We propose two Markov chains for sampling (m + 1)-dimensional contingency tables indexed by {1, 2}m × {1, 2, . . . , n}. Stationary distributions of our chains are the uniform distribution and a conditional multinomial distribution (which is equivalent to the hypergeometric distribution ifm=1). Mixing times of our chains are bounded by ( 1 2 )n(n− 1) ln(N/(2m ))= ( 1 2 )n(n− 1) ln(dn/ ), where ...

The paper defines and studies thin times which are random whose graph is contained in a countable union of graphs stopping with respect to reference filtration F. We show that generic time can be decomposed into thick parts, where the second avoiding all F-stopping times. Then, for given ?, we introduce F?, smallest right-continuous containing F making ? time, that, each F-martingale an F?-semi...

At the recent Academy of Canadian Executive Nurses (ACEN) Annual Meeting in November 2008 in Ottawa, I had the privilege and honour of becoming president of this dynamic organization. Founded more than 30 years ago, ACEN represents the voice of senior academic nursing leadership in Canada, helping to set directions for healthcare policy and contributing to the alignment and advancement of the n...

Suitors come to the castle in order to try to win the hand of the Princess Saralinda. The first suitor to perform n amazing feats will succeed. If the number n of feats is large and the times to perform the feats are all i.i.d., then how long is it before a suitor will win the hand of the Princess? We develop asymptotics describing the distribution of this random time as the number of feats get...