Prioritized Data Compression using Wavelets

The volume of data and the velocity with which it is being generated by com- putational experiments on high performance computing (HPC) systems is quickly outpacing our ability to effectively store this information in its full fidelity. There- fore, it is critically important to identify and study compression methodologies that retain as much information as possible, particularly in the most salient regions of the simulation space. In this paper, we cast this in terms of a general decision-theoretic problem and discuss a wavelet-based compression strategy for its solution. We pro- vide a heuristic argument as justification and illustrate our methodology on several examples. Finally, we will discuss how our proposed methodology may be utilized in an HPC environment on large-scale computational experiments

Teaching Business Analytics during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Tale of Two Courses

We describe our experience in teaching two different levels of undergraduate business analytics courses during the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In particular, we focus on two challenges that arose during the shift to emergency remote teaching: 1) engaging students and 2) teaching students how to use software. We discuss our efforts to mitigate the effects of these problems and highlight the differences in implementing our strategies in a general-education (i.e., required for business majors) course versus an upper-level elective. Finally, we discuss lessons learned and recommendations for other educators regardless of their teaching modality

Bang the Can Slowly: An Investigation into the 2017 Houston Astros

This manuscript is a statistical investigation into the 2017 Major League Baseball scandal involving the Houston Astros, the World Series championship winner that same year. The Astros were alleged to have stolen their opponents' pitching signs in order to provide their batters with a potentially unfair advantage. This work finds compelling evidence that the Astros on-field performance was significantly affected by their sign-stealing ploy and quantifies the effects. The three main findings in the manuscript are: 1) the Astros' odds of swinging at a pitch were reduced by approximately 27% (OR: 0.725, 95% CI: (0.618, 0.850)) when the sign was stolen, 2) when an Astros player swung, the odds of making contact with the ball increased roughly 80% (OR: 1.805, 95% CI: (1.342, 2.675)) on non-fastball pitches, and 3) when the Astros made contact with a ball on a pitch in which the sign was known, the ball's exit velocity (launch speed) increased on average by 2.386 (95% CI: (0.334, 4.451)) miles per hour

Fourth Down Decision Making: Challenging the Conservative Nature of NFL Coaches

This thesis analyzes the hypothesis that coaches in the National Football League are often too conservative in their decision making on fourth downs. I used R Studio and NFL play-by-play data to simulate actual football plays and drives according to different fourth down strategies. By measuring expected points per drive over thousands of simulated drives, we are able to evaluate the effectiveness of different fourth down strategies. This research points to a number of conclusions regarding the nature of NFL coaches on fourth downs as well as the complexity of modeling and simulating decision making in a complex sport such as professional football. While we are able to demonstrate areas where a more aggressive fourth down strategy could be utilized to a team’s advantage, this research demonstrates that fourth down decision is not a simple binary choice and that making this critical decision must be taken in context. In other words, further research should be done that takes into account additional variables and their impact on a team’s decision to “go for it” or not on fourth down

The causal effect of a timeout at stopping an opposing run in the NBA

In the summer of 2017, the National Basketball Association reduced the number of total timeouts, along with other rule changes, to regulate the flow of the game. With these rule changes, it becomes increasingly important for coaches to effectively manage their timeouts. Understanding the utility of a timeout under various game scenarios, e.g., during an opposing team's run, is of the utmost importance. There are two schools of thought when the opposition is on a run: (1) call a timeout and allow your team to rest and regroup, or (2) save a timeout and hope your team can make corrections during play. This paper investigates the credence of these tenets using the Rubin causal model framework to quantify the causal effect of a timeout in the presence of an opposing team's run. Too often overlooked, we carefully consider the stable unit-treatment-value assumption (SUTVA) in this context and use SUTVA to motivate our definition of units. To measure the effect of a timeout, we introduce a novel, interpretable outcome based on the score difference to describe broad changes in the scoring dynamics. This outcome is well-suited for situations where the quantity of interest fluctuates frequently, a commonality in many sports analytics applications. We conclude from our analysis that while comebacks frequently occur after a run, it is slightly disadvantageous to call a timeout during a run by the opposing team and further demonstrate that the magnitude of this effect varies by franchise

LED Roadway Luminaires Evaluation - Final Report

This research explores whether LEDroadway luminaire technologies are a viable future solution to providing roadway lighting. Roadway lighting enhances highway safety and traffic flow during limited lighting conditions. The purpose of this evaluation study is to determine the feasibility of transitioning from standard high pressure sodium (HPS) roadway luminaire to LED roadway luminaire on the MoDOT maintained highway system. This study includes performance evaluations, a feasibility analysis and a potential transition replacement program

Forest stand improvement practices for Oklahoma

The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service periodically issues revisions to its publications. The most current edition is made available. For access to an earlier edition, if available for this title, please contact the Oklahoma State University Library Archives by email at [email protected] or by phone at 405-744-6311