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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Global Deforestation Prediction: Summer Internship At Clark Labs, Tianze Li, Yahsee Joshi May 2017

Global Deforestation Prediction: Summer Internship At Clark Labs, Tianze Li, Yahsee Joshi

Sustainability and Social Justice

This paper is a description of our internship with Clark Labs in the summer of 2016. We worked as research assistants in the Deforestation Risk Prediction project for Ecosystem Services team. This goal of the project was to predict deforestation at global, continental and national level. Our responsibilities were to choose the variables that may influence the deforestation and to use Land Change Modeler in TerrSet to test the variables and create the deforestation prediction maps. We highly recommend this internship with Clark Labs to other GISDE students who are interested in land change analysis.

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An Analysis Of Structural And Psychological Barriers To The Adoption Of Demand Response Smart Grid Technologies: Lessons Learned, John M. Richards May 2017

An Analysis Of Structural And Psychological Barriers To The Adoption Of Demand Response Smart Grid Technologies: Lessons Learned, John M. Richards

Sustainability and Social Justice

Over the past decade, America’s utility grid has undergone fundamental changes on a scale not seen during the past 100 years (Energetics Incorporated, 2014). These changes have largely been driven by the need to replace aging infrastructure, modernize the grid, incorporate new sources of energy, and better balance the supply and demand of energy. In order to address some of these changes, utilities have increasingly implemented smart grid programs that provide customers with consumer-focused demand response technologies that aim to reduce peak demand. This report examined the success these technologies have in reducing peak demand for smart grid programs by …

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Proactive And Reactive Strategies To Handle Surges In Urban Crowds, Jiali Du May 2017

Proactive And Reactive Strategies To Handle Surges In Urban Crowds, Jiali Du

Dissertations and Theses Collection

Most urban infrastructures are built to cater a planned capacity, yet surges in usage do happen in times (can be either expected or unexpected), and this has long been a major challenge for urban planner. In this thesis, I propose to study approaches handle surges in urban crowd movement. In particular, the surges in demand studied are limited to situations where a large crowd of commuters/visitors gather in a small vicinity, and I am concerned with their movements both within the vicinity and out of the vicinity (the egress from the vicinity). Significant crowd build-ups and congestions can be observed …

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Dispositions Of First Year Teachers Who Teach Mathematics For Social Justice, Kyndall A. Brown May 2017

Dispositions Of First Year Teachers Who Teach Mathematics For Social Justice, Kyndall A. Brown

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

For over 10 years, mathematics educators have sought to use mathematics tasks with social justice contexts to engage students. While student teachers in the UCLA Teacher Education Program (TEP) engage in social justice tasks in their secondary mathematics method classes, very few teachers use these types of tasks with students in the classrooms. The master’s inquiry projects of three TEP students who engaged their students in social justice tasks are analyzed to determine how their backgrounds and positionality influenced their instructional decision making. Results show that personal experiences in the teachers’ lives, as well as a desire to increase motivation …

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Philosophers On The Fringe: Albert Schweitzer, Liberty Hyde Bailey, Aldo Leopold, And The Wrongful Polarization Of Environmentalist History 2017, Minnie A.M. Lauzon May 2017

Philosophers On The Fringe: Albert Schweitzer, Liberty Hyde Bailey, Aldo Leopold, And The Wrongful Polarization Of Environmentalist History 2017, Minnie A.M. Lauzon

Master's Theses

This thesis includes three articles (chapters) intending to encourage clarification of an area of environmental history that has not received adequate attention since the publication of Roderick Nash’s Wilderness and the American Mind. Since its publication in 1967, little research has been dedicated to understanding the scholarly or philosophical influence Albert Schweitzer and Liberty Hyde Bailey had on Aldo Leopold. Since my undertaking of this topic, I have established two primary goals. First, I want to provide clarification to environmentalists, academics, and the populace at large that environmentalism does not have to be bound by rules and convention, but can …

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Geoscientists-In-The-Park Summer Internship Mapping Shoreline Change With The National Park Service, Michael P. Endicott May 2017

Geoscientists-In-The-Park Summer Internship Mapping Shoreline Change With The National Park Service, Michael P. Endicott

Sustainability and Social Justice

This project paper details the activities carried out as a Geologist/GIS Specialist in the Gateway National Recreation Area as a part of the Geoscientists-In-The-Park internship program. The focus of this position was on supporting the geomorphological monitoring efforts of the National Park Service. This was accomplished through a combination of field data collection, GIS analysis, report writing, and project work. By the end of the internship, substantial progress was made to the formation of Gateway’s Annual 1D and 2D report for 2015-2016, field data were collected for the 2016 summer season, changes in geomorphology were explored and summarized for the …

