In this paper we examine maximum likelihood estimation procedures in multilevel models for two level nesting structures. Usually, for fixed effects and variance components estimation, level-one error terms and random effects are assumed to be normally distributed. Nevertheless, in some...

A mixture model incorporating long-term survivors has been adopted in the field of biostatistics where some individuals may never experience the failure event under study. The surviving fractions may be considered as cured. In most applications, the survival times are assumed to be independent....