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Daily Archives: May 23, 2017

Twitter as a data source: An overview of tools for journalists

Data Driven Journalism: “Journalists may wish to use data from social media platforms in order to provide greater insight and context to a news story. For example, journalists may wish to examine the contagion of hashtags and whether they are capable of achieving political or social change. Moreover, newsrooms may also wish to tap into social media posts during unfolding crisis events. For example, to find out who tweeted about a crisis event first, and to empirically examine the impact of social media. Furthermore, Twitter users and accounts such as WikiLeaks may operate outside the constraints of traditional journalism, and therefore it becomes important to have tools and mechanisms in place in order to examine these kinds of influential users. For example, it was found that those who were backing Marine Le Pen on Twitter could have been users who had an affinity to Donald Trump.  There remains a number of different methods for analysing social media data. Take text analytics, for example, which can include using sentiment analysis to place bulk social media posts into categories of a particular feeling, such as positive, negative, or neutral. Or machine learning, which can automatically assign social media posts to a number of different topics…”

CRS – Graduation: Fact Sheet

Graduation: Fact Sheet May 7, 2015 – May 10, 2017 R44021 “Graduation and commencement ceremonies at U.S. academic institutions are often held in the months of May and June. This guide is designed to assist congressional offices with work related to graduation celebrations. It contains a brief history of the ceremonial tradition and the attire worn,… Continue Reading

Paper – Presidents Lack the Authority to Abolish or Diminish National Monuments

Squillace, Mark Stephen and Biber, Eric and Bryner, Nicholas S. and Hecht, Sean B., Presidents Lack the Authority to Abolish or Diminish National Monuments (May 13, 2017). 103 Va. L. Rev. Online (2017); UCLA School of Law, Public Law Research Paper No. 17-16; UC Berkeley Public Law Research Paper. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2967807 “By any… Continue Reading

Paper – Defense Against the Dark Arts of Copyright Trolling

Sag, Matthew and Haskell, Jake, Defense Against the Dark Arts of Copyright Trolling (March 28, 2017). Iowa Law Review, Forthcoming. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2933200 “In this Article, we offer both a legal and a pragmatic framework for defending against copyright trolls. Lawsuits alleging online copyright infringement by John Doe defendants have accounted for roughly half… Continue Reading

Social Security Numbers: OMB and Federal Efforts to Reduce Collection, Use, and Display

Social Security Numbers: OMB and Federal Efforts to Reduce Collection, Use, and Display, GAO-17-655T: Published: May 23, 2017. Publicly Released: May 23, 2017 In its draft report, GAO noted that several governmentwide initiatives aimed at eliminating the unnecessary collection, use, and display of Social Security numbers (SSN) have been underway in response to recommendations that the presidentially… Continue Reading

Stanford’s David Ramsey Map Collection Database and Blog

“Welcome to the David Rumsey Map Collection Database and Blog. The Map Database has many viewers and the Blog has numerous categories. The physical map collection is housed in the David Rumsey Map Center at the Stanford University Library. The historical map collection has over 76,000 maps and images online. The collection includes rare 16th through… Continue Reading

Telephone and Cable Companies – Consumers Choose Best and Worst

ACSI Telecommunications Report 2017, May 23, 2017. “Customer satisfaction is a driving force that impacts the financial outlook of individual firms and the health of the U.S. economy at large. The ACSI Telecommunications Report 2017 examines the implications of new customer satisfaction benchmarks for top companies in key industries that provide data, voice, and video… Continue Reading

DHS Privacy Office, New FOIA Subscription document library released

Via Jenny Groom – New FOIA documents now available: FEMA Frequently Requested Records – https://www.dhs.gov/publication/fema-records Presidential Transition Records – https://www.dhs.gov/publication/presidential-transition-records Countering Violent Extremism – https://www.dhs.gov/publication/countering-violent-extremism# Congressional Correspondence Logs – https://www.dhs.gov/publication/congressional-correspondence-logs Continue Reading

CRS – Afghanistan: Post-Taliban Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy

Afghanistan: Post-Taliban Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy, updated May 19, 2017. [Via FAS] “The United States, partner countries, and the Afghan government are attempting to reverse recent gains made by the resilient Taliban-led insurgency since the December 2014transition to a smaller international mission consisting primarily of training and advising the Afghanistan National Defense and Security… Continue Reading

FOIA Lawsuits Reach Highest Level Recorded in 25 Years

“The latest available case-by-case records from the federal courts show that Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuits challenging the withholding of records have risen since President Trump assumed office. The number of recorded FOIA filings in April climbed to 63 – the highest level recorded for at least 25 years. And although the month is… Continue Reading