Whitworth runs on a circle

SummarySuppose different classes of items, for example, beads of different colours, are placed in a circle. Two probability models have been proposed, which lead to different distributions of runs, i.e. sequences of one colour. Barton and David [3] have called these Whitworth runs and Jablonski runs, and have tabulated the distributions for small samples. Asano [1] has extended the tabulations for Jablonski runs. In this paper, Whitworth runs are examined, particularly some approximations to the distributions which avoid extensive tabulations. Some potential uses of Whitworth runs are also pointed out.