Sensitivity Analysis in Linear Systems
Sensitivity Analysis in Linear Systems

Author: Assem Deif

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 235

ISBN-13: 364282739X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A text surveying perturbation techniques and sensitivity analysis of linear systems is an ambitious undertaking, considering the lack of basic comprehensive texts on the subject. A wide-ranging and global coverage of the topic is as yet missing, despite the existence of numerous monographs dealing with specific topics but generally of use to only a narrow category of people. In fact, most works approach this subject from the numerical analysis point of view. Indeed, researchers in this field have been most concerned with this topic, although engineers and scholars in all fields may find it equally interesting. One can state, without great exaggeration, that a great deal of engineering work is devoted to testing systems' sensitivity to changes in design parameters. As a rule, high-sensitivity elements are those which should be designed with utmost care. On the other hand, as the mathematical modelling serving for the design process is usually idealized and often inaccurately formulated, some unforeseen alterations may cause the system to behave in a slightly different manner. Sensitivity analysis can help the engineer innovate ways to minimize such system discrepancy, since it starts from the assumption of such a discrepancy between the ideal and the actual system.

Advances in Sensitivity Analysis and Parametric Programming
Advances in Sensitivity Analysis and Parametric Programming

Author: Tomas Gal

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 595

ISBN-13: 1461561035

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The standard view of Operations Research/Management Science (OR/MS) dichotomizes the field into deterministic and probabilistic (nondeterministic, stochastic) subfields. This division can be seen by reading the contents page of just about any OR/MS textbook. The mathematical models that help to define OR/MS are usually presented in terms of one subfield or the other. This separation comes about somewhat artificially: academic courses are conveniently subdivided with respect to prerequisites; an initial overview of OR/MS can be presented without requiring knowledge of probability and statistics; text books are conveniently divided into two related semester courses, with deterministic models coming first; academics tend to specialize in one subfield or the other; and practitioners also tend to be expert in a single subfield. But, no matter who is involved in an OR/MS modeling situation (deterministic or probabilistic - academic or practitioner), it is clear that a proper and correct treatment of any problem situation is accomplished only when the analysis cuts across this dichotomy.

Global Sensitivity Analysis
Global Sensitivity Analysis

Author: Andrea Saltelli

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2008-02-28

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 9780470725177

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Complex mathematical and computational models are used in all areas of society and technology and yet model based science is increasingly contested or refuted, especially when models are applied to controversial themes in domains such as health, the environment or the economy. More stringent standards of proofs are demanded from model-based numbers, especially when these numbers represent potential financial losses, threats to human health or the state of the environment. Quantitative sensitivity analysis is generally agreed to be one such standard. Mathematical models are good at mapping assumptions into inferences. A modeller makes assumptions about laws pertaining to the system, about its status and a plethora of other, often arcane, system variables and internal model settings. To what extent can we rely on the model-based inference when most of these assumptions are fraught with uncertainties? Global Sensitivity Analysis offers an accessible treatment of such problems via quantitative sensitivity analysis, beginning with the first principles and guiding the reader through the full range of recommended practices with a rich set of solved exercises. The text explains the motivation for sensitivity analysis, reviews the required statistical concepts, and provides a guide to potential applications. The book: Provides a self-contained treatment of the subject, allowing readers to learn and practice global sensitivity analysis without further materials. Presents ways to frame the analysis, interpret its results, and avoid potential pitfalls. Features numerous exercises and solved problems to help illustrate the applications. Is authored by leading sensitivity analysis practitioners, combining a range of disciplinary backgrounds. Postgraduate students and practitioners in a wide range of subjects, including statistics, mathematics, engineering, physics, chemistry, environmental sciences, biology, toxicology, actuarial sciences, and econometrics will find much of use here. This book will prove equally valuable to engineers working on risk analysis and to financial analysts concerned with pricing and hedging.

Secondary Analysis of Electronic Health Records
Secondary Analysis of Electronic Health Records

Author: MIT Critical Data

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-09-09

Total Pages: 435

ISBN-13: 3319437429

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book trains the next generation of scientists representing different disciplines to leverage the data generated during routine patient care. It formulates a more complete lexicon of evidence-based recommendations and support shared, ethical decision making by doctors with their patients. Diagnostic and therapeutic technologies continue to evolve rapidly, and both individual practitioners and clinical teams face increasingly complex ethical decisions. Unfortunately, the current state of medical knowledge does not provide the guidance to make the majority of clinical decisions on the basis of evidence. The present research infrastructure is inefficient and frequently produces unreliable results that cannot be replicated. Even randomized controlled trials (RCTs), the traditional gold standards of the research reliability hierarchy, are not without limitations. They can be costly, labor intensive, and slow, and can return results that are seldom generalizable to every patient population. Furthermore, many pertinent but unresolved clinical and medical systems issues do not seem to have attracted the interest of the research enterprise, which has come to focus instead on cellular and molecular investigations and single-agent (e.g., a drug or device) effects. For clinicians, the end result is a bit of a “data desert” when it comes to making decisions. The new research infrastructure proposed in this book will help the medical profession to make ethically sound and well informed decisions for their patients.