Information previously available only in journal articles and research papers has been brought together in this outstanding text. Uses the unifying theme of monotone structure to transcend the two-perspective approach to DES--one stressing logical/qualitative issues and the other temporal/quantitative analysis--to encompass elements from both. Features notes and references at the end of each chapter.

This unique textbook comprehensively introduces the field of discrete event systems, offering a breadth of coverage that makes the material accessible to readers of varied backgrounds. The book emphasizes a unified modeling framework that transcends specific application areas, linking the following topics in a coherent manner: language and automata theory, supervisory control, Petri net theory, Markov chains and queueing theory, discrete-event simulation, and concurrent estimation techniques. Topics and features: detailed treatment of automata and language theory in the context of discrete event systems, including application to state estimation and diagnosis comprehensive coverage of centralized and decentralized supervisory control of partially-observed systems timed models, including timed automata and hybrid automata stochastic models for discrete event systems and controlled Markov chains discrete event simulation an introduction to stochastic hybrid systems sensitivity analysis and optimization of discrete event and hybrid systems new in the third edition: opacity properties, enhanced coverage of supervisory control, overview of latest software tools This proven textbook is essential to advanced-level students and researchers in a variety of disciplines where the study of discrete event systems is relevant: control, communications, computer engineering, computer science, manufacturing engineering, transportation networks, operations research, and industrial engineering. ​Christos G. Cassandras is Distinguished Professor of Engineering, Professor of Systems Engineering, and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Boston University. Stéphane Lafortune is Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Monotonicity in Markov Reward and Decision Chains: Theory and Applications focuses on monotonicity results for dynamic systems that take values in the natural numbers or in more-dimensional lattices. The results are mostly formulated in terms of controlled queueing systems, but there are also applications to maintenance systems, revenue management, and so forth. The focus is on results that are obtained by inductively proving properties of the dynamic programming value function. A framework is provided for using this method that unifies results obtained for different models. The author also provides a comprehensive overview of the results that can be obtained through it, in which he discusses not only (partial) characterizations of optimal policies but also applications of monotonicity to optimization problems and the comparison of systems. Monotonicity in Markov Reward and Decision Chains: Theory and Applications is an invaluable resource for anyone planning or conducting research in this particular area. The essentials of the topic are presented in an accessible manner and an extensive bibliography guides towards further reading.

Seit dem Erscheinen der ersten Auflage dieses Werkes (1972) hat sich das Gebiet der kontinuierlichen multivariaten Verteilungen rasch weiterentwickelt. Moderne Anwendungsfelder sind die Erforschung von Hochwasser, Erdbeben, Regenfällen und Stürmen. Entsprechend wurde das Buch überarbeitet und erweitert: Nunmehr zwei Bände beschreiben eine Vielzahl multivariater Verteilungsmodelle anhand zahlreicher Beispiele. (05/00)

Comprehensive coverage of classical and modern methods of biostatistics Biostatistical Methods focuses on the assessment of risks and relative risks on the basis of clinical investigations. It develops basic concepts and derives biostatistical methods through both the application of classical mathematical statistical tools and more modern likelihood-based theories. The first half of the book presents methods for the analysis of single and multiple 2x2 tables for cross-sectional, prospective, and retrospective (case-control) sampling, with and without matching using fixed and two-stage random effects models. The text then moves on to present a more modern likelihood- or model-based approach, which includes unconditional and conditional logistic regression; the analysis of count data and the Poisson regression model; and the analysis of event time data, including the proportional hazards and multiplicative intensity models. The book contains a technical appendix that presents the core mathematical statistical theory used for the development of classical and modern statistical methods. Biostatistical Methods: The Assessment of Relative Risks: * Presents modern biostatistical methods that are generalizations of the classical methods discussed * Emphasizes derivations, not just cookbook methods * Provides copious reference citations for further reading * Includes extensive problem sets * Employs case studies to illustrate application of methods * Illustrates all methods using the Statistical Analysis System(r) (SAS) Supplemented with numerous graphs, charts, and tables as well as a Web site for larger data sets and exercises, Biostatistical Methods: The Assessment of Relative Risks is an excellent guide for graduate-level students in biostatistics and an invaluable reference for biostatisticians, applied statisticians, and epidemiologists.

