St. Anthony's College

ABSTRACT Step‐stress partially accelerated life tests (SSPALTs) have received considerable attention in both industrial and academic settings as effective tools for inducing early failures and generating informative data for reliability analysis. In this article, we develop statistical inference procedures and examine the optimal censoring design for SSPALTs under a progressive Type‐II censoring scheme (PTII‐CS), assuming that the lifetimes of test units follow a two‐parameter exponential power distribution. The proposed censoring scheme offers a practical and flexible rule for terminating the experiment based on a pre‐specified number of observed failures. Both maximum likelihood and Bayesian approaches are employed to estimate the unknown model parameters, including the acceleration factor. Under normal operating conditions, estimators of the reliability function, hazard rate function, and mean time to failure are derived using both methods. To assess estimation uncertainty, approximate confidence intervals (CIs) are constructed along with two bootstrap‐based procedures, namely the percentile bootstrap (Bootstrap‐p) and the studentized bootstrap (Bootstrap‐t). Within the Bayesian framework, two loss functions—covering both symmetric and asymmetric forms—are considered. Independent piecewise gamma prior distributions are assumed for the model parameters, and highest posterior density (HPD) credible intervals are obtained for the parameters as well as for the associated reliability characteristics. A comprehensive Monte Carlo simulation study is conducted under various sample sizes and censoring schemes to evaluate and compare the performance of the proposed estimation methods. Furthermore, the optimal design of the PTII‐CS is systematically investigated using multiple optimality criteria to ensure efficient and reliable parameter estimation. Finally, two real data examples are presented to illustrate the practical applicability and effectiveness of the proposed inferential procedures and optimal design strategy.

Television shows play a significant role in exposing the realities and societal conditions prevalent in our time. Bridgerton is a Netflix series that spans two seasons. It is a story of love, passion, fashion, and family affairs set during the competitive Regency era in London, where marriageable youth and gentry are introduced into society. This philosophical paper employed an intersectional feminist film and television textual analysis to examine the representation of women in the Netflix series Bridgerton. Additionally, the paper integrates critical discourse analysis and narrative analysis as complementary methods. It also employed Bell Hooks' theory of representation that examined how the issue of gender oppression is prevalent in Bridgerton. The content was organized and analyzed through a set of thematic categories. Hence, one noticeable aspect of the show is the way women are groomed and trained to fit into the social strata, so that they can be pleasing in the eyes of the Queen, who approves them. Another is the way women are viewed as a means to save the family's wealth once they are partnered with a noble husband-to-be, disregarding their agency. Applying hooks' views, this paper underscores that women are not mere commodities. They are persons of dignity whose rights and privileges must be given due recognition equal to those of others. This is true not only among women but also to all. Equality builds justice. Justice diminishes oppression. For it is only when we start doing injustice towards others that oppression rises once again.

This study utilizes the parametric interval estimation of the difference between two new process capability indices, denoted by δ^''=(S_pk1^^''-S_pk2^^''), to select the better of the two processes or manufacturers (or suppliers) through a simulation study when the underlying process follows a normal distribution. It is quite tedious to obtain the sampling probability theory of δ″; therefore, it cannot be inferred statistically. Thus, we use a generalized confidence interval and a parametric bootstrap confidence interval to determine which of the two processes or manufacturers (or suppliers) has a better process capability. In this paper, we use moment estimators to estimate the parameters of the process distribution. Monte Carlo simulation has been conducted to investigate the estimated relative coverages, coverage probabilities, and average widths of the generalized confidence interval and bootstrap confidence interval of δ″. Finally, four real data sets related to electronic industries are re-analyzed to illustrate the generalized confidence interval and bootstrap confidence interval of the difference between two process capability indices for selecting the better process or manufacturer (or supplier).

Bulbophyllum is a large and highly diverse genus of the family Orchidaceae. Investigations in the Northeast Indian region have revealed an abundance of various Bulbophyllum species. However, the taxonomy and phylogeny of these North-eastern species still remain unresolved. This study is the first comprehensive phylogenetic assessment of 20 species of Bulbophyllum from Northeast India, revealing new insights into their relationships. The complete nuclear ITS region (nrITS) (ITS1, 5.8S, ITS2) and the non-coding psbA-trnH intergenic spacer of plastid DNA, together with the morphometric characters were used to resolve the phylogeny of Bulbophyllum species of Northeast India. Individual as well as combined datasets were analysed to evaluate marker performance and overall resolution. The nrITS dataset showed better resolving ability as compared to plastid DNA marker. Phylogenetic trees generated from the combined analysis of morphological and molecular dataset provided the most robust phylogenetic framework, particularly at the sectional level. The results support the inclusion of B. reptans in the section Reptantia, rather than in Racemosae. The three species viz. B. odoratissimum, B. trichocephalum and B. cauliflorum were found to have a closer relationship suggesting that they belong to the same section. The section Desmosanthes needs further investigation to re-define its boundaries. Overall, this integrative approach improves the resolution of phylogenetic relationships within Bulbophyllum and provides a refined taxonomic framework. Furthermore, taxonomic key for the 20 species has also been developed to facilitate accurate identification, based on reliable diagnostic traits.