“Manufacturing was the nation’s leading investor in capital expenditures in 2015 with $239.6 billion spent for structures and equipment, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2015 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey. Businesses invested $1,638.6 billion in new and used buildings, structures, machinery and equipment (including computer software), up $40.7 billion (2.5 percent) from 2014. This is… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: February 2017
Code-Dependent: Pros and Cons of the Algorithm Age
Pew Report – Algorithms are aimed at optimizing everything. They can save lives, make things easier and conquer chaos. Still, experts worry they can also put too much control in the hands of corporations and governments, perpetuate bias, create filter bubbles, cut choices, creativity and serendipity, and could result in greater unemployment. “Algorithms are instructions for… Continue Reading
Cancer Risk Led FDA to Warn Against Certain Uses of Power Morcellators
Medical Devices: Cancer Risk Led FDA to Warn Against Certain Uses of Power Morcellators and Recommend New Labeling, GAO-17-231: Published: Feb 7, 2017. Publicly Released: Feb 8, 2017. “In 1991, FDA allowed the first laparoscopic power morcellator—a device that cuts tissue into small pieces, which can be removed during minimally invasive surgeries—on the U.S. market.… Continue Reading
Making The Met’s Collection More Accessible
Thomas P. Campbell, Director and CE, February 7, 2017. “This morning, we announced a major update to the Museum’s policy governing the use and reuse of images in our collection: all images of public-domain artworks in the Museum’s collection are now available for free and unrestricted use under Creative Commons Zero (CC0). This updated policy,… Continue Reading
CRS – Supreme Court Appointment Process: President’s Selection of a Nominee
CRS Report via FAS – Supreme Court Appointment Process: President’s Selection of a Nominee, Barry J. McMillion, Analyst on the Federal Judiciary. February 6, 2017. “The appointment of a Supreme Court Justice is an event of major significance in American politics. Each appointment is of consequence because of the enormous judicial power the Supreme Court… Continue Reading
CRS – What Is Manufacturing? Why Does the Definition Matter?
CRS report via FAS – What Is Manufacturing? Why Does the Definition Matter? Marc Levinson, Section Research Manager, February 6, 2017. “Numerous provisions in federal law are intended to support manufacturing in the United States. Almost without exception, these provisions define manufacturing as the process of physically transforming goods. Physical transformation involves what might be… Continue Reading
Top Five U.S. Trading Partners in Goods in 2016
“Today the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis issued full year 2016 U.S. international trade in goods and services data. The top five countries based on trade in goods in 2016 were China, Canada, Mexico, Japan and Germany. Trade in goods with China was $578.6 billion. Exports were $115.8 billion and imports… Continue Reading
A Network Anatomy of Chinese State-Owned Enterprises
Lin, Li-Wen, A Network Anatomy of Chinese State-Owned Enterprises (February 2017). Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies Research Paper No. RSCAS 2017/07. Available for download at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2912818 “This Article provides an anatomy of Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) by unpacking their various relations with different types of state organs. It shows that Chinese SOEs are… Continue Reading
DHS mulls password collection at borders
FCW.com – “John Kelly, the new secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, testified that foreign travelers coming to the United States could be required to give up social media passwords to border officials as a condition of entry. “We want to say, for instance, which websites do you visit, and give us your passwords,… Continue Reading
Education Week – Black Students More Likely to Be Arrested at School
Evie Blad and Alex Harwin, January 24, 2017: “In 43 states and the District of Columbia, black students are arrested at school at disproportionately high levels, an analysis of federal data by the Education Week Research Center finds. And one reason may be that black students are more likely than students in any other racial… Continue Reading
Deleted APHIS Annual Reports From Animal-Experimentation Facilities
Follow up to posting this week – Animal welfare information wiped from USDA website – via the MemoryHole – Russ Kick – “On February 3, 2017, with absolutely no warning, the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) deleted its database of reports concerning animal welfare at zoos, circuses, aquariums, puppy mills, etc., as… Continue Reading
Bloomberg – The New Face of American Unemployment
As the U.S. labor force crests again, a new complex of problems locks many Americans out of the workplace. By Jeanna Smialek and Patricia Laya, Photographs by William Mebane. “Even at so-called full employment, some 20 million Americans are left behind. They’re looking for work, out of the labor force but unhappy about it, or… Continue Reading
