STATISTICS Methods and Applications Textbook
by Thomas Hill and Paul Lewicki
StatSoft has freely provided the Electronic Statistics Textbook as a public service since 1995.
This textbook offers training in the understanding and application of statistics and data mining. The material was developed at the StatSoft R&D department based on many years of teaching undergraduate and graduate statistics courses. It covers a wide variety of applications, including laboratory research (biomedical, agricultural, etc.), business statistics, credit scoring, forecasting, social science statistics and survey research, data mining, engineering and quality control applications, and many others.
The Electronic Statistics Textbook begins with an overview of the relevant elementary (pivotal) concepts and continues with a more in depth exploration of specific areas of statistics, organized by “modules” and accessible by buttons, representing classes of analytic techniques. A glossary of statistical terms and a list of references for further study are included.
Proper citation:
- (Electronic Version): StatSoft, Inc. (2013). Electronic Statistics Textbook. Tulsa, OK: StatSoft. WEB: http://www.statsoft.com/textbook/.
- (Printed Version): Hill, T. & Lewicki, P. (2007). STATISTICS: Methods and Applications. StatSoft, Tulsa, OK.
http://www.statsoft.com/Textbook
Check out one of our newest applications: ‘Ball on a Ring’.
We’re always adding new models to the MapleSim Model Gallery for users to download!
n this model, multibody components are used to create the model of the ball rolling on a ring. Three rings with different radiis define a circular track on which the ball is freely rolling. Input to the system changes the horizontal angle of the ring module, which navigates the ball through the track.
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Through interactive explorations and more efficient management of homework and assignments, students can focus on the concepts and not just the mechanics of the material. Extend your reach Whether it’s online learning initiatives, innovative laboratory exercises that bring theory to life, or challenging research problems, Maplesoft technology offers the tools you need to be at the front of your profession. Automate testing and assessment Precisely gauge the comprehension levels of students. STEM Education Solutions Selected Customers Mathematics Education by combining the world’s most advanced symbolic computation engine with powerful numeric algorithms, advanced visualization tools, and intuitive interfaces,
Maplesoft products enrich your classroom and accelerate your research. Engineering Education The Maplesoft Engineering Suite is based on Maplesoft’s core technologies, including the world’s most advanced symbolic computation engine and revolutionary physical modeling techniques. Students Finish your assignments faster, improve your understanding of even the most difficult subjects, and explore on your own. Student products give you exactly the same software as the professional versions, but at a student price! Testing & Assessment Maplesoft offers a collection of testing solutions which can free schools from the cost, effort, and limitations of paper-and-pencil assessment.
High Schools & Two-Year Colleges Math education has never been more important than it is today. Whether your students are continuing with their studies or going out into the workforce, understanding mathematics is an essential part of their success in this increasingly technological world. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Hokkaido University Seton Hall University Stanford University University of California System University Of New South Wales St. Olaf College Notre Dame University University Of Oxford University of British Columbia System Clemson University Cornell University Max Planck Institute Georgia Tech University of Nebraska Politecnico di Torino University of Toronto Texas A&M University Ohio State University IIT Indian Institute of Technology Iowa State University The University of South Carolina System
Multiple Choice Questions: Not So Ordinary Anymore
Original Blog by Jonny Zivku
I think we all know the routine. We walk to a large classroom, we sit down for a test, we receive a large stack of questions stapled together and then we fill in tiny bubbles on a separate sheet that is automatically graded by a scanning machine. We’ve all been there. I was thinking recently about how far the humble multiple choice question has come over the last few years with the advent of systems like Maple T.A., and so I did a little research.
Multiple choice questions were first widely-distributed during World War I to test the intelligence of recruits in the United States of America. The army desired a more efficient way of testing as using written and oral evaluations was very time consuming. Dr. Robert Yerkes, the psychologist who convinced the army to try a multiple choice test, wanted to convince people that psychiatry could be a scientific study and not just philosophical. A few years later, SATs began including multiple choice questions. Since then, educational institutions have adopted multiple choice questions as a permanent tool for many different types of assessments.
One of the biggest advances in the use of multiple choice questions was the birth of automatic grading through the use of machine-readable papers. These grew in popularity during the mid-70s as teachers and instructors saved time by not having to grade answer sheets manually.
Until recently, there has not been much advancement in this area. It’s true, Maple T.A. can do so much more than just multiple choice questions, so this style of question is less important in large-scale testing than it used to be. But multiple choice questions still have their place in an automated testing system, where uses include leveraging older content, easily detecting patterns of misunderstanding, requiring students to choose from different images, and minimizing student interaction with the system. Luckily, Maple T.A. takes even the humble multiple choice questions to the next level. Now you might be thinking, how is that even possible given the basic structure of multiple choice questions? What could possibly be done to enhance them?
Well, for starters, in Maple T.A., you can permute the answers. This means you have the option to change the order of the choices for each student. This is also possible with machine-readable papers, but this does require multiple solution sets for a teacher or instructor to keep track of. With Maple T.A., everything is done for you. For example, if you have a multiple choice question in Maple T.A. with 5 answer choices, there are 120 different possible answer orders that students can be presented with. You don’t have to keep track of extra solution sets or note which test version each student is receiving. Maple T.A. takes care of it all.
