No. 261 October 2004
UNITED STATES INJURIES DATA: A STATISTICAL LANDMARK Every day people get injured and each year in the United States an estimated one in six residents require medical treatment for a nonfatal injury. One in ten injuries require a visit to a hospital emergency department (ED), while some need only a band-aid, and yet, others die from their injury. Currently nonfatal injuries statistics are collected by the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s National Electronic Injury Surveillance System All Injury Program(NEISS-AIP). Fatal Injuries statistics are collected by the National Vital Statistics System which is within the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), and until now both types of data are available but separate. Individual resources include The NCHS has an All Injuries website (http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/injury.htm) which is a comprehensive source of injury data. The Injury Maps (http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/maps/default.htm) web page provides fatal injuries data for the creation of county and state level maps of mortality data. The WISQARS (Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System) (http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars/) interactive database of both fatal and nonfatal data allows the creation of customized reports. Now, fatal and nonfatal injuries data have been combined into one database. The National Center of Injury Prevention and Control (CDC) has just issued the first annual compilation of fatal and nonfatal injuries statistics. “Surveillance for Fatal and Nonfatal Injuries—United States, 2001,” MMWR Surveillance Summaries, V. 53 No. SS-7, September 3, 2004 pages 1-57 is 57 pages of injury information and statistics. This new surveillance summary report is on the CDC website as PDF (http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/ss/ss5307.pdf) and htm files http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss5307a1.htm. This first unification of the fatal and nonfatal, has no historical trends. This new database may get a historical perspective if there is statistician who can bridge the gap between this new series and the historical data of the old.
KIDS.US 2004 The DOT KIDS law was passed on December 2, 2002 and the .kids domain first appeared in September 2003 and as of May 2004 there were over 1,700 names registered under the .kids domain. The Smithsonian Institution provides exhibits and exhibit tours (http://www.si.edu/exhibitions/kids.htm) and the Playhouse Disney (http://disney.go.com/playhouse/today/index.html ) provides an interactive website for children who want to do more than just watch television. The Kids domain goes beyond the Disney cable programs to the interactive games and other learning experiences. The PBS Kids (http://pbskids.org/ ) site gives one-stop access to interactive educational websites based on the Barney, Arthur, Mister Rogers, and other kids’ educational programs viewed on PBS television. The .Kids domain has grown and Congress wants to make sure it continues to grow and achieve the goals set forth in the 2002 law. (“DOT Kids Implementation and Efficiency Act of 2002,” Public Law 107-317, U.S. Statutes at Large V. 116, pages 2766-2771). To review Kid.us growth, the House, Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet held a hearing on May 2, 2004. The “DOT KIDS” Internet Domain: Protecting the Children Online, Hearing before the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives One Hundred Eighth Congress, Second Session, May 4, 2004, Serial No. 108-84 issued in 2004 is 44 pages of information as to how the .kids domain is being implemented. It is found at http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=108_house_hearings&docid=f:93310.pdf as a PDF file.
MIRGRATORY BIRDS: RESEARCH IN PROGRESS Each year migratory birds breed during the summer months in the United States and Canada and in the fall they migrate to the warmer areas of the Southern United States, Mexico, and Central and South America to spend the winter and in the spring they fly back North. Their flights were uninterrupted until the invention of the telegraph and related technologies. Now, America has developed an infrastructure of communications towers and other structures to support its media and communications services. Since the migratory birds were never consulted about the flight hazards of the thousands of high communications towers which are flight hazards for the birds, the FCC wants a new study to know more about why birds collide with towers. What factors “ –such as tower height , lighting systems, type of antenna support structure, and location—may increase or decrease the hazards that towers pose to migratory birds.” FCC Opens inquire to study the impact communications towers may have on migratory birds, is the August 20, 2003 Press Release announcing the FCC intention to have a bird study completed. This 2 ½ year Avian study, designed by ornithologist Paul Kerlinger and now underway in Michigan, should provide some answers for the FCC. In March 2006, the completed study and Kerlinger’s final report should be announced by the FCC. Wireless Bureau Announces the State to Michigan Initiate a Study Assessing the Impact of Communications Towers on Migratory Birds. (http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-239014A1.pdf) announces this pending study. This FCC News release and a copy of the avian study are found on the FCC Tower and Antenna Siting Issues Site (http://wireless.fcc.gov/siting/ ). Isn’t cell phone technology wonderful, the phone towers are hazards for the birds in the air, and the cell phone users are hazards for people on the roads.
ERRORS ANALYSIS AND RESEARCH IN MOTOR VEHICLE CRASHES: SOME HISTORICAL EVENTS In May 1979, J. R. Treat et al authored Tri-Level Study of the Causes of Traffic Accidents published an explanation of how and why traffic accidents are caused by one or more human, environmental, and vehicle factors. It was not until 1997 that the Department of Transportation declared that motor vehicles crashes are not “accidental” and should not be called accidents. In August 2002, Walter W. Wirewille published Identification of Driver Errors: Overview and Recommendations, (TD 2.30:02-003) which further developed the analysis of motor vehicle crash factors. Vehicle crashes result from a combination of driver, environmental, and vehicle error factors, and this report shows how any motor vehicle crash can be dissected and analyzed as to its causes just as a medical coroner performs a post-mortem autopsy. In March 2003, the General Accounting Office compiled a 55 page further explaining and illustrating each of the human, roadway environment, and vehicle error factors. Each error factor is discussed and illustrated with traffic statistics collected from a variety of related NHTSA research studies and surveys which measure the frequency and number of accidents. This report presents current error factor analysis, identifies recent crash research studies, and provides the latest statistics. Highway Safety Research Continues on a Variety of Factors That Contribute to Motor Vehicle Crashes, March 2003, GAO-03-046 is a PDF file found at http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-03-436 .
