My colleague, Lisa, and I were comparing notes the other day. Both of us starting working in our teens (14 and 15 respectively) during the academic year as well as the summers. I worked at Sears in the drapery and bedspread department. I’ll never forget my first boss—Mr. Arnold. He
Two sayings I’ve heard countless times throughout my life are “Work smarter, not harder,” and “Use the best tool for the job.” If you need to drive a nail, you pick up a hammer, not a wrench or a screwdriver. In the programming world, this could mean using an existing
Early math skills—such as number sense, number relations, pattern identification, estimation, and measurement—are the foundation for future math achievement. By mastering these basic concepts, young students can engage in more complex cognitive processing and develop higher-level math skills. Also, early math achievement has been linked to an increased likelihood to take
The hype around artificial intelligence has never been higher – and retail is one industry where it has a chance to make a major impact on profits. But as hype and misunderstandings continue to build, it's become harder than ever to keep sight of the true disruptive potential of AI. I
Statistical programmers and analysts often use two kinds of rectangular data sets, popularly known as wide data and long data. Some analytical procedures require that the data be in wide form; others require long form. (The "long format" is sometimes called "narrow" or "tall" data.) Fortunately, the statistical graphics procedures
Knowing how to visualize a regression model is a valuable skill. A good visualization can help you to interpret a model and understand how its predictions depend on explanatory factors in the model. Visualization is especially important in understanding interactions between factors. Recently I read about work by Jacob A.
Human behavior is fascinating. We come in so many shapes, sizes and backgrounds. Doesn’t it make sense that any tests we write also accommodate our wonderful differences?
Note: This is the second post in a series featuring analytics leaders in the utility industry. St. Louis is home to Anheuser Busch, the legendary Cardinals baseball team, and Ameren, where analytics rocks. More on this later. Ameren is a large investor-owned utility that serves St. Louis and the surrounding
You've probably heard of the famous Rosetta Stone. It had the same decree written on it in both ancient Egyptian and Greek, and was an essential key to help modern historians decipher and translate the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. To help the 'old timers' (like me) shift from using SAS/Graph to
Interestingly enough, paperclips have their own day of honor. On May 29th we celebrate #NationalPaperclipDay! That well-known piece of curved wire deserves attention for keeping our papers together and helping us stay organized. Do you remember who else deserved the same attention? Clippit – the infamous Microsoft Office assistant, popularly known as ‘Clippy’.
This Mother’s Day I admired two rose bushes as I arrived at my parents' house. There was a yellow bush that we planted the Mother’s Day after my mother’s mom died. And a pink bush that we planted a different year, the Mother’s Day after my father’s mom died. The
It can be hard to get a handle on what artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) will actually do. We all understand – in theory, at least – that they could change the way we live and work. In most cases and for most of us, however, the precise
At SAS, we recognize and appreciate the valuable skills and experience that veterans, active military, and military families bring to our workforce. We honor the service and sacrifice of military families, and actively support our employees in their transition from the military to the civilian corporate work environment. Our own
Modern statistical software provides many options for computing robust statistics. For example, SAS can compute robust univariate statistics by using PROC UNIVARIATE, robust linear regression by using PROC ROBUSTREG, and robust multivariate statistics such as robust principal component analysis. Much of the research on robust regression was conducted in the
By now it’s no secret that all kinds of organizations are using analytics to take on some of their biggest opportunities. But what about all the opportunities that have the potential to address important human issues that we have overlooked for one reason or another? Those are exactly the types
The latest edition of The American Statistician is dedicated to proposals for living in a post p<.05 world, a world in which a statistical test with a result of “p<.05” is no longer given the importance it has previously been afforded. Decent, honorable researchers once discussed such things only in
Learn how Bayesian optimization works through a simple demo.
Understanding SAS 9.4 architecture is key to tackling the tasks and responsibilities that come with SAS administration, and will help you know where to look to make changes or troubleshoot problems.
In two podcast recordings, therapists Hilary Mandzik and Ruth Amos explain the multiple impacts of perinatal loss and opportunities for support. Hilary Mandzik, PsyD is a licensed psychologist with a private practice in Cary, NC; she also sees clients remotely throughout NC and VA. Dr. Mandzik's specialties include perinatal mental
As we honor Mental Health Month, there are many calls to reduce suffering. Seems reasonable, right? It’s even in California’s Mental Health Services Act (MHSA), where public systems are called to “reduce subjective suffering.” And as we broadly focus more on outcomes in health, measuring suffering (and hopefully its reduction)
This blog shows how the automatically generated concepts and categories in Visual Text Analytics (VTA) can be refined using LITI and Boolean rules. I will use a data set that contains information on 1527 randomly selected movies: their titles, reviews, MPAA Ratings, Main Genre classifications and Viewer Ratings.
Redefining banking in a financial services market where your biggest competitor may be Amazon or Google, not a traditional bank. Open banking may not have made much of an impression on consumers yet. But it’s a topic that the industry cannot afford to ignore. Tier one UK banks are already
Analytics can bring tremendous value to a business. However, investing in an analytics solution is often easier said than done. The key challenge is demonstrating the value of analytics without first investing in technology and resources. The solution? Take a results-based approach to establish the value of analytics by using
Cold brew coffee is taking over the nation, popping up in coffee shops and stores large and small. This slowed-down, relaxed version of hot coffee yields an incredibly smooth, more palatable and well-rounded tasting coffee that appeals to coffee lovers and non-coffee drinkers alike. It’s no surprise why it’s taking
The eigenvalues of a matrix are not easy to compute. It is remarkable, therefore, that with relatively simple mental arithmetic, you can obtain bounds for the eigenvalues of a matrix of any size. The bounds are provided by using a marvelous mathematical result known as Gershgorin's Disc Theorem. For certain
Marathons seem to be popular these days, therefore I decided to dive into some data and find a way to apply analytics. You might find this interesting if you're a fan of marathons - or if you like seeing the details behind cool graphing techniques! Before we get started, here's
In this blog, I use a Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) to predict whether opinions for a given review will be positive or negative. This prediction is treated as a text classification example. The Sentiment Classification Model is trained using deepRNN algorithms and the resulting model is used to predict if new reviews are positive or negative.
Jim Harris shares three more examples of how data quality improves AI in Part 2 of his series.
If you spend any time working with maps and spatial data, having a fundamental understanding of coordinate systems and map projections becomes necessary. It’s the foundation of how spatial data and maps work. These areas invariably evoke trepidation and some angst, even in the most seasoned map professional. And rightfully
Analytics has an important role to play in supporting the police to keep our communities safe, and I believe the benefits can be far-reaching. In my previous three posts, I discussed the role analytics can play in policing, reviewed the required data and highlighted a police force that is currently
