Search

The article presents a conversation with Robert Gates, who was appointed by U.S. President-elect Barack Obama to stay as secretary of Defense. Empowered by a mandate from Obama, Gates is turning his attention to the issues of acquisition reform and tradeoffs involving the size of the military services' fleets. During a press conference, Gates said that he does not intend to be a caretaker secretary. As the country is dealing with a recession, the U.S. Department of Defense will spend its budget of more than $500 billion annually.

The article discusses the adoption of bring-your-own-device to work (BYOD) policies, which permit government employees to bring their mobile devices at work, by U.S. state and local governments in an effort to increase employee productivity and achieve government efficiency. It mentions the benefits of implementing a BYOD policy, such as the reduction in equipment purchases, and the efforts to address and security with regard to the use of mobile devices by employees.

The article presents the author's views on Lieutenant General Frank A. Camm who died on January 17, 2012. He states that he met Camm in 2008 during a holiday with his wife. He further considers Camm as the great military engineer and mentions that he has acquired various federal positions because of his work. He also discusses various aspects associated with Camm's life including master-apprentice assignments done by him, funds given to the U.S. graduate school and leadership.

The article discusses that U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review a Washington state workers' compensation law related to federal contractor employees at the U.S. Energy Department's Hanford nuclear waste cleanup site.

Focuses on the proposal of a United States legislator to shield the electronic mail messages of public officials from public disclosure. Costs of open access to records; Number of bills aimed at privacy; Distinction of the state of Indiana in the erosion of public access.

Focuses on the experiences of families who work together in local governments in the United States. Common experiences of families; Potential for abuse in public service; Importance of communication for married couples in local government.

Focuses on United States (U.S.) House Appropriations transportation subcommittee chairman Harold Rogers' warning to managers of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. Possibility of unpaid salaries and forfeited bonuses; Need for the agency to relieve aviation gridlock. INSET: NTSB Rebukes Slowpoke FAA..

Shows the improvement in the relationship between elected and appointed officials in several cities in the United States. Benefit of good council-manager relationship; Strategies for a successful council-manager relationship.

Presents an interview with Dave Lauriski, assistant secretary over the Mine Safety and Health Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor, on his plans for the agency. Efforts in achieving the objectives of the administration; Human factors which troubled the operation of the group; Initiatives launched by the agency to deal more effectively with people; Cooperation of the agency with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Interviews U.S. associate director for technology and e-government Mark A. Forman. Annual information technology (IT) expenditures of the U.S.; Discussion on whether there is room in the federal It expansion for smaller vendors with expertise in electronic commerce or business-to-business; Areas in which the U.S. government will be increasing spending.

The author offers insights about the selection of Robert Gates by U.S. President-elect Barack Obama to be his Defense secretary. The implications of Obama's decision are cited. First, Gates was the first to be asked by a president to stay on in the transition from one party's administration to the other. The most important is that Gates will lead his department as Obama becomes the first newly elected president to commit himself in a way to reforming the way the military services develop and procure weapon systems.

Focuses on federal managers' request for the United States (U.S.) Federal Aviation Administration and Congress to shore up budgets, pay and staff in the interests of safety and efficiency. Appearance of Federal Managers Association president Michael Styles at a public hearing of the U.S. House Appropriations transportation subcommittee; Practice of using 'controllers-in-charge.'

The article reports that the U.S. Department of Defense will benefit from the paid parental leave. It mentions that Representative Carolyn Maloney introduced the Federal Employee Paid Leave Act (FEPLA), offering up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave to federal employees. It states that employee turnover impacts more than government recruitment, clearances and training, as loss of talent harms leadership, diversity and innovation.

Reports on the U.S. Justice Department's agreement to investigate alleged irregularities in the personnel records of Ralph E. Kennikell, who has been nominated for the position of public printer. Kennikell's replacement of Danford Sawyer; Possible falsification of statements on several government personnel forms.

