The Other Side of the Error Term


Book Description

It has been said more than once in psychology that one person's effect is another person's error term. By minimising and occasionally ignoring individual and group variability cognitive psychology has yieled many fine achievements. However, when investigators are working with special populations, the subjects, and the unique nature of the sample, come into focus and become the goal in itself. For developmental psychologists, gerontologists and psychopathologists, research progresses with an eye on their target populations of study. Yet every good study in any of these domains inevitably has another dimension. Whenever a study is designed to turn a spotlight on a special population, the light is also shed on the mainstream from which the target deviates.This book examines what we can learn about general and universal phenomena in cognition and its brain substrates from examining the odd, the rare, the transient, the exceptional and the abnormal.




Political Analysis


Book Description

Why let other people explain the world to you? From news reporting on elections or unfolding political crises to everyday advertising, you are confronted with statistics. Rather than being swayed by bad arguments and questionable correlations, this book introduces you to the most common and contemporary statistical methods so that you can better understand the world. It′s not about mindless number crunching or flashy techniques but about knowing when to use statistics as the best means to analyse a problem. Whether you want to answer: "Who is most likely to turn out and vote at the next election?" or "What accounts for some political conflicts escalating to war?" you’ll explore what can and can’t be done with statistics, and how to select the most appropriate statistical techniques and correctly interpret the results. Perhaps you simply want to understand enough to pass your statistics class and move on. Maybe you want to build your knowledge so that you are not excluded from research and debate. Or it could be the first step towards more advanced study. Whatever your goal, this book guides you through the journey, empowering you to confidently interact with statistics to make you a more formidable student, employee, and democratic citizen.




Risk, Reliability and Safety: Innovating Theory and Practice


Book Description

The safe and reliable performance of many systems with which we interact daily has been achieved through the analysis and management of risk. From complex infrastructures to consumer durables, from engineering systems and technologies used in transportation, health, energy, chemical, oil, gas, aerospace, maritime, defence and other sectors, the management of risk during design, manufacture, operation and decommissioning is vital. Methods and models to support risk-informed decision-making are well established but are continually challenged by technology innovations, increasing interdependencies, and changes in societal expectations. Risk, Reliability and Safety contains papers describing innovations in theory and practice contributed to the scientific programme of the European Safety and Reliability conference (ESREL 2016), held at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland (25—29 September 2016). Authors include scientists, academics, practitioners, regulators and other key individuals with expertise and experience relevant to specific areas. Papers include domain specific applications as well as general modelling methods. Papers cover evaluation of contemporary solutions, exploration of future challenges, and exposition of concepts, methods and processes. Topics include human factors, occupational health and safety, dynamic and systems reliability modelling, maintenance optimisation, uncertainty analysis, resilience assessment, risk and crisis management.




Space/Terrestrial Mobile Networks


Book Description

Space/Terrestrial Mobile Networks Internet Access and QoS Support covers the design of a Global Mobile Broadband System (GMBS) based on the results of the European Commission's Framework Programme 5 Information Society Technologies (IST) Project SUITED. Many of the latest concept in mobility solutions, network design techniques and internet technologies are presented. The SUITED project has addressed a number of technical issues that are very much state-of-the-art. The presentation of such material in the form of a design of a real network provides a unique source of information. This book: Addresses the important topic of heterogeneous networks and the underlying tecyhnologies Describes how to design an integrated satellite/terrestrial infrastructure where all the network components are fully merged together and integrated with the Internet Core network Presents the service scenarios and system requirements of the Global Mobile Broadband System (GMBS) Discusses the necessary QoS support and defines the novel admission control scheme Gauge & Gate Reservation with Independent Probing (GRIP) Covers mobility management including Mobile-IP support and a QoS Support Module (QASM) Describes the functional and network architectures and presents signalling protocols for mobility management in GMBS Presents the design of signalling protocols and their implementation using the Specification and Description Language (SDL) Space/Terrestrial Mobile Networks Internet Access and QoS Support has an accessible and practical approach to the subject and addresses in detail, the important topic of heterogeneous networks and the underlying technologies that make this concept possible.




A Practical Introduction to Econometric Methods


Book Description

An introduction to the theory and practice of classical and modern econometric methods. It seeks to help the reader: understand the scope and limitations of econometrics; read, write and interpret articles and reports of an applied econometric nature; and to build upon the elements introduced.




