Analysis of Step-Stress Models: Existing Results and Some Recent Developments describes, in detail, the step-stress models and related topics that have received significant attention in the last few years. Although two books, Bagdonavicius and Nikulin (2001) and Nelson (1990), on general accelerated life testing models are available, no specific book is available on step-stress models. Due to the importance of this particular topic, Balakrishnan (2009) provided an excellent review for exponential step-stress models. The scope of this book is much more, providing the inferential issues for different probability models, both from the frequentist and Bayesian points-of-view. - Explains the different distributions of the Cumulative Exposure Mode - Covers many different models used for step-stress analysis - Discusses Step-stress life testing under the competing or complementary risk model

Learn methods of data analysis and their application to real-world data sets This updated second edition serves as an introduction to data mining methods and models, including association rules, clustering, neural networks, logistic regression, and multivariate analysis. The authors apply a unified “white box” approach to data mining methods and models. This approach is designed to walk readers through the operations and nuances of the various methods, using small data sets, so readers can gain an insight into the inner workings of the method under review. Chapters provide readers with hands-on analysis problems, representing an opportunity for readers to apply their newly-acquired data mining expertise to solving real problems using large, real-world data sets. Data Mining and Predictive Analytics: Offers comprehensive coverage of association rules, clustering, neural networks, logistic regression, multivariate analysis, and R statistical programming language Features over 750 chapter exercises, allowing readers to assess their understanding of the new material Provides a detailed case study that brings together the lessons learned in the book Includes access to the companion website, www.dataminingconsultant, with exclusive password-protected instructor content Data Mining and Predictive Analytics will appeal to computer science and statistic students, as well as students in MBA programs, and chief executives.

Greater data availability has been coupled with developments in statistical theory and economic theory to allow more elaborate and complicated models to be entertained. These include factor models, DSGE models, restricted vector autoregressions, and non-linear models.

An introduction to decision making under uncertainty from a computational perspective, covering both theory and applications ranging from speech recognition to airborne collision avoidance. Many important problems involve decision making under uncertainty—that is, choosing actions based on often imperfect observations, with unknown outcomes. Designers of automated decision support systems must take into account the various sources of uncertainty while balancing the multiple objectives of the system. This book provides an introduction to the challenges of decision making under uncertainty from a computational perspective. It presents both the theory behind decision making models and algorithms and a collection of example applications that range from speech recognition to aircraft collision avoidance. Focusing on two methods for designing decision agents, planning and reinforcement learning, the book covers probabilistic models, introducing Bayesian networks as a graphical model that captures probabilistic relationships between variables; utility theory as a framework for understanding optimal decision making under uncertainty; Markov decision processes as a method for modeling sequential problems; model uncertainty; state uncertainty; and cooperative decision making involving multiple interacting agents. A series of applications shows how the theoretical concepts can be applied to systems for attribute-based person search, speech applications, collision avoidance, and unmanned aircraft persistent surveillance. Decision Making Under Uncertainty unifies research from different communities using consistent notation, and is accessible to students and researchers across engineering disciplines who have some prior exposure to probability theory and calculus. It can be used as a text for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in fields including computer science, aerospace and electrical engineering, and management science. It will also be a valuable professional reference for researchers in a variety of disciplines.

The field of Artificial Intelligence has changed a great deal since the 80s, and arguably no one has played a larger role in that change than Judea Pearl. Judea Pearl's work made probability the prevailing language of modern AI and, perhaps more significantly, it placed the elaboration of crisp and meaningful models, and of effective computational mechanisms, at the center of AI research. This book is a collection of articles in honor of Judea Pearl, written by close colleagues and former students. Its three main parts, heuristics, probabilistic reasoning, and causality, correspond to the titles of the three ground-breaking books authored by Judea, and are followed by a section of short reminiscences. In this volume, leading authors look at the state of the art in the fields of heuristic, probabilistic, and causal reasoning, in light of Judea's seminal contributors. The authors list include Blai Bonet, Eric Hansen, Robert Holte, Jonathan Schaeffer, Ariel Felner, Richard Korf, Austin Parker, Dana Nau, V. S. Subrahmanian, Hector Geffner, Ira Pohl, Adnan Darwiche, Thomas Dean, Rina Dechter, Bozhena Bidyuk, Robert Matescu, Emma Rollon, Michael I. Jordan, Michael Kearns, Daphne Koller, Brian Milch, Stuart Russell, Azaria Paz, David Poole, Ingrid Zukerman, Carlos Brito, Philip Dawid, Felix Elwert, Christopher Winship, Michael Gelfond, Nelson Rushton, Moises Goldszmidt, Sander Greenland, Joseph Y. Halpern, Christopher Hitchcock, David Heckerman, Ross Shachter, Vladimir Lifschitz, Thomas Richardson, James Robins, Yoav Shoham, Peter Spirtes, Clark Glymour, Richard Scheines, Robert Tillman, Wolfgang Spohn, Jian Tian, Ilya Shpitser, Nils Nilsson, Edward T. Purcell, and David Spiegelhalter.

Sections include: experiments and generalised causal inference; statistical conclusion validity and internal validity; construct validity and external validity; quasi-experimental designs that either lack a control group or lack pretest observations on the outcome; quasi-experimental designs that use both control groups and pretests; quasi-experiments: interrupted time-series designs; regresssion discontinuity designs; randomised experiments: rationale, designs, and conditions conducive to doing them; practical problems 1: ethics, participation recruitment and random assignment; practical problems 2: treatment implementation and attrition; generalised causal inference: a grounded theory; generalised causal inference: methods for single studies; generalised causal inference: methods for multiple studies; a critical assessment of our assumptions.