Author archives

Paper – The Political Agenda Effect and State Centralization

Acemoglu, Daron and Robinson, James A. and Torvik, Ragnar, The Political Agenda Effect and State Centralization (May 5, 2016). MIT Department of Economics Working Paper No. 16-04. Available for download at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2783571 “We provide a potential explanation for the absence of, and unwillingness to create, centralized power in the hands of a national state …

Subjects: Economy, Financial System, Government Documents

House Homeland Security Report – Going Dark, Going Forward: A Primer on the Encryption Debate

June 29, 2016: “Terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino have sparked a public debate on the use of encryption in our society because the attackers used encrypted communications to evade detection, a phenomenon known as “going dark.” Today, the Majority Staff of the House Homeland Security Committee released a new report entitled, Going Dark, …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, E-Mail, E-Records, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Privacy

The Changing Landscape of American Life Expectancy

Brookings – The Hamilton Project – The Changing Landscape of American Life Expectancy By: Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, Ryan Nunn and Lauren Bauer “Life expectancy—the average remaining years an individual of a particular age can be expected to live—is perhaps the most valuable indicator of social progress. In the past 100 years Americans have enjoyed an …

Subjects: Economy, Health Care, Poverty

LocationSafe: Granular Location Privacy for IoT Devices

LocationSafe: Granular Location Privacy for IoT Devices – Joshua Joy, Minh Le, Mario Gerlaar;  Xiv:1606.09605v1 [cs.CR] for this version), submitted 30 June 2016. “Today, mobile data owners lack consent and control over the release and utilization of their location data. Third party applications continuously process and access location data without data owners granular control and …

Subjects: Internet, Knowledge Management, Privacy

Leakedsource collects hacked data from across the globe

Follow up to previous posting on this database – Leakedsource – “There are currently 1,933,304,758 accounts in our database” – users may search by term or type. Via ET Tech – “If you have an account online regardless of the country you reside in, chances are you have been hacked or will be hacked at …

Subjects: Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, E-Commerce, ID Theft, Internet, Legal Research, Privacy

Genetically Engineered Crops: Experiences and Prospects

Via The National Academies: “Genetically engineered (GE) crops were first introduced commercially in the 1990s. After two decades of production, some groups and individuals remain critical of the technology based on their concerns about possible adverse effects on human health, the environment, and ethical considerations. At the same time, others are concerned that the technology …

Subjects: Economy, Environmental Law, Government Documents, Health Care, Legal Research

Report – Exporting the Public’s E-waste to Developing Countries

“The international toxic trade watchdog organization, Basel Action Network (BAN), released a new report today following a two-year study that involved placing electronic GPS tracking devices into old hazardous electronic equipment such as printers, and computer monitors, and then watching where they travelled across the globe.  The report, the first to be released from the …

Subjects: Environmental Law, Legal Research

ComputerWorld – Best Places to Work in IT 2016

“Find the top employer that best suits your needs. Sort the Best Places to Work by key criteria, such as training days, and add filters by region and/or organization size. Note that the more filters you add, the fewer organizations will be listed.” This list also includes related articles on the respective top large firm, …

Subjects: Economy

EU Parliament – Mid-term review/revision of the 2014-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework

“The EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2014-2020 lays down maximum annual levels of EU spending in different areas. Before the end of 2016, the European Commission should present the mid-term review and, as appropriate, a revision of the MFF. During the July plenary session, the European Parliament is scheduled to discuss and vote on …

Subjects: Economy, Financial System, Government Documents

Jurist Commentary – Overcriminalization & Mass Incarceration

Donnie Bethel, Stephen Cooper, Overcriminalization & mass incarceration: SCOTUS’ Decision n the Hobbs Act Will Increase Both, JURIST – Professional Commentary, June 26, 2016, http://jurist.org/hotline/2016/06/Bethel-Cooper-mass-incarceration.php. “People of all persuasions, political parties and philosophies have awakened to the terrible toll the crises of overcriminalization and mass incarceration have wrought on America. Perhaps, as reported by The …

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

World Health Organization Fact Sheet on Depression

WHO Fact Sheet, April 2016: “Depression is a common illness worldwide, with an estimated 350 million people affected. Depression is different from usual mood fluctuations and short-lived emotional responses to challenges in everyday life. Especially when long-lasting and with moderate or severe intensity, depression may become a serious health condition. It can cause the affected …

Subjects: Education, Government Documents, Health Care