Statements of Resolve


Book Description

This book analyzes the conditions under which leaders can use resolved statements to effectively coerce foreign adversaries.




Machine Learning Automation with TPOT


Book Description

Discover how TPOT can be used to handle automation in machine learning and explore the different types of tasks that TPOT can automate Key FeaturesUnderstand parallelism and how to achieve it in Python.Learn how to use neurons, layers, and activation functions and structure an artificial neural network.Tune TPOT models to ensure optimum performance on previously unseen data.Book Description The automation of machine learning tasks allows developers more time to focus on the usability and reactivity of the software powered by machine learning models. TPOT is a Python automated machine learning tool used for optimizing machine learning pipelines using genetic programming. Automating machine learning with TPOT enables individuals and companies to develop production-ready machine learning models cheaper and faster than with traditional methods. With this practical guide to AutoML, developers working with Python on machine learning tasks will be able to put their knowledge to work and become productive quickly. You'll adopt a hands-on approach to learning the implementation of AutoML and associated methodologies. Complete with step-by-step explanations of essential concepts, practical examples, and self-assessment questions, this book will show you how to build automated classification and regression models and compare their performance to custom-built models. As you advance, you'll also develop state-of-the-art models using only a couple of lines of code and see how those models outperform all of your previous models on the same datasets. By the end of this book, you'll have gained the confidence to implement AutoML techniques in your organization on a production level. What you will learnGet to grips with building automated machine learning modelsBuild classification and regression models with impressive accuracy in a short timeDevelop neural network classifiers with AutoML techniquesCompare AutoML models with traditional, manually developed models on the same datasetsCreate robust, production-ready modelsEvaluate automated classification models based on metrics such as accuracy, recall, precision, and f1-scoreGet hands-on with deployment using Flask-RESTful on localhostWho this book is for Data scientists, data analysts, and software developers who are new to machine learning and want to use it in their applications will find this book useful. This book is also for business users looking to automate business tasks with machine learning. Working knowledge of the Python programming language and beginner-level understanding of machine learning are necessary to get started.




Governance And Financial Performance: Current Trends And Perspectives


Book Description

This book focuses on corporate governance and proposes a novel framework for combining the Corporate Governance Framework (CGF) with current corporate finance issues arising in the Contemporary Business Environment (CBE) and cointegrating them with today's business needs. It consists of a good collection of state-of-the-art approaches that will be useful for new researchers and practitioners working in this field, helping them to quickly grasp the current state of corporate governance and corporate financial performance.Good corporate governance is not only important for companies, but also for the society. To begin with, good corporate governance strengthens the public's faith and trust in corporate governance. Legislative processes were developed to protect the society from known threats and prevent problems from occurring or recurring. Recent corporate scandals shed light on the impact that corporations have on social responsibility. The new focus on the corporate governance framework increases the responsibility and accountability of companies to their stakeholders and provides a solid framework for enhancing corporate performance.




Straightforward Statistics


Book Description

Straightforward Statistics is written in plain language and connects material in a clear, logical manner to help students across the social and behavioral sciences develop a "big picture" understanding of foundational statistics. Each new chapter is purposefully connected with the previous chapter for a gradual accrual of knowledge from simple to more complex concepts—this effective, cumulative approach to statistics through logical transitions eases students into statistics and prepares them for success in more advanced quantitative coursework and their own research.




Understanding Multivariate Research


Book Description

Although nearly all major social science departments offer graduate students training in quantitative methods, the typical sequencing of topics generally delays training in regression analysis and other multivariate techniques until a student's second year. William Berry and Mitchell Sanders's Understanding Multivariate Research fills this gap with a concise introduction to regression analysis and other multivariate techniques. Their book is designed to give new graduate students a grasp of multivariate analysis sufficient to understand the basic elements of research relying on such analysis that they must read prior to their formal training in quantitative methods. Berry and Sanders effectively cover the techniques seen most commonly in social science journals--regression (including nonlinear and interactive models), logit, probit, and causal models/path analysis. The authors draw on illustrations from across the social sciences, including political science, sociology, marketing and higher education. All topics are developed without relying on the mathematical language of probability theory and statistical inference. Readers are assumed to have no background in descriptive or inferential statistics, and this makes the book highly accessible to students with no prior graduate course work.