Stochastic Ordering
In probability theory and statistics, a stochastic order quantifies the concept of one random variable being "bigger" than another. These are usually partial orders, so that one random variable A may be neither stochastically greater than, less than, nor equal to another random variable B. Many different orders exist, which have different applications. Usual stochastic order A real random variable A is less than a random variable B in the "usual stochastic order" if :\Pr(A>x) \le \Pr(B>x)\textx \in (-\infty,\infty), where \Pr(\cdot) denotes the probability of an event. This is sometimes denoted A \preceq B or A \le_\mathrm B. If additionally \Pr(A>x) x) for some x, then A is stochastically strictly less than B, sometimes denoted A \prec B. In decision theory, under this circumstance, is said to be first-order stochastically dominant over ''A''. Characterizations The following rules describe situations when one random variable is stochastically less than or equal to another. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Probability Theory
Probability theory or probability calculus is the branch of mathematics concerned with probability. Although there are several different probability interpretations, probability theory treats the concept in a rigorous mathematical manner by expressing it through a set of axioms of probability, axioms. Typically these axioms formalise probability in terms of a probability space, which assigns a measure (mathematics), measure taking values between 0 and 1, termed the probability measure, to a set of outcomes called the sample space. Any specified subset of the sample space is called an event (probability theory), event. Central subjects in probability theory include discrete and continuous random variables, probability distributions, and stochastic processes (which provide mathematical abstractions of determinism, non-deterministic or uncertain processes or measured Quantity, quantities that may either be single occurrences or evolve over time in a random fashion). Although it is no ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Statistics
Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data. In applying statistics to a scientific, industrial, or social problem, it is conventional to begin with a statistical population or a statistical model to be studied. Populations can be diverse groups of people or objects such as "all people living in a country" or "every atom composing a crystal". Statistics deals with every aspect of data, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of statistical survey, surveys and experimental design, experiments. When census data (comprising every member of the target population) cannot be collected, statisticians collect data by developing specific experiment designs and survey sample (statistics), samples. Representative sampling assures that inferences and conclusions can reasonably extend from the sample ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Random Variable
A random variable (also called random quantity, aleatory variable, or stochastic variable) is a Mathematics, mathematical formalization of a quantity or object which depends on randomness, random events. The term 'random variable' in its mathematical definition refers to neither randomness nor variability but instead is a mathematical function (mathematics), function in which * the Domain of a function, domain is the set of possible Outcome (probability), outcomes in a sample space (e.g. the set \ which are the possible upper sides of a flipped coin heads H or tails T as the result from tossing a coin); and * the Range of a function, range is a measurable space (e.g. corresponding to the domain above, the range might be the set \ if say heads H mapped to -1 and T mapped to 1). Typically, the range of a random variable is a subset of the Real number, real numbers. Informally, randomness typically represents some fundamental element of chance, such as in the roll of a dice, d ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Partial Order
In mathematics, especially order theory, a partial order on a set is an arrangement such that, for certain pairs of elements, one precedes the other. The word ''partial'' is used to indicate that not every pair of elements needs to be comparable; that is, there may be pairs for which neither element precedes the other. Partial orders thus generalize total orders, in which every pair is comparable. Formally, a partial order is a homogeneous binary relation that is reflexive, antisymmetric, and transitive. A partially ordered set (poset for short) is an ordered pair P=(X,\leq) consisting of a set X (called the ''ground set'' of P) and a partial order \leq on X. When the meaning is clear from context and there is no ambiguity about the partial order, the set X itself is sometimes called a poset. Partial order relations The term ''partial order'' usually refers to the reflexive partial order relations, referred to in this article as ''non-strict'' partial orders. However som ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Decision Theory
Decision theory or the theory of rational choice is a branch of probability theory, probability, economics, and analytic philosophy that uses expected utility and probabilities, probability to model how individuals would behave Rationality, rationally under uncertainty. It differs from the Cognitive science, cognitive and Behavioural sciences, behavioral sciences in that it is mainly Prescriptive economics, prescriptive and concerned with identifying optimal decision, optimal decisions for a rational agent, rather than Descriptive economics, describing how people actually make decisions. Despite this, the field is important to the study of real human behavior by Social science, social scientists, as it lays the foundations to Mathematical model, mathematically model and analyze individuals in fields such as sociology, economics, criminology, cognitive science, moral philosophy and political science. History The roots of decision theory lie in probability theory, developed by Blai ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Stochastic Dominance
Stochastic dominance is a Partially ordered set, partial order between random variables. It is a form of stochastic ordering. The concept arises in decision theory and decision analysis in situations where one gamble (a probability distribution over possible outcomes, also known as prospects) can be ranked as superior to another gamble for a broad class of decision-makers. It is based on shared preference (economics), preferences regarding sets of possible outcomes and their associated probabilities. Only limited knowledge of preferences is required for determining dominance. Risk aversion is a factor only in second order stochastic dominance. Stochastic dominance does not give a total order, but rather only a partial order: for some pairs of gambles, neither one stochastically dominates the other, since different members of the broad class of decision-makers will differ regarding which gamble is preferable without them generally being considered to be equally attractive. Through ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Order Statistic
