Op-ed: Late-pandemic insights, from an expert who writes on COVID-19
The pandemic is not over. Sheldon Jacobson offers late data insights on the pandemic plaguing the United States and abroad.
We are drowning in numbers, and we no longer understand what they mean. Every day, headlines bombard us with figures meant to inform: billions in spending, trillions in debt, percentages signaling growth or decline. But for most of us, these numbers blur together. They register as “large” or “small,” but almost never as real. And that is more than a math problem. It is a civic one.
INFORMS has awarded Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) its 2026 Franz Edelman Award for Achievement in Advanced Analytics, Operations Research and Management Science, for reengineering how global cloud infrastructure is planned and delivered, applying advanced analytics and AI to orchestrate complex fulfillment decisions across its rapidly expanding data center network.
In the rush to adopt artificial intelligence, many employers are now requiring that employees use AI tools. As you’re using AI, be intentional and selective. It’s critical that you know yourself. Research published in Management Science found that AI is most valuable for people who understand their own abilities and limitations. Assess yourself, so you can factor this into your process for incorporating AI into your work.
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The pandemic is not over. Sheldon Jacobson offers late data insights on the pandemic plaguing the United States and abroad.
COVID-19 skepticism and vaccine mistrust are ubiquitous. The number of people receiving vaccines each day has dropped to well under 2 million doses from a peak of over 3 million doses in mid-April. As such, the nation is approaching a vaccination wall that will prevent it from reaching the zone of herd immunity, believed to be between 70 to 90 percent of the population protected. The recent announcement by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that fully vaccinated people can return to pre-pandemic activities without face coverings and social distancing may provide new incentives to get vaccinated.
Anytime an executive order of any kind is brought to the table, one would think that only good can come from such efforts. However, a review of this magnitude could also potentially uncover the gaps in our nation’s supply chains.
One of our recent Two Minute Warnings raised an important question for C-Level executives: “How serious are you about addressing your transportation and supply chain issues?”
CONCORD — U.S Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., has proposed bipartisan legislation to modernize the teaching of mathematics in public schools.

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