Maple T.A. allows you to create Algorithmic questions – multiple choice questions in which you can vary different values in your question. And you aren’t limited to selecting values from a specific range, either. For example, you can select a random integer from a pre-defined list, a random number that satisfies a mathematical condition, such as ‘divisible by 3’ or ‘prime’, or even a random polynomial or matrix with specific characteristics. It allows an instructor to create a single question template, but have tens, hundreds, or even thousands of possible question outcomes based on the randomly selected values for the algorithmic variables. The algorithmic variables not only apply to the question being asked by a student, but also the choices they see in a multiple choice question.
You can even create a question where every student gets the same fixed list of choices, but the question varies to ensure that the correct response changes. That’s going to confuse some students who are doing a little more “collaboration” than is appropriate!
Some of the other advantages of using Maple T.A. for multiple choice are also common to all Maple T.A. question types. For example, you can provide instant, customized feedback to your students. If a student gets a multiple choice question correct, you can provide feedback showing the solution (who is to say the student didn’t guess and get this question correct?) If a student gets a multiple choice question incorrect, you can provide targeted feedback that depends on which response they chose. This allows you to customize exactly what a student sees in regards to feedback without having to write it out by hand each time.
And of course, like in other Maple T.A. questions, multiple choice questions can include mathematical expressions, plots, images, audio clips, videos, and more – in the questions and in the responses.
Finally, let’s not forget, in an online testing environment, there is no panic when you realized you accidently skipped line 2 while filling out your card, no risk of paper cuts, and no worrying about what kind of pencil to use!
References:
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/dark-history-of-multiple-choice-ainissa-ramirez
http://io9.com/5908833/the-birth-of-scantrons-the-bane-of-standardized-testing
Acausal Powertrain Modelling with Application to Model-based Powertrain Control
Abstract:
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From Concept to Deployment
Learn how technical organizations use and benefit from Maple
- Understand the different ways mathematical knowledge is used throughout your organization so you can manage workflow efficiently
- Learn how you can maintain a strong connection between engineering knowledge and final application, making the process easier to validate and the code easier to update
- Discover how picking the right tool can efficiently fulfill the different needs of the analyst, developer, and end-user
We at Maplesoft have learned a lot in our 25 years of operation as a developer of technical problem-solving tools. During that time, we have seen such tools dramatically change the way technical organizations advance their knowledge and turn that knowledge into commercially-profitable innovations. It is arguable that many products and technologies that weren’t even thought of 25 years ago, which today are taken for granted, would not have seen the light of day without tools like Maple.
As part of a study to understand just what effect Maple has had over the last 25 years, we surveyed our client base about their use of Maple. Our customers include a wide range of organizations, such as engineering companies, scientific research laboratories, developers of space and defense systems, manufacturers of electronic devices, financial institutions – all organizations that require mathematics to solve problems critical to their business. While the variety of applications was staggering, and ranged in complexity from relatively simple to highly advanced, one major observation emerged clearly from the data. We were able to characterize the way in which mathematics is being utilized – who is using it, what for, and how – within any technical organization.
2014 Blue Water Institute Educational Research Challenge
The Issue
The 2014 Blue Water Institute Educational Research Challenge puts the focus on student success in higher education. Most colleges and universities concentrate their student related efforts on process and procedures, program objectives, program and course content, metrics for administrators, assessment metrics for accrediting agencies, and retention.
Recently, there has been considerable debate regarding writing skills, or the lack thereof on the part of students. Many institutions have invested time and resources to remediate this problem. Programs such as writing across the curriculum have become popular, and grading rubrics at a number of schools also include measuring these skills.
However there is another, even more basic issue that many colleges and universities are not addressing. There is the assumption that students enter higher education programs with the skills needed to effectively study the material presented in class and prepare to take quizzes and exams. However, those who teach at both the undergraduate and graduate levels know that is not always the case.
Presentations given by The Blue Water Institute Editorial Director, Dr. Theodore C. Alex and Jennifer Jaworski at academic conferences highlight these issues. They conducted a survey of 30 nursing, 30 Law, and 30 MBA students from the Chicago area in 2009. It found that 44% rated their study and test taking skills as poor and disorganized, 28% rated their study and test taking skills as below average and 100% reported the perceived need to improve their study and test taking skills.
The Challenge
A review of the literature reveals this topic is not well covered and offers a great opportunity for publication. Additional studies would add to the theoretical body of knowledge, and at a practical level, greatly benefit students. The Blue Water Institute challenges authors to explore this issue as a basis for research and to submit papers on this topic
To submit your paper, go to >>>
Maple based music application featured in Mathematics of Planet Earth 2013
Kenneth Rubenstein, a long time Maple user, university mathematics professor, composer and guitarist, is named one of the winners of the MPE Exhibition.
Mathematics of Planet Earth 2013 (MPE) is an initiative that was started by mathematical sciences organizations around the world. Its aim is to showcase ways in which mathematics can be used to understand geophysical, biological, artistic and human processes that make up the earth. More than a hundred scientific societies, universities, research institutes, and organizations all over the world have banded together to understand how the world functions and find solutions to challenges faced by our planet.
