Adaptive nonparametric confidence sets

We construct honest confidence regions for a Hilbert space-valued parameter in various statistical models. The confidence sets can be centered at arbitrary adaptive estimators, and have diameter which adapts optimally to a given selection of models. The latter adaptation is necessarily limited in scope. We review the notion of adaptive confidence regions, and relate the optimal rates of the diameter of adaptive confidence regions to the minimax rates for testing and estimation. Applications include the finite normal mean model, the white noise model, density estimation and regression with random design.Comment: Published at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/009053605000000877 in the Annals of Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aos/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

DOMAIN ABSTRACTION OF HIGHLY CORRELATED PAIRS TO RECOMMEND IN THE LONG TAIL

ABSTRACTAmong difficulties encountered by modern shopping recommenders is the long tail shape of sold items also related to cold-start issues. Various approaches including content-based recommendations attempt to overcome this problem that has serious impact on the accuracy of recommendations especially when new products are continuously added to the catalogue. This paper investigates the use of an algorithm to search for highly correlated pairs between abstractions of items. The advantage of this approach is evaluated on the basis of real data showing better results compared to an approach onlybased on the concrete pairs of items. Using rigorous protocols such as Given-n, experimental results show significant improvement in both the recommendation accuracy and the recommendation of products in the long tail.Keywords. Knowledge Discovery, Mining Correlated Pairs, Recommender Systems

Trust Building and Sustainable Internet Banking

This paper empirically explores customers’ trust in Internet banking based on a research model with several constructs such as structural assurance, perceived bank reputation, perceived website quality, and disposition to trust. The results suggest that these constructs significantly influence trusting beliefs and customers’ willingness to use Internet banking, which in turn have a positively impact on the establishment of customers’ trust in Internet banking. Trust building should strengthen customers’ confidence in Internet banking and facilitate the development of sustainable Internet banking services

India-Pakistan Relations: International Implications

India’s independence in 1947 from the British colonial rule and its subsequent division into two nations – India and Pakistan - has sowed the seeds of continuing conflict between the two countries since their independence. The partition of India was primarily based on the religious divide between the two communities – the Hindus and the Muslims. After India’s partition, the major issue of conflict between the two countries has been the Muslim dominated northern state of Jammu and Kashmir, currently a part of India. This bilateral conflict has had international implications over the years. Decades of conflict, which includes three major wars, has contributed to a nuclear race between the two countries and growth of terrorism in the region. These two regional outcomes of the conflict have assumed global significance with the growing international threat of nuclear proliferation and terrorism. The paper analyzes the bilateral conflict between India and Pakistan and the subsequent emergence of the global threats. The paper also emphasizes normalization of the bilateral relations as the key prerequisite to ensure peace and security for the region and also for relieving the global society from the perils of a growing nuclear threat and expanding forces of terrorism