Statistical Computing: An Introduction to Data Analysis using S-Plus

Book Description

Many statistical modelling and data analysis techniques can be difficult to grasp and apply, and it is often necessary to use computer software to aid the implementation of large data sets and to obtain useful results. S-Plus is recognised as one of the most powerful and flexible statistical software packages, and it enables the user to apply a number of statistical methods, ranging from simple regression to time series or multivariate analysis. This text offers extensive coverage of many basic and more advanced statistical methods, concentrating on graphical inspection, and features step-by-step instructions to help the non-statistician to understand fully the methodology.

Extensive coverage of basic, intermediate and advanced statistical methods
Uses S-Plus, which is recognised globally as one of the most powerful and flexible statistical software packages
Emphasis is on graphical data inspection, parameter estimation and model criticism
Features hundreds of worked examples to illustrate the techniques described
Accessible to scientists from a large number of disciplines with minimal statistical knowledge
Written by a leading figure in the field, who runs a number of successful international short courses
Accompanied by a Web site featuring worked examples, data sets, exercises and solutions

A valuable reference resource for researchers, professionals, lecturers and students from statistics, the life sciences, medicine, engineering, economics and the social sciences.

Customer Reviews:

Ambitious, but doesn't fully meet its ambitions.......2005-06-02

Mathematical level: Moderate

For the right audience, this is a very good book. The problem is finding the right audience. The book attempts to cover a lot of ground; in a typical graduate program in the social sciences, it would be at least 3 semesters worth, maybe more. But, if you've had the statistics, and need to learn S-Plus, this book offers a lot of good hints. The problem is that it doesn't teach S-Plus as give a lot of interesting examples, so you would also need an S-Plus book. Therefore, the right audience is someone who knows some statistics and some S-Plus, but wants to get some hints for both.

Teachers, students, and researchers - stop here!.......2004-06-13

This is far and away the best statistics book I have found for the non-statistician. As a researcher and introductory behavioral statistics teacher this book has proven invaluable to me.

Crawley explains the connecting ideas that foster understanding that so many others seem to omit. Teaching statistics graphically rather than formulaically using the free student version of s-plus, my students come away understanding the foundations of statistics including measures of central tendency, probability distributions, regression, and ANOVA.

The interesting thing is that when I need an introduction to survival analysis or non-linear regression, I'm able to pick up the same book. Crawley explains many more advanced analyses with the same care and thoroughness that he does the basics including log-linear analysis, mixed-effects models, Generalised linear models, and time series analysis to name but a few.

I originally picked up this book to learn how to conduct analyses using s-plus but what I found was so much more.

To those of you that are really only interested in learning s-plus this book does that elegantly as well and I prefer it to Venables and Ripley (Modern Applied Statistics with S). I suspect that statisticians will prefer the later title but if you are like me and want some help understanding the analysis and not just how to do it in s-plus then stick with this title.

Average customer rating:
Statistical Computing - An Introduction to Data Analysis Using S-Plus
M.J. CRAWLEY
Manufacturer: JOHN WILEY AND SONS LTD
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000N5DU54

Book Description

Papers in this volume focus on corporate governance broadly defined as the system of control that helps corporations effectively manage, administer, and direct economic resources. Questions of what and how to produce become equally important as organizations strive to better serve demanding customers. As a result, the design and control of effective organizations have become an integral part of financial economics. Traditionally, organization structure has been described by the vertical and horizontal relationships among the firm, its customers and suppliers. More recently, researchers have come to understand that the efficiency of firms depends upon the ability of participants to find effective means to minimize the transaction costs of coordinating productive activity. As financial economists have learned, resource allocation will be efficient so long as transaction costs remain low and property rights can be freely assigned and exchanged. An important problem that must be addressed is the so-called agency problem resulting from the natural conflict between owners and managers. Agency costs are the explicit and implicit transaction costs necessary to overcome the natural divergence of interest between agent managers and principal stockholders. The value-maximizing organization design minimizes unproductive conflict within the firm. Papers in this volume show how corporate control mechanisms inside and outside the firm have evolved around the world to allocate decision authority to that person or organization best able to perform a given task.

Book Description

Designed to aid the researcher in aquiring and perfecting legal research skills. The book provides steps in learning computerized research emphasizing Lexis and Westlaw. It also includes detailed research footnotes to court rules and decisions that explain the reasons for concepts and provide citations to aid in actual research. A good book for anyone interested in Legal Writing or Civil Litigation.

