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Full-Text Articles in Probability

The Martingale Approach To Financial Mathematics, Jordan M. Rowley Jun 2019

The Martingale Approach To Financial Mathematics, Jordan M. Rowley

Master's Theses

In this thesis, we will develop the fundamental properties of financial mathematics, with a focus on establishing meaningful connections between martingale theory, stochastic calculus, and measure-theoretic probability. We first consider a simple binomial model in discrete time, and assume the impossibility of earning a riskless profit, known as arbitrage. Under this no-arbitrage assumption alone, we stumble upon a strange new probability measure Q, according to which every risky asset is expected to grow as though it were a bond. As it turns out, this measure Q also gives the arbitrage-free pricing formula for every asset on our market. In …


Characterizing The Permanence And Stationary Distribution For A Family Of Malaria Stochastic Models, Divine Wanduku May 2019

Characterizing The Permanence And Stationary Distribution For A Family Of Malaria Stochastic Models, Divine Wanduku

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.


Generalizations Of The Arcsine Distribution, Rebecca Rasnick May 2019

Generalizations Of The Arcsine Distribution, Rebecca Rasnick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The arcsine distribution looks at the fraction of time one player is winning in a fair coin toss game and has been studied for over a hundred years. There has been little further work on how the distribution changes when the coin tosses are not fair or when a player has already won the initial coin tosses or, equivalently, starts with a lead. This thesis will first cover a proof of the arcsine distribution. Then, we explore how the distribution changes when the coin the is unfair. Finally, we will explore the distribution when one person has won the first …


Dynamic Attribute-Level Best Worst Discrete Choice Experiments, Amanda Working, Mohammed Alqawba, Norou Diawara May 2019

Dynamic Attribute-Level Best Worst Discrete Choice Experiments, Amanda Working, Mohammed Alqawba, Norou Diawara

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

Dynamic modelling of decision maker choice behavior of best and worst in discrete choice experiments (DCEs) has numerous applications. Such models are proposed under utility function of decision maker and are used in many areas including social sciences, health economics, transportation research, and health systems research. After reviewing references on the study of such experiments, we present example in DCE with emphasis on time dependent best-worst choice and discrimination between choice attributes. Numerical examples of the dynamic DCEs are simulated, and the associated expected utilities over time of the choice models are derived using Markov decision processes. The estimates are …


Unified Methods For Feature Selection In Large-Scale Genomic Studies With Censored Survival Outcomes, Lauren Spirko-Burns, Karthik Devarajan Mar 2019

Unified Methods For Feature Selection In Large-Scale Genomic Studies With Censored Survival Outcomes, Lauren Spirko-Burns, Karthik Devarajan

COBRA Preprint Series

One of the major goals in large-scale genomic studies is to identify genes with a prognostic impact on time-to-event outcomes which provide insight into the disease's process. With rapid developments in high-throughput genomic technologies in the past two decades, the scientific community is able to monitor the expression levels of tens of thousands of genes and proteins resulting in enormous data sets where the number of genomic features is far greater than the number of subjects. Methods based on univariate Cox regression are often used to select genomic features related to survival outcome; however, the Cox model assumes proportional hazards …


Counting And Coloring Sudoku Graphs, Kyle Oddson Jan 2019

Counting And Coloring Sudoku Graphs, Kyle Oddson

Mathematics and Statistics Dissertations, Theses, and Final Project Papers

A sudoku puzzle is most commonly a 9 × 9 grid of 3 × 3 boxes wherein the puzzle player writes the numbers 1 - 9 with no repetition in any row, column, or box. We generalize the notion of the n2 × n2 sudoku grid for all n ∈ ℤ≥2 and codify the empty sudoku board as a graph. In the main section of this paper we prove that sudoku boards and sudoku graphs exist for all such n; we prove the equivalence of [3]'s construction using unions and products of graphs to the definition of …


Modeling Stochastically Intransitive Relationships In Paired Comparison Data, Ryan Patrick Alexander Mcshane Jan 2019

Modeling Stochastically Intransitive Relationships In Paired Comparison Data, Ryan Patrick Alexander Mcshane

Statistical Science Theses and Dissertations

If the Warriors beat the Rockets and the Rockets beat the Spurs, does that mean that the Warriors are better than the Spurs? Sophisticated fans would argue that the Warriors are better by the transitive property, but could Spurs fans make a legitimate argument that their team is better despite this chain of evidence?

