Via LLRX.com – $38 Datawind UbiSlate 7Ci tablet as an e-reader: Avoid this adware trap despite its many positives! David Rothman is spearheading chronicling the progress of expanding low cost access to e-readers as libraries engage in mission critical outreach efforts to reach underserved communities. In this article, Rothman asks: Suppose you could buy an iPad for $38, read… Continue Reading
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Author Archives: Sabrina I. Pacifici
Whole Life Sentences and the Tide of European Human Rights Jurisprudence
Note – this article is available free for a limited time: Whole Life Sentences and the Tide of European Human Rights Jurisprudence: What Is to Be Done? Dirk van Zyl Smit, Pete Weathery, Simon Creighton. Human Rights Law Review. Volume 14, Issue 1. Pp. 59-84. “In Vinter and Others v United Kingdom [Application Nos 66069/09, 3896/10 and 130/10, Merits, 9 July 2013 (‘Vinter [GC]’)] the Grand… Continue Reading
Paper – Positive Thinking About the Future in News and Speeches Predicts Economic Downturn
Positive Thinking About the Future in Newspaper Reports and Presidential Addresses Predicts Economic Downturn. Sevincer AT, Wagner G, Kalvelage J, Oettingen G. Published online before print, February 4, 2014, doi:10.1177/0956797613518350. “Previous research has shown that positive thinking, in the form of fantasies about an idealized future, predicts low effort and poor performance. In the studies reported here, we used computerized… Continue Reading
Report – Encryption Would Have Stopped Snowden From Using Secrets
Chris Strohm, Bloomberg: “Edward Snowden could have been thwarted from leaking classified U.S. documents if the National Security Agency encrypted the information to make it unreadable, two former senior cybersecurity officials said. Snowden would have needed a digital key to decipher the secrets after gaining access to them if the data was scrambled, Ira “Gus” Hunt, former… Continue Reading
Assessment of DoD Wounded Warrior Matters: Managing Risks of Multiple Medications
Assessment of DoD Wounded Warrior Matters: Managing Risks of Multiple Medications. Inspector General, Department of Defense, February 21, 2014. Special Plans and Operations Reports. DODIG-2014-040. “During the fieldwork for the assessment of Wounded Warrior programs, we identified challenges pertaining to medication management practices. This follow-on assessment focused on DoD and Service policies and programs intended to manage… Continue Reading
Revisions to CBO’s Projection of Potential Output Since 2007
“As part of its economic and budgetary projections, CBO estimates past and future potential output—also called potential gross domestic product (GDP), and defined as the maximum sustainable amount of real (inflation-adjusted) output that the economy can produce. For various reasons, CBO’s projections for potential GDP in a specific year can change over time. This report… Continue Reading
Investor Sophistication and Capital Income Inequality
Kacperczyk, Marcin T. and Nosal, Jaromir and Stevens, Luminita, Investor Sophistication and Capital Income Inequality (February 27, 2014). Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2402462 “What contributes to the growing income inequality across U.S. households? We develop an information-based general equilibrium model that links capital income derived from financial assets to a level of investor sophistication. Our model… Continue Reading
Google Adds Restaurant Menus to Search Results
“Next time you’re planning a brunch or a date night, check to make sure the menu has something to satisfy everyone in your group, without having to browse through several restaurants’ websites. Just search Google to show you the menu for the eatery you’re considering and you can see it right on the top of… Continue Reading
Law review article – Fractured Legal Institutions
Hovenkamp, Herbert J., Fractured Legal Institutions (March 1, 2014). Iowa Law Review, Vol. 100, 2014. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2402449 “This article considers a previously unexamined question: How can we improve the legal analysis of conflicts that occur in very small arenas? The conflicts can be of many kinds, including a nuisance dispute between neighbors, an… Continue Reading
Report – Preparer Fraud, High Fees, and Tax-Time Financial Products Plague Consumers
“As the tax season goes into full swing, advocates from the National Consumer Law Center and Consumer Federation of America have issued their annual report on the tax-time consumer issues: It’s a Wild World: Consumers at Risk from Tax-Time Financial Products and Unregulated Preparers. The biggest problem cited by the report is the lack of regulation for… Continue Reading
Cybersecurity and the North American Electric Grid
Cybersecurity and the North American Electric Grid: New Policy Approaches to Address an Evolving Threat. A Report from the Co-chairs of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Electric Grid Cybersecurity Initiative, February 2014. “Protecting the nation’s electricity grid from cyber attacks is a critical national security issue. Evidence collected by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) suggests that cyber attacks on key… Continue Reading
Starting to Demo the Wolfram Language
A knowledge based language: “We’re getting closer to the first official release of the Wolfram Language—so I am starting to demo it more publicly. Here’s a short video demo I just made. It’s amazing to me how much of this is based on things I hadn’t even thought of just a few months ago. Knowledge-based programming is going to be… Continue Reading