Book Description

This book collects multidisciplinary chapters on the most important problems that arise at mid-ocean ridges. The mid-ocean ridge system is the longest continuous feature of the earth's surface. It is where the great majority of ocean floor is created and volumes of seafloor volcanism vastly exceed those on land. It provides the means for much of the heat loss from the interior of the earth. Chemicals as well as heat are extracted by flowing seawater through the rocks of the seafloor, leading to spectacular areas of hydrothermal venting, that affect ocean chemistry and global climate. The chapters range from studies of the mantle and magma generation within it, through tectonics of mid-ocean ridges, to the physical, chemical and biological dynamics of hydrothermal systems. The book will be of importance to specialists and researchers wishing to become informed of the latest developments in the science of mid-ocean ridges. It will prove especially useful for new scientists entering the field.

Customer Reviews:

A Toast To The Upper Crust!.......2001-10-19

New ocean crusts are a topic which most certainly concerns all of us, particularly in these times of crustular uncertainty. Add into the pudding the unique element of Mid-Ocean ridges, and you've got a subject which will be discussed over a cup of hot grog for decades to come. Let's not forget that were it not for oceans, crusts and ridges, there would simply be nothing out there separating the continents, and then undesirables would simply be able to walk over here and plunder us. Let us all do our homework and learn how to nurture our crusts, so that our oceans never go away when we need them most!

Book Description

Galahad can't abide broken hearts, so when a rash of broken couples crops up--along with a meddlesome mother and a drunken pig--he tries to put everything right.

Customer Reviews:

A Ripping Good Read, What? .......2005-09-11

Readers versed in the Wodehouse canon will recall a delightful episode titled "Extricating Young Gussie." This installment in the Blandings Castle saga could be titled "Gally extricates everyone." It's not much about Lord Emsworth, and the perennially prize winning pig, Empress of Blandings, features only in a bit part. The usual bevy of imperious aunts cause the usual sackfuls of trouble for numerous tangled hearts. But the plot, such as it is, turns on Lord Emsworth's resourceful brother, the loveable rogue, Galahad Threepwood, and his Jeeves- like power to make things come right. While some of Lord Emsworth's behavior seems uncharacteristic, this later novel from 1965 is nevertheless prime Wodehouse and a ripping good read.

Galahad in his prime.......2002-03-14

Galahad at Blandings is a book part of the Blandings Castle series, but I wouldn't call it Wodehouse's best book. It is a about a couple, Sam and Sandy, and how they come together. They have a fight, and Sam comes to Blandings Castle as an imposter, to resolve the fight, as Sandy won't talk to him at all. Then in the end, money is given, fights are resolved, and everyone is happy. It is a tremendously funny book, as many of the main character are quite eccentric, so I suggest you pick up a copy quickly. Enjoy!!! Cheers!!!!!!!!! : )

A really good read!.......2001-09-17

This story by P.G. Wodehouse is very entertaining and a really good read. A great escape into the magical world of Wodehouse.

Enough to Make a Cat Laugh.......2001-02-19

The Hon. Galahad Threepwood is back. This time he has assigned himself the dubious task of bringing three different couples together. The setting is England, Blandings Castle, of course, complete with the amiable dunce Lord Emsworth and his prize-winning porker, the Empress, infamous for her role in `PIG-HOO-EY'.

On his way to London to pick up his brother Clarence (Lord Emsworth), Galahad, a dapper middle-aged man eyes the name on a sinister package that Lord Emsworth's secretary Sandy Callendar has asked him to post. The parcel is addressed to a chap named Bagshott. This detail excites Galahad's curiosity because he used to be bosom with a fellow named Bagshott. But the Bagshott that the Hon. Galahad knew (Boko) had long since retired from the earth. Discovering that the contents of said package are a pile of letters that will effectively sunder Sandy Callendar's relationship with Boko's son, Samuel Galahad Bagshott, Gally becomes determined to keep the sparring couple afloat. Having been staunchly opposed to sundered hearts since he was a boy, Galahad Threepwood is resolved to put matters right.

