The classic high-level walk from Irish Sea to North Sea Originally devised by the legendary Alfred Wainwright, the Coast-to-Coast Walk has steadily become one of Britain' s most popular long-distance walks, and it is not hard to see why. Planned to seek out the most spectacular high ground across the country, it takes you from the sea in the west to the sea in the east via three of England' s loveliest National Parks: the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. Its 192 miles, from the quiet Cumbrian village of St Bees to Robin Hood' s Bay, are a substantial test of endurance that will take even a fit walker a fortnight to accomplish, but also a wonderfully varying walk, from sea cliffs to craggy mountains and lakes, then across rolling dales and finally heather moorland. For everyone who reaches Wainwright' s Bar at journey' s end on the North Yorkshire coast it will have been the walk of a lifetime.

Discover New Methods for Dealing with High-Dimensional Data A sparse statistical model has only a small number of nonzero parameters or weights; therefore, it is much easier to estimate and interpret than a dense model. Statistical Learning with Sparsity: The Lasso and Generalizations presents methods that exploit sparsity to help recover the underlying signal in a set of data. Top experts in this rapidly evolving field, the authors describe the lasso for linear regression and a simple coordinate descent algorithm for its computation. They discuss the application of 1 penalties to generalized linear models and support vector machines, cover generalized penalties such as the elastic net and group lasso, and review numerical methods for optimization. They also present statistical inference methods for fitted (lasso) models, including the bootstrap, Bayesian methods, and recently developed approaches. In addition, the book examines matrix decomposition, sparse multivariate analysis, graphical models, and compressed sensing. It concludes with a survey of theoretical results for the lasso. In this age of big data, the number of features measured on a person or object can be large and might be larger than the number of observations. This book shows how the sparsity assumption allows us to tackle these problems and extract useful and reproducible patterns from big datasets. Data analysts, computer scientists, and theorists will appreciate this thorough and up-to-date treatment of sparse statistical modeling.

A graphical model is a statistical model that is represented by a graph. The factorization properties underlying graphical models facilitate tractable computation with multivariate distributions, making the models a valuable tool with a plethora of applications. Furthermore, directed graphical models allow intuitive causal interpretations and have become a cornerstone for causal inference. While there exist a number of excellent books on graphical models, the field has grown so much that individual authors can hardly cover its entire scope. Moreover, the field is interdisciplinary by nature. Through chapters by leading researchers from different areas, this handbook provides a broad and accessible overview of the state of the art. Features: Contributions by leading researchers from a range of disciplines Structured in five parts, covering foundations, computational aspects, statistical inference, causal inference, and applications Balanced coverage of concepts, theory, methods, examples, and applications Chapters can be read mostly independently, while cross-references highlight connections The handbook is targeted at a wide audience, including graduate students, applied researchers, and experts in graphical models.

This book considers the forces that shaped India's postwar position as a major power. It examines the growth and development of India's defense infrastructure from the eve of the Second World War in 1938 through the transfer of power and partition in 1947 to the creation of the Baghdad Pact in 1955. The study shows how the British invested in the expansion of India's defense infrastructure during the Second World War in order to defend their imperial interests east of Suez. It also examines the effects of partition and de jure independence on India's access to this infrastructure. Finally, it analyzes the impact that India's possession of this infrastructure had on three developments of major importance to postwar geopolitics: India's leadership of newly independent former colonies, the decline of the British empire east of Suez, and the origins of the Cold War in Asia.

A charming guide to the story of the English village, celebrating this beloved heart of the countryside. The village remains a quintessential and much-loved treasure that is often representative of England. This rural idyll has inspired generations of great poets, novelists and artists including the likes of Constable, Hardy and Wordsworth. The English Village champions all that is unique and loved about a typical village - the pub, the green, the school, the church, the pond, the local shop and more - as well as exploring how the village has changed over the centuries, and how it has adjusted to modern-day life. A fascinating compendium of interesting details, facts, customs and lore, this is an unabashed toast to the English village, as well as a record of a disappearing world.

