This volume offers valuable insights into the nature of decay processes and the factors that control them. It presents several studies on the impact of pollution on stonework in urban environments. Important methodological contributions cover: the mapping of facades to explain rates of decay associated with conservation actions; the laboratory simulation of corrosion in polluted atmospheres; the quantification of colour change through a study of the artificial ageing of building stone. The effectiveness of stone treatments within the laboratory is also considered.

In recognition of the fundamental control exerted by weathering on landscape evolution and topographic development, the 35th Binghamton Geomorphology Symposium was convened under the theme of Weathering and Landscape Evolution. The papers and posters presented at the conference imparted the state-of-the-art in weathering geomorphology, tackled the issue of scale linkage in geomorphic studies and offered a vehicle for interdisciplinary communication on research into weathering and landscape evolution. The papers included in this book are encapsulated here under the general themes of weathering mantles, weathering and relative dating, weathering and denudation, weathering processes and controls and the 'big picture'.
* Contains 15 papers on the techniques and methodologies of research
* Provides an up-to-date overview of various aspects of weathering and landscape evolution complemented by a number of excellent case studies
* Contains a wealth of basic field data and relevant information

This book presents the reader with new operators and matrices that arise in the area of matrix calculus. The properties of these mathematical concepts are investigated and linked with zero-one matrices such as the commutation matrix. Elimination and duplication matrices are revisited and partitioned into submatrices. Studying the properties of these submatrices facilitates achieving new results for the original matrices themselves. Different concepts of matrix derivatives are presented and transformation principles linking these concepts are obtained. One of these concepts is used to derive new matrix calculus results, some involving the new operators and others the derivatives of the operators themselves. The last chapter contains applications of matrix calculus, including optimization, differentiation of log-likelihood functions, iterative interpretations of maximum likelihood estimators, and a Lagrangian multiplier test for endogeneity.

This 2002 book presents the reader with mathematical tools taken from matrix calculus and zero-one matrices and demonstrates how these tools greatly facilitate the application of classical statistical procedures to econometric models. The matrix calculus results are derived from a few basic rules that are generalizations of the rules of ordinary calculus. These results are summarized in a useful table. Well-known zero-one matrices, together with some newer ones, are defined, their mathematical roles explained, and their useful properties presented. The basic building blocks of classical statistics, namely the score vector, the information matrix, and the Cramer-Rao lower bound, are obtained for a sequence of linear econometric models of increasing statistical complexity. From these are obtained interactive interpretations of maximum likelihood estimators, linking them with efficient econometric estimators. Classical test statistics are also derived and compared for hypotheses of interest.

Answering the great demand for a concise layperson's guide written in plain language, the Facts On File Encyclopedia of Infectious Diseases features more than 600 entries that discuss infectious diseases and agents, drug treatments and therapies, and the scientists who have made important medical discoveries.

Recent advances in establishing the nature and scope of estimators in econometrics have shed more light on the importance of instrumental variables. In this book, the authors argue that such methods may be regarded as a strong organizing principle for a wide variety of estimation and hypothesis testing problems in econometrics and statistics. In support of this claim they present and develop the methodology of instrumental variables in its most general and explanatory form. They show, for instance, that techniques commonly used to handle simultaneity and related problems can be reduced to one of two generic variables of instrumental variables estimators, allowing them to explore further the conditions under which different proposed estimators are efficient.

This book presents the reader with new operators and matrices that arise in the area of matrix calculus. The properties of these mathematical concepts are investigated and linked with zero-one matrices such as the commutation matrix. Elimination and duplication matrices are revisited and partitioned into submatrices. Studying the properties of these submatrices facilitates achieving new results for the original matrices themselves. Different concepts of matrix derivatives are presented and transformation principles linking these concepts are obtained. One of these concepts is used to derive new matrix calculus results, some involving the new operators and others the derivatives of the operators themselves. The last chapter contains applications of matrix calculus, including optimization, differentiation of log-likelihood functions, iterative interpretations of maximum likelihood estimators and a Lagrangian multiplier test for endogeneity.

The statistical models confronting econometricians are complicated in nature so it is no easy task to apply the procedures recommended by classical statisticians to such models. This book presents the reader with mathematical tools drawn from matrix calculus and zero-one matrices and demonstrates how the use of their tools greatly facilitates such applications in a sequence of linear econometric models of increasing statistical complexity. The book differs from others in that the matrix calculus results are derived from a few basic rules which are generalizations of the rules used in ordinary calculus. Moreover the properties of several new zero-one matrices are investigated.

Ever wonder who wrangles the animals during a movie shoot? What it takes to be a brewmaster? How that play-by-play announcer got his job? What it is like to be a secret shopper? The new