Above are papers related to the following paper: [Paper_ID] Paper #642847. 	[Title] An Approach to Diagnosing Total Variation Convergence of MCMC Algorithms [Abstract] We introduce a convergence diagnostic procedure for MCMC which operates by estimating total variation distances for the distribution of the algorithm after certain numbers of iterations. The method has advantages over many existing methods in terms of applicability, utility, computational expense and interpretability. It can be used to assess convergence of both marginal and joint posterior densities, and we show how it can be applied to the two most commonly used MCMC samplers; the Gibbs Sampler and the Metropolis Hastings algorithm. Illustrative examples highlight the utility and interpretability of the proposed diagnostic, but also highlight some of its limitations. Please summarise all the given information.

Above are papers related to the following paper: [Paper_ID] Paper #1131236. 	[Title] Bounding Convergence Time of the Gibbs Sampler in Bayesian Image Restoration [Abstract] This paper gives precise, easy to compute bounds on the convergence time of the Gibbs sampler used in Bayesian image reconstruction. For sampling from the Gibbs distribution both with and without the presence of an external field, bounds that are N 2 in the number of pixels are obtained, with a proportionality constant that is easy to calculate. Some key words: Bayesian image restoration; Convergence; Gibbs sampler; Ising model; Markov chain Monte Carlo. Please summarise all the given information.

Above are papers related to the following paper: [Paper_ID] Paper #1131270. 	[Title] Blocking Gibbs Sampling for Linkage Analysis in Large Pedigrees with Many Loops [Abstract]  Please summarise all the given information.

Above are papers related to the following paper: [Paper_ID] Paper #153063. 	[Title] Bayesian Forecasting of Multinomial Time Series through Conditionally Gaussian Dynamic Models [Abstract] Claudia Cargnoni is with the Dipartimento Statistico, Universita di Firenze, 50100 Firenze, Italy. Peter Muller is Assistant Professor, and Mike West is Professor, in the Institute of Statistics and Decision Sciences at Duke University, Durham NC 27708-0251. Research of Cargnoni was performed while visiting ISDS during 1995. Muller and West were partially supported by NSF under grant DMS-9305699. Please summarise all the given information.

Above are papers related to the following paper: [Paper_ID] Paper #644441. 	[Title] MCMC CONVERGENCE DIAGNOSTIC VIA THE CENTRAL LIMIT THEOREM [Abstract] Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods, as introduced by Gelfand and Smith (1990), provide a simulation based strategy for statistical inference. The application fields related to these methods, as well as theoretical convergence properties, have been intensively studied in the recent literature. However, many improvements are still expected to provide workable and theoretically well-grounded solutions to the problem of monitoring the convergence of actual outputs from MCMC algorithms (i.e. the convergence assessment problem). In this paper, we introduce and discuss a methodology based on the Central Limit Theorem for Markov chains to assess convergence of MCMC algorithms. Instead of searching for approximate stationarity, we primarily intend to control the precision of estimates of the invariant probability measure, or of integrals of functions with respect to this measure, through confidence regions based on normal approximation. The first proposed control method tests the normality hypothesis for normalized averages of functions of the Markov chain over independent parallel chains. This normality control provides good guarantees that the whole state space has been explored, even in multimodal situations. It can lead to automated stopping rules. A second tool connected with the normality control is based on graphical monitoring of the stabilization of the variance after n iterations near the limiting variance appearing in the CLT. Both methods require no knowledge of the sampler driving the chain. In this paper, we mainly focus on finite state Markov chains, since this setting allows us to derive consistent estimates of both the limiting variance and the variance after n iterations. Heuristic procedures based on Berry-Esseen bounds are investigated. An extension to the continuous case is also proposed. Numerical simulations illustrating the performance of these methods are given for several examples: a finite chain with multimodal invariant probability, a finite state random walk for which the theoretical rate of convergence to stationarity is known, and a continuous state chain with multimodal invariant probability issued from a Gibbs sampler. Please summarise all the given information.

