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Analytics

Find out how analytics, from data mining to cognitive computing, is changing the way we do business

Analytics

Melissa SavageApril 19, 2012 0

The four E's of crash analytics: Part 1

The leading cause of death for Americans between 5 and 34 isn’t what most would expect. It’s not disease or acute illness. It’s traffic crashes. The good news is that the number of highway deaths has steadily decreased the last few years, yet crashes still cause more than 30,000 fatalities and

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Analytics | Programming Tips

Rick WicklinMarch 30, 2012 0

Generate a random matrix with specified eigenvalues

In a previous post I showed how to implement Stewart's (1980) algorithm for generating random orthogonal matrices in SAS/IML software. By using the algorithm, it is easy to generate a random matrix that contains a specified set of eigenvalues. If D = diag(λ1, ..., λp) is a diagonal matrix and

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Analytics

Vincent TalucciMarch 23, 2012 0

Promises, (over)promises

As public safety officials leaf through their favorite criminal justice periodical they are greeted with pages and pages of analytics advertisements. These ads are laden with promises of robust and scalable solutions, improved efficiencies and, yes, the promise of prediction. While reading the advertisements, the mental conversation may go something

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Analytics

Melissa SavageMarch 15, 2012 0

Fallen interstate sign shows importance of asset management

A few weeks ago, in Northern Virginia, a 30 foot highway sign fell onto I-66 and landed on a passing pickup truck. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but it drew media attention and caused motorists in the area to wonder about the safety of other signs and the transportation network

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Analytics

Melissa SavageFebruary 9, 2012 0

Analytics helping transportation officials get the job done in tight financial times

The American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials recently released a top 10 list of transportation issues that will be “talked, written or tweeted and legislated about” in 2012. As expected, funding constraints and Congressional action on reauthorization appear on the list but the group also notes that natural disaster

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Analytics

Vincent TalucciFebruary 2, 2012 0

Predictive policing is passé

My colleague, Steve Serrao, just published a blog post on the proliferation of varied law enforcement approaches and their related phraseologies. After reading, I concur – hence, this blog’s title. I am not a huge fan of the term “predictive policing”. While others may love it and live it, and

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Analytics

Bill ColemanJanuary 24, 2012 0

Local government impact of rising group medical and insurance costs, and what can be done

The single most costly employee benefit for any organization is health insurance, and the price is going up. From 2003-2009, the costs per hour worked for employee health insurance increased from $1.03 to $2.00. These costs continue to increase from 5%-7% per year. The reality is that employee health insurance costs will continue

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Analytics

Bill ColemanJanuary 24, 2012 0

Analysis of 311 call data can lead to better service, lower costs

Many cities and counties are taking the lead of private industry and developing 311 call centers to consolidate incoming calls for service and information requests from citizens. The business advantages are clear: Citizens have one number to call for service and information rather than having to waste time searching for

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Analytics | Data for Good

Vincent TalucciJanuary 24, 2012 0

A sad reality: Crises drive positive change within criminal justice

All too often an unspeakable tragedy leads to a needed policy or operational change through a newly-realized criminal justice system gap. While we continually work to minimize existing gaps, the reality is that as law enforcement evolves, so does the crime and so do the criminals. In recognition of those

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Analytics

Bill ColemanJanuary 17, 2012 0

Using analytics to manage capital projects funding & costs

Cities and counties are responsible for building and maintaining the infrastructure to support a broad range of services. Local governments must develop and implement multiyear capital projects plans that provide infrastructure for things such as jails, courts, public office buildings, streets, bridges, parks, athletic complexes and community centers, water treatment

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Analytics | SAS Events

January 16, 2012 0

Our conference lineup for 2012

Here at SAS Publishing, we’ve started the new year off with a bang, particularly when it comes to conferences. We’re attending a number of new shows in addition to the usual lineup this year. Visit our booth, meet our authors, check out our new and forthcoming titles, and talk with

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Analytics | Students & Educators

Nadja YoungJanuary 12, 2012 0

The art and science of seating charts

A’s in the front, Z’s in the back. How many of us grew up sitting in alphabetical order next to the same few classmates throughout school? While this is a quick and efficient way to learn student names, which is no easy task, it is not the most effective way

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Education | Government

Analytics

Melissa SavageJanuary 9, 2012 0

Phone distraction just one part of traffic crash picture

During one week in December, two separate transportation agencies within the federal government made two major announcements. First, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) – the government agency responsible for guiding traffic safety initiatives on the nation’s highways announced that crash fatalities had declined to record low rates. Just

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Analytics

Bill ColemanJanuary 2, 2012 0

Moving local government to analytics-based enterprise performance management

Local governments are not immune to the rising demand for more accountability in government run services and programs, and the expenditure of public funds. Elected officials and citizens alike want to know what these programs accomplish for the public investment made. To date, the response to these questions and demands has been

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Analytics

Vincent TalucciDecember 12, 2011 0

Just the facts: A short intro to Policing in the 21st Century

Since joining SAS, I no longer run screaming from social media, blogs, etc. In fact, I embrace exploring different mediums to highlight how SAS is assisting today’s law enforcement. To that end, and in recognition that sometimes less is more, I give you this short intro. SAS continues to push

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Analytics

Bill ColemanDecember 5, 2011 0

What can asset management do for utilities?