We first explore the nature of intransitive (rock-scissors-paper) relationships with a graph theoretic approach to the method of paired comparisons framework popularized by Kendall and Smith (1940). Then, we focus on the setting where all pairs of items, teams, players, or objects have been compared to …


Yelp’S Review Filtering Algorithm, Yao Yao, Ivelin Angelov, Jack Rasmus-Vorrath, Mooyoung Lee, Daniel W. Engels Aug 2018

Yelp’S Review Filtering Algorithm, Yao Yao, Ivelin Angelov, Jack Rasmus-Vorrath, Mooyoung Lee, Daniel W. Engels

SMU Data Science Review

In this paper, we present an analysis of features influencing Yelp's proprietary review filtering algorithm. Classifying or misclassifying reviews as recommended or non-recommended affects average ratings, consumer decisions, and ultimately, business revenue. Our analysis involves systematically sampling and scraping Yelp restaurant reviews. Features are extracted from review metadata and engineered from metrics and scores generated using text classifiers and sentiment analysis. The coefficients of a multivariate logistic regression model were interpreted as quantifications of the relative importance of features in classifying reviews as recommended or non-recommended. The model classified review recommendations with an accuracy of 78%. We found that reviews …


The Expected Number Of Patterns In A Random Generated Permutation On [N] = {1,2,...,N}, Evelyn Fokuoh Aug 2018

The Expected Number Of Patterns In A Random Generated Permutation On [N] = {1,2,...,N}, Evelyn Fokuoh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Previous work by Flaxman (2004) and Biers-Ariel et al. (2018) focused on the number of distinct words embedded in a string of words of length n. In this thesis, we will extend this work to permutations, focusing on the maximum number of distinct permutations contained in a permutation on [n] = {1,2,...,n} and on the expected number of distinct permutations contained in a random permutation on [n]. We further considered the problem where repetition of subsequences are as a result of the occurrence of (Type A and/or Type B) replications. Our method of enumerating the Type A replications causes double …


Golden Arm: A Probabilistic Study Of Dice Control In Craps, Donald R. Smith, Robert Scott Iii May 2018

Golden Arm: A Probabilistic Study Of Dice Control In Craps, Donald R. Smith, Robert Scott Iii

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

This paper calculates how much control a craps shooter must possess on dice outcomes to eliminate the house advantage. A golden arm is someone who has dice control (or a rhythm roller or dice influencer). There are various strategies for dice control in craps. We discuss several possibilities of dice control that would result in several different mathematical models of control. We do not assert whether dice control is possible or not (there is a lack of published evidence). However, after studying casino-legal methods described by dice-control advocates, we can see only one realistic mathematical model that describes the resulting …


Predicting The Next Us President By Simulating The Electoral College, Boyan Kostadinov Jan 2018

Predicting The Next Us President By Simulating The Electoral College, Boyan Kostadinov

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

We develop a simulation model for predicting the outcome of the US Presidential election based on simulating the distribution of the Electoral College. The simulation model has two parts: (a) estimating the probabilities for a given candidate to win each state and DC, based on state polls, and (b) estimating the probability that a given candidate will win at least 270 electoral votes, and thus win the White House. All simulations are coded using the high-level, open-source programming language R. One of the goals of this paper is to promote computational thinking in any STEM field by illustrating how probabilistic …


Statistical Analysis Of Momentum In Basketball, Mackenzi Stump Dec 2017

Statistical Analysis Of Momentum In Basketball, Mackenzi Stump

Honors Projects

The “hot hand” in sports has been debated for as long as sports have been around. The debate involves whether streaks and slumps in sports are true phenomena or just simply perceptions in the mind of the human viewer. This statistical analysis of momentum in basketball analyzes the distribution of time between scoring events for the BGSU Women’s Basketball team from 2011-2017. We discuss how the distribution of time between scoring events changes with normal game factors such as location of the game, game outcome, and several other factors. If scoring events during a game were always randomly distributed, or …


