Harvard Business School Digital Initiative – “What do a communications studies professor, a politics PhD, a technology policy advisor, and a machine learning engineer have in common? They share deep expertise in the ethics and governance of artificial intelligence — and they’re members of the 2019 Assembly program. Hosted by the Berkman Klein Center for… Continue Reading
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Author Archives: Sabrina I. Pacifici
Consumer groups accuse Amazon of illegally collecting data on children
Washington Post – Amazon Echo Dot Kids accused of illegally collecting data on children – “A coalition of 19 consumer and privacy groups plans to file a complaint Thursday alleging that Amazon’s Echo Dot Kids Edition is illegally collecting voice recordings and other identifying information on users under 13 and that the system’s parental controls are… Continue Reading
This Bird Went Extinct and Then Evolved Into Existence Again
Motherboard – “We know of no other example in rails, or of birds in general, that demonstrates this phenomenon so evidently.” “…According to a study published Wednesday in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, the rail is an example of a rarely observed phenomenon called iterative evolution, in which the same ancestral lineage produces… Continue Reading
How the news took over reality
The Guardian – Is engagement with current affairs key to being a good citizen? Or could an endless torrent of notifications be harming democracy as well as our wellbeing? “…We marinate in the news. We may be familiar with the headlines before we have exchanged a word with another human in the morning; we kill… Continue Reading
CRS – Impeachment and Removal
CRS report – Impeachment and Removal, Jared P. Cole, Legislative Attorney; Todd Garvey, Legislative Attorney. October 29, 2015. “The impeachment process provides a mechanism for removal of the President, Vice President, and other “civil Officers of the United States” found to have engaged in “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.” The Constitution places… Continue Reading
Library Systems Report 2019 Cycles of innovation
American Libraries – Marshall Breeding: “The library technology industry, broadly speaking, shows more affinity toward utility than innovation. Library automation systems are not necessarily exciting technologies, but they are workhorse applications that must support the complex tasks of acquiring, describing, and providing access to materials and services. They represent substantial investments, and their effectiveness is… Continue Reading
Americans See Advantages and Challenges in Country’s Growing Racial and Ethnic Diversity
“As the United States becomes more racially and ethnically diverse, and as companies from Wall Street to Silicon Valley grapple with how to build workforces that reflect these changing demographics, Americans have a complicated, even contradictory, set of views about the impact of diversity and the best way to achieve it. Most say it’s a… Continue Reading
NY State Senate Passes Bill To Allow Release of Trump’s State Tax Returns
#NYSenate Bill S5072A was passed Wednesday allowing state officials to provide Congress with the state tax returns of President Trump, state and other federal elected officials (and) another bill passed curtailing the impact of Presidential pardons. HuffPo – “The TRUST Act, sponsored by state Sen. Brad Hoylman, would let the New York tax commissioner release… Continue Reading
CRS – Global Measles Vaccination Trends
EveryCRSReport.com – Global Measles Vaccination Trends, April 19, 2019 IN11104. “Congress has long taken an interest in infectious disease prevention and control. Measles is a highly contagious virus that is transmitted through droplets emitted from an infected person when coughing and sneezing. The virus can live for up to two hours in the airspace or… Continue Reading
The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA): Historical Overview, Funding, and Reauthorization
EveryCRSReport.com – The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA): Historical Overview, Funding, and Reauthorization, April 23, 2019. “The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA; Title IV of P.L. 103-322) was originally enacted in 1994. It addressed congressional concerns about violent crime, and violence against women in particular, in several ways. It allowed for enhanced sentencing of repeat… Continue Reading
CRS – The Yield Curve and Predicting Recessions
EveryCRSReport.com – The Yield Curve and Predicting Recessions. April 11, 2019 IN11098. “Economists and financial markets closely monitor interest rates in hopes of gleaning information about the path of the economy. One measure of particular interest is the “yield curve.” Recently, the yield curve associated with U.S. Treasuries inverted. This Insight discusses possible explanations for… Continue Reading
Martha Minow on the art of asking good questions
Harvard Law Today [article includes video of the lecture]- In a last lecture to the graduating classes of J.D.s and LL.M.s, the former HLS dean invokes “The Next Generation” to impart final words of wisdom “In her Last Lecture to the Harvard Law School graduating class, 300th Anniversary University Professor and former HLS Dean Martha… Continue Reading
