Early responses to Mercer’s annual survey indicate cost will rise 5.7 percent next year, September 4, 2008: “After three years of double-digit growth in the first half of the decade, annual health benefit cost increases slowed to about 6 percent in 2005 and have stayed there ever since. Preliminary survey findings released today by Mercer… Continue Reading
Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002
Monthly Archives: September 2008
Worldwide Cost of Living Survey 2008 City Ranking
“Moscow is the worlds most expensive city for expatriates for the third consecutive year, according to the latest Cost of Living Survey from Mercer. Tokyo is in second position climbing two places since last year, where as London drops one place to rank third. Oslo climbs six places to 4th place and is followed by… Continue Reading
Pay Relatives for U.S. Census Regions and Divisions, 2006
Pay Relatives for U.S. Census Regions and Divisions, 2006, by John E. Buckley, Bureau of Labor Statistics, August 28, 2008 “Results from the 2006 National Compensation Survey show that average pay levels in the Northeast and West are higher than in the South and Midwest. The National Compensation Survey (NCS) provides national, regional, and locality… Continue Reading
National Toxicology Program Finalizes Report on Bisphenol A
News release: “Current human exposure to bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical used in many polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins, is of “some concern” for effects on development of the prostate gland and brain and for behavioral effects in fetuses, infants and children, according to a final report released today by the National Toxicology Program (NTP).… Continue Reading
Federal Reserve Beige Book, September 3, 2008
Summary: “Reports from the twelve Federal Reserve Districts indicate that the pace of economic activity has been slow in most Districts. Many described business conditions as “weak,” “soft,” or “subdued.” Cleveland and St. Louis reported some weakening since their last reports while Boston and New York noted signs of stabilization. Kansas City reported a slight… Continue Reading
Government Transition 2009 Wiki
Government Transition 2009 Wiki: “As Senators John McCain and Barack Obama forge their Presidential election strategies, a different kind of race is brewing: A race to put forth new ideas, lessons learned, and specific recommendations for managing the next administration by a wide array of agencies, trade groups and others with a vested interested in… Continue Reading
CERT: Understanding Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
Cyber Security Tip ST05-018 – Understanding Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP): “Because VoIP relies on your internet connection, it may be vulnerable to any threats and problems that face your computer. The technology is still new, so there is some controversy about the potential for attack, but VoIP could make your telephone vulnerable to viruses… Continue Reading
New DHS Office of Inspector General Management Reports
OIG-08-86 – Costs Incurred for Rejected Temporary Housing Sites (PDF, 31 pages) OIG-08-85 – The Science and Technology Directorate’s Processes for Selecting and Managing Research and Development Programs (PDF, 51 pages) New 09/03/2008 OIG-08-83 – The State of Utah’s Management of State Homeland Security Grants Awarded During Fiscal Years 2004 through 2006 (PDF, 24 pages) Continue Reading
Public/private partnership to build first sustained petascale system for open scientific research
News release: “Extending more than 50 years of supercomputing leadership, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and its National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) announced today that they have finalized their contract with IBM to build the world’s first sustained petascale computational system dedicated to open scientific research. This leadership-class project, called Blue Waters, is… Continue Reading
Africa Could Substantially Increase Its Share Of The Global Carbon Market
News release: “A new report from the World Bank highlighting the potential of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) for Sub-Saharan Africa was released today during the AFRICA CARBON FORUM in Dakar, Senegal. Sub-Saharan Africa currently has a dismal 1.4% share of the 3,700 projects in the UNFCCC pipeline, as of September 1. The report … Continue Reading
U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention Launches Drug Error Finder
USP’s Drug Error Finder – Lookalike/Soundalike Drug Names: “As a service to healthcare practitioners, industry, consumers, and others, USP has developed a free tool for accessing drug names that have been identified with a medication error. USP’s Drug Error Finder allows a user to search more than 1,400 drugs involved in lookalike and/or soundalike errors.… Continue Reading
Studies on Usability of Presidential Candidate Sites
Catalyst Group – Beyond Red and Blue: Insights into the Design of Presidential Candidate Websites, August 6, 2008 – “The results of our research indicated that aesthetics play an important role in users evaluation of a candidates site, but that ease-of-use may ultimately carry the day as the quality that people value most.” See also… Continue Reading
