Optimal Multiple Constant-Stress Accelerated Life Tests for Generalized Exponential Distribution

Recently generalized exponential distribution has been discussed by many authors. In this article, we study the optimal constant-stress accelerated life tests with complete sample for the generalized exponential distribution. The problem of choosing the optimal proportions of test units allocated to each stress level is addressed by using V-optimality as well as D-optimality criteria. Some interesting conclusions are obtained. Finally, real data example and numerical examples have been analyzed to illustrate the proposed procedures.     

A study of moments and likelihood estimators of the odd Weibull distribution

The odd Weibull distribution is a three-parameter generalization of the Weibull and the inverse Weibull distributions having rich density and hazard shapes for modeling lifetime data. This paper explored the odd Weibull parameter regions having finite moments and examined the relation to some well-known distributions based on skewness and kurtosis functions. The existence of maximum likelihood estimators have shown with complete data for any sample size. The proof for the uniqueness of these estimators is given only when the absolute value of the second shape parameter is between zero and one. Furthermore, elements of the Fisher information matrix are obtained based on complete data using a single integral representation which have shown to exist for any parameter values. The performance of the odd Weibull distribution over various density and hazard shapes is compared with generalized gamma distribution using two different test statistics. Finally, analysis of two data sets has been performed for illustrative purposes.     

Recursive computation of the single and product moments of order statistics from the complementary exponential–geometric distribution

The complementary exponential–geometric distribution has been proposed recently as a simple and useful reliability model for analysing lifetime data. For this distribution, some recurrence relations are established for the single and product moments of order statistics. These recurrence relations enable the computation of the means, variances and covariances of all order statistics for all sample sizes in a simple and efficient recursive manner. By using these relations, we have tabulated the means, variances and covariances of order statistics from samples of sizes up to 10 for various values of the shape parameter θ. These values are in turn used to determine the best linear unbiased estimator of the scale parameter β based on complete and Type-II right-censored samples.     

A likelihood ratio test to discriminate exponential–Poisson and gamma distributions

The exponential–Poisson (EP) distribution with scale and shape parameters β>0 and λ∈?, respectively, is a lifetime distribution obtained by mixing exponential and zero-truncated Poisson models. The EP distribution has been a good alternative to the gamma distribution for modelling lifetime, reliability and time intervals of successive natural disasters. Both EP and gamma distributions have some similarities and properties in common, for example, their densities may be strictly decreasing or unimodal, and their hazard rate functions may be decreasing, increasing or constant depending on their shape parameters. On the other hand, the EP distribution has several interesting applications based on stochastic representations involving maximum and minimum of iid exponential variables (with random sample size) which make it of distinguishable scientific importance from the gamma distribution. Given the similarities and different scientific relevance between these models, one question of interest is how to discriminate them. With this in mind, we propose a likelihood ratio test based on Cox's statistic to discriminate the EP and gamma distributions. The asymptotic distribution of the normalized logarithm of the ratio of the maximized likelihoods under two null hypotheses – data come from EP or gamma distributions – is provided. With this, we obtain the probabilities of correct selection. Hence, we propose to choose the model that maximizes the probability of correct selection (PCS). We also determinate the minimum sample size required to discriminate the EP and gamma distributions when the PCS and a given tolerance level based on some distance are before stated. A simulation study to evaluate the accuracy of the asymptotic probabilities of correct selection is also presented. The paper is motivated by two applications to real data sets.     

Conditional maxima and inferences for the truncated exponential distribution

This paper derives the conditional distribution of the maximum given the sample total for a random sample from the truncated exponential distribution. Based on that result, the paper develops tests or associated confidence intervals for the truncation parameter θ with another parameter θ assumed unknown.     

On finite mixtures of geometric and negative binomial distributions

Finite mixtures of distributions have been getting increasing use in the applied literature. In the continuous case, linear combinations of exponentials and gammas have been shown to be well suited for modeling purposes. In the discrete case, the focus has primarily been on continuous mixing, usually of Poisson distributions and typically using gammas to describe the random parameter, But many of these applications are forced, especially when a continuous mixing distribution is used. Instead, it is often prefe-rable to try finite mixtures of geometries or negative binomials, since these are the fundamental building blocks of all discrete random variables. To date, a major stumbling block to their use has been the lack of easy routines for estimating the parameters of such models. This problem has now been alleviated by the adaptation to the discrete case of numerical procedures recently developed for exponential, Weibull, and gamma mixtures. The new methods have been applied to four previously studied data sets, and significant improvements reported in goodness-of-fit, with resultant implications for each affected study.     