The economics literature is replete with examples of monotone comparative statics; that is, scenarios where optimal decisions or equilibria in a parameterized collection of models vary monotonically with the parameter. Most of these examples are manifestations of complementarity, with a common explicit or implicit theoretical basis in properties of a super-modular function on a lattice. Supermodular functions yield a characterization for complementarity and extend the notion of complementarity to a general setting that is a natural mathematical context for studying complementarity and monotone comparative statics. Concepts and results related to supermodularity and monotone comparative statics constitute a new and important formal step in the long line of economics literature on complementarity. This monograph links complementarity to powerful concepts and results involving supermodular functions on lattices and focuses on analyses and issues related to monotone comparative statics. Don Topkis, who is known for his seminal contributions to this area, here presents a self-contained and up-to-date view of this field, including many new results, to scholars interested in economic theory and its applications as well as to those in related disciplines. The emphasis is on methodology. The book systematically develops a comprehensive, integrated theory pertaining to supermodularity, complementarity, and monotone comparative statics. It then applies that theory in the analysis of many diverse economic models formulated as decision problems, noncooperative games, and cooperative games.

THE MOST PRACTICAL, UP-TO-DATE GUIDE TO MODELLING AND ANALYZING TIME-TO-EVENT DATA—NOW IN A VALUABLE NEW EDITION Since publication of the first edition nearly a decade ago, analyses using time-to-event methods have increase considerably in all areas of scientific inquiry mainly as a result of model-building methods available in modern statistical software packages. However, there has been minimal coverage in the available literature to9 guide researchers, practitioners, and students who wish to apply these methods to health-related areas of study. Applied Survival Analysis, Second Edition provides a comprehensive and up-to-date introduction to regression modeling for time-to-event data in medical, epidemiological, biostatistical, and other health-related research. This book places a unique emphasis on the practical and contemporary applications of regression modeling rather than the mathematical theory. It offers a clear and accessible presentation of modern modeling techniques supplemented with real-world examples and case studies. Key topics covered include: variable selection, identification of the scale of continuous covariates, the role of interactions in the model, assessment of fit and model assumptions, regression diagnostics, recurrent event models, frailty models, additive models, competing risk models, and missing data. Features of the Second Edition include: Expanded coverage of interactions and the covariate-adjusted survival functions The use of the Worchester Heart Attack Study as the main modeling data set for illustrating discussed concepts and techniques New discussion of variable selection with multivariable fractional polynomials Further exploration of time-varying covariates, complex with examples Additional treatment of the exponential, Weibull, and log-logistic parametric regression models Increased emphasis on interpreting and using results as well as utilizing multiple imputation methods to analyze data with missing values New examples and exercises at the end of each chapter Analyses throughout the text are performed using Stata® Version 9, and an accompanying FTP site contains the data sets used in the book. Applied Survival Analysis, Second Edition is an ideal book for graduate-level courses in biostatistics, statistics, and epidemiologic methods. It also serves as a valuable reference for practitioners and researchers in any health-related field or for professionals in insurance and government.

Multivariable regression models are of fundamental importance in all areas of science in which empirical data must be analyzed. This book proposes a systematic approach to building such models based on standard principles of statistical modeling. The main emphasis is on the fractional polynomial method for modeling the influence of continuous variables in a multivariable context, a topic for which there is no standard approach. Existing options range from very simple step functions to highly complex adaptive methods such as multivariate splines with many knots and penalisation. This new approach, developed in part by the authors over the last decade, is a compromise which promotes interpretable, comprehensible and transportable models.

This books covers the broad range of research in stochastic models and optimization. Applications presented include networks, financial engineering, production planning, and supply chain management. Each contribution is aimed at graduate students working in operations research, probability, and statistics.