9,102 research outputs found
Minimum Energy Information Fusion in Sensor Networks
In this paper we consider how to organize the sharing of information in a
distributed network of sensors and data processors so as to provide
explanations for sensor readings with minimal expenditure of energy. We point
out that the Minimum Description Length principle provides an approach to
information fusion that is more naturally suited to energy minimization than
traditional Bayesian approaches. In addition we show that for networks
consisting of a large number of identical sensors Kohonen self-organization
provides an exact solution to the problem of combining the sensor outputs into
minimal description length explanations.Comment: postscript, 8 pages. Paper 65 in Proceedings of The 2nd International
Conference on Information Fusio
Coastline Kriging: A Bayesian Approach
Statistical interpolation of chemical concentrations at new locations is an
important step in assessing a worker's exposure level. When measurements are
available from coastlines, as is the case in coastal clean-up operations in oil
spills, one may need a mechanism to carry out spatial interpolation at new
locations along the coast. In this paper we present a simple model for
analyzing spatial data that is observed over a coastline. We demonstrate four
different models using two different representations of the coast using curves.
The four models were demonstrated on simulated data and one of them was also
demonstrated on a dataset from the GuLF STUDY. Our contribution here is to
offer practicing hygienists and exposure assessors with a simple and easy
method to implement Bayesian hierarchical models for analyzing and
interpolating coastal chemical concentrations
Recent advances in directional statistics
Mainstream statistical methodology is generally applicable to data observed
in Euclidean space. There are, however, numerous contexts of considerable
scientific interest in which the natural supports for the data under
consideration are Riemannian manifolds like the unit circle, torus, sphere and
their extensions. Typically, such data can be represented using one or more
directions, and directional statistics is the branch of statistics that deals
with their analysis. In this paper we provide a review of the many recent
developments in the field since the publication of Mardia and Jupp (1999),
still the most comprehensive text on directional statistics. Many of those
developments have been stimulated by interesting applications in fields as
diverse as astronomy, medicine, genetics, neurology, aeronautics, acoustics,
image analysis, text mining, environmetrics, and machine learning. We begin by
considering developments for the exploratory analysis of directional data
before progressing to distributional models, general approaches to inference,
hypothesis testing, regression, nonparametric curve estimation, methods for
dimension reduction, classification and clustering, and the modelling of time
series, spatial and spatio-temporal data. An overview of currently available
software for analysing directional data is also provided, and potential future
developments discussed.Comment: 61 page
A Bayesian approach to the semi-analytic model of galaxy formation: methodology
We believe that a wide range of physical processes conspire to shape the
observed galaxy population but we remain unsure of their detailed interactions.
The semi-analytic model (SAM) of galaxy formation uses multi-dimensional
parameterisations of the physical processes of galaxy formation and provides a
tool to constrain these underlying physical interactions. Because of the high
dimensionality, the parametric problem of galaxy formation may be profitably
tackled with a Bayesian-inference based approach, which allows one to constrain
theory with data in a statistically rigorous way. In this paper we develop a
SAM in the framework of Bayesian inference. We show that, with a parallel
implementation of an advanced Markov-Chain Monte-Carlo algorithm, it is now
possible to rigorously sample the posterior distribution of the
high-dimensional parameter space of typical SAMs. As an example, we
characterise galaxy formation in the current CDM cosmology using the
stellar mass function of galaxies as an observational constraint. We find that
the posterior probability distribution is both topologically complex and
degenerate in some important model parameters, suggesting that thorough
explorations of the parameter space are needed to understand the models. We
also demonstrate that because of the model degeneracy, adopting a narrow prior
strongly restricts the model. Therefore, the inferences based on SAMs are
conditional to the model adopted. Using synthetic data to mimic systematic
errors in the stellar mass function, we demonstrate that an accurate
observational error model is essential to meaningful inference.Comment: revised version to match published article published in MNRA
Error Bands for Impulse Responses
We examine the theory and behavior in practice of Bayesian and bootstrap methods for generating error bands on impulse responses in dynamic linear models. The Bayesian intervals have a firmer theoretical foundation in small samples, are easier to compute, and are about as good in small samples by classical criteria as are the best bootstrap intervals. Bootstrap intervals based directly on the simulated small-sample distribution of an estimator, without bias correction, perform very badly. We show that a method that has been used to extend to the overidentified case standard algorithms for Bayesian intervals in reduced form models is incorrect, and we show how to obtain correct Bayesian intervals for this case.
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