BALTIMORE, MD, May 24, 2025 – Most anti-human trafficking efforts focus on breaking up sex sales; however, new research in the INFORMS journal Manufacturing & Service Operations Management is turning its attention to where trafficking truly begins – recruitment. Using machine learning to analyze millions of online ads, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have uncovered patterns that link deceptive job offers to sex trafficking networks. By mapping the connections between recruitment and sales locations, the study reveals a hidden supply chain – one that can now be exposed and interrupted earlier in the trafficking process.
Drugs being explicitly developed to treat rare diseases are getting more expensive.
Old technology is behind the recent ongoing delays and cancellations at Newark Liberty International Airport, but newer technology will be an important part of the solution.
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We have been focused, as a nation and a world community, on developing and distributing a COVID-19 vaccine since the virus first emerged more than a year ago. But now that millions are getting their first dose, we’re learning that this is not a silver bullet. Mae spoke to Professor Julie Swann about how our lives will gradually return to normal.
The COVID-19 vaccine rollout has been a nightmare for many Americans as they struggle through multi-step registration and appointment systems. The federal government had envisioned states using one national vaccine scheduling system, and it offered a contractor $44 million to develop it. But that system turned out to be so poorly designed that all but nine states opted out before even trying to adopt it, even though it was being offered by the government for free.
Across the Midwest, the rollout of COVID vaccines has been spotty. Lots of people are having a trouble with online signups. And vaccine demand far exceeds supply. That’s made the process challenging, especially in rural areas. For years, the Girls State Training School in central Iowa has sat mostly empty. But on this day, the main building is buzzing as a local vaccination clinic opens. Rooms labeled for social workers, psychologists and others who once helped delinquent girls are filled with health care workers and elderly residents from the rural area.
College sports venues are providing large, accessible centers to facilitate the final step in the COVID-19 vaccine supply chain. Communities will finally receive their vaccinations in stadiums like Michigan’s Big House and Missouri’s Memorial Stadium. “It’s the last mile which is really critical,” Illinois computer science professor Sheldon Jacobson told FOS. “We need large venues, and there are not that many large venues available.”
CATONSVILLE, MD, February 10, 2021 – Three INFORMS members –Russell Allgor, chief scientist at Amazon, Hani Mahmassani, William A. Patterson Distinguished Chair in Transportation at Northwestern University, and Jong-Shi Pang, Epstein Family Chair of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Southern California – have been elected to the National Academy of Engineering. They join more than 100 new members recently elected.
OR/MS Today is the INFORMS member magazine that shares the latest research and best practices in operations research, analytics and the management sciences.
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Analytics magazine showcases articles and research reports based on big data, AI, machine learning, data analytics and other new-age technologies.
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