Discover New Methods for Dealing with High-Dimensional Data A sparse statistical model has only a small number of nonzero parameters or weights; therefore, it is much easier to estimate and interpret than a dense model. Statistical Learning with Sparsity: The Lasso and Generalizations presents methods that exploit sparsity to help recover the underlying signal in a set of data. Top experts in this rapidly evolving field, the authors describe the lasso for linear regression and a simple coordinate descent algorithm for its computation. They discuss the application of 1 penalties to generalized linear models and support vector machines, cover generalized penalties such as the elastic net and group lasso, and review numerical methods for optimization. They also present statistical inference methods for fitted (lasso) models, including the bootstrap, Bayesian methods, and recently developed approaches. In addition, the book examines matrix decomposition, sparse multivariate analysis, graphical models, and compressed sensing. It concludes with a survey of theoretical results for the lasso. In this age of big data, the number of features measured on a person or object can be large and might be larger than the number of observations. This book shows how the sparsity assumption allows us to tackle these problems and extract useful and reproducible patterns from big datasets. Data analysts, computer scientists, and theorists will appreciate this thorough and up-to-date treatment of sparse statistical modeling.

A graphical model is a statistical model that is represented by a graph. The factorization properties underlying graphical models facilitate tractable computation with multivariate distributions, making the models a valuable tool with a plethora of applications. Furthermore, directed graphical models allow intuitive causal interpretations and have become a cornerstone for causal inference. While there exist a number of excellent books on graphical models, the field has grown so much that individual authors can hardly cover its entire scope. Moreover, the field is interdisciplinary by nature. Through chapters by leading researchers from different areas, this handbook provides a broad and accessible overview of the state of the art. Key features: * Contributions by leading researchers from a range of disciplines * Structured in five parts, covering foundations, computational aspects, statistical inference, causal inference, and applications * Balanced coverage of concepts, theory, methods, examples, and applications * Chapters can be read mostly independently, while cross-references highlight connections The handbook is targeted at a wide audience, including graduate students, applied researchers, and experts in graphical models.

Virtual History examines many of the most popular historical video games released over the last decade and explores their portrayal of history. The book looks at the motives and perspectives of game designers and marketers, as well as the societal expectations addressed, through contingency and determinism, economics, the environment, culture, ethnicity, gender, and violence. Approaching videogames as a compelling art form that can simultaneously inform and mislead, the book considers the historical accuracy of videogames, while also exploring how they depict the underlying processes of history and highlighting their strengths as tools for understanding history. The first survey of the historical content and approach of popular videogames designed with students in mind, it argues that games can depict history and engage players with it in a useful way, encouraging the reader to consider the games they play from a different perspective. Supported by examples and screenshots that contextualize the discussion, Virtual History is a useful resource for students of media and world history as well as those focusing on the portrayal of history through the medium of videogames.

Virtual History examines many of the most popular historical video games released over the last decade and explores their portrayal of history. The book looks at the motives and perspectives of game designers and marketers, as well as the societal expectations addressed, through contingency and determinism, economics, the environment, culture, ethnicity, gender, and violence. Approaching videogames as a compelling art form that can simultaneously inform and mislead, the book considers the historical accuracy of videogames, while also exploring how they depict the underlying processes of history and highlighting their strengths as tools for understanding history. The first survey of the historical content and approach of popular videogames designed with students in mind, it argues that games can depict history and engage players with it in a useful way, encouraging the reader to consider the games they play from a different perspective. Supported by examples and screenshots that contextualize the discussion, Virtual History is a useful resource for students of media and world history as well as those focusing on the portrayal of history through the medium of videogames.

Presents an assessment of the redevelopment and regeneration of Leeds. This book identifies the drivers for change in the renaissance of contemporary Leeds following its evolution from Georgian/Victorian times. It explores the depth and complexity of the public-private partnerships involved in the delivery structures and their achievements. If Leeds was good in Arthur Ransome's day, it is hard to find an adjective that describes its fizz and chutzpah at the beginning of the 21st century. The city has been so successful in the last 30 years that its rivals have had to fall back on the insult 'smug', a jibe which, by definition, has little effect on its target. There is a deep-rooted sense of satisfaction, every bit as cosy as Ransome's, in the unofficial capital of Yorkshire. It shows mostly in the attitude of its people but also finds expression in the architecture, and especially in the strong sense of place in the city centre. "Leeds: Shaping the City" is an authoritative and objective assessment of the redevelopment and regeneration of Leeds. It identifies the drivers for change in the renaissance of contemporary Leeds following its evolution from Georgian/Victorian times; explores the depth and complexity of the public-private partnerships involved in the delivery structures and their achievements; articulates the importance of urban design for successful regeneration; uses case studies to illustrate the processes involved in the major physical change of the city and to assess their influence on future projects; and, provides a chronology of critical regeneration activities and key events over the last 20 years. Leeds has done exceptionally well in transforming itself from a grimy 'factoryopolis'.There are challenges ahead but the physical expression of Leeds' success - seen everywhere from clubs and cool restaurants to lofts above the inland port, where canal and river entwine - keep stimulating the imagination of new generations of entrepreneurs.