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Daily Archives: August 29, 2016

2014 Update of the EBRI IRA Database: IRA Balances, Contributions, Rollovers, Withdrawals, and Asset Allocation

Employee Benefit Research Institute: “This Issue Brief is the sixth annual cross-sectional analysis update of the EBRI IRA Database. It includes results on the distribution of individual retirement account (IRA) types and account balances, contributions, rollovers, withdrawals, and asset allocation in IRAs for 2014, the latest data available. The EBRI IRA Database is an ongoing project of the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) that collects data from IRA-plan administrators across the nation. For year-end 2014, it contains information on 26.7 million accounts owned by 21.1 million unique individuals, with total assets of $2.69 trillion. For accounts in the database, the IRA type, account balance, contributions made, rollovers transferred, and withdrawals taken during the year (if any), the asset allocation, and certain demographic characteristics of the account owner are included (among other items). This update shows the importance of being able to measure not only the unique IRA account balances, but also the combination of all IRAs an individual owns to determine the potential total retirement savings the individual has by aggregating their multiple IRA accounts. Indeed, the overall, cumulative IRA average balance per individual is 27 percent larger than the IRA balance per account. Thus, databases that are not able to link separate accounts owned by the same individual within and across data providers are likely to understate the total IRA assets owned by individuals, and thus the total retirement accumulations held by individuals.”

Consumer Reports offers free ratings report for Zika virus repellents

Consumer Reports – “The World Health Organization has declared the rapid spread of the Zika virus—which has been linked to serious birth defects and is transmitted mainly by mosquitoes—an international public health emergency. In response to this growing threat, Consumer Reports is releasing free to the public its exclusive test results and Ratings of mosquito… Continue Reading

Fentanyl Law Enforcement Submissions and Increases in Synthetic Opioid–Involved Overdose Deaths — 27 States, 2013–2014

CDC – Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, August 26, 2016:  “In March and October 2015, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and CDC, respectively, issued nationwide alerts identifying illicitly manufactured fentanyl (IMF) as a threat to public health and safety (1,2). IMF is unlawfully produced fentanyl, obtained through illicit drug markets, includes fentanyl analogs, and is… Continue Reading

Shoah Foundation – Over 800 New Indexing Terms to be Added to Visual History Archive Thesaurus

“A team of USC Shoah Foundation researchers has identified over 800 new indexing terms that will be added to the Visual History Archive when it undergoes its next big update in the coming weeks. The new terms were generated from approximately 1,250 testimonies from the Institute’s new Holocaust Canadian Collections, the final 88 testimonies from… Continue Reading

Report – Open Source Software and the DOD

Center for New American Security – Open Source Software and the Department of Defense – “This paper discusses where the DoD is already making inroads to use open source development methodologies to shorten time to mission without sacrificing national security. I hope our civilian and uniformed leaders will read it carefully and take it seriously.… Continue Reading

EFF – Transparency Hunters Capture More than 400 California Database Catalogs

Dave Maass – A team of over 40 transparency activists aimed their browsers at California this past weekend, collecting more than 400 database catalogs from local government agencies, as required under a new state law. Together, participants in the California Database Hunt shined light on thousands upon thousands of government record systems. California S.B. 272… Continue Reading

Volkswagen Agrees to Record Settlement in Emissions Case

FTC Charges Volkswagen Deceived Consumers with Its “Clean Diesel” Campaign: In two related settlements, one with the United States and the State of California, and one with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), German automaker Volkswagen AG and related entities have agreed to spend up to $14.7 billion to settle allegations of cheating emissions tests… Continue Reading

Speech Is 3x Faster than Typing for English and Mandarin Text Entry on Mobile Devices

Speech Is 3x Faster than Typing for English and Mandarin Text Entry on Mobile Devices – Sherry Ruan, Jacob O. Wobbrock, Kenny Liou, Andrew Ng, James Landay (Submitted on 25 Aug 2016) “With laptops and desktops, the dominant method of text entry is the full-size keyboard; now with the ubiquity of mobile devices like smartphones,… Continue Reading

The Criminal Justice System Fails Sexual Assault Survivors, But Data Can Help

Joshau New – Center for Data Innovation: “In Baltimore, sexual assault survivors have little reason to believe they will see justice, according to a recent report from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). DOJ found that the Baltimore City Police Department (BPD) “systematically under-investigates” sexual assault, in particular by dismissing sexual assault reports, allowing overt… Continue Reading