269,736 research outputs found
Julian Ernst Besag, 26 March 1945 -- 6 August 2010, a biographical memoir
Julian Besag was an outstanding statistical scientist, distinguished for his
pioneering work on the statistical theory and analysis of spatial processes,
especially conditional lattice systems. His work has been seminal in
statistical developments over the last several decades ranging from image
analysis to Markov chain Monte Carlo methods. He clarified the role of
auto-logistic and auto-normal models as instances of Markov random fields and
paved the way for their use in diverse applications. Later work included
investigations into the efficacy of nearest neighbour models to accommodate
spatial dependence in the analysis of data from agricultural field trials,
image restoration from noisy data, and texture generation using lattice models.Comment: 26 pages, 14 figures; minor revisions, omission of full bibliograph
The random graph
Erd\H{o}s and R\'{e}nyi showed the paradoxical result that there is a unique
(and highly symmetric) countably infinite random graph. This graph, and its
automorphism group, form the subject of the present survey.Comment: Revised chapter for new edition of book "The Mathematics of Paul
Erd\H{o}s
Regulatory Takings and Judicial Supremacy
The thesis of this Article is that the Court of Federal Claims and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit have become exposed to this classic critique of constitutional decision-making through the recent expansions of the regulatory takings doctrine. Though the chief agent for this expansion has been the Supreme Court, these lower courts have made their own prominent contributions to broadening regulatory takings, and they are far more vulnerable to political reprisals. Like the Due Process Clause in the gilded age, the Takings Clause today can easily be and has been seen as an avenue for inappropriate judicial protection of established wealth and commercial practices frustrating legitimate efforts at reform. Courts addressing claims of regulatory takings should proceed with caution, practice available passive virtues, and ground decisions firmly in precedent and established constitutional values. This Article will first examine the elements of substantive due process that led to decisions invalidating social welfare legislation and becoming notorious for judicial overreaching. This Article will then show how decisions expanding the regulatory takings doctrine share very similar characteristics. Finally, it will offer some suggestions about how judges concerned about real or apparent overreaching should approach regulatory takings issues
Rising Seas and Common Law Baselines: A Comment on Regulatory Takings Discourse Concerning Climate Change
In several recent cases considering claims that regulatory measures addressing rising sea levels violate the Takings Clause, courts have given significant normative weight to traditional common law rules, even when such rules have long been superseded by statutory provisions. This essay argues that giving analytic precedence to such common law baselines lacks justification and can pose serious obstacles to reasonable measures to adapt to climate change
Does the British stateâs categorisation of 'mixed race' meet public policy needs?
The England and Wales 2001 Census was the first to include âMixedâ categories which have now been adopted across government. The four âcultural backgroundâ options were highly prescriptive, specifying combinations of groups. This paper assesses how satisfactorily these analytical categories captured self-ascribed cultural affiliation based on the criteria of validity, reliability and utility of the data for public services. Finally, the paper asks whether we now need a census question on ethnic origin/ancestry in addition to â or instead of â ethnic group or whether multi-ticking or a focus on family origins might give more useful public policy data and better measure the population's ethnic diversity
- âŠ