Practical Data Processing and Analysis Using R

Digital SLR cameras have made it easier than ever before to photograph the night sky. Whether you're a beginner, nature photographer, or serious astronomer, this is the definitive handbook to capturing the heavens. Starting with simple projects for beginners such as cameras on tripods, it then moves onto more advanced projects including telescope photography and methods of astronomical research. With 80% revised and updated material, this new edition covers nightscapes, eclipses, using cameras with sky trackers and telescopes, and tools for identifying celestial objects and investigating them scientifically. Image processing is discussed in detail, with worked examples from three popular software packages - Nebulosity, Maxlm DL, and PixInsight. Rather than taking a recipe-book approach, Covington explains how your equipment works as well as offering advice on many practical considerations, such as choice of set-up and the testing of lenses, making this a comprehensive guide for anyone

This volume provides a practical introduction to the method of maximum likelihood as used in social science research. Ward and Ahlquist focus on applied computation in R and use real social science data from actual, published research. Unique among books at this level, it develops simulation-based tools for model evaluation and selection alongside statistical inference. The book covers standard models for categorical data as well as counts, duration data, and strategies for dealing with data missingness. By working through examples, math, and code, the authors build an understanding about the contexts in which maximum likelihood methods are useful and develop skills in translating mathematical statements into executable computer code. Readers will not only be taught to use likelihood-based tools and generate meaningful interpretations, but they will also acquire a solid foundation for continued study of more advanced statistical techniques.

?This book offers a clear analysis of Foucault’s work on scientific knowledge and its relationship to individuals and society. It suggests a way of using Foucault’s tools for science criticism and res

This volume covers a wide variety of state of the art cancer-related methods and tools for data analysis and interpretation. Chapters were designed to attract a broad readership, ranging from active r

This book uniquely presents accurate and up-to-date information related to crops in small and fragmented agricultural lands with mixed cropping patterns. The book involves research using remote sensing (RS), Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to develop crop inventories in three growing seasons in three villages across India to inform decision makers and planners on best practices for agricultural management. The data analysis of crop details using various geospatial technologies fills in gaps in statistical agriculture research, and provides reliable, replicable and efficient methods for generating agricultural statistics. The book will be of interest to statisticians, planners and decision makers in crop management and production.

This book is a practical guide for therapists wanting to integrate interactive games and challenges into their work. It provides current research supporting using ABC with trauma survivors and those r

This book is a practical guide for therapists wanting to integrate interactive games and challenges into their work. It provides current research supporting using ABC with trauma survivors and those r

Reproducible Finance with R: Code Flows and Shiny Apps for Portfolio Analysis is a unique introduction to data science for investment management that explores the three major R/finance coding paradigm

Geometric and topological inference deals with the retrieval of information about a geometric object using only a finite set of possibly noisy sample points. It has connections to manifold learning and provides the mathematical and algorithmic foundations of the rapidly evolving field of topological data analysis. Building on a rigorous treatment of simplicial complexes and distance functions, this self-contained book covers key aspects of the field, from data representation and combinatorial questions to manifold reconstruction and persistent homology. It can serve as a textbook for graduate students or researchers in mathematics, computer science and engineering interested in a geometric approach to data science.

Geometric and topological inference deals with the retrieval of information about a geometric object using only a finite set of possibly noisy sample points. It has connections to manifold learning and provides the mathematical and algorithmic foundations of the rapidly evolving field of topological data analysis. Building on a rigorous treatment of simplicial complexes and distance functions, this self-contained book covers key aspects of the field, from data representation and combinatorial questions to manifold reconstruction and persistent homology. It can serve as a textbook for graduate students or researchers in mathematics, computer science and engineering interested in a geometric approach to data science.

This groundbreaking textbook combines straightforward explanations with a wealth of practical examples to offer an innovative approach to teaching linear algebra. Requiring no prior knowledge of the subject, it covers the aspects of linear algebra - vectors, matrices, and least squares - that are needed for engineering applications, discussing examples across data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence, signal and image processing, tomography, navigation, control, and finance. The numerous practical exercises throughout allow students to test their understanding and translate their knowledge into solving real-world problems, with lecture slides, additional computational exercises in Julia and MATLAB®, and data sets accompanying the book online. Suitable for both one-semester and one-quarter courses, as well as self-study, this self-contained text provides beginning students with the foundation they need to progress to more advanced study.