Sam and Sandy's dispute happens to be related to gambling and, well, naturally, the Drones Club. You see Sam stands to gain a sackful in a sweep if Tipton Plimsoll (fellow Drones Club member) weds the pretty dolt Veronica Wedge, Lord Emsworth's niece. But Sandy is diametrically opposed to the whole enterprise, urging Sam to part with the debatably generous syndicate offer. And she still hasn't forgiven Sam for telling her that she looks like a "horror from outer space" with a particular pair of glasses on. Plus, Sandy is a redhead, making the task for Gally that much more difficult - as we all know, redheaded women have short and irrational tempers. Enter the "pint-sized bozo," Wilfred Allsop, cousin of Veronica Wedge. On a bender one night in New York with his new friend Tipton Plimsoll, Willie, who somewhat "resembles the poet Shelley," reveals his affections for Lord Emsworth's pig lady, Monica Simmons. Tipton Plimsoll endorses the arrangement despite his belief that Ms. Simmons has the appearance of an "all-in wrestler."

As it is, all three of these impending alliances are dependent upon each other and the Hon. Galahad Threepwood knows it. You'll have to read the story to find out whether or not Gally is successful with his scheme to reunite the warring couples. Just know that he is a skilled raconteur and "teller of the tale." Gally will never miss a beat and he stays on top of it all, undoubtedly aided by his fondness for cocktails at all hours.

Galahad has many passions in life. One is to protect the reputation of one of his oldest and greatest friends, whiskey. Disgusted and offended by "coloured slides" and "temperance lectures" Gally goes on an anti-Tea tirade, accusing "the muck" as he calls it, of being responsible for the death of his poor, dear old friend Buffy Struggles, who "got run over by a hansom cab as he was crossing Piccadilly." Evidently, tea had sapped Buffy's strength.

Recalling another seemingly outrageous send-up, the Hon. Galahad exclaims, "The only safe way to get through life is to pickle your system thoroughly in alcohol." The story to prove the aforementioned theory involved two brothers, Freddie and Eustace Potts. Their French chef once served them a hedgehog while pretending that it was a chicken just to save some money. Well, Eustace, who was a "teetotaler" nearly died, but Freddie, who "had lived mostly on whiskey since early boyhood" showed no ill effects at all after consuming the carcass.

A large part of Gally wishes he could go back to his days at the Pelican Club. There, he would fascinate the members with his inimitable wit, and tireless devotion to mopping the sauce up like a vacuum cleaner in London pubs. Galahad happily recalls his days of getting pinched by the gendarmerie for being drunken and disorderly, vaunting that it would always take three of them to drag him away to the jug.

I recommend this book, especially as a device for teaching English. As the plot thickens, and it does thicken, especially when the Empress gets pie-eyed, and Gally is stretched not quite to his limits, the reader becomes aware that the Hon. Galahad could have been the Prime Minister if he had wanted to. Threepwood is a leader of the first rank - truly a man that we can all look up to. What Ho, Gally?

Fruity Fun Frolics About British Upper Class Follies.......2001-01-05

P.G. Wodehouse once said that you could write about life as it is or as musical comedy. He chose to do the latter. As a result, I strongly prefer to listen to audio recordings of Mr. Wodehouse's novels. The dramatic portrayals add a great deal to the humor of the stories. This is the first one that I have heard by Jeremy Sinden. He is very talented and flexible in his characterizations, moving easily from men to women, from one English class to another, and even to including Americans.

If you are familiar with the stories about Jeeves and the gentleman he serves, Bertram (Bertie) Wooster, which Mr. Wodehouse also wrote, you will feel at home with this tale, as well. Galahad plays the Jeeves-like role, but with greater elan than Jeeves ever did. You'll like Galahad. He's never let a pal down, and he has lots of them from his days carousing at the old Pelican Club. He's the bright, ne'er-do-well younger brother of Clarence, Lord Emsworth (who is fond of pigs, especially his prize-winning, Empress of Blandings, and his peace and quiet).

The story begins with a misunderstanding (not unlike the ones that Shakespeare used in his comedies -- it must be something about the water in England). An American millionaire, Tipton Plimsoe (I apologize for the fact I may have the spellings wrong in this review, since I have only heard the audio cassettes), runs into his fiancee's cousin, and they imbibe a bit too much. In the middle of the night, he awakens to find himself in jail. Someone has taken the millionaire's wallet, so he has no money to post bail. The cousin remembers that Lord Emsworth is in New York, staying at the Plaza, so they call him. Lord Emsworth is a little simple and has a poor memory. Although he dispatches the $20 by messenger to release the two, he mistakenly interprets this as meaning that the millionnaire has lost all of his money in the stock market crash of 1929 (the backdrop of this story).

The consequences of this misunderstanding almost cause three sets of lovers to be kept apart and Lord Emsworth to become engaged to a most unsuitable person. Worse yet, the Empress of Blandings herself is put at risk!

