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Daily Archives: November 22, 2014

Report – Major Management and Performance Challenges Facing DHS

Major Management and Performance Challenges Facing the Department of Homeland Security, November 14, 2014 OIG-15-09.

“We have identified major challenges that affect both the Department as a whole, as well as individual components. DHS must continually seek to integrate management
operations under an authoritative governing structure capable of effectively overseeing and managing programs that cross component lines. DHS’ mission to protect the Nation from domestic and international threats and respond to natural and manmade disasters is further challenged by the unpredictable nature of these hazards. DHS must overcome the challenges inherent with uniting the Department under the Secretary’s Unity of Effort Initiative, as well as those over which it has little
control.  This year, we are reporting the Department’s major challenges in the following areas:
• DHS Operations Integration
• Acquisition Management
• Financial Management
• IT Management and Privacy Issues
• Transportation Security
• Border Security and Immigration Enforcement
• Grants Management
• Employee Accountability and Integrity
• Infrastructure Protection, Cybersecurity, and Insider Threat..”

USDA launches new web tool providing access to research and researchers

“The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) provides leadership on food, agriculture, natural resources, rural development, nutrition, and related issues based on sound public policy, the best available science. USDA employs over 5,000 researchers to advance that science, and provides grants to many times that number of researchers outside the Department. As research becomes more interdisciplinary, it… Continue Reading

Making plant taxonomy freely accessible

theguardian – GrrlScientist Saturday 13 September 2014. “…For more than a century, taxonomic information was locked away in a variety of dusty journals in vast libraries, where most people could not find or access it. Meanwhile, science marches onward at an ever-increasing rate of speed, which makes it important to rapidly access this information. To address… Continue Reading

Disruptive Technologies: Catching the Wave – A Look Back

Harvard Business Rewview – Joseph L. Bower and Clayton M. Christensen – FROM THE JANUARY 1995 ISSUE “…Although most managers like to think they are in control, customers wield extraordinary power in directing a company’s investments. Before managers decide to launch a technology, develop a product, build a plant, or establish new channels of distribution, they must look to their… Continue Reading

Global Disease Monitoring and Forecasting with Wikipedia

Global Disease Monitoring and Forecasting with Wikipedia by Nicholas Generous, Geoffrey Fairchild, Alina Deshpande, Sara Y. Del Valle, Reid Priedhorsky. Published: November 13, 2014. “Infectious disease is a leading threat to public health, economic stability, and other key social structures. Efforts to mitigate these impacts depend on accurate and timely monitoring to measure the risk and progress of disease.… Continue Reading