McCrimmon, having gotten Grierson's attention, continued: "A breakthrough, you say? If it's in economics, at least it can't be dangerous. Nothing like gene engineering, laser beams, sex hormones or international relations. That's where we don't want any breakthroughs. " (Galbraith, 1. K. (1990) A Tenured Profes sor, Houghton Mifflin; Boston. ) To judge astronomy] in this way a narrow utilitarian point of view] demon strates not only how poor we are, but also how small, narrow, and indolent our minds are; it shows a disposition always to calculate the payolTbefore the work, a cold heart and a lack of feeling for everything that is great and honors man. One can unfortunately not deny that such a mode of thinking is not uncommon in our age, and I am convinced that this is closely connected with the catastro phes which have befallen many countries in recent times; do not mistake me, I do not talk of the general lack of concern for science, but of the source from which all this has come, of the tendency to everywhere look out for one's advan tage and to relate everything to one's physical well-being, of the indilTerence towards great ideas, ofthe aversion to any elTort which derives from pure enthu siasm: I believe that such attitudes, if they prevail, can be decisive in catas trophes of the kind we have experienced. Gauss, K. F.: Astronomische An trittsvorlesung (cited from Buhler, W. K. (1981) Gauss: A Biographical Study, Springer: New York)]."

Volume III includes more selections of articles that have initiated fundamental changes in statistical methodology. It contains articles published before 1980 that were overlooked in the previous two volumes plus articles from the 1980's - all of them chosen after consulting many of today's leading statisticians.

The aim of this graduate textbook is to provide a comprehensive advanced course in the theory of statistics covering those topics in estimation, testing, and large sample theory which a graduate student might typically need to learn as preparation for work on a Ph.D. An important strength of this book is that it provides a mathematically rigorous and even-handed account of both Classical and Bayesian inference in order to give readers a broad perspective. For example, the "uniformly most powerful" approach to testing is contrasted with available decision-theoretic approaches.

This book provides a unified introduction to a variety of computational algorithms for likelihood and Bayesian inference. In this second edition, I have attempted to expand the treatment of many of the techniques dis cussed, as well as include important topics such as the Metropolis algorithm and methods for assessing the convergence of a Markov chain algorithm. Prerequisites for this book include an understanding of mathematical statistics at the level of Bickel and Doksum (1977), some understanding of the Bayesian approach as in Box and Tiao (1973), experience with condi tional inference at the level of Cox and Snell (1989) and exposure to statistical models as found in McCullagh and Neider (1989). I have chosen not to present the proofs of convergence or rates of convergence since these proofs may require substantial background in Markov chain theory which is beyond the scope ofthis book. However, references to these proofs are given. There has been an explosion of papers in the area of Markov chain Monte Carlo in the last five years. I have attempted to identify key references - though due to the volatility of the field some work may have been missed.

The first account in book form of all the essential features of the quasi-likelihood methodology, stressing its value as a general purpose inferential tool. The treatment is rather informal, emphasizing essential principles rather than detailed proofs, and readers are assumed to have a firm grounding in probability and statistics at the graduate level. Many examples of the use of the methods in both classical statistical and stochastic process contexts are provided.

The principal focus here is on autoregressive moving average models and analogous random fields, with probabilistic and statistical questions also being discussed. The book contrasts Gaussian models with noncausal or noninvertible (nonminimum phase) non-Gaussian models and deals with problems of prediction and estimation. New results for nonminimum phase non-Gaussian processes are exposited and open questions are noted. Intended as a text for gradutes in statistics, mathematics, engineering, the natural sciences and economics, the only recommendation is an initial background in probability theory and statistics. Notes on background, history and open problems are given at the end of the book.

The statistical and mathematical principles of smoothing with a focus on applicable techniques are presented in this book. It naturally splits into two parts: The first part is intended for undergraduate students majoring in mathematics, statistics, econometrics or biometrics whereas the second part is intended to be used by master and PhD students or researchers. The material is easy to accomplish since the e-book character of the text gives a maximum of flexibility in learning (and teaching) intensity.

Survival analysis arises in many fields of study including medicine, biology, engineering, public health, epidemiology, and economics. This book provides a comprehensive treatment of Bayesian survival analysis. It presents a balance between theory and applications, and for each class of models discussed, detailed examples and analyses from case studies are presented whenever possible. The applications are all from the health sciences, including cancer, AIDS, and the environment.

The fun and easy way to get down to business with statistics Stymied by statistics? No fear? this friendly guide offers clear, practical explanations of statistical ideas, techniques, formulas, and calculations, with lots of examples that show you how these concepts apply to your everyday life. Statistics For Dummies shows you how to interpret and critique graphs and charts, determine the odds with probability, guesstimate with confidence using confidence intervals, set up and carry out a hypothesis test, compute statistical formulas, and more. Tracks to a typical first semester statistics course Updated examples resonate with today's students Explanations mirror teaching methods and classroom protocol Packed with practical advice and real-world problems, Statistics For Dummies gives you everything you need to analyze and interpret data for improved classroom or on-the-job performance.

An observational study is an empirical investigation of the effects of treatments, policies, or exposures. It differes from an experiment in that the investigator cannot control the assignments of treatments to subjects. Scientists across a wide range of disciplines undertake such studies, and the aim of this book is to provide a sound statistical account of the principles and methods for the design and analysis of observational studies. Readers are assumed to have a working knowledge of basic probability and statistics, but otherwise the account is reasonably self-contained. Throughout there are extended discussions of actual observational studies to illustrate the ideas discussed. These are drawn from topics as diverse as smoking and lung cancer, lead in children, nuclear weapons testing, and placement programs for students. As a result, many researchers involved in observational studes will find this an invaluable companion to their work.