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The possibility of a bioterrorism event haunts all healthcare organizations. We believe a bioterrorism event is more likely in an urban area, and that urban multiprovider systems will be the “first line healthcare responders.” Due to the lack of empirical research on this topic and firsthand experience with a bioterrorism event, this paper will provide the theoretical underpinnings to support the rationale for multiprovider systems as “first responders.” This chapter outlines the nature and challenges of bioterrorism for a healthcare organization, the likely “state of the art” preparations for such events on the part of the four categories of healthcare organizations, and finally, the implications for the structuring of multiprovider systems to enhance their ability to plan for, and respond to bioterrorism events. Potential future research issues are also addressed.

Little attention has been given to the mental and physical health impacts of COVID-19 on the academic public health workforce. Academic public health is an important support mechanism for public health practice, providing expertise and workforce training, conducting research, disseminating evidence-based scientific information to both public health and lay audiences, and serving as a supplementary workforce when additional resources are needed. These roles become more important during a public health emergency, particularly during a prolonged public health crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of the COVID-19 response, the roles of academic public health have expanded to include developing and implementing contact tracing, surveillance, testing, and vaccination programs for universities and their surrounding communities, all while continuing to prepare students and support the public health practice workforce in their ongoing efforts. As in other responder groups, this has resulted in significant mental health effects and burnout among public health academicians. The authors suggest important steps that can be taken to improve the resilience of the academic public health workforce and to support their contributions during prolonged public health emergencies.

As societies worldwide continue to navigate and recover from the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, the world is at a unique crossroads. How can leaders in higher education institutions (HEIs) prioritize holistic human needs and maximize interpersonal and collegial human connection, while continuing to guide and grow successful learning communities both in-person and virtually? With potential costs and benefits in mind, pertinent literature is reviewed, and the limitations and silver linings presented by the ongoing pandemic are explored. Different forms of grief and loss experienced by faculty and students as well as the effects of technostress amid this time of change are also recognized. Concepts and practices introduced by prominent humanistic thought-leaders are discussed as a way to navigate the educational impacts created by the pandemic. A key finding presented is that leaders and HEIs that prioritize human connections and relationships, in concert with adopting technological advancements, are better equipped to maintain personal well-being while enhancing academic success in the long term. By fostering learning environments based on psychological safety, compassion, autonomy, and adaptability, humanistic leaders contribute to the betterment of HEIs as a whole. To this end, the enduring legacy of humanistic leadership is pivotal in this new era of global and individual humanistic transformation amid change.

The governmental public health workforce provides essential public health services to communities from public health agencies operations at the local, state, and federal levels of government. The roles and duties of public health workers range from infectious disease tracking and control to healthy eating promotion to checking food service establishments for safety. Unfortunately, most of the time, the general public is unaware of, and unconcerned with, public health’s primary mission of disease prevention. This behind-the-scenes, service-oriented workforce has responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by working long hours, extra days, and ever-changing job roles, all while becoming targets of political attacks and enduring substantially elevated psychological distress and burnout. Though this workforce is not well enumerated, existing studies indicate that public health workers face higher anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and burnout than other frontline healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic response. Several strategies have been suggested to address these vulnerabilities, including increasing the amount and stability of available funding, implementing organizational-level policies and programming to boost resilience, and providing individual-level social support, both instrumental and emotional, to protect against burnout and other psychological distresses.

The purpose of this chapter is to highlight the key differences in the production processes of battery electric vehicles (BEV) and internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEV). This exploration not only includes the fundamental physical architectural differences between the types of vehicles but also their entirely different supporting supply chains and underpinning business logics. Many nuanced and less-discussed considerations such as geopolitics, supporting infrastructure, and background policy implications are also covered. This chapter stems from the collection and analysis of secondary peer-reviewed data that is supplemented by verified press publications. The automotive industry moves at an incredibly fast pace, and thus understanding the sociotechnical transition to BEVs requires the additional, timely context of press publications. The overall result of this chapter is a holistic overview of the BEV’s value chain, and more importantly some much needed context for readers to better appreciate the significant implications that are involved. Society is not merely substituting one ‘full fat’ product for a ‘low calorie’ version, but rather we are adopting a new technology that solves some of our problems but comes with challenges of its own. In the coming transition to BEVs, it will be impossible to switch technologies without reformulating various policies and reconsidering how we consume transportation as a commodity or a service. By presenting how society intends to evolve its predominant road propulsion system, this chapter seeks to explain the twists and turns ahead, and offer a glimpse of a more sustainable path forward.