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Daily Archives: April 14, 2014

Exposure to Neighborhood Green Space and Mental Health

Outside: ” If you’ve been looking for a natural pick-me-up, get like Thoreau and move to the woods. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin found that people who live in communities with more green space reported feeling lower levels of depression and anxiety. Kirsten Malecki, an assistant professor of population health sciences, and her team compared mental health data gleaned from the Survey of the Health of Wisconsin with satellite imaging of tree-cover density in the state’s census blocks. Their findings show that a correlation between green space, anxiety, and depression holds true even when controlling for variables such as income, age, education, and race.  People who live in neighborhoods with less than a 10 percent tree canopy were the most likely to report feeling blue. But moving from a concrete jungle into a more literal one isn’t the only way to improve your mood. Malecki suggests making changes in your own backyard. “The greening of neighborhoods could be a simple solution to reducing stress,” she said in a UW press release. “If you want to feel better, go outside.”

More online Americans say they’ve experienced a personal data breach

Pew Research – Mary Madden – “As news of large-scale data breaches and vulnerabilities grows, new findings from the Pew Research Center suggest that growing numbers of online Americans have had important personal information stolen and many have had an account compromised.  Findings from a January 2014 survey show that: 18% of online adults have… Continue Reading

2013 Best Places To Work in the Federal Government Analysis

Partnership for Public Service 2014 – “The managers and employees of well-run federal agencies are usually on the same page, sharing a common vision and working in sync to achieve mission results. But when there are considerable disparities in the viewpoints of these two groups, it could mean that your agency doesn’t agree on key… Continue Reading

Updated Estimates of Effects of Insurance Coverage Provisions of Affordable Care Act

“CBO and the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) have updated their estimates of the budgetary effects of the provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that relate to health insurance coverage. The new estimates, which are included in CBO’s latest baseline projections, reflect CBO’s most recent economic forecast, account for administrative actions… Continue Reading

CDC – Healthcare-associated Infections

“The CDC National and State Healthcare-Associated Infections Progress Report is a report that gives a closer look at the healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) most commonly reported to CDC using the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN). This is an annual report that describes national and state progress in preventing central line-associated bloodstream infections, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, surgical site infections… Continue Reading

Trade linkages and the globalisation of inflation in Asia and the Pacific

Trade linkages and the globalisation of inflation in Asia and the Pacific by Raphael Auer and Aaron Mehrotra. Working Papers No 447, April 2014 “Some observers argue that increased real integration has led to greater comovement of prices internationally. We examine the evidence for cross-border price spillovers among economies participating in the pan-Asian cross-border production networks. Starting with country-level data, we… Continue Reading

GAO Report – Petroleum Refining

PETROLEUM REFINING: Industry’s Outlook Depends on Market Changes and Key Environmental Regulations, GAO-14-249: Published: Mar 14, 2014. Publicly Released: Apr 14, 2014: “Stakeholders GAO contacted and information reviewed by GAO identified the following three major changes that have recently affected the domestic petroleum refining industry: Increased production. U.S. and Canadian crude oil production have increased, leading to lower costs… Continue Reading

FBI Plans to Have 52 Million Photos in NGI Face Recognition Database by Next Year

EFF – “New documents released by the FBI show that the Bureau is well on its way toward its goal of a fully operational face recognition database by this summer. EFF received these records in response to our Freedom of Information Act lawsuit for information on Next Generation Identification (NGI)—the FBI’s massive biometric database that may hold records on… Continue Reading

OCLC Presentation – Inside the Digital Public Library of America

“View the video or download the slides from the recent Inside the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) OCLC Research Distinguished Seminar Series presentation in which DPLA  Executive Founding Director Dan Cohen explains how the DPLA was created, how it functions as a portal and platform, what the staff is currently working on, and what’s to come for the young project and organization.” Continue Reading