A Process for Incorporating Comparative Risk into Environmental Policymaking in Louisiana

The goal of Louisiana's 1990–1991 comparative risk project, also called the Louisiana Environmental Action Plan (LEAP), was to incorporate risk assessment into state environmental planning and policymaking. Scientists, government officials, and citizens were brought together to estimate the relative risk to human health, natural resources, and quality of life posed by 33 selected environmental issues. The issues were then ranked according to their relative estimated risks. It was hoped that this ranking of "comparative risks" would enable state policymakers to target the most important environmental problems and allocate scarce public resources more rationally and efficiently. As a result of the project, the governor issued an Executive Order forming a permanent Public Advisory Committee to continue this type of comparative risk assessment in Louisiana.     

An EWMA chart for monitoring process mean

In the statistical process control literature, there exists several improved quality control charts based on cost-effective sampling schemes, including the ranked set sampling (RSS) and median RSS (MRSS). A generalized cost-effective RSS scheme has been recently introduced for efficiently estimating the population mean, namely varied L RSS (VLRSS). In this article, we propose a new exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) control chart for monitoring the process mean using VLRSS, named the EWMA-VLRSS chart, under both perfect and imperfect rankings. The EWMA-VLRSS chart encompasses the existing EWMA charts based on RSS and MRSS (named the EWMA-RSS and EWMA-MRSS charts). We use extensive Monte Carlo simulations to compute the run length characteristics of the EWMA-VLRSS chart. The proposed chart is then compared with the existing EWMA charts. It is found that, with either perfect or imperfect rankings, the EWMA-VLRSS chart is more sensitive than the EWMA-RSS and EWMA-MRSS charts in detecting small to large shifts in the process mean. A real dataset is also used to explain the working of the EWMA-VLRSS chart.     

Estimation of Population Variance from Multi-ranker Ranked Set Sampling Designs

In this article, we develop an estimator for a population variance based on a multi-ranker ranked set sampling design. In a multi-ranker design, the units are ranked by more than one ranker allowing ties whenever the confidence level of the rankers is low. The ranking information of all rankers is then combined in a meaningful way to create a single measure. This measure is used to construct the sampling design and a new estimator for the population variance. The article investigates the bias and relative efficiency of the proposed variance estimator. It is shown that the new estimator performs as good as or better than its competitors in the literature.     

An omnibus two-sample test for ranked-set sampling data

We develop an omnibus two-sample test for ranked-set sampling (RSS) data. The test statistic is the conditional probability of seeing the observed sequence of ranks in the combined sample, given the observed sequences within the separate samples. We compare the test to existing tests under perfect rankings, finding that it can outperform existing tests in terms of power, particularly when the set size is large. The test does not maintain its level under imperfect rankings. However, one can create a permutation version of the test that is comparable in power to the basic test under perfect rankings and also maintains its level under imperfect rankings. Both tests extend naturally to judgment post-stratification, unbalanced RSS, and even RSS with multiple set sizes. Interestingly, the tests have no simple random sampling analog.     

Bootstrap confidence bands for the CDF using ranked-set sampling

In ranked-set sampling (RSS), a stratification by ranks is used to obtain a sample that tends to be more informative than a simple random sample of the same size. Previous work has shown that if the rankings are perfect, then one can use RSS to obtain Kolmogorov–Smirnov type confidence bands for the CDF that are narrower than those obtained under simple random sampling. Here we develop Kolmogorov–Smirnov type confidence bands that work well whether the rankings are perfect or not. These confidence bands are obtained by using a smoothed bootstrap procedure that takes advantage of special features of RSS. We show through a simulation study that the coverage probabilities are close to nominal even for samples with just two or three observations. A new algorithm allows us to avoid the bootstrap simulation step when sample sizes are relatively small.     

The Search for Effective Alternatives to Conservatorship

This article explores outcomes of daily money management (DMM) services for older persons. It is based on research that examined the ability of DMM lo provide an alternative to court-appointed conservatorship that is less restrictive. Results indicate that although he DMM programs studied did not diven older persons from conservatorship, they appeared to offer several important advantages. These included helping older persons secure benefits and services, enhancing their financial security, and reducing financial exploitation.     

Small sample efficiencies of tests based on the method of n rankings

A method is proposed for calculating the small sample powers of rank tests which are based on the method of n rankings. A class of normal shift alternative hypotheses is considered, and Hodges–Lehmann efficiencies are calculated for the Friedman test.     

Statistics on statistics: Measuring research productivity by journal publications between 1985 and 1995

Sixteen international journals publishing statistical theory were surveyed over the 11-year period beginning in 1985. Paper, author and adjusted page counts yield cursory measures of productivity for institutions and countries that contributed to fundamental statistical research during that period. These data clearly identify Canada as one of the main contributors to the development of the discipline in the past decade. They also provide valuable information on the evolution of publication habits, in terms of the volume of research, the length of papers, coauthorship practices, etc.     

中外大学排行榜指标体系和数据来源的比较研究

对中外主要大学排行榜的评价指标按所反映的评价内容进行分类归纳,通过各类指标权重的大小来比较各评价指标体系的不同侧重点,并对由此反映出的中外大学评价指标的差异进行原因分析,从定性与定量相结合的角度为中国大学综合排行榜评价指标体系的设计提供借鉴参考。此外,在对中外大学排行榜评价指标的数据来源进行比较分析的基础上,指出影响大学评价指标设计合理性的主要原因在于数据来源的条件限制,并提出相应的建议。     

我国高水平行业特色型大学一流学科建设的思考——世界学科排名的研究与启示

通过分析THE、QS、U.S.News和软科“四大世界学科排名”指标体系，发现世界学科排名指标体系具有共性特征：在指标内涵上强调论文产出，突出高影响力；在权重分配上强调学科分类，突出学科差异化；在评价形式上强调主观评价与客观评价相结合；在最新动向上强调国际交流与合作。在明确国际学科评价关注点的基础上，考察我国高水平行业特色大学在软科世界学科排名中的表现，结果发现：上榜总量较多且逐年上升，但名次分布靠后；工学领域表现强势，社会科学领域表现欠佳；论文数量与影响力具备竞争实力，但卓越科研、国际化水平相对落后。高水平行业特色大学未来要推进一流学科建设，应在学科发展适度综合化、科研产出注重高质化、学科建设突出国际化、学科评价强调多元化和学科建设遵循本土化等方面进一步下足功夫。