You might think that such a story would have a very predictable plot. Nothing could be less true. Just when the plot seems to be comfortably taking you left, Wodehouse puts in a complication that suddenly causes a u-turn. Then, when you get settled into that direction, he sends you off suddenly at a 45 degree angle. And pretty soon, you are overwhelmed with complications to keep you amusingly occupied with how in the world this can ever be straightened out . . . even though you have a pretty good idea of how things must turn out eventually.

But the complications serve an important purpose beyond keeping up the suspense. They also provide wonderful chances to show the true nature of the characters, and to flesh them out. This I found to be particularly well done in this book. Basically, Wodehouse likes to contrast those who care about others in a sincere way with those who are only concerned with their self-interest. The self-obsessed people unwittingly do themselves in, while the caring people somehow muddle through. The caring people have to also clean up the messes the self-interested ones make.

This book includes two of P.G. Wodehouse's most intimidating and unstoppable older women, Clarence's and Galahad's sister, Lady Hermione, and her friend, Dame Daphne Winkworth, who has her eye on Clarence. The upper class men are, as usual, very unintelligent (except for Galahad), which makes for much of the humor.

I suggest that you use your experience with hearing the narration of this story to think of a story that you would like to read aloud to a child you know. Then do so. Be sure to pick one that you can make very entertaining and which teaches valuable lessons.

See the humor . . . even in the worst circumstances!

Average customer rating:
The Brinkmanship of Galahad Threepwood ( a Blandings Castle Novel )
P. G. Wodehouse
Manufacturer: New York: Simon & Schuster, 1964
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NZ7D34

Average customer rating:
The Brinkmanship of Galahad Threepwood (A Blandings Castle Novel)
P.G. Wodehouse
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Suspense | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0671105507

Average customer rating:
GALAHAD AT BLANDINGS
P. G. WODEHOUSE
Manufacturer: PENGUIN
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000S6KX3A

Average customer rating:
Galahad at Blandings
P.G. WODEHOUSE
Manufacturer: see notes for publisher info
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0257658408

Average customer rating:
Galahad at Blandings
P. G. Wodehouse
Manufacturer: Penguin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000KX9P0I

Average customer rating:

First-rate Wodehouse

An Entertaining Romp

Middling Wodehouse, But a Gem Nonetheless!

Imposters Find True Love!

Pure entertainment all the way.

A Pelican at Blandings (Unabridged)
P. G. Wodehouse
Manufacturer: audible.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Download
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ASIN: B000QFBSTG

Customer Reviews:

First-rate Wodehouse.......2007-01-02

I do not agree with some of the other reviewers that "A Pelican at Blandings" is subpar for P.G. Wodehouse. It is true that it does not have one scene, as some of Wodehouse's novels have ("Leave it to Psmith," for example), in which everything comes together in inspired mayhem. But for a carefully worked-out, complicated plot, wonderful characters, and above all, Wodehouse's inspired comic writing, this novel is right up there. Wodehouse is the only writer I have read who consistently makes me laugh out loud. This one certainly did that.

The reading by the late Frederick Davidson (also known as David Case) is superb. Davidson was so good at all types of books, but had a wry manner ideal for Wodehouse. And as usual for him, he animated each character with a distinctive voice and accent. The opposite gender provides the greatest difficulty for most readers, but Davidson did women extremely well. His only weakness was Americans, and there are two in this novel. But that is a very minor blemish on an audio experience you are bound to enjoy if you are one of those lucky few whose funnybone is perfectly within the sights of P.G. Wodehouse.

An Entertaining Romp.......2005-10-03

Typical of the Castle Blandings series, Wodehouse serves up a dose of wacky mahem. The story this time centers around a painting purchased by the Duke of Dusntable and a troubled romance. In the beginning, Lord Emsworth is troubled by the news that his sister Connie, a dragon of a woman, is returning to Castle Blandings for a visit. The troubled Lord Emsworth calls on his brother Gallahad Threepwood, a member of the Pelican club and the Pelican mentioned in the title, to provide him moral support in the face of his sister. Before going to the castle, Gallahad finds out that his godson is engaged to the neice of the Duke of Dunstable, which his sister Connie has invited to the castle. However, the engagement goes bad, and Gallahad must think of a way to get his godson into the castle to mend the relationship. Pure Wodehouse.

This story is a good read, but not the best of the series. However, if you're a Wodehouse fan, you probably should pick this up.

