Systems of polynomial equations arise throughout mathematics, science, and engineering. Algebraic geometry provides powerful theoretical techniques for studying the qualitative and quantitative features of their solution sets. Re cently developed algorithms have made theoretical aspects of the subject accessible to a broad range of mathematicians and scientists. The algorith mic approach to the subject has two principal aims: developing new tools for research within mathematics, and providing new tools for modeling and solv ing problems that arise in the sciences and engineering. A healthy synergy emerges, as new theorems yield new algorithms and emerging applications lead to new theoretical questions. This book presents algorithmic tools for algebraic geometry and experi mental applications of them. It also introduces a software system in which the tools have been implemented and with which the experiments can be carried out. Macaulay 2 is a computer algebra system devoted to supporting research in algebraic geometry, commutative algebra, and their applications. The reader of this book will encounter Macaulay 2 in the context of concrete applications and practical computations in algebraic geometry. The expositions of the algorithmic tools presented here are designed to serve as a useful guide for those wishing to bring such tools to bear on their own problems. A wide range of mathematical scientists should find these expositions valuable. This includes both the users of other programs similar to Macaulay 2 (for example, Singular and CoCoA) and those who are not interested in explicit machine computations at all."

Optical Scanning Holography is an exciting new field with many potential novel applications. This book contains tutorials, research materials, as well as new ideas and insights that will be useful for those working in the field of optics and holography. The book has been written by one of the leading researchers in the field. It covers the basic principles of the topic which will make the book relevant for years to come.

This book reviews some of today's more complex problems, and reflects some of the important research directions in the field. Twenty-nine authors - largely from Montreal's GERAD Multi-University Research Center and who work in areas of theoretical statistics, applied statistics, probability theory, and stochastic processes - present survey chapters on various theoretical and applied problems of importance and interest to researchers and students across a number of academic domains.

Based on the ontology and semantics of algebra, the computer algebra system Magma enables users to rapidly formulate and perform calculations in abstract parts of mathematics. Edited by the principal designers of the program, this book explores Magma. Coverage ranges from number theory and algebraic geometry, through representation theory and group theory to discrete mathematics and graph theory. Includes case studies describing computations underpinning new theoretical results.

Patients are not alike! This simple truth is often ignored in the analysis of me- cal data, since most of the time results are presented for the "average" patient. As a result, potential variability between patients is ignored when presenting, e.g., the results of a multiple linear regression model. In medicine there are more and more attempts to individualize therapy; thus, from the author's point of view biostatis- cians should support these efforts. Therefore, one of the tasks of the statistician is to identify heterogeneity of patients and, if possible, to explain part of it with known explanatory covariates. Finite mixture models may be used to aid this purpose. This book tries to show that there are a large range of applications. They include the analysis of gene - pression data, pharmacokinetics, toxicology, and the determinants of beta-carotene plasma levels. Other examples include disease clustering, data from psychophysi- ogy, and meta-analysis of published studies. The book is intended as a resource for those interested in applying these methods.

Applied statisticians often need to perform analyses of multivariate data; for these they will typically use one of the statistical software packages, S-Plus or R. This book sets out how to use these packages for these analyses in a concise and easy-to-use way, and will save users having to buy two books for the job. The author is well-known for this kind of book, and so buyers will trust that he 's got it right.

In many fields of modern mathematics specialised scientific software becomes increasingly important. Hence, tremendous effort is taken by numerous groups all over the world to develop appropriate solutions.
This book contains surveys and research papers on mathematical software and algorithms. The common thread is that the field of mathematical applications lies on the border between algebra and geometry. Topics include polyhedral geometry, elimination theory, algebraic surfaces, Grobner bases, triangulations of point sets and the mutual relationship. This diversity is accompanied by the abundance of available software systems which often handle only special mathematical aspects. Therefore the volume's other focus is on solutions towards the integration of mathematical software systems. This includes low-level and XML based high-level communication channels as well as general framework for modular systems."

Probabilistic networks, also known as Bayesian networks and influence diagrams, have become one of the most promising technologies in the area of applied artificial intelligence. This book provides a comprehensive guide for practitioners who wish to understand, construct, and analyze intelligent systems for decision support based on probabilistic networks. Intended primarily for practitioners, this book does not require sophisticated mathematical skills. The theory and methods presented are illustrated through more than 140 examples, and exercises are included for the reader to check his/her level of understanding.

