Author archives

FIND Making global development data easy to find, visualize, and share

“The F Interagency Network Databank (FIND) is an initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Office of U.S. Foreign Assistance Resources (F), which ensures the strategic and effective allocation, management, and use of U.S. foreign assistance resources. IRM’s Office of eDiplomacy worked closely with F to design and develop the FIND application. This site enables …

Subjects: Government Documents, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Search Engines

Pew – Public Dissatisfaction With Washington Weighs on the GOP

“Nearly three months after the Republican Party took control of the White House and Congress, the public gives low job ratings to the president and even lower ratings to the speaker of the House. The new Congress is viewed about as unfavorably as the previous Congress. And while both parties are viewed less positively than …

Subjects: Congress, Economy, Financial System, Knowledge Management

Incorporating Ethics into Artificial Intelligence

“This article reviews the reasons scholars hold that driverless cars and many other AI equipped machines must be able to make ethical decisions, and the difficulties this approach faces. It then shows that cars have no moral agency, and that the term ‘autonomous’, commonly applied to these machines, is misleading, and leads to invalid conclusions …

Subjects: AI, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

WaPo Special Report – EPA, Labor Dept. are targeted by industry leaders after Trump solicits policy advice

“The president invited American manufacturers to recommend ways to cut regulations and make it easier to get their projects approved. Industry leaders responded with suggestions to remove more than 150 regulations and painted the clearest picture yet of the dramatic steps Trump officials are likely to take in overhauling federal policies.”

Subjects: Economy, Education, Energy, Environmental Law, Financial System, Government Documents

Secure computing for journalists

Matthew Green: “…Classical (desktop and laptop) operating systems were designed primarily to support application developers. This means they offer a lot of power to your applications. An application like Microsoft Word can typically read and write all the files available to your account. If Word becomes compromised, this is usually enough to pwn you in practice. And in many cases, …

Subjects: Cybersecurity, E-Mail, E-Records, Internet, Knowledge Management

Census Bureau Statistics on Pets

Or as we call them, companion animals – “The U.S. Census Bureau presents a collection of data that highlights the various aspects of America’s love for their pets. The National Pet Day graphic and Stats for Stories include data on topics such as: veterinarians and their assistants, veterinary clinics, pet food manufacturing and pet supply retailers. Statistics …

Subjects: Government Documents

Updates to the My Congressional District Tool

“The U.S. Census Bureau recently updated the My Congressional District web application for the 115th Congress. Other updates include: Statistics from the 2015 American Community Survey and maps for the congressional districts within the states that were redistricted in September 2016 (Florida, Minnesota, North Carolina and Virginia). Embeddable functionality. Re-enabled ability to download a .csv …

Subjects: Congress, E-Government, Economy, Government Documents, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Legislation

Paper – The Root Causes of the Influx of Refugees from Syria and Iraq to Europe

Kirmanj, Sherko and Oladimeji, Talibu and Abdul Ghani, Ahmad Bashawir bin Hajj, The New Great Trek: The Root Causes of the Influx of Refugees from Syria and Iraq to Europe (December 20, 2016). ABC Journal of Advanced Research, Volume 5, No 2 (2016). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2948513 “In 2010, a wave of political uprisings blew …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Government Documents, Legal Research

Answering What Constitutes a Search of a Cellphone after Riley Through a ‘Use-Based’ Approach

Jacobsen, Kristen M., Let’s Get Physical, Physical: Answering What Constitutes a Search of a Cellphone after Riley Through a ‘Use-Based’ Approach (January 24, 2017). Criminal Law Bulletin Volume 53, Issue 4, 2017. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2952497 “Investigating and prosecuting in the twenty-first century requires that the government have clear and workable rules to determine what …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Internet, Legal Research

Law, Belief, and Aspiration

Rowell, Arden, Law, Belief, and Aspiration (January 20, 2017). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2903049 “This project examines the relationships between what the law is, what people believe the law to be, and what people aspire for the law to be. It takes seriously the possibility that people do not know perfectly what the law is, and …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Courts, Knowledge Management, Legal Research