Middling Wodehouse, But a Gem Nonetheless!.......2004-12-29

No, there are no fish-eating avians at Lord Emsworth's crenellated castle. There are, however, a plethora of plots involving two lovesick damsels and their beaux, a porcine pig-fancier, a walrus-mastachioed duke, the usual crocodilian sister, and, of course, the very obliging Galahad Treepwood. Oh, and there are numerous impostors, including a fake painting.

There are, in fact, so many subplots that the aging Wodehouse left a couple of them hanging. One character (the ferret-like Chesney) seemingly exists only to push the Duke of Dunstable and Johnny Halliday down the Earl's grand staircase. And there is the obligatory theft (actually two: one successful and one not). There's a chauffeur named Voules who tootles a harmonica -- but of all there is the Empress of Blandings, multiyear winner in the fat pig division of the Shropshire County Fair.

The story begins when the Empress, for the first time in recorded memory, refuses a potato proffered by the doting Earl. Before one knows it, Blandings Castle fills up with invited and quasi-invited guests and begins that delightfully Wodehousing grinding of the mill of the gods that leaves us all laughing, the crocodiles unsatisfied, and good to triumph over all.

There may be better Wodehouses, and there are probably worse, but even a middling Blandings story is far better, dash it all, than 99.9999% of the cripple-crapple to be found on bookshelves. And you will feel better reading it. Dead certain, in fact.

Imposters Find True Love!.......2004-11-23

Blandings Castle in Shropshire is known for two things. First, Clarence, the ninth earl of Emsworth, has a prize pig, the Empress of Blandings, upon whom he devotes all of his limited skills and attention. Second, imposters are always trying to sneak into Blandings Castle to further either their romantic adventures or their wallets. In both cases, Clarence's very proper sister, Constance (Connie to the family), is on the lookout to thwart both activities. Things usually sort themselves out, but that sorting out usually requires the skill and tact of Clarence's brother, the Honorable Galahad (Gally) Threepwood, who learned how to have fun and get the most out of life as a young man when he belonged to the old Pelican Club.

In A Pelican at Blandings, Clarence has been living peacefully with his pig for two years after Connie married an American and moved to New York. Suddenly, Connie is back and begins ordering Clarence around and filling Blandings Castle with her guests. Along the way, she plans a little matchmaking that goes awry. One of the guests has a niece who wants to marry Gally's God son while the uncle is opposed. Before the book ends, there are wedding bells and Clarence is able to go back to his pig.

But in the meantime, there are the sorts of misunderstandings, plots and counterplots of the sort that make Wodehouse reading so enjoyable in their parlor comedy way. Unfortunately, this book pales in comparison with other books about Blandings Castle so I graded it down accordingly. If you only read one of these books, I recommend Pigs Have Wings instead.

I listened to the audio version by Frederick Davidson and enjoyed his reading. It was a five stars effort!

Pure entertainment all the way........2002-09-20

Blandings Castle, Shropshire, England, is the setting for many of Wodehouse's comic extravaganzas. Accommodated in many of its 52 bedrooms is a varied collection of dotty relatives of Clarence, ninth Earl of Emsworth. Clarence himself, dottier than any of them, dotes on the Empress of Blandings, an enormous prize-winning sow, and is usually to be seen, day or night, leaning over the wall of her sty. Nagged by his sister Connie, bewildered by his many American visitors and in-laws, and dazed by the complicated comings and goings of the many moon-faced young men and dizzy young damsels whom he encounters in the castle and its grounds, he is steered safely through life by a dedicated butler.

Of course it all means nothing at all, and the characters are no more than comic cartoon figures, but the quality of the writing is superb. Metaphors, similes, classical allusions, sparkling dialogue - you'll find every component of stylish writing on display here.

If you are lucky enough to be able to buy, beg, borrow or download Nigel Lambert's reading of the text in audio book form, you'll find every component of the art of book reading on display also. All this makes an ideal entrée into the world of P G Wodehouse, in particular to many entertaining hours at Blandings Castle.

Average customer rating:
The Brinksmanship of Galahad Threepwood: A Blandings Castle Novel
P.G. Wodehouse
Manufacturer: Simon and Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OYJ22Y

Average customer rating:
Galahad At Blandings
P G Wodehouse
Manufacturer: PENGUIN BOOKS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000VFNLNM

Average customer rating:
Galahad at Blandings
P. G. Wodehouse
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OJ73FC

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