The article focuses on the fabric infrastructure used by the Government Employees Health Association (GEHA) for its data center, that helps in reducing complexity and yields economies of scale in the U.S. It mentions that fabric model helps in moving the traffic horizontally across network and virtual machine. It mentions that the processing of GEHA claims several people including, federal employees, retirees and families.

The article details the pretrial procedures for types of federal employment cases. It notes that the protocols were designed with an aim of encouraging more efficient and less costly discovery. Southern District of New York Judge John Koeltl states that the program requires both parties to exchange a set of information within 30 days.

An essay is presented on who U.S. President Barack Obama will choose as the first chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS). General Martin Dempsey is a front-runner but was promoted to Army chief of staff in April 2011. The author says that whoever Obama selects will send a message to the defense community and foreign governments just like the way former Presidents Ronald Reagan chose General John Vessey and Harry Truman chose General Omar Bradley. One of the issues that could affect Dempsey's selection is said to be the Libyan political uprising.

The author discusses an order passed by the U.S. Congress to bring major changes in the upper ranks of the U.S. Department of Defense. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for the year 2015 creates a new top position, undersecretary of defense for business management and information. The author says that this would cause a disruption, and bring the undersecretary for acquisition and logistics down by one rank.

The article reports on audiology benefits in health plans. The Federal Employees Health Benefits program is adding benefits in audiology services and assistive communication systems for January 2009. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association provides nonfederal patients with commercial carriers participating in the federal benefits program.

The article reports on the foreign travel of U.S. officials in search of jobs for U.S. citizens and to recruit new investments for the country. Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue led a group of officials to Israel in search of technology and bioscience jobs. While, Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano visited Great Britain and Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels negotiated with companies and Japan and Taiwan. Georgia also promoted its workforce and transportation network abroad.

The article focuses on the accomplishments of U.S. Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Charlotte Beers, who leaves her post in March 2003. Beers left her post after learning of a serious health condition. Beers was in charge of State Dept. public relations in and outside the U.S. while sitting at the board that oversees the government's various broadcast activities abroad, including the Voice of American and the newer AM and FM channels running in a number of Arab countries.

This article focuses on mixed reviews over whether Charlotte Beers accomplished her goal of improving the nation's image beyond its borders a year after she became the U.S. undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs. Supporters praise Ms. Beers for bringing an outsider's perspective and fresh ideas to the thankless task of rebuilding the country's overseas public relations and education efforts, which largely atrophied after the cold war. She also gets credit for providing better training for embassy public relations staffs and for implementing sharper marketing research tools. Critics, however, paint her as too much of an outsider, whose inexperience negotiating the bureaucratic corridors of the State Department, White House and Congress have delayed needed programs. Naysayers insist the world's image of the U.S. has deteriorated over the past year. "She is not doing well at all," said Youseef Ibrahim, a senior fellow at the Council of Foreign Relations. "Nobody has felt the impact of anything she has done. The image of the U.S. is as bad as it's ever been among the world's Muslims, and it's pretty bad in the Arab world." They also question whether an advertising background is what the job needed. Ms. Beers is a former chairman of WPP Group's J. Walter Thompson and Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide.

The article reports that according to a survey of 389 agencies and their subcomponents carried out by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, NASA is the best place to work in the U.S. federal government.

Presents results of a survey of women mayors in the United States. Statistics; Factors that persuaded them to enter the mayoral race; Rewards of holding any public office.

Reports on the truce among the members of the United States Chemical Safety & Hazard Investigation Board and its chairman, Paul L. Hill Jr. General public meeting of the board; Governance pact announced and signed by Hill Jr; Investigations on the causes of chemically related industrial accidents.

Focuses on the strategies used to monitor abusive Internet use among government employees in the United States. Newswire of Dave Wickham that reports Internet activities of civil servants; Variety of how government employees use public-funded Internet connections to pursue their personal interests; Entry to domain names revealing the abuses.

