Nonparametric Econometrics

Nonparametric Econometrics
Author: Qi Li
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 769
Release: 2011-10-09
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1400841062

A comprehensive, up-to-date textbook on nonparametric methods for students and researchers Until now, students and researchers in nonparametric and semiparametric statistics and econometrics have had to turn to the latest journal articles to keep pace with these emerging methods of economic analysis. Nonparametric Econometrics fills a major gap by gathering together the most up-to-date theory and techniques and presenting them in a remarkably straightforward and accessible format. The empirical tests, data, and exercises included in this textbook help make it the ideal introduction for graduate students and an indispensable resource for researchers. Nonparametric and semiparametric methods have attracted a great deal of attention from statisticians in recent decades. While the majority of existing books on the subject operate from the presumption that the underlying data is strictly continuous in nature, more often than not social scientists deal with categorical data—nominal and ordinal—in applied settings. The conventional nonparametric approach to dealing with the presence of discrete variables is acknowledged to be unsatisfactory. This book is tailored to the needs of applied econometricians and social scientists. Qi Li and Jeffrey Racine emphasize nonparametric techniques suited to the rich array of data types—continuous, nominal, and ordinal—within one coherent framework. They also emphasize the properties of nonparametric estimators in the presence of potentially irrelevant variables. Nonparametric Econometrics covers all the material necessary to understand and apply nonparametric methods for real-world problems.

An Introduction to Psychological Assessment and Psychometrics

An Introduction to Psychological Assessment and Psychometrics
Author: Keith Coaley
Publisher: SAGE
Total Pages: 839
Release: 2014-03-14
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1473904307

In An Introduction to Psychological Assessment and Psychometrics, Keith Coaley outlines the key ingredients of psychological assessment, providing case studies to illustrate their application, making it an ideal textbook for courses on psychometrics or psychological assessment. New to the Second Edition: Includes occupational and educational settings Covers ethical and professional issues with a strong practical focus Case study material related to work selection settings End of chapter self-assessments to facilitate students’ progress Compliant with the latest BPS Certificate of Testing curriculum

Investment under Uncertainty

Investment under Uncertainty
Author: Robert K. Dixit
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 484
Release: 2012-07-14
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1400830176

How should firms decide whether and when to invest in new capital equipment, additions to their workforce, or the development of new products? Why have traditional economic models of investment failed to explain the behavior of investment spending in the United States and other countries? In this book, Avinash Dixit and Robert Pindyck provide the first detailed exposition of a new theoretical approach to the capital investment decisions of firms, stressing the irreversibility of most investment decisions, and the ongoing uncertainty of the economic environment in which these decisions are made. In so doing, they answer important questions about investment decisions and the behavior of investment spending. This new approach to investment recognizes the option value of waiting for better (but never complete) information. It exploits an analogy with the theory of options in financial markets, which permits a much richer dynamic framework than was possible with the traditional theory of investment. The authors present the new theory in a clear and systematic way, and consolidate, synthesize, and extend the various strands of research that have come out of the theory. Their book shows the importance of the theory for understanding investment behavior of firms; develops the implications of this theory for industry dynamics and for government policy concerning investment; and shows how the theory can be applied to specific industries and to a wide variety of business problems.

Site Reliability Engineering

Site Reliability Engineering
Author: Niall Richard Murphy
Publisher: "O'Reilly Media, Inc."
Total Pages: 552
Release: 2016-03-23
Genre:
ISBN: 1491951176

The overwhelming majority of a software system’s lifespan is spent in use, not in design or implementation. So, why does conventional wisdom insist that software engineers focus primarily on the design and development of large-scale computing systems? In this collection of essays and articles, key members of Google’s Site Reliability Team explain how and why their commitment to the entire lifecycle has enabled the company to successfully build, deploy, monitor, and maintain some of the largest software systems in the world. You’ll learn the principles and practices that enable Google engineers to make systems more scalable, reliable, and efficient—lessons directly applicable to your organization. This book is divided into four sections: Introduction—Learn what site reliability engineering is and why it differs from conventional IT industry practices Principles—Examine the patterns, behaviors, and areas of concern that influence the work of a site reliability engineer (SRE) Practices—Understand the theory and practice of an SRE’s day-to-day work: building and operating large distributed computing systems Management—Explore Google's best practices for training, communication, and meetings that your organization can use

How Reliable is Your Product?

How Reliable is Your Product?
Author: Mike Silverman
Publisher: Happy About
Total Pages: 429
Release: 2012
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1607730901

Traditionally, the way to test a product's reliability was to build it--and then try to break it. As systems and technologies improved, TAAF (Test, Analyze and Fix) methodologies were developed and adopted. In today's global economy, with its short, technologically-intense product life cycles, TAAF cannot suffice. Reliability can no longer be a step or a series of steps in product development; it is something that needs to be acknowledged up front and built into the product from its very conception. Reliability, in other words, must be 'designed in.' Product developers now have many tools--software and hardware--at their disposal for building reliability in from the get go. From the organizational point of view, what better way to design in reliability than to make designers themselves responsible for the reliability of their designs? As "Mike Silverman" explains in "How Reliable is Your Product?," this is why the role of the reliability engineer is changing to one of mentor. Product developers are now responsible for going out and finding the best testing tools and then training the designers on their use, so that designers factor and build in reliability at every stage of product design. Mike has focused on reliability throughout his 25-year career, and has observed the position of reliability in the organization evolve. In this book, he condenses his expertise and experience into a volume of immense practical worth to the engineering and engineering management communities including designers, manufacturing engineers and reliability/quality engineers. Among other things, Mike discusses how reliability fits, or should fit, within the product design cycle. He provides a high-level overview of reliability techniques available to engineers today. He lucidly discusses the design of experiments and the role of failure management. With case studies and narratives from personal experience, Mike discusses optimal ways to utilize different reliability techniques. He highlights common errors of judgment, missteps and sub-optimal decisions that are often made within organizations on the path to total reliability. With"How Reliable is Your Product?" "Mike Silverman" has delivered what few have done before--a comprehensive yet succinct overview of the field of reliability engineering and testing. Engineers and engineering managers will find much in this book of immediate, practical value.

