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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Universities should require COVID-19 vaccines. There is much data available to support such mandates.
Dr. Tinglong Dai, a professor of Operations Management and Business Analytics at the Carey School of Business, has dedicated his career to investigating the interplay between supply chains and healthcare. He says the public should not be pessimistic about the U.S. response to COVID-19 given the incredible advances with vaccine development and an unprecedented level of global data collection.
For 14 months, Mark Domitrovich dreamed of a time when his Chicago bar and restaurants would again be filled with the buzz and chatter of happy customers. On June 11, the day he had been waiting for finally came: the state of Illinois allowed all businesses that had been affected by COVID-19 restrictions to fully reopen.
The pandemic put a spotlight on weak links in the nation’s supply chain. There was the hunt for toilet paper at the beginning of the pandemic. Masks, surgical gowns and gloves were hard to find. These shortages were partly blamed on a “just-in-time” inventory system companies have used for decades, ordering just enough parts to come in at just the right time to sell or use on the production line.
When members of Congress express their concern that an industry may not be making the best decisions for its long-term health, those businesses had better start guarding their wallets.
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