Son of a gun: military contributions to science

The race to out-tech the enemy has been fuelling scientific discovery for thousands of years, generating some extraordinary inventions and thrusting humanity forwards into a modern age. In the wake of a succession of defence budget cuts in the UK and abroad, this article considers the legacy of military research

Communicating in Crisis Situations

Communicating technical information, especially in a crisis situation and particularly when the audience does not share the technical background, is a challenge that actuaries frequently face. This essay describes the dynamics and issues involved in crisis communications and provides some recommendations for actuaries confronting such a situation

Stakeholder perspectives on contributors to delayed and inaccurate diagnosis of cardiovascular disease and their implications for digital health technologies: a UK-based qualitative study

Objective: The aim of this study is to understand stakeholder experiences of diagnosis of cardiovascular disease (CVD) to support the development of technological solutions that meet current needs. Specifically, we aimed to identify challenges in the process of diagnosing CVD, to identify discrepancies between patient and clinician experiences of CVD diagnosis, and to identify the requirements of future health technology solutions intended to improve CVD diagnosis. Design: Semistructured focus groups and one-to-one interviews to generate qualitative data that were subjected to thematic analysis. Participants: UK-based individuals (N=32) with lived experience of diagnosis of CVD (n=23) and clinicians with experience in diagnosing CVD (n=9). Results: We identified four key themes related to delayed or inaccurate diagnosis of CVD: symptom interpretation, patient characteristics, patient–clinician interactions and systemic challenges. Subthemes from each are discussed in depth. Challenges related to time and communication were greatest for both stakeholder groups; however, there were differences in other areas, for example, patient experiences highlighted difficulties with the psychological aspects of diagnosis and interpreting ambiguous symptoms, while clinicians emphasised the role of individual patient differences and the lack of rapport in contributing to delays or inaccurate diagnosis. Conclusions: Our findings highlight key considerations when developing digital technologies that seek to improve the efficiency and accuracy of diagnosis of CVD

Letters. Two letters about captured U-Boats in World War One.

Letters. Two letters about captured U-Boats in World War One

Making an Impact: Creating a University Student-Driven Statistical Consulting Group for Non-Profits

A common problem in mathematics and statistics departments at academic institutions is providing students with experience working with real data in place of the often sanitized “toy” datasets used in the classroom. A solution can be creating mutually beneficial collaborations with local organizations and businesses. This paper discusses the creation of the Bryant University Statistical Consulting Office (BUSCO), and explores both its successes and challenges, with the purpose of guiding and inspiring other colleges and universities in establishing similar organizations. In particular, we discuss the challenges involved with obtaining funding, identifying and partnering with non-profits, and guiding students through meaningful and purposeful consulting experiences. We also share some note-worthy project outcomes

Dynamic Financial Analysis of Property-Liability Insurance Companies

199 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1998.This research applies state-of-the-art financial techniques to the dynamic financial modeling of property-liability (P-L) insurance companies. Dynamic financial analysis (DFA)--a relatively new concept in the P-L industry--attempts to analyze the underwriting and financial operations of an insurance company as an integrated whole. The objective of this dissertation is twofold: first, to provide a framework for current and future DFA models for the P-L insurance industry; second, to use these models to test various hypotheses concerning valuation, corporate decision-making, and optimal regulatory policy. Two types of DFA models are developed. The first is termed "conventional" since it builds on existing financial models in the life and P-L insurance industries. The single-period conventional model developed here incorporates insurance-specific factors, in a stochastic framework, and provides probability distributions of outcomes of key financial variables. The second type of model uses continuous-time financial techniques, which provide a more sophisticated approach to dealing with certain financial parameters. This alternative multi-period model can take many different forms, depending upon the particular specification. Each period of this model consists of a continuous-time segment between annual regulatory audits, and also allows for discrete jumps and instantaneous corporate and/or closure decisions. Parallel development of these two types of models will allow for an evaluation of the benefit of moving from a conventional to a more financially sophisticated alternative model, and will aid in the selection of appropriate parameters for future conventional models.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD