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Daily Archives: October 12, 2016

Paper – Influence of Pokémon Go on Physical Activity: Study and Implications

Via Microsoft/Stanford Research Study – “Physical activity helps people maintain a healthy weight and reduces the risk for several chronic diseases. Although this knowledge is widely recognized, adults and children in many countries around the world do not get recommended amounts of physical activity. While many interventions are found to be ineffective at increasing physical activity or reaching inactive populations, there have been anecdotal reports of increased physical activity due to novel mobile games that embed game play in the physical world. The most recent and salient example of such a game is Pokémon Go, which has reportedly reached tens of millions of users in the US and worldwide..”

Rockefeller Institute’s Don Boyd Q&A with the Retirement Security Initiative

“Unfunded public pension liabilities are at record levels, creating a large financial burden on state and local governments. With pension funds taking considerable investment risk, the hole could grow much larger if risk-taking is unsuccessful. An interview with Rockefeller Institute Director of Fiscal Studies Don Boyd examines these risks and their potential consequences, as well… Continue Reading

Study – Dash: data sharing made easy

Slideshare Presentation – “Repository-agnostic data curation Dash is a user-friendly data deposit and discovery platform in development by the UC Curation Center. John E. Kratz, Stephen Abrams, Shirin Faenza, Scott Fisher, Nancy Hoebelheinrich, Marisa Strong, Bhavitavya Vedul.a Funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, award #58062.” “Scholars at the ten campuses of the University of… Continue Reading

Report – Investing in Urban Resilience

World Bank – “Natural disasters – such as Hurricane Matthew – and climate change are having devastating effects on cities and the 4 billion people who live in them today.  By 2030, without significant investment into making cities more resilient, natural disasters may cost cities worldwide $314 billion each year, up from around $250 billion… Continue Reading

The Administration’s Report on the Future of Artificial Intelligence

Via The White House: “Summary: A new report from the Administration focuses on the opportunities, considerations, and challenges of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Under President Obama’s leadership, America continues to be the world’s most innovative country, with the greatest potential to develop the industries of the future and harness science and technology to help address important… Continue Reading

Energy-related CO2 emissions for first six months of 2016 are lowest since 1991

EIA – “U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions totaled 2,530 million metric tons in the first six months of 2016. This was the lowest emissions level for the first six months of the year since 1991, as mild weather and changes in the fuels used to generate electricity contributed to the decline in energy-related emissions.… Continue Reading

ACLU confronts social media companies sharing data with law enforcement surveillance developer

“The ACLU of California has obtained records showing that Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram provided user data access to Geofeedia, a developer of a social media monitoring product that we have seen marketed to law enforcement as a tool to monitor activists and protesters. We are pleased that after we reported our findings to the companies,… Continue Reading

GAO Reports – DOD Civilian and Contractor Workforces, Train Braking

DOD Civilian and Contractor Workforces: Additional Cost Savings Data and Efficiencies Plan Are Needed, GAO-17-128: Published: Oct 12, 2016. Publicly Released: Oct 12, 2016. Train Braking: DOT’s Rulemaking on Electronically Controlled Pneumatic Brakes Could Benefit from Additional Data and Transparency, GAO-17-122: Published: Oct 12, 2016. Publicly Released: Oct 12, 2016. U.S. Postal Service: Information on… Continue Reading