Statistics and Probability Commons^™

Which Factors Influence Student Success In Intermediate Algebra, Math 101-102-103?, Linh T. Ward

Mathematics & Statistics ETDs

At The University of New Mexico (UNM), Intermediate Algebra (MATH 120 and MATH 101-102-103) has historically been a so-called “killer course”, with very low pass rates: approximately 40% in Fall 2009 to Spring 2011 and about 50% from Fall 2011 to Spring 2013. Furthermore, many students failed the class multiple times. Since 2013, a computer system called ALEKS has been used to teach the course and, along with some additional interventions, on Albuquerque/Main campus success rates for MATH 101 have increased to roughly 80% and MATH 102 to about 70%. This thesis provides a strategy to identify those 20-30% as-risk …

Trace Formulas For Perturbations Of Operators With Hilbert-Schmidt Resolvents, Bishnu Prasad Sedai

Mathematics & Statistics ETDs

In this dissertation, we study Taylor approximations of functions of operators with Hilbert-Schmidt resolvents. We obtain integral representations for traces of the respective Taylor remainders that are analogous to trace formulas obtained in the case of Schatten perturbations in [10, 11, 16].

High Order Hermite And Sobolev Discontinuous Galerkin Methods For Hyperbolic Partial Differential Equations, Adeline Kornelus

Mathematics & Statistics ETDs

Many real-world problems involving dynamics of solid or fluid bodies can be modeled by hyperbolic partial differential equations (PDEs). Up to this point, only solutions to selected PDEs are available. Many PDEs are physically or geometrically complex, resulting in difficulties computing the analytical solutions. In this thesis, we focus on numerical methods for approximating solutions to hyperbolic PDEs. Long-term simulation for the motion of the body described by the PDE requires a method that is not only robust and efficient, but also produces small error because the error will be propagated and accumulated over the course of the simulation. Therefore, …

Comparison Of Two Methods In Estimating Standard Error Of Simulated Moments Estimators For Generalized Linear Mixed Models, Danielle K. Duran

Mathematics & Statistics ETDs

We consider standard error of the method of simulated moment (MSM) estimator for generalized linear mixed models (GLMM). Parametric bootstrap (PB) has been used to estimate the covariance matrix, in which we use the estimates to generate the simulated moments. To avoid the bias introduced by estimating the parameters and to deal with the correlated observations, (Lu, 2012) proposed a multi-stage block nonparametric bootstrap to estimate the standard errors. In this research, we compare PB and nonparametric bootstrap methods (NPB) in estimating the standard errors of MSM estimators for GLMM. Simulation results show that when the group size is large, …

Multidataset Independent Subspace Analysis: A Framework For Analysis Of Multimodal, Multi-Subject Brain Imaging Data, Rogers F. Silva

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Mental illnesses are serious disorders of the brain that have devastating effects on individuals and society. In addition to their disabling and impairing effects, mental illnesses have deep social and economical implications, accounting for an estimated loss of 12 billion working days and a care cost surge to $6 trillion a year by 2030. For diseases such as depression and anxiety, enhancing preventive programs and treatment accessibility, in combination with accurate early diagnosis and personalized treatments, are projected to result in a four-fold return on every dollar invested, a strategy that can drastically help curtail those losses. Notably, within the …

Using Statistical Techniques To Estimate Rooted Species Trees From Unrooted Gene Trees, Ayed Rheal Alanzi

Mathematics & Statistics ETDs

Methods for inferring species trees from gene trees motivated by incomplete lineage

sorting typically use either rooted gene trees to infer a rooted species tree, or use

unrooted gene trees to infer an unrooted species tree, which is then typically rooted

using one or more outgroups. Theoretically, however, it has been known since 2011

that it is possible to infer the root of the species tree directly from unrooted gene

trees without assuming an outgroup. The present work is the first that we know of

which attempts to infer the root of a species tree using unrooted gene trees as …