The contributions in this book state the complementary rather than competitive relationship between Probability and Fuzzy Set Theory and allow solutions to real life problems with suitable combinations of both theories.

This book helps readers understand the mathematics of machine learning, and apply them in different situations. It is divided into two basic parts, the first of which introduces readers to the theory of linear algebra, probability, and data distributions and it's applications to machine learning. It also includes a detailed introduction to the concepts and constraints of machine learning and what is involved in designing a learning algorithm. This part helps readers understand the mathematical and statistical aspects of machine learning. In turn, the second part discusses the algorithms used in supervised and unsupervised learning. It works out each learning algorithm mathematically and encodes it in R to produce customized learning applications. In the process, it touches upon the specifics of each algorithm and the science behind its formulation. The book includes a wealth of worked-out examples along with R codes. It explains the code for each algorithm, and readers can modify the code to suit their own needs. The book will be of interest to all researchers who intend to use R for machine learning, and those who are interested in the practical aspects of implementing learning algorithms for data analysis. Further, it will be particularly useful and informative for anyone who has struggled to relate the concepts of mathematics and statistics to machine learning.

In recent years portfolio optimization and construction methodologies have become an increasingly critical ingredient of asset and fund management, while at the same time portfolio risk assessment has become an essential ingredient in risk management. This trend will only accelerate in the coming years. This practical handbook fills the gap between current university instruction and current industry practice. It provides a comprehensive computationally-oriented treatment of modern portfolio optimization and construction methods using the powerful NUOPT for S-PLUS optimizer.

Practical Statistical Methods: A SAS Programming Approach presents a broad spectrum of statistical methods useful for researchers without an extensive statistical background. In addition to nonparametric methods, it covers methods for discrete and continuous data. Omitting mathematical details and complicated formulae, the text provides SAS programs to carry out the necessary analyses and draw appropriate inferences for common statistical problems. After introducing fundamental statistical concepts, the author describes methods used for quantitative data and continuous data following normal and nonnormal distributions. She then focuses on regression methodology, highlighting simple linear regression, logistic regression, and the proportional hazards model. The final chapter briefly discusses such miscellaneous topics as propensity scores, misclassification errors, interim analysis, conditional power, bootstrap, and jackknife. With SAS code and output integrated throughout, this book shows how to interpret data using SAS and illustrates the many statistical methods available for tackling problems in a range of fields, including the pharmaceutical industry and the social sciences.

Understanding Statistics in Psychology with SPSS, eighth edition, offers students a trusted, straightforward, and engaging way of learning to do statistical analyses confidently using SPSS. Comprehensive and practical, the text is organised into short accessible chapters, making it the ideal text for undergraduate psychology students needing to get to grips with statistics in class or independently. Clear diagrams and full colour screenshots from SPSS make the text suitable for beginners while the broad coverage of topics ensures that students can continue to use it as they progress to more advanced techniques. Key features * Combines coverage of statistics with full guidance on how to use SPSS to analyse data. * Suitable for use with all versions of SPSS. * Examples from a wide range of real psychological studies illustrate how statistical techniques are used in practice. * Includes clear and detailed guidance on choosing tests, interpreting findings and reporting and writing up research. * Student-focused pedagogical approach including: o Key concept boxes detailing important terms. o Focus on sections exploring complex topics in greater depth. o Explaining statistics sections clarify important statistical concepts. . Dennis Howitt and Duncan Cramer are with Loughborough University.

This is the first workbook that introduces the multilevel approach to modeling with categorical outcomes using IBM SPSS Version 20. Readers learn how to develop, estimate, and interpret multilevel models with categorical outcomes. The authors walk readers through data management, diagnostic tools, model conceptualization, and model specification issues related to single-level and multilevel models with categorical outcomes. Screen shots clearly demonstrate techniques and navigation of the program. Modeling syntax is provided in the appendix. Examples of various types of categorical outcomes demonstrate how to set up each model and interpret the output. Extended examples illustrate the logic of model development, interpretation of output, the context of the research questions, and the steps around which the analyses are structured. Readers can replicate examples in each chapter by using the corresponding data and syntax files available at www.psypress.com/9781848729568.

