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Equity Action Plan Summary: Federal Emergency Management Agency
From the Document: "FEMA can enhance equity by executing a methodical, multilayered, and systematic approach to analyzing intended and actual accessibility to and impacts for underserved and marginalized communities. Starting from the highest level of leadership, FEMA is integrating equity into its strategic plan, goals and priorities, programs and activities, and foundational documents and processes. These actions will help to achieve the following impacts: underserved communities will be able to access and leverage resources in ways that meet their needs, underserved communities will be routinely consulted in decisions about policy and program implementation, staff and partners will have the training and tools required to advance equity in their programs, resources will be directed to eliminate disparities in outcomes, and programs will be routinely evaluated and address disparities in outcomes."
United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency
2022-04?
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Equity Action Plan Summary: U.S. General Services Administration
From the Document: "GSA [U.S. General Services Administration] delivers mission-critical services and core products to federal agency customers and clients, which makes the agency uniquely positioned to have a multiplier effect across government in advancing equity and removing barriers for underserved communities. GSA will leverage its mission to contribute to closing the racial wealth gap by advancing equity through supplier diversity and increasing opportunities for overall contract dollars to be awarded to underserved and disadvantaged businesses. GSA's governmentwide technology services and solutions each serve millions of end-users annually. GSA is dedicated to actions that prioritize equitable user experience as a core design principle, mitigate algorithmic bias, improve digital accessibility, and thereby modernize the delivery of government services to the American people."
United States. General Services Administration
2022-04?
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Despair and Resilience in the U.S.: Did the Covid Pandemic Worsen Mental Health Outcomes?
From the Abstract: "The COVID [coronavirus disease] pandemic was an unprecedented shock to U.S. society at a time when the nation was already coping with a crisis of despair and related deaths from suicides, overdoses, and alcohol poisoning. COVID's impact was inequitable: Deaths were concentrated among the elderly and minorities working in essential jobs, groups who up to the pandemic had been reporting better mental health. Yet how the shock has affected society's well-being and mental health is not fully understood. Exploring the impact by comparing 2019 to 2020 as reflected in nationally representative data sets, we found a variety of contrasting stories. While data from the 2019 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and the 2020 Household Pulse Survey (HPS) show that depression and anxiety increased significantly, especially among young and low-income Americans in 2020, we found no such changes when analyzing alternative depression questions in the 2019-20 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Nevertheless, for the same period determinants of mental health were similar in the NHIS, BRFSS, and HPS data. We also explored whether the pandemic affected physical health and behaviors by examining Emergency Medical Services (EMS) data calls related to behavior, overdoses, suicide attempts, and gun violence. [...] Our results highlight two findings: (1) Scholars investigating mental and behavioral health trends must be cautious about relying too heavily on a single dataset; results generated from different data may differ considerably. (2) High metropolitan rates of depression and anxiety may be correlated with higher rates of suicide and overdose years later."
Brookings Institution. Global Economy and Development
Graham, Carol, 1962-; Dobson, Emily; Hua, Tim . . .
2022-04
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F-35 Joint Strike Fighter: Cost Growth and Schedule Delays Continue, Report to Congressional Committees
From the Highlights: "The F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter program remains DOD's most expensive weapon system program. It is estimated to cost over $1.7 trillion to buy, operate, and sustain. DOD is 4 years into a development effort to modernize the F-35 aircraft's capabilities. An important element to operating and maintaining the F-35 is a complex logistics system called ALIS [Autonomic Logistics Information System]. In 2020, DOD began an effort to improve ALIS after years of concerns regarding its performance. Congress included provisions in two statutes for GAO [Government Accountability Office] to review the F-35 program. This report (1) identifies the F-35's progress towards full-rate production, (2) addresses the program's progress and improvements towards developing, testing, and delivering modernization capabilities, and (3) describes DOD's plan for improving its logistics system."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2022-04
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Traffic Safety: Implementing Leading Practices Could Improve Management of Mandated Rulemakings and Reports, Report to Congressional Requesters
