A nonparametric hypothesis test for heteroscedasticity

In this paper, a hypothesis test for heteroscedasticity is proposed in a nonparametric regression model. The test statistic, which uses the residuals from a nonparametric fit of the mean function, is based on an adaptation of the well-known Levene's test. Using the recent theory for analysis of variance when the number of factor levels goes to infinity, the asymptotic distribution of the test statistic is established under the null hypothesis of homocedasticity and under local alternatives. Simulations suggest that the proposed test performs well in several situations, especially when the variance is a nonlinear function of the predictor.     

Robust signed-rank estimation and variable selection for semi-parametric additive partial linear models

A fully nonparametric model may not perform well or when the researcher wants to use a parametric model but the functional form with respect to a subset of the regressors or the density of the errors is not known. This becomes even more challenging when the data contain gross outliers or unusual observations. However, in practice the true covariates are not known in advance, nor is the smoothness of the functional form. A robust model selection approach through which we can choose the relevant covariates components and estimate the smoothing function may represent an appealing tool to the solution. A weighted signed-rank estimation and variable selection under the adaptive lasso for semi-parametric partial additive models is considered in this paper. B-spline is used to estimate the unknown additive nonparametric function. It is shown that despite using B-spline to estimate the unknown additive nonparametric function, the proposed estimator has an oracle property. The robustness of the weighted signed-rank approach for data with heavy-tail, contaminated errors, and data containing high-leverage points are validated via finite sample simulations. A practical application to an economic study is provided using an updated Canadian household gasoline consumption data.     

Will the ASA's Efforts to Improve Statistical Practice be Successful? Some Evidence to the Contrary

ABSTRACT

Recent efforts by the American Statistical Association to improve statistical practice, especially in countering the misuse and abuse of null hypothesis significance testing (NHST) and p-values, are to be welcomed. But will they be successful? The present study offers compelling evidence that this will be an extraordinarily difficult task. Dramatic citation-count data on 25 articles and books severely critical of NHST's negative impact on good science, underlining that this issue was/is well known, did nothing to stem its usage over the period 1960–2007. On the contrary, employment of NHST increased during this time. To be successful in this endeavor, as well as restoring the relevance of the statistics profession to the scientific community in the 21st century, the ASA must be prepared to dispense detailed advice. This includes specifying those situations, if they can be identified, in which the p-value plays a clearly valuable role in data analysis and interpretation. The ASA might also consider a statement that recommends abandoning the use of p-values.     

Accurate computation of single and product moments of order statistics under progressive censoring

An accurate procedure is proposed to calculate approximate moments of progressive order statistics in the context of statistical inference for lifetime models. The study analyses the performance of power series expansion to approximate the moments for location and scale distributions with high precision and smaller deviations with respect to the exact values. A comparative analysis between exact and approximate methods is shown using some tables and figures. The different approximations are applied in two situations. First, we consider the problem of computing the large sample variance–covariance matrix of maximum likelihood estimators. We also use the approximations to obtain progressively censored sampling plans for log-normal distributed data. These problems illustrate that the presented procedure is highly useful to compute the moments with precision for numerous censoring patterns and, in many cases, is the only valid method because the exact calculation may not be applicable.     

Classification with minimum ambiguity under distribution heterogeneity

The traditional classification is based on the assumption that distribution of indicator variable X in one class is homogeneous. However, when data in one class comes from heterogeneous distribution, the likelihood ratio of two classes is not unique. In this paper, we construct the classification via an ambiguity criterion for the case of distribution heterogeneity of X in a single class. The separated historical data in each situation are used to estimate the thresholds respectively. The final boundary is chosen as the maximum and minimum thresholds from all situations. Our approach obtains the minimum ambiguity with a high classification accuracy allowing for a precise decision. In addition, nonparametric estimation of the classification region and theoretical properties are derived. Simulation study and real data analysis are reported to demonstrate the effectiveness of our method.     

Ordering results for series and parallel systems comprising heterogeneous exponentiated Weibull components

In this paper, we discuss the usual stochastic and reversed hazard rate orders between the series and parallel systems from two sets of independent heterogeneous exponentiated Weibull components. We also obtain the results concerning the convex transform orders between parallel systems and obtain necessary and sufficient conditions under which the dispersive and usual stochastic orders, and the right spread and increasing convex orders between the lifetimes of the two systems are equivalent. Finally, in the multiple-outlier exponentiated Weibull models, based on weak majorization and p-larger orders between the vectors of scale and shape parameters, some characterization results for comparing the lifetimes of parallel and series systems are also established, respectively. The results of this paper can be used in practical situations to find various bounds for the important aging characteristics of these systems.     

Prediction of future failures times based on Type-I hybrid censored samples of random sample sizes

In this article, we consider the prediction of future failure times based on Type-I hybrid censored samples. Point predictors and prediction intervals using different procedures are discussed for a general model. The exponential and Rayleigh distributions are used as illustrative examples to show the most simplified forms of the so obtained predictors as well as prediction intervals. Intensive simulation study and a real life dataset are presented to illustrate our findings and results.     

Uniform consistency rate of kNN regression estimation for functional time series data

In this paper, we investigate the k-nearest neighbours (kNN) estimation of nonparametric regression model for strong mixing functional time series data. More precisely, we establish the uniform almost complete convergence rate of the kNN estimator under some mild conditions. Furthermore, a simulation study and an empirical application to the real data analysis of sea surface temperature (SST) are carried out to illustrate the finite sample performances and the usefulness of the kNN approach.     

Using the Theory of Planned Behaviour to Understand Motivation to Register Births in Lombok,Indonesia

Despite government interest in promoting birth registration, more than a third of Indonesian children do not have a birth certificate, affecting the realisation of both their human and citizen rights. While barriers to registering children's births in Indonesia have been assessed, there is limited research on how communities perceive the importance of having a birth certificate. This study used focus group discussions to explore parental motivations around birth registration. The results of a thematic analysis found that perceived use of birth certificates, perceived control over the application process and social norms related to certificate ownership affect the intention to apply.     

On extreme order statistics from heterogeneous beta distributions with applications

This paper treats the problem of stochastic comparisons for the extreme order statistics arising from heterogeneous beta distributions. Some sufficient conditions involved in majorization-type partial orders are provided for comparing the extreme order statistics in the sense of various magnitude orderings including the likelihood ratio order, the reversed hazard rate order, the usual stochastic order, and the usual multivariate stochastic order. The results established here strengthen and extend those including Kochar and Xu (2007 Kochar, S.C., Xu, M. (2007). Stochastic comparisons of parallel systems when components have proportional hazard rates. Probab. Eng. Inf. Sci. 21:597–609.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), Mao and Hu (2010 Mao, T., Hu, T. (2010). Equivalent characterizations on orderings of order statistics and sample ranges. Probab. Eng. Inf. Sci. 24:245–262.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), Balakrishnan et al. (2014 Balakrishnan, N., Barmalzan, G., Haidari, A. (2014). On usual multivariate stochastic ordering of order statistics from heterogeneous beta variables. J. Multivariate Anal. 127:147–150.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), and Torrado (2015 Torrado, N. (2015). On magnitude orderings between smallest order statistics from heterogeneous beta distributions. J. Math. Anal. Appl. 426:824–838.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). A real application in system assembly and some numerical examples are also presented to illustrate the theoretical results.