The digital economy encompasses more than half the world, and in today's business market, those with a technology background have an advantage. This textbook provides students who already have digital expertise with a solid foundation in business and entrepreneurship in order to launch and run a business. Using a logical, objective-based structure, the book guides students to a comprehensive and practical understanding of innovation and entrepreneurship. Chapters progress through the steps in creating a successful digital business: framing the business, promotion and sales, delivery and operations, value capture, growth and scalability, intellectual property and protection, and leadership and structure. Features include: learning objectives, introductions, conclusions, tables and figures, highlighted key terms, and analysis and design exercises in each chapter; a wide range of real-world examples; a rolling case study of a hypothetical digital business that models the concepts covered

The digital economy encompasses more than half the world, and in today's business market, those with a technology background have an advantage. This textbook provides students who already have digital expertise with a solid foundation in business and entrepreneurship in order to launch and run a business. Using a logical, objective-based structure, the book guides students to a comprehensive and practical understanding of innovation and entrepreneurship. Chapters progress through the steps in creating a successful digital business: framing the business, promotion and sales, delivery and operations, value capture, growth and scalability, intellectual property and protection, and leadership and structure. Features include: learning objectives, introductions, conclusions, tables and figures, highlighted key terms, and analysis and design exercises in each chapter; a wide range of real-world examples; a rolling case study of a hypothetical digital business that models the concepts covered

This open access book offers a critical perspective on intra-European mobility and migration by using new empirical data and theoretical discussions. It develops a theoretical and empirical analysis o

In From Media Systems to Media Cultures: Understanding Socialist Television, Sabina Mihelj and Simon Huxtable delve into the fascinating world of television under communism, using it to test a new framework for comparative media analysis. To understand the societal consequences of mass communication, the authors argue that we need to move beyond the analysis of media systems, and instead focus on the role of the media in shaping cultural ideals and narratives, everyday practices and routines. Drawing on a wealth of original data derived from archival sources, programme and schedule analysis, and oral history interviews, the authors show how communist authorities managed to harness the power of television to shape new habits and rituals, yet failed to inspire a deeper belief in communist ideals. This book and their analysis contains important implications for the understanding of mass communication in non-democratic settings, and provides tools for the analysis of media cultures globall

Advocates for economic development often call for greater transparency. But what does transparency really mean? What are its consequences? This breakthrough book demonstrates how information impacts major political phenomena, including mass protest, the survival of dictatorships, democratic stability, as well as economic performance. The book introduces a new measure of a specific facet of transparency: the dissemination of economic data. Analysis shows that democracies make economic data more available than do similarly developed autocracies. Transparency attracts investment and makes democracies more resilient to breakdown. But transparency has a dubious consequence under autocracy: political instability. Mass-unrest becomes more likely, and transparency can facilitate democratic transition - but most often a new despotic regime displaces the old. Autocratic leaders may also turn these threats to their advantage, using the risk of mass-unrest that transparency portends to unify the r

Advocates for economic development often call for greater transparency. But what does transparency really mean? What are its consequences? This breakthrough book demonstrates how information impacts major political phenomena, including mass protest, the survival of dictatorships, democratic stability, as well as economic performance. The book introduces a new measure of a specific facet of transparency: the dissemination of economic data. Analysis shows that democracies make economic data more available than do similarly developed autocracies. Transparency attracts investment and makes democracies more resilient to breakdown. But transparency has a dubious consequence under autocracy: political instability. Mass-unrest becomes more likely, and transparency can facilitate democratic transition - but most often a new despotic regime displaces the old. Autocratic leaders may also turn these threats to their advantage, using the risk of mass-unrest that transparency portends to unify the r

This book presents an overview of copula theory and its application in hydrology, and provides valuable insights, useful methods and practical applications for multivariate hydrological analysis using

This book will not only deal with the analysis of nutraceuticals, but will also focus on the extraction and purification of the analytes using newer tools/instruments. It will also help the analyst du

Using extensive data from the Corpus of Contemporary American English (Davies, 2008), this groundbreaking book shows that the syntactic patterns in which English nominalizations can be found and the range of possible readings they can express are very different from what has been claimed in past theoretical treatments, and therefore that previous treatments cannot be correct. Lieber argues that the relationship between form and meaning in the nominalization processes of English is virtually never one-to-one, but rather forms a complex web that can be likened to a derivational ecosystem. Using the Lexical Semantic Framework (LSF), she develops an analysis that captures the interrelatedness and context dependence of nominal readings, and suggests that the key to the behavior of nominalizations is that their underlying semantic representations are underspecified in specific ways and that their ultimate interpretation must be fixed in context using processes available within the LSF.