HYDROGEN ECONOMY INFORMATION Currently America’s economy is centered upon the use of petroleum and its related products and technologies. However, the current problems related to America’s petroleum supply have caused the President and the Department of Energy to develop an alternative energy source. In President Bush’s State of the Union Speech in January 2003, he announced a hydrogen fuel initiative which would make hydrogen an alternative fuel which will be part of America’s future energy supply. Now supplementing fossils fuels, and possibly a primary source of energy in the future. The Department of Energy (DOE) has a Hydrogen Research and Development Program is a first step toward a hydrogen based energy economy. In 2002 the DOE requested the National Research Council (NRC) to assess its Hydrogen Research & Development Program and the possibilities of hydrogen as a fuel supply and answer the question “Will hydrogen be a major energy source for the United States?” The NRC’s Committee on Alternatives and Strategies for Future Hydrogen Production and Use completed its task and issued a report which “includes hydrogen end-use technologies, transportation, hydrogen production technologies, and transition issues for hydrogen in vehicles.” The Hydrogen Economy: Opportunities, Costs, Barriers, and R&D Needs (256 pages) was issued in 2004 by the National Research Council and is found on the National Academies Press website (http://books.nap.edu/catalog/10922.html). You can read it at no cost online, you can buy this book as a paperback copy, or in a single PDF file. The NAP is also selling the volume as PDF Chapters.
CREDIT REPORTS: ONE FREE COPY When purchasing a product with your current credit card, you supply the card and the seller extends your credit. However, there are some special circumstances such as (1) you don’t have a credit card, (2) you are buying some very expensive item for which an existing credit card does not cover the total cost. In most of such purchases which require a new credit line, the seller will contact the “credit bureau” and get a report of your credit status. Those people with a good credit history get more credit to make a major purchase, and people with a bad credit history may pay a higher interest rate, or are denied a new credit line. Whenever a credit report is requested from a consumer reporting agency (CRA) or credit bureau there is a fee. Since both the FTC and many financial advisors think that everyone who has a credit history file should review it periodically for completeness and accuracy, “the Federal Trade Commission has issued its final rule regarding free annual credit reports under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) and the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). FACTA, which was enacted on December 4, 2003, amends the FCRA and requires, among other things, that the three nationwide consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) – Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union – provide to consumers, upon request, a free copy of their credit report once every 12 months.” The June 4, 2004 press release FTC Issues Final Rule on Free Annual Credit Reports (http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2004/06/freeannual.htm) explains the schedule and procedures through which these three CRAs will provide a free copy of the credit report to every American who requests one. This press release also provides a link to the full text of the Final Rule which appeared in the Federal Register.
CREDIT DENIALS, REPORT ERRORS, AND CORRECTIONS Credit reports contain information about where you live and work and how you pay your bills. It may show whether you have been sued, arrested, or have filed for bankruptcy. Have you ever been denied credit because of a credit report which was not accurate? If you were denied credit, employment, or insurance because of something in your credit report provided by a credit reporting agency (CRA), and you felt the report was inaccurate, then you have a right to know the CRA’s name, address, and phone number. You also have a right to a free copy of your credit report from the CRA within 60 days of the credit denial notice. The FTC Facts for Consumer, How to Dispute Credit Report Errors (http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/crdtdis.htm) tells you how to get your credit report, how to correct drrors, how to add accounts to your file, and even provides a sample letter for corresponding with the CRA. The FTC has provided very clear and detailed instructions and explanation your rights and responsibilities of correcting inaccurate or incomplete information in your credit file. The FTC is also clear about the obligations and responsibilities of the CRAs, the banks, and the credit card companies. The CRA must investigate your claims, make corrections in you file, delete any disputed information which can not be verified as negative, and notify all nationwide CRAs of your revised and corrected credit file. The current FTC laws and regulations make it easy to learn about credit reports, how to obtain one, and how to correct the credit files from which they come.
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES In 1620 the Pilgrims and most of the American colonists came to the new world for religious freedom. With the first amendment of the Constitution of the United States, religious freedom is guaranteed. Yet, a Constitutional guarantee of religious freedom has not prevented America’s history of religious discrimination, church burnings, and religion related crimes. The Constitution of the United States provides the right of every colonist and American to practice his religion and maintains a separation of church and state. How many the countries, which the American colonists left in 1620 have come to provided religious freedom and similar constitutional guarantees for their citizens since 1620? With the passage of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1988, Congress mandated the U. S. Department of State compile an Annual Report on International Religious Freedom which “describes the status of religious freedom in each foreign country, government policies violating religious belief and practices of groups, religious denominations, and individuals, and U.S. policies to promote religious freedom around the world.” Congress wants information on the development of religious freedom in these countries. On September 15, 2004, The International Religious Freedom Report 2004, the Sixth annual report was released. Background information is found on this Report Series page at http://www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/ . The current and 1st, 1999 to the 5th, 2003 reports are found on the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom website (http://www.uscirf.gov/) and at its Reports page ( http://www.uscirf.gov/reports/moreRpts_USSD.php3) FYI, the Commission did publish 1998 Interim and Final Reports found at http://www.state.gov/www/global/human_rights/drl_reports.html. There is also a GPO PURL http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS11558 which may help for later issues.
December 22, 2004
http://www.nku.edu/~yannarella/news0410.html