From the Highlights: "According to NHTSA [National Highway Traffic Safety Administration] estimates, 38,824 people died in motor vehicle crashes in 2020 on U.S. roads and highways, with even more projected to have died in 2021. NHTSA is responsible for overseeing the safety of motor vehicles on U.S. roads. GAO [Government Accountability Office] was asked to examine NHTSA's processes for developing statutorily required, or 'mandated,' rulemakings and reports. In this report, GAO examined: (1) the number of rulemakings and reports mandated by MAP-21 [Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act] and the FAST [Fixing America's Surface Transportation] Act that NHTSA completed, and factors that affected its completion of selected mandates; and (2) the extent to which NHTSA followed leading project schedule management practices when developing mandated rulemakings and reports, among other objectives."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2022-04
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Economic Case for Federal Investment in COVID-19 Vaccines and Therapeutics Remains Strong
From the Document: "Vaccines and therapeutics have greatly reduced rates of severe illness and death from COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019]. On March 2, the Biden administration formally requested [hyperlink] an additional $22.5 billion in COVID-19 response funding, most of which would have supported additional investments in the development, manufacturing, and procurement of COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics. The Biden administration subsequently stated [hyperlink] that, without new funding, it would have to wind down most federal efforts related to the production and procurement of COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics. Congressional negotiations are ongoing and appear on track to produce a much smaller [hyperlink] package of funding, if any new funding is approved at all. [...] We argue that there is a strong economic case for continued federal investment in COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics. In brief, the private sector on its own will invest too little because COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics generate enormous benefits for public health and the macroeconomy that private firms can only very partially capture. Preexisting uninsurance and underinsurance, especially among vulnerable populations, also hinder access to preventive measures and treatment. Direct federal investment in development, manufacturing, and procurement of vaccines and therapeutics--and in ensuring affordable access to these products--has been key to overcoming these challenges to date and will remain important in the future. Over the longer term, policymakers could consider assigning the health insurance system a larger role in paying for these activities, but doing so in a sensible way will take time and require legislative changes."
Brookings Institution; University of Southern California. Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics
Athey, Susan; Conti, Rena M.; Fiedler, Matthew . . .
2022-04-01
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Evidence-Based Policy Making: USDA's Decision to Relocate Research Agencies to Kansas City Was Not Fully Consistent with an Evidence-Based Approach, Report to Congressional Requesters
From the Highlights: "USDA [U.S Department of Agriculture] is made up of several agencies, including the research agencies, ERS [Economic Research Service] and NIFA. ERS reviews trends and emerging issues in food, agriculture, the environment, and rural America, while NIFA [National Institute of Food and Agriculture] administers federal funding through formula and competitive grants, among other things. In October 2019, USDA relocated most staff positions at ERS and NIFA from their headquarters in Washington, D.C. to Kansas City, Missouri. This decision was based on USDA's economic analysis. USDA stated the move would save taxpayers more than $300 million over 15 years compared to remaining in the Washington, D.C. region. GAO [Government Accountability Office] was asked to assess the analysis USDA used to support its decision to relocate ERS and NIFA to the Kansas City region. This report reviewed how USDA made its relocation decision, the underlying analyses, and the use of evidence in its decision-making."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2022-04
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Taking Stock After Two Years of Covid-19
From the Executive Summary: "When it became known in early 2020 that Covid-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] was becoming a global pandemic, it also became clear that governmental responses to the pandemic would have significant effects on democracy and human rights. At that time, International IDEA [Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance] (supported by the European Union) began a programme to track what governments did and how that affected democracy and human rights. Now, with two years of data from International IDEA's Global Monitor of Covid-19's Impact on Democracy and Human Rights (Global Monitor), we can take stock of what has happened, and in which areas the events align with or differ from our expectations about how a pandemic might affect these vital areas of public life. This report uses data from the Global Monitor to specifically examine the effects of the pandemic responses in six broad areas: (1) emergency legal responses and civil liberties, (2) freedom of movement, association, and assembly, (3) freedom of expression and media integrity, (4) privacy rights and contact tracing applications, (5) women's rights and minority rights, and (6) vaccination and fundamental rights. In each of the sections, the report describes the global trends in each of these areas, highlights cases that illustrate both positive and negative examples, and considers what the upcoming challenges will be."
International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance
Gibaja, Alberto Fernández; Hirakawa, Atsuko; Hudson, Alexander . . .