As corruption continues to be a persistent problem in India, concerned citizens believe empowered police agencies independent of political control are effective ways to deal with corrupt officials and politicians. What is corruption and how is it facilitated? What are the appropriate agencies to combat corruption professionally in India? Why are these not effective in deterring corrupt practices? Are the alternative solutions to tackle corruption successful? This book seeks to engage with these questions, discuss and analyze them, and conduct a thorough analysis of law, bureaucratic organizations, official data, case studies and comparative international institutions. It analyzes vast data to argue that a corrupt state only maintains the façade of rule of law but will not permit any inquiry beyond that of individual deviance. Using criminological perspectives, it presents a novel mechanism, the 'Doctrine of Good Housekeeping', for public officials to combat and prevent corruption withi

Compared to animals, plants have been largely neglected in evolutionary developmental biology. Mainstream research has focused on developmental genetics, while a rich body of knowledge in comparative morphology is still to be exploited. No integrated account is available. In this volume, Minelli fills this gap using the same approach he gave to animals, revisiting traditional concepts and providing an articulated analysis of genetic and molecular data. Topics covered include leaf complexity and the evolution of flower organs, handedness, branching patterns, flower symmetry and synorganization, and less conventional topics such as fractal patterns of plant organization. Also discussed is the hitherto neglected topic of the evolvability of temporal phenotypes like a plant's annual, biennial or perennial life cycle, flowering time and the timing of abscission of flower organs. This will be informative reading for anyone in the field of plant evo-devo, from students to lecturers and resear

Bringing this best-selling textbook right up to date, the new edition uniquely integrates the theories and methods that drive the fields of biology, biotechnology and medicine, comprehensively covering both the techniques students will encounter in lab classes and those that underpin current key advances and discoveries. The contents have been updated to include both traditional and cutting-edge techniques most commonly used in current life science research. Emphasis is placed on understanding the theory behind the techniques, as well as analysis of the resulting data. New chapters cover proteomics, genomics, metabolomics, and bioinformatics, as well as data analysis and visualisation. Using accessible language to describe concepts and methods, and with a wealth of new in-text worked examples to challenge students' understanding, this textbook provides an essential guide to the key techniques used in current bioscience research.

Actuaries have access to a wealth of individual data in pension and insurance portfolios, but rarely use its full potential. This book will pave the way, from methods using aggregate counts to modern developments in survival analysis. Based on the fundamental concept of the hazard rate, Part I shows how and why to build statistical models, based on data at the level of the individual persons in a pension scheme or life insurance portfolio. Extensive use is made of the R statistics package. Smooth models, including regression and spline models in one and two dimensions, are covered in depth in Part II. Finally, Part III uses multiple-state models to extend survival models beyond the simple life/death setting, and includes a brief introduction to the modern counting process approach. Practising actuaries will find this book indispensable, and students will find it helpful when preparing for their professional examinations.

Bringing this best-selling textbook right up to date, the new edition uniquely integrates the theories and methods that drive the fields of biology, biotechnology and medicine, comprehensively covering both the techniques students will encounter in lab classes and those that underpin current key advances and discoveries. The contents have been updated to include both traditional and cutting-edge techniques most commonly used in current life science research. Emphasis is placed on understanding the theory behind the techniques, as well as analysis of the resulting data. New chapters cover proteomics, genomics, metabolomics, and bioinformatics, as well as data analysis and visualisation. Using accessible language to describe concepts and methods, and with a wealth of new in-text worked examples to challenge students' understanding, this textbook provides an essential guide to the key techniques used in current bioscience research.

