Monthly archives: February, 2024

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, February 11, 2024

Via LLRX – Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, February 11, 2024 – Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on …

Subjects: Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, E-Records, Health Care, Medicine, Privacy, Search Engines, Social Media

Untranslatable

“Untranslatable is an online dictionary that allows people to add words and expressions from all over the world. Untranslatable is an indie project that delves into the hidden aspects of languages by explaining words, idioms, and expressions contributed by native speakers. It goes beyond traditional translation, offering insights into usage, context, and cultural significance.”

Subjects: Education

Captive Labor: Exploitation of Incarcerated Workers

“Our nation incarcerates more than 1.2 million people in state and federal prisons, and two out of three of these incarcerated people are also workers. In most instances, the jobs these nearly 800,000 incarcerated workers have look similar to those of millions of people working on the outside. But there are two crucial differences: Incarcerated …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Economy, Legal Research

2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map

“The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map is the standard by which gardeners and growers can determine which perennial plants are most likely to thrive at a location. The map is based on the average annual extreme minimum winter temperature, displayed as 10-degree F zones and 5-degree F half zones. A broadband internet connection is recommended …

Subjects: Climate Change, Environmental Law

The Real “Robert Hur Report”

The Real “Robert Hur Report” (Versus What You Read in the News) How the Special Counsel report has been misinterpreted – “The Special Counsel Robert Hur report has been grossly mischaracterized by the press. The report finds that the evidence of a knowing, willful violation of the criminal laws is wanting. Indeed, the report, on page …

Subjects: Government Documents, Legal Research

Does Defensive Gun Use Deter Crime?

NBER – Does Defensive Gun Use Deter Crime? John J. Donohue, Alex Oktay, Amy L. Zhang & Matthew Benavides. Working Paper 32108. DOI 10.3386/w32108. Issue Date February 2024 “We study the opposing deterrent and enabling effects of guns carried by law-abiding citizens on violent crime, using the location of shooting ranges as an instrument. Our …

Subjects: Legal Research

Understanding the Privacy Practices of Political Campaigns: A Perspective from the 2020 US Election Websites

024 IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy (SP) Understanding the Privacy Practices of Political Campaigns: A Perspective from the 2020 US Election Websites Year: 2024, Pages: 91-91, DOI Bookmark: 10.1109/SP54263.2024.00091. Kaushal Kafle, William & Mary, USA ;  Prianka Mandal, William & Mary, USA  ; Kapil Singh, IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, USA ; Benjamin Andow, …

Subjects: Congress, E-Government, E-Records, Financial System, Government Documents, Internet, Legal Research, Privacy

UnitedHealth uses AI model with 90% error rate to deny care, lawsuit alleges

Ars Technica: “Health insurance companies cannot use algorithms or artificial intelligence to determine care or deny coverage to members on Medicare Advantage plans, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) clarified in a memo sent to all Medicare Advantage insurers. The memo—formatted like an FAQ on Medicare Advantage (MA) plan rules—comes just months after …

Subjects: AI, Health Care, Legal Research, Medicine

Google Scholar is manipulatable

arXiv preprint :2402.04607 – Google Scholar is manipulatable: “Citations are widely considered in scientists’ evaluation. As such, scientists may be incentivized to inflate their citation counts. While previous literature has examined self-citations and citation cartels, it remains unclear whether scientists can purchase citations. Here, we compile a dataset of ~1.6 million profiles on Google Scholar …

Subjects: Education, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Search Engines

Book Banning Goes Digital: Libraries Suspending Their E-Book Services and the Complications It Poses For First Amendment Doctrine

Book Banning Goes Digital: Libraries Suspending Their E-Book Services and the Complications It Poses for First Amendment Doctrine – Catherine E. Ferri.  Stanford Technology Law Review, Stanford Law School. Volume 27  Issue 1.  “Book banning predates the United States and has survived and thrived in a splintered twenty-first century political climate. As the fight for …

Subjects: Censorship, E-Records, Education, Free Speech, Legal Research, Libraries