Author archives

GAO Reports – Federal Protective Service, HUBZone Program, 2015 Lobbying Disclosure, Unmanned Carrier-Based Aircraft System, Vehicle Safety

Federal Protective Service: Enhancements to Performance Measures and Data Quality Processes Could Improve Human Capital Planning, GAO-16-384: Published: Mar 24, 2016. Publicly Released: Mar 24, 2016. HUBZone Program: Actions Taken on February 2015 GAO Recommendations, GAO-16-423R: Published: Mar 24, 2015. Publicly Released: Mar 24, 2016. IRS Referral Programs: Opportunities Exist to Strengthen Controls and Increase …

Subjects: Congress, Defense, Economy, Financial System, Government Documents, Transportation

Comparing Credit Profiles of American Renters and Owners

Urban Institute’s Housing Finance Policy Center Research Report – March 2016 – Comparing Credit Profiles of American Renters and Owners: “This research report, the second in a series, reviews 2015 consumer credit data from a major credit bureau and 2015 public property record data, supplemented with 2014 American Community Survey’s (ACS) Public Use Microdata Sample …

Subjects: Economy, Financial System, Government Documents, Housing

Improving the Health of Women in the United States

“The environment for women’s health has changed over the last 25 years. Increased use of automobiles can lead to health risks from lack of physical activity. There has also been an increase in access to and consumption of unhealthy food. Other changes in the past 2 to 3 decades include the significant increase in the …

Subjects: Government Documents, Health Care, Medicine

Cultural heritage monuments destroyed by Daesh may be recreated using 3D robotic modeling

New York Times – Cultural organizations have been working to create precise three-dimensional digital models of the threatened heritage monuments in Palmyra, Syria, in case the originals are damaged beyond repair. Near the marble quarries of Carrara, Italy, robots, like the one in the video above, are using the models to carve a 20-foot-high scale …

Subjects: Knowledge Management

Brookings Report – How well are American Students Learning

“The 2016 edition of the Brown Center Report (BCR) is number five in the third volume and the 15th issue overall. The series began in 2000, making this the fifth consecutive presidential election year in which an issue has been published. As is customary, this year’s BCR contains three studies. Part one is on the …

Subjects: Education

Population Aging Slower than Other Countries, Census Bureau Reports

“America’s 65-and-over population is projected to nearly double over the next three decades, ballooning from 48 million to 88 million by 2050. However, the U.S. Census Bureau projects the U.S. population will age at a slower rate compared with other countries.Worldwide, the 65-and-over population will more than double to 1.6 billion by 2050, according to …

Subjects: Economy, Financial System, Government Documents, Health Care

EFF Has Questions After FBI Breaks Into iPhone

March 28, 2016 | By Andrew Crocker – The FBI has successfully accessed data on an iPhone that has been the subject of a legal battle between the Justice Department and Apple, according to a court filing. EFF is pleased that the Justice Department has retreated from its dangerous and unconstitutional attempt to force Apple to …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Legal Research, Privacy

Garland Nomination to Supreme Court Gets Positive Reception From Public

Pew Research Center: “Although Merrick Garland’s nomination to the Supreme Court faces an uncertain fate in the Senate, more Americans say they favor (46%) than oppose (30%) Garland’s confirmation to the high court. About a quarter (24%) offer no opinion. Before President Obama nominated Garland on March 16, Senate Republican leaders had vowed to not …

Subjects: Congress, Courts, Legal Research

Library of Congress to Cancel the Subject Heading “Illegal Aliens”

Via Library of Congress – “Executive Summary – In response to constituent requests, the Policy and Standards Division of the Library of Congress, which maintains Library of Congress Subject Headings, has investigated the possibility of cancelling or revising the heading Illegal aliens. PSD also explored the possibility of revising the broader term Aliens. It concluded …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Government Documents, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Libraries

GAO Reports – Drinking Water, Financial Regulation, IRS Information Security

Drinking Water: EPA Needs to Collect Information and Consistently Conduct Activities to Protect Underground Sources of Drinking Water, GAO-16-281: Published: Feb 26, 2016. Publicly Released: Mar 28, 2016: “The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not collected specific inspection and complete or consistent enforcement information, or consistently conducted oversight activities, to assess whether state and EPA-managed …

Subjects: Congress, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Economy, Environmental Law, Financial System, Government Documents, Legislation, Privacy

Urban Wire – Should the FBI be able to hack your smartphone?

Via Urban Institute: “This week [March 23, 2016], a federal judge postponed hearings in Apple v. FBI, one of the most high-profile court cases in the nation—and one that has reinvigorated the privacy versus security debate. This postponement came on the heels of the FBI’s revelation that an outside firm may have found a mechanism …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Cybersecurity, E-Government, E-Mail, Government Documents, Internet, Legal Research, Privacy

Commentary – DC, Maryland, and Virginia: We need to talk about Metro

Via Urban Institute: “The nation’s second-busiest heavy rail transit system, the Washington, DC area’s Metro, is in crisis. This is a long-term crisis, occasionally punctuated by national headlines, like when smoke filled a train killing one passenger in January 2015, or when nine people died in a crash in June 2009. In both cases, the …

Subjects: Economy, Transportation

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