23 research outputs found
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Remote work and climate change: Considerations for grid resilience in the 21st century
This paper explores how the unprecedented dependence on remote work since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the demand for electricity. The paper discusses how the increased dependence on information and communication technologies has driven a shift in the daytime demand for power, from the commercial sector to the residential sector, prompting changes in the way electric utilities plan for peak load demand. As the article goes on to argue, this exposes the growing need for greater grid resilience in order to safeguard the supply of electricity in the face of increasingly frequent potential disruptions such as extreme weather events. The paper finds that emergency planners and responders, public agencies, utilities and other public and private sector stakeholders will need to collaborate ever more closely when devising and implementing solutions as well as when responding to emergencies.
Keywords: electricity; energy; grid; remote work; resilienc
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Integrating Data Variability Into Contemporary COVID-19 Decision Support
In April of 2020, the National Center for Disaster Preparedness (NCDP) at Columbia University’s Earth Institute partnered with Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) to examine the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and support relevant decision-making to facilitate workforce safety and continuity of utility operations in an environment where initial data were scant and variable. Due to the gradual and variable emergence of information during disasters, precise data is a luxury in decision-making. Instead, we must rely on a dynamic approach, which integrates new information as it becomes available. Often, this requires a combined subjective and objective decision-making framework that shifts toward objectivity as data variability converges and becomes more precise
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RCRC Issue Briefs: Why Children Should Be the #1 Disaster Priority
The Resilient Children/Resilient Communities Initiative (RCRC) Issue Briefs, in this document, are designed to be used by the RCRC communities and all other communities who are seeking to elevate children’s disaster resilience to the attention of local, state, and federal legislators or other decision-makers. These reports can also be used by legislators and decision–makers at all levels of government as informative briefs to better understand the issues faced by communities in disasters within the context of COVID-19 and other disasters. Readers are encouraged to explore topics and voices that most resonate with their own community. To access an online and interactive version of RCRC Issue Briefs, please visit https://rcrctoolbox.org/rcrc-issue-briefs
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Using analytics to support a utility's initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic amid an uncertain evidence base
Energy utilities play a critical role in fostering disaster resilience. Much of the world is increasingly dependent on the availability and reliability of safe and efficient energy. In addition to its importance for industrial, commercial and household functionality, energy provision is increasingly significant in determining health and equity outcomes during a disaster. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, issues of workforce protection and absenteeism are critical for public safety as well as for the continuity of operations for utilities and the businesses that rely upon them. However, COVID-19, and pandemics generally, have rapidly evolving and imperfect evidence available to support rapid and real-time decision making. This article reflects the initial setup and operations of frameworks utilising analytics to support decision making from March through July 2020 for a major US electric utility. These initial strategies have enhanced decision making and provided a foundation for additional integration of the evidence base and use of analytics for anticipated decision support in the coming phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as for future pandemics of unknown aetiology
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Informes Temáticos RCRC: Porqué los Niños Deben Ser la Prioridad #1 en Desastres
Los Informes Temáticos RCRC, en este documento, están diseñados para ser utilizados por las comunidades de la iniciativa RCRC y todas las otras comunidades que buscan elevar la resiliencia de los niños ante desastres a la atención de legisladores locales, estatales y federales u otros responsables de la toma de decisiones. Estos informes también pueden ser utilizados por legisladores y responsables de la toma de decisiones en todos los niveles de gobierno como documentos informativos para comprender mejor los problemas que enfrentan las comunidades en desastres en el contexto de COVID-19 y otros desastres. Se anima a los lectores a explorar los temas y mensajes que más resuenan con su propia comunidad. Para acceder a una versión online e interactiva de los Informes Temáticos RCRC, visite https://rcrctoolbox.org/rcrc-issue-briefs-es/
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Current Data Gaps in Modeling Essential Worker Absenteeism Due to COVID-19
With the uncertain physical and mental health implications of COVID-19 infection, companies have taken a myriad of actions that aim to reduce the risk of employees contracting the virus, with most grounded in reducing or eliminating in-person interactions. Our preliminary analysis indicates that while there is some data to support modelling absenteeism, there are gaps in the available evidence, requiring the use of assumptions that limit precision and efficacy for decision support. Improved data on time-to-recovery after hospitalization, absenteeism due to family or other household member illness, and mental health’s impact on returning to work will support the development of more robust absenteeism models and analytical approaches
Effect of crosslinking density on the physical properties of interpenetrating polymer networks of polyurethane and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate-teminated polyurethane
Physical Abuse Among Depressed Women
OBJECTIVE: To provide estimates of physical abuse and use of health services among depressed women in order to inform efforts to increase detection and treatment of physical abuse. DESIGN: Retrospective assessment of abuse and health services use over 1 year in a cohort of depressed women. SETTING: Statewide community sample from Arkansas. PARTICIPANTS: We recruited 303 depressed women through random-digit-dial screening. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Exposure to physical abuse based on the Conflict Tactics Scale, multi-informant estimate of health and mental health services. Over half of the depressed women (55.2%) reported experiencing physical abuse as adults, with 14.5% reporting abuse during the study year. Women abused as adults had significantly more severe depressive symptoms, more psychiatric comorbidity, and more physical illnesses than nonabused women. After controlling for sociodemographic and severity-of-illness factors, recently abused, depressed women were much less likely to receive outpatient care for mental health problems as compared to other depressed women (odds ratio [OR] 0.3;p = .013), though they were more likely to receive health care for physical problems (OR 5.7, p = .021). CONCLUSIONS: Because nearly all depressed women experiencing abuse sought general medical rather than mental health care during the year of the study, primary care screening for physical abuse appears to be a critical link to professional help for abused, depressed women. Research is needed to inform primary care guidelines about methods for detecting abuse in depressed women