The $q$-Weibull distribution, as a generalization of the Weibull distribution, plays an important role in the field of reliability theory, survival analysis, finance, engineering, medical science, etc. In contrast to the Weibull distribution, which is limited to describing monotonic hazard rate functions, the $q$-Weibull distribution offers the flexibility to model various behaviors of the hazard rate function, including unimodal, bathtub-shaped, monotonic (both increasing and decreasing), and constant. In this article, we investigated the stochastic comparison of extreme order statistics derived from independent, heterogeneous $q$-Weibull random variables using various stochastic orderings, including the usual stochastic order, hazard rate order, reversed hazard rate order, and likelihood ratio order. Some of these results are further extended to dependent setups by incorporating Archimedean copulas to model the dependence structure. Finally, we explored the behavior of extreme order statistics when the random variables are subjected to random shocks.

In this paper, we study the joint distribution of the forward and backward recurrence times in a delayed renewal process, as well as their marginal distributions. We obtain several exact results and bounds for these quantities. Some of these bounds are “general,” in the sense that the bounds are valid for any arbitrary distributions of the inter-arrival times, and some are based on aging properties of the distributions of the interarrival times of the renewals. Finally, several numerical examples are presented to illustrate the results.

We introduce the concept of arbitrable stochastic games, which appears to be new. To do so, we consider a reward criterion different from the standard gamma-weighted criterion. This allows us to define the fair price to play a non-competitive stochastic game. We then illustrate the concept through three variations of the classical coin-toss game with chips, providing proofs via Doob’s theorem for supermartingales and practical algorithms. These examples deepen our understanding of the Bitcoin protocol.

In this paper, when the errors in the semi-parametric errors-in-variables model are asymptotic negatively associated (or ρ−, for short) random variables, the estimators of parameter, non-parameter, and error variances in the model are $\widehat{\beta}_{n}$, $\widehat{g}_{n}(t)$, and $ \widehat{\sigma}_{n}^{2}$, respectively, by using wavelet smoothing and least square method. Under some general assumptions, we also establish some results on the strong consistency of the estimators. Furthermore, simulations are conducted to assess the finite sample behavior of the estimators and confirm the validity of the theoretical results.

This paper investigates the complexity of residual lifetimes of live components in coherent systems through the lens of cumulative residual extropy and its divergence-based extension, Jensen-cumulative residual extropy. Unlike classical reliability metrics that focus on system inactivity or mean residual life, our framework quantifies the hidden informational structure of components that remain alive at the system failure time. We derive closed-form expressions for the cumulative residual extropy of conditional residual lifetimes using system signatures and establish stochastic bounds and comparisons that highlight the impact of structural configuration. A novel divergence measure, the Jensen-cumulative residual extropy, is introduced to capture discrepancies between coherent systems and benchmark $k$-out-of-$n$ structures. Numerical illustrations with gamma-distributed lifetimes demonstrate the sensitivity of cumulative residual extropy and Jensen-cumulative residual extropy to redundancy patterns and dependence structures. Furthermore, by integrating cost considerations into the divergence framework, we provide a rigorous optimization scheme for selecting system signatures that jointly minimize informational complexity and economic expenditure. The proposed approach enriches the theoretical foundation of reliability analysis and offers practical guidelines for designing resilient, cost-effective, and information-efficient engineering systems.

Fluid queues governed by birth–death processes have been used to analyze buffer dynamics and stability behavior of the fluid flow systems. However, most existing studies primarily focus on classical single-ended queues, often ignore double-ended queue flow dynamics, or rely heavily on simulation-based approaches. Specifically, the study of the fluid flow systems modulated by double-ended queues subject to the catastrophic failure and subsequent repair processes is challenging and interesting and has not yet received attention in the literature. Even when such systems are considered, explicit closed-form analytic expressions for equilibrium buffer content distributions and related performance measures are rarely available. To overcome these limitations, this article investigates a fluid flow system regulated by a double-ended queue and exposed to catastrophic failures with subsequent repair processes. Such a driven queue can be equivalently represented as a one-dimensional bilateral birth–death process, namely a continuous-time randomized random walk on the integers with catastrophic failures and repairs. The stability condition for the fluid occupancy in the credit buffer is rigorously established, and explicit closed-form analytical expressions for both the probability density function and the cumulative distribution function of the buffer content in the equilibrium regime are determined. These analytic results provide deeper insight into the steady-state behavior of the system and enable the derivation of several vital performance measures of practical interest. Furthermore, graphical illustrations are presented to highlight the influence of the system parameters on the performance descriptors of the fluid content, thereby enhancing the interpretability and applicability of the proposed fluid queueing system.

Consecutive $k$-type systems have become important in both reliability theory and applications; in spite of a large literature existing on them, three-dimensional consecutive $k$-type systems have not yet been studied for multi-state case. In this paper, we introduce several different types of multi-state linear three-dimensional consecutive $k$-type systems for the first time, with due consideration to possible overlapping of failure blocks. The finite Markov chain imbedding approach is then used for the derivation of their reliability functions with state spaces and transition matrices provided in a novel way, and the involved computational process is illustrated through several numerical examples. Finally, some possible applications of the work and potential extensions are pointed out.