Social Network Analysis with Applications

The objective of the book is to make accessible the ways in which social network analysis (SNA) may be used to observe, monitor and analyse systems and relationships in major construction project coalitions. Although this has been an established analytical technique in the US for some time, it is only now being developed in the UK. Having spent nearly two decades investigating major project relationships using SNA, the author has brought together mathematical and sociological methods, and major project relationships in a manner that will inspire both academic interest and a desire to apply these concepts and techniques to live construction projects. Case studies include projects from two of the UKs largest property developers, the UK Ministry of Defence and a County Council. SNA is innovative – but potentially inaccessible to project management analysts and practitioners. This book will provide clear and relevant explanation and illustration of the possibilities of using SNA in a major project environment. In addition to offering the potential; for sophisticated retrospective analysis of a wide range of systems associated with construction and engineering project coalitions, the author looks at how we might apply the network analysis findings to the design and management of project and supply chain networks.

This new title in the well-established «Quantitative Network Biology» series includes innovative and existing methods for analyzing network data in such areas as network biology and chemoinformatics. With its easy-to-follow introduction to the theoretical background and application-oriented chapters, the book demonstrates that R is a powerful language for statistically analyzing networks and for solving such large-scale phenomena as network sampling and bootstrapping. Written by editors and authors with an excellent track record in the field, this is the ultimate reference for R in Network Analysis.

An accessible introduction to performing meta-analysis across various areas of research The practice of meta-analysis allows researchers to obtain findings from various studies and compile them to verify and form one overall conclusion. Statistical Meta-Analysis with Applications presents the necessary statistical methodologies that allow readers to tackle the four main stages of meta-analysis: problem formulation, data collection, data evaluation, and data analysis and interpretation. Combining the authors' expertise on the topic with a wealth of up-to-date information, this book successfully introduces the essential statistical practices for making thorough and accurate discoveries across a wide array of diverse fields, such as business, public health, biostatistics, and environmental studies. Two main types of statistical analysis serve as the foundation of the methods and techniques: combining tests of effect size and combining estimates of effect size. Additional topics covered include: Meta-analysis regression procedures Multiple-endpoint and multiple-treatment studies The Bayesian approach to meta-analysis Publication bias Vote counting procedures Methods for combining individual tests and combining individual estimates Using meta-analysis to analyze binary and ordinal categorical data Numerous worked-out examples in each chapter provide the reader with a step-by-step understanding of the presented methods. All exercises can be computed using the R and SAS software packages, which are both available via the book's related Web site. Extensive references are also included, outlining additional sources for further study. Requiring only a working knowledge of statistics, Statistical Meta-Analysis with Applications is a valuable supplement for courses in biostatistics, business, public health, and social research at the upper-undergraduate and graduate levels. It is also an excellent reference for applied statisticians working in industry, academia, and government.

A much-needed guide on how to use numerical methods to solve practical engineering problems Bridging the gap between mathematics and engineering, Numerical Analysis with Applications in Mechanics and Engineering arms readers with powerful tools for solving real-world problems in mechanics, physics, and civil and mechanical engineering. Unlike most books on numerical analysis, this outstanding work links theory and application, explains the mathematics in simple engineering terms, and clearly demonstrates how to use numerical methods to obtain solutions and interpret results. Each chapter is devoted to a unique analytical methodology, including a detailed theoretical presentation and emphasis on practical computation. Ample numerical examples and applications round out the discussion, illustrating how to work out specific problems of mechanics, physics, or engineering. Readers will learn the core purpose of each technique, develop hands-on problem-solving skills, and get a complete picture of the studied phenomenon. Coverage includes: How to deal with errors in numerical analysis Approaches for solving problems in linear and nonlinear systems Methods of interpolation and approximation of functions Formulas and calculations for numerical differentiation and integration Integration of ordinary and partial differential equations Optimization methods and solutions for programming problems Numerical Analysis with Applications in Mechanics and Engineering is a one-of-a-kind guide for engineers using mathematical models and methods, as well as for physicists and mathematicians interested in engineering problems.

