Via FAS – Regulatory Reform 10 Years After the Financial Crisis: Systemic Risk Regulation of Non-Bank Financial Institutions. Jay B. Sykes, Legislative Attorney. April 12, 2018. “When large, interconnected financial institutions become distressed, policymakers have historically faced a choice between (1) a taxpayer-funded bailout, and (2) the destabilization of the financial system—a dilemma that commentators… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Government Documents
Update: After Congress complains, USDA restores animal welfare reports
Science: “Following Congress’s request for greater transparency, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has apparently restored detail in its most recent animal welfare inspection reports. Reports published on the agency’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service website since last August have omitted inventories that list the number and species of animals housed at facilities within… Continue Reading
Visualizing the Pay Gap Between Men and Women in the UK
Center for Data Innovation – “The Financial Times (paywall) has created a collection of data visualizations showing that 89 percent of women in the United Kingdom work at companies with a pay gap favoring men. The newspaper analyzed data from firms with more than 250 employees, which were required to submit data comparing men and… Continue Reading
What if a nuke goes off in Washington, D.C.? Simulations of artificial societies help planners cope with the unthinkable
Science – M. Mitchell Waldrop, Apr. 12, 2018: “…Known as National Planning Scenario 1 (NPS1), that nuclear attack story line originated in the 1950s as a kind of war game, a safe way for national security officials and emergency managers to test their response plans before having to face the real thing. Sixty years later,… Continue Reading
Editorial – Obfuscating with transparency
Obfuscating with transparency, Jeremy Berg. Science 13 Apr 2018: Vol. 360, Issue 6385, pp. 133. DOI: 10.1126/science.aat8121 “Transparency is critical when it comes to decision-making that broadly affects the public, particularly when it comes to policies purported to be grounded in scientific evidence. The scientific community has been increasingly focused on improving the transparency of… Continue Reading
NIST – Cyber Resiliency Considerations for the Engineering of Trustworthy Secure Systems
“This publication is intended to be used in conjunction with NIST Special Publication 800-160 Volume 1, Systems Security Engineering – Considerations for a Multidisciplinary Approach in the Engineering of Trustworthy Secure Systems. It can be viewed as a handbook for achieving the identified cyber resiliency outcomes based on a systems engineering perspective on system life… Continue Reading
CRS – Data, Social Media, and Users: Can We All Get Along?
CRS INSIGHT – Data, Social Media, and Users: Can We All Get Along? April 4, 2018 (IN10879). “In March 2018, media reported that voter-profiling company Cambridge Analytica had exceeded Facebook’s data use policies by collecting data on millions of Facebook users. Cambridge Analytica did this by working with a researcher to gain access to the… Continue Reading
NYT Book Review – A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership – James Comey
Book Review – James Comey Has a Story to Tell. It’s Very Persuasive. “…In his absorbing new book, “A Higher Loyalty,” the former F.B.I. director James B. Comey calls the Trump presidency a “forest fire” that is doing serious damage to the country’s norms and traditions. “This president is unethical, and untethered to truth and… Continue Reading
OPM – Feds face sizable pay gap with private sector
Federal Times: “Federal employees on average see a 31.86 percent difference between their paychecks and those doing the same work in the private sector, according to an April 10, 2018, report submitted to the Federal Salary Council by its Locality Pay Working Group. The working group calculates the pay gap between federal employees and their… Continue Reading
The Smart Grid: Status and Outlook
CRS report via FAS – The Smart Grid: Status and Outlook. Richard J. Campbell, Specialist in Energy Policy. April 10, 2018. “The electrical grid in the United States comprises all of the power plants generating electricity, together with the transmission and distribution lines and systems that bring power to end-use customers. The “grid” also connects… Continue Reading
K-12 Education: Discipline Disparities for Black Students, Boys, and Students with Disabilities
K-12 Education: Discipline Disparities for Black Students, Boys, and Students with Disabilities GAO-18-258: Published: Mar 22, 2018. Publicly Released: Apr 4, 2018. “Black students, boys, and students with disabilities were disproportionately disciplined (e.g., suspensions and expulsions) in K-12 public schools, according to GAO’s analysis of Department of Education (Education) national civil rights data for school… Continue Reading
GAO – Assessment Methodology for Economic Analysis
Assessment Methodology for Economic Analysis GAO-18-151SP: Published: Apr 10, 2018. Publicly Released: Apr 10, 2018. “GAO identifies five key methodological elements to the baseline structure of an economic analysis: Objective and scope, Methodology, Analysis of effects, Transparency and Documentation. GAO’s assessment methodology evaluates each key element and provides an overall assessment based on the assessment… Continue Reading
