A Practical Guide to Analytics for Governments. Using Big Data for Good

Detect fraud earlier to mitigate loss and prevent cascading damage Fraud Analytics Using Descriptive, Predictive, and Social Network Techniques is an authoritative guidebook for setting up a comprehensive fraud detection analytics solution. Early detection is a key factor in mitigating fraud damage, but it involves more specialized techniques than detecting fraud at the more advanced stages. This invaluable guide details both the theory and technical aspects of these techniques, and provides expert insight into streamlining implementation. Coverage includes data gathering, preprocessing, model building, and post-implementation, with comprehensive guidance on various learning techniques and the data types utilized by each. These techniques are effective for fraud detection across industry boundaries, including applications in insurance fraud, credit card fraud, anti-money laundering, healthcare fraud, telecommunications fraud, click fraud, tax evasion, and more, giving you a highly practical framework for fraud prevention. It is estimated that a typical organization loses about 5% of its revenue to fraud every year. More effective fraud detection is possible, and this book describes the various analytical techniques your organization must implement to put a stop to the revenue leak. Examine fraud patterns in historical data Utilize labeled, unlabeled, and networked data Detect fraud before the damage cascades Reduce losses, increase recovery, and tighten security The longer fraud is allowed to go on, the more harm it causes. It expands exponentially, sending ripples of damage throughout the organization, and becomes more and more complex to track, stop, and reverse. Fraud prevention relies on early and effective fraud detection, enabled by the techniques discussed here. Fraud Analytics Using Descriptive, Predictive, and Social Network Techniques helps you stop fraud in its tracks, and eliminate the opportunities for future occurrence.

Get ahead of the curve—learn about big data on the blockchain Blockchain came to prominence as the disruptive technology that made cryptocurrencies work. Now, data pros are using blockchain technology for faster real-time analysis, better data security, and more accurate predictions. Blockchain Data Analytics For Dummies is your quick-start guide to harnessing the potential of blockchain. Inside this book, technologists, executives, and data managers will find information and inspiration to adopt blockchain as a big data tool. Blockchain expert Michael G. Solomon shares his insight on what the blockchain is and how this new tech is poised to disrupt data. Set your organization on the cutting edge of analytics, before your competitors get there! Learn how blockchain technologies work and how they can integrate with big data Discover the power and potential of blockchain analytics Establish data models and quickly mine for insights and results Create data visualizations from blockchain analysis Discover how blockchains are disrupting the data world with this exciting title in the trusted For Dummies line!

The guide to targeting and leveraging business opportunities using big data & analytics By leveraging big data & analytics, businesses create the potential to better understand, manage, and strategically exploiting the complex dynamics of customer behavior. Analytics in a Big Data World reveals how to tap into the powerful tool of data analytics to create a strategic advantage and identify new business opportunities. Designed to be an accessible resource, this essential book does not include exhaustive coverage of all analytical techniques, instead focusing on analytics techniques that really provide added value in business environments. The book draws on author Bart Baesens' expertise on the topics of big data, analytics and its applications in e.g. credit risk, marketing, and fraud to provide a clear roadmap for organizations that want to use data analytics to their advantage, but need a good starting point. Baesens has conducted extensive research on big data, analytics, customer relationship management, web analytics, fraud detection, and credit risk management, and uses this experience to bring clarity to a complex topic. Includes numerous case studies on risk management, fraud detection, customer relationship management, and web analytics Offers the results of research and the author's personal experience in banking, retail, and government Contains an overview of the visionary ideas and current developments on the strategic use of analytics for business Covers the topic of data analytics in easy-to-understand terms without an undo emphasis on mathematics and the minutiae of statistical analysis For organizations looking to enhance their capabilities via data analytics, this resource is the go-to reference for leveraging data to enhance business capabilities.

Find the right big data solution for your business or organization Big data management is one of the major challenges facing business, industry, and not-for-profit organizations. Data sets such as customer transactions for a mega-retailer, weather patterns monitored by meteorologists, or social network activity can quickly outpace the capacity of traditional data management tools. If you need to develop or manage big data solutions, you'll appreciate how these four experts define, explain, and guide you through this new and often confusing concept. You'll learn what it is, why it matters, and how to choose and implement solutions that work. Effectively managing big data is an issue of growing importance to businesses, not-for-profit organizations, government, and IT professionals Authors are experts in information management, big data, and a variety of solutions Explains big data in detail and discusses how to select and implement a solution, security concerns to consider, data storage and presentation issues, analytics, and much more Provides essential information in a no-nonsense, easy-to-understand style that is empowering Big Data For Dummies cuts through the confusion and helps you take charge of big data solutions for your organization.

Unique insights to implement big data analytics and reap big returns to your bottom line Focusing on the business and financial value of big data analytics, respected technology journalist Frank J. Ohlhorst shares his insights on the newly emerging field of big data analytics in Big Data Analytics. This breakthrough book demonstrates the importance of analytics, defines the processes, highlights the tangible and intangible values and discusses how you can turn a business liability into actionable material that can be used to redefine markets, improve profits and identify new business opportunities. Reveals big data analytics as the next wave for businesses looking for competitive advantage Takes an in-depth look at the financial value of big data analytics Offers tools and best practices for working with big data Once the domain of large on-line retailers such as eBay and Amazon, big data is now accessible by businesses of all sizes and across industries. From how to mine the data your company collects, to the data that is available on the outside, Big Data Analytics shows how you can leverage big data into a key component in your business's growth strategy.

