Practical Data Processing and Analysis Using R

The concept of modelling using graph theory has its origin in several scientific areas, notably statistics, physics, genetics, and engineering. The use of graphical models in applied statistics has in

This is a revised and extended version of the popular first edition. Inspired by the work of Thom and Arnol'd on singularity theory, such topics as umbilics, ridges and subparabolic lines, all robust features of a smooth surface, which are rarely treated in elementary courses on differential geometry, are considered here in detail. These features are of immediate relevance in modern areas of application such as interpretation of range data from curved surfaces and the processing of magnetic resonance and cat-scan images. The text is based on extensive teaching at Liverpool University to audiences of advanced undergraduate and beginning postgraduate students in mathematics. However, the wide applicability of this material means that it will also appeal to scientists and engineers from a variety of other disciplines. The author has included many exercises and examples to illustrate the results proved.

Learn to create presentation-quality reports using this practical introductory guide--even if you're a novice. You'll find all the information you need to get up and running with this data analysis t

Praise for Focus on Value"Focus on Value-with its theoretical and practical focus on economic profit fundamentals-is a modern day 'Graham and Dodd' primer on company and equity securities analysis."-R

Engineering and Product Development Management is a practical guide to the components of engineering management, using a holistic approach. It will help engineers and managers understand what they have to do to improve the product development process by deploying new technology and new methods of working in concurrent teams. The book takes elements from six well known and understood bodies of knowledge and integrates them into a holistic approach: integrated product development, project management, process management, systems engineering, product data management, and organizational change management. These elements are framed within an overall enterprise-wide architecture. The techniques discussed in this book work for both huge multinational organizations and smaller enterprises. The emphasis throughout is on practical tools which will be invaluable for engineers, managers, and consultants responsible for project and product development.

Crustal Heat Flow: A Guide to Measurement and Modeling is a handbook for geologists and geophysicists who manipulate thermal data, particularly for petroleum exploration. In theory and with practical examples the book discusses the sources of heat within the crust, describes how to maximise the accuracy of temperature data, covers the measurement of the thermal properties of rocks, and explains a number of maturity indicators. The second part covers a range of thermodynamic models of the lithosphere and shows how these can be used to reconstruct the thermal history of individual sedimentary basins. This book will be regarded as a long-term reference source for professionals and researchers. It will also form the basis of advanced undergraduate and graduate student courses in geology, geophysics, engineering, mining, and environmental science, and will be a valuable text for petroleum industry training schemes.

The control of vibrating systems is a significant issue in the design of aircraft, spacecraft, bridges and high-rise buildings. This 2001 book discusses the control of vibrating systems, integrating structural dynamics, vibration analysis, modern control and system identification. Integrating these subjects is an important feature in that engineers will need only one book, rather than several texts or courses, to solve vibration control problems. The book begins with a review of basic mathematics needed to understand subsequent material. Chapters then cover more recent and valuable developments in aerospace control and identification theory, including virtual passive control, observer and state-space identification, and data-based controller synthesis. Many practical issues and applications are addressed, with examples showing how various methods are applied to real systems. Some methods show the close integration of system identification and control theory from the state-space perspec

Orbiting spacecraft provide a valuable laboratory for experiments on physical and biological systems in a reduced gravity environment. Materials processing experiments have commonly involved the growth of crystals from the melt or solution, and the processing of alloys and composites. Biological experiments have been performed on a variety of subjects, including protein crystal growth, bio-reactors, and the adaptation of humans to extended periods of weightlessness. In these studies, fluid masses containing bubbles and drops are encountered routinely. This 2001 book provides a clear, thorough review of the motion of bubbles and drops in reduced gravity, particularly motion caused by variations in interfacial tension arising from temperature gradients on their surfaces. The emphasis is on theoretical analysis from first principles; experimental results are discussed and compared with predictions where appropriate. Students and researchers interested in fluid mechanics in reduced gravit

When a structure is put under an increasing compressive load, it becomes unstable and buckling occurs. Buckling is a particularly significant concern in designing shell structures such as aircraft, automobiles, ships, or bridges. This book discusses stability analysis and buckling problems and offers practical tools for dealing with uncertainties that exist in real systems. The techniques are based on two complementary theories which are developed in the text. First, the probabilistic theory of stability is presented, with particular emphasis on reliability. Both theoretical and computational issues are discussed. Secondly, the authors present the alternative to probability based on the notion of 'anti-optimization', a theory that is valid when the necessary information for probabilistic analysis is absent, that is, when only scant data are available. Design engineers, researchers, and graduate students in aerospace, mechanical, marine, and civil engineering who are concerned with iss