Risk-Based Reliability Analysis and Generic Principles for Risk Reduction

Risk-Based Reliability Analysis and Generic Principles for Risk Reduction
Author: Michael T. Todinov
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 396
Release: 2006-11-03
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0080467555

This book has been written with the intention to fill two big gaps in the reliability and risk literature: the risk-based reliability analysis as a powerful alternative to the traditional reliability analysis and the generic principles for reducing technical risk. An important theme in the book is the generic principles and techniques for reducing technical risk. These have been classified into three major categories: preventive (reducing the likelihood of failure), protective (reducing the consequences from failure) and dual (reducing both, the likelihood and the consequences from failure). Many of these principles (for example: avoiding clustering of events, deliberately introducing weak links, reducing sensitivity, introducing changes with opposite sign, etc.) are discussed in the reliability literature for the first time. Significant space has been allocated to component reliability. In the last chapter of the book, several applications are discussed of a powerful equation which constitutes the core of a new theory of locally initiated component failure by flaws whose number is a random variable. - Offers a shift in the existing paradigm for conducting reliability analyses - Covers risk-based reliability analysis and generic principles for reducing risk - Provides a new measure of risk based on the distribution of the potential losses from failure as well as the basic principles for risk-based design - Incorporates fast algorithms for system reliability analysis and discrete-event simulators - Includes the probability of failure of a structure with complex shape expressed with a simple equation

Reliability Growth

Reliability Growth
Author: Panel on Reliability Growth Methods for Defense Systems
Publisher: National Academy Press
Total Pages: 235
Release: 2015-03-01
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 9780309314749

A high percentage of defense systems fail to meet their reliability requirements. This is a serious problem for the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), as well as the nation. Those systems are not only less likely to successfully carry out their intended missions, but they also could endanger the lives of the operators. Furthermore, reliability failures discovered after deployment can result in costly and strategic delays and the need for expensive redesign, which often limits the tactical situations in which the system can be used. Finally, systems that fail to meet their reliability requirements are much more likely to need additional scheduled and unscheduled maintenance and to need more spare parts and possibly replacement systems, all of which can substantially increase the life-cycle costs of a system. Beginning in 2008, DOD undertook a concerted effort to raise the priority of reliability through greater use of design for reliability techniques, reliability growth testing, and formal reliability growth modeling, by both the contractors and DOD units. To this end, handbooks, guidances, and formal memoranda were revised or newly issued to reduce the frequency of reliability deficiencies for defense systems in operational testing and the effects of those deficiencies. "Reliability Growth" evaluates these recent changes and, more generally, assesses how current DOD principles and practices could be modified to increase the likelihood that defense systems will satisfy their reliability requirements. This report examines changes to the reliability requirements for proposed systems; defines modern design and testing for reliability; discusses the contractor's role in reliability testing; and summarizes the current state of formal reliability growth modeling. The recommendations of "Reliability Growth" will improve the reliability of defense systems and protect the health of the valuable personnel who operate them.

Launching Your Asset Reliability Transformation

Launching Your Asset Reliability Transformation
Author: Jason Tranter
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2021-02
Genre:
ISBN: 9781735952840

Every reliability improvement initiative that has failed or floundered has lacked sustained leadership from the senior executive. The programs were based on technical "common sense," not business value, and the lack of leadership meant the culture did not change. This book explains how to build a solid business case and win senior management support. It lays the foundation for a successful and sustained program: ensuring the needs and risks of the business are clearly understood, assessing the current state, identifying the gaps, establishing targets and priorities, jumpstarting with pilot projects, and building the economic justification.Appendices explain the economics of reliability (ROI, NPV, IRR, EVA, and more), the value of reliability (OEE, TEEP, safety, and more), Pareto analysis, asset criticality ranking, and selling to senior management.This book does not just tell you what you should do; it lays out a step-by-step guide for exactly how to do it successfully with eight core steps and 44 detailed recommended practices.If you want to launch a new program or revive an existing program, this is the place to start.

Affordable Reliability Engineering

Affordable Reliability Engineering
Author: William R. Wessels
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 374
Release: 2015-04-16
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1482219670

How Can Reliability Analysis Impact Your Company's Bottom Line?While reliability investigations can be expensive, they can also add value to a product that far exceeds its cost. Affordable Reliability Engineering: Life-Cycle Cost Analysis for Sustainability & Logistical Support shows readers how to achieve the best cost for design develo

Probabilistic Physics of Failure Approach to Reliability

Probabilistic Physics of Failure Approach to Reliability
Author: Mohammad Modarres
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 289
Release: 2017-06-23
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1119388686

The book presents highly technical approaches to the probabilistic physics of failure analysis and applications to accelerated life and degradation testing to reliability prediction and assessment. Beside reviewing a select set of important failure mechanisms, the book covers basic and advanced methods of performing accelerated life test and accelerated degradation tests and analyzing the test data. The book includes a large number of very useful examples to help readers understand complicated methods described. Finally, MATLAB, R and OpenBUGS computer scripts are provided and discussed to support complex computational probabilistic analyses introduced.