Above are papers related to the following paper: [Paper_ID] Paper #38537. 	[Title] BAYESIAN STATISTICS 6, pp. 000--000  Exact sampling for Bayesian inference: towards general purpose algorithms [Abstract] There are now methods for organising a Markov chain Monte Carlo simulation so that it can be guaranteed that the state of the process at a given time is exactly drawn from the target distribution. The question of assessing convergence totally vanishes. Such methods are known as exact or perfect sampling. The approach that has received most attention uses the protocol of coupling from the past devised by Propp and Wilson (Random Structures and Algorithms,1996), in which multiple dependent paths of the chain are run from different initial states at a sequence of initial times going backwards into the past, until they satisfy the condition of coalescence by time 0. When this is achieved the state at time 0 is distributed according to the required target. This process must be implemented very carefully to assure its validity (including appropriate re-use of random number streams), and also requires one of various tricks to enable us to follow infinitely many sample paths with a finite amount of work. With the ultimate objective of Bayesian MCMC with guaranteed convergence, the purpose of this paper is to describe recent efforts to construct exact sampling methods for continuous-state Markov chains. We review existing methods based on gamma-coupling and rejection sampling (Murdoch and Green, Scandinavian Journal of Statistics, 1998), that are quite straightforward to understand, but require a closed form for the transition kernel and entail cumbersome algebraic manipulation. We then introduce two new methods based on random walk Metropolis, that offer the prospect of more automatic use, not least because the difficult, continuous, part of the transition mechanism can be coupled in a generic way, using a proposal distribution of convenience. One of the methods is based on a neat decomposition of any unimodal (multivariate) symmetric density into pieces that may be re-assembled to construct any translated copy of itself: that allows coupling of a continuum of Metropolis proposals to a finite set, at least for a compact state space. We discuss methods for economically coupling the subsequent accept/reject decisions. Our second new method deals with unbounded state spaces, using a trick due to W. S. Kendall of running a coupled dominating process in parallel with the sample paths of interest. The random subset of the state space below the dominating path is compact, allowing efficient coupling and coalescence. We look towards the possibility that application of such methods could become sufficiently convenient that they could become the basis for routine Bayesian computation in the foreseeable future. Please summarise all the given information.

Above are papers related to the following paper: [Paper_ID] Paper #137868. 	[Title] On Bayesian analysis of mixtures with an unknown number of components  Summary [Abstract] New methodology for fully Bayesian mixture analysis is developed, making use of reversible jump Markov chain Monte Carlo methods, that are capable of jumping between the parameter subspaces corresponding to different numbers of components in the mixture. A sample from the full joint distribution of all unknown variables is thereby generated, and this can be used as a basis for a thorough presentation of many aspects of the posterior distribution. The methodology is applied here to the analysis of univariate normal mixtures, using a hierarchical prior model that offers an approach to dealing with weak prior information while avoiding the mathematical pitfalls of using improper priors in the mixture context. Please summarise all the given information.

Above are papers related to the following paper: [Paper_ID] Paper #1131277. 	[Title] Bayesian Detection of Clusters and Discontinuities in Disease Maps [Abstract]  Please summarise all the given information.

Above are papers related to the following paper: [Paper_ID] Paper #644334. 	[Title] Convergence controls for MCMC algorithms, with applications to hidden Markov chains [Abstract] In complex models like hidden Markov chains, the convergence of the MCMC algorithms used to approximate the posterior distribution and the Bayes estimates of the parameters of interest must be controlled in a robust manner. We propose in this paper a series of on-line controls, which rely on classical non-parametric tests, to evaluate independence from the start-up distribution, stability of the Markov chain, and asymptotic normality. These tests lead to graphical control spreadsheets which are presented in the set-up of normal mixture hidden Markov chains to compare the full Gibbs sampler with an aggregated Gibbs sampler based on the forward-backward formulae. Please summarise all the given information.