Statistical analysis of type I multiply left-censored samples from exponential distribution

Left-censored data with one or more detection limits (DLs) often arise in environmental contexts. The computational procedure for the calculation of maximum likelihood estimators of the parameter for Type I multiply left-censored data from underlying exponential distribution is suggested and used considering various numbers of DLs. The expected Fisher information measure (FIM) is analytically determined and its performance is compared with sample (observed) FIM using simulations. Simulations are focused primarily on the properties of estimators for small sample sizes. Moreover, the simulations follow the possible applications of the results in the statistical analysis of real chemical data.     

Estimation of parameter of Morgenstern type bivariate exponential distribution using concomitants of order statistics

In this paper we have considered concomitants of order statistics arising from Morgenstern type bivariate exponential distribution and their applications in estimating the unknown parameter involved in the distribution. We have obtained the best linear unbiased estimator of a parameter involved in Morgenstern type bivariate exponential distribution using both complete and censored samples.     

A unified approach of testing for discrete and continuous Pareto laws

New tests are proposed for the Pareto distribution as well as its discrete version, the so called Zipf’s law. In both cases the discrepancy between the empirical moment of arbitrary negative order and its theoretical counterpart is utilized in a weighted integral test statistic. If the weight function is of exponential rate of decay interesting limit statistics are obtained. The tests are shown to be consistent under fixed alternatives and a Monte Carlo study is drawn to investigate the performance of the proposed procedures in small samples. Furthermore a bootstrap procedure is proposed to cope with the case of unknown shape parameter. We conclude with applications to real data.     

Improved inference for the shape-scale family of distributions under type-II censoring

The presence of a nuisance parameter may often perturb the quality of the likelihood-based inference for a parameter of interest under small to moderate sample sizes. The article proposes a maximal scale invariant transformation for likelihood-based inference for the shape in a shape-scale family to circumvent the effect of the nuisance scale parameter. The transformation can be used under complete or type-II censored samples. Simulation-based performance evaluation of the proposed estimator for the popular Weibull, Gamma and Generalized exponential distribution exhibits markedly improved performance in all types of likelihood-based inference for the shape under complete and type-II censored samples. The simulation study leads to a linear relation between the bias of the classical maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) and the transformation-based MLE for the popular Weibull and Gamma distributions. The linearity is exploited to suggest an almost unbiased estimator of the shape parameter for these distributions. Allied estimation of scale is also discussed.     

On optimal testing for the equality of equicorrelation: An example of loss in power

Sen Gupta (1988) considered a locally most powerful (LMP) test for testing nonzero values of the equicorrelation coefficient of a standard symmetric multivariate normal distribution. This paper constructs analogous tests for the symmetric multivariate normal distribution. It shows that the new test is uniformly most powerful invariant even in the presence of a nuisance parameter, σ². Further applications of LMP invariant tests to several equicorrelated populations have been considered and an extension to panel data modeling has been suggested.     

Tests for the skewness parameter of two-piece double exponential distribution in the presence of nuisance parameters

In this paper, tests for the skewness parameter of the two-piece double exponential distribution are derived when the location parameter is unknown. Classical tests like Neyman structure test and likelihood ratio test (LRT), that are generally used to test hypotheses in the presence of nuisance parameters, are not feasible for this distribution since the exact distributions of the test statistics become very complicated. As an alternative, we identify a set of statistics that are ancillary for the location parameter. When the scale parameter is known, Neyman–Pearson's lemma is used, and when the scale parameter is unknown, the LRT is applied to the joint density function of ancillary statistics, in order to obtain a test for the skewness parameter of the distribution. Test for symmetry of the distribution can be deduced as a special case. It is found that power of the proposed tests for symmetry is only marginally less than the power of corresponding classical optimum tests when the location parameter is known, especially for moderate and large sample sizes.     

