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Daily Archives: June 21, 2016

Study – How Usable Are School Library Websites?

Chow, Anthony S., Rebecca J. Morris, Amy Figley, Karla Regan, Samantha Lam, and Jessica Sherard. How Usable Are School Library Websites? A Random Sample from All Fifty States. Journal of Research on Libraries & Young Adults 7 (2016): n. page. Web.

“This study examines the basic design layout, content, and usability of 300 randomly sampled elementary (n = 100), middle school (n = 100), and high school (n = 100) library websites representing all fifty states in the United States. Of the schools selected, 102 of the school librarians also completed a survey examining their libraries’ information and service priorities, site maintenance, and primary users. The results show that the majority of school library websites contain information intended for students but rate low on recommended youth-oriented website standards for cognitive, affective (or emotional), and general design best practices regardless of the age group served. Trends in design layouts and content were also identified. Major implications of the study include a best-practices checklist and preliminary design and content guidelines to help school librarians create more age-appropriate websites for their students.”

Pew – More older Americans are working, and working more, than they used to

“More older Americans – those ages 65 and older – are working than at any time since the turn of the century, and today’s older workers are spending more time on the job than did their peers in previous years, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of employment data from the federal Bureau… Continue Reading

Genome-editing technology CRISPR-Cas9 obtains initial federal approval for human testing

“A federal biosafety and ethics panel on Tuesday unanimously approved the first study in patients of the genome-editing technology CRISPR-Cas9, in an experiment that would use CRISPR to create genetically altered immune cells to attack three kinds of cancer. It had been widely expected that the first human use of CRISPR would be a 2017 clinical trial… Continue Reading

Looking Forward: Corporate Governance of the Successful 21st Century Company

da Silveira, Alexandre Di Miceli, Looking Forward: Corporate Governance of the Successful 21st Century Company (Presentation Slides) (June 20, 2016). Available for download at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=279828 “This is a PPT presentation that discusses what is coming next on corporate governance (CG) and in which ways the successful business of the 21st century will differ from… Continue Reading

OECD – US economy growing steadily but key reforms needed

“The US economy is making one of the strongest comebacks in the OECD, but there are risks on the horizon, according to the OECD’s latest Economic Survey of the United States. Seven years after the financial crisis, the US economy has rebounded through robust monetary policy support and the well-timed expansion of fiscal policy. Output… Continue Reading

Infographic – A Snapshot of Cancer Spending and Outcomes

Gonzalez S, Cox C, Jankiewicz A, Rousseau D, for the Kaiser Family Foundation. A Snapshot of Cancer Spending and Outcomes  JAMA. 2016;315(23):2512. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.7250. “This Visualizing Health Policy infographic provides details on cancer spending and outcomes in the United States. The U.S. cancer mortality rate, 203 deaths per 100,000 population, was slightly lower than in comparable… Continue Reading

Innovations from Office of Creative Research, NY data lab

Via Poynter: ” The Office for Creative Research, a New York-based research group…often creates data visualizations, public space performances and prototypes to help people understand information. In recent months, they’ve created a visualization about Einstein’s theory of general relativity for Scientific American, made a Chrome extension that helps people make sense of ad targeting and… Continue Reading

Information Security: Agencies Need to Improve Controls over Selected High-Impact Systems

Information Security: Agencies Need to Improve Controls over Selected High-Impact Systems, GAO-16-501: Published: May 18, 2016. Publicly Released: Jun 21, 2016. “In GAO’s survey of 24 federal agencies, the 18 agencies having high-impact systems identified cyber attacks from “nations” as the most serious and most frequently-occurring threat to the security of their systems. These agencies… Continue Reading

FAA issues new commercial drone rules

“The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is amending its regulations to adopt specific rules for the operation of small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) in the National Airspace System (NAS) through a final rule. These changes address the classification of sUAS, certification of sUAS remote pilots, and sUAS operational limitations. This advisory circular (AC) provides guidance for… Continue Reading