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Umass Memorial Healthcare Information System Job Ladder, Matthew Simoncini, Vamsi Kavuru, Antariksh Nanda, Tahaseen Mahaboob Basha, Vikram Patil May 2017

Umass Memorial Healthcare Information System Job Ladder, Matthew Simoncini, Vamsi Kavuru, Antariksh Nanda, Tahaseen Mahaboob Basha, Vikram Patil

School of Professional Studies

The capstone project report emphasizes the importance of a job ladder and the need of an hour to implement it at UMASS Memorial health care. The scope of this project is to create a well-established job ladder at UMASS with pre-defined standards on job levels related to Information Technology department that would facilitate in hiring, developing and promoting employees at various stages.

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A Learning Framework For The Ywca Central Massachusetts, Dayna Ankermann, Manjushree Burdekar, Priyanka Joshi, Ying Song, Yumeng Chen, Xing Xie May 2017

A Learning Framework For The Ywca Central Massachusetts, Dayna Ankermann, Manjushree Burdekar, Priyanka Joshi, Ying Song, Yumeng Chen, Xing Xie

School of Professional Studies

After meeting with the Director of Wellness and Health Equity at the YWCA Central Massachusetts (which will be referred to as the YWCA from here on out), we learned that as a non-profit gym and health center, it is heavily underfunded. The main focus of the project was to determine how to upkeep the facility while bringing in new customers with limited resources and budget. Due to the needs of the YWCA, our group focused on six aspects: revenue stream, donor retention, increasing membership, customer experience, social media marketing, and membership fee structure. After completing extensive research, we were able …

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Human Services Management (Hsm) Certificate Program Expansion To Western Massachusetts Feasibility Study, Paul Campbell, Patrick Deschenes, Maria Pacheco, Bradley Paul, Elizabeth Vittum, Jing Zhang May 2017

Human Services Management (Hsm) Certificate Program Expansion To Western Massachusetts Feasibility Study, Paul Campbell, Patrick Deschenes, Maria Pacheco, Bradley Paul, Elizabeth Vittum, Jing Zhang

School of Professional Studies

One of the most popular cost-savings programs that the Providers’ Council currently offers its members is a Certificate in Nonprofit Human Service Management (HSM) provided in partnership with Clark University and Suffolk University. As human services providers are struggling to hire and retain qualified staff, the need to provide professional development opportunities to help grow and expand a skilled health and human services workforce is a critical issue facing nonprofit organizations and communities in Massachusetts. This feasibility study examines the viability of Providers’ Council and Clark University expanding its HSM Certificate Program to organizations and staff located in western Massachusetts. …

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Somali National University, Sharmarke Abdulla, Nikala Pieroni, Jenna Caskie, Sergii Odnodvorets, Tanyue Gong, Lahari Dasari May 2017

Somali National University, Sharmarke Abdulla, Nikala Pieroni, Jenna Caskie, Sergii Odnodvorets, Tanyue Gong, Lahari Dasari

School of Professional Studies

The executive summary presents an overview of the principal conclusions and recommendations for Somali National University Faculty of Education (FoEd) regarding the following concerns: Difficulty with recruiting high quality prospects to the FoEd; Ineffective and counterintuitive use of social media as a tool to improve brand equity, as well as as a tool to attract and communicate with prospective and current students; Unbalanced gender ratio of current student body; Absence of student services and student supports; Low student retention rate; Limited resources for academic advising; This document is the result of a Clark University School of Professional Studies Capstone Project.

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Development Of A Multiband Remote Sensing System For Determination Of Unsaturated Soil Properties, Cyrus D. Garner May 2017

Development Of A Multiband Remote Sensing System For Determination Of Unsaturated Soil Properties, Cyrus D. Garner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A multiband system including active microwave sensing and visible-near infrared reflectance spectroscopy was developed to measure unsaturated soil properties in both field and laboratory environments. Remote measurements of soil volumetric water content (θv), soil water matric potential (ψ), and soil index properties (liquid limit [LL], plastic limit [PL], and clay fraction [CF]) were conducted. Field-based measurement of θv was conducted using a ground-based radar system and field measurements within 10 percentage points of measurements acquired with traditional sampling techniques were obtained. Laboratory-based, visible and near infrared spectroscopy was found to be capable of obtaining empirical, soil specific regression functions (partial …

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Rock Art Management And Landscape Change: Mixed Field Assessment Techniques For Cultural Stone Decay, Kaelin M. Groom May 2017

