Conversion from the National Security Personnel System to Other Pay Schedules: Issues for Congress, July 15, 2010 “Most federal employees (59.1%) are paid on the General Schedule (GS), a pay scale that consists of 15 pay grades in which an employee’s pay increases are to be based on performance and length of service. Some Members… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: August 2010
NOAA: Second Warmest July and Warmest Year-to-Date Global Temperature on Record
News release: “The combined global land and ocean surface temperature made this July the second warmest on record, behind 1998, and the warmest averaged January-July on record. The global average land surface temperature for July and JanuaryJuly was warmest on record. The global ocean surface temperature for July was the fifth warmest, and for JanuaryJuly… Continue Reading
Nieman Journalism Lab: How The Guardian is pioneering data journalism with free tools
“The Guardian takes data journalism seriously. They obtain, format, and publish journalistically interesting data sets on their Data Blog, they track transparency initiatives in their searchable index of world government data, and they do original research on data theyve obtained, such as their amazing in-depth analysis of 90,000 leaked Afghanistan war documents. And they do… Continue Reading
Review of the Sixteenth Edition of The Chicago Manual of Style
the New Yorker: A Chicago Manual for the Internet Age, by Eileen Reynolds – “Print and online versions of this edition of the Chicago Manual are being released simultaneously for the first time in the guide’s history.” Continue Reading
Pew Analysis: Religion in the 2008 Presidential Election
The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life: Much Hope, Modest Change for Democrats – Religion in the 2008 Presidential Election, August 11, 2010 “An analysis of newly released exit poll data by the Pew Research Centers Forum on Religion & Public Life finds that Obama succeeded in attracting a larger share of the vote… Continue Reading
Rand: Toward a Culture of Consequences: Performance-Based Accountability Systems for Public Services
Toward a Culture of Consequences: Performance-Based Accountability Systems for Public Services by Brian M. Stecher, et al. “Performance-based accountability systems (PBASs) link incentives to measured performance to improve services to the public. Research suggests that PBASs influence provider behaviors, but little is known about PBAS effectiveness at achieving performance goals. This monograph examines nine PBASs… Continue Reading
Hard Choices Thomas M. Hoenig President Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City
Hard Choices, Thomas M. Hoenig, President, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Town Hall Meeting, Lincoln, Nebraska, August 13, 2010 “These are trying times for the U.S. economy. The unemployment rate is almost 10 percent, our financial system remains under stress, community bank failures have become weekly news and the central bank is printing money… Continue Reading
New Orleans Five Years After the Storm: A New Disaster Amid Recovery
News release: “Five years after Hurricane Katrina, an increasing majority of the citys residents says the rebuilding process is going well, but substantial majorities still report that the city has not recovered and feel the nation has forgotten them, according to a new comprehensive survey of the lives and attitudes of New Orleans residents by… Continue Reading
FDA approves ella tablets for prescription emergency contraception
News release: “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved ella (ulipristal acetate) tablets for emergency contraception. The prescription-only product prevents pregnancy when taken orally within 120 hours (five days) after a contraceptive failure or unprotected intercourse. It is not intended for routine use as a contraceptive. ella is a progesterone agonist/antagonist whose likely main… Continue Reading
BLS – Consumer Price Index – July 2010
Consumer Price Index – July 2010 “The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.3 percent in July on a seasonally adjusted basis, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (Before seasonal adjustment, the all items index was unchanged for the month.) Over the last 12 months, the index increased 1.2 percent… Continue Reading
New legal database launched to enhance protection for war victims
News release: “Developed in association with the British Red Cross, the database is designed to be used as a legal reference in international and non-international armed conflicts, including by courts, tribunals and international organizations. As one of the principal sources of international humanitarian law, customary law enhances the legal protection of victims of armed conflict…… Continue Reading
Research: Dogs improve office productivity
The Economist: “There are plenty of studies which show that dogs act as social catalysts, helping their owners forge intimate, long-term relationships with other people. But does that apply in the workplace? Christopher Honts and his colleagues at Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant were surprised to find that there was not much research on… Continue Reading
