“How clean is the air you breathe? This second issue of the State of Global Air report expands on last year’s report by adding household air pollution and total air pollution to our discussion of air quality and health for all countries around the globe. It is based on the most recent data available (for 2016) and provides a comprehensive picture of global air pollution and health levels and trends (since 1990). Who is it for? The report is designed to introduce citizens, journalists, policy makers, and scientists to the Global Burden of Disease project, a comprehensive effort to estimate and track human exposure to air pollution and its impact on human health around the world. How can I explore the data? The interactive pages of this website provide the tools to explore, compare, and download data tables and graphics with the latest air pollution levels and the associated burden of disease in individual countries, as well as their trends over the last 26 years (1990–2016).”
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Daily Archives: April 17, 2018
Women, Business and the Law 2018
The World Bank: “Women, Business and the Law (WBL) measures gender inequality in the law. The dataset identifies barriers to women’s economic participation and encourages the reform of discriminatory laws…In its 5th edition, Women, Business and the Law introduces scoring to better inform the reform agenda. The report tracks progress made over the past two… Continue Reading
U Penn Behavior Change for Good Initiative
“At the Behavior Change for Good Initiative, we know that solving the mystery of enduring behavior change offers an enormous opportunity to improve lives. We unite an interdisciplinary team of scientists with leading practitioners in education, healthcare, and consumer financial services, all of whom seek to address the question: How can we make behavior change… Continue Reading
Interactive Map Reveals The Richest Zip Codes In America
Bloomberg: “The richest zip code in America is just as exclusive and elite as the people who live there. Fisher Island, located just off the coast of Miami, is accessible only by ferry or water taxi and is a haven for the world’s richest. The 216-acre island has diverse residents, representing over 50 nationalities and… Continue Reading
Inside Cambridge Analytica’s Virtual Currency Plans
The New York Times: “The embattled political data firm Cambridge Analytica quietly sought to develop its own virtual currency in recent months through a so-called initial coin offering, a novel fund-raising method that has come under growing scrutiny by financial regulators around the world. The offering was part of a broader, but still very private… Continue Reading
The Future of Well-Being in a Tech-Saturated World
“A plurality of experts say digital life will continue to expand people’s boundaries and opportunities in the coming decade and that the world to come will produce more help than harm in people’s lives. Still, nearly a third think that digital life will be mostly harmful to people’s health, mental fitness and happiness. Most say… Continue Reading
Google partnering with 3D laser-scanning nonprofit CyArk to create VR representations of historical sites around the world
The Verge: “Google has partnered with 3D laser scanning nonprofit CyArk to help preserve historical sites around the world that are at risk of irreversible damage or total erasure due to human conflict and natural disasters. The joint effort, called the Open Heritage project, will use CyArk’s laser-scanning technology to capture all the relevant data… Continue Reading
NY AG Launches Inquiry Into Cryptocurrency “Exchanges”
“Today, New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman launched the Virtual Markets Integrity Initiative, a fact-finding inquiry into the policies and practices of platforms used by consumers to trade virtual or “crypto” currencies like bitcoin and ether. As part of a broader effort to protect cryptocurrency investors and consumers, the Attorney General’s office sent letters… Continue Reading
Officials Highlight Pay for Performance, Streamlined Firing in New Management Document
Government Executive: “Just weeks after the announcement of President Trump’s management agenda, three agency leaders have put together the first roadmap for implementation of the White House’s workforce goals. In a quarterly report released last week, the Office of Personnel Management, the Defense Department and the Office of Management and Budget described some aspects of… Continue Reading
IRS website unavailable for efiling most of tax day!
IRS electronic filing systems working again after agency’s Tax Day technology meltdown – “The Internal Revenue Service’s system for accepting online tax returns is working again after being inoperational for much of the day Tuesday [April 17, 2018]. IRS officials promised that people hampered by the technology failures would not be penalized for late returns, but… Continue Reading
Algorithmic Impact Assessments: A Practical Framework for Public Agency Accountability
GCN: Algorithmic Impact Assessments: A Practical Framework for Public Agency Accountability, a report by the AI Now Institute, a partnership between New York University, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Partnership on AI. [h/t Pete Weiss] Why: As public agencies increasingly turn to automated processes and algorithms to make decisions, they need frameworks for… Continue Reading