Making Models With Bayes, Pilar Olid Dec 2017

Making Models With Bayes, Pilar Olid

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Bayesian statistics is an important approach to modern statistical analyses. It allows us to use our prior knowledge of the unknown parameters to construct a model for our data set. The foundation of Bayesian analysis is Bayes' Rule, which in its proportional form indicates that the posterior is proportional to the prior times the likelihood. We will demonstrate how we can apply Bayesian statistical techniques to fit a linear regression model and a hierarchical linear regression model to a data set. We will show how to apply different distributions to Bayesian analyses and how the use of a prior affects …


Educational Magic Tricks Based On Error-Detection Schemes, Ronald I. Greenberg Jul 2017

Educational Magic Tricks Based On Error-Detection Schemes, Ronald I. Greenberg

Computer Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Magic tricks based on computer science concepts help grab student attention and can motivate them to delve more deeply. Error detection ideas long used by computer scientists provide a rich basis for working magic; probably the most well known trick of this type is one included in the CS Unplugged activities. This paper shows that much more powerful variations of the trick can be performed, some in an unplugged environment and some with computer assistance. Some of the tricks also show off additional concepts in computer science and discrete mathematics.


The Battle Against Malaria: A Teachable Moment, Randy K. Schwartz Feb 2017

The Battle Against Malaria: A Teachable Moment, Randy K. Schwartz

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Malaria has been humanity’s worst public health problem throughout recorded history. Mathematical methods are needed to understand which factors are relevant to the disease and to develop counter-measures against it. This article and the accompanying exercises provide examples of those methods for use in lower- or upper-level courses dealing with probability, statistics, or population modeling. These can be used to illustrate such concepts as correlation, causation, conditional probability, and independence. The article explains how the apparent link between sickle cell trait and resistance to malaria was first verified in Uganda using the chi-squared probability distribution. It goes on to explain …


Quantifying Similarity In Reliability Surfaces Using The Probability Of Agreement, Nathaniel Stevens, C. M. Anderson-Cook Jan 2017

Quantifying Similarity In Reliability Surfaces Using The Probability Of Agreement, Nathaniel Stevens, C. M. Anderson-Cook

Mathematics

When separate populations exhibit similar reliability as a function of multiple explanatory variables, combining them into a single population is tempting. This can simplify future predictions and reduce uncertainty associated with estimation. However, combining these populations may introduce bias if the underlying relationships are in fact different. The probability of agreement formally and intuitively quantifies the similarity of estimated reliability surfaces across a two-factor input space. An example from the reliability literature demonstrates the utility of the approach when deciding whether to combine two populations or to keep them as distinct. New graphical summaries provide strategies for visualizing the results.


Influences Of Probability Instruction On Undergraduates' Understanding Of Counting Processes, Kayla Blyman Jan 2017

Influences Of Probability Instruction On Undergraduates' Understanding Of Counting Processes, Kayla Blyman

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

Historically, students in an introductory finite mathematics course at a major university in the mid-south have struggled the most with the counting and probability unit, leading instructors to question if there was a better way to help students master the material. The purpose of this study was to begin to understand connections that undergraduate finite mathematics students are making between counting and probability. By examining student performance in counting and probability, this study provides insights that inform future instruction in courses that include counting and probability. Consequently, this study lays the groundwork for future inquiries in the field of undergraduate …


A Traders Guide To The Predictive Universe- A Model For Predicting Oil Price Targets And Trading On Them, Jimmie Harold Lenz Dec 2016

A Traders Guide To The Predictive Universe- A Model For Predicting Oil Price Targets And Trading On Them, Jimmie Harold Lenz

Doctor of Business Administration Dissertations

At heart every trader loves volatility; this is where return on investment comes from, this is what drives the proverbial “positive alpha.” As a trader, understanding the probabilities related to the volatility of prices is key, however if you could also predict future prices with reliability the world would be your oyster. To this end, I have achieved three goals with this dissertation, to develop a model to predict future short term prices (direction and magnitude), to effectively test this by generating consistent profits utilizing a trading model developed for this purpose, and to write a paper that anyone with …


