TY - JOUR Y1 - 2012/04// N1 - Published online before print April 6, 2012 TI - Interactions between ageing and risk properties in the analysis of burn-in problems A1 - Foschi, Rachele A1 - Spizzichino, Fabio UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/deca.1120.0236 PB - INFORMS AV - public SN - 1545-8490 JF - Decision Analysis KW - ageing; optimal decisions; utility functions; target-based approach ID - eprints1267 N2 - Several relevant problems in reliability can be looked at as problems of risk management and of decisions in the face of uncertainty. However, in this frame, the so-called burn-in problem can be seen as a problem of risk taking par excellence. In this paper, we in particular point out some aspects concerning interactions between the probabilistic model for lifetimes and considerations of an economic kind. As one of the features of our work, we hinge on some unexplored connections between ageing properties of a one-dimensional survival function Formula and risk-aversion-type properties of the function u(t) = bG(t), b > 0, when the latter is seen as a utility function. ER -