The book opens with a review of multilevel with categorical outcomes, followed by a chapter on IBM SPSS data management techniques to facilitate working with multilevel and longitudinal data sets. Chapters 3 and 4 detail the basics of the single-level and multilevel generalized linear model for various types of categorical outcomes. These chapters review underlying concepts to assist with trouble-shooting common programming and modeling problems. Next population-average and unit-specific longitudinal models for investigating individual or organizational developmental processes are developed. Chapter 6 focuses on single- and multilevel models using multinomial and ordinal data followed by a chapter on models for count data. The book concludes with additional trouble shooting techniques and tips for expanding on the modeling techniques introduced.

Ideal as a supplement for graduate level courses and/or professional workshops on multilevel, longitudinal, latent variable modeling, multivariate statistics, and/or advanced quantitative techniques taught in psychology, business, education, health, and sociology, this practical workbook also appeals to researchers in these fields. An excellent follow up to the authors' highly successful Multilevel and Longitudinal Modeling with IBM SPSS and Introduction to Multilevel Modeling Techniques, 2nd Edition, this book can also be used with any multilevel and/or longitudinal book or as a stand-alone text introducing multilevel modeling with categorical outcomes.

Multivariate Survival Analysis and Competing Risks introduces univariate survival analysis and extends it to the multivariate case. It covers competing risks and counting processes and provides many real-world examples, exercises, and R code. The text discusses survival data, survival distributions, frailty models, parametric methods, multivariate data and distributions, copulas, continuous failure, parametric likelihood inference, and non- and semi-parametric methods. There are many books covering survival analysis, but very few that cover the multivariate case in any depth. Written for a graduate-level audience in statistics/biostatistics, this book includes practical exercises and R code for the examples. The author is renowned for his clear writing style, and this book continues that trend. It is an excellent reference for graduate students and researchers looking for grounding in this burgeoning field of research.

Although there are currently a wide variety of software packages suitable for the modern statistician, R has the triple advantage of being comprehensive, widespread, and free. Published in 2008, the second edition of Statistiques avec R enjoyed great success as an R guidebook in the French-speaking world. Translated and updated, R for Statistics includes a number of expanded and additional worked examples.

Organized into two sections, the book focuses first on the R software, then on the implementation of traditional statistical methods with R.

Focusing on the R software, the first section covers:

• Basic elements of the R software and data processing
• Clear, concise visualization of results, using simple and complex graphs
• Programming basics: pre-defined and user-created functions

The second section of the book presents R methods for a wide range of traditional statistical data processing techniques, including:

• Regression methods
• Analyses of variance and covariance
• Classification methods
• Exploratory multivariate analysis
• Clustering methods
• Hypothesis tests

After a short presentation of the method, the book explicitly details the R command lines and gives commented results. Accessible to novices and experts alike, R for Statistics is a clear and enjoyable resource for any scientist.

Datasets and all the results described in this book are available on the book s webpage at http: //www.agrocampus-ouest.fr/math/RforStat

This book provides a quick access to computational tools for algebraic geometry, the mathematical discipline which handles solution sets of polynomial equations. Originating from a number of intense one week schools taught by the authors, the text is designed so as to provide a step by step introduction which enables the reader to get started with his own computational experiments right away. The authors present the basic concepts and ideas in a compact way.

Clustering is one of the most fundamental and essential data analysis techniques. Clustering can be used as an independent data mining task to discern intrinsic characteristics of data, or as a preprocessing step with the clustering results then used for classification, correlation analysis, or anomaly detection.

Kogan and his co-editors have put together recent advances in clustering large and high-dimension data. Their volume addresses new topics and methods which are central to modern data analysis, with particular emphasis on linear algebra tools, opimization methods and statistical techniques. The contributions, written by leading researchers from both academia and industry, cover theoretical basics as well as application and evaluation of algorithms, and thus provide an excellent state-of-the-art overview.

The level of detail, the breadth of coverage, and the comprehensive bibliography make this book a perfect fit for researchers and graduate students in data mining and in many other important related application areas.