Using decades of public opinion data from the US, UK, Australia, Germany and Canada, and distinguishing between three concepts - issue ownership, performance and generalised competence - Green and Jennings show how political parties come to gain or lose 'ownership' of issues, how they are judged on their performance in government across policy issues and how they develop a reputation for competence (or incompetence) over a period in office. Their analysis tracks the major events causing people to re-evaluate party reputations and the costs of governing which cause electorates to punish parties in power. They reveal why, when and how these movements in public opinion matter to elections. The implications are important for long-standing debates about performance and partisanship, and reveal that public opinion about party and governing competence is, to a great extent, the product of major shocks and predictable dynamics.

The Rights Turn in Conservative Christian Politics documents a recent, fundamental change in American politics with the waning of Christian America. Rather than conservatives emphasizing morality and liberals emphasizing rights, both sides now wield rights arguments as potent weapons to win political and legal battles and build grassroots support. Lewis documents this change on the right, focusing primarily on evangelical politics. Using extensive historical and survey data that compares evangelical advocacy and evangelical public opinion, Lewis explains how the prototypical culture war issue - abortion - motivated the conservative rights turn over the past half century, serving as a springboard for rights learning and increased conservative advocacy in other arenas. Challenging the way we think about the culture wars, Lewis documents how rights claims are used to thwart liberal rights claims, as well as to provide protection for evangelicals, whose cultural positions are increasingly

Using a new approach to ethnicity that underscores its relative territoriality, H. Zeynep Bulutgil brings together previously separate arguments that focus on domestic and international factors to offer a coherent theory of what causes ethnic cleansing. The author argues that domestic obstacles based on non-ethnic cleavages usually prevent ethnic cleansing whereas territorial conflict triggers this policy by undermining such obstacles. The empirical analysis combines statistical evaluation based on original data with comprehensive studies of historical cases in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as Bosnia, in the 1990s. The findings demonstrate how socio-economic cleavages curb radical factions within dominant groups whereas territorial wars strengthen these factions and pave the way for ethnic cleansing. The author further explores the theoretical and empirical extensions in the context of Africa. Its theoretical novelty and broad empirical scope make this book highly valuable to sch

This book is about good government-especially ethical and fair government. Using both theoretical methods and practical political analysis, John Attanasio shows how recent Supreme Court decisions and

Remote Sensing of Landscapes with Spectral Images describes how to process and interpret spectral images using physical models to bridge the gap between the engineering and theoretical sides of remote-sensing and the world that we encounter when we venture outdoors. The emphasis is on the practical use of images rather than on theory and mathematical derivations. Examples are drawn from a variety of landscapes and interpretations are tested against the reality seen on the ground. The reader is led through analysis of real images (using figures and explanations); the examples are chosen to illustrate important aspects of the analytic framework. This textbook will form a valuable reference for graduate students and professionals in a variety of disciplines including ecology, forestry, geology, geography, urban planning, archaeology and civil engineering. It is supplemented by a website hosting digital colour versions of figures in the book as well as ancillary images: www.cambridge.org/

Advances in nonlinear dynamics, especially modern multifractal cascade models, allow us to investigate the weather and climate at unprecedented levels of accuracy. Using new stochastic modeling and data analysis techniques, this book provides an overview of the nonclassical, multifractal statistics. By generalizing the classical turbulence laws, emergent higher-level laws of atmospheric dynamics are obtained and are empirically validated over time-scales of seconds to decades and length-scales of millimetres to the size of the planet. In generalizing the notion of scale, atmospheric complexity is reduced to a manageable scale-invariant hierarchy of processes, thus providing a new perspective for modeling and understanding the atmosphere. This synthesis of state-of-the-art data and nonlinear dynamics is systematically compared with other analyses and global circulation model outputs. This is an important resource for atmospheric science researchers new to multifractal theory and is also

The magnetotelluric method is a technique for imaging the electrical conductivity and structure of the Earth, from the near surface down to the 410 km transition zone and beyond. This book forms the first comprehensive overview of magnetotellurics, from the salient physics and its mathematical representation to practical implementation in the field, data processing, modeling and geological interpretation. Electromagnetic induction in 1-D, 2-D and 3-D media is explored, building from first principles, and with thorough coverage of the practical techniques of time series processing, distortion, numerical modeling and inversion. The fundamental principles are illustrated with a series of case histories describing geological applications. Technical issues, instrumentation and field practices are described for both land and marine surveys. This book provides a rigorous introduction to magnetotellurics for academic researchers and advanced students, and will be of interest to industrial prac

