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Daily Archives: January 26, 2022

Deloitte report finds employees more productive during pandemic

Tech Republic: “Deloitte has released a report detailing the firm’s findings on work productivity during the COVID-19 pandemic, stating there was actually a “spike in productivity” during the lockdown period that occurred in 2020. Whereas employers pre-pandemic found it tough to quantify a worker’s output, the pandemic has ushered in a new era of setting measurable tasks for employees to complete that allows companies to measure the success of their workers. The report’s findings dig into the humanization of work during the pandemic, as hybrid and remote work setups have become a need rather than a luxury granted by employers. The most important way to do this is to create a digital space with the appropriate tools to get work completed while also having the ability to collaborate with colleagues in the workplace. Like many companies, once Deloitte was forced to go fully remote the leadership team was not sure how the move would affect the productivity of their workforce…”

What’s in a Name? The Future of Law Firm Library Departments

HBR Consulting: Joanne Kiley | January 21, 2022 – “The American legal profession has had a uniform conception of a law firm’s library department and its role for several generations: great big rooms full of books and periodicals staffed by librarians responsible for making sure the firm had the most important volumes on hand for… Continue Reading

Synthetic Voices Want to Take Over Audiobooks

Wired: “…Synthetic voices have become less grating in recent years, in part due to artificial intelligence research by companies such as Google and Amazon, which compete to offer virtual assistants and cloud services with smoother artificial tones. Those advances have also been used to make reality-spoofing “deepfakes.” Speechki is one of several startups developing speech… Continue Reading

ILO launches new online database on trade agreements that include labour provisions

“GENEVA (ILO News) – The International Labour Organization (ILO) has launched a new global database on trade agreements containing labour provisions, paving the way for a more human-centred approach to trade policy. Aimed at policymakers, technical experts, and representatives of workers, employers and civil society, the Labour Provisions in Trade Agreements Hub  (LP Hub) offers… Continue Reading

Personal identifying information for 1.5 billion users was stolen in 2021, but from where?

TechRepublic: “It was a big year for cybercriminals, who made off with somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.5 billion worth of users’ personal identifying information (PII) in 2021, according to a report from threat intelligence company Black Kite. Black Kite looked at 81 third-party breaches that accounted for over 200 public disclosures, and its top… Continue Reading

Gas stoves in kitchens pose a risk to public health and the planet, research finds

Washington Post: “Gas-burning stoves in kitchens across America may pose a greater risk to the planet and public health than previously thought, new research suggests. The appliances release far more of the potent planet-warming gas methane than the Environmental Protection Agency estimates, Stanford University scientists found in a study published Thursday in the journal Environmental… Continue Reading

White House instructs government agencies to beef up cybersecurity, adopt ‘zero trust’ in new memo

The Verge: “The White House released a new cybersecurity strategy Wednesday aimed at reducing the risk of cyberattacks against government infrastructure. The strategy outlines the administration’s vision for moving government agencies towards a “zero trust” architecture — a cybersecurity model where users and devices are only given permissions to access network resources necessary for the… Continue Reading

Why Your Library Should Be All-In with Controlled Digital Lending

Medium – “…There are very specific industry guidelines that have been created about what percentage or how many chapters of a book can be placed on electronic reserve, and for how long, or how many times we’re allowed to order something through interlibrary loan before voluntarily paying a publisher extra. All those kinds of self-policing… Continue Reading

Buttigieg releases national plan to reduce road deaths

Washington Post: “Seeking to improve what has been among the nation’s grimmest public policy challenges, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg released a plan Thursday with the goal of reducing, and eventually eliminating, tens of thousands of annual road deaths. The Transportation Department strategy calls for following a “safe system” approach that emphasizes the inevitability of human… Continue Reading