Rock Art Management And Landscape Change: Mixed Field Assessment Techniques For Cultural Stone Decay, Kaelin M. Groom

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As tourism continues to grow as one of the world’s most ubiquitous markets, the development and promotion of non-invasive techniques for cultural stone decay analysis and landscape change are vital to establishing conditional base-lines to best aid cultural heritage management (CRM) efficacy. Using rock art as a medium, this dissertation presents three independent case studies employing the Rock Art Stability Index (RASI) and repeat photography to explore the merits of mixed rapid field assessment techniques in relation to CRM and heritage tourism. While rock art is only one example of irreplaceable world heritage resources, examining how they decay and what …

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Elucidating The Effects Of Thiamethoxam Neonicotinoid On Honey Bee Learning Using The Proboscis Extension Response, David J. Shepherd May 2017

Elucidating The Effects Of Thiamethoxam Neonicotinoid On Honey Bee Learning Using The Proboscis Extension Response, David J. Shepherd

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In this study, the effects of the neonicotinoid pesticide, thiamethoxam, are examined through the Proboscis Extension Response (PER) in honey bees (Apis mellifera). PER is a form of classical conditioning applied to honey bees through scent and reward association which quantifies learning rates. Results between groups treated with thiamethoxam did not differ significantly from untreated control groups. Potential reasons for these results are discussed. The method and experimental apparatus for testing the PER assay are also discussed.

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Fusing Social Media And Mobile Analytics For Urban Sense-Making, Archan Misra May 2017

Fusing Social Media And Mobile Analytics For Urban Sense-Making, Archan Misra

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The project was motivated by the observation that urban environments are increasingly characterized by a variety of non-traditional “sensors”, whose data streams can be harnessed to infer a variety of latent events and urban context. For example, users spontaneously generate huge amounts of content (text, images and video) on social network channels, whereas GPS & other sensors on taxis and buses increasingly provide near-real time traces of their movement throughout the city. Similarly, advances in Wi-Fi based sensing allow us to passively capture the individual and collective movement of visitors across various public spaces, such as college campuses, museums and …

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Becoming Women Engineers: Dismantled Notions And Distorted Perspectives, Lisa Zagumny, Holly Garrett Anthony, Sally J. Pardue May 2017

Becoming Women Engineers: Dismantled Notions And Distorted Perspectives, Lisa Zagumny, Holly Garrett Anthony, Sally J. Pardue

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

In an investigation of (non-international) undergraduate students’ experiences with their engineering major, we interviewed 10 young women asking questions about their interactions with instructors, academic successes/struggles, and any challenges they felt they had faced as women/girls in engineering. Initial findings echoed those in previous research serving to affirm held notions of interventions that would improve women/girls’ experiences in engineering. In reflecting on the research methods and troubling its design, we realized that we had approached the data with limited perspectives. A new approach to analysis opened up concepts and yielded findings that offer a different course of action for abating …

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Assessing Landslide Susceptibility With Gis Using Qualitative And Quantitative Methods In Knox County, Nebraska, Christian J. Cruz May 2017

Assessing Landslide Susceptibility With Gis Using Qualitative And Quantitative Methods In Knox County, Nebraska, Christian J. Cruz

Department of Geography: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This thesis assesses landslide susceptibility using data from LiDAR DEMs, land cover, and soil surveys. Data were assessed quantitatively through Bayesian logistic regression within a geographic information system (GIS) and statistical software to produce a landslide susceptibility map. The study area exhibits moderate relief where bluffs along the Missouri River valley gradually recede into rolling loess-mantled hills further to the south and southeast in Knox County. The six factors used to determine susceptibility to landslides are: land cover, parent material, slope aspect, slope curvature slope degree, and soil series. My findings show an increase in slope is the most significant …

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“Cultures As Toolboxes”: An Introduction To The Special Issue Focused On Stem, Anita L. Bright May 2017

“Cultures As Toolboxes”: An Introduction To The Special Issue Focused On Stem, Anita L. Bright

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

The Journal of Multicultural Affairs welcomes Dr. Anita Bright as a guest editor to lead a special issue on Science, Engineering, Technology, and Mathematics (STEM). Dr. Bright centers this special issue around one particularly simple, yet complex question, Is the teaching of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics multicultural?

