Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies, August 25, 2022: Ensuring Free, Immediate, and Equitable Access to Federally Funded Research

This memorandum provides policy guidance to federal agencies with research and development expenditures on updating their public access policies. In accordance with this memorandum, OSTP recommends that federal agencies, to the extent consistent with applicable law: 1. Update their public access policies as soon as possible, and no later than December 31, 2025, to make publications and their supporting data resulting from federally funded research publicly accessible without an embargo on their free and public release; 2. Establish transparent procedures that ensure scientific and research integrity is maintained in public access policies; and, 3. Coordinate with OSTP to ensure equitable delivery of federally funded research results and data. Includes background and policy principles, lessons learned from COVID-19, updates to policy guidance on increasing equitable access to Federally funded research results including peer-reviewed scholarly publications and scientific data, ensuring scientific and research integrity in agency public access policies, public access plan coordination among federal agencies, general provisions, and taking next steps together

Community Forum on the 2022 OSTP Public Access Policy Guidance [presentation slides]

Included: ● Public access background and context ● Summary of the 2022 OSTP Memorandum ● Clarification about the scope of the 2022 OSTP Memorandum ● Timeline for agency adoption of the 2022 OSTP Memorandum ● Agency perspectives: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) ● Questions and answer

Frequently Asked Questions: 2022 Public Access Policy Guidance

Includes a list of frequently asked questions and answers for the 2022 White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Public Access Policy guidance, including answering questions such as What is meant by public access to federally funded research? and What impact will the policy guidance have on specific business models for scholarly publishing

Greenhouse Gas Removal

The 2015 Paris Agreement called for a balance between sources of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and their removal by 2100 to halt global temperature rise. This POSTnote explains why Greenhouse Gas Removal (GGR) techniques may be required to achieve this goal, outlines the benefits of and concerns about them, and considers policy options

Climate Change: State of Knowledge

This brief report describes that the Earth's climate is predicted to change because human activities are altering the chemical composition of the atmosphere. The buildup of greenhouse gases-primarily carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and chlorofluorocarbons-is changing the radiation balance of the planet. The basic heat-trapping property of these greenhouse gases is essentially undisputed. However, there is considerable scientific uncertainty about exactly how and when the Earth's climate will respond to enhanced greenhouse gases. The direct effects of climate change will include changes in temperature, precipitation, soil moisture, and sea level. Such changes could have adverse effects on ecological systems, human health, and socio-economic sectors

Online traceability for halal product information: perceptions of Muslim consumers in Indonesia

Purpose This paper aims to provide a preliminary understanding of factors that contribute to consumer perceptions of value and usefulness regarding online traceability for product compliance to halal principles. Design/methodology/approach In total, 160 usable questionnaires were obtained from a large Muslim University in Indonesia through a survey. The data were tested using a multivariate regression analysis. Findings The current study suggests that Muslim consumers in Indonesia perceive the ability to trace a product’s compliance to halal principles as useful and important. The Muslim consumer’s perception of online traceability as useful is influenced by three main factors: the consumer’s disposition to trust, a healthy lifestyle and the reputation of the company, as well as the certification bodies. Social implications The findings suggest that information and communication technologies play an instrumental role in facilitating smart food safety policies by fostering positive changes in consumer behavior, specifically in supporting halal and healthy consumption. Originality/value Online traceability for halal product is a novel issue that is yet to be examined empirically in the context of Indonesia. This research should be of value to those who have an interest in assessing the importance of online traceability to enhance assessment of product information, particularly in developing countries

Prevalence and determinants of the use of self-tests by members of the public: a mixed methods study

Background Self-tests can be used by members of the public to diagnose conditions without involving a doctor, nurse or other health professional. As technologies to design and manufacture diagnostic tests have developed, a range of self-tests have become available to the public to buy over-the-counter and via the Internet. This study aims to describe how many people have used self-tests and identify factors associated with their use. Methods A postal questionnaire will elicit basic information, including sociodemographic characteristics, and whether the person has used or would use specified self-tests. Consent will be sought to recontact people who want to participate further in the study, and interviews and focus groups will be used to develop hypotheses about factors associated with self-test use. These hypotheses will be tested in a case-control study. An in-depth questionnaire will be developed incorporating the identified factors. This will be sent to: people who have used a self-test (cases); people who have not used a self-test but would use one in the future (controls); and people who have not used and would not use a self-test (controls). Logistic regression analysis will be used to establish which factors are associated with self-test use. Discussion Self-tests do have potential benefits, for example privacy and convenience, but also potential harms, for example delay seeking treatment after a true negative result when the symptoms are actually due to another condition. It is anticipated that the outcomes from this study will include recommendations about how to improve the appropriate use of self-tests and existing health services, as well as information to prepare health professionals for patients who have used self-tests

Validity of the new lifestyles NL-1000 accelerometer for measuring time spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in school settings

Current interest in promoting physical activity in the school environment necessitates an inexpensive, accurate method of measuring physical activity in such settings. Additionally, it is recognized that physical activity must be of at least moderate intensity in order to yield substantial health benefits. The purpose of the study, therefore, was to determine the validity of the New Lifestyles NL-1000 (New Lifestyles, Inc., Lee's Summit, Missouri, USA) accelerometer for measuring moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in school settings, using the Actigraph GT1M (ActiGraph, Pensacola, Florida, USA) as the criterion. Data were collected during a cross-country run (n = 12), physical education (n = 18), and classroom-based physical activities (n = 42). Significant and meaningful intraclass correlations between methods were found, and NL-1000 estimates of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity were not meaningfully different from GT1M-estimated moderate- to-vigorous physical activity. The NL-1000 therefore shows promising validity evidence as an inexpensive, convenient method of measuring moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in school settings

Wave resource variability: Impacts on wave power supply over regional to international scales

The intermittent, irregular and variable nature of the wave energy resource has implications for the supply of wave-generated electricity into the grid; intermittency of renewable power may lead to frequency and voltage fluctuations in the transmission and distribution networks. This study analyses the wave resource over different spatial scales to investigate the potential impacts of the resource variability on the grid supply. It is found that the deployment of multiple wave energy sites results in a reduction in step changes in power, leading to an overall smoothing of the wave-generated electrical power

Ethnic Minorities and their Health Needs: Crisis of Perception and Behaviours

There is considerable evidence to suggest that racial and ethnic disparities exist in the provision of emergency and wider healthcare. The importance of collecting patient ethnic data has received attention in literature across the world and eliminating ethnic and racial health equalities is one of the primary aims of healthcare providers internationally. The poor health status of certain racial and ethnic groups has been well documented. The improvement of racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare is at the forefront of many public health agendas. This article addresses important policy, practice, and cultural issues confronted by the pre-hospital emergency care setup. This aspect of care plays a unique role in the healthcare safety net in providing a service to a very diverse population, including members of ethnic and racial minorities. Competent decision making by the emergency care practitioners requires patient-specific information and the health provider's prior medical knowledge and clinical training. The article reviews the current ethnicity trends in the UK along with international evidence linking ethnicity and health inequalities. The study argues that serious difficulties will arise between the health provider and the patient if they come from different backgrounds and therefore experience difficulties in cross-cultural communication. This adversely impacts on the quality of diagnostic and clinical decision making for minority patients. The article offers few strategies to address health inequalities in emergency care and concludes by arguing that much more needs to be done to ensure that we are hearing the voices of more diverse groups, groups who are often excluded from engagement through barriers such as language or mobility difficulties