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Daily Archives: February 27, 2014

UK – Measuring National Well-being – Governance, 2014

“This article is published as part of the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Measuring National Well-being Programme. The programme aims to produce accepted and trusted measures of the well-being of the nation – how the UK as a whole is doing. This article explores in more detail aspects of governance considered important for understanding National Well-being. It considers information on forms of civic engagement, notably satisfaction with government and democracy, interest in politics and participation in politics…Key Points:

  • Nearly a quarter (24%) of people aged 15 and over reported that they ‘tended to trust’ the government in the UK in autumn 2013.
  • Those aged 16 to 24 were more likely to state no interest at all in politics (42%) than those aged 65 and over (21%) in the UK in 2011–12.
  • Over 6 in 10 (64%) of adults aged 18 and over in the UK in 2011–12, agreed or strongly agreed that they would seriously be neglecting their duty as a citizen if they didn’t vote.
  • Voter turnout in UK General Elections peaked in 1950 with over 8 in 10 (82%) of the electorate voting, in 2010 the turnout was 61%.
  • A lower proportion (57%) agreed they found politics too complicated to understand in 2012 compared with 69% in 1986 in Great Britain.
  • A lower proportion (60%) agreed that ‘voting is the only way to have any say’ in 2012, compared with 73% in 1994 in Great Britain.”

Wandering in the footsteps of the polar bear with Google Maps

Google Official Blog: “This guest post is from Krista Wright, the executive director of Polar Bears International. We’ve partnered with PBI to share a fascinating look at polar bears in the wild using Google Maps. -Ed. In Inuit poetry, the polar bear is known as Pihoqahiak, the ever-wandering one. Some of the most majestic and elusive creatures in the… Continue Reading

FDA proposes updates to Nutrition Facts label on food packages

News release: “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today proposed to update the Nutrition Facts label for packaged foods to reflect the latest scientific information, including the link between diet and chronic diseases such as obesity and heart disease. The proposed label also would replace out-of-date serving sizes to better align with how much people… Continue Reading

Education Dept. Releases New Guidance on Protecting Student Privacy While Using Online Educational Services

“The U.S. Department of Education’s Privacy Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) released new guidance today to help school systems and educators interpret and understand the major laws and best practices protecting student privacy while using online educational services. The guidance summarizes the major requirements of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Protection of… Continue Reading

Guardian – Yahoo webcam images from millions of users intercepted by GCHQ

Spencer Ackerman and James Ball – The Guardian: “Britain’s surveillance agency GCHQ, with aid from the US National Security Agency, intercepted and stored the webcam images of millions of internet users not suspected of wrongdoing, secret documents reveal. GCHQ files dating between 2008 and 2010 explicitly state that a surveillance program codenamed Optic Nerve collected still images of Yahoo webcam chats in bulk and saved them to… Continue Reading

FTC Announces Top National Consumer Complaints for 2013

News release: “Identity theft continues to top the Federal Trade Commission’s national ranking of consumer complaints, and American consumers reported losing over $1.6 billion to fraud overall in 2013, according to the FTC’s annual report on consumer complaints released today. “Americans of all ages are vulnerable to identity theft, and it remains the most common consumer… Continue Reading

New GAO Reports – Critical Infrastructure Protection, Defense Transportation, Electronic Health Records, Internet Pharmacies, Oil and Gas Mgmt, School Lunch

CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION: Observations on DHS Efforts to Identify, Prioritize, Assess, and Inspect Chemical Facilities, GAO-14-365T: Published: Feb 27, 2014. Publicly Released: Feb 27, 2014. DEFENSE TRANSPORTATION: DOD Can Better Ensure That Federal Agencies Fully Reimburse for Using Military Aircraft, GAO-14-189: Published: Feb 27, 2014. Publicly Released: Feb 27, 2014. ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORDS: VA and DOD Need to Support Cost and… Continue Reading

New York Public Library Supporter Spreads Word About His Cause in Innovative Way

The Atlantic – Svati Kirsten Narula: “On Saturday, he spent five hours handing out flyers on the street and talking to people about the library—specifically, the NYPL’s plan to renovate the main branch and sell two other branches, which Zadrozny thinks will be “a disaster.” He was recruiting participants for the “work-in” protests he’s started organizing on behalf of the grassroots Committee… Continue Reading