Direct Assistance: USAID Has Taken Positive Action to Assess Afghan Ministries’ Ability to Manage Donor Funds, but Concerns Remain, January 2014. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction SIGAR 14-32 Audit Report. “USAID determined it could not rely on the ministries it assessed to manage donor funds without a host of mitigation measures in place and that, under normal… Continue Reading
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Author Archives: Sabrina I. Pacifici
TRUSTe 2014 US Consumer Confidence Privacy Report
“Privacy concerns are growing with 74% more concerned about their online privacy than a year ago. Despite the constant media coverage of government surveillance programs such as NSA’s PRISM, this is not the main driver of online privacy concerns. People are far more concerned about businesses sharing personal information with other companies and tracking their… Continue Reading
Sentencing Project Releases Report on Smaller Prisons and Sentencing Reform
“The Sentencing Project released two reports that highlight states downsizing prison systems and adopting sentencing policy reforms. Our research documents a three-year trend of prison closings that produced a reduction of 35,000 beds, including six states reducing capacity by 11,000 beds in 2013.” On the Chopping Block 2013 documents state prison closures and attributes the trend… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports – Child Welfare, Homeowners Insurance, Imminet Danger Pay
CHILD WELFARE – Federal Agencies Can Better Support State Efforts to Prevent and Respond to Sexual Abuse by School Personnel, GAO-14-42, Jan 27, 2014 HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE – Multiple Challenges Make Expanding Private Coverage Difficult, GAO-14-179, Jan 30, 2014 IMMINENT DANGER PAY – Actions Needed Regarding Pay Designations in the U.S. Central Command Area of Responsibility, GAO-14-230R, Jan 30, 2014 Continue Reading
Evaluation of the College Possible Program: Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial
Evaluation of the College Possible Program: Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial, Christopher Avery. NBER Working Paper No. 19562. October 2013 “This paper reports the results of a randomized trial of the College Possible program, which provides two years of college preparatory work for high school juniors and seniors in Minneapolis and St. Paul. The trial involved 238 students, including… Continue Reading
Decade of War – Enduring Lessons from the Past Decade of Operations
Decade of War- Volume I, Enduring lessons from the past decade of operations. United States. Joint Chiefs of Staff. Joint and Coalition Operational Analysis. “The Joint and Coalition Operational Analysis (JCOA) division reviewed 46 lessons learned studies conducted from 2003 to the present, and synthesized the studies’ 400+ findings, observations, and best practices into the 11… Continue Reading
Report – Enhanced Geothermal Systems
Via Secrecy News: “The potential for new technologies to harvest energy from the Earth’s crust was considered in a new report from the elite JASON science advisory board on Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS).”EGS offers important opportunities for increasing the contribution of geothermal energy to U.S. power production: by a few-fold over the next few years, according to our estimation,… Continue Reading
Women and men in leadership positions in the European Union, 2013
“A new report from the European Commission looks at the number of women in leadership positions in the European Union. While the Commission points to the evidence that more women are reaching top positions, it underlines the fact that more needs to be done to tackle a significant disparity across EU Member States. It says… Continue Reading
Mayors from 10 Major Cities Unite to Cut Climate Pollution from Buildings
News release: ” The mayors from 10 major U.S. cities today announced they will undertake a united effort to significantly boost energy efficiency in their buildings, a move that combined could cut as much climate change pollution as generated by 1 million to 1.5 million passenger vehicles every year, and lower energy bills by nearly $1… Continue Reading
Federal Reserve issues FOMC statement
News release: “Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in December indicates that growth in economic activity picked up in recent quarters. Labor market indicators were mixed but on balance showed further improvement. The unemployment rate declined but remains elevated. Household spending and business fixed investment advanced more quickly in recent months, while… Continue Reading
Documents Show FDA Allows Livestock Antibiotics Use Despite “High Risk” to Humans
News release: “The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) quietly allowed 30 potentially harmful antibiotics, including 18 rated as “high risk,” to remain on the market as additives in farm animal feed and water – despite an internal review that raised significant red flags, according to agency records obtained by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).… Continue Reading
Federal News Radio – White House calls for major changes to DATA Act
“The White House wants major revisions to the Senate’s version of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014. Among the biggest changes is the decision to move away from standards and toward open data structures to publish information, according to a marked up version of the DATA Act obtained by Federal News Radio. OMB gave the bill to… Continue Reading
