Factor analysis for ranked data with application to a job selection attitude survey

Summary.  Factor analysis is a powerful tool to identify the common characteristics among a set of variables that are measured on a continuous scale. In the context of factor analysis for non-continuous-type data, most applications are restricted to item response data only. We extend the factor model to accommodate ranked data. The Monte Carlo expectation–maximization algorithm is used for parameter estimation at which the E-step is implemented via the Gibbs sampler. An analysis based on both complete and incomplete ranked data (e.g. rank the top q out of k items) is considered. Estimation of the factor scores is also discussed. The method proposed is applied to analyse a set of incomplete ranked data that were obtained from a survey that was carried out in GuangZhou, a major city in mainland China, to investigate the factors affecting people's attitude towards choosing jobs.     

Proportional reversed hazard rate model and its applications

The purpose of this paper is to study the structure and properties of the proportional reversed hazard rate model (PRHRM) in contrast to the celebrated proportional hazard model (PHM). The monotonicity of the hazard rate and the reversed hazard rate of the model is investigated. Some criteria of aging are presented and the inheritance of the aging notions (of the base distribution) by the PRHRM is studied. Characterizations of the model involving Fisher information are presented and the statistical inference of the parameters is discussed. Finally, it is shown that several members of the proportional reversed hazard rate class have been found to be useful and flexible in real data analysis.     

On calculating the fisher information in order statistics

This article gives a simple result for the expression of the Fisher information in order statistics. This result enables us to calculate easily the Fisher information in any set of order statistics whose details have been known to be messy and complicated. We consider here its application in the optimal spacing problem where the exact Fisher information in order statistics has been approximated with the asymptotic information or the reciprocal of the variance of a suitable estimator. This work was supported by Korea Research Foundation Grant(KRF-2000-015-DP0056)     

Assessing accuracy of a continuous screening test in the presence of verification bias

Summary.  In studies to assess the accuracy of a screening test, often definitive disease assessment is too invasive or expensive to be ascertained on all the study subjects. Although it may be more ethical or cost effective to ascertain the true disease status with a higher rate in study subjects where the screening test or additional information is suggestive of disease, estimates of accuracy can be biased in a study with such a design. This bias is known as verification bias. Verification bias correction methods that accommodate screening tests with binary or ordinal responses have been developed; however, no verification bias correction methods exist for tests with continuous results. We propose and compare imputation and reweighting bias-corrected estimators of true and false positive rates, receiver operating characteristic curves and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for continuous tests. Distribution theory and simulation studies are used to compare the proposed estimators with respect to bias, relative efficiency and robustness to model misspecification. The bias correction estimators proposed are applied to data from a study of screening tests for neonatal hearing loss.     

Nonresponse weighting adjustment using estimated response probability

To reduce nonresponse bias in sample surveys, a method of nonresponse weighting adjustment is often used which consists of multiplying the sampling weight of the respondent by the inverse of the estimated response probability. The authors examine the asymptotic properties of this estimator. They prove that it is generally more efficient than an estimator which uses the true response probability, provided that the parameters which govern this probability are estimated by maximum likelihood. The authors discuss variance estimation methods that account for the effect of using the estimated response probability; they compare their performances in a small simulation study. They also discuss extensions to the regression estimator.     

用数学函数分析法对统计指数因素分析的进一步改良——谈综合指数体系的缺陷与消除

指数因素分析法是一种重要的统计分析方法,而其分析结果的正确与否取决于所用的指数体系。利用传统的综合指数体系从事因素分析虽方便,使用,但也存在一些不足。本文提出用其他指数体系进行因素分析的思想,以弥补传统综合指数体系在因素分析中的缺陷。     

农户兼业对秸秆还田技术采纳的影响机制及效应分析——基于冀皖鄂1150份农户调查数据的实证

基于河北、安徽、湖北三省1150份农户的实地调查数据,采用倾向得分匹配法构建“反事实”框架,探讨了农户兼业对秸秆还田技术采纳的影响效应,并进一步验证了其中介效应及务工距离的作用机制。研究结果表明：（1）相比纯农户,兼业户更倾向于采纳秸秆还田技术;（2）农户兼业通过风险分担间接影响秸秆还田技术采纳,间接影响占比为24.43%;（3）当纯农户选择在乡内务工时,秸秆还田技术采纳率会提高15.0%,选择在县内乡外务工时,兼业对农户秸秆还田技术采纳行为没有显著性影响,但当纯农户选择省内县外务工时,秸秆还田技术采纳率提高了9.2%,选择省外务工时秸秆还田技术采纳率提高了10.0%。因此,为更好促进秸秆还田技术推广,政府部门应该引导和鼓励农户就近务工,保障农村劳动力就业质量,培育和支持农机社会化服务组织并加强对秸秆还田技术的指导和培训。     

New results on the likelihood ratio and score tests for the von Mises distribution

In this paper, we derive Bartlett and Bartlett-type corrections [G.M. Cordeiro and S.L.P. Ferrari 1991, A modified score test statistic having chi-squared distribution to order n ^?1 , Biometrika 78 (1991), pp. 573–582] to improve the likelihood ratio and Rao's score statistics for testing the mean parameter and the concentration parameter in the von Mises distribution. Simple formulae are suggested for the corrections valid for small and large values of the concentration parameter that do not depend on the modified Bessel functions and can be useful in practical applications.     

Multilevel maximum likelihood estimation with application to covariance matrices

The asymptotic variance of the maximum likelihood estimate is proved to decrease when the maximization is restricted to a subspace that contains the true parameter value. Maximum likelihood estimation allows a systematic fitting of covariance models to the sample, which is important in data assimilation. The hierarchical maximum likelihood approach is applied to the spectral diagonal covariance model with different parameterizations of eigenvalue decay, and to the sparse inverse covariance model with specified parameter values on different sets of nonzero entries. It is shown computationally that using smaller sets of parameters can decrease the sampling noise in high dimension substantially.     

Identifying Changing Aviation Threat Environments Within an Adaptive Homeland Security Advisory System

A critical component of aviation security consists of screening passengers and baggage to protect airports and aircraft from terrorist threats. Advancements in screening device technology have increased the ability to detect these threats; however, specifying the operational configurations of these devices in response to changes in the threat environment can become difficult. This article proposes to use Fisher information as a statistical measure for detecting changes in the threat environment. The perceived risk of passengers, according to prescreening information and behavior analysis, is analyzed as the passengers sequentially enter the security checkpoint. The alarm responses from the devices used to detect threats are also analyzed to monitor significant changes in the frequency of threat items uncovered. The key results are that this information‐based measure can be used within the Homeland Security Advisory System to indicate changes in threat conditions in real time, and provide the flexibility of security screening detection devices to responsively and automatically adapt operational configurations to these changing threat conditions.