Covariance Structure Models and Influence Diagrams
展示了协方差结构模型与高斯影响图之间的数学和概念联系，并通过危险品管理实例说明如何将协方差结构模型转化为影响图用于规范决策分析。
Statisticians use covariance structure modeling as a versatile tool for modeling and testing theory. The models that result provide explicit and detailed descriptions of stochastic systems. We show how covariance structure models are related—mathematically, conceptually, philosophically and practically—to Gaussian influence diagrams as described by Shachter and Kenley (1989). This relationship suggests ways in which covariance structure modeling can be used to advantage in the prescriptive domain of decision analysis. The paper includes an example concerning the management of hazardous materials, in which a covariance structure model is converted to an influence diagram for use in a prescriptive analysis.