Water and wastewater treatment plants are among the most complex facilities built and maintained by utility companies, whether public or private. Each facility contains thousands of pieces of equipment worth millions of dollars that must operate in concert for the many complex treatment processes to function effectively. The consequences of these assets

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Analytics

Melissa SavageNovember 17, 2011 0

Intelligent roads will reduce traffic, save money

When I moved last year from Denver to the Washington, DC area people told me to prepare myself for the long hours I would spend in my car. I had no idea. It takes forever to get anywhere. Once, during a snowstorm it took me 9 hours to drive 10

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Analytics | Learn SAS

November 8, 2011 0

What we learned from this year’s conferences

JSM, Miami Beach, FL, July 31–August 3 Miami Beach in August is hot. Ridiculously hot. Almost as hot as our preview copies at this show. Conference goers were extremely excited about a number of our upcoming statistics titles, including Customer Segmentation and Clustering Using SAS® Enterprise Miner™, Second Edition, by

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Analytics

Vincent TalucciNovember 4, 2011 0

Tower running

On September 10, 2001, I was attending a law enforcement conference in Atlantic City, NJ. While I have attended hundreds of similar meetings, this conference stands out for several reasons. First, and most obvious, it was the eve of the day where most of our lives were indelibly altered. Second,

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Analytics

Trent SmithOctober 25, 2011 0

Contagion: Wash hands after reading

For the past year, I’ve had the pleasure of serving on the communications team of the National Collaborative for Bio-Preparedness (NCB-P), of which SAS is a partner and the analytics provider. That experience was heavy on my mind as I recently watched the film Contagion. I may drop some minor

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Government | Health Care

Analytics

Robert PowellSeptember 27, 2011 0

Thoughts on software procurement from a former state controller

Private sector vendors/suppliers seeking to conduct business with government often find frustration with the maze of policy and legislative hurdles encountered during the procurement process. As difficult as the experience may have been from the private sector perspective, take a moment to look at the other side of the procurement

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Analytics

Bill ColemanSeptember 23, 2011 0

BI software may be most painful local government purchase

Over my 32 year career in local government as a city and county manager I was faced with many difficult decisions during budget deliberations. Setting tax and utility rates, adding head count, determining compensation and benefits, calculating the appropriate mix of debt and cash for funding capital projects…these were all

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Analytics

Melissa SavageSeptember 20, 2011 0

Crumbling U.S. infrastructure not just about roads, but economic survival

In 2009, SAFETEA-LU—the legislation that outlines federal transportation funding for the states—expired. Since then, members of Congress have been kicking the can down the road, passing funding extensions instead of passing legislation. The major impact of this failure to act is that the U.S. continues to slip further and further

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Analytics

Bill ColemanSeptember 12, 2011 0

New local government charge: Do Less with Less

The downturn in the economy beginning in 2008 and continuing even to now has put tremendous pressure on local governments to do “less with less”. In the past when economic downturns caused service level cut backs the cry was to do “more with less”. The idea was to identify ways

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Analytics

Vincent TalucciSeptember 7, 2011 0

In law enforcement, it's all about context

‘Context’ defined (as cited from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary): 1: the parts of a discourse that surround a word or passage and can throw light on its meaning; and, 2: the interrelated conditions in which something exists or occurs: environment, setting. While context is clearly important, today it is consistently

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Analytics

Chuck EllstromSeptember 1, 2011 0

Irene recovery is opportunity for economic growth

Hurricane Irene impacted 20% of the US population and will cost billions in recovery dollars. Now that the water has begun to subside, the real long term work begins. And it is this work that can be another disaster, or, a real economic benefit to a state. How so? FEMA

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Analytics

Gary FuquayAugust 31, 2011 0

HHS agencies embracing holistic views of citizens

I recently attended the Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS) Conference in Austin, Texas. The MMIS conference is an annual event for federal and state HHS agencies to share programmatic and technology initiatives in Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Programs (CHIP). While I have attended numerous MMIS conferences in the past, I

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Analytics

Robert PowellAugust 24, 2011 0

Back to basics of state budgets

The recent budget debate between President Obama and Congress reminded me of many of the discussions I observed during my years as State Controller and Deputy State Budget Officer in North Carolina. These discussions are related specifically to principles adhered to in budget development and budget deliberations by elected officials.

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Analytics

Melissa SavageAugust 23, 2011 0

Happy birthday, US Interstates. Now what?

The highway system traversing the United States quietly hit a milestone last month with the 55th anniversary of the Federal Aid Highway Act. In 1956 President Eisenhower had a vision for our nation’s infrastructure; he knew that building an interstate highway system was vital, and expressed that “Together, the united

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Analytics

Vincent TalucciJune 8, 2011 0

The police police

Policing has profoundly changed over the last several decades and its evolution will continue as long as there are crimes to commit and communities to serve. The very nature of policing is dynamic – it always has been and always will be. Those dynamics are driven by many things –

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