2022-04
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Assured Access: A History of the United States Air Force Space Launch Enterprise, 1945-2020
From the Preface: "'Assured Access: A History of the United States Air Force Space Launch Enterprise, 1945-2020' is a study of more than six decades of Air Force launch support for the nation's military, intelligence, and civilian space communities. From their inception as refurbished ballistic missiles, Air Force boosters have launched national security space payloads for the Defense Department (DOD) and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), as well as for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and commercial and other civilian elements. Throughout this period, Air Force launch strategy has been to provide assured access to space by means of affordable, reliable, and responsive launch. Basic technology that produced the expendable launch space boosters of the early Cold War era changed little in fundamental engineering and manufacturing processes from that period until the advent of the evolved expendable launch vehicle (EELV) program at the turn of the new century. Expendable launch vehicles (ELV) had been the backbone of Air Force space flight until the arrival of the space shuttle, with its promise of routine access to space. By the early 1980s, that promise had become increasingly problematical as space shuttle development and launch rate promises failed to meet projected targets."
Air University (U.S.). Press
Spires, David N.
2022-04
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Digital Health Credentials and COVID-19: Can Vaccine and Testing Requirements Restart Global Mobility?
From the Introduction: "More than two years into the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic, rising vaccination levels and widespread testing in many countries are giving governments and the public increasing confidence in international travel. A central part of these efforts to restart mobility are digital health credentials, which verify a person's vaccination, testing, and/or recovery status and thus help minimize the risk that travelers will be carrying the virus or its variants. Such digital credentials are increasingly common, both for international travel and to access domestic services and venues. [...] This report examines the implications of digital health credentials for international travel and domestic access to services and venues, before exploring the implications for specific groups of people on the move (tourists and business travelers, students, labor migrants, asylum seekers and refugees, and unauthorized migrants). Finally, it offers policy recommendations to facilitate mobility and minimize risks for people on the move, along with key principles that should underpin long-term planning around digital credentials."
Migration Policy Institute
Huang, Lawrence
2022-04
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Stockpile Stewardship in an Era of Renewed Strategic Competition
From the Introduction: "Stockpile stewardship was born in a particular moment in the security environment-- in that optimistic period after the end of the Cold War marked by rising confidence that major power confrontation would turn to major power concert in support of a new world order. [...] Alas, this moment has now passed. A new world order has not emerged; instead, the U.S.-led orders in Europe and Asia are hotly contested by Russia and China. Cooperation among the major powers has waned, while competition and rivalry have intensified. What does this imply for the ambition to reduce nuclear dangers through the exercise of strategic restraint? How, if at all, should the United States modify its approach to maintaining a nuclear deterrent in light of the new, more competitive relationships with Russia and China? These questions came into sharper focus with revelations in 2018 about novel Russian nuclear systems and in 2021 about China's covert program to deploy large numbers of new weapons. In reaction, CGSR [Center for Global Security Research] launched a project in 2021 designed to address a few key questions: [1] How have the United States, Russia, and China approached the maintenance of their nuclear deterrents in a changing security environment? [2] Where do their approaches align and differ? [3] Do the asymmetries matter? [4] How competitive is the U.S. approach?"
Center for Global Security Research; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Roberts, Brad; Albertson, Michael; Anastasio, Michael . . .
2022-04
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Department of Defense Equity Action Plan
From the Executive Summary: "In January 2021, the Department of Defense (DoD) took steps to immediately implement President Biden's Executive Order (EO) 13985, 'Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government', by conducting an equity assessment to identify potential barriers that underserved communities and individuals face regarding Federal programs. The enclosed responds to EO 13985, which requires Federal agencies to produce an equity action plan. While the Department has historically focused on increasing equity within the DoD community, the collective actions described in this plan represent a shift in the Department's approach and focus to better ensure that we leverage our capabilities to create opportunities for 'all' Americans."
United States. Department of Defense
2022-04
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Cyber Deterrence Revisited
From the Abstract: "The discourse on cyber deterrence is a melting pot of ideas, concepts, and experiments meant to continuously twist, bend, and refine our understanding, from the conflict dynamics playing out in cyberspace to the psychological deterrence effects taking root inside the human mind. At least, that is how it ought to be. With the exception of persistent engagement, cyber deterrence thinking has to a large degree treaded intellectual water due to the absence of access to operational data and insights into the tactical decision-making processes. To circumvent this substantial gap, academics have turned to recycling and transposing known deterrence mechanisms onto the cyber domain to mimic known behavioral outcomes elsewhere. Overall, those efforts have had limited practical success or could even be considered counterproductive for creating a deterrence theory applicable to cyberspace. This paper is a correcting effort to disentangle the ongoing academic discussions. It critically reflects on mechanism outcomes, shortfalls, and misconceptions and explains when cyber deterrence is successful and when it is not. It also outlines potential research avenues, policies, and access requirements that will likely help to ascertain the deterrence effects we so desperately crave to create in cyberspace."
