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Monthly Archives: August 2014

FBI Digitizes Millions of Files

“The digital conversion of more than 30 million records—and as many as 83 million fingerprint cards—comes as the FBI fully activates its Next Generation Identification (NGI) system, a state-of-the-art digital platform of biometric and other types of identity information. The system, which is incrementally replacing the Bureau’s Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System, or IAFIS, will better serve our most prolific customers—law enforcement agencies checking criminal histories and fingerprints, veterans, government employees, and the FBI’s own Laboratory. The conversion from manual to digital systems began more than two decades ago, when paper files outgrew the space at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. They were shipped to West Virginia, where the FBI built a campus in Clarksburg in 1992 for its Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division and leased warehouse space in nearby Fairmont for the burgeoning files. In 2010, CJIS broke ground on a new Biometric Technology Center and redoubled its efforts to digitize all the files. The most recent push—digitization of 8.8 million files in two years—not only added more data points to the NGI program, but also eliminated the need to move scores of cabinets full of paper into the new technology center.”

CFPB Publishes Report to Promote Financial Wellness in the Workplace

“The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published a report to promote financial wellness in the workplace. The report contains case studies that are designed to educate employers about practices that can improve employees’ financial health and increase worker productivity…Research has shown that, particularly since the recession, financial distress is widespread among the American workforce. This… Continue Reading

City72 open-source emergency preparedness platform

“An effective preparedness platform customizable to your city. City72 is an open-source emergency preparedness platform that promotes community resilience and connection. This Toolkit is designed specifically for emergency preparedness organizations and provides the information and resources to create a customized City72 site for any city or region. It includes: how to create localized content, access to the code to… Continue Reading

Follow the money: A study of cashtags on Twitter

Follow the money: A study of cashtags on Twitter, Martin Hentschel, Omar Alonso, First Monday, August 14, 2014. “The popularity of Twitter goes beyond trending topics, world events, memes, and popular hashtags. Recently a new way of sharing financial information is taking place in social media under the name of cashtags, stock ticker symbols that are prefixed… Continue Reading

Internet Archive Book Images – millions of copyright-free images

Internet Archives: “An American academic is creating a searchable database of 12 million historic copyright-free images. Kalev Leetaru has already uploaded 2.6 million pictures to Flickr, use the link above to see the millions of hard to find historic images all for free now on line.” Also from Internet Archives, see also: “Open Library is an… Continue Reading

US Worker Displacement: 2011-2013

BLS: “From January 2011 through December 2013, 4.3 million workers were displaced from jobs they had held for at least 3 years, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statisticsreported today. This was down from 6.1 million workers for the prior survey period covering January 2009 to December 2011. In January 2014, 61 percent of workers displaced from 2011 to… Continue Reading

Usage-Based Insurance and Telematics

National Association of Insurance Commissioners: “Usage-Based Insurance (UBI) is a recent innovation by auto insurers that more closely aligns driving behaviors with premium rates for auto insurance. Mileage and driving behaviors are tracked using odometer readings or in-vehicle telecommunication devices (telematics) that are usually self-installed into a special vehicle port. The basic idea of telematic… Continue Reading

Study: Government Blocks Specific Journalists From Accessing Information

David Sorota: “As states move to hide details of government deals with Wall Street and as politicians come up with new arguments to defend secrecy, it was revealed this week that many government information officers block specific journalists they don’t like from accessing information. The news comes as 47 federal inspectors general sent a letter to lawmakers criticizing “serious… Continue Reading

EPIC FOIA Case – Army Blimps over Washington Loaded with Surveillance Gear, Cost $1.6 Billion

“EPIC has received substantial new information about the surveillance blimps, now deployed over Washington, DC. The documents were released to EPIC in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the Department of the Army. The documents also reveal that the Army paid Raytheon $1.6 billion. EPIC will receive more documents about the controversial program In October. For more information, see EPIC: EPIC v. Army… Continue Reading

The State of the World’s Rivers Interactive Database

Mapping the Health of the World’s Fifty Major River Basins: “The State of the World’s Rivers interactive mapping database compares ecological health indicators within the world’s 50 major river basins. To start navigating the maps, click to close this dialogue. Then, on the left panel, select among the fourteen ecological indicators to visualize corresponding values… Continue Reading