-
Federal surveillance, track-and-trace technology may be on the way for…
Scott E. Rupp Medical & Allied HealthcarePortions of the U.S. — those areas with the most cases of the virus — are seeing their health systems become overwhelmed. Among the carnage, former top government healthcare officials Scott Gottlieb and Farzad Mostashari are proposing the construction of a national COVID-19 surveillance system. Such a system, they said in a recent policy paper, calls for the implementations of tools and policies "to conduct more effective surveillance, containment, and case management of COVID-19 for the future."
-
Data strategies for better decision-making
Indiana Lee Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementData is the most valuable currency in the business world today. Today, it is those businesses that make a practice of collecting and analyzing data to gain intelligent insights that are on the frontier of innovation, efficiency, and success. As an executive or decision-maker, it is thus vital that you understand what effective business intelligence techniques can do for your business, as well as how insights from data can aid you with everything from keeping you up to date with the latest business trends to understanding what specific skills your data employees need to succeed.
-
Thinking critically about COVID-19, public health, and our erratic response
Keith Carlson Medical & Allied HealthcareIn these days of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a great deal of commonly held focus on hobbled supply chains, widespread lack of PPE, the egregiously defunded American public health system, and other ills that negatively impact our ability to mitigate and respond to this existential crisis. While this writer in no way claims to have deep knowledge of healthcare economics and related policy, the obvious fact is that something is wrong when a country largely perceived to be a "global superpower" cannot effectively launch and sustain a concerted, cohesive response to such a threat. Something is indeed amiss, so how can we think critically about this lamentable turn of events?
-
Racism amidst the pandemic: 3 Asian Americans’ experiences during…
LeRon L. Barton Mental HealthcareThrough panic and hysteria related to the coronavirus pandemic, racism has reared its ugly head. Because the virus originated from China, Chinese American and other Asian American communities have been experiencing racist, verbal, and physical attacks. Stop AAPI Hate, an online incident report from the Asian Pacific Policy & Planning Council, states that there have been over 650 reports of discrimination against Asian Americans. Below is an interview with three Asian American women: Annalise, 35, accountant; Vivian, 29, entrepreneur; and Queenie, 32, healthcare worker. They share their experiences on how race has shaped the way we view the pandemic.
-
How COVID-19 affects the school lunch program
Patrick Gleeson EducationIn a couple of earlier articles, I wrote about how the coronavirus threatens U.S. education in general. Here, I'd like to concentrate on one particular aspect of the problem: how the coronavirus will make an already highly unequal K-12 education experience even less equal by depriving the neediest students of what may be their only substantial daily meal.
-
Reform paves path for emergency mass prisoner release
Michelle R. Matisons Law Enforcement, Defense & SecurityBecause of U.S. prison conditions before the pandemic, federal, state and county prison and jail facilities were considering or enacting various early and mass release, or facility shutdown, plans. These pre-pandemic release plans are the very COVID-19 infection and death mitigation plans required now, but not enough officials are enacting emergency protocols to release inmates from this contagion danger. A recent article in The Intercept describes Rikers Island's jail infection rate as eight times higher than New York City's rate per 1,000 people.
-
Americans are concerned they can’t afford coronavirus care
Scott E. Rupp Medical & Allied HealthcareDuring the coronavirus crisis, Americans have plenty of fears about the virus and their health and well-being, a new Kaiser Family Foundation survey says. In it, 39% of those who responded also said they are facing financial strife and that they had either lost a job or some income because of the virus. While there are efforts in place to protect citizens financially, patients' fears about being able to afford care because of a lack of financial means may not be unfounded.
-
The hidden social impact of crime-stopping AI
Brian Wallace Science & TechnologyOne major way that artificial intelligence is purported to help society is with its crime-fighting capabilities. For example, crime prediction software can adapt existing AI models to historical crime data. However, this type of AI’s data feedback loop can lead to problems with bias, self-fulfilling predictions, and may ignore crimes that go unreported. Learn more about this tech and its possible problems with this infographic.
-
COVID-19 leads to rapid e-learning growth in K-12 education
Bambi Majumdar EducationAccording to Education Week, the spread of the coronavirus has forced the closure of at least 124,000 K-12 schools across the country, and learning has gone virtual. While K-12 educators are trying to shift to e-learning in record time and continue teaching, they, along with students, are receiving a lot of help from the K-12 tech industry. Major education technology companies are making their paid services free through the rest of the school year and are even adding premium features to those.
-
6 of America’s newest state parks
Dave G. Houser Recreation & LeisureAmerica is justly famous for its broad array of 400-plus national park sites — but the country's more than 10,000 state parks offer an even greater opportunity for outdoor adventure and recreation. Although many states have temporarily closed their parks in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, there will be a day in the not-too-distant future when the barriers come down and our urge to get outdoors will be satisfied. So how about someplace new and different? — like one of the country’s half-dozen newest state parks.
All Civil & Government Articles