Recently molecular biology has undergone unprecedented development generating vast quantities of data needing sophisticated computational methods for analysis, processing and archiving. This requireme

Recently molecular biology has undergone unprecedented development generating vast quantities of data needing sophisticated computational methods for analysis, processing and archiving. This requirem

Multiple regression, linear modelling, and multivariate analysis are among the most useful statistical methods for the elucidation of complicated data, and all of them are most easily explained in mat

Using data in questionnaire responses from large research and development organizations, Niosi (administration, L'UniversitT de QuTbec s MontrTal) looks at the history and current status of Canadian r

This 2000 book brings together fossil record information on the glacial stage flora of Britain and Ireland. Using this data, the author provides an interpretation of the environments found during some

This exciting volume marks the birth of a new field, one which attempts to study law with reference to an accurate understanding of human behavior. It reports new findings in cognitive psychology which show that people are frequently both unselfish and over-optimistic; that people have limited willpower and limited self-control; and that people are 'boundedly' rational, in the sense that they have limited information-processing powers, and frequently rely on mental short-cuts and rules of thumb. Understanding this behavior has large-scale implications for the analysis of law, in areas including environmental protection, taxation, constitutional law, voting behavior, punitive damages for civil rights violations, labor negotiations, and corporate finance. With a better knowledge of human behavior, it is possible to predict the actual effects of law, to see how law can promote society's goals, and to reassess the questions of what law should be doing.

This exciting volume marks the birth of a new field, one which attempts to study law with reference to an accurate understanding of human behavior. It reports new findings in cognitive psychology which show that people are frequently both unselfish and over-optimistic; that people have limited willpower and limited self-control; and that people are 'boundedly' rational, in the sense that they have limited information-processing powers, and frequently rely on mental short-cuts and rules of thumb. Understanding this behavior has large-scale implications for the analysis of law, in areas including environmental protection, taxation, constitutional law, voting behavior, punitive damages for civil rights violations, labor negotiations, and corporate finance. With a better knowledge of human behavior, it is possible to predict the actual effects of law, to see how law can promote society's goals, and to reassess the questions of what law should be doing.

This book provides practical information on the use of infrared spectroscopy for the analysis of materials found in cultural objects. Designed for scientists and students in the fields of archaeology,

Computer vision aims to detect and reconstruct features of surfaces from the images produced by cameras, in some way mimicking the way in which humans reconstruct features of the world around them by using their eyes. In this book the authors describe research in computer vision aimed at recovering the 3D shape of surfaces from image sequences of their 'outlines'. They provide all the necessary background in differential geometry (assuming knowledge of elementary algebra and calculus) and in the analysis of visual motion, emphasising intuitive visual understanding of the geometric techniques with computer-generated illustrations. They also give a thorough introduction to the mathematical techniques and the details of the implementations and apply the methods to data from real images using the most current techniques.

The idea of the sensitive, post-feminist 'new man' has received great attention. This book sets out to determine how much of the hype is based on fact, and why such images have proliferated in the media. McMahon focuses on the pivotal issue of men's relationship to the vital daily work of caring for people - both physically and emotionally - revealing much confusion about the extent and the interpretation of change. Using statistical data, as well as interview transcripts and media analysis, McMahon draws insightful distinctions between pleasure and performance, assistance and responsibility, gendered personality and gendered jobs, and - underlying all - between consumption and production. Incorporating social theory, psychology and popular culture, this book argues that recent social conversation about men largely avoids the important political point that men's material interests provide a major motivation for resistance to pro-equity change.

The idea of the sensitive, post-feminist 'new man' has received great attention. This book sets out to determine how much of the hype is based on fact, and why such images have proliferated in the media. McMahon focuses on the pivotal issue of men's relationship to the vital daily work of caring for people - both physically and emotionally - revealing much confusion about the extent and the interpretation of change. Using statistical data, as well as interview transcripts and media analysis, McMahon draws insightful distinctions between pleasure and performance, assistance and responsibility, gendered personality and gendered jobs, and - underlying all - between consumption and production. Incorporating social theory, psychology and popular culture, this book argues that recent social conversation about men largely avoids the important political point that men's material interests provide a major motivation for resistance to pro-equity change.

The often emotional debate over the impact of structural adjustment on the poor in Africa has been confused by the complexity of economic reforms and their inconsistent implementation, the diversity of prior conditions, and confounding effects of external shocks. Going beyond simple 'before and after' comparisons, in this 1998 book Professors Sahn, Dorosh, and Younger isolate from other factors the effect of specific policy measures associated with adjustment programs. The analysis draws primarily on the experience of ten African countries: Cameroon, The Gambia, Ghana, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Niger, Tanzania, and Zaire. It combines description of policy reforms and survey data, and quantitative simulations using multi-market and computable general equilibrium (CGE) models. The authors suggest that contrary to common belief, adjustment policies do not harm the poor in Africa. Reforms in fact usually benefit the poor slightly, but alone are insufficient to reduce poverty signific

This eminently practical reference provides the latest data on the cause, clinical presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of psychiatric disorders associated with medical illness-illuminating the ofte

This 1999 book is about the kind of mathematics usually encountered in first year university courses. A key feature of the book is that this mathematics is explored in depth using the popular and powerful package MATLAB. The emphasis is on understanding and investigating the mathematics, and putting it into practice in a wide variety of modelling situations. In the process, the reader will gain some fluency with MATLAB, no starting knowledge of the package being assumed. The range of material is wide: matrices, whole numbers, complex numbers, geometry of curves and families of lines, data analysis, random numbers and simulations, and differential equations form the basic mathematics. This is applied to a large number of investigations and modelling problems, from sequences of real numbers to cafeteria queues, from card shuffling to models of fish growth. All extras to the standard MATLAB package are supplied on the World Wide Web.

This 1999 book is about the kind of mathematics usually encountered in first year university courses. A key feature of the book is that this mathematics is explored in depth using the popular and powerful package MATLAB. The emphasis is on understanding and investigating the mathematics, and putting it into practice in a wide variety of modelling situations. In the process, the reader will gain some fluency with MATLAB, no starting knowledge of the package being assumed. The range of material is wide: matrices, whole numbers, complex numbers, geometry of curves and families of lines, data analysis, random numbers and simulations, and differential equations form the basic mathematics. This is applied to a large number of investigations and modelling problems, from sequences of real numbers to cafeteria queues, from card shuffling to models of fish growth. All extras to the standard MATLAB package are supplied on the World Wide Web.

Economic inequality has become a focus of prime interest for economic analysts and policy makers. This book provides an integrated approach to the topics of inequality and personal income distribution. It covers the practical and theoretical bases for inequality analysis, applications to real world problems and the foundations of theoretical approaches to income distribution. It also analyses models of the distribution of labour earnings and of income from wealth. The long-run development of income - and wealth - distribution over many generations is also examined. Special attention is given to an assessment of the merits and weaknesses of standard economic models, to illustrating the implications of distributional mechanisms using real data and illustrative examples, and to providing graphical interpretation of formal arguments. Examples are drawn from US, UK and international sources.

Economic inequality has become a focus of prime interest for economic analysts and policy makers. This book provides an integrated approach to the topics of inequality and personal income distribution. It covers the practical and theoretical bases for inequality analysis, applications to real world problems and the foundations of theoretical approaches to income distribution. It also analyses models of the distribution of labour earnings and of income from wealth. The long-run development of income - and wealth - distribution over many generations is also examined. Special attention is given to an assessment of the merits and weaknesses of standard economic models, to illustrating the implications of distributional mechanisms using real data and illustrative examples, and to providing graphical interpretation of formal arguments. Examples are drawn from US, UK and international sources.

Written by four experienced Nokia Telecommunications software developers, this is a practical book about object-based and component-based software development. The book concentrates on the most important issues in real-life software development, such as the development process itself, software architecture, the development of user interfaces, data management, and the development of large commercial software products. The book exemplifies the presented practices by using the Unified Modeling Language (UML).