In statistics, the ''k''th order statistic of a statistical sample is equal to its ''k''th-smallest value. Together with Ranking (statistics), rank statistics, order statistics are among the most fundamental tools in non-parametric statistics and non-parametric inference, inference. Important special cases of the order statistics are the minimum and maximum value of a sample, and (with some qualifications discussed below) the sample median and other quantile, sample quantiles. When using probability theory to analyze order statistics of random samples from a continuous probability distribution, continuous distribution, the cumulative distribution function is used to reduce the analysis to the case of order statistics of the uniform distribution (continuous), uniform distribution. Notation and examples For example, suppose that four numbers are observed or recorded, resulting in a sample of size 4. If the sample values are :6, 9, 3, 7, the order statistics would be denoted : ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Convergence In Distribution
In probability theory, there exist several different notions of convergence of sequences of random variables, including ''convergence in probability'', ''convergence in distribution'', and ''almost sure convergence''. The different notions of convergence capture different properties about the sequence, with some notions of convergence being stronger than others. For example, convergence in distribution tells us about the limit distribution of a sequence of random variables. This is a weaker notion than convergence in probability, which tells us about the value a random variable will take, rather than just the distribution. The concept is important in probability theory, and its applications to statistics and stochastic processes. The same concepts are known in more general mathematics as stochastic convergence and they formalize the idea that certain properties of a sequence of essentially random or unpredictable events can sometimes be expected to settle down into a behavior that ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Stochastic Dominance
Stochastic dominance is a Partially ordered set, partial order between random variables. It is a form of stochastic ordering. The concept arises in decision theory and decision analysis in situations where one gamble (a probability distribution over possible outcomes, also known as prospects) can be ranked as superior to another gamble for a broad class of decision-makers. It is based on shared preference (economics), preferences regarding sets of possible outcomes and their associated probabilities. Only limited knowledge of preferences is required for determining dominance. Risk aversion is a factor only in second order stochastic dominance. Stochastic dominance does not give a total order, but rather only a partial order: for some pairs of gambles, neither one stochastically dominates the other, since different members of the broad class of decision-makers will differ regarding which gamble is preferable without them generally being considered to be equally attractive. Through ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Random Social Choice
In common usage, randomness is the apparent or actual lack of definite pattern or predictability in information. A random sequence of events, symbols or steps often has no order and does not follow an intelligible pattern or combination. Individual random events are, by definition, unpredictable, but if there is a known probability distribution, the frequency of different outcomes over repeated events (or "trials") is predictable.Strictly speaking, the frequency of an outcome will converge almost surely to a predictable value as the number of trials becomes arbitrarily large. Non-convergence or convergence to a different value is possible, but has probability zero. Consistent non-convergence is thus evidence of the lack of a fixed probability distribution, as in many evolutionary processes. For example, when throwing two dice, the outcome of any particular roll is unpredictable, but a sum of 7 will tend to occur twice as often as 4. In this view, randomness is not haphazardne ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lexicographic Dominance
Lexicographic dominance is a total order between random variables. It is a form of stochastic ordering. It is defined as follows. Random variable A has lexicographic dominance over random variable B (denoted A \succ_ B) if one of the following holds: * A has a higher probability than B of receiving the best outcome. * A and B have an equal probability of receiving the best outcome, but A has a higher probability of receiving the 2nd-best outcome. * A and B have an equal probability of receiving the best and 2nd-best outcomes, but A has a higher probability of receiving the 3rd-best outcome. In other words: let ''k'' be the first index for which the probability of receiving the k-th best outcome is different for A and B. Then this probability should be higher for A. Variants Upward lexicographic dominance is defined as follows. Random variable A has upward lexicographic dominance over random variable B (denoted A \succ_ B) if one of the following holds: * A has a ''lower'' probabi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hazard Rate
Survival analysis is a branch of statistics for analyzing the expected duration of time until one event occurs, such as death in biological organisms and failure in mechanical systems. This topic is called reliability theory, reliability analysis or reliability engineering in engineering, duration analysis or duration modelling in economics, and event history analysis in sociology. Survival analysis attempts to answer certain questions, such as what is the proportion of a population which will survive past a certain time? Of those that survive, at what rate will they die or fail? Can multiple causes of death or failure be taken into account? How do particular circumstances or characteristics increase or decrease the probability of survival? To answer such questions, it is necessary to define "lifetime". In the case of biological survival, death is unambiguous, but for mechanical reliability, failure may not be well-defined, for there may well be mechanical systems in which failure ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |