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Daily Archives: March 12, 2015

OIG – Review of State Messaging and Archive Retrieval Toolset and Record Email

Review of State Messaging and Archive Retrieval Toolset and Record Email –  What OIG Inspected – March 15, 2015.

“The review took place in Washington, DC, between January 24 and March 15, 2014. What OIG Recommended – OIG made seven recommendations to improve the use of record emails by Department of State employees and mission staff members. OIG recommended establishing a process to review record email usage across missions and bureaus, as well as issuing guidance to Department of State employees and mission staff members that specifies their record-keeping responsibilities, provides examples to guide choices among cables and record and working emails, and suggests the establishment of record email policies. OIG recommended convening functionally defined focus groups to identify practical examples of official records; canvassing through focus groups in all bureaus periodically to identify obstacles to the use of SMART for record emails and cables; establishing an Electronic Records Management Working Group to advise on record emails and related issues; and making introductory and refresher courses on records management a requirement for Department of State employees. OIG also recommended expanding the Foreign Service Institute’s current record email training curriculum to include hands-on SMART client and classroom training as well as additional material on record-keeping requirements. What OIG Found March 2015

  • A 2009 upgrade in the Department of State’s system facilitated the preservation of emails as official records. However, Department of State employees have not received adequate training or guidance on their responsibilities for using those systems to preserve “record emails.” In 2011, employees created 61,156 record emails out of more than a billion emails sent. Employees created 41,749 record emails in 2013.
  • Record email usage varies widely across bureaus and missions. The Bureau of Administration needs to exercise central oversight of the use of the record email function.
  • Some employees do not create record emails because they do not want to make the email available in searches or fear that this availability would inhibit debate about pending decisions.
  • System designers in the Bureau of Information Resource Management need more understanding and knowledge of the needs of their customers to make the system more useful. A new procedure for monitoring the needs of customers would facilitate making those adjustments.”

Helping Government Deliver II: The Obstacles and Opportunities Surrounding Shared Services

“Changing how government delivers services such as acquisition, financial management, human resources and information technology can improve performance and reduce overlap, duplication and overall costs. However, agencies’ efforts to move administrative functions to a shared services provider have been limited. So, what are the key barriers to implementing shared services strategies and how can the… Continue Reading

2014 General Social Survey includes data on wealth, social identity, civic participation

“Since 1972, the General Social Survey (GSS) has been monitoring societal change and studying the growing complexity of American society. The GSS aims to gather data on contemporary American society in order to monitor and explain trends and constants in attitudes, behaviors, and attributes; to examine the structure and functioning of society in general as… Continue Reading

Who Retweets Whom? How Digital and Legacy Journalists Interact on Twitter

Michael L. Barthel, Ruth Moon, and William Mari. (March 5, 2015). Who Retweets Whom? How Digital and Legacy Journalists Interact on Twitter. Tow Center for Digital Journalism. Tow/Knight Report 030520151. 21 pp. New York, New York. “The digital environment would seem to offer exciting new opportunities for both competition and collaboration. Twitter, in particular, has… Continue Reading

Judicial Business of the United States Courts 2014

2014 Reports on Federal Courts Caseload and Activities Released “This report presents data and statistics on the work of the Federal Judiciary for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2014. Separate sections of this report address the appellate, district, and bankruptcy courts; the probation and pretrial services system; and other components of the Federal Judiciary.… Continue Reading

2013 Information and Communication Technology Survey

Census – “The Information and Communication Technology Survey provides data on both noncapitalized and capitalized spending for information and communication technology equipment and computer software by U.S. nonfarm businesses with employees. It covers all domestic, private and nonfarm businesses, including agricultural nonfarm (NAICS subsectors 113, 114 and 115) businesses.” Continue Reading

An Analysis of the President’s 2016 Budget

‘This report by CBO presents an analysis of the proposals in the President’s budget request for fiscal year 2016. The analysis is based on CBO’s economic projections and estimating models (rather than on the Administration’s), and it incorporates estimates of the effects of the President’s tax proposals that were prepared by the staff of the… Continue Reading

New GAO Reports – Defense Acquisitions, Egypt

Defense Acquisitions: Assessments of Selected Weapon Program, GAO-15-342SP: Published: Mar 12, 2015. Publicly Released: Mar 12, 2015: “Over the past year, the overall size of DOD’s major defense acquisition program portfolio decreased, from 80 programs to 78, while the estimated cost has decreased by $7.6 billion. The size and cost of the portfolio is currently… Continue Reading

UN Report – Copyright policy and the right to science and culture

“Science and culture are not only of great importance to the knowledge economy; they are also fundamental to human dignity and autonomy [this is the link to the report, Word doc.] In that area, two influential paradigms of international law — intellectual property and human rights — have evolved largely separately. Recent developments, however, have… Continue Reading