Hone your analytic talents and become part of the next big thing Getting a Big Data Job For Dummies is the ultimate guide to landing a position in one of the fastest-growing fields in the modern economy. Learn exactly what «big data» means, why it's so important across all industries, and how you can obtain one of the most sought-after skill sets of the decade. This book walks you through the process of identifying your ideal big data job, shaping the perfect resume, and nailing the interview, all in one easy-to-read guide. Companies from all industries, including finance, technology, medicine, and defense, are harnessing massive amounts of data to reap a competitive advantage. The demand for big data professionals is growing every year, and experts forecast an estimated 1.9 million additional U.S. jobs in big data by 2015. Whether your niche is developing the technology, handling the data, or analyzing the results, turning your attention to a career in big data can lead to a more secure, more lucrative career path. Getting a Big Data Job For Dummies provides an overview of the big data career arc, and then shows you how to get your foot in the door with topics like: The education you need to succeed The range of big data career path options An overview of major big data employers A plan to develop your job-landing strategy Your analytic inclinations may be your ticket to long-lasting success. In a highly competitive job market, developing your data skills can create a situation where you pick your employer rather than the other way around. If you're ready to get in on the ground floor of the next big thing, Getting a Big Data Job For Dummies will teach you everything you need to know to get started today.

Capitalise on big data to add value to your small business Written by bestselling author and big data expert Bernard Marr, Big Data For Small Business For Dummies helps you understand what big data actually is—and how you can analyse and use it to improve your business. Free of confusing jargon and complemented with lots of step-by-step guidance and helpful advice, it quickly and painlessly helps you get the most from using big data in a small business. Business data has been around for a long time. Unfortunately, it was trapped away in overcrowded filing cabinets and on archaic floppy disks. Now, thanks to technology and new tools that display complex databases in a much simpler manner, small businesses can benefit from the big data that's been hiding right under their noses. With the help of this friendly guide, you'll discover how to get your hands on big data to develop new offerings, products and services; understand technological change; create an infrastructure; develop strategies; and make smarter business decisions. Shows you how to use big data to make sense of user activity on social networks and customer transactions Demonstrates how to capture, store, search, share, analyse and visualise analytics Helps you turn your data into actionable insights Explains how to use big data to your advantage in order to transform your small business If you're a small business owner or employee, Big Data For Small Business For Dummies helps you harness the hottest commodity on the market today in order to take your company to new heights.

Praise for Development for Academic Leaders «Penny Hunt has opened the door on what many academics consider the mystery of fundraising success. In a straightforward and direct way, the book explains what is most important for academic leaders to do and understand. It articulates roles and responsibilities and offers practical counsel for long-term success. Penelepe's own highly successful and collaborative approach to fundraising shines through on each page. This should be given to every new dean and department head who hopes to make a positive contribution to philanthropy for their academic program.» ?Lynette L. Marshall, CFRE, president and CEO, University of Iowa Foundation «Development for Academic Leaders is a significant addition for deans and academics of every rank who know a great deal about academic research but who know nothing about raising money. This book will get boundary spanners outside of their campus silos and serve as a bridging instrument to the outside world. With its conceptual framework, its illustrations, its metrics, its model conversations/ discussions, and its breadth, it will help any campus official who works with the public to raise the right kind of awareness and to help potential donors find the right fit for their giving.» ?Don Chu, dean, College of Education, Health, and Human Services at California State University, San Marcos; author, The Department Chair Primer, Second Edition «Everything I know about development work I learned from Penny Hunt! I have been privileged both to be her colleague and to attend her seminars on development, and am thrilled now that other academic leaders will be able to benefit from her sage but practical advice in this indispensable guide.» ?Dwight A. McBride, associate provost and dean, The Graduate School, Northwestern University; former dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago «Any academic leader who wants to master the development process will benefit from reading Development for Academic Leaders. Penny Hunt's thorough experience, her empathy and her sheer intellect position the work of fundraising in a way that is manageable, friendly, even fun, for the scholar who has made the transition to chair, dean, provost, or president and is daunted by new responsibilities and bottom lines. Development officers will gain insight on working with academic leadership to navigate the internal political landscape and bring greater results in the short term and stronger institutions in the long term.» ?Thomas J. Minar, vice president, Development and Alumni Relations, American University

AVOID THE MISTAKES THAT OTHERS MAKE – LEARN WHAT LEADS TO BEST PRACTICE AND KICKSTART SUCCESS This groundbreaking resource provides comprehensive coverage across all aspects of business analytics, presenting proven management guidelines to drive sustainable differentiation. Through a rich set of case studies, author Evan Stubbs reviews solutions and examples to over twenty common problems spanning managing analytics assets and information, leveraging technology, nurturing skills, and defining processes. Delivering Business Analytics also outlines the Data Scientist’s Code, fifteen principles that when followed ensure constant movement towards effective practice. Practical advice is offered for addressing various analytics issues; the advantages and disadvantages of each issue’s solution; and how these solutions can optimally create organizational value. With an emphasis on real-world examples and pragmatic advice throughout, Delivering Business Analytics provides a reference guide on: The economic principles behind how business analytics leads to competitive differentiation The elements which define best practice The Data Scientist’s Code, fifteen management principles that when followed help teams move towards best practice Practical solutions and frequent missteps to twenty-four common problems across people and process, systems and assets, and data and decision-making Drawing on the successes and failures of countless organizations, author Evan Stubbs provides a densely packed practical reference on how to increase the odds of success in designing business analytics systems and managing teams of data scientists. Uncover what constitutes best practice in business analytics and start achieving it with Delivering Business Analytics.