Causal Inference in R. Decipher complex relationships with advanced R techniques for data-driven decision-making

Subhajit Das

Determining causality in data is difficult due to confounding factors. Written by an applied scientist specializing in causal inference with over a decade of experience, Causal Inference in R provides the tools and methods you need to accurately establish causal relationships, improving data-driven decision-making.This book helps you get to grips with foundational concepts, offering a clear understanding of causal models and their relevance in data analysis. You’ll progress through chapters that blend theory with hands-on examples, illustrating how to apply advanced statistical methods to real-world scenarios. You’ll discover techniques for establishing causality, from classic approaches to contemporary methods, such as propensity score matching and instrumental variables. Each chapter is enriched with detailed case studies and R code snippets, enabling you to implement concepts immediately. Beyond technical skills, this book also emphasizes critical thinking in data analysis to empower you to make informed, data-driven decisions. The chapters enable you to harness the power of causal inference in R to uncover deeper insights from data.By the end of this book, you’ll be able to confidently establish causal relationships and make data-driven decisions with precision.

Using CiviCRM. Develop and implement a fully functional, systematic CRM plan for your organization Using CiviCRM

Joseph Murray, Brian P Shaughnessy, Dave Greenberg

CiviCRM is a web-based, open source CRM system, designed specifically to meet the needs of advocacy, non-profit and non-governmental organizations. Elected officials, professional/trade associations, political campaigns and parties, government agencies, and other similar organizations are among its growing number of enthusiastic users. This book shows you how to harness CiviCRM’s impressive array of possibilities as you develop and execute performance-critical CRM strategies.This book will help you become familiar with the structure and main functions of CiviCRM. It will guide you in developing and successfully implementing a CRM strategy for your organization using detailed explanations and practical examples.Using CiviCRM walks you through developing a CRM Implementation Plan that is suited to your organization's size, culture, and needs. Readers will take away many constituent relationship management best practices and the knowledge of how to implement them with CiviCRM. Benefits of Using CiviCRM will be felt across your organization, and help it better achieve its mission.Overall, your organization will interact with constituents more effectively and handle staff growth and transitions by tracking all contacts and interactions with them in a system shared across the organization. Gathering and analyzing data about your constituents and their interactions with your organization will better inform your decisions.If your organization fundraises, you’ll be able to raise more money and reduce costs by identifying qualified prospects for targeted fundraising initiatives. We show how to attract new prospects and convert them to donors using online, direct mail, telemarketing and direct contact channels Using CiviCRM. You’ll learn why and how to set up and then grow your monthly donor program, as well as improve the frequency, average donation amounts, and retention rates of your donor base.With this book you’ll be able to reduce the burden on administrative resources by providing online payments and self-service options for event registrations and membership renewals. You can increase the likelihood your existing subscribers will become more involved with your organization, ensure more of your members show up to volunteer, identify potential leaders and steward their volunteer activitiesFinally, you'll be making relevant information easily available that quantifies what a great job you've been doing, including the number of hours that volunteers gave to your organization last year, the number of cases managed, or the number of new viral signups from your latest urgent action e-mail.

Learning VirtualDub: The Complete Guide to Capturing, Processing and Encoding Digital Video. The complete guide to capturing, processing and encoding digital video

John Buechler, Georgios Diamantopoulos, Sohail Salehi, Avery Lee

VirtualDub is one of the most popular video processing applications for Windows. As an open source application, it's free, and is constantly updated and expanded by an active community of developers and experts. VirtualDub is particularly popular for capturing video from analogue sources such as video tape, cleaning up the image and compressing it ready for distribution over the Internet. This book provides a rapid and easy to use tutorial to the basic features of VirtualDub to get you up and running quickly. It explains how to capture great quality video from various sources, use filters to clean up the captured image and add special effects. The book also shows how to use VirtualDub to cut and paste video to remove or insert sequences, including removing ad breaks or trailers. It goes on to cover the art of effective encoding and compression, so you end up with great quality videos that won't hog your bandwidth forever. VirtualDub is the fastest and most effective way to capture, process and encode video on your PC. This book gets you started fast, and goes on to give you full control of all the features of this legendary tool.

Phalcon Cookbook. High Performance PHP Framework

Serghei Iakovlev, David Schissler

Phalcon is a high-performance PHP framework delivered as a PHP extension. This provides new opportunities for speed and application design, which until recently have been unrealized in the PHP ecosystem.Packed with simple learning exercises, technology prototypes, and real-world usable code, this book will guide you from the beginner and setup stage all the way to advanced usage. You will learn how to avoid niche pitfalls, how to use the command-line developer tools, how to integrate with new web standards, as well as how to set up and customize the MVC application structure. You will see how Phalcon can be used to quickly set up a single file web application as well as a complex multi-module application suitable for long-term projects. Some of the recipes focus on abstract concepts that are vital to get a deep comprehension of Phalcon and others are designed as a vehicle to deliver real-world usable classes and code snippets to solve advanced problems. You’ll start out with basic setup and application structure and then move onto the Phalcon MVC and routing implementation, the power of the ORM and Phalcon Query Language, and Phalcon’s own Volt templating system. Finally, you will move on to caching, security, and optimization.