Exact calculation of power and sample size in bioequivalence studies using two one‐sided tests

The number of subjects in a pharmacokinetic two‐period two‐treatment crossover bioequivalence study is typically small, most often less than 60. The most common approach to testing for bioequivalence is the two one‐sided tests procedure. No explicit mathematical formula for the power function in the context of the two one‐sided tests procedure exists in the statistical literature, although the exact power based on Owen's special case of bivariate noncentral t‐distribution has been tabulated and graphed. Several approximations have previously been published for the probability of rejection in the two one‐sided tests procedure for crossover bioequivalence studies. These approximations and associated sample size formulas are reviewed in this article and compared for various parameter combinations with exact power formulas derived here, which are computed analytically as univariate integrals and which have been validated by Monte Carlo simulations. The exact formulas for power and sample size are shown to improve markedly in realistic parameter settings over the previous approximations. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Testing for a change point in a sequence of exponential random variables with repeated values

Two test statistics are proposed for the change-point problem with repeated values when the data follow an exponential distribution. The properties of these two statistics have been studied and their asymptotic distributions under the alternative have been derived. The powers of the two test statistics are compared. Real-data examples are presented to illustrate the application of these tests.     

An alternative skew exponential power distribution formulation

In this note we propose a newly formulated skew exponential power distribution that behaves substantially better than previously defined versions. This new model performs very well in terms of the large sample behavior of the maximum likelihood estimation procedure when compared to the classically defined four parameter model defined by Azzalini. More recently, approaches to defining a skew exponential power distribution have used five or more parameters. Our approach improves upon previous attempts to extend the symmetric power exponential family to include skew alternatives by maintaining a minimum set of four parameters corresponding directly to location, scale, skewness and kurtosis. We illustrate the utility of our proposed model using translational and clinical data sets.     

Bayes estimators of the reliability function and parameter of inverted exponential distribution using informative and non-informative priors

In this paper, we propose Bayes estimators of the parameter and reliability function of inverted exponential distribution under the general entropy loss function for complete, type I and type II censored samples. The proposed estimators have been compared with the corresponding maximum-likelihood estimators for their simulated risks (average loss over sample space).     

The Kumaraswamy Burr XII distribution: theory and practice

For the first time, a five-parameter distribution, called the Kumaraswamy Burr XII (KwBXII) distribution, is defined and studied. The new distribution contains as special models some well-known distributions discussed in lifetime literature, such as the logistic, Weibull and Burr XII distributions, among several others. We obtain the complete moments, incomplete moments, generating and quantile functions, mean deviations, Bonferroni and Lorenz curves and reliability of the KwBXII distribution. We provide two representations for the moments of the order statistics. The method of maximum likelihood and a Bayesian procedure are adopted for estimating the model parameters. For different parameter settings and sample sizes, various simulation studies are performed and compared to the performance of the KwBXII distribution. Three applications to real data sets demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed distribution and that it may attract wider applications in lifetime data analysis.     

An averaging approach to prediction

The problem of predicting a future observation based on an observed sample is discussed. As a device for eliminating the parameter from the conditional distribution of a future observation given the observed sample, we suggest averaging with respect to an exact or approximate confidence distribution function. It is shown that in many standard problems where an exact answer is available by other methods, the averaging method reproduces that exact answer. When the exact answer is not easily available, the averaging method gives a simple and systematic approach to the problems. Applications to life data from exponential distribution and regression problems are examined.     

Estimation and testing under exchangeable exponential model with a single outlier

Several estimators of mean of an exponential distribution, when an unidentified single outlier in a sample of size n is present* are discussed. It is assumed that n?1 of these observations have a mean σ, While one could have a mean σ/α. The estimation of σ has been considered in detail with some reference to the estimation of α. Finally, tests of hypotheses about σare briefly mentioned.     

Exact likelihood inference for Laplace distribution based on Type-II censored samples

We develop exact inference for the location and scale parameters of the Laplace (double exponential) distribution based on their maximum likelihood estimators from a Type-II censored sample. Based on some pivotal quantities, exact confidence intervals and tests of hypotheses are constructed. Upon conditioning first on the number of observations that are below the population median, exact distributions of the pivotal quantities are expressed as mixtures of linear combinations and of ratios of linear combinations of standard exponential random variables, which facilitates the computation of quantiles of these pivotal quantities. Tables of quantiles are presented for the complete sample case.