Maplesoft is a supporter of this initiative and has connected with this movement through the sponsorship of MPE events. Supporting MPE 2013 is part of Maplesoft’s commitment, as part of its 25th anniversary celebrations, to support initiatives that promote the use of mathematical and scientific tools.
One of the highlights of MPE 2013 is a virtual exhibition. MPE exhibition is a collection of open source material on the web that can be used by museums and schools around the world to stage their own exhibitions or to learn more about MPE topics. Entries for the exhibition are collected through a competition to design virtual or physical museum-quality exhibits (modules). The best modules are awarded, and exhibited at museums around the world. These modules form the basis of a permanent virtual and real exhibition that is hosted by the IMAGINARY platform of the Mathematischen Forschungsinstituts Oberwolfach (MFO), an international research center based in Germany.
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A long time Maple user, university mathematics professor, composer and guitarist, Kenneth Rubenstein, is one of the winners of the MPE Exhibition, and his work is on display at IMAGINARY.
As part of his teaching work, Kenneth uses Maple to help students understand mathematical theories and concepts. Music is his passion, and he often pulls examples from the world of music as illustrations for his students. For example, he has his students use math to explore the relationships between the placements of guitar frets and the 12-tone chromatic scale, based on the relationships of intervals and pitch first discovered by Pythagoras.
Being a musician himself, Kenneth uses Maple to create attractive animations that bring his music to life visually. “These images are generated through the mathematic software Maple, and are typically rendered in spherical or cylindrical coordinates,” said Kenneth. “Much of this amounts to extreme experimentation, premised upon a strong understanding of domain and range. I am basically sculpting with mathematics, using as my chisel trigonometric, group and number theoretic functions (and composed functions) so as to meticulously surf texture, scale and graphical behavior.”
A collection of Kenneth’s music videos that feature Maple can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/user/kenrubes.
The idea behind Mathematics of Planet Earth is to showcase how math and science can impact our lives, our community and the planet we live in. Kenneth’s applications of math using Maple touch people’s emotions and senses, providing insights into how mathematics and art come together to shape our observations, thinking and decisions.
Kenneth is not the only one to combine music, mathematics, and Maple. Another Maple user, George Articolo, published a book in 2013 that addresses the connection between music and math. In his book titled “Mathematical Concepts in Music: Scales, Harmony and Ratio”, George uses a mathematical approach to the numeric representation and quantitative analysis of musical objects. Maple was used in writing the text’s mathematical material and graphics. Use of Maple permitted the export of worksheets to PDF files in order to embed sound files into the text.
What’s New in MapleSim 6.4
What’s New in MapleSim
What’s New in MapleSim 6.4
Powerful Tools for Custom Components
MapleSim 6.4 includes several updates to the custom component template that make custom components even easier to build and use.
- You can provide additional information about the parameters of your custom component, such as their dimensions and the relationships that must hold for your initial conditions to be valid. By providing this information as part of the definition of the component, MapleSim will be able to detect when the component is being used incorrectly, such as when the units or initial conditions are inconsistent.
- When using Modelica to define your component, you can now take advantage of a new Modelica-aware code editor that provides syntax highlighting, automatic indenting, and more.
- You can define custom port types, and MapleSim will apply the same port consistency checking as it does for built-in port types to prevent illegal connections.
- Ports now snap to grid for cleaner placement.
- More examples are available to use as a basis for your own development.
Solver Enhancements
Solvers in MapleSim 6.4 are faster, and provide you with more information and control.
- New solver diagnostics help you deeply investigate the behavior of your simulation with plots showing the log of the integrator step size, event iterations per step, constraint iterations per step, and constraint residual.
- For all models, the symbolic preprocessing time prior to simulation has been further reduced, so the numerical simulation phase begins sooner. This improvement is especially significant for larger systems, with the preprocessing phase running up to 30 times faster for some models.
- Index error control can now be optionally turned off.
- A new option allows the use of quaternions for 3-D rotations, as an alternative to the default method.
Toolchain Connectivity
- Many enhancements have been made to the MapleSim Connector, which generates models for use in Simulink®.
- Inputs and outputs can now be wrapped in a bus connector.
- The new solver diagnostics can be exported to Simulink®.
- Intermediate steps are now available to handle events that occur between steps in discrete-step simulations.
- A new Hold on Failure option allows recovery from errors without stopping the simulation, providing diagnostics which indicate where the error occurred and at what point the simulation recovered.
- The MapleSim Connector for FMI now exports to FMI for Co-Simulation version 2.0 RC1. As a result, MapleSim can be used to develop models for use in other systems that support this latest release of the FMI standard, such as dSPACE SCALEXIO®.
Control Design Toolbox
The MapleSim Control Design Toolbox now offers a more complete set of algorithms for PID control, new commands for computing closed-loop transfer functions, and numerous improvements to existing commands. These enhancements allow engineers to design a greater variety of controllers and controller-observer systems while taking advantage of the greater flexibility and analysis options available through the use of symbolic parameters. Learn more.
Desktop Scientific 