The Operational Impact of Mobility Readiness Spares Package Configuration During Operation Iraqi Freedom

Utilizing the Aircraft Sustainability Model (ASM), Air Force logisticians must determine the best possible number and mix of spares and repair parts for each deployable readiness spares package, better known as a mobility readiness spares package (MRSP). By analyzing MRSP support for Operation IRAQI FREEDOM (OIF), Air Force leadership can have a current picture of MRSP operational effectiveness and mission support capabilities. This research focused on determining the current configuration of MRSPs for OIF by selecting a representative array of MRSPs and supported weapon systems actively involved in OIF, and obtaining relevant support effectiveness measures. Measures selected for analysis were MRSP fill rate, stockage effectiveness, issue effectiveness, mission capable spares rate, and total requirements variance. An analysis of MRSPs for the E-3B, F-16C, and HC-130P aircraft revealed varying levels of effectiveness when compared with overall contingency and supply chain metrics

The Relationship between Geographical Location, Indigenous Status and Socio-Economic Status and Adolescent Drug Use

Adolescence is a time of great changes, a time where experimentation and exploration is expected and when the values of authority figures are examined and challenged. Adolescents will experiment and push the boundaries of all aspects of their life in order to find their own place and identity in a world that has changed its expectations of them. Use of drugs is one of the ways that they do this. Australian adolescents grow up in a society where alcohol and tobacco is an acceptable part of daily life. Their use of drugs is at least on par with and in some cases exceeds that of the general population. The overall goals of this research were to gain more information on drug use of Australian adolescents, using existing data sets. This research examined, using a number of different age groups, the differences in adolescent drug use between urban and rural Australia for lifetime use, use in the last year and use in the last month using the 2002 edition of the Australian School Student Alcohol and Drug (ASSAD) survey series in conjunction with the 2001 National Drug Strategy Household Survey (NDSHS). It also used these data sets to investigate differences between indigenous adolescents and non-Indigenous adolescents and whether there were any differences in adolescent drug use across socio-economic status groups. Four hypotheses were developed. The first was that rural adolescents are more likely than urban adolescents to use licit drugs and the second was that urban adolescents are more likely than rural adolescents to use illicit drugs. Thirdly, that Indigenous adolescents are more likely than non-Indigenous adolescents to use both licit and illicit drugs and the fourth was that adolescents from low socio-economic status (SES) groups are more likely than adolescents from high SES groups to use licit and illicit substances. The data offered little support for any of the hypotheses. The hypothesis on rural adolescents being more likely to use licit drugs was supported by the ASSAD surveydata but not the NDSHS. All other hypotheses were not supported by either of the data sets. While there are aspects of the information from the two data sets that are contradictory making it difficult to prove or disprove the hypotheses formulated for this research, they highlighted a number of aspects of adolescent drug use. The first of these is that this research supports the premise that rural adolescent drug use rates are converging with urban drug use rates for younger adolescents. It also highlighted that there are a large number of rural school students who are using alcohol and cannabis. The ASSAD data also confirmed other Australian research showing that Indigenous adolescents are less likely than their non-Indigenous counterparts to use alcohol. Both data sets confirmed previous research by indicating that adolescents from the high SES groups are more likely than their counterparts in the lower SES groups to consume alcohol. Further investigation is needed to find out why the data sets did not substantiate each other and to gain further insight into the consumption of alcohol by Indigenous adolescents and adolescents from the higher socio-economic status groups. Increasing the samples of Indigenous people in both of the data sets and lobbying the Australian Bureau of Statistics to increase their sample for the Indigenous Social Survey to include 12-14 year olds should give more information on Indigenous adolescents that could be used in research and prevention activities

LIPIcs, Volume 277, GIScience 2023, Complete Volume

LIPIcs, Volume 277, GIScience 2023, Complete Volum

Food banking and emergency food aid: expanding the definition of local food environments and systems.

