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The analysis of human perceptions is often carried out by resorting to surveys and questionnaires, where respondents are asked to express ratings about the objects being evaluated. A class of mixture models, called CUB (Combination of Uniform and shifted Binomial), has been recently proposed in this context. This article focuses on a model of this class, the Nonlinear CUB, and investigates some computational issues concerning parameter estimation, which is performed by Maximum Likelihood. More specifically, we consider two main approaches to optimize the log-likelihood: the classical numerical methods of optimization and the EM algorithm. The classical numerical methods comprise the widely used algorithms Nelder–Mead, Newton–Raphson, Broyden–Fletcher–Goldfarb–Shanno (BFGS), Berndt–Hall–Hall–Hausman (BHHH), Simulated Annealing, Conjugate Gradients and usually have the advantage of a fast convergence. On the other hand, the EM algorithm deserves consideration for some optimality properties in the case of mixture models, but it is slower. This article has a twofold aim: first we show how to obtain explicit formulas for the implementation of the EM algorithm in nonlinear CUB models and we formally derive the asymptotic variance–covariance matrix of the Maximum Likelihood estimator; second, we discuss and compare the performance of the two above mentioned approaches to the log-likelihood maximization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, a new attributes double sampling plan for three-class products (ADSPTP) is presented, and the corresponding operating characteristic function is constructed based on the given procedure of performing ADSPTP. Average sample numbers (ASN) for complete inspection and curtailed inspection of the second sample are derived and the extreme point is discussed on the three-dimensional ASN surface. In addition, the differences arising from different parameters are studied. Sampling plans are designed by a nonlinear optimization model. Finally, numerical examples and discussions are given to illustrate the obtained results, and tables of the designed plans under various conditions are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]