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Sustaining People and Planet: A Triple Bottom Line Analysis of the University of San Diego’s Initiative to Empower the Community and Climate Through Food Waste Reduction
No full textEvery year, 17% of the world’s food supply is wasted by consumers, contributing to 8-10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. When food is unconsumed and disposed of, food waste rots in landfills and open dumps, which is one of the largest contributing factors to the planet’s drastic climate change. As a result, crop yield, growth, and nutrition are negatively impacted, disrupting the food supply chain and food security, while 3.1 billion people cannot afford a healthy diet. College and university campuses are one of the most concentrated generators of food waste due to large-scale food preparation and buffet-style services. As a leader in the San Diego community, the University of San Diego (USD) can make an influential difference. This research explores the effectiveness of USD’s current food-waste reduction efforts by using the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) framework and a per-student waste production benchmark to compare USD against two regional peer institutions—the University of California San Diego (UCSD) and San Diego State University (SDSU). Comparative analysis reveals that UCSD and SDSU employ more comprehensive and integrated waste-reduction systems that incorporate food recovery networks, widespread composting accessibility, and community-based hunger relief programs. Incorporating circular economy principles, this paper identifies opportunities for USD to shift from end-of-life waste processing toward upstream prevention, redistribution, and closed-loop resource circulation. The findings highlight actionable strategies for USD to reduce methane emissions, improve operational efficiency, and advance social equity, ultimately strengthening its leadership in sustainability and community impact
Eyetracking measures of performance on the Traveling Salesperson Problem
No full textHuman solutions to the Traveling Salespersons Problem (TSP) have been proposed to employ heuristics integrating global and local spatial information (Pizlo et al., 2006). Because different neuroanatomical regions may be involved in local vs. global processing, as well as attentional shift between levels, performance on the TSP may provide useful insight into changes that occur in the brain as a result of age or of neurodegenerative disorders (Slavin, 2002). In a previous study, we compared the cognitive processes used to solve spatial problems on a large scale (moving through space) and on a small scale (on a sheet of paper). We discovered there was no difference in the percent above optimal (PAO) between the drawn route and the traveled route. The current study uses eyetracking to examine target fixations during the TSP. The question was whether participants compensate for the presence of distractor cues by constructing a mental outline of the configuration before selecting a route
Amplifying Climate Action: San Diego’s Climate Action Plan (CAP) Dashboard
Get PDFThe City of San Diego boasts a strong tourism and recreation industry, partly attributed to the City’s temperate climate. In recent years, extreme weather events tied to climate change have led to an even stronger focus on mitigation and resilience. In 2015, the City adopted a Climate Action Plan (CAP), which was most recently updated in 2022. The CAP established the goal for the community to reach net zero emissions by 2035. In the fall of 2024, to boost the efforts of the CAP, the City of San Diego published their online Climate Action Plan platform, the CAP Dashboard. The Dashboard is an accessible online tool in which departments across the City can provide updated metrics to each of the six equity-focused climate action strategies. The Dashboard is public, promotes transparency over climate action progress, and advances climate literacy and awareness for the community. The Dashboard is updated in real time as climate action strategies are addressed and will be officially updated on an annual cycle corresponding to the 2022 CAP. The City is hopeful that the Dashboard will promote innovation and collaborations to help achieve the City’s climate commitments.https://digital.sandiego.edu/npi-sdclimate/1041/thumbnail.jp
From Fee for Service to Outcome Based Care: A Policy Proposal to Reduce Provider Burnout in Assertive Community Treatment
Get PDFPurpose: This project examines the impact of the fee-for-service (FFS) reimbursement models on provider burnout within Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) programs and proposes a hybrid reimbursement framework that integrates case-rate and outcome-based payment structures. The goal is to enhance care quality, improve provider retention and optimize patient outcomes by addressing financial and administrative inefficiencies inherent in the current model.
Background: Mental illness affects over 59 million U.S. adults with serious mental illness (SMI) presenting significant challenges in healthcare delivery. ACT is an evidence-based, multidisciplinary approach designed to provide intensive, community-based psychiatric care to individuals with serious mental illness (SMI). However, the FFS reimbursement model prioritizes service volume over patient-centered, outcomes-driven care, contributing to excessive administrative burdens, financial unpredictability, and clinician burnout. A hybrid payment model—incorporating per-member-per-month (PMPM) payments, bundled case rates and value-based incentives can enhance ACT program sustainability, improve fidelity to the ACT model and reduce workforce attrition.
Methods: A comprehensive literature review was conducted to evaluate the effects of FFS reimbursement on clinician burnout in ACT programs. Alternative payment models, including case-rate, PMPM, and value-based structures were analyzed for their potential to improve financial sustainability while reducing administrative burden. Data from high-fidelity ACT programs, policy reports and reimbursement models from other healthcare settings were synthesized to develop a proposed hybrid payment framework.
Results: Findings indicate that the FFS reimbursement model exacerbates provider burnout, contributes to workforce instability and threatens ACT model fidelity. In contrast, alternative payment models that emphasize care coordination, financial stability and outcome-driven incentives have been associated with improved provider satisfaction, reduced turnover and enhanced patient outcomes. A hybrid reimbursement structure integrating PMPM payments, bundled case rates, and performance-based incentives offers a viable and sustainable funding mechanism for ACT programs, ensuring financial viability while preserving the integrity of service delivery.
