Monthly archives: April, 2012

New GAO Reports: Border Security, Electronic Health Records, Group Purchasing Organizations, Medicare

Border Security Opportunities Exist to Ensure More Effective Use of DHS’s Air and Marine Assets, GAO-12-518, Mar 30, 2012 Electronic Health Records, First Year of CMS’s Incentive Programs Shows Opportunities to Improve Processes to Verify Providers Met Requirements, GAO-12-481, Apr 30, 2012 Group Purchasing Organizations – Federal Oversight and Self-Regulation, GAO-12-399R, Mar 30, 2012 Medicare …

Subjects: Government Documents

Research by CFA and Unum shows workers know little about disability insurance, despite expecting financial hardship if unable to work

“In a national survey of nearly 1,200 employees, the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and Unum learned that workers know little about group disability insurance, even important characteristics of what coverage they may have. But when given information about this financial protection benefit, nine out of 10 employees say they want this coverage and would …

Subjects: Knowledge Management

Census Reports Public Pension Assets Increase More Than $257 Billion for State and Local Public-Employee Retirement Systems in 2010

“The nation’s state and local public-employee retirement systems had $2.7 trillion in total cash and investment holdings in 2010, a $257.2 billion or 10.6 percent increase from $2.4 trillion in 2009, according to new statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau. This follows a $722.2 billion loss the previous year. These statistics come from the 2010 …

Subjects: Government Documents

Census – USA Counties

“These files contain demographic, economic and governmental statistics from the Census Bureau and other federal agencies, presented for the purpose of multi-county comparisons or single county profiles. National- and state-level statistics are presented as well. The files cover topics such as agriculture, crime, education, health, retail trade and vital statistics. New in this update are …

Subjects: Government Documents

World of Work Report 2012

“The World of Work Report 2012 provides a comprehensive analysis of recent labour market and social trends, assesses risks of social unrest and presents employment projections for the next five years. The report emphasizes that while employment has begun to recover slowly, job quality is deteriorating and there is a growing sense of unfairness. Moreover, …

Subjects: Government Documents

Briefing Paper on Embedding Creative Commons Licences into Digital Resources

Briefing Paper on Embedding Creative Commons Licences into Digital Resources – Naomi Korn, Strategic Content Alliance IPR Consultant, March 2011 “Creative Commons licences (also referred to as CC licences) can facilitate the copying, reuse, distribution, and in some cases, the modification of the original owners creative work without needing to get permission each time from …

Subjects: Copyright, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Libraries

Dry, Warm Spring No Help for Southern Drought

NOAA: “Since late 2010, much of the southernmost United States has been suffering through drought. When conditions reached their peak last summer, the resulting impacts were devastating, shrinking water supplies for cattle and crops, and contributing to huge agricultural losses. This spring, drought continues to plague large portions of the South. The U.S. Drought Monitor …

Subjects: Government Documents

Harvard Faculty Advisory Council Memorandum on Journal Pricing

“We write to communicate an untenable situation facing the Harvard Library. Many large journal publishers have made the scholarly communication environment fiscally unsustainable and academically restrictive. This situation is exacerbated by efforts of certain publishers (called providers) to acquire, bundle, and increase the pricing on journals. Harvards annual cost for journals from these providers now …

Subjects: Libraries

Royal Society calls for a more equitable future for humanity

“Consumption levels between developed and developing nations must be rebalanced alongside a stabilisation of the worlds population by voluntary methods, according to a new report from the Royal Society. The most developed and the emerging economies must stabilise consumption levels, then reduce them, to help the poorest 1.3 billion people to escape absolute poverty through …

Subjects: Government Documents

Air Quality Index (AQI) – A Guide to Air Quality and Your Health

“The AQI is an index for reporting daily air quality. It tells you how clean or polluted your air is, and what associated health effects might be a concern for you. The AQI focuses on health effects you may experience within a few hours or days after breathing polluted air. EPA calculates the AQI for …

Subjects: Government Documents

New on LLRX – A Technical Examination of SOPA and PIPA

Via LLRX.com – A Technical Examination of SOPA and PIPA – The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA) are the subject of this Infographic, by Spencer Belkofer, Lumin Consulting. See also his related Infographic on the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA).

Subjects: E-Commerce, Intellectual Property, Internet, Legal Research, Legislation

New on LLRX – Opening Government: On the Limits of FOIA and the Metaphor of Transparency

Via LLRX.com – Opening Government: On the Limits of FOIA and the Metaphor of Transparency – Professor Annmarie Bridy discusses the use of transparency as a metaphor for openness in government, the use of FOIA as a mechanism for ensuring such openness, and the ways in which proponents of greater public involvement in policy-making may …

Subjects: Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research

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