Employment Links
GAO Report, K-12 Education: Department of Education Should Provide Information on Equity and Safety in School Dress Codes
"While school districts often cite safety as the reason for having a dress code, many dress codes include elements that may make the school environment less equitable and safe for students. For example, an estimated 60 percent of dress codes have rules involving measuring students' bodies and clothing—which may involve adults touching students. Consequently, students, particularly girls, may feel less safe at school, according to a range of stakeholders GAO interviewed. According to GAO's nationally generalizable review of public school dress codes, districts more frequently restrict items typically worn by girls—such as skirts, tank tops, and leggings—than those typically worn by boys—such as muscle shirts. Most dress codes also contain rules about students' hair, hair styles, and head coverings, which may disproportionately impact Black students and those of certain religions and cultures, according to researchers and district officials." more »
Association of Sleep Duration at Age 50, 60, and 70 Years With Risk of Multimorbidity in the UK: 25-year Follow-up of Whitehall II Cohort Study
The 25-year follow-up of the Whitehall II cohort study: "In this study, we observed short sleep duration to be associated with risk of chronic disease and subsequent multimorbidity but not with progression to death. There was no robust evidence of an increased risk of chronic disease among those with long sleep duration at age 50. Our findings suggest an association between short sleep duration and multimorbidity. The prevalence of multimorbidity is on the rise as reflected in over half of older adults having at least 2 chronic diseases in high-income countries, making multimorbidity a major challenge for public health."
Conclusions
In this study, we observed short sleep duration to be associated with risk of chronic disease and subsequ… more »
GAO High Risk List, Public Health Preparedness: *HHS Should Address Strategic National Stockpile Requirements and Inventory Risks
"Recent emergencies have highlighted the importance of preparedness. One key component of the nation's medical response infrastructure is the SNS. The SNS inventory may be deployed to state, local, territorial, tribal, and international governments when needed. GAO placed HHS's leadership and coordination of public health emergencies on its High Risk List in January 2022 (GAO-22-105291) in part due to deficiencies in HHS's management of countermeasures. The Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act of 2019 included a provision for GAO to review the SNS. This report examines: (1) the process used to make inventory decisions; (2) non COVID-19 obligations for countermeasures and their alignment with recommendations; and (3) obligations for countermeasures using COVID-19 relief funds, and inventory and operations changes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic." more »
Ferida Wolff's Backyard: Butterfly on a Sunflower; A Popular Choice of the English Subjects Placing Tributes to Queen Elizabeth
Ferida Wolff writes: "Taking a walk in a local nature center on a hot day. It was pleasant walking along the dirt paths in the cool shade of the trees on another 90-degree day. Each step brought something else to observe. The birds were out in numbers, chirping and flitting from tree to tree...There were still some flowers blooming which added color to the scene... Natalie Prince, a Windsor florist, said she had sold 8,000 sunflowers by Saturday afternoon. “She was a ray of sunshine to so many people,” said Ms. Prince, 35. “She was our sort of ray of hope.”
more »