Evaluation: Shifting ACT reimbursement from a FFS model to a hybrid structure has the potential to reduce provider burnout, enhance program sustainability and improve patient outcomes. Policy recommendations include advocating for Medicaid and state-level funding modifications to support the implementation of alternative payment models. Further research and pilot programs are necessary to evaluate the long-term impact of these reimbursement changes on service delivery, provider well-being and clinical outcomes.
Keywords: Assertive Community Treatment, fee-for-service, alternative payment models, value-based care, per-member-per-month, case rate, bundled payments, clinician burnout, serious mental illness, mental health policy, provider reimbursemen
Forced Labor in Apple\u27s iPhone Supply Chain
Get PDFA deep dive into forced labor in Apple\u27s supply chain proces
Notes From a Serf
Get PDFF. A. Hayek would have hated Obamacare. This must be distinctly understood, or nothing wonderful can come of the argument I am going to relate
Navigating Utility Liability in a Changing Climate: A Comparative Analysis of State Utility Failures and Legal Reforms in Response to the Maui Wildfires
Get PDFThis Comment will analyze the history of utility liability in climate-related disasters and examine instances where utility companies caused and mitigated damages. Drawing lessons from other states, it proposes several key solutions: clarifying legal standards for utility liability, enhancing regulatory frameworks, and leveraging federal support to drive proactive measures. This Comment aims to provide a comprehensive framework for improving utility preparedness and resilience in the face of climate-related disasters by examining how these solutions could have altered past outcomes and addressing the obstacles to their implementation
Mired in \u3ci\u3eMeyer\u3c/i\u3e’s Mischief A Century After Fabrication of Constitutional Parents’ Rights
Get PDFThe seminal Supreme Court decisions Meyer v. Nebraska and Pierce v. Society of Sisters, now commemorated on their centenary anniversary, are odd doctrinal ducks. They are both still routinely cited as the foundation for ascribing to persons on whom the state has conferred legal parent status a right under the Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause of the United States Constitution. (According to Westlaw, judicial citation count for Meyer now nears 3000, and secondary-source citations have surpassed 7000.) It is a constitutional right to force states to confer on them greater legal power than the state is otherwise inclined to give them, power to dictate the lives of children they are raising, even against the state’s own efforts to protect and promote what it views as healthy development of children. That sounds like something today’s conservatives should like, and they do. But the way the Court created that right is directly contrary to the view conservatives generally trumpet regarding the proper role of the judiciary. Part I explains this conservative paradox. Part II shows that the analytical framework for parent-state disputes that Meyer introduced is both deeply problematic, conceptually and normatively, and contrary to classic liberal principles. Part III lays out an alternative framework more consistent with those principles
A Natural Law Approach to Parental Rights
Get PDFThe modern interest in the twin cases of Meyer v. Nebraska, and Pierce v. Society of Sisters has sparked a renewed curiosity in the intellectual foundations and current applicability of those two cases. In this instance, I stress less the constitutional underpinnings of the cases in order to focus more on their natural law approach to the parent-child relationship. Based on Lockean principles, I conclude that the standard rules of abuse and neglect offer the sole justification for such intervention, where the state is put to a high standard of proof for intervention. This framework has had only an erratic success in dealing with traditional cases where the state has exerted control over children in such situations as Gobitis, Barnette, Prince and Yoder. But it becomes most critical today in the current battle, headed for the Supreme Court in United States v. Skrmetti, where the question of abuse and neglect is central to the evaluation of so-called, but only by its supporters, “gender-affirming care.” Here, the stark differences in the views of the medical evidence calls for a close examinatio
Who’s asking?: Gender, race, and negotiation outcomes
No full textNegotiation is a necessary skill for librarians working with electronic resources, especially as libraries confront inflating costs for collections resources and impacted budgets for library materials. This paper will share the results of a two-part study that explored whether gender or race/ethnicity impacts negotiation approaches and outcomes during the negotiation of library acquisitions in academic libraries. The presented research will seek to bridge a gap in the library literature and identify: 1. Are there common patterns of negotiation styles or approaches in academic library acquisitions? 2. Is there a connection between negotiation approach, gender, and/or racial identity? 3. Does gender or race impact negotiation outcomes?
The study built on previously established research on gender, race, and negotiation in the fields of business and communications and developed new findings through an interview study examining qualitative, individual experiences with negotiation in academic library acquisitions. Contrary to previous studies that found women were at a disadvantage in negotiations, both in their approach to negotiations and their experienced outcomes from negotiations, the results of this study suggest that librarians negotiating for electronic resources are data-driven, communicative, and experience success, regardless of gender or race. However, while negotiation outcomes were unaffected by gender or race, librarians experience a range of uncomfortable and, sometimes, discriminatory behavior during negotiations. Further study of negotiation interactions is encouraged to identify and address problematic behavior and provide solutions for improving negotiation interactions