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Daily Archives: October 1, 2018

Internet, social media use and device ownership in U.S. have plateaued after years of growth

“The use of digital technology has had a long stretch of rapid growth in the United States, but the share of Americans who go online, use social media or own key devices has remained stable the past two years, according to a new analysis of Pew Research Center data. The shares of U.S. adults who say they use the internet, use social media, own a smartphone or own a tablet computer are all nearly identical to the shares who said so in 2016. The share who say they have broadband internet service at home currently stands at 65% – nearly identical to the 67% who said this in a survey conducted in summer 2015. And when it comes to desktop or laptop ownership, there has actually been a small dip in the overall numbers over the last two years – from 78% in 2016 to 73% today. A contributing factor behind this slowing growth is that parts of the population have reached near-saturation levels of adoption of some technologies. Put simply, in some instances there just aren’t many non-users left. For example, nine-in-ten or more adults younger than 50 say they go online or own a smartphone. And a similar share of those in higher-income households have laptops or desktops. Still, there are noteworthy numbers of non-users of various technologies. Surveys conducted by the Center over the years highlight how these non-adopters of various technologies often face substantial and multifaceted barriers…”

New U.S. Census Bureau Research Maps the Roots of Social Mobility

Mapping Interface Provides Neighborhood-Level Information on Children’s Outcomes – October 1, 2018 — “The U.S. Census Bureau, in collaboration with Raj Chetty and Nathan Hendren from Harvard University and John Friedman from Brown University, released new research and a mapping interface that looks at children’s outcomes in adulthood. The Opportunity Atlas estimates children’s earnings distributions,… Continue Reading

National Technical Information Library (NTRL) is now Open Access

University of California Digital Library: “The National Technical Reports Library (NTRL – U.S. Department of Commerce) has become an open access resource, following a decision made by the National Technical Information Service (NTIS). NTRL was previously licensed as Tier 2 by five UC campuses. With the change of NTRL to open access, the PID redirects… Continue Reading

Selected Legal Tools for Maintaining Government Contractor Accountability

EveryCRSReport.com: Selected Legal Tools for Maintaining – Government Contractor Accountability, September 26, 2018: “Federal procurement statutes and the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) establish largely uniform policies and procedures applicable to government contracts “to deliver on a timely basis the best value product or service to the [government], while maintaining the public’s trust and fulfilling public… Continue Reading

The FY2019-2023 Strategic Plan of the Library of Congress

“The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, with nearly 170 million items in our collections, and extensive expert services and programs. What does this mean for you? The Library of Congress has built the largest collection of human knowledge ever assembled. It is an aweinspiring achievement—a testament to the wisdom of Congresses throughout… Continue Reading

ABA Data Reveals Minority Students Are Disproportionately Represented in Attrition Figures

“Recently, AccessLex added new ABA non-transfer attrition data disaggregated by race and ethnicity to Analytix by AccessLex. Non-transfer attrition refers to students who discontinue their legal education for any reason other than transfer to another law school. Previous ABA data reports show that non-transfer attrition often occurs for academic reasons, but can also result from… Continue Reading

Google Environmental Insights Explorer

Environmental Insights Explorer Beta: “Explore estimated carbon emissions from transportation and buildings, rooftop solar energy potential, and NASA climate forecasts, derived from Google’s proprietary data and leading data sources…The Environmental Insights Explorer analyzes Google Maps data to provide rich insights into the vital signs of our planet. Transportation emissions Building emissions Rooftop solar potential These… Continue Reading

Latest tools for sexual assault victims: Smartphone apps and software

Washington Post: “…[Silicon Valley CEO Jess] Ladd founded Callisto, a nonprofit organization that has created software for reporting sexual misconduct on college campuses. The reports are time-stamped and saved on an encrypted database but not immediately submitted to authorities. The software tracks complaints and then flags those that involve a repeat offender, alerting victims and… Continue Reading

FDsys Website to be Retired This December

“This December, the transition from GPO’s Federal Digital System (FDsys) to govinfo will be complete with the retirement of the FDsys website. In preparation for the retirement of FDsys in December, the two most important things to know about the transition are the following: Although the FDsys website is being replaced with the new, modern… Continue Reading