The article offers information on applying for an entry level position with the U.S. federal government using the Federal Career Directory. To apply for a federal job, find out first what category of jobs you qualify for and then determine how best to apply within the category selected. Categories of jobs encompass a large catch-all group called Administrative Careers With America, covering a majority of entry level administrative and professional positions, many not requiring a specific college degree; specialized occupations, which do not have specific educational requirements; technical occupations; and clerical and administrative support positions. The Administrative category covers a wide range of entry level administrative and professional occupations, many of which do not have specific course requirements, although most require a college degree or equivalent work experience. The positions in this category usually start at General Schedule (GS) grade 5 or 7, depending on qualifications. Beginning salaries are 8 percent higher in New York, Los Angeles, California and San Francisco, California. The Specialized Occupations category covers occupations that require the completion of certain college level courses. A degree in the field normally meets the job requirements,. No written test is required. These positions start at the GS 5 and 7 levels. The educational requirements for the occupations covered under the Public Safety Occupations category are more general than for the specialized occupations. A bachelor's degree or equivalent experience is required. A written test must be taken for each speciality. The entry level grades for these occupations are GS 5 and 7. INSET: Job shopping with a PC..

The article features several young people in the public services sector in the U.S. They include Village of Lombard, Illinois Communications Coordinator Bridget Doyle, Michael Enloe of the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) and Tigard, Oregon associate planner Marissa Grass.

The article offers information on a report by the U.S. White House Office of Management & Budget on the 16-day government shutdown that furloughed federal employees for a collective 6.6 million workdays at a cost of 2.5 billion U.S. dollars in pay and benefits in October 2013.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to several articles related to employment in the U.S. on November 5, 2012 issue.

Statistics revealed by the "City Fiscal Conditions" report on U.S. cities and counties are presented, which includes the percentage of finance officers who expressed the inability of the city to meet its needs in 2012, the percentage of finance officers who think that their city was less prepared compared to 2011 and the percentage of finance officers who said their city was unprepared to meet its needs.

This section offers news briefs on U.S. laws and legal practice. The Federal Courts Jurisdiction and Venue Clarification Act of 2011 is signed into law by U.S. President Barack Obama. Pending legislation, bipartisan bill S. 1945 and its companion H.R. 3572, is causing renewed debate on the televising of U.S. Supreme Court proceedings. The Court granted certiorari in two cases wherein the jurisdictional issues on the proper forum for employment-related claims by federal employees was raised.

The author comments on the role of prohibitions on factory visits in preventing U.S. government officials from making the most informed decisions. He cites the reasons for banning factory visits, such as the expensive dinners and elaborate trips being spent on by some vendors. He says that not trusting decision makers means putting more trust in the vendors. He mentions the practices adopted by cities that allow their staff to perform due diligence while reducing temptations.

The article deals with the release of an annual report by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office Inspector General (IG) on the changes that the officials of agency should take into consideration to save money and increase efficiency.

Letters to the editor are presented in response to articles from previous issues including "Bad Advice Online," from the May 4, 2011 issue about engineers' use of social media; "Good Enough for Government Work," from the April 19, 2011 issue regarding the number of people employed by the U.S. government; and "Sustainable Design: What Can You Make with Old Glass?" from the May 4, 2011 issue.

The article reports on the nomination of the members of his science and technology team by U.S. President Barack Obama. Under the incoming administration, physicist John Holdren will serve as assistant to the President for science and technology and director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. He will be joined in the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) position by Harold Varmus and Eric Lander.

The article explains the widely attended gatherings (WAG) as an exception to the general ban on accepting or giving gifts or gratuities to or from federal officials in the U.S. Accordingly, WAG allows such employees to accept or give invitations to special events that include discussion or activity involving a group of attendees that advance official governmental duties. Although the U.S. Office of Government Ethics has provided guidance on WAG exception in 2007, ethics advisors of the U.S. Department of Defense still receives inquiries related to WAG.

The author reflects on the results of an online poll concerning the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama. The poll dealt with different issues including the top priorities for the U.S. Chief Technology Officer (CTO), and the repeal of the Patriot Act and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The author, emphasized the role of the CTO in the Obama administration.

