Salience vs. Commitment: Dynamics of Political Hashtags in Russian Twitter by Vladimir Barash and John Kelly “Building off our recent mapping of Russian Twitter, in this paper we analyze the dynamics of political hashtags representing a range of political issues and big news stories–from terrorist bombings, to pro-government issues, to topics preferred by the opposition.… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: April 2012
Gartner Says Worldwide Media Tablets Sales to Reach 119 Million Units in 2012
News release: Worldwide media tablet sales to end users are forecast to total 118.9 million units in 2012, a 98 percent increase from 2011 sales of 60 million units, according to Gartner, Inc. Apple’s iOS continues to be the dominant media tablet operating system (OS), as it is projected to account for 61.4 percent of… Continue Reading
The New Ambiguity of 'Open Government'
The New Ambiguity of ‘Open Government’ – Harlan Yu, David G. Robinson, Forthcoming in UCLA Law Review Discourse – Princeton CITP / Yale ISP Working Paper Open government used to carry a hard political edge: it referred to politically sensitive disclosures of government information. The phrase was first used in the 1950s, in the debates… Continue Reading
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve: Authorization, Operation, and Drawdown Policy
CRS – The Strategic Petroleum Reserve: Authorization, Operation, and Drawdown Policy. Anthony Andrews – Specialist in Energy and Defense Policy, Robert Pirog, Specialist in Energy Economics, April 2, 2012 “Congress authorized the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in the 1975 Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) to help prevent a repetition of the economic disruption caused… Continue Reading
Ensuring Safe Foods and Medical Products Through Stronger Regulatory Systems Abroad
“A very high portion of the seafood we eat comes from abroad, mainly from China and Southeast Asia, and most of the active ingredients in medicines we take originate in other countries. Many low and middle income countries have lower labor costs and fewer and less stringent environmental regulations than the United States, making them… Continue Reading
Federal Depository Library Program:Issues for Congress
Federal Depository Library Program: Issues for Congress – R. Eric Petersen, Specialist in American National Government; Jennifer E. Manning, Information Research Specialist; Christina M. Bailey, Information Research Specialist, March 29, 2012 “Congress established the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) to provide free public access to federal government information. The programs origins date to 1813; the… Continue Reading
CRS – Fannie Maes and Freddie Macs Financial Problems
Fannie Maes and Freddie Macs Financial Problems – N. Eric Weiss, Specialist in Financial Economics, April 2, 2012 “The continuing conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac at a time of uncertainty in the housing, mortgage, and financial markets has raised doubts about the future of these enterprises, which are chartered by Congress as government-sponsored… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports – Army Corps of Engineers, Defense Acquisitions, Military Personnel
Army Corps of Engineers – Peer Review Process for Civil Works Project Studies Can Be Improved, GAO-12-352, Mar 8, 2012 Defense Acquisitions – Further Actions Needed to Improve Accountability for DOD’s Inventory of Contracted Services, GAO-12-357, Apr 6, 2012: “DOD relies on contractors to perform many functions, which can offer benefits for DOD. GAOs work… Continue Reading
Speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke on fostering financial stability
Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, April 9, 2012: “…An important example of our strengthened, cross-firm supervisory approach is the recently completed second annual Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review (CCAR). In the CCAR, the Federal Reserve assessed the internal capital planning processes of the 19 largest bank holding companies and evaluated their capital adequacy under a very… Continue Reading
CDT Analysis of EC's Proposed Data Protection Regulation
CDT Analysis of the European Commission’s Proposed Data Protection Regulation CDT strongly supports the use of the Regulation instrument to harmonize data protection across the common market and the renewed emphasis on stronger enforcement to provide data subjects with consistent, predictable privacy rights. CDT proposes a clarification that the Regulationʼs requirement of parental consent only… Continue Reading
Microsoft Purchases Majority of AOL's Intellectual Property, Including Netscape Patents
Ben Kersey: “Microsoft and AOL …signed a deal that would see MSFT pick up 800 of AOLs patents for around $1 billion in cash. The deal is expected to close at the end of 2012, with Microsoft being able to leverage AOLs remaining 300 patents under a non-exclusive license. As it turns out, there was… Continue Reading
U.S. records warmest March; more than 15,000 warm temperature records broken
NOAA: “First quarter of 2012 also warmest on record; early March tornado outbreak is year’s first “billion dollar disaster” Record and near-record breaking temperatures dominated the eastern two-thirds of the nation and contributed to the warmest March on record for the contiguous United States, a record that dates back to 1895. More than 15,000 warm… Continue Reading
