Author archives

2016 America’s Most Literate Cities Ranked

News release: “After a one-year hiatus, Washington, DC returns to the top spot in the 13th annual survey of America’s Most Literate Cities by Central Connecticut State University. The study is conducted by Dr. Jack Miller, president emeritus of Central. It reports on a key measure of America’s social health by ranking the reading habits and resources …

Subjects: Education, Knowledge Management, Libraries

Report – More Action Needed to Meet Energy Goals by 2030

“The current pace of progress on three global energy goals – access to electricity, renewable energy and efficiency – is not moving fast enough to meet 2030 targets, according to the latest Global Tracking Framework (GTF) report released today by the World Bank and the International Energy Agency as part of the Sustainable Energy for All Knowledge …

Subjects: Climate Change, Economy, Energy, Government Documents

CRS – The War Powers Resolution: Concepts and Practice

The War Powers Resolution: Concepts and Practice, updated March 28, 2017 [via FAS] “This report discusses and assesses the War Powers Resolution and its application since enactment in 1973, providing detailed background on various cases in which it was used, as well as cases in which issues of its applicability were raised. It will be …

Subjects: Congress, Defense, Economy, Financial System, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation

CRS – Trump Administration’s March 2017 Defense Budget Proposals

Trump Administration’s March 2017 Defense Budget Proposals: Frequently Asked Questions, April 3, 2017. [via FAS] “On March 16, 2017, the Trump Administration released two defense budget proposals — a proposal for national defense (budget function 050) discretionary spending for fiscal year (FY) 2018 as part of the Administration’s Budget Blueprint for federal spending, and a …

Subjects: Congress, Defense, Education, Financial System, Government Documents, Legal Research

Paper – Criminal Employment Law

Levin, Benjamin, Criminal Employment Law (April 1, 2017). Cardozo Law Review, Forthcoming. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2944840 “This Article diagnoses a phenomenon, “criminal employment law,” which exists at the nexus of employment law and the criminal justice system. Courts and legislatures discourage employers from hiring workers with criminal records and encourage employers to discipline workers for non-work-related …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Education, Legal Research

The Criminal Law Reform Project

ACLU – “The Criminal Law Reform Project (CLRP) focuses its work on the “front end” of the criminal justice system—from policing to sentencing— seeking to end excessively harsh criminal justice policies that result in mass incarceration, over-criminalization, and racial injustice, and stand in the way of a fair and equal society. By fighting for nationwide reforms …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, Courts, Government Documents, Legal Research

Paper – Examining the Alternative Media Ecosystem through the Production of Alternative Narratives of Mass Shooting Events on Twitter

Examining the Alternative Media Ecosystem through the Production of Alternative Narratives of Mass Shooting Events on Twitter. Kate Starbird, University of Washington, HCDE. “This research explores the alternative media ecosystem through a Twitter lens. Over a ten-month period, we collected tweets related to alternative narratives—e.g. conspiracy theories—of mass shooting events. We utilized tweeted URLs to generate a …

Subjects: Blogs, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Social Media

Paper – Encryption Workarounds

Kerr, Orin S. and Schneier, Bruce, Encryption Workarounds (March 20, 2017). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2938033 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2938033 “The widespread use of encryption has triggered a new step in many criminal investigations: the encryption workaround. We define an encryption workaround as any lawful government effort to reveal an unencrypted version of a target’s data that has been concealed by …

Subjects: Cybersecurity, E-Mail, E-Records, Legal Research, Privacy

Presidential Executive Order Regarding Omnibus Report on Significant Trade Deficits

The Omnibus Report on Significant Trade Deficits, March 31, 2017: “…For many years, the United States has not obtained the full scope of benefits anticipated under a number of international trade agreements or from participating in the World Trade Organization.  The United States annual trade deficit in goods exceeds $700 billion, and the overall trade deficit …

Subjects: Congress, E-Government, Economy, Financial System, Government Documents, Legal Research

Facebook Pushes Outside Law Firms to Become More Diverse

The New York Times – “The social media giant, like other corporations, is pressing its outside law firms to have more minorities and women working on its legal matters….Facebook is requiring that women and ethnic minorities account for at least 33 percent of law firm teams working on its matters. Numbers alone, however, are not enough, …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Legal Research, Marketing, Social Media

For April Ryan, Clashes With WH Bring a New Kind of Prominence

The New York Times – “…One of the few black journalists in the White House press corps, Ms. Ryan has covered presidents and clashed with press secretaries for 20 years. But her encounters with the Trump administration are propelling the 49-year-old, Baltimore-bred journalist to a new level of prominence — and into a contentious debate …

Subjects: Censorship, Free Speech, Government Documents, Knowledge Management