The Dynamics of Industrial Competition, first published in 1995, describes the internal dynamics of industries using longitudinal data that make it possible to track firms over time. It provides a comprehensive picture of a number of different aspects of firm turnover in North America that arise from the competitive process - the entry and the exit of firms, the growth and decline of incumbent firms, and the merger process. Instantaneous and cumulative measures of market dynamics are provided by examining change in both the short and the long run. Using various measures of firm turnover to proxy the amount of competition, the study examines and contextualizes the relationship between industry performance and the intensity of the competitive process.

Many geological features of the Earth's lithosphere create variations in the Earth's magnetic field that can be detected by satellites. The resulting magnetic anomaly maps can provide insights into the tectonic features and broad structures of the lithosphere. This book, which was originally published in 1998, documents the acquisition, reduction and analysis of satellite magnetic field data in the study of the Earth's lithosphere. The text considers issues of interpreting data, summarises various interpretation methods, considers rock magnetism concepts and sources of variation in magnetism, and provides a summary of published maps and the various methods used to create them. Mapping and interpreting lithospheric fields from satellite magnetic data has resulted in the sub-discipline of geomagnetism. Advanced students and researchers will find this book to be of interest.

This unique publication summarises fifty years of Russian research on shock compression of condensed matter using chemical and nuclear explosions. This information, and the equations of state derived from it, have important applications in physics, materials science and engineering. An introductory chapter describes the importance of Russian experiments in a global context. The second chapter describes the experimental devices used. Following chapters summarise the results of experiments on pure metals, metal alloys and compounds, minerals, rocks, organic solids and liquids. The book covers experiments with pressures ranging from 2.5 GPa to 1 TPa using chemical explosives in laboratory conditions and to 10 TPa in underground nuclear tests. Attention is given to theoretical aspects, experimental problems, and data analysis. The data in this book are quite unique as, with the cessation of large scale underground nuclear tests, it will be some time before similar pressures can be generate

This book is a short, focused introduction to Mathematica, the comprehensive software system for doing mathematics. Written for the beginning user, this engaging book contains an explanation of essential Mathematica commands, as well as the rich Mathematica interface for preparing polished technical documents. Mathematica can be used to graph functions, solve equations, perform statistics tests, and much more. In addition, it incorporates word processing and desktop publishing features for combining mathematical computations with text and graphics, and producing polished, integrated, interactive documents. You can even use it to create documents and graphics for the Web. This book explains everything you need to know to begin using Mathematica to do all these things and more. Written for Mathematica Version 3, this book can also be used with earlier versions of Mathematica, and even intermediate and advanced users may find useful information here, especially if they are making the swit

At first glance, studying behavior is easy, but as every budding ethologist quickly realises, there are a host of complex practical, methodological and analytical problems to solve before designing and conducting the study. How do you choose which species or which behavior to study? What equipment will you need to observe and record behavior successfully? How do you record data in the dark, in the wet, or without missing part of the action? How do you analyse and interpret the data to yield meaningful information? This new expanded edition of the Handbook of Ethological Methods provides a complete step-by-step introduction to ethological methods from topic choice and behavioral description to data collection and statistical analysis. This book will be a must for beginning students and experienced researchers studying animal behavior in the field or laboratory.

The design and analysis of geometric algorithms have seen remarkable growth in recent years, due to their application in, for example, computer vision, graphics, medical imaging and CAD. The goals of this book are twofold: first to provide a coherent and systematic treatment of the foundations; secondly to present algorithmic solutions that are amenable to rigorous analysis and are efficient in practical situations. When possible, the algorithms are presented in their most general d-dimensional setting. Specific developments are given for the 2- or 3-dimensional cases when this results in significant improvements. The presentation is confined to Euclidean affine geometry, though the authors indicate whenever the treatment can be extended to curves and surfaces. The prerequisites for using the book are few, which will make it ideal for teaching advanced undergraduate or beginning graduate courses in computational geometry.

