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What words and where? Applying usability testing techniques to name a new live reference service, by Vicky Duncan and Darlene Fichter. Abstract: “A user-focused design approach was taken to develop a new ‘live reference’ service at the Health Sciences Library, University of Saskatchewan. The name of the service, the placement of the links, and the …
“Unintended Risks and Consequences of Circumvention Technologies: The U.S. International Broadcasting Bureau’s (IBB) Anonymizer Service in Iran,” April 28, 2004. [Link] See also this related CNet article by Declan McCullagh.
From the House Committee on Government Reform: “All 19 minority members of the Committee write Secretary Thompson to protest HHS’s obstruction of their investigation into the withholding of the [Medicare] cost data. The members officially expand their Seven Member request to include the communications between HHS and congressional leadership.” Letter to HHS, April 26, 2004 …
Is a Do-Gooder Company a Good Thing?
The New Surveillance, by Sonia Katyal, Case Western Law Review, Vol. 54, No. 297, 2004. “The goals of this Article are threefold: first, to trace the origins of piracy surveillance through recent jurisprudence involving copyright; second, to provide an analysis of the tradeoffs between public and private enforcement of copyright; and third, to suggest some …
According to this New York Times article, major U.S. air carriers, pursuant to what industry officials characterized as requests of unprecedented scope, provided the FBI with millions of passenger travel records. Northwest alone gave the government 6,000 CDs of data. This article is based on information obtained through FOIA litigation by EPIC.
From the press release issued April 30 on the decertification of Diebold e-voting technology: “California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley today banned the use of touchscreen voting systems in four counties and decertified all touchscreen systems in California until security measures are in place to safeguard the November vote…In the remaining 10 counties using touchscreen …
The launch of the Medicare.gov drug price comparison website has been accompanied by a chorus of complaints that the site provides inaccurate data, according to companies sponsoring the drug store discount cards for qualified Medicare recipients.
From the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, 2003 Wiretap Report (For the Period January 1 Through December 31, 2003) [EPIC]
The SEC website was deluged with traffic after the announcement of Google’s IPO filing. Kudos to the administrators of the site, which despite a period of slow throughput remained active and available despite the unprecedented volume of requests. This is an example of the reliability of e-gov sites, and their increasing importance to the business …
Government Printing Office: Technological Changes Create Transformation Opportunities, by Linda D. Koontz, director, information management, before the Committee on House Administration. GAO-04-729T, April 28, 2004. Highlights – “The changing technological environment is creating challenges for GPO. Specifically, the agency has seen declines in its printing volumes, printing revenues, and document sales. At the same time, …
Spyware: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You, Hearing by the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection, April 29, 2004 [Link to Witness List & Prepared Testimony, Related Documents and Bills.] See also Congress Eager to Ban Spyware and related postings on the subject.