An authoritative introduction to the latest comparative methods in evolutionary biology Phylogenetic comparative methods are a suite of statistical approaches that enable biologists to analyze and better understand the evolutionary tree of life, and shed vital new light on patterns of divergence and common ancestry among all species on Earth. This textbook shows how to carry out phylogenetic comparative analyses in the R statistical computing environment. Liam Revell and Luke Harmon provide an incisive conceptual overview of each method along with worked examples using real data and challenge problems that encourage students to learn by doing. By working through this book, students will gain a solid foundation in these methods and develop the skills they need to interpret patterns in the tree of life. Covers every major method of modern phylogenetic comparative analysis in R Explains the basics of R and discusses topics such as trait evolution, diversification, trait-dependent diversification, biogeography, and visualization Features a wealth of exercises and challenge problems Serves as an invaluable resource for students and researchers, with applications in ecology, evolution, anthropology, disease transmission, conservation biology, and a host of other areas Written by two of today's leading developers of phylogenetic comparative methods

While theoretical statistics relies primarily on mathematics and hypothetical situations, statistical practice is a translation of a question formulated by a researcher into a series of variables linked by a statistical tool. As with written material, there are almost always differences between the meaning of the original text and translated text. Additionally, many versions can be suggested, each with their advantages and disadvantages. Analysis of Questionnaire Data with R translates certain classic research questions into statistical formulations. As indicated in the title, the syntax of these statistical formulations is based on the well-known R language, chosen for its popularity, simplicity, and power of its structure. Although syntax is vital, understanding the semantics is the real challenge of any good translation. In this book, the semantics of theoretical-to-practical translation emerges progressively from examples and experience, and occasionally from mathematical considerations. Sometimes the interpretation of a result is not clear, and there is no statistical tool really suited to the question at hand. Sometimes data sets contain errors, inconsistencies between answers, or missing data. More often, available statistical tools are not formally appropriate for the given situation, making it difficult to assess to what extent this slight inadequacy affects the interpretation of results. Analysis of Questionnaire Data with R tackles these and other common challenges in the practice of statistics.

Will provide a more elementary introduction to these topics than other books available; Gentle is the author of two other Springer books

A guide to using S environments to perform statistical analyses providing both an introduction to the use of S and a course in modern statistical methods. The emphasis is on presenting practical problems and full analyses of real data sets.

Over the last few decades, important progresses in the methods of sampling have been achieved. This book draws up an inventory of new methods that can be useful for selecting samples. Forty-six sampling methods are described in the framework of general theory. The algorithms are described rigorously, which allows implementing directly the described methods. This book is aimed at experienced statisticians who are familiar with the theory of survey sampling.

Methods of Statistical Model Estimation examines the most important and popular methods used to estimate parameters for statistical models and provide informative model summary statistics. Designed for R users, the book is also ideal for anyone wanting to better understand the algorithms used for statistical model fitting. The text presents algorithms for the estimation of a variety of regression procedures using maximum likelihood estimation, iteratively reweighted least squares regression, the EM algorithm, and MCMC sampling. Fully developed, working R code is constructed for each method. The book starts with OLS regression and generalized linear models, building to two-parameter maximum likelihood models for both pooled and panel models. It then covers a random effects model estimated using the EM algorithm and concludes with a Bayesian Poisson model using Metropolis-Hastings sampling. The book's coverage is innovative in several ways. First, the authors use executable computer code to present and connect the theoretical content. Therefore, code is written for clarity of exposition rather than stability or speed of execution. Second, the book focuses on the performance of statistical estimation and downplays algebraic niceties. In both senses, this book is written for people who wish to fit statistical models and understand them. See Professor Hilbe discuss the book.

This book presents a rigorous mathematical development of soil water and contaminant flow in variably saturated and saturated soils. Analytical and numerical methods are balanced: computer programs, among them MathCad and Fortran, are presented, and more than 150 practice and discussion questions are included. Students are thus exposed not only to theory but also to an array of solutions techniques. Those using the book as a reference will appreciate the careful development of basic flow equations, the inclusion of solutions and methodology currently available only in journals and proceedings volumes, and the examples and calculations directly applicable to their own work.