A fresh approach for intercession of nonresponse in multivariate longitudinal designs

The occurrence of nonresponse is very much plebeian in surveys, which troubles the analysis, and hence, an inappropriate inference is left out. To counterbalance the sour effects of the incompleteness, fresh imputation techniques have been proposed with the aid of multi-auxiliary variates for the estimation of population mean on successive waves. Properties of the proposed estimators have been elaborated, and they have been compared with the work of Priyanka et al. (2015). Detailed simulation study is carried out to substantiate the empirical and theoretical results. Several possible cases have been addressed in which nonresponse can occur.     

Linking human systems: strengthening individuals, families, and communities in the wake of mass trauma

This article presents an overview of the philosophy and practical principles underlying the Linking Human Systems Approach based on the theory of resilience in individuals, families, and communities facing crisis, trauma, and disaster. The Link Approach focuses on tapping into the inherent strength of individuals and their families and emphasizes resilience rather than vulnerability. It has been successfully used in combating critical public health problems, such as addiction, HIV/AIDS, and recovery from major trauma or disaster. Also, three specific models of Link intervention aimed at the individual, family, and community levels are discussed, with special emphasis on the family-level intervention. These interventions are directed toward mobilizing resources for long-term physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual healing.     

Searching effective rotation patterns for population median using exponential type estimators in two-occasion rotation sampling

ABSTRACT

The present article is an attempt to explore the rotation patterns using exponential ratio type estimators for the estimation of finite population median at current occasion in two occasion rotation sampling. Properties of the proposed estimators including the optimum replacement strategies have been elaborated. The proposed estimators have been compared with sample median estimator when there is no matching from previous occasion as well with the ratio type estimator proposed by Singh et al. (2007 Singh, H.P., Tailor, R., Singh, S., Kim, Jong-Min. (2007). Quintile estimation in successive sampling. J. Kor. Stat. Soc. 36(4):543–556. [Google Scholar]) for second quantile. The behaviors of the proposed estimators are justified by empirical interpretations and validated by means of simulation study with the help of some natural populations.     

The propagation of lean thinking in SMEs

Abstract

Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) play a pivotal role in economic growth, industrial output, and employment creation. However, SMEs are often ignored by researchers as far as the adoption of lean is concerned in comparison to Large Enterprises (LEs). Therefore, the literature regarding lean implementation in SMEs is not conspicuous, and many SMEs have only a limited understanding and awareness of lean. This paper offers a comprehensive literature review with a focus on the implementation of lean in SMEs and explores the applicability of lean thinking in such environments. An attempt is made to provide an analysis of lean practices that have been applied in SMEs and critical success factors for lean transformation in SMEs. It also contributes to the field of lean implementation research by proposing a framework for lean in SMEs and identifies the scope of future research.     

Estimating the parameters of a truncated weibull distribution

The problem of nonexistence of the maximum likelihood estimators (m.l.e.) with positive probability is investigated for the truncated Weibull distribution. Similar nonexistence of the m.l.e. is known for some other distributions such as truncated exponential, truncated normal, and one parameter truncated gamma. Modified likelihood estimators, which exist with probability one, are given and compared with the m.l.e.     

Estimating the parameters of a doubly truncated normal distribution

This paper deals with the maximum likelihood estimation of parameters for a doubly truncated normal distribution when the truncation points are known. We prove, in this case, that the MLEs are nonexistent (become infinite) with positive probability. For estimators that exist with probability one, the class of Bayes modal estimators or modified maximum likelihood estimators is explored. Another useful estimating procedure, called mixed estimation, is proposed. Simulations compare the behavior of the MLEs, the modified MLEs, and the mixed estimators which reveal that the MLE, in addition to being nonexistent with positive probability, behaves poorly near the upper boundary of the interval of its existence. The modified MLEs and the mixed estimators are seen to be remarkably better than the MLE     

Analysis of Bivariate Survival Data using Shared Inverse Gaussian Frailty Model

In this article, we consider shared frailty model with inverse Gaussian distribution as frailty distribution and log-logistic distribution (LLD) as baseline distribution for bivariate survival times. We fit this model to three real-life bivariate survival data sets. The problem of analyzing and estimating parameters of shared inverse Gaussian frailty is the interest of this article and then compare the results with shared gamma frailty model under the same baseline for considered three data sets. Data are analyzed using Bayesian approach to the analysis of clustered survival data in which there is a dependence of failure time observations within the same group. The variance component estimation provides the estimated dispersion of the random effects. We carried out a test for frailty (or heterogeneity) using Bayes factor. Model comparison is made using information criteria and Bayes factor. We observed that the shared inverse Gaussian frailty model with LLD as baseline is the better fit for all three bivariate data sets.     

Subjective elicitation of hyperparameters of a conjugate Dirichlet prior and the corresponding Bayes analysis

Abstract

The paper elicits subjectively the Dirichlet prior hyperparameters based on the realistic opinion collected from the experts. The procedure used for subjective elicitation considers several stages such as the choice of experts, formation of some relevant questions to be asked to the experts for getting their opinion, pooling of opinion, quantification of information and then the formation of exact prior distribution through quantile assessment based on an iterative procedure. The resulting prior distribution is used to provide the Bayes analysis assuming multinomial sampling plan. The results are illustrated by means of a data set involving two life style factors of gallbladder carcinoma patients. The results convey the message that matches closely with the opinion given by the medical experts.