2014 ANNUAL REPORT: Additional Opportunities to Reduce Fragmentation, Overlap, and Duplication and Achieve Other Financial Benefits, GAO-14-343SP: Published: Apr 8, 2014. Publicly Released: Apr 8, 2014. AVIATION SAFETY: FAA Should Improve Usability of its Online Application System and Clarity of the Pilot’s Medical Form, GAO-14-330: Published: Apr 8, 2014. Publicly Released: Apr 8, 2014. GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS: Opportunities to Reduce… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: April 2014
2014 Internet Security Threat Report, Volume 19
Symanted – “The Internet Security Threat Report provides an overview and analysis of the year in global threat activity. The report is based on data from the Symantec Global Intelligence Network, which Symantec’s analysts use to identify, analyze, and provide commentary on emerging trends in the dynamic threat landscape.” Continue Reading
Gallup – Americans Say College Degree Leads to a Better Life
Gallup: “Americans believe in the importance of postsecondary education, with more than nine in 10 (94%) saying a postsecondary degree or credential is at least somewhat important and 70% saying it is very important, similar to last year’s findings. However, most also say higher-education institutions must evolve to better serve the needs of today’s students. These results… Continue Reading
WHO – 7 million premature deaths annually linked to air pollution
News release and related links: “In new estimates released today, WHO reports that in 2012 around 7 million people died – one in eight of total global deaths – as a result of air pollution exposure. This finding more than doubles previous estimates and confirms that air pollution is now the world’s largest single environmental… Continue Reading
EPIC Warns White House About Privacy Risks of “Big Data”
“In response to a request from the White House, EPIC has submitted extensive comments on “Big Data and the Future of Privacy.” EPIC warned the White House about the enormous risk to Americans of current “big data” practices but also made clear that problems are not new, citing the Privacy Act of 1974 which responded to the challenges of “data… Continue Reading
Assessing Principles of Sustainable Development and Governance in the World Bank’s Project Plans
World Resources Institute: “The World Bank has sought to reinvent itself in the face of a growing number of global development challenges, including economic uncertainty, political unrest, and the increasingly severe impacts of a changing climate. This report examines the extent to which the World Bank is integrating elements of sustainable development and effective client-country governance considerations into the design of… Continue Reading
Monthly Budget Review for March 2014
“The federal government ran a budget deficit of $413 billion for the first six months of fiscal year 2014, CBO estimates—$187 billion less than the shortfall recorded in the same span last year. Revenues were about 10 percent higher; and outlays, about 4 percent lower. Total Receipts: Up by 10 Percent in the First Half… Continue Reading
Progress report on implementation of the Basel regulatory framework
“This updated April 2014 Progress report on implementation of the Basel regulatory framework provides a high-level view of Basel Committee members’ progress in adopting Basel II, Basel 2.5 and Basel III, as of end March 2014. It focuses on the status of domestic rule-making processes to ensure that the Committee’s capital standards are transformed into national law… Continue Reading
McKinsey – How government can promote open data
Michael Chui, Diana Farrell, and Kate Jackson: “Institutions and companies across the public and private sectors have begun to release and share vast amounts of information in recent years, and the trend is only accelerating. Yet while some information is easily accessible, some is still trapped in paper records. Data may be free or come at… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports – Federal Facility Security, SBA, TARP
FEDERAL FACILITY SECURITY: Additional Actions Needed to Help Agencies Comply with Risk Assessment Methodology Standards, GAO-14-86: Published: Mar 5, 2014. Publicly Released: Apr 7, 2014. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION: Actions Needed to Ensure Planned Improvements Address Key Requirements of the Development Company (504) Loan Program, GAO-14-233: Published: Mar 6, 2014. Publicly Released: Apr 7, 2014. TROUBLED ASSET RELIEF PROGRAM: Status of the Wind… Continue Reading
The Thomas Jackson Letters
“Here you will find a unique collection of previously unpublished letters describing facts and feelings about slavery and the civil war as seen from the grass roots level in Reading, Pennsylvania. These detailed, authentic, contemporary reports, most in excellent condition, have all been left to us in the letters of rope-maker Thomas Jackson. The author had… Continue Reading
Multiple Crossings of a Large Glacial River by Canada Lynx
“Rivers may act as barriers to the movement of terrestrial mammals, which could limit dispersal and gene flow. Glacial rivers are particularly hazardous because of the cold water temperature and swift current. Yet, we determined that 2 Canada Lynx (Lynx canadensis) equipped with GPS collars repeatedly swam across the main channel of the Tanana River in interior Alaska in… Continue Reading
