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Author Archives: Sabrina I. Pacifici

FDA proposes new food defense rule

Proposed rule marks the 6th issued under FDA Food Safety Modernization Act this year: “As required by the bipartisan FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration proposed a rule [Focused Mitigation Strategies to Protect Food Against Intentional Adulteration] that would require the largest food businesses in the United States and abroad to take steps… Continue Reading

The Most Important Economic Stories of 2013 – in 44 Graphs

The Atlantic – A record year for stocks. A meh year for wages. A weird year for Wall Street, by Matthew O’Brien  “Maybe it’s just me, but the last few years are getting tough to tell apart. Imagine a quiz question: Name that year where we threw obstacles in the recovery’s way, but kept growing slowly; where Europe avoided both… Continue Reading

Infographic Provides a State-by-State Look at How Uninsured People Will Fare Under the Affordable Care Act

“A new interactive infographic from the Kaiser Family Foundation presents a comprehensive look at how the uninsured are expected to fare in each state next year after the Affordable Care Act (ACA) takes full effect on Jan. 1. The ACA provides new coverage options for many of the nation’s 47 million nonelderly uninsured people across the income spectrum,… Continue Reading

LC Report – The Survival of American Silent Feature Films

“The Library of Congress unveiled  The Survival of American Silent Feature Films: 1912–1929, by David Pierce, the first comprehensive survey of American feature films that survived the silent era of motion pictures. Previous documentation established that nearly 11,000 (10,919) silent feature films of American origin were released from 1912 through 1929. There was, however, no definitive,… Continue Reading

A Review of the Data Broker Industry: Collection, Use, and Sale of Consumer Data for Marketing Purposes

“Consumers are conducting more and more of their daily business online and through their mobile devices. They use the Internet and their smart phones and tablets to make purchases, research medical conditions, plan vacations, interact with friends and relatives, do their jobs, map travel routes, and otherwise pursue their interests. With these activities, consumers are… Continue Reading

BLS – Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Summary

News release: ” Regional and state unemployment rates were generally lower in November. Forty-five states and the District of Columbia had unemployment rate decreases from October and five states had no change, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Forty-two states had unemployment rate decreases from a year earlier, seven states and the District of Columbia had increases, and… Continue Reading

Quantitative Analysis of Culture Using Millions of Digitized Books

Quantitative Analysis of Culture Using Millions of Digitized Books, Jean-Baptiste Michel, et al. Science 331, 176 (2011); DOI: 10.1126/science.1199644 “We constructed a corpus of digitized texts containing about 4% of all books ever printed. Analysis of this corpus enables us to investigate cultural trends quantitatively. We survey the vast terrain of ‘culturomics,’ focusing on linguistic and cultural phenomena that were… Continue Reading

MedWatch Safety Alerts for Human Medical Products

“MedWatch (also provides a searchable database) alerts provide timely new safety information on human drugs, medical devices, vaccines and other biologics, dietary supplements, and cosmetics. The alerts contain actionable information that may impact both treatment and diagnostic choices for healthcare professional and patient. To find recent safety alerts, select the current year in the menu to the… Continue Reading

UN Votes for Symbolic Online Privacy Resolution

Reuters: “The UN General Assembly has unanimously called on a curb of supernormal surveillance of communications. The resolution drafted by Brazil and Germany was in response to revelations over the eavesdropping conducted by the US on a global scale. All 193 UN member states agreed “to respect and protect the right to privacy, including in the context… Continue Reading

The Impact of Digital Tools on Student Writing and How Writing is Taught in Schools

The Impact of Digital Tools on  Student Writing and How Writing is Taught in Schools – Kristen Purcell, Director of Research, Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project; Judy Buchanan Deputy Director, National Writing Project; Linda Friedrich  Director of Research and Evaluation, National Writing Project. july 16, 2013. “In a survey of Advanced Placement and National Writing Project teachers,… Continue Reading