Identifiability of distributions under competing risks and complementary risks model

Let X₁,X₂,…,X_p be p random variables with cdf's F₁(x),F₂(x),…,F_p(x)respectively. Let U = min(X₁,X₂,…,X_p) and V = max(X₁,X₂,…,X_p).In this paper we study the problem of uniquely determining and estimating the marginal distributions F₁,F₂,…,F_p given the distribution of U or of V.

First the problem of competing and complementary risks are introduced with examples and the corresponding identification problems are considered when the X₁'s are independently distributed and U(V) is identified, as well as the case when U(V) is not identified. The case when the X₁'s are dependent is considered next. Finally the problem of estimation is considered.     

Limited information bayesian analysis of a structural coefficient in a simultaneous equations system

An analytical expression is obtained for the marginal posterior density for a structural coefficient in a simultaneous equations system based on a limited information Bayesian analysis. A con- ditional posterior density is obtained given reduced form para- meters. This conditional posterior density is in univariate student t form. Numerical examples suggest that the conditional density hasa tighter distribution around the posterior mean than the unconditional density when the correlation between the endo- genous variables and the structural error term is high.     

VARIATION REDUCTION AND ROBUST DESIGNS

In this paper we consider two strategies for variation reduction. One of them is the exploitation of interactions. We also discuss the role of experiments in discovering interactions and in particular the use of robust designs to obtain the interaction between control and noise factors. Then we attempt to reduce the variation in a measurement system using a robust design.     

RELIABILITY PROPERTIES OF SERIES AND PARALLEL SYSTEMS FROM BIVARIATE EXPONENTIAL MODELS

ABSTRACT

In this paper we study the classification of the generalized mixtures of two or three exponential distributions, in the ILR and DLR classes, and consequently in the IFR and DFR classes. We apply these results to classify the aging of the series and parallel systems, in accord with some common bivariate exponential models of their components.     

SUFFICIENT CONDITIONS FOR A GEOMETRIC TAIL IN A QBD PROCESS WITH MANY COUNTABLE LEVELS AND PHASES

Abstract

In this paper, we present sufficient conditions, under which the stationary probability vector of a QBD process with both infinite levels and phases decays geometrically, characterized by the convergence norm η and the 1/η-left-invariant vector x of the rate matrix R. We also present a method to compute η and x based on spectral properties of the censored matrix of a matrix function constructed with the repeating blocks of the transition matrix of the QBD process. What makes this method attractive is its simplicity; finding η reduces to determining the zeros of a polynomial. We demonstrate the application of our method through a few interesting examples.     

Polynomial Factorization for Servers with Semi-Markovian Workload: Performance and Numerical Aspects of a Verified Solution Technique

Abstract

We investigate polynomial factorization as a classical analysis method for servers with semi-Markov arrival and service processes. The modeling approach is directly applicable to queueing systems and servers in production lines and telecommunication networks, where the flexibility in adaptation to autocorrelated processes is essential.

Although the method offers a compact form of the solution with favourable computation time complexity enabling to consider large state spaces and system equations of high degree, numerical stability is not guaranteed for this approach. Therefore we apply interval arithmetic in order to get verified results for the workload distributions, or otherwise to indicate that the precision of the computation has to be improved. The paper gives an overview of numerical and performance aspects of factorization in comparison to alternative methods.     

Estimation and Welfare Analysis With Large Demand Systems

We develop an approach for estimating individual or household level preferences for a large set of quality-differentiated goods and for constructing Hicksian welfare measures within the demand system framework. Our approach uses a maximum simulated likelihood procedure to recover estimates of the structural parameters and a multistage, Monte Carlo Markov chain algorithm for constructing Hicksian consumer surplus estimates. We illustrate our approach with a recreation dataset consisting of day trips to 62 Mid-Atlantic beaches.     

A natural conjugate prior for the nonhomogeneous poisson process with an exponential intensity function

This article presents a natural conjugate prior for the nonhomogeneous Poisson process (NHPP) with an exponential intensity function, for modeling the failure rate of repairable systems. The behavior of the conjugate prior distribution with respect to its parameters is studied, and the use of this prior in Bayesian estimation is compared to two other estimation approaches (the use of independent prior distributions, and the bivariate normal distribution). The use of the conjugate prior proposed here facilitates Bayesian statistical analysis of aging. In particular, the proposed prior allows us to explicitly account for dependence between the initial failure rate and the aging rate. This is a significant improvement over the assumptions made in most prior work (either the assumption that the aging rate is known, or the assumption that the initial failure rate and the aging rate are independent). Monte Carlo simulation shows that Bayesian estimation using the proposed prior generally performs at least as well as Bayesian estimation using independent priors for the initial failure rate and the aging rate,except in the case where the prior distribution underestimates both the initial failure rate and the aging rate.     

青岛一套表的实践与经验

 企业统计一套表一直是统计制度方法改革和实践中的焦点问题。本文通过对青岛市统计局企业一套表制度实施情况的案例分析,系统界定了企业一套表的概念和内涵,全面展现了企业一套表的运作过程,客观分析了制约企业一套表实施的主要原因,并提出了在现阶段实施企业统计一套表的条件和要求。     

中国农村公共服务评价体系研究

农村公共服务水平低下和不平衡是导致城乡差距日益扩大的重要影响因素之一。本文试图构建农村公共服务发展状况评价指标体系,并基于2006年的数据进行实证研究,给出了研究结果的进一步分析评价。