Posts tagged United States
Mass Shootings in the United States: Promising Approaches for Prevention and Response

Gun violence is a public health crisis in the United States. While the largest share of firearm-related deaths are suicides, most media coverage of gun violence focuses on homicides, particularly highly lethal mass shootings in public spaces. In the aftermath of one of these tragedies, there often are demands to “do something” to prevent the next one. In our forthcoming article, “Mass Shootings in the United States: Prevalence, Policy, and a Way Forward,” we highlight policies and proposals offered by legislators and advocates to prevent mass shootings from happening and reducing their lethality if they do occur. 

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Hepatitis C Elimination Efforts in the United States Should Embrace Abolition

Despite the treatable nature of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections through direct antiviral direct-acting antiviral (DAA) drugs, HCV rates remain rampant throughout the United States, particularly in correctional facilities. Recent investigations also reveal that HCV treatment efforts within jails and prisons are ineffective, flawed, and rife with misconduct and neglect. According to a 2022 STAT report authored by Nicholas Florko, many state prison facilities not only fall short in screening and treating incarcerated people with HCV, but also engage in egregious misconduct, such as avoiding mass testing of incarcerated people, providing incarcerated people with inaccurate information about available medicines, and refusing to treat incarcerated people.

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THE CURIOUS CASE OF REDUCING AUTOMOBILE USE

There is a lot of interest in, and emphasis on, trying to motivate people to shift to alternative and more sustainable modes (means) of transportation for their travel as nations attempt to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, render communities more sustainable and livable, and combat ill effects of climate change. The latest bipartisan infrastructure bill has hundreds of billions of dollars of investments aimed at enhancing transit, bicycle and pedestrian transportation networks, implementing strategies to better manage and reduce automobile traffic, and motivating the traveling public to eschew the use of the automobile for daily travel. Policymakers and the public alike are counting on these investments and strategies to deliver a more sustainable mobility future.

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Motivations to do humanitarian work with immigrants: lessons from the US-Mexico border

The temperature in the Arizona desert is over 100 degrees F, and as we walk and drive around replenishing water caches meant to help migrants on the trails, we wonder what motivates these volunteers to leave the comfort of their home and go do this kind of volunteer work. It is scorching hot, and the volunteers rarely encounter or see the migrant they intend to help. Why do they do this?

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One Belt One Road: US Perspectives on China’s Belt and Road Initiative

China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is one of the most ambitious development projects ever undertaken, comparable only to the post-World War II Marshall Plan and China’s own Three Gorges Dam project. Significantly, China deftly presented it to the world as a civic economic project designed to benefit all participating countries and many other countries where its effect was expected to be indirect but positive.

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