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In many areas of statistics, it is convenient to be able to easily construct a uniform grid of points. You can use a grid of parameter values to visualize functions and to get a rough feel for how an objective function in an optimization problem depends on the parameters. And
It was almost two weeks ago that I got started making a display for lab tests for a subject, based on a graph I saw on the web for an article on this blog. This graph is a part of a larger panel display of the lab values for a
“Technological innovation is no longer a choice: it is an imperative.” So said Scott O’Malia, Commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, about trade surveillance during his keynote address at the recent SAS-sponsored New Risk in Energy 2014 conference in Houston. He was attempting, as he has before, to spur

How Internal Communications got into the video business. Everybody loves video. Well, maybe not everybody, but judging by the popularity of YouTube and the ubiquity of Web videos in general, I’d have to conclude that a mighty large chunk of the population loves – or at least likes – it.

➤ DISCLOSURE! In June 2018 Google introduced changes to the way it handles its Maps platform. They now require API key in order to embed a map, plus Google Maps "projects" must now be associated with a billing account. Unless these new Google rules are met, Google maps described in
Just getting back from PharmaSUG 2014 in San Diego. The conference was great, both inside and outside. The organizers ordered up some great weather for the Padres game and also for dinner on the flight deck of the Midway Carrier. Our focus here being on graphics, we were all extremely gratified by the presentations in

Oil companies are being forced to explore in geologically complex and remote areas to exploit more unconventional hydrocarbon deposits. New engineering technology has pushed the envelope of previous upstream experience. No guidebook existed on how computing methodologies can contribute to E&P performance at reduced risk. Until now. A new book

I can’t believe that it has been almost two months since SAS Global Forum in Washington DC! As always, I was reinvigorated and came back with even more ideas on how to improve the way that we do things, apply new lessons and try some things out – along with

Improving teacher effectiveness is no simple task. Whether a part of a formal evaluation system or for formative feedback, looking at student growth data can be a valuable part of the development process for teachers and administrators. Lubbock Independent School District (Lubbock ISD) uses SAS® EVAAS to improve teaching and

In my book Simulating Data with SAS, I specify how to generate lognormal data with a shape and scale parameter. The method is simple: you use the RAND function to generate X ~ N(μ, σ), then compute Y = exp(X). The random variable Y is lognormally distributed with parameters μ

We're entering the busy season for forecasting events, and here is the current calendar: Analytics2014 - Frankfurt The European edition of Analytics2014 kicks off tomorrow in Frankfurt, Germany. Five hundred of the leading thinkers and doers in the analytics profession hook up for two full days of interaction and learning.

This blog post describes a neat example of some cool SAS capabilities, and also teaches you a little more about the state where SAS software is made... Here at the SAS headquarters in Cary, NC, the main TV news channel is WRAL TV5. And my favorite segment during the news is Scott

Insights from decision trees and other basic analytic techniques show that you don’t always need complex analytics to solve business problems and add value. This was the message from Dr. James (Jim) Foster, Director of Research and Process Development, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), at last month’s inaugural IE Group ‘Manufacturing Analytics

Principle 9: Risk management reports should communicate information in a clear and concise manner. Reports should be easy to understand yet comprehensive enough to facilitate informed decision-making. Reports should include meaningful information tailored to the needs of the recipients. While the data management and data aggregation principles have been heavily

Sometimes you have data in SAS/IML vectors that you need to write to a SAS data set. By default, no formats are associated with the variables that you create from SAS/IML vectors. However, some variables (notably dates, times, and datetimes) should have formats associated with the data values. You can