bcp: An R Package for Performing a Bayesian Analysis of Change Point Problems

Barry and Hartigan (1993) propose a Bayesian analysis for change point problems. We provide a brief summary of selected work on change point problems, both preceding and following Barry and Hartigan. We outline Barry and Hartigan's approach and offer a new R package, pkgbcp (Erdman and Emerson 2007), implementing their analysis. We discuss two frequentist alternatives to the Bayesian analysis, the recursive circular binary segmentation algorithm (Olshen and Venkatraman 2004) and the dynamic programming algorithm of (Bai and Perron 2003). We illustrate the application of bcp with economic and microarray data from the literature.

Grant\u27s Life In the West and His Mississippi Valley Campaigns: A History, Book II

Book two of this series on General Grant\u27s life in the West and the Mississippi Valley Campaigns is twenty-three chapters originally published in The Midland Monthly from September to December, 1897. This book covers Grant\u27s retirement from the army after the Mexican War, his life as a farmer and business man in Missouri, the origins of the stories of Grant\u27s alcoholism and his life as a citizen, and the beginnings of his career in the Army during the Civil War after Abraham Lincoln\u27s election. Illustrations of Grant, the people and places Grant encountered throughout this period of his life and career, and documents pertaining to his career are included throughout. Other pages of stories from the Midland Monthly appear throughout as this Grant history progresses over multiple issues.https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/usg-john-emerson/1001/thumbnail.jp

Grant\u27s Life In the West and His Mississippi Valley Campaigns: A History, Book III

Book three of this series on General Grant\u27s life in the West and the Mississippi Valley Campaigns is forty-six chapters originally published in The Midland Monthly from January 1898 to January 1899. The book begins with an introduction from the author and goes on to cover Grant\u27s rise through the ranks in the army during the Civil War, the many campaigns he commanded, hardships faced, and concludes with the Vicksburg Campaign. Illustrations of Grant, the people and places Grant encountered throughout this period of his life and career, and documents pertaining to his career are included throughout. Other pages of stories from the Midland Monthly appear throughout as this Grant history progresses over multiple issues.https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/usg-john-emerson/1002/thumbnail.jp

Grant\u27s Life In the West and His Mississippi Valley Campaigns: A History, Book I

Book one of this series on General Grant\u27s life in the West and the Mississippi Valley Campaigns is twenty-one chapters originally published in The Midland Monthly from October 1896 through August 1897. Prefatory remarks begin the history on this portion of General Grant\u27s life and the first chapter begins by describing the conditions of life in the new west in 1843. The book takes us through the Jefferson Barracks, Grant\u27s courtship of his wife, Julia Dent, Fort Jessup, the advance through Texas, his marriage, and the progression of Grant\u27s career across the west and into Mexico and California during the Mexican War. The book includes illustrations of Grant, his wife, and the people and places Grant encountered throughout this period of his life and career. Other pages of stories from the Midland Monthly appear throughout as this Grant history progresses over multiple issues.https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/usg-john-emerson/1000/thumbnail.jp

bcp: An R Package for Performing a Bayesian Analysis of Change Point Problems

Barry and Hartigan (1993) propose a Bayesian analysis for change point problems. We provide a brief summary of selected work on change point problems, both preceding and following Barry and Hartigan. We outline Barry and Hartigan's approach and offer a new R package, bcp (Erdman and Emerson 2007), implementing their analysis. We discuss two frequentist alternatives to the Bayesian analysis, the recursive circular binary segmentation algorithm (Olshen and Venkatraman 2004) and the dynamic programming algorithm of (Bai and Perron 2003). We illustrate the application of bcp with economic and microarray data from the literature

Do More Expensive Wines Taste Better? Evidence from a Large Sample of Blind Tastings

Individuals who are unaware of the price do not derive more enjoyment from more expensive wine. In a sample of more than 6,000 blind tastings, we find that the correlation between price and overall rating is small and negative, suggesting that individuals on average enjoy more expensive wines slightly less. For individuals with wine training, however, we find indications of a positive, or at any rate non-negative, correlation. Our results are robust to the inclusion of individual fixed effects, and are not driven by outliers: when omitting the top and bottom deciles of the price distribution, our qualitative results are strengthened, and the statistical significance is improved even further. Our results indicate that both the prices of wines and wine recommendations by experts may be poor guides for non-expert wine consumers.Wine; price/quality relation; expertise

DO MORE EXPENSIVE WINES TASTE BETTER? EVIDENCE FROM A LARGE SAMPLE OF BLIND TASTINGS

Individuals who are unaware of the price do not derive more enjoyment from more expensive wine. In a sample of more than 6,000 blind tastings, we find that the correlation between price and overall rating is small and negative, suggesting that individuals on average enjoy more expensive wines slightly less. For individuals with wine training, however, we find indications of a positive relationship between price and enjoyment. Our results are robust to the inclusion of individual fixed effects, and are not driven by outliers: when omitting the top and bottom deciles of the price distribution, our qualitative results are strengthened, and the statistical significance is improved further. Our results indicate that both the prices of wines and wine recommendations by experts may be poor guides for non-expert wine consumers.wine quality, wire tasting, wine prices, Demand and Price Analysis,

Book Reviews

Reviews of the following books: Benjamin Browne Foster: Down East Diary edited by Charles H. Foster; Maine During the Federal and Jerffersonian Period: A Biographical Guide compiled by Ronald F. Banks; York Is Living History by Neil Rold

Book Reviews

Reviews of the following books: Acadia, Maine, and New Scotland: Marginal Colonies in the Seventeenth Century by John G. Reid; Faces of Maine by Bob Niss; Morning Was Starlight: My Maine Boyhood by Ernest Dodge