Bratcher, Thomas L.McBride, John Jacob.Baylor University. Dept. of Statistical Sciences.2006-07-242006-07-242006-052006-07-24http://hdl.handle.net/2104/3955Includes bibliographical references (p. 77-81).The theory of generalized linear models provides a unifying class of statistical distributions that can be used to model both discrete and continuous events. In this dissertation we present a new conjugate hierarchical Bayesian generalized linear model that can be used to model counts of occurrences in the presence of spatial correlation. We assume that the counts are taken from geographic regions or areal units (zip codes, counties, etc.) and that the conditional distributions of these counts for each area are distributed as Poisson having unknown rates or relative risks. We incorporate the spatial association of the counts through a neighborhood structure which is based on the arrangement of the areal units. Having defined the neighborhood structure we then model this spatial association with a conditionally autoregressive (CAR) model as developed by Besag (1974). Once the spatial model has been created we adapt a subset selection procedure created by Bratcher and Bhalla (1974) to select the areal unit(s) having the highest relative risks.viii, 81 p. : maps.452644 bytes3298376 bytesapplication/pdfapplication/pdfen-USBaylor University theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. Contact librarywebmaster@baylor.edu for inquiries about permission.Spatial analysis (Statistics).Bayesian statistical decision theory.ThesisWorldwide access