Global Opioid Detection Challenge

 

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T), the research and development arm of DHS that focuses on providing the tools, technologies, and knowledge products to bridge industry and end-user communities, announced The Opioid Detection Challenge last month. The Challenge is part of a comprehensive government effort to address the opioid crisis, specifically illicit opioids entering the U.S. via international mail, and your campus is encouraged to submit ideas for a solution.

 

According to updated January 2019 statistics from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, more than 47,000 Americans died from opioid drug overdoses in 2017, an increase from 8,048 in 1999. Colleges and universities have been spared from the most severe effects of the opioid crisis. Overdoses on campuses are less common than among young adults in the general population, according to a 2018 article by NPR. However, as more cases arise, campuses are taking steps to ensure their students and community are ready. At Bridgewater State University (BSU), this means adding Narcan to existing defibrillator boxes across campus. In addition, more than 1,000 people have been trained to administer it including resident advisers. The University of Texas at Austin has launched a similar initiative.

 

International mail has been identified as a route for illicit opioids entering the U.S., commonly transported in nearly pure, powdered form. Consequently, large-scale drug trafficking can occur via small packages sent in the mail. DHS, S&T, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Office of National Drug Control Policy have come together to create a challenge to find new tools and technologies to detect opioids in parcels moving through international service centers and express consignment facilities.

 

Innovators in a wide range of fields, including colleges and universities, from forensic science to industrial quality assurance to artificial intelligence, can participate in The Challenge to help disrupt the flow of opioids into the U.S. The Challenge seeks novel, automated, nonintrusive, user-friendly and well-developed designs for tools and technologies that have the potential to quickly and accurately detect opioids in parcels, without disrupting the flow of mail. The total prize pool is $1.55M. Up to eight finalists will be selected by the judges according to official Stage 1 selection criteria.

 

April 2019 Webinar: Adaptive Continuity Planning

 

Campus Public Safety Online is pleased to present Adaptive Continuity Planning: What the Industry Can Learn From Case Studies in Higher Education with guest presenters Sarah J. Powell (PDF), director of emergency management at Temple University, and Emma Stocker (PDF), director of emergency management at Portland State University. Sarah and Emma will share how they have each borrowed from the adaptive continuity model and customized it for their campus.

 

Continuity planning for higher education has thus far tracked closely to both the business and government sector models. The traditional business continuity approach, especially those favored by the corporate sector, encourage comprehensive data collection and time-consuming dependency mapping. But a new model, adaptive continuity, is beginning to gain some traction. An adaptive approach encourages continuity planners to borrow from the lessons of agile and lean methodologies and to take a more iterative, feedback-focused, and streamlined tack. Perhaps because so many continuity planners in higher education are also emergency managers, action-based planning with a pragmatic, results-oriented focus provides instant feedback and value. The goal with adaptive continuity planning is to rapidly identify how a department can increase their capabilities and immediately begin to support true recoverability - that is, the ability to continue operations in the face of any disruption.

 

Anyone who is frustrated by existing models for continuity planning or overwhelmed by the scope of work that traditional models present should attend this webinar to learn about adaptive continuity and how practitioners have grappled with this new approach. Those particularly interested may include senior campus administration, campus safety and security, emergency management, continuity planners, legal counsel, risk managers, disaster recovery personnel, and anyone else working to establish business continuity policies and procedures on campus.

 

For more information and to register, please visit our website.

April Is Distracted Driving Awareness Month

 

Every day, at least nine Americans die and more than 1,000 are injured in crashes involving distracted drivers. Texting isn't the only culprit --- distracted driving can also include eating, talking to passengers, playing with the stereo, or even toying with entertainment or navigation systems. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), distracted driving is "any activity that diverts attention from driving."

 

Young people are particularly susceptible to becoming distracted drivers, according to NHTSA research (PDF) on cell phone use and distracted driving. The 2011 data shows that young drivers 18 to 20 years old had the highest incidence of crash or near-crash experiences compared to all other age groups. By participating in Distracted Driving Awareness Month this April, there are several things colleges and universities can do to help prevent deaths and injuries:

Distracted driving is dangerous and deadly and it's important to remember that distracted walking can have consequences as well. According to one study by researchers at Northern Arizona University (PDF), 14% of pedestrians --- about one in seven --- talks, texts, wears headphones, or otherwise uses a phone while crossing the street. Another study by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons found that nearly 40% of Americans have personally witnessed a distracted walking incident and 26% had been in an incident themselves. The group most at risk for distraction-related injuries while walking? Young adults between 16 and 25 years old, according  to a third study out of The Ohio State University. Campuses interested in learning more about preventing distracted walking can check out the Take Action Toolkit from Safe Kids Worldwide, which includes strategies, advocacy tips, model documents, and other resources for making student pedestrian zones safer.

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