Above are papers related to the following paper: [Paper_ID] Paper #646286. 	[Title] Rate of Convergence of the Gibbs Sampler by Gaussian Approximation  SUMMARY [Abstract] In this article we approximate the rate of convergence of the Gibbs sampler by a normal approximation of the target distribution. Based on this approximation, we consider many implementational issues for the Gibbs sampler, e.g., updating strategy, parameterization and blocking. We give theoretical results to justify our approximation and illustrate our methods in a number of realistic examples. Please summarise all the given information.

Above are papers related to the following paper: [Paper_ID] Paper #646195. 	[Title] Applications and extensions of MCMC in IRT: Multiple item types, missing data, and rated responses [Abstract] Technical Report No. 670 December, 1997 Please summarise all the given information.

Above are papers related to the following paper: [Paper_ID] Paper #642681. 	[Title] Assessing Convergence of Markov Chain Monte Carlo Algorithms [Abstract] We motivate the use of convergence diagnostic techniques for Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithms and review various methods proposed in the MCMC literature. A common notation is established and each method is discussed with particular emphasis on implementational issues and possible extensions. The methods are compared in terms of their interpretability and applicability and recommendations are provided for particular classes of problems. Please summarise all the given information.

Above are papers related to the following paper: [Paper_ID] Paper #644093. 	[Title] Possible biases induced by MCMC convergence diagnostics [Abstract]  Please summarise all the given information.

Above are papers related to the following paper: [Paper_ID] Paper #1131167. 	[Title] Decision Analysis by Augmented Probability Simulation [Abstract] We provide a generic Monte Carlo method to find the alternative of maximum expected utility in a decision analysis. We define an artificial distribution on the product space of alternatives and states, and show that the optimal alternative is the mode of the implied marginal distribution on the alternatives. After drawing a sample from the artificial distribution, we may use exploratory data analysis tools to approximately identify the optimal alternative. We illustrate our method for some important types of influence diagrams. (Decision Analysis, Influence Diagrams, Markov chain Monte Carlo, Simulation) Please summarise all the given information.

Paper #642847 has the title `An Approach to Diagnosing Total Variation Convergence of MCMC Algorithms  
` and the abstract `We introduce a convergence diagnostic procedure for MCMC which operates by estimating total variation distances for the distribution of the algorithm after certain numbers of iterations. The method has advantages over many existing methods in terms of applicability, utility, computational expense and interpretability. It can be used to assess convergence of both marginal and joint posterior densities, and we show how it can be applied to the two most commonly used MCMC samplers; the Gibbs Sampler and the Metropolis Hastings algorithm. Illustrative examples highlight the utility and interpretability of the proposed diagnostic, but also highlight some of its limitations. 
`.
Question: Which category should Paper #642847 be classified as ?
You can select one from ['Neural_Networks', 'Case_Based', 'Theory', 'Reinforcement_Learning', 'Probabilistic_Methods', 'Rule_Learning', 'Genetic_Algorithms'].


Paper #642847 has the title `An Approach to Diagnosing Total Variation Convergence of MCMC Algorithms  
` and the abstract `We introduce a convergence diagnostic procedure for MCMC which operates by estimating total variation distances for the distribution of the algorithm after certain numbers of iterations. The method has advantages over many existing methods in terms of applicability, utility, computational expense and interpretability. It can be used to assess convergence of both marginal and joint posterior densities, and we show how it can be applied to the two most commonly used MCMC samplers; the Gibbs Sampler and the Metropolis Hastings algorithm. Illustrative examples highlight the utility and interpretability of the proposed diagnostic, but also highlight some of its limitations. 
`.
Question: Which category should Paper #642847 be classified as ?
You can select one from ['Neural_Networks', 'Case_Based', 'Theory', 'Reinforcement_Learning', 'Probabilistic_Methods', 'Rule_Learning', 'Genetic_Algorithms'].

This paper should be classified into: Probabilistic_Methods