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When Teachers Get It Right: Voices Of Black Girls’ Informal Stem Learning Experiences, Natalie S. King May 2017

When Teachers Get It Right: Voices Of Black Girls’ Informal Stem Learning Experiences, Natalie S. King

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

This paper is a part of a larger research study exploring the STEM learning experiences of Black girls who participated in an informal STEM program – I AM STEM. Through the process of reflection and co-construction of counterstories, Black girls reclaimed authorship of their lives. They identified three major attributes of teachers who promoted their academic success and engagement in STEM learning as ones who (a) responded to their needs and built a community of learners, (b) interacted with their parents in a professional manner, and (c) encouraged them to think critically and creatively during the lessons. Excerpts of their …

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The Role Of Sulfur Dioxide In Stratospheric Aerosol Formation Evaluated By Using In Situ Measurements In The Tropical Lower Stratosphere, A. W. Rollins, T. D. Thornberry, L. A. Watts, P. Yu, K. H. Rosenlof, M. Mills, E. Baumann, F. R. Giorgetta, T. V. Bui, M. Höpfner, P. F. Bernath May 2017

The Role Of Sulfur Dioxide In Stratospheric Aerosol Formation Evaluated By Using In Situ Measurements In The Tropical Lower Stratosphere, A. W. Rollins, T. D. Thornberry, L. A. Watts, P. Yu, K. H. Rosenlof, M. Mills, E. Baumann, F. R. Giorgetta, T. V. Bui, M. Höpfner, P. F. Bernath

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Stratospheric aerosols (SAs) are a variable component of the Earth's albedo that may be intentionally enhanced in the future to offset greenhouse gases (geoengineering). The role of tropospheric-sourced sulfur dioxide (SO2) in maintaining background SAs has been debated for decades without in situ measurements of SO2 at the tropical tropopause to inform this issue. Here we clarify the role of SO2 in maintaining SAs by using new in situ SO2 measurements to evaluate climate models and satellite retrievals. We then use the observed tropical tropopause SO2 mixing ratios to estimate the global flux of …

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Robust Ancova: Confidence Intervals That Have Some Specified Simultaneous Probability Coverage When There Is Curvature And Two Covariates, Rand Wilcox May 2017

Robust Ancova: Confidence Intervals That Have Some Specified Simultaneous Probability Coverage When There Is Curvature And Two Covariates, Rand Wilcox

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

Consider the commonly occurring situation where the goal is to compare two independent groups and there are two covariates. Let Mj(X) be some conditional measure of location for the jth group associated with some random variable Y given X = (X1, X2). The goal is to H0: M1(X) = M2(X) for each X Ω in a manner that controls the probability of one or more Type I errors. An extant technique (method M1 here) addresses this goal without making any parametric assumption about Mj(X). However, a practical concern is that it does not provide enough detail regarding where the regression …

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Limitations In The Systematic Analysis Of Structural Equation Model Fit Indices, Sarah A. Rose, Barry Markman, Shlomo Sawilowsky May 2017

Limitations In The Systematic Analysis Of Structural Equation Model Fit Indices, Sarah A. Rose, Barry Markman, Shlomo Sawilowsky

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the sensitivity of selected fit index statistics in determining model fit in structural equation modeling (SEM). The results indicated a large dependency on correlation magnitude of the input correlation matrix, with mixed results when the correlation magnitudes were low and a primary indication of good model fit. This was due to the default SEM method of Maximum Likelihood that assumes unstandardized correlation values. However, this warning is not well-known, and is only obscurely mentioned in some textbooks. Many SEM computer software programs do not give appropriate error indications that the results are …

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A Note On Determination Of Sample Size From The Perspective Of Six Sigma Quality, Joghee Ravichandran May 2017

A Note On Determination Of Sample Size From The Perspective Of Six Sigma Quality, Joghee Ravichandran

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

In most empirical studies (clinical, network modeling, and survey-based and aeronautical studies, etc.), sample observations are drawn from population to analyze and draw inferences about the population. Such analysis is done with reference to a measurable quality characteristic of a product or process of interest. However, fixing a sample size is an important task that has to be decided by the experimenter. One of the means in deciding an appropriate sample size is the fixation of error limit and the associated confidence level. This implies that the analysis based on the sample used must guarantee the prefixed error and confidence …

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Methodology For Constructing Perceptual Maps Incorporating Measuring Error In Sensory Acceptance Tests, Elisa Norberto Ferreira Santos, Gilberto Rodrigues Liska, Marcelo Angelo Cirillo May 2017

Methodology For Constructing Perceptual Maps Incorporating Measuring Error In Sensory Acceptance Tests, Elisa Norberto Ferreira Santos, Gilberto Rodrigues Liska, Marcelo Angelo Cirillo

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

A new method is proposed based on construction of perceptual maps using techniques of correspondence analysis and interval algebra that allow specifying the measurement error expected in panel choices in the evaluation form described in unstructured 9-point hedonic scale.

