Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002

Daily Archives: October 20, 2015

24/7 Wall St – The Most Profitable Companies in the World

“In the second quarter of this year, U.S. corporate profits totalled $1.8 trillion after taxes. Massive corporate profit is not limited to the United States, although many of the world’s most profitable companies, including Apple, are U.S. based. Earnings of the world’s 10 most profitable companies, totalled $223.2 billion last year. 24/7 Wall St. reviewed companies’ operating income figures. While net income is the standard measure of profits, it can include items that do not reflect profitability such as extraordinary and discontinued items and sales of subsidiaries or major holdings. Earnings from continuing operations, however, excludes such items. Based on net income from continuing operations, one measure of profitability, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the world’s 10 most profitable publicly traded companies.”

Good Practices for University Open-Access Policies

Stuart Shieber and Peter Suber, October 2015 – “We have worked directly for many years with colleagues at many institutions on policies to facilitate open access to faculty research. We began writing this guide in 2011 to codify the kind of advice we found ourselves repeating, make it available to more institutions than we could… Continue Reading

Harvard Library Copyright Advisor and State Copyright Resource Center

“The Harvard Library Copyright Advisor program was established in 2014 to create a culture of shared understanding of copyright among Harvard faculty, students, and staff in support of pedagogy, research, and innovation. This site, which will serve as a clearinghouse of resources created by the Copyright Advisor, Copyright First Responders, and Copyright Fellows, is intended… Continue Reading

TRAC Challenges CIA Refusal to Process FOIA Requests

“The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University has filed a suit under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) about the Central Intelligence Agency’s withholding of basic information regarding its receipt and processing of FOIA matters. The suit involves a TRAC research project to assess the compliance of almost two dozen agencies with the… Continue Reading

GAO Reports – 2020 Census, Special Education, Senate Stationery Room Revolving Fund

2020 Census: Additional Actions Would Help the Bureau Realize Potential Administrative Records Cost Savings, GAO-16-48: Published: Oct 20, 2015. Publicly Released: Oct 20, 2015. Special Education: More Flexible Spending Requirement Could Mitigate Unintended Consequences While Protecting Services, GAO-16-2: Published: Oct 19, 2015. Publicly Released: Oct 19, 2015. Senate Stationery Room Revolving Fund: Audit of Fiscal… Continue Reading

Senate votes quickly to limit term of new Librarian of Congress

Bloomberg BNA: “A Senate-passed bill to limit the Librarian of Congress to a 10-year term could stall in the House amid Republican turmoil over finding a successor to Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), according to observers who spoke to Bloomberg BNA. The position has achieved a higher profile in the digital age, as copyright issues… Continue Reading