A modern, comprehensive treatment of latent class and latent transition analysis for categorical data On a daily basis, researchers in the social, behavioral, and health sciences collect information and fit statistical models to the gathered empirical data with the goal of making significant advances in these fields. In many cases, it can be useful to identify latent, or unobserved, subgroups in a population, where individuals' subgroup membership is inferred from their responses on a set of observed variables. Latent Class and Latent Transition Analysis provides a comprehensive and unified introduction to this topic through one-of-a-kind, step-by-step presentations and coverage of theoretical, technical, and practical issues in categorical latent variable modeling for both cross-sectional and longitudinal data. The book begins with an introduction to latent class and latent transition analysis for categorical data. Subsequent chapters delve into more in-depth material, featuring: A complete treatment of longitudinal latent class models Focused coverage of the conceptual underpinnings of interpretation and evaluationof a latent class solution Use of parameter restrictions and detection of identification problems Advanced topics such as multi-group analysis and the modeling and interpretation of interactions between covariates The authors present the topic in a style that is accessible yet rigorous. Each method is presented with both a theoretical background and the practical information that is useful for any data analyst. Empirical examples showcase the real-world applications of the discussed concepts and models, and each chapter concludes with a «Points to Remember» section that contains a brief summary of key ideas. All of the analyses in the book are performed using Proc LCA and Proc LTA, the authors' own software packages that can be run within the SAS® environment. A related Web site houses information on these freely available programs and the book's data sets, encouraging readers to reproduce the analyses and also try their own variations. Latent Class and Latent Transition Analysis is an excellent book for courses on categorical data analysis and latent variable models at the upper-undergraduate and graduate levels. It is also a valuable resource for researchers and practitioners in the social, behavioral, and health sciences who conduct latent class and latent transition analysis in their everyday work.

H andbook and reference guide for students and practitioners of statistical regression-based analyses in R   Handbook of Regression Analysis  with Applications in R, Second Edition  is a comprehensive and up-to-date guide to conducting complex regressions in the R statistical programming language. The authors’ thorough treatment of “classical” regression analysis in the first edition is complemented here by their discussion of more advanced topics including time-to-event survival data and longitudinal and clustered data.  The book further pays particular attention to methods that have become prominent in the last few decades as increasingly large data sets have made new techniques and applications possible. These include:  Regularization methods Smoothing methods Tree-based methods In the new edition of the  Handbook , the data analyst’s toolkit is explored and expanded. Examples are drawn from a wide variety of real-life applications and data sets. All the utilized R code and data are available via an author-maintained website.  Of interest to undergraduate and graduate students taking courses in statistics and regression, the  Handbook of Regression Analysis  will also be invaluable to practicing data scientists and statisticians.

There are many books on computers, networks, and software engineering but none that integrate the three with applications. Integration is important because, increasingly, software dominates the performance, reliability, maintainability, and availability of complex computer and systems. Books on software engineering typically portray software as if it exists in a vacuum with no relationship to the wider system. This is wrong because a system is more than software. It is comprised of people, organizations, processes, hardware, and software. All of these components must be considered in an integrative fashion when designing systems. On the other hand, books on computers and networks do not demonstrate a deep understanding of the intricacies of developing software. In this book you will learn, for example, how to quantitatively analyze the performance, reliability, maintainability, and availability of computers, networks, and software in relation to the total system. Furthermore, you will learn how to evaluate and mitigate the risk of deploying integrated systems. You will learn how to apply many models dealing with the optimization of systems. Numerous quantitative examples are provided to help you understand and interpret model results. This book can be used as a first year graduate course in computer, network, and software engineering; as an on-the-job reference for computer, network, and software engineers; and as a reference for these disciplines.

The aim of this book is to motivate students into learning Machine Analysis by reinforcing theory and applications throughout the text. The author uses an enthusiastic ‘hands-on’ approach by including photos of actual mechanisms in place of abstract line illustrations, and directs students towards developing their own software for mechanism analysis using Excel & Matlab. An accompanying website includes a detailed list of tips for learning machine analysis, including tips on working homework problems, note taking, preparing for tests, computer programming and other topics to aid in student success. Study guides for each chapter that focus on teaching the thought process needed to solve problems by presenting practice problems are included, as are computer animations for common mechanisms discussed in the text.

The book presents some key mathematical tools for the performance analysis of communication networks and computer systems. Communication networks and computer systems have become extremely complex. The statistical resource sharing induced by the random behavior of users and the underlying protocols and algorithms may affect Quality of Service. This book introduces the main results of queuing theory that are useful for analyzing the performance of these systems. These mathematical tools are key to the development of robust dimensioning rules and engineering methods. A number of examples illustrate their practical interest.

Provides an up-to-date integration of expert systems with fuzzy logic and neural networks. Includes coverage of simulation models not present in other books. Presents cases and examples taken from the authors' experience in research and applying the technology to real-world situations.