Bootstrap methods are computer-intensive methods of statistical analysis, which use simulation to calculate standard errors, confidence intervals, and significance tests. The methods apply for any level of modelling, and so can be used for fully parametric, semiparametric, and completely nonparametric analysis. This 1997 book gives a broad and up-to-date coverage of bootstrap methods, with numerous applied examples, developed in a coherent way with the necessary theoretical basis. Applications include stratified data; finite populations; censored and missing data; linear, nonlinear, and smooth regression models; classification; time series and spatial problems. Special features of the book include: extensive discussion of significance tests and confidence intervals; material on various diagnostic methods; and methods for efficient computation, including improved Monte Carlo simulation. Each chapter includes both practical and theoretical exercises. S-Plus programs for implementing the

Engineers and applied geophysicists routinely encounter interpolation and estimation problems when analysing data from field observations. Introduction to Geostatistics presents practical techniques for the estimation of spatial functions from sparse data. The author's unique approach is a synthesis of classic and geostatistical methods with a focus on the most practical linear minimum-variance estimation methods, and includes suggestions on how to test and extend the applicability of such methods. The author includes many useful methods (often not covered in other geostatistics books) such as estimating variogram parameters, evaluating the need for a variable mean, parameter estimation and model testing in complex cases (e.g. anisotropy, variable mean, and multiple variables), and using information from deterministic mathematical models. Well illustrated with exercises and worked examples taken from hydrogeology, Introduction to Geostatistics assumes no background in statistics and

Between 1989 and 1994, 41 out of 47 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa underwent significant political reform, including in many cases the first competitive elections in a generation. How can this wave of political liberalization be explained? Why did some countries complete a democratic transition, while others could not sustain more than limited political reform and others still suffered authoritarian reversals? What are the long term prospects for democracy in Africa? This study constitutes the first comprehensive analysis of democratic transitions in Sub-Saharan Africa. Using an original data set they assembled, the authors demonstrate that economic and international forces often provided the context in which political liberalization occurred, but cannot by themselves explain the observed outcomes. Instead, the authors develop a political-institutional theoretical framework in which the distinctive political traditions of Africa's neopatrimonial states are shown to have powerfully s

Extreme environmental events, such as floods, droughts, rainstorms and high winds, have severe consequences for human society. Regional frequency analysis helps to solve the problem of estimating the frequency of these rare events at one site, by using data from several sites. This book is the first complete account of the L-moment approach to regional frequency analysis. Regional Frequency Analysis comprehensively describes the theoretical background to the subject, is rich in practical advice for users, and contains detailed examples that illustrate the approach. This book will be of great value to hydrologists, atmospheric scientists and civil engineers, concerned with environmental extremes.

The Art and Science of Optical Design is a comprehensive introduction to lens design, covering the fundamental physical principles and key engineering issues. Several practical examples of modern computer-aided lens design are worked out in detail from start to finish. The basic theory and results of optics are presented early on in the book, along with a discussion of optical materials. Aberrations, and their correction, and image analysis are then covered in great detail. Subsequent chapters deal with design optimisation and tolerance analysis. Several design examples are then given, beginning with basic lens design forms, and progressing to advanced systems, such as gradient index and diffractive optical components. In covering all aspects of optical design, including the use of modern lens design software, this book will be invaluable to students of optical engineering as well as to anyone engaged in optical design at any stage.

The Art and Science of Optical Design is a comprehensive introduction to lens design, covering the fundamental physical principles and key engineering issues. Several practical examples of modern computer-aided lens design are worked out in detail from start to finish. The basic theory and results of optics are presented early on in the book, along with a discussion of optical materials. Aberrations, and their correction, and image analysis are then covered in great detail. Subsequent chapters deal with design optimisation and tolerance analysis. Several design examples are then given, beginning with basic lens design forms, and progressing to advanced systems, such as gradient index and diffractive optical components. In covering all aspects of optical design, including the use of modern lens design software, this book will be invaluable to students of optical engineering as well as to anyone engaged in optical design at any stage.

Mathematica® in the Laboratory is a hands-on guide which shows how to harness the power and flexibility of Mathematica in the control of data-acquisition equipment and the analysis of experimental data. It explains how to use Mathematica to import, manipulate, visualise and analyse data from existing files. The generation and export of test data are also covered. The control of laboratory equipment is dealt with in detail, including the use of Mathematica's MathLink® system in instrument control, data processing, and interfacing. Many practical examples are given, which can either be used directly or adapted to suit a particular application. The book sets out clearly how Mathematica can provide a truly unified data-handling environment, and will be invaluable to anyone who collects or analyses experimental data, including astronomers, biologists, chemists, mathematicians, geologists, physicists and engineers. The book is fully compatible with Mathematica 3.0.