“The Bipartisan Policy Center’s Nominations Tracker allows you to monitor the status of pending nominations and open positions for select financial regulatory agencies. You can search records going back to 2000 by name, agency, position, or nomination status in the tracker and records going back to 1981 in the downloadable raw data. The search bar… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: May 2017
Youth with Autism: Federal Agencies Should Take Additional Action to Support Transition-Age Youth
Youth with Autism: Federal Agencies Should Take Additional Action to Support Transition-Age Youth, GAO-17-352: Published: May 4, 2017. Publicly Released: May 4, 2017. “According to GAO’s nationwide survey of school district special education directors, GAO estimates that about 85 percent of districts in school year 2015-16, provided youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) services such… Continue Reading
Comparing the Compensation of Federal and Private-Sector Employees, 2011 to 2015
“The federal government employs about 2.2 million civilian workers—1.5 percent of the U.S. workforce—spread among more than 100 agencies in jobs that represent over 650 occupations. As a result, the government employs workers with a broad complement of talents, skills, and experience, and it competes with other government and private-sector employers for people who possess… Continue Reading
Sabin Center Launches Database of State Environmental Actions
Earth Institute: “The Sabin Center for Climate Change Law has launched a new database to track environmental actions undertaken by state attorneys general. The center partnered with StateAG.org, a research and education website, to build the database, which includes legal actions initiated by state attorneys general against the federal government, private actors and other public… Continue Reading
The Nation’s Fiscal Health: Action is Needed to Address the Federal Government’s Fiscal Future
The Nation’s Fiscal Health: Action is Needed to Address the Federal Government’s Fiscal Future, GAO-17-579T: Published: May 3, 2017. Publicly Released: May 3, 2017. “A plan is needed to put the nation on a sustainable long-term fiscal path. But in the near-term, Congress and executive branch agencies have opportunities to improve the government’s fiscal condition,… Continue Reading
European map of Implicit Racial Bias
figshare – “This map shows how easily White Europeans in Europe associate black faces with negative ideas. Each country’s colour reflects the average Implicit Association Test (IAT) score for that country using data from Harvard’s Project Implicit. Overall we have scores for 288,076 White Europeans, collected between 2002 and 2015, with sample sizes for each… Continue Reading
Public Trust in Government Remains Near Historic Lows as Partisan Attitudes Shift
Pew – May 3, 2017: Democrats’ confidence in country’s future declines sharply – “The 2016 election ushered in a new era in Washington defined by unified Republican control of the White House and both chambers of Congress. The changes in the dynamics of power in Washington have registered with members of both political parties. Somewhat… Continue Reading
The Future of Jobs and Jobs Training
Pew – May 3, 2017: The Future of Jobs and Jobs Training – “As robots, automation and artificial intelligence perform more tasks and there is massive disruption of jobs, experts say a wider array of education and skills-building programs will be created to meet new demands. There are two uncertainties: Will well-prepared workers be able… Continue Reading
National Archives Announces New Model for Preservation and Accessibility of Presidential Records
“The National Archives and Records Administration announced today a new model for the preservation and accessibility of Presidential records. This follows an Obama Foundation announcement of its commitment to fund the digitization of all of the unclassified Presidential records created during the administration of President Barack Obama. Instead of constructing a building to house the… Continue Reading
Paying for news: Why people subscribe and the future of journalism
“The future of journalism will increasingly depend on consumers paying for the news directly, as content distributors like Facebook and Google take up the lion’s share of digital advertising dollars. The Media Insight Project, a collaboration of the American Press Institute and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, has undertaken what we believe… Continue Reading
CRS – Advanced Gene Editing: CRISPR – Cas9
Advanced Gene Editing: CRISPR-Cas9, Congressional Research Service, April 28, 2017. [via FAS] “Scientists have long sought the ability to control and modify DNA—the code of life. A new gene editing technology known as CRISPR-Cas9 offers the potential for substantial improvement over previous technologies in that it is simple to use and inexpensive and has a… Continue Reading
Massive UAlbany death penalty archive goes digital
Daily Gazette: “During his life, M. Watt Espy searched libraries and courthouses across the country gradually building what is widely considered the most comprehensive record of executions in the country. For decades the archive sat in stacks of boxes in his Alabama home. Next year the archive, which is now housed on the far shelves… Continue Reading
