Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002

Daily Archives: November 18, 2020

JHU – New Tool Offers County-Level Insight Into COVID-19 Impact

“The Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center has launched a new tool on its U.S. state tracking pages that provides county-level insight into the effects of COVID-19 through case and testing data measured against key demographic information, including race and poverty level. The Coronavirus Resource Center is the first to publish such a compilation of at the county level. Using the tool, people can search by state to see how factors including daily cases, daily deaths, per capita case, death, and might differ across a state depending on the demographic makeup of certain counties. Available demographic overlays include “non-White,” “Black or African-American,” “Latino or Hispanic,” “American Indian or Alaska Native,” and “Below poverty line.” People can use the tool to easily look for trends in how COVID-19 case numbers or testing rates might be different for certain populations and demographics. And because the data will be updated daily, people will be able to watch these trends over time. The COVID-19 data and demographic breakdowns are available for Washington, D.C. and the 26 states and counties that make this information publicly available. In some jurisdictions the data either isn’t available, or isn’t offered in a format that the Coronavirus Resource Center can collect electronically. The full list of states covered by this tool currently includes: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.”

‘Extremely aggressive’ internet censorship spreads in the world’s democracies

“The largest collection of public internet censorship data ever compiled shows that even citizens of what are considered the world’s freest countries aren’t safe from internet censorship. The University of Michigan team used its own Censored Planet tool, an automated censorship tracking system launched in 2018, to collect more than 21 billion measurements over 20… Continue Reading

State Elections 2020

National Conference of State Legislatures – State Elections 2020 – “Voters in 44 states chose nearly 6,000 state legislators on Nov. 3, although votes are still being counted. Click on the partisan control, statewide ballot measures and election administration tabs below for postelection analysis Postelection Partisan Legislative Control  Map is being updated as results are… Continue Reading

Check these COVID-19 risk scores before traveling this holiday season

Fast Company – If you’re considering a trip to visit friends or family, this map can help you understand where COVID-19 rates are rising. “Just how risky is it to travel for the holidays this year? With rising rates of COVID-19, many experts are recommending a moratorium on holiday gatherings. But for those who are… Continue Reading

This website gorgeously illustrates whether your investments are ruining the planet

Fast Company – “All investment platforms will show you the financial value of your portfolio. But a new visual platform made by Dutch design firm Clever Franke for Swiss bank Globalance goes a step further: It maps your portfolio’s macro-level social and environmental effects. The interface, called Globalance World, makes it easier to figure out… Continue Reading

Biden-Harris Transition Releases Code of Ethical Conduct and Ethics Plan

“Today, the Biden-Harris Transition published its Transition Code of Ethical Conduct and Transition Ethics Plan that will guide transition activities. The Presidential Transition Act directs the transition team to develop a Transition Code of Ethical Conduct and Ethics Plan to ensure the transition team members are held to clear and enforceable ethics standards. Consistent with… Continue Reading

Google launches new tool to help cities stay cool

The Verge: “Google unveiled a tool today that could help cities keep their residents cool by mapping out where trees are needed most. Cities tend to be warmer than surrounding areas because buildings and asphalt trap heat. An easy way to cool metropolitan areas down is to plant more trees in neighborhoods where they’re sparse.… Continue Reading

Cheating-detection companies made millions during the pandemic. Now students are fighting back.

Washington Post -“With remote proctors watching them take tests, some worry that even leaving for the bathroom will brand them as cheats…“Online proctoring” companies saw in coronavirus shutdowns a chance to capitalize on a major reshaping of education, selling schools a high-tech blend of webcam-watching workers and eye-tracking software designed to catch students cheating on… Continue Reading

LC – New Web Resource: Indigenous Law Web Archive

In Custodia Legis: “The Law Library collects and preserves legal materials for American law, foreign law, and sovereign Indigenous nations. Many governments, including Indigenous national, tribal and community governments, are transitioning from print to solely digital formats for publishing their laws. The Law Library is working to collect and preserve these materials. To further these… Continue Reading

White House issues guidance for federal agencies on AI applications

ZDNet – “US federal agencies have now been issued a guidance by the White House on how to regulate artificial intelligence (AI) applications that are produced in the US. “This memorandum sets out policy considerations that should guide, to the extent permitted by law, regulatory and non-regulatory approaches to AI applications developed and deployed outside… Continue Reading