Open and Distance Learning

The Analysis of Response Times: Parallel Processing Models With Unlimited Capacity

Hans Colonius
Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg

Abstract:

Unlimited capacity parallel processing models possessing different stopping rules are presented. These stopping rules imply inequalities on the modelsī response time distribution functions that can be tested empirically. This generalizes previous results on horse race models (minimum stopping rule) and exhaustive models (maximum stopping rule). Several areas of application are discussed and the results are demonstrated on a numerical example with conditionally independent exponential channel processing times.

• Introduction
• Distribution inequalities for kth-terminating models with unlimited capacity
• Example: A kth-terminating parallel model with conditionally independent exponential channel processing times
• Determining the order of the stopping rule
• Concluding remarks
• Recommended Readings
• References
• Appendix: Random Vectors and Distributions

Prerequisites

This paper presupposes elementary probability concepts (some ofwhich are provided in the appendix). Some combinatorics and realanalysis are used for the numerical example in Section 4.

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