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Confidence Intervals For The Scaled Half-Logistic Distribution Under Progressive Type-Ii Censoring, Kiran Ganpati Potdar, D. T. Shirke May 2017

Confidence Intervals For The Scaled Half-Logistic Distribution Under Progressive Type-Ii Censoring, Kiran Ganpati Potdar, D. T. Shirke

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

Confidence interval construction for the scale parameter of the half-logistic distribution is considered using four different methods. The first two are based on the asymptotic distribution of the maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) and log-transformed MLE. The last two are based on pivotal quantity and generalized pivotal quantity, respectively. The MLE for the scale parameter is obtained using the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm. Performances are compared with the confidence intervals proposed by Balakrishnan and Asgharzadeh via coverage probabilities, length, and coverage-to-length ratio. Simulation results support the efficacy of the proposed approach.

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A New Estimator Based On Auxiliary Information Through Quantitative Randomized Response Techniques, Nilgün Özgül, Hülya Çıngı May 2017

A New Estimator Based On Auxiliary Information Through Quantitative Randomized Response Techniques, Nilgün Özgül, Hülya Çıngı

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

An exponential-type estimator is developed for the population mean of the sensitive study variable based on various Randomized Response Techniques (RRT) using a non-sensitive auxiliary variable. The mean squared error (MSE) of the proposed estimator is derived for generalized RRT models. The proposed estimator is compared with competitors in a simulation study and an application. The proposed estimator is found to be more efficient using a non-sensitive auxiliary variable.

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Plant Leaf Image Detection Method Using A Midpoint Circle Algorithm For Shape-Based Feature Extraction, B. Vijaya Lakshmi, V. Mohan May 2017

Plant Leaf Image Detection Method Using A Midpoint Circle Algorithm For Shape-Based Feature Extraction, B. Vijaya Lakshmi, V. Mohan

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

Shape-based feature extraction in content-based image retrieval is an important research area at present. An algorithm is presented, based on shape features, to enhance the set of features useful in a leaf identification system.

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Multiple Ratio Imputation By The Emb Algorithm: Theory And Simulation, Masayoshi Takahashi May 2017

Multiple Ratio Imputation By The Emb Algorithm: Theory And Simulation, Masayoshi Takahashi

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

Although multiple imputation is the gold standard of treating missing data, single ratio imputation is often used in practice. Based on Monte Carlo simulation, the Expectation-Maximization with Bootstrapping (EMB) algorithm to create multiple ratio imputation is used to fill in the gap between theory and practice.

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Jmasm45: A Computer Program For Bayesian D-Optimal Binary Repeated Measurements Designs (Matlab), Haftom Temesgen Abebe, Frans E. S. Tan, Gerard J. P. Van Breukelen, Martijn P. F. Berger May 2017

Jmasm45: A Computer Program For Bayesian D-Optimal Binary Repeated Measurements Designs (Matlab), Haftom Temesgen Abebe, Frans E. S. Tan, Gerard J. P. Van Breukelen, Martijn P. F. Berger

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

Planners of longitudinal studies of binary responses in applied sciences have not yet benefitted from optimal designs, which have been shown to improve precision of model parameter estimates, due to absence of a computer program. An interactive computer program for Bayesian optimal binary repeated measurements designs is presented for this purpose.

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An Extended Weighted Exponential Distribution, Abbas Mahdavi, Leila Jabari May 2017

An Extended Weighted Exponential Distribution, Abbas Mahdavi, Leila Jabari

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

A new class of weighted distributions is proposed by incorporating an extended exponential distribution in Azzalini’s (1985) method. Several statistics and reliability properties of this new class of distribution are obtained. Maximum likelihood estimators of the unknown parameters cannot be obtained in explicit forms; they have to be obtained by solving some numerical methods. Two data sets are analyzed for illustrative purposes, and show that the proposed model can be used effectively in analyzing real data.

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A Comparison Of Depth Functions In Maximal Depth Classification Rules, Olusola Samuel Makinde, Adeyinka Damilare Adewumi May 2017

A Comparison Of Depth Functions In Maximal Depth Classification Rules, Olusola Samuel Makinde, Adeyinka Damilare Adewumi

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

Data depth has been described as alternative to some parametric approaches in analyzing many multivariate data. Many depth functions have emerged over two decades and studied in literature. In this study, a nonparametric approach to classification based on notions of different data depth functions is considered and some properties of these methods are studied. The performance of different depth functions in maximal depth classifiers is investigated using simulation and real data with application to agricultural industry.

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