Optimal Experimental Design To Characterize A Wave Source Using Dosimeter Measurements, Renee L. Gooding

Mathematics & Statistics ETDs

When modeling physical phenomena we want to solve the inverse problem by estimating the parameters that characterize the source model that we are interested in. In this thesis, we focus on the optimal placement of a finite number of individual sensors, called dosimeters, in two and three dimensions with a time dependent Gaussian wave source. Using a computational model along with experimental data, we design an iterative process to determine the optimal placement of an additional sensor such that the noise in the measurements has a minimal effect on the parameter estimation. First, we estimate the parameters that characterize the …

Deterministic And Probabilistic Methods For Seismic Source Inversion, Juan Pablo Madrigal Cianci

Mathematics & Statistics ETDs

The national Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) reports an occurrence of about 13,000 earthquakes every year, spanning different values on the Richter scale from very mild (2) to "giant earthquakes'' (8 and above). Being able to study these earthquakes provides useful information for a wide range of applications in geophysics. In the present work we study the characteristics of an earthquake by performing seismic source inversion; a mathematical problem that, given some recorded data, produces a set of parameters that when used as input in a mathematical model for the earthquake generates synthetic data that closely resembles the measured data. There …

Cancer Modeling: From Optimal Cell Renewal To Immunotherapy, Cesar L. Alvarado

Mathematics & Statistics ETDs

Cancer is a disease caused by mutations in normal cells. According to the National Cancer Institute, in 2016, an estimated 1.6 million people were diagnosed and approximately 0.5 million people died from the disease in the United States. There are many factors that shape cancer at the cellular and organismal level, including genetic, immunological, and environmental components. In this thesis, we show how mathematical modeling can be used to provide insight into some of the key mechanisms underlying cancer dynamics. First, we use mathematical modeling to investigate optimal homeostatic cell renewal in tissues such as the small intestine with an …

Modeling Trait Evolutionary Processes With More Than One Gene, Huan Jiang

Mathematics & Statistics ETDs

Phylogenetic comparative methods have been used to test evolutionary signals through trait evolutionary processes. Traditionally, biologists use one phylogenetic tree as a tool to handle dependent data for the traits of interest and hence utilize one gene only. However, it is more informative if the evolutionary processes of a trait are presented by phylogenetic trees reconstructed by the DNA alignments from more than one gene. In this work, we explain and develop two methods involving modeling the trait evolutionary processes: (a) two gene trees via the Brownian motion (BM) model; and (b) two gene trees via the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck (OU) model. …

Contributions To Statistical Testing, Prediction, And Modeling, John C. Pesko

Mathematics & Statistics ETDs

1. "Parametric Bootstrap (PB) and Objective Bayesian (OB) Testing with Applications to Heteroscedastic ANOVA": For one-way heteroscedastic ANOVA, we show a close relationship between the PB and OB approaches to significance testing, demonstrating the conditions for which the two approaches are equivalent. Using a simulation study, PB and OB performance is compared to a test based on the predictive distribution as well as the unweighted test of Akritas & Papadatos (2004). We extend this work to the RCBD with subsampling model, and prove a repeated sampling property and large sample property for general OB significance testing.

2. "Early Identification of …

The Use Of The Pivot Pairwise Relative Criteria Importance Assessment Method For Determining The Weights Of Criteria, Florentin Smarandache, Dragisa Stanujkic, Edmundas Kazimieras Zavadskas, Darjan Karabasevic, Zenonas Turskis

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

The weights of evaluation criteria could have a significant impact on the results obtained by applying multiple criteria decision-making methods. Therefore, the two extensions of the SWARA method that can be used in cases when it is not easy, or even is impossible to reach a consensus on the expected importance of the evaluation criteria are proposed in this paper. The primary objective of the proposed extensions is to provide an understandable and easy-to-use approach to the collecting of respondents’ real attitudes towards the significance of evaluation criteria and to also provide an approach to the checking of the reliability …