Newsvendor Models With Monte Carlo Sampling, Ijeoma W. Ekwegh Aug 2016

Newsvendor Models With Monte Carlo Sampling, Ijeoma W. Ekwegh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Newsvendor Models with Monte Carlo Sampling by Ijeoma Winifred Ekwegh The newsvendor model is used in solving inventory problems in which demand is random. In this thesis, we will focus on a method of using Monte Carlo sampling to estimate the order quantity that will either maximizes revenue or minimizes cost given that demand is uncertain. Given data, the Monte Carlo approach will be used in sampling data over scenarios and also estimating the probability density function. A bootstrapping process yields an empirical distribution for the order quantity that will maximize the expected profit. Finally, this method will be used …


Teaching The Quandary Of Statistical Jurisprudence: A Review-Essay On Math On Trial By Schneps And Colmez, Noah Giansiracusa Jul 2016

Teaching The Quandary Of Statistical Jurisprudence: A Review-Essay On Math On Trial By Schneps And Colmez, Noah Giansiracusa

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

This review-essay on the mother-and-daughter collaboration Math on Trial stems from my recent experience using this book as the basis for a college freshman seminar on the interactions between math and law. I discuss the strengths and weaknesses of this book as an accessible introduction to this enigmatic yet deeply important topic. For those considering teaching from this text (a highly recommended endeavor) I offer some curricular suggestions.


Stochastic Processes And Their Applications To Change Point Detection Problems, Heng Yang Jun 2016

Stochastic Processes And Their Applications To Change Point Detection Problems, Heng Yang

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation addresses the change point detection problem when either the post-change distribution has uncertainty or the post-change distribution is time inhomogeneous. In the case of post-change distribution uncertainty, attention is drawn to the construction of a family of composite stopping times. It is shown that the proposed composite stopping time has third order optimality in the detection problem with Wiener observations and also provides information to distinguish the different values of post-change drift. In the case of post-change distribution uncertainty, a computationally efficient decision rule with low-complexity based on Cumulative Sum (CUSUM) algorithm is also introduced. In the time …


Pcr5 And Neutrosophic Probability In Target Identification, Florentin Smarandache, Nassim Abbas, Youcef Chibani, Bilal Hadjadji, Zayen Azzouz Omar Jan 2016

Pcr5 And Neutrosophic Probability In Target Identification, Florentin Smarandache, Nassim Abbas, Youcef Chibani, Bilal Hadjadji, Zayen Azzouz Omar

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

In this paper we use PCR5 in order to fusion the information of two sources providing subjective probabilities of an event A to occur in the following form: chance that A occurs, indeterminate chance of occurrence of A, chance that A does not occur.


Video Event Understanding With Pattern Theory, Fillipe Souza, Sudeep Sarkar, Anuj Srivastava, Jingyong Su May 2015

Video Event Understanding With Pattern Theory, Fillipe Souza, Sudeep Sarkar, Anuj Srivastava, Jingyong Su

MODVIS Workshop

We propose a combinatorial approach built on Grenander’s pattern theory to generate semantic interpretations of video events of human activities. The basic units of representations, termed generators, are linked with each other using pairwise connections, termed bonds, that satisfy predefined relations. Different generators are specified for different levels, from (image) features at the bottom level to (human) actions at the highest, providing a rich representation of items in a scene. The resulting configurations of connected generators provide scene interpretations; the inference goal is to parse given video data and generate high-probability configurations. The probabilistic structures are imposed using energies that …


Boundary Problems For One And Two Dimensional Random Walks, Miky Wright May 2015

Boundary Problems For One And Two Dimensional Random Walks, Miky Wright

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This thesis provides a study of various boundary problems for one and two dimensional random walks. We first consider a one-dimensional random walk that starts at integer-valued height k > 0, with a lower boundary being the x-axis, and on each step moving downward with probability q being greater than or equal to the probability of going upward p. We derive the variance and the standard deviation of the number of steps T needed for the height to reach 0 from k, by first deriving the moment generating function of T. We then study two types of two-dimensional random walks with …


