Determination the rational locations of territorial emergency response teams in the area of possible emergency situations of natural and technogenic nature

Due to frequent emergency cases at hazardous production facilities, which can lead to an environmental disaster, material and social damage, the issue of using the rational locations of territorial emergency response teams in the area of responsibility is the most relevant. The greatest weight if it is necessary to determine the rational place for the permanent deployment of territorial emergency rescue units created by the state authorities of the subject of the Russian Federation. Due to the lack of guidance documents and methodological recommendations for determining the permanent location of territorial emergency rescue units, this task was solved in each constituent entity of the Russian Federation in its own way and with a significant degree of subjectivity. It is proposed to use an algorithm for determining the permanent location of the rescue formation in the area of responsibility based on the probability of calling the formation to incidents, accidents and emergencies.

“Yiddish has magic”: The Yiddish Book Center (Amherst, MA)

The Yiddish Book Center (YBC) is a non-profit organization located in Amherst, Massachusetts, committed to the preservation, study and celebration of Yiddish literature and culture. Over the years, this organization has overcome many obstacles, one of the most challenging and consuming being an urgent capital campaign, launched in 1991, to raise funds for a new and permanent location. This case study recounts the inspiring story of the YBC as a niche cultural organization and dissects how they managed, in face of discouraging odds, to commit wholeheartedly to their mission and successfully reach their fundraising goals.

European Food Safety Authority seeks scientists for its scientific committee and panels, and hopes that a permanent location will be found soon

The management board of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA, http://www.efsa.eu.int) met on 21 January, and among the issues discussed was selection of the experts who will provide scientific opinions to the EFSA (1). An expression of interest in membership of the EFSA Scientific Committee and panels was published the same day, with a closing date of 14 March (http://www.efsa.eu.int/recruitment_en.html). Those selected will be proposed to the board on 29 April, and the EFSA risk assessment programme is scheduled to begin soon after this date, making the EFSA scientifically operational.