A Retrial Queue with a Constant Retrial Rate,Server Downs and Impatient Customers

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we consider a retrial queueing system consisting of a waiting line of infinite capacity in front of a single server subject to breakdowns. A customer upon arrival may join the queue (waiting line) or go to the retrial orbit (another queue) to retry for service after a random time. Only the customer at the head of the retrial orbit is allowed to retry for service. Upon retrial, the customer enters the service if the server is idle; otherwise, it may go back to the retrial orbit or leave the system (become impatient). All the interarrival times, service times, server up times, server down times and retrial times are exponential, and all the necessary independence conditions in these variables are assumed. For this system, we provide sufficient conditions under which, for any given number of customers in the orbit, the stationary probability of the number of customers in the waiting line decays geometrically. We also provide explicitly an expression for the decay parameter.     

The Statistical Paleontology of Charles Lyell and the Coupon Problem

Lyell, a founder of the science of geology, used statistical models to describe the changes that had occurred in the earth and its environment. From this model he attempted to establish a time frame for each epoch. This article shows that Lyell's model is equivalent to the classic coupon problem included in many probability texts. Furthermore, it is shown that the time frame deduced by Lyell is inconsistent with the model he was using. The proper time frame consistent with the model is provided. A second model that was considered by Lyell is also investigated.     

Distribution and density functions of the feasible generalized ridge regression estimator

In this paper, we derive the distribution and density functions of the feasible generalized ridge regression (GRR) estimator. It is shown that when the absolute value of a regression coefficient is close to zero, the distribution of the feasible GRR estimator is bimodal and has thinner tails than that of the OLS estimator.     

Estimating the discovery rate in a continuous time recapture model

We consider a family of marked Poisson process models for the discovery of distinct errors in a computer program and also for sampling, in continu-ous time, a population containing an unknown number of distinct biological species. Captures (selections or discoveries) are assumed to occur at a con-stant rate, each event consisting of the discovery of a distinct process (error or species) or the recurrence of a previously discovered process. Using a generalization of Nayak’s (1988) model we derive confidence limits for the discovery rate. The limits are based on the asymptotic distribution of a scaled logarithmic function of the maximum likelihood estimator.     

Distribution theory and inference for polynomial-normal densities

This paper considers a class of densities formed by taking the product of nonnegative polynomials and normal densities. These densities provide a rich class of distributions that can be used in modelling when faced with non-normal characteristics such as skewness and multimodality. In this paper we address inferential and computational issues arising in the practical implementation of this parametric family in the context of the linear model. Exact results are recorded for the conditional analysis of location-scale models and an importance sampling algorithm is developed for the implementation of a conditional analysis for the general linear model when using polynomial-normal distributions for the error.     

On estimating the dimensionality in discriminant analysis

In discriminant analysis, the dimension of the hyperplane which population mean vectors span is called the dimensionality. The procedures commonly used to estimate this dimension involve testing a sequence of dimensionality hypotheses as well as model fitting approaches based on (consistent) Akaike's method, (modified) Mallows' method and Schwarz's method. The marginal log-likelihood (MLL) method is developed and the asymptotic distribution of the dimensionality estimated by this method for normal populations is derived. Furthermore a modified marginal log-likelihood (MMLL) method is also considered. The MLL method is not consistent for large samples and two modified criteria are proposed which attain asymptotic consistency. Some comments are made with regard to the robustness of this method to departures from normality. The operating characteristics of the various methods proposed are examined and compared.     

The effects on the distributions of sample canonical correlations under nonnormality

In this paper, we study the effects of nonnormality on the distributions of sample canonical correlations when the population canonical correlations are simple. In order to achieve the purpose, we derive asymptotic expansion formulas for the distributions of a function of the canonical correlations as well as the individual canonical correlations under nonnormal populations. We particularly discuss the distribution of sample canonical correlations under the class of elliptical population. These expansions are given by using a perturbation method. Simulation results are also given.     

Bayes prediction of number of failures in weibull samples

This work is concerned with the Bayesian prediction problem of the number of components which will fail in a future time interval, when the failure times are Weibull distributed. Both the 1-sample and the 2-sample prediction problems are dealed with, and some choices of the prior densities on the distribution parameters are discussed which are relatively easy to work with and allow different degrees of knowledge on the failure mechanism to be incorporated in the predictive procedure. Useful relations between the predictive distribution on the number of future failures and the predictive distribution on the future failure times are derived. Numerical examples are also given.     

Shortest prediction intervals for the birnbaum-saunders distribution

Shortest prediction intervals for a future observation from the Birnbaum-Saunders distribution are obtained from both frequentist and Bayesian perspectives. Comparisons are made with alternative intervals obtained via inversion. Monte Carlo simulations are performed to assess the approximate intervals.     

Estimation of the location and scale parameters of the extreme value distmbution based on multiply type-II censored samples

In this paper, we consider the problem of estimating the location and scale parameters of an extreme value distribution based on multiply Type-II censored samples. We first describe the best linear unbiased estimators and the maximum likelihood estimators of these parameters. After observing that the best linear unbiased estimators need the construction of some tables for its coefficients and that the maximum likelihood estimators do not exist in an explicit algebraic form and hence need to be found by numerical methods, we develop approximate maximum likelihood estimators by appropriately approximating the likelihood equations. In addition to being simple explicit estimators, these estimators turn out to be nearly as efficient as the best linear unbiased estimators and the maximum likelihood estimators. Next, we derive the asymptotic variances and covariance of these estimators in terms of the first two single moments and the product moments of order statistics from the standard extreme value distribution. Finally, we present an example in order to illustrate all the methods of estimation of parameters discussed in this paper.