Air University (U.S.). Press
Soesanto, Stefan
2022-04
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Augmented Reality (AR) Usability Evaluation Framework: The Case of Public Safety Communications Research
From the Abstract: "Augmented Reality (AR) is an enhanced version of reality created by the use of technology to overlay digital information on an image of something being viewed through a device. AR solutions have potential uses in many fields such as education, healthcare, retail, repair/maintenance, manufacturing, and gaming. Any well-conducted and well-planned product development project should follow an iterative human-centered process. [...] This report provides a five-component AR Usability Evaluation Framework to facilitate systematic planning of usability evaluations to ensure successful evaluations and collection of useful usability data for product improvement. The five components are: (1) Determine evaluation scope; (2) Identify users and context of use; (3) Develop evaluation scenario and tasks; (4) Select applicable usability metrics; and (5) Define usability measures for selected metrics. Following this framework to conduct usability evaluations throughout development cycle will help reduce development cost and bring the AR solutions to market faster, while providing usable products that are easy, quick, comfortable, and safe to use."
National Institute of Standards and Technology (U.S.)
Choong, Yee-Yin; Goad, Kurtis; Mangold, Kevin
2022-04
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E.O. 13985 Equity Action Plan: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, April 2022
From the Executive Summary: "Under the leadership of Administrator Michael S. Regan, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has committed to making equity, environmental justice, and civil rights a centerpiece of the agency's mission. EPA's strategic plan for FY2022-2026--finalized in February 2022--includes 'Take Decisive Action to Advance Environmental Justice and Civil Rights' as Strategic Goal 2 and outlines the following key objectives: [1] 'Objective 2.1': Promote Environmental Justice and Civil Rights at the Federal, Tribal, State, and Local Levels[;] [2] 'Objective 2.2': Embed Environmental Justice and Civil Rights into EPA's Programs, Policies, and Activities[;] [and 3] 'Objective 2.3': Strengthen Civil Rights Enforcement in Communities with Environmental Justice Concerns[.]"
United States. Environmental Protection Agency
2022-04
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Scientific Integrity: HHS Agencies Need to Develop Procedures and Train Staff on Reporting and Addressing Political Interference, Report to Congressional Addressees
From the Highlights: "Since 2007, Congress and multiple administrations have taken actions to help ensure that federal science agencies have scientific integrity policies and procedures in place that, among other things, protect against the suppression or alteration of scientific findings for political purposes. GAO [Government Accountability Office] defined scientific integrity as the use of scientific evidence and data to make policy decisions that are based on established scientific methods and processes, are not inappropriately influenced by political considerations, and are shared with the public when appropriate. GAO was asked to review scientific integrity policies and procedures, and how allegations of political interference in scientific decision-making are addressed at CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention], FDA, NIH [National Institutes of Health], and ASPR [Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response]. This report examines the procedures in place to address such allegations and the extent to which agencies received them. It also examines training provided by selected agencies on scientific integrity policies and procedures, including those related to political interference. GAO analyzed the agencies' scientific integrity policies, procedures, and trainings; interviewed agency officials, and employees, which includes managers and non-managers; and deployed a confidential hotline."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2022-04
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Economic Report of the President: Transmitted to the Congress April 2022, Together with the Annual Report of the Council of Economic Advisers
From the Document: "When I took office on January 20, 2021, I looked out at a Nation that was in the midst of the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic and experiencing a weak and uneven economic recovery. There were roughly 4 million workers who had been unemployed for more than 6 months. The Congressional Budget Office and private sector forecasters predicted a slow decrease in the unemployment rate throughout 2021. Our Nation needed an economic policy that was nimble enough to meet the significant and evolving challenges required to defeat a pandemic and recover from the severe economic disruptions it had caused. Recovery had to be swift and robust; it was not sufficient to return to where we had been, we also had to build toward a better future. Today, we look out at a markedly different America. Over 200 million Americans have been fully vaccinated and are now protected from the worst of COVID-19. Businesses have been able to resume activity. Schools and childcare centers are open again. Our Nation's economic recovery has been strong, marked by dramatic increases in employment and GDP [Gross Domestic Product]. Moreover, our progress has been achieved with a $360 billion decline in the Nation's deficit in fiscal year (FY) 2021 and a historic $1.3 trillion projected decrease in FY22. This success was not preordained. It is the result of well-designed and well-administered policies."
