Letter to President Obama from the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), December 13, 2013 [snipped] “After only two years of practical experience with MOOCs and related technologies, it is too early to tell whether substantial gains in the quality of instruction, access, achievement, and cost will be realized. But there is no question that… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: December 2013
FDA proposes new food defense rule
Proposed rule marks the 6th issued under FDA Food Safety Modernization Act this year: “As required by the bipartisan FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration proposed a rule [Focused Mitigation Strategies to Protect Food Against Intentional Adulteration] that would require the largest food businesses in the United States and abroad to take steps… Continue Reading
The Most Important Economic Stories of 2013 – in 44 Graphs
The Atlantic – A record year for stocks. A meh year for wages. A weird year for Wall Street, by Matthew O’Brien “Maybe it’s just me, but the last few years are getting tough to tell apart. Imagine a quiz question: Name that year where we threw obstacles in the recovery’s way, but kept growing slowly; where Europe avoided both… Continue Reading
Infographic Provides a State-by-State Look at How Uninsured People Will Fare Under the Affordable Care Act
“A new interactive infographic from the Kaiser Family Foundation presents a comprehensive look at how the uninsured are expected to fare in each state next year after the Affordable Care Act (ACA) takes full effect on Jan. 1. The ACA provides new coverage options for many of the nation’s 47 million nonelderly uninsured people across the income spectrum,… Continue Reading
LC Report – The Survival of American Silent Feature Films
“The Library of Congress unveiled The Survival of American Silent Feature Films: 1912–1929, by David Pierce, the first comprehensive survey of American feature films that survived the silent era of motion pictures. Previous documentation established that nearly 11,000 (10,919) silent feature films of American origin were released from 1912 through 1929. There was, however, no definitive,… Continue Reading
A Review of the Data Broker Industry: Collection, Use, and Sale of Consumer Data for Marketing Purposes
“Consumers are conducting more and more of their daily business online and through their mobile devices. They use the Internet and their smart phones and tablets to make purchases, research medical conditions, plan vacations, interact with friends and relatives, do their jobs, map travel routes, and otherwise pursue their interests. With these activities, consumers are… Continue Reading
The 15 Best Behavioural Science Graphs of 2010-13
Suggestion – put this blog on your reading list – Stirling Behavioural Science Blog and start with this posting – The 15 Best Behavioural Science Graphs of 2010-13 Continue Reading
35 Habits of the Most Productive People (Infographic)
I can honestly say I engage in many of these knowledge management activities and certainly I have the dress code directive aced – but… ‘nap’ and ‘sleep’ are way off my radar, and ‘discard what you do not use’ – which I assume refers to paper files, more often means to me donating useful things… Continue Reading
BLS – Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Summary
News release: ” Regional and state unemployment rates were generally lower in November. Forty-five states and the District of Columbia had unemployment rate decreases from October and five states had no change, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Forty-two states had unemployment rate decreases from a year earlier, seven states and the District of Columbia had increases, and… Continue Reading
Quantitative Analysis of Culture Using Millions of Digitized Books
Quantitative Analysis of Culture Using Millions of Digitized Books, Jean-Baptiste Michel, et al. Science 331, 176 (2011); DOI: 10.1126/science.1199644 “We constructed a corpus of digitized texts containing about 4% of all books ever printed. Analysis of this corpus enables us to investigate cultural trends quantitatively. We survey the vast terrain of ‘culturomics,’ focusing on linguistic and cultural phenomena that were… Continue Reading
MedWatch Safety Alerts for Human Medical Products
“MedWatch (also provides a searchable database) alerts provide timely new safety information on human drugs, medical devices, vaccines and other biologics, dietary supplements, and cosmetics. The alerts contain actionable information that may impact both treatment and diagnostic choices for healthcare professional and patient. To find recent safety alerts, select the current year in the menu to the… Continue Reading
UN Votes for Symbolic Online Privacy Resolution
Reuters: “The UN General Assembly has unanimously called on a curb of supernormal surveillance of communications. The resolution drafted by Brazil and Germany was in response to revelations over the eavesdropping conducted by the US on a global scale. All 193 UN member states agreed “to respect and protect the right to privacy, including in the context… Continue Reading
