The Information Commons: a public policy report

This report describes the history of the information commons, presents examples of online commons that provide new ways to store and deliver information, and concludes with policy recommendations. Available in PDF and HTML versions.BRENNAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE at NYU SCHOOL OF LAW Democracy Program, Free Expression Policy Project 161 Avenue of the Americas, 12th floor New York NY 10013 Phone: (212) 998-6730 Web site: www.brennancenter.org Free Expression Policy Project: www.fepproject.or

The Information Commons: a public policy report

This report describes the history of the information commons, presents examples of online commons that provide new ways to store and deliver information, and concludes with policy recommendations. Available in PDF and HTML versions.BRENNAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE at NYU SCHOOL OF LAW Democracy Program, Free Expression Policy Project 161 Avenue of the Americas, 12th floor New York NY 10013 Phone: (212) 998-6730 Web site: www.brennancenter.org Free Expression Policy Project: www.fepproject.or

Commentary

published or submitted for publicatio

Belle La Follette’s Fight for Women’s Suffrage: Losing the Battle for Wisconsin, Winning the War for the Nation

A century ago, on May 21, 1919, the US House of Representatives voted difinitively (304 to 89) in support of women’s suffrage. Two weeks later, Wisconsinite Belle La Follette sat in the visitors’ gallery of the US Senate chamber. She “shed a few tears” when it was announced that, by a vote of 56 to 25, the US Senate also approved the Nineteenth Amendment, sending it on to the states for ratification.1 For Belle La Follette, this thrilling victory was the culmination of a decades-long fight. Six days later, her happiness turned to elation when Wisconsin became the first state to deliver a certification of ratification. Her husband, Senator Robert “Fighting Bob” La Follette, confided to their children that Wisconsin “beat ’em to it on the suffrage amendment [because of] your smart mother.” Belle La Follette, worried that Illinois would “try to steal first honors,” had wired representatives in her home state to be sure that Wisconsin acted as quickly as possible.2 Former state senator David James, whose daughter Ada had been a leader in the state’s crusade, was hailed by Belle as “the gallant, veteran courier” for delivering the papers to the state department just moments ahead of the messenger from Illinois.3 As soon as a telegram of confirmation was received, reported Bob, “I went on the floor and had it read into the [Congressional] Record. . . . Mamma and all of us feel good, you bet.”

Bootstrap Dreams: U.S Microenterprise Development in an Era of Welfare Reform

Declines in real wages, increases in the number of poor families, and cutbacks to welfare and other safety-net programs have stimulated the popularity of microenterprise development programs (MDPs). These programs typically offer training and loans to individuals seeking to operate very small businesses. MDPs are often presented as a path to the self-sufficiency that comes with entrepreneurship and as an example of the success of market-based alternatives to government programs. In Bootstrap Dreams, Nancy C. Jurik analyzes the origins and maturation of these programs in the United States

Impact of an EHR-based tool on COPD Management in Primary Care

Background: GOLD (2017) guidelines provide evidence based recommendations for treating COPD, although their employment in clinical practice is inconsistent. Lack of a standardized method to view COPD specific information within the EHR during patient encounters complicates visits and development of GOLD-guided treatment plans. Our goal is to determine the impact of an EHR-based tool on relevant COPD disease measurements (spirometry rates, pneumococcal vaccination rates and COPD Action plans) Methods: An EHR-based tool (SmartPhrase) was developed and released to providers to facilitate GOLD(2017) guideline reference during patient encounters. Computer based instructional videos of GOLD (2017) guidelines and EHR-based tool were presented to providers prior to 90 day intervention. A two-pronged pre-and post-intervention analysis was carried out examining 1) subjective provider application of GOLD (2017) guidelines, and 2) objective inclusion of GOLD guidelines within the EHR patient encounter of COPD patients aged \u3e 18 at a rural Primary Care clinic. Results: Compared to pre-intervention, providers reported EHR-tool was rated as ‘likely’ to improve job performance and effectiveness when treating COPD patients (from 42.8% to 75%) and ‘likely’ to make documenting COPD-specific data easier (28.5% to 75%), increased tendency to order Spirometry (33.9%) and refer to Pulmonary Rehab more frequently (25%). Compared to pre-intervention, objective changes in spirometry rates increased 3.9%, vaccination rates for PCV13 and PPSV23 increased slightly (both 1.9%); there were no changes in number of COPD Action plans. Conclusions: Preliminary data suggests that an EHR-based tool is a potentially effective tool to increase awareness and application of GOLD guidelines in the treatment of COPD in Primary Care. Increased intervention period of 12 months may provide more insight into changes in treatment practices

Losing the Battle: The Challenges of Military Suicide

This report, by Dr. Margaret Harrell, CNAS Senior Fellow and Director of the Joining Forces Initiative, and Nancy Berglass, CNAS Non-Resident Senior Fellow, suggests that the health of the all-volunteer force is dependent on our nation's ability to take care of its service members and veterans.According to the report, "Suicide among service members and veterans challenges the health of America's all-volunteer force." From 2005 to 2010, service members took their own lives at a rate of approximately one every 36 hours. This tragic phenomenon reached new extremes when the Army reported a record-high number of suicides in July 2011 with the deaths of 33 active and reserve component service members reported as suicides. Additionally, the Department of Veterans Affairs estimates 18 veterans die by suicide each day. Yet the true number of veterans who die by suicide, as Harrell and Berglass point out, is unknown. As more American troops return home from war, this issue will require increasingly urgent attention. Harrell and Berglass present a number of concrete policy recommendations that will help reduce the number of service member and veteran suicides, including establishing an Army unit cohesion period; removing the congressional restriction on unit leaders discussing personally owned weapons with service members; and increasing coordination between the Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to improve the analysis of veteran suicide data. Despite the efforts of the DOD and the VA to address military suicide, obstacles remain, and policymakers must bring a renewed urgency to their efforts if America is to both honor the sacrifices made by the all-volunteer force and protect its future health and ability to defend the nation