The article presents news briefs concerning public officers in the U.S. as of July 7, 2008. Augustus W. Fountain III has been appointed as senior research scientist for chemistry at the Research & Technology Directorate of the Edgewood Chemical Biological Center. Mike Kluse has been named director of the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

The article reports on an investigation into activities by the U.S. Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR). The investigations revolve around allegations that senior office employees are earning hundreds of thousands of dollars for hundreds of hours of paid overtime, that office whistleblowers are being harassed and that the IG's claims of taxpayers' savings are overstated. Special IG Stewart W. Bowen Jr. declined specific comment on the allegations or probes.

The article focuses on the importance of e-mail security to U.S. local government officials. The author implies legal issues could arise from the ability of e-mail recipients to change the original message content and attachments. It is the author's view that local government computer security measures could not prevent anyone from altering e-mails. Registered e-mail services are being utilized with success to prevent these incidents.

The author comments on intelligence fusion centers. He points out that there are no congressional mandate for state and local agencies to establish fusion centers and that there are no guarantees on whether funding for the centers will last. He emphasizes that because these centers are voluntary, they vary in funding, staffing and location. He questions whether fusion centers would still be fusion centers if there are no federal personnel integrated.

Reports on the new Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) number of the National Organization for Women (NOW) Foundation in the U.S. as of June 2006. Ability of current and retired federal employees to make tax-deductible contributions to the NOW Foundation through the CFC workplace giving program; Change in the CFC number due to the participation of the NOW Foundation in the Women, Children, and Family Services Charities of America; Commitment of the NOW Foundation to reproductive justice and women's health and safety.

The article provides the perspective of the author on the issues concerning foreign IT workers in the U.S., particularly the H-1B visas. The Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers - U.S. opposed the bill proposed that would increase the limit of foreign workers in the U.S. into 115,000 from the previous 65,000. IEEE-U.S. has shown that its opposition to the bill does not necessarily imply that they want to deprive foreign workers of the opportunity to get technology jobs in the country, rather; its position is the preferable course to make it easier for foreign workers to gain permanent residency.

The article reports on the environmental policies made by several states in the United States. Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner, Gina McCarthy, believed that federal standards are not enough. Most state leaders have set their state standards towards environmental issues. Power plants' emission of carbon dioxide and mercury are restricted in seven democratic states while others support the use of renewable energy such as solar and wind energy as a method of reducing emission of greenhouse gases. Lawmakers have said that an energy bill that will help promote clean energy production has been passed.

The article reports that U.S. President George W. Bush has nominated Deborah Taylor Tate, director of the Tennessee Regulatory Authority, for a Republican seat on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Bush also nominated FCC Commissioner Michael Copps for a new five-year term in a Democratic seat at the agency. Industry insiders had expected the president's package of FCC nominees to include a nomination for Richard Russell, associate director of the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy.

The article presents the factors to be considered by local government to determine whether a wireless network will serve their needs in the U.S. Local governments in the country have found ways to improve wireless networks to increase employee productivity, enhance public safety and improve services. The type of traffic the network will carry will determine the network requirements and technology. It is also important to identify a vendor-neutral partner who will work with IT staff during the design, implementation, and initial operation of the network. Local governments should require a pilot project before the entire network is implemented.

Criticizes U.S. President George W. Bush and his officials for the long time it took for them to sign the transportation funding bill. Reaction to a woman who never rewards children for doing the things they were expected to do; Significance of the bill.

The article reports on issues regarding journalism in 1955. It states that outer space was added by aviation writers in the U.S. and Canada to their news reports on August 6. A ruling on whether writing a letter for newspaper publication was considered participation in a political campaign for federal employees was requested to the U.S. Civil Service Commission on August 20.

Focuses on the factors that should be considered by appointed U.S. chief marketing officer Karen Hughes to produce effective marketing efforts that can improve the image of U.S. brands. Prioritization of findings and creation of an action plan; Development of a value proposition; Approaches that can be taken to promote U.S. brands positively around the world.