If current trends in food insecurity continue then the diets of low-income people may become characterised by the inclusion of significant amounts of donated and surplus food accessed via the third-sector. These developments have yet to be integrated into macro models and concepts of the food environment. Addressing this caveat is necessary in order to both help build an evidence base to challenge policies that exacerbate the drivers of food insecurity and to inform interventions aimed at improving the diets of disadvantaged populations

Estimating health over space and time: a review of spatial microsimulation applied to public health

There is an ongoing demand for data on population health, for reasons of resource allocation, future planning and crucially to address inequalities in health between people and between populations. Although there are regular sources of data at coarse spatial scales, such as countries or large sub-national units such as states, there is often a lack of good quality health data at the local level. One method to develop reliable estimates of population health outcomes is spatial microsimulation, an approach that has its roots in economic studies. Here, we share a review of this method for estimating health in populations, explaining the different approaches available and examples where the method is applied successfully for creating both static and dynamic populations. Recent notable advances in the method that allow uncertainty to be represented are highlighted, along with the evolving approaches to validation that are an ongoing challenge in small-area estimation. The summary serves as a primer for academics new to the area of research as well as an overview for non-academic researchers who consider using these models for policy evaluations

A systematic map of research exploring the effect of greenspace on mental health

The past 35 years has seen an accumulation of empirical evidence suggesting a positive association between greenspace and mental health. Existing reviews of evidence are narrow in scope, and do not adequately represent the broad range of disciplines working in this field. This study is the first systematic map of studies investigating greenspace effects on mental health. A total of 6059 papers were screened for their relevance, 276 of which met inclusion criteria for the systematic map.The map revealed several methodological limitations hindering the practical applications of research findings to public health. Critically, the majority of studies used cross-sectional mental health data which makes causal inference about greenspace effects challenging. There are also few studies on the micro-features that make up greenspaces (i.e., their “quality”), with most focussing only on “quantity” effects on mental health. Moreover, few studies adopted a multi-scale approach, meaning there is little evidence about at which spatial scale(s) the relationship exists. A geographic gap in study location was also identified, with the majority of studies clustered in European countries and the USA.Future research should account for both human and ecological perspectives of “quality” using objective and repeatable measures, and consider the potential of scale-dependent greenspace effects to ensure that management of greenspace is compatible with wider scale biodiversity targets. To establish the greenspace and metal health relationship across a life course, studies should make better use of longitudinal data, as this enables stronger inferences to be made than more commonly used cross-sectional data

Feasibility study of geospatial mapping of chronic disease risk to inform public health commissioning.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the feasibility of producing small-area geospatial maps of chronic disease risk for use by clinical commissioning groups and public health teams. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional geospatial analysis using routinely collected general practitioner electronic record data. SAMPLE AND SETTING: Tower Hamlets, an inner-city district of London, UK, characterised by high socioeconomic and ethnic diversity and high prevalence of non-communicable diseases. METHODS: The authors used type 2 diabetes as an example. The data set was drawn from electronic general practice records on all non-diabetic individuals aged 25-79 years in the district (n=163 275). The authors used a validated instrument, QDScore, to calculate 10-year risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Using specialist mapping software (ArcGIS), the authors produced visualisations of how these data varied by lower and middle super output area across the district. The authors enhanced these maps with information on examples of locality-based social determinants of health (population density, fast food outlets and green spaces). Data were piloted as three types of geospatial map (basic, heat and ring). The authors noted practical, technical and information governance challenges involved in producing the maps. RESULTS: Usable data were obtained on 96.2% of all records. One in 11 adults in our cohort was at 'high risk' of developing type 2 diabetes with a 20% or more 10-year risk. Small-area geospatial mapping illustrated 'hot spots' where up to 17.3% of all adults were at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Ring maps allowed visualisation of high risk for type 2 diabetes by locality alongside putative social determinants in the same locality. The task of downloading, cleaning and mapping data from electronic general practice records posed some technical challenges, and judgement was required to group data at an appropriate geographical level. Information governance issues were time consuming and required local and national consultation and agreement. CONCLUSIONS: Producing small-area geospatial maps of diabetes risk calculated from general practice electronic record data across a district-wide population was feasible but not straightforward. Geovisualisation of epidemiological and environmental data, made possible by interdisciplinary links between public health clinicians and human geographers, allows presentation of findings in a way that is both accessible and engaging, hence potentially of value to commissioners and policymakers. Impact studies are needed of how maps of chronic disease risk might be used in public health and urban planning

Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP) Payload Safety Introduction Briefing

Mission of the Geospace Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP) is: Gain s cientific understanding (to the point of predictability) of how populations of relativistic electrons and ions in space form or change in response to changes in solar activity and the solar wind