This practical textbook introduces the fundamental physics behind radar measurements, to guide students and practitioners in the proper interpretation of radar reflectivity, Doppler velocity and dual-polarization imagery. Operational applications are explored, such as how radar imagery can be used to analyze and forecast convective and widespread weather systems. The book concludes with an overview of current research topics, including the study of clouds and precipitation using radars, signal processing, and data assimilation. Numerous full-color illustrations are included, as well as problem sets, case studies, and a variety of supplementary electronic material including animated time sequences of images to help convey complex concepts. This book is a valuable resource for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in radar meteorology and other related courses, such as precipitation microphysics and dynamics. It will also make a useful reference for researchers, professional meteo

The second edition of Principles of Seismology has been extensively revised and updated to present a modern approach to observation seismology and the theory behind digital seismograms. It includes: a new chapter on Earthquakes, Earth's structure and dynamics; a considerably revised chapter on instrumentation, with new material on processing of modern digital seismograms and a list of website hosting data and seismological software; and 100 end-of-chapter problems. The fundamental physical concepts on which seismic theory is based are explained in full detail with step-by-step development of the mathematical derivations, demonstrating the relationship between motions recorded in digital seismograms and the mechanics of deformable bodies. With chapter introductions and summaries, numerous examples, newly drafted illustrations and new color figures, and an updated bibliography and reference list, this intermediate-level textbook is designed to help students develop the skills to tackle r

For courses in Introductory Statistics (algebra-based). Gets students thinking statistically from the start Stats: Modeling the World by Bock, Velleman, DeVeaux, and Bullard engages students by opening with practical data analysis and graphics. Chapters begin with new, motivating examples and follow through with analyses of the data; then, real-world examples provide a basis for sample problems and exercises.The authors’ colloquial, approachable writing style reads unlike any other other statistics text. Their signature Think, Show, and Tell problem-solving method guides students through learning what we can find in data, why we find it interesting, and how to report it to others. Focused lessons are shorter than in most other texts, and are more manageable for both students and instructors. The 5th Edition extends the innovations of this acclaimed text, with important revisions and additions that support the teaching of Statistics and statistical thinking as it is practiced toda

"This book explores how to assess, characterize and design urban spaces using perceptual approaches. It gathered theory and case studies on methods for data collection and analysis of individual respo

Written by leading researchers, this complete introduction brings together all the theory and tools needed for building robust machine learning in adversarial environments. Discover how machine learning systems can adapt when an adversary actively poisons data to manipulate statistical inference, learn the latest practical techniques for investigating system security and performing robust data analysis, and gain insight into new approaches for designing effective countermeasures against the latest wave of cyber-attacks. Privacy-preserving mechanisms and the near-optimal evasion of classifiers are discussed in detail, and in-depth case studies on email spam and network security highlight successful attacks on traditional machine learning algorithms. Providing a thorough overview of the current state of the art in the field, and possible future directions, this groundbreaking work is essential reading for researchers, practitioners and students in computer security and machine learning,

Many of the complex problems faced by decision makers involve uncertainty as well as multiple conflicting objectives. This book provides a complete understanding of the types of objective functions that should be used in multiattribute decision making. By using tools such as preference, value, and utility functions, readers will learn state-of-the-art methods to analyze prospects to guide decision making and will develop a process that guarantees a defensible analysis to rationalize choices. Summarizing and distilling classical techniques and providing extensive coverage of recent advances in the field, the author offers practical guidance on how to make good decisions in the face of uncertainty. This text will appeal to graduate students and practitioners alike in systems engineering, operations research, business, management, government, climate change, energy, and healthcare.

The goal of this guide and manual is to provide a practical and brief overview of the theory on computerized adaptive testing (CAT) and multistage testing (MST) and to illustrate the methodologies and

Every day, social service agencies collect millions of pieces of data about the children and families they serve. Agencies depend on this data to inform decision-making by personnel throughout the org