it impacts) as part of the larger system, looking at interactions and dependencies between the network and its users, applications, and devices. This approach matches the new business climate where customers drive the development of new services and the book discusses how networks can be architected and designed to provide many different types of services to customers. With a number of examples, analogies, instructor tips, and exercises, this book works through the processes of analysis, architecture, and design step by step, giving designers a solid resource for making good design decisions. With examples, guidelines, and general principles McCabe illuminates how a network begins as a concept, is built with addressing protocol, routing, and management, and harmonizes with the interconnected technology around it. Other topics covered in the book are learning to recognize problems in initial design, analyzing optimization parameters, and then prioritizing these parameters and incorporating them into the architecture and design of the system. This is an essential book for any professional that will be designing or working with a network on a routine basis. - Substantially updated design content includes ad hoc networks, GMPLS, IPv6, and mobile networking - Written by an expert in the field that has designed several large-scale networks for government agencies, universities, and corporations - Incorporates real-life ideas and experiences of many expert designers along with case studies and end-of-chapter exercises




Social Network Analysis and Education


Book Description

Social Network Analysis and Education: Theory, Methods & Applications provides an introduction to the theories, methods, and applications that constitute the social network perspective. Unlike more general texts, this applied title is designed for those current and aspiring educational researchers learning how to study, conceptualize, and analyze social networks. Brian V. Carolan's main intent is to encourage you to consider the social network perspective in light of your emerging research interests and evaluate how well this perspective illuminates the social complexities surrounding educational phenomena. Relying on diverse examples drawn from the educational research literature, this book makes explicit how the theories and methods associated with social network analysis can be used to better describe and explain the social complexities surrounding varied educational phenomena.




Beyond Collaboration Overload


Book Description

Named the Best Management Book of 2021 by strategy+business Named one of "this month's top titles" in the Financial Times in September 2021 Named to the longlist for the 2021 Outstanding Works of Literature (OWL) Award in the Management & Culture category A plan for conquering collaborative overload to drive performance and innovation, reduce burnout, and enhance well-being. Most organizations have created always-on work contexts that are burning people out and hurting performance rather than delivering productivity, innovation and engagement. Collaborative work consumes 85% of employees' time and is drifting earlier into the morning, later into the night, and deeper into the weekend. The dilemma is that we all need to collaborate more to create effective organizations and vibrant careers for ourselves. But conventional wisdom on teamwork and collaboration has created too much of the wrong kind of collaboration, which hurts our performance, health and overall well-being. In Beyond Collaboration Overload, Babson professor Rob Cross solves this paradox by showing how top performers who thrive at work collaborate in a more purposeful way that makes them 18-24% more efficient than their peers. Good collaborators are distinguished by the efficiency and intentionality of their collaboration—not the size of their network or the length of their workday. Through landmark research with more than 300 organizations, in-depth stories, and tools, Beyond Collaboration Overload will coach you to reclaim close to a day a week when you: Identify and challenge beliefs that lead you to collaborate too quickly Impose structure in your work to prevent unproductive collaboration Alter behaviors to create more efficient collaboration It then outlines how successful people invest this reclaimed time to: Cultivate a broad network—not a big one—for innovation and scale Energize others—a strong predictor of high performance Connect with others to reduce micro-stressors and enhance physical and mental well-being Cross' framework provides relief from the definitive problem of our age—dysfunctional collaboration at the expense of our performance, health and overall well-being.




Encyclopedia of Decision Making and Decision Support Technologies


Book Description

As effective organizational decision making is a major factor in a company's success, a comprehensive account of current available research on the core concepts of the decision support agenda is in high demand by academicians and professionals. Through 110 authoritative contributions by over 160 of the world's leading experts the Encyclopedia of Decision Making and Decision Support Technologies presents a critical mass of research on the most up-to-date research on human and computer support of managerial decision making, including discussion on support of operational, tactical, and strategic decisions, human vs. computer system support structure, individual and group decision making, and multi-criteria decision making.