The Swinney Conservatory of Music at Central Methodist University: an Historical Study

The Swinney Conservatory of Music at Central Methodist University in Fayette, Missouri has a long history of producing a significant number of the music educators. Even before the conservatory\u27s founding in 1925, music and music education played an important role in the town of Fayette. Since the mid-nineteenth century there were two colleges in Fayette: Central College and Howard Female College. While both schools grew alongside each other, it was at Howard College (later renamed Howard-Payne College) where music was taught. When the two schools merged in 1923, Howard-Payne\u27s music department was transferred to Central and in 1925 was reorganized into the Swinney Conservatory of Music. This study examines the history of music at Central Methodist University from the early ensembles and curriculum at both Central and Howard-Payne Colleges through the founding of the Swinney Conservatory in 1925 to the present day. The study focuses on the many people that helped establish Central Methodist\u27s reputation along with the performing ensembles that have existed since the beginning of the twentieth century. Sources that were examined include course archival material (catalogues, yearbooks and student newspapers) from Central and Howard-Payne College, historical records in the state of Missouri and personal interviews and statements from Central alumni

The impact of active workstations on workplace productivity and performance: a systematic review

Active workstations have been recommended for reducing sedentary behavior in the workplace. It is important to understand if the use of these workstations has an impact on worker productivity. The aim of this systematic review was to examine the effect of active workstations on workplace productivity and performance. A total of 3303 articles were initially identified by a systematic search and seven articles met eligibility criteria for inclusion. A quality appraisal was conducted to assess risk of bias, confounding, internal and external validity, and reporting. Most of the studies reported cognitive performance as opposed to productivity. Five studies assessed cognitive performance during use of an active workstation, usually in a single session. Sit-stand desks had no detrimental effect on performance, however, some studies with treadmill and cycling workstations identified potential decreases in performance. Many of the studies lacked the power required to achieve statistical significance. Three studies assessed workplace productivity after prolonged use of an active workstation for between 12 and 52 weeks. These studies reported no significant effect on productivity. Active workstations do not appear to decrease workplace performance

SETTLING FOR LESS: THE INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF THE HOTEL FEASIBILITY STUDY

Hotel feasibility studies play an important role in the hotel development process as hotel developers, lenders, and operators all require an analysis of a hotel’s projected operating performance and the ensuing financial returns. Such studies are rarely effective, however, at predicting future performance. Although scholars and practitioners have repeatedly recommended numerous improvements to correct their methodological weaknesses and improve their accuracy, few changes have been incorporated. This study’s purpose was to identify the underlying reasons why the methodological improvements identified in previous studies have not been undertaken. The research employed a qualitative methodology based on interviews with leading hotel owners, developers, lenders, and consultants. The key findings of the research demonstrated that the way in which feasibility studies are used, the value the stakeholders place on them, cost and time constraints, and the limited incentives and accountability associated with improving underlying assumptions and methodologies are key drivers behind the marginalization and stagnant evolution of the hotel feasibility study

Chapter 2: Medical Tests Guidance (2) Developing the Topic and Structuring Systematic Reviews of Medical Tests: Utility of PICOTS, Analytic Frameworks, Decision Trees, and Other Frameworks

Topic development and structuring a systematic review of diagnostic tests are complementary processes. The goals of a medical test review are to identify and synthesize evidence to evaluate the impacts alternative testing strategies on health outcomes and to promote informed decisionmaking. A common challenge is that the request for a review may state the claim for the test ambiguously. Due to the indirect impact of medical tests on clinical outcomes, reviewers need to identify which intermediate outcomes link a medical test to improved clinical outcomes. In this paper, we propose the use of five principles to deal with challenges: the PICOTS typology (patient population, intervention, comparator, outcomes, timing, setting), analytic frameworks, simple decision trees, other organizing frameworks and rules for when diagnostic accuracy is sufficient

Separations for Estimating Large Frequency Moments on Data Streams

We study the classical problem of moment estimation of an underlying vector whose $n$ coordinates are implicitly defined through a series of updates in a data stream. We show that if the updates to the vector arrive in the random-order insertion-only model, then there exist space efficient algorithms with improved dependencies on the approximation parameter $\varepsilon$. In particular, for any real $p > 2$, we first obtain an algorithm for $F_p$ moment estimation using $\tilde{\mathcal{O}}\left(\frac{1}{\varepsilon^{4/p}}\cdot n^{1-2/p}\right)$ bits of memory. Our techniques also give algorithms for $F_p$ moment estimation with $p>2$ on arbitrary order insertion-only and turnstile streams, using $\tilde{\mathcal{O}}\left(\frac{1}{\varepsilon^{4/p}}\cdot n^{1-2/p}\right)$ bits of space and two passes, which is the first optimal multi-pass $F_p$ estimation algorithm up to $\log n$ factors. Finally, we give an improved lower bound of $\Omega\left(\frac{1}{\varepsilon^2}\cdot n^{1-2/p}\right)$ for one-pass insertion-only streams. Our results separate the complexity of this problem both between random and non-random orders, as well as one-pass and multi-pass streams.Comment: ICALP 202

Effect of a machine learning-based severe sepsis prediction algorithm on patient survival and hospital length of stay: a randomised clinical trial.

IntroductionSeveral methods have been developed to electronically monitor patients for severe sepsis, but few provide predictive capabilities to enable early intervention; furthermore, no severe sepsis prediction systems have been previously validated in a randomised study. We tested the use of a machine learning-based severe sepsis prediction system for reductions in average length of stay and in-hospital mortality rate.MethodsWe conducted a randomised controlled clinical trial at two medical-surgical intensive care units at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center, evaluating the primary outcome of average length of stay, and secondary outcome of in-hospital mortality rate from December 2016 to February 2017. Adult patients (18+) admitted to participating units were eligible for this factorial, open-label study. Enrolled patients were assigned to a trial arm by a random allocation sequence. In the control group, only the current severe sepsis detector was used; in the experimental group, the machine learning algorithm (MLA) was also used. On receiving an alert, the care team evaluated the patient and initiated the severe sepsis bundle, if appropriate. Although participants were randomly assigned to a trial arm, group assignments were automatically revealed for any patients who received MLA alerts.ResultsOutcomes from 75 patients in the control and 67 patients in the experimental group were analysed. Average length of stay decreased from 13.0 days in the control to 10.3 days in the experimental group (p=0.042). In-hospital mortality decreased by 12.4 percentage points when using the MLA (p=0.018), a relative reduction of 58.0%. No adverse events were reported during this trial.ConclusionThe MLA was associated with improved patient outcomes. This is the first randomised controlled trial of a sepsis surveillance system to demonstrate statistically significant differences in length of stay and in-hospital mortality.Trial registrationNCT03015454