United States. White House Office
Biden, Joseph R., Jr.
2022-04
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Suicide Prevention: DOD Should Enhance Oversight, Staffing, Guidance, and Training Affecting Certain Remote Installations, Report to Congressional Committees
From the Highlights: "In 2020, DOD recorded 384 active component suicide deaths, representing a 33.5 percent increase in the suicide rate since 2016. Some of these servicemembers were stationed at remote OCONUS [outside the contiguous United States] installations, defined by GAO [Government Accountability Office] as meeting DOD criteria involving factors such as harsh living conditions and limited resources. In response to a provision in the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, this report examines, among other objectives, the extent to which DOD and the military services have, in relation to remote OCONUS installations (1) collected required suicide incident data, and what is known about the incidence of suicide and related risk factors among servicemembers during 2016-2020; (2) established and ensured implementation of policies, programs, and activities that address suicide prevention; and (3) established guidance and training for key personnel for responding to suicide deaths and attempts."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2022-04
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Guide to the Distributed Energy Resource Risk Management Framework
From the Executive Summary: "The emergence of distributed energy resources (DERs) has transformed the electric power sector and will likely have even more profound impacts on the future evolution of the United States energy sector as it modernizes and becomes more reliant upon complex informatics programming and systems to ensure that our power grid remains safe from malicious interference. In an effort to improve the nation's cybersecurity posture, Executive Order 13800: Strengthening the Cybersecurity of Federal Networks and Critical Infrastructure (2017) recognizes the increasing interconnectedness of federal information systems while acknowledging that critical infrastructure is at risk due to the misalignment of many policies that govern information technology at a national level. Office of Management and Budget Circular A-130, 'Managing Information as a Strategic Resource' (2016) addresses responsibilities for protecting federal information resources, requiring agencies to implement the Risk Management Framework (RMF), developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Executive Order 14028: Improving the Nation's Cybersecurity (2021) clarifies the responsibility of the federal government to collaborate with the private sector to maintain a safe virtual environment that is agile and may be modified in tandem with the discovery of new cybersecurity threats and proactive mitigation of unknown future cybersecurity incidents."
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (U.S.)
Thomas, Dana-Marie; Sanghvi, Anuj; Touhiduzzaman, MD . . .
2022-04
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Journal of Military Learning (Volume 6, Number 1)
This April 2022 edition of the "Journal of Military Learning" contains the following articles: "Improving After Action Review (AAR): Applications of Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning" by Kim Cates, Marc Banghart, and Alexander Plant; "A Mixed Methods Analysis of STEM [science, technology, engineering and math] Major Attrition at the U.S. Air Force Academy" by Daniel S. O'Keefe, David Meier, Jorge Valentine-Rodríguez, Lachlan T. Belcher, and Wilson González-Espada; "The Impact of Military Occupational Specialty Training on the Trait Development of Marines" by Tom Miller, Bruce Moore, Michael D. "Mo" Becker, Calvin Lathan, and Adam Beatty; "The Cost of Compliance: A Call for Context in Military Behavioral Compliance Training" by Bradley J. Sanders; "Nontechnical Skills: A Development Hierarchy for Military Teams" by Sandra Veigas Campaniço Cavaleiro, Catarina Gomes, and Miguel Pereira Lopes; and "Upcoming Conferences of Note."
Army University Press (U.S.)
2022-04
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AQIM's Imperial Playbook: Understanding al-Qa`ida in the Islamic Maghreb's Expansion into West Africa
From the Executive Summary: "In 2021, the United Nations noted the newfound threats of the Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), a branch of al-Qa`ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), that extended into Burkina Faso and the Ivory Coast, stretching farther yet into Ghana, Togo, and Benin. Had an observer in 2006 had this information presented to them, they might have scarcely believed it. That year, in which AQIM was formed, the group was a thoroughly North African organization and based primarily in Algeria. Fast forward 15 years, how did AQIM end up nearly 1,300 miles away, now posing immediate threats in the states of littoral West Africa? Relying on a combination of primary source jihadi propaganda and historical research, this report argues that over the past 30 years, al-Qa`ida and its branches and allies in North and West Africa have followed what this report calls 'al- Qa`ida's Imperial Playbook,' as they have sought to expand their areas of influence southward. Al-Qa`ida's 'playbook,' this report shows, is composed of five fundamental tactics: befriending or creating militant groups operating in the midst of conflict; integrating themselves into communities where those militants exist; exploiting grievances of those communities to gain sympathy; addressing internal or external dissent either passively or aggressively; and looking toward new theaters once their base is solidified."
Combating Terrorism Center (U.S.)
Weiss, Caleb
2022-04
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HHS Equity Action Plan
From the Executive Summary: "Executive Order [EO] 13985 calls on agencies to advance equity through identifying and addressing barriers to equal opportunity that underserved communities may face due to government policies and programs. This Equity Action Plan focuses on a main tenet of EO 13985, that advancing equity must be a central component of the decision-making framework that all agency functions are routed through. Using the definition of equity presented in EO 13985, this plan takes the perspective that it is incumbent on HHS [U.S. Department of Health and Human Services] to move urgently to assess and change policies, programs and processes that the Department administers to concretely advance equity and that for these efforts to last, HHS must simultaneously shift the culture, resources, and approaches available to HHS staff to institutionalize and sustain a focus on equity over time. This Equity Action Plan does not describe comprehensively how all HHS components are working to advance equity, but instead highlights a few examples across the Department."
United States. Department of Health and Human Services
2022-04
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Protecting Californians from Extreme Heat: A State Action Plan to Build Community Resilience
From the Introduction: "California's best climate science projects that every corner of the state will be impacted in years and decades to come by higher average temperatures and more frequent and severe heat waves. These changes will pose a risk to every region and sector across natural, built, and social systems. The 2022 Action Plan outlines California's all-of-government approach to mitigating the health, economic, cultural, ecological, and social impacts of increasing average temperatures and heat waves. It constitutes California's response to what has become known as 'extreme heat' and accompanying 'extreme heat events.'"
California
2022-04
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Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome (PACS) in Adults
From the Introduction: "Public Health Ontario (PHO) is actively monitoring, reviewing and assessing relevant information related to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This rapid review concentrates on results from systematic reviews and meta-analyses, updating the evidence on the prevalence of PACS [post-acute COVID-19 syndrome], PACS symptoms by organ system and risk factors for developing PACS. The update includes more meta-analyses and primary research with larger sample sizes and includes a new section reporting on the impacts of PACS on daily living. This rapid review replaces 'Persistent Symptoms and Post-Acute COVID-19 in Adults - What We Know So Far' (April 9, 2021)."
Public Health Ontario
2022-04
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Evidence-Based Laboratory Biorisk Management Science & Technology Roadmap
From the Document: "To ensure biorisk management is based on the best available science, the National Science and Technology Council's Subcommittee on Health Security Threats established the Applied Biosafety Research Working Group to identify and address research gaps needed to improve laboratory biorisk management, with the goal of ensuring that practices, guidance, and regulations are based on the best available science. The working group developed the 'Evidence-based Laboratory Biorisk Management Science & Technology Roadmap', which offers recommendations on how to advance applied biorisk research and employ the findings, as described in the Recommendations of this 'Roadmap'. The Distributed Biorisk Research Landscape section of this 'Roadmap' outlines the distributed stakeholder landscape for laboratory biorisk management, and the Applied Biorisk Research Priorities identifies priority biorisk management research areas based on initial engagements in federal and practitioner communities."
National Science and Technology Council (U.S.)
2022-04
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Coordination to Reduce Barriers to Reentry: 'Lessons Learned from COVID-19 and Beyond'
From the Introduction: "Each year, about 600,000 people in the United States enter prisons; and at the same time, people are sent to jails across our country over 10 million times per year. Individuals returning to their communities after a term of imprisonment face a number of barriers to success, including housing insecurity, inability to access health care, food insecurity, and barriers to education and employment. These longstanding barriers were exacerbated during the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic and compounded by additional hurdles, including limited access to government and community-based services and support. Yet, despite the pandemic's tragic toll, new resources and creative solutions emerged, providing innovative approaches to combating barriers to reentry and to assisting justice system-impacted individuals. This report represents the efforts of six federal agencies, joined in collaboration with the Department of Justice, to study the impact of COVID-19 on longstanding barriers to reentry, to review efforts taken to ease those barriers, and to collaborate on efforts to improve successful outcomes for those returning home after contact with the criminal legal system."
