Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002

Daily Archives: January 18, 2018

Report – Majority of Americans Believe Govt Does Bad Job Fighting Corruption

“The US faces a wide range of domestic challenges related to the abuse of entrusted power for private gain, which is Transparency International’s definition of corruption. Key issues include the influence of wealthy individuals over government; “pay to play” politics and the revolving doors between elected government office, for-profit companies, and professional associations; and the abuse of the US financial system by corrupt foreign kleptocrats and local elites. The current US president was elected on a promise of cleaning up American politics and making government work better for those who feel their interests have been neglected by political elites. Yet, rather than feeling better about progress in the fight against corruption over the past year, a clear majority of people in America now say that things have become worse. Nearly six in ten people now say that the level of corruption has risen in the past twelve months, up from around a third who said the same in January 2016. A new survey by Transparency International, the US Corruption Barometer 2017, was carried out in October and November 2017. It shows that the US government and some key institutions of power still have a long way to go to win back citizens’ trust. The results show:

  • 44 per cent of Americans believe that corruption is pervasive in the White House, up from 36 per cent in 2016.
  • Almost 7 out of 10 people believe the government is failing to fight corruption, up from half in 2016.
  • Close to a third of African-Americans surveyed see the police as highly corrupt, compared to a fifth across the survey overall.
  • 55 per cent gave fear of retaliation as the main reason not to report corruption, up from 31 per cent in 2016.
  • 74 per cent said ordinary people can make a difference in the fight against corruption.
  • Office of the President seen as most corrupt…”

EU – Experts appointed to the High-Level Group on Fake News and online disinformation

European Commission: “Following an open selection process, the Commission has appointed 39 experts to a new High Level Group (HLEG) on fake news and online disinformation. It comprises representatives of the civil society, social media platforms, news media organisations, journalists and academia. Professor dr. Madeleine de Cock Buning is nominated to chair the Group. The… Continue Reading

NOAA: 2017 was 3rd warmest year on record for the globe

NOAA, NASA scientists confirm Earth’s long-term warming trend continues – “…The average temperature across the globe in 2017 was 1.51 degrees F above the 20th century average of 57 degrees F. 2017 marks the 41st consecutive year (since 1977) with global land and ocean temperatures at least nominally above the 20th-century average. The six warmest years… Continue Reading

Research – Want people to work together? Familiarity, ability to pick partners could be key

phys.org: “The key to getting people to work together effectively could be giving them the flexibility to choose their collaborators and the comfort of working with established contacts, new research suggests. For starters, it’s important to recognize that cooperation between humans makes no sense, said David Melamed, an assistant professor of sociology at The Ohio… Continue Reading

Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing

“The Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA), and the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) are scholarly organisations that have seen an increase in the number, and broad range in the quality, of membership applications. Our organisations have collaborated to identify principles… Continue Reading

House Intel Committee Releases Glenn Simpson Testimony Transcripts

“The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence today voted to publish the transcripts of testimony provided to the committee by Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson. The November 8 transcript is available here and the November 14 transcript is available here.” See also Feinstein: American People Deserve Opportunity to Read Glenn Simpson, Fusion GPS Transcript Continue Reading

A Surprising Feature of Historic Photos of DC – the addition of many trees!

Via Casey Trees [please join me in supporting this or similar groups planting trees in communities throughout our cities] – “…Our fair District is a historic and photogenic city, there is no doubt. When looking a before and after photos of places throughout the city, we found ourselves looking at something else – the evolution… Continue Reading

Paper – How we made the microprocessor

The Intel 4004 is renowned as the world’s first commercial microprocessor. Project leader and designer of the 4004, Federico Faggin, retraces the steps leading to its invention. Nature Electronics 1, 88 (2018) doi:10.1038/s41928-017-0014-8. “Computers were, at first, a decidedly unintegrated technology. They were composed of vacuum tubes, resistors, capacitors, inductors and mercury delay lines, and… Continue Reading

Paper – The accuracy, fairness, and limits of predicting recidivism

The accuracy, fairness, and limits of predicting recidivism, Julia Dressel and Hany Farid. Science Advances 17 Jan 2018: Vol. 4, no. 1, eaao5580. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aao5580 “Algorithms for predicting recidivism are commonly used to assess a criminal defendant’s likelihood of committing a crime. These predictions are used in pretrial, parole, and sentencing decisions. Proponents of these… Continue Reading