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The article reports on the move of the U.S. government to put forth multifaceted plans as of November 2014 for creating safer student environments due to the problem of sexual violence on campus. Topics include the White House Task Force To Protect Students from Assault created by the U.S. government, the focus of sexual assault prevention practices on building supportive campus communities, and the initiative to spread awareness of preventive programmes aimed at teenagers.

The article discusses how the militant and jihadist groups have evolved into more decentralized configurations and operate more independently. Topics discussed include the increased attacks perpetrated by al Qaeda and its affiliates and the growth in the numbers of Salafi-jihadist groups and fighters especially in Syria and North Africa and the 4 separate groups that have perpetrated most of the al-Qaeda violence including the Islamic State, al-Shabaab in Somalia and Jabhat al-Nusrah.

The article focuses on the surging incidence of piracy in the areas like the Gulf of Guinea and The Singapore Strait. Topics discussed include the successful prosecution of maritime criminals by corruption in the West African country of Nigeria, reducing the risk of piracy by training ship crews in antipiracy procedures, and the signs in fighting Somali piracy.

The article focuses on the "Anti-Corruption Report," released by the European Commission (EC) which was released in February 2014. The report, which examines corruption in European Union (EU), suggests the need to improve anticorruption efforts in each country. Senior EU policy and legal officer Janina Berg notes that the report is a warning of persistent corruption in Europe. The report cites construction, pharmaceutical, and healthcare sectors to be the most vulnerable to corruption.

The article offers information on the security concerns associated with the mandate of the U.S. Congress to the government agency the Federation Aviation Administration (FAA), under the 2012 FAA Reauthorization Act, to incorporate unmanned aircraft into the country's airspace by September 2015. It mentions the skepticisms of many individuals on the ability of the FAA to comply with the legislative deadline and the ban imposed on the commercial use of drones.

The article discusses efforts of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to formulate new regulations required with the wider use of drones amid claims by some industry leaders that the effort is proceeding too slowly while others are concerned about security and safety issues. Topics discussed include the differing capabilities of unmanned aircraft, tests to be conducted at FAA approved sites starting 2014 and a UAS Roadmap released by FAA outlining the approach to the regulations.

The article discusses perspective of several Chief Security Officers (CSOs), Martin Barye-Garcia, Latin American security director for Mars Inc., and Clint Hilbert, global CSO of Betafence, on relationship building. They tell that executive allies can be made by being present in high-level strategy or finance meetings of the organization. Barye-Garcia also discusses the need to anicipate security needs by analyzing business strategy and overarching goals of he firm.

The article discusses the use of mobile applications to ensure the readiness, response and recovery of emergency procedures in high-rise buildings. Topics include views mobile application developer Irving Burton Associates' general manager Christopher Britton on implementation of the mobile solutions, ubiquity of smart phones and tablets allowing users to access emergency and security procedures using mobile applications and tops to increase the widespread use of mobile applications by users.

The article discusses the plan of the U.S. Navy that will integrate information technology (IT) into military campaigns. Robert Carey, chief information officer of the U.S. Navy, says the plan was born out of the time he spent in Iraq. It is different from the Navy's Information Management/IT Strategic Plan for fiscal 2008 and 2009, which ensures that the entire department is aligned from the secretary of the Navy down to the deck-plate sailor, adds Carey. He further opines that while the campaign plan is tactical, the strategic plan is visionary.

The article focuses on the use of an identity card called First Responder Authentication Credential (FRAC) during the Summer Breeze interoperability exercise, sponsored by the National Capital Response division of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Force Protection Agency of the U.S. Department of Defense. About 500 participants, including local rescue employees from the nearby Virginia jