Efficient Estimation of Statistical Models with Many Parameters. Statistical models are used extensively in business, engineering and the sciences to describe the behavior of systems subject to uncertainty. There are often many unknowns in such models and relatively little data to estimate them. The object of the research is to develop methods that make these statistical models practical to use. The research team will apply the methodology to solve problems in economics, finance, marketing and t ....Efficient Estimation of Statistical Models with Many Parameters. Statistical models are used extensively in business, engineering and the sciences to describe the behavior of systems subject to uncertainty. There are often many unknowns in such models and relatively little data to estimate them. The object of the research is to develop methods that make these statistical models practical to use. The research team will apply the methodology to solve problems in economics, finance, marketing and the analysis of gene expression data. The project will also train doctoral and postdoctoral students and enhance Australia's reputation for research excellence in the Statistical and Mathematical Sciences. Read moreRead less
Bayesian estimation of flexible spatial models with applications in medical imaging and econometric modeling. This project aims to develop statistical methodology for estimating flexible highly parameterised Bayesian spatial models. The flexible models examined will include regression, choice and time series models for data that is spatially registered. Spatial smoothing of parameters in the models will involve application of hierarchical spatial prior distributions. The resulting methodology wi ....Bayesian estimation of flexible spatial models with applications in medical imaging and econometric modeling. This project aims to develop statistical methodology for estimating flexible highly parameterised Bayesian spatial models. The flexible models examined will include regression, choice and time series models for data that is spatially registered. Spatial smoothing of parameters in the models will involve application of hierarchical spatial prior distributions. The resulting methodology will be applied to the analysis of medical imaging data and to the estimation of spatial econometric models of residential real estate prices. The expected outcomes include developments in the frontier framework of Bayesian computational estimation methodology, improved methods for medical image processing and estimation of high resolution spatial models of residential real estate prices in Australian metropolitan centres.Read moreRead less
Efficient Design for Generalized Linear Models. In industrial, commercial and social research, we collect data in order to predict the outcome of a process based on the inputs to that process. We want to maximize the information that is gained from the data. Good planning is crucially important to achieve this. This project will determine how best to select the inputs to the process for many situations that occur in research. A computer package to answer these questions will be written. The nati ....Efficient Design for Generalized Linear Models. In industrial, commercial and social research, we collect data in order to predict the outcome of a process based on the inputs to that process. We want to maximize the information that is gained from the data. Good planning is crucially important to achieve this. This project will determine how best to select the inputs to the process for many situations that occur in research. A computer package to answer these questions will be written. The nation will benefit from a fundamental increase in efficiency of research and, therefore, in efficient use of research dollars.Read moreRead less
Innovations in Bayesian likelihood-free inference. Bayesian inference is a statistical method of choice in applied science. This project will develop innovative tools which permit Bayesian inference in problems considered intractable only a few years ago. These methods will expedite advances in multidisciplinary research across a range of applications. With these foundations, this project will accelerate national research efforts into improving frameworks for projecting trends in water availabil ....Innovations in Bayesian likelihood-free inference. Bayesian inference is a statistical method of choice in applied science. This project will develop innovative tools which permit Bayesian inference in problems considered intractable only a few years ago. These methods will expedite advances in multidisciplinary research across a range of applications. With these foundations, this project will accelerate national research efforts into improving frameworks for projecting trends in water availability and management, the impact of climate extremes, telecommunications engineering, HIV and infectious disease modelling and biostatistics. With many sectors unable to recruit appropriately trained statisticians within Australia, this project will train four PhD students in Bayesian statistics.
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Bayesian Inference for Multivariate Hierarchical Regression Models. This project will develop Bayesian methodology for analysing multivariate regression models. The distribution of each measurement can be discrete or continuous, with the dependence between measurements obtained through the correlation matrix of a Gaussian copula. Model parsimony is obtained by identifying zero elements in the correlation matrix or its inverse and by variable selection on the regression parameters. The results wi ....Bayesian Inference for Multivariate Hierarchical Regression Models. This project will develop Bayesian methodology for analysing multivariate regression models. The distribution of each measurement can be discrete or continuous, with the dependence between measurements obtained through the correlation matrix of a Gaussian copula. Model parsimony is obtained by identifying zero elements in the correlation matrix or its inverse and by variable selection on the regression parameters. The results will be applied to solve problems in finance, health management and marketing. In all these fields multiple observations are often taken per individual or time period and the models need to incorporate measures of dependence and uncertainty.Read moreRead less
Asymptotic Expansions and Large Deviations in Probability and Statistics: Theory and Applications. Statistics is the major enabling science in a number of disciplines. This is fundamental research in probability and statistics but it has wide applications in Biology and Social Sciences which will ultimately be of national benefit. The behaviour of self normalized sums is an exciting new area of fundamental research that has implications for the application of statistics in many areas. U-statist ....Asymptotic Expansions and Large Deviations in Probability and Statistics: Theory and Applications. Statistics is the major enabling science in a number of disciplines. This is fundamental research in probability and statistics but it has wide applications in Biology and Social Sciences which will ultimately be of national benefit. The behaviour of self normalized sums is an exciting new area of fundamental research that has implications for the application of statistics in many areas. U-statistics for dependent situations has direct application to understanding financial time series and the analysis of sample survey data. Saddlepoint methods provide extremely accurate approximations in a number of important applications.
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Empirical saddlepoint approximations and self-normalized limit theorems. Finite population sampling and resampling methods such as the bootstrap and randomization methods are central in a number of areas of application and M-estimates are the major method used to give robust methods under mild conditions; in both these areas statistics are used which are Studentized or self-normalized. We will develop asymptotic approaches for such statistics. Saddlepoint and empirical saddlepoint methods will ....Empirical saddlepoint approximations and self-normalized limit theorems. Finite population sampling and resampling methods such as the bootstrap and randomization methods are central in a number of areas of application and M-estimates are the major method used to give robust methods under mild conditions; in both these areas statistics are used which are Studentized or self-normalized. We will develop asymptotic approaches for such statistics. Saddlepoint and empirical saddlepoint methods will be used to give methods which have second order relative accuracy in large deviation regions and we will obtain limit results and Edgeworth approximations. Emphasis will be on obtaining results under weak conditions necessary for applications.Read moreRead less
Investment Approaches and Applications in Financial Markets: Evolutionary Kernel Based Subset Time-Series Using Semi-Parametric Approaches. The project will develop new investment assessments based on subset time-series modeling. Innovative evolutionary kernel smoothing algorithms using semi-parametric approaches will be introduced. The project will make three important applications of this modeling in financial markets: a) benchmarking and evaluation of inflation-indexed bonds; b) evaluation of ....Investment Approaches and Applications in Financial Markets: Evolutionary Kernel Based Subset Time-Series Using Semi-Parametric Approaches. The project will develop new investment assessments based on subset time-series modeling. Innovative evolutionary kernel smoothing algorithms using semi-parametric approaches will be introduced. The project will make three important applications of this modeling in financial markets: a) benchmarking and evaluation of inflation-indexed bonds; b) evaluation of the performance of global diversified investment funds; and c) prediction to provide early warning of the emergence of destabilising deflation or inflation. These three applications will lead to improved risk management practices and investment performance. Recursive algorithms will provide new statistical methods to study investment asset price movements and market volatility.
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Investment approaches and opportunities in renewable energy and financial resource markets, using semi-parametric approaches to evolutionary subset time-series lattice-ladder modelling. The project findings will help Australian exporters and importers understand and manage energy and resource price risks more effectively. The investment community will benefit through selecting optimal asset allocations and enhancing value to investors. It will also benefit many other agencies, particularly in th ....Investment approaches and opportunities in renewable energy and financial resource markets, using semi-parametric approaches to evolutionary subset time-series lattice-ladder modelling. The project findings will help Australian exporters and importers understand and manage energy and resource price risks more effectively. The investment community will benefit through selecting optimal asset allocations and enhancing value to investors. It will also benefit many other agencies, particularly in the service industries. It is not well recognised that in developed countries, including Australia, the financial service and related sectors account for more than 60 percent of economic activity and employment, so it is critical that more sophisticated statistical methods be established, and practical applications conducted, in order to advance the understanding of complexity management in the financial service and related sectors.Read moreRead less
New Bayesian methodology for understanding complex systems using hidden Markov models and expert opinion, environmental, robotics and genomics applications. This project aims to merge four areas of intense international interest in describing complex systems: hidden Markov models and mixtures, semi-parametric and nonparametric approaches, true combination of expert opinion with data, and new Bayesian computational methods based on perfect sampling and particle sampling. The project will signific ....New Bayesian methodology for understanding complex systems using hidden Markov models and expert opinion, environmental, robotics and genomics applications. This project aims to merge four areas of intense international interest in describing complex systems: hidden Markov models and mixtures, semi-parametric and nonparametric approaches, true combination of expert opinion with data, and new Bayesian computational methods based on perfect sampling and particle sampling. The project will significantly contribute to statistical methodology and its ability to inform about real-world problems. A strong focus on applications to genomics, robotics and environmental modelling will bring immediate research and monetary benefit for industry. Expected outcomes include enhanced cross-disciplinary and international linkages, publications, industry-funded projects and highly trained graduates.Read moreRead less