United States. Department of Justice. Office of Public Affairs; Federal Interagency Reentry Council (FIRC)
2022-04
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Global Strategy to Manage the Long-Term Risks of COVID-19
From the Abstract: "The pandemic is not over, and the health and economic losses continue to grow. It is now evident that COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] will be with us for the long term, and there are very different scenarios for how it could evolve, from a mild endemic scenario to a dangerous variant scenario. This realization calls for a new strategy that manages both the uncertainty and the long-term risks of COVID-19. There are four key policy implications of such as strategy. First, we need to achieve equitable access beyond vaccines to encompass a comprehensive toolkit. Second, we must monitor the evolving virus and dynamically upgrade the toolkit. Third, we must transition from the acute response to a sustainable strategy toward COVID-19, balanced and integrated with other health and social priorities. Fourth, we need a unified risk-mitigation approach to future infectious disease threats beyond COVID-19. Infectious diseases with pandemic potential are a threat to global economic and health security. The international community should recognize that its pandemic financing addresses a systemic risk to the global economy, not just the development need of a particular country. Accordingly, it should allocate additional funding to fight pandemics and strengthen health systems both domestically and overseas. This will require about $15 billion in grants this year and $10 billion annually after that."
International Monetary Fund
Agarwal, Ruchir; Farrar, Jeremy; Gopinath, Gita, 1971- . . .
2022-04
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United States Coast Guard Ready Workforce 2030
From the Executive Summary: "The resiliency, flexibility, and adaptability of our workforce is at the heart of what has made the Coast Guard successful for well over 200 years, and it remains our greatest strength. However, the environment the Coast Guard must navigate to build its force has changed dramatically since 2000 and increasingly since the start of 2020. This rate of change will only continue to accelerate. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is well underway, with deep implications for Service missions, capabilities, and challenges. Continuing demographic and social trends are fundamentally altering the American population from which the Service recruits and serves. The Service is trying to retain its top talent in an increasingly competitive job market shaped by exceptional growth in emerging technology and science. Specialists and generalists alike will increasingly be in high demand, and top performers will want to jump in quickly wherever they are needed. 'Ready Workforce 2030 focuses on creating a system with the ability to generate the force we need, when and where we need it,' moving away from our current predictive workforce modeling."
United States. Coast Guard
2022-04
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Law Enforcement Departments Have Not Adequately Guarded Against Biased Conduct
From the opening letter of Michael S. Tilden: "Our audit of five law enforcement departments throughout the State uncovered the actions of some officers at each department who engaged in biased conduct, either during their on-duty interactions with individuals or online through their social media posts. Although we did not find officers who were members of hate groups, some officers made statements indicating that they support problematic groups. We have included in this report some disturbing content (with some redactions) because we believe that it is important to accurately reflect the nature of the conduct that we observed. We depend on law enforcement departments and the peace officers they employ to ensure that they exercise their unique authority without regard for individuals' identity characteristics, such as race, national origin, or mental or physical disability. What we found is that these five departments have not adequately guarded against biased conduct among their officers: [1] They have not used sufficient strategies to achieve representative diversity in hiring. [2] They have not implemented robust community engagement strategies or employee training practices. [3] They have not established sufficient, proactive processes to identify possibly biased behavior. [4] They have not consistently conducted adequate investigations of alleged biased behavior. [...] This report makes specific recommendations about steps each department can take to better ensure that Californians receive fair and impartial policing services. We also make several recommendations to the Legislature to better align expectations in state law with best practices for addressing bias in policing, such as by adopting a uniform definition of biased conduct, requiring more frequent and thorough training, and increasing independent oversight."
California. State Auditor (2013- )
2022-04
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Middle East Studies at the Marine Corps University: MES Insights, Volume 13 Issue 2, April 2022
This edition of the MES Insights published by the Middle East Studies (MES) program of the Marine Corps University contains the following article: "Society-Centric Warfare: Lessons from Afghanistan and Ukraine" by Amin Tarzin. From the document: "This article briefly compares the unexpected resilience of the Ukrainian people and government facing a much larger force committing a vicious military campaign with the failure of the much larger and better-equipped Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) to stop the Taliban from taking over the Afghan capital of Kabul in a few days. What is missing from the dialogue is the often-forgotten dimension of strategic calculations--namely the societal dimension. In this article, the author argues that this is one of the primary reasons that Ukraine stands tall in its resistance and Afghanistan collapsed."
Marine Corps University (U.S.). Middle East Studies
2022-04