Data Visualization: a successful design process

Andy Kirk, Andy Kirk

Do you want to create more attractive charts? Or do you have huge data sets and need to unearth the key insights in a visual manner? Data visualization is the representation and presentation of data, using proven design techniques to bring alive the patterns, stories and key insights locked away.Data Visualization: a Successful Design Process explores the unique fusion of art and science that is data visualization; a discipline for which instinct alone is insufficient for you to succeed in enabling audiences to discover key trends, insights and discoveries from your data. This book will equip you with the key techniques required to overcome contemporary data visualization challenges. You'll discover a proven design methodology that helps you develop invaluable knowledge and practical capabilities.You'll never again settle for a default Excel chart or resort to fancy-looking graphs. You will be able to work from the starting point of acquiring, preparing and familiarizing with your data, right through to concept design. Choose your killer visual representation to engage and inform your audience.Data Visualization: a Successful Design Process will inspire you to relish any visualization project with greater confidence and bullish know-how; turning challenges into exciting design opportunities.

Machine Learning for Time-Series with Python. Forecast, predict, and detect anomalies with state-of-the-art machine learning methods

Ben Auffarth

The Python time-series ecosystem is huge and often quite hard to get a good grasp on, especially for time-series since there are so many new libraries and new models. This book aims to deepen your understanding of time series by providing a comprehensive overview of popular Python time-series packages and help you build better predictive systems.Machine Learning for Time-Series with Python starts by re-introducing the basics of time series and then builds your understanding of traditional autoregressive models as well as modern non-parametric models. By observing practical examples and the theory behind them, you will become confident with loading time-series datasets from any source, deep learning models like recurrent neural networks and causal convolutional network models, and gradient boosting with feature engineering.This book will also guide you in matching the right model to the right problem by explaining the theory behind several useful models. You’ll also have a look at real-world case studies covering weather, traffic, biking, and stock market data.By the end of this book, you should feel at home with effectively analyzing and applying machine learning methods to time-series.

Azure OpenAI Essentials. A practical guide to unlocking generative AI-powered innovation with Azure OpenAI

Amit Mukherjee, Adithya Saladi, Marco Casalaina

Find out what makes Azure OpenAI a robust platform for building AI-driven solutions that can transform how businesses operate. Written by seasoned experts from Microsoft, this book will guide you in understanding Azure OpenAI from fundamentals through to advanced concepts and best practices.The book begins with an introduction to large language models (LLMs) and the Azure OpenAI Service, detailing how to access, use, and optimize its models. You'll learn how to design and implement AI-driven solutions, such as question-answering systems, contact center analytics, and GPT-powered search applications. Additionally, the chapters walk you through advanced concepts, including embeddings, fine-tuning models, prompt engineering, and building custom AI applications using LangChain and Semantic Kernel. You'll explore real-world use cases such as QnA systems, document summarizers, and SQLGPT for database querying, as well as gain insights into securing and operationalizing these solutions in enterprises.By the end of this book, you'll be ready to design, develop, and deploy scalable AI solutions, ensuring business success through intelligent automation and data-driven insights.

Sculpting in ZBrush Made Simple. Explore powerful modeling and character creation techniques used for VFX, games, and 3D printing

Lukas Kutschera

Embark on a creative journey with ZBrush, the leading software for creating characters, creatures, and props in films, games, and 3D printing. This guide will take you through its powerful yet user-friendly workflows, allowing you to explore its dynamic organic sculpting, painting, and hard-surface modeling tools.The first part of this book is dedicated to helping you become familiar with ZBrush’s user interface and learning the very basics, from sculpting brushes and painting the model with Polypaint to setting up lights and rendering images. You’ll also create a demon bust with the help of ZBrush’s concept sculpting tool, DynaMesh. In the second part, you’ll get to grips with the creation of a humanoid character that is optimized for 3D printing. Focusing on anatomy, poly-modeling, and preparing the model for 3D printing, you’ll acquire the skills essential for sculptors. The final part delves into portrait sculpting, where you’ll learn everything from basic facial anatomy to hair creation with FiberMesh.By the end of this book, you'll have developed the expertise necessary to succeed in the ever-evolving world of 3D character modeling, complemented by portfolio and social media tips for showcasing your standout work.