The Simulation & Evaluation Of Surge Hazard Using A Response Surface Method In The New York Bight, Michael H. Bredesen Jan 2015

The Simulation & Evaluation Of Surge Hazard Using A Response Surface Method In The New York Bight, Michael H. Bredesen

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Atmospheric features, such as tropical cyclones, act as a driving mechanism for many of the major hazards affecting coastal areas around the world. Accurate and efficient quantification of tropical cyclone surge hazard is essential to the development of resilient coastal communities, particularly given continued sea level trend concerns. Recent major tropical cyclones that have impacted the northeastern portion of the United States have resulted in devastating flooding in New York City, the most densely populated city in the US. As a part of national effort to re-evaluate coastal inundation hazards, the Federal Emergency Management Agency used the Joint Probability Method …


Choosing Between Parametric And Non-Parametric Tests, Russ Johnson Aug 2014

Choosing Between Parametric And Non-Parametric Tests, Russ Johnson

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

A common question in comparing two sets of measurements is whether to use a parametric testing procedure or a non-parametric procedure. The question is even more important in dealing with smaller samples. Here, using simulation, several parametric and nonparametric tests, such as, t-test, Normal test, Wilcoxon Rank Sum test, van-der Waerden Score test, and Exponential Score test are compared.


Cycle Lengths Of Θ-Biased Random Permutations, Tongjia Shi Jan 2014

Cycle Lengths Of Θ-Biased Random Permutations, Tongjia Shi

HMC Senior Theses

Consider a probability distribution on the permutations of n elements. If the probability of each permutation is proportional to θK, where K is the number of cycles in the permutation, then we say that the distribution generates a θ-biased random permutation. A random permutation is a special θ-biased random permutation with θ = 1. The mth moment of the rth longest cycle of a random permutation is Θ(nm), regardless of r and θ. The joint moments are derived, and it is shown that the longest cycles of a permutation can either be positively or …


Random Search Models Of Foraging Behavior: Theory, Simulation, And Observation, Ben C. Nolting Dec 2013

Random Search Models Of Foraging Behavior: Theory, Simulation, And Observation, Ben C. Nolting

Department of Mathematics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Many organisms, from bacteria to primates, use stochastic movement patterns to find food. These movement patterns, known as search strategies, have recently be- come a focus of ecologists interested in identifying universal properties of optimal foraging behavior. In this dissertation, I describe three contributions to this field. First, I propose a way to extend Charnov's Marginal Value Theorem to the spatially explicit framework of stochastic search strategies. Next, I describe simulations that compare the efficiencies of sensory and memory-based composite search strategies, which involve switching between different behavioral modes. Finally, I explain a new behavioral analysis protocol for identifying the …


The Torsion Angle Of Random Walks, Mu He May 2013

The Torsion Angle Of Random Walks, Mu He

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In this thesis, we study the expected mean of the torsion angle of an n-step
equilateral random walk in 3D. We consider the random walk is generated within a confining sphere or without a confining sphere: given three consecutive vectors e1 , e2 , and e3 of the random walk then the vectors e1 and e2 define a plane and the vectors e2 and e3 define a second plane. The angle between the two planes is called the torsion angle of the three vectors. Algorithms are …


Simplicial Complexes Obtained From Qualitative Probability Orders, Paul H. Edelman, Tatiana Gvozdeva, Arkadii Slinko Jan 2013

Simplicial Complexes Obtained From Qualitative Probability Orders, Paul H. Edelman, Tatiana Gvozdeva, Arkadii Slinko

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

The goal of this paper is to introduce a new class of simplicial complexes that naturally generalize the threshold complexes. These will be derived from qualitative probability orders on subsets of a finite set that generalize subset orders induced by probability measures. We show that this new class strictly contains the threshold complexes and is strictly contained in the shifted complexes. We conjecture that this class of complexes is exactly the set of strongly acyclic complexes, a class that has previously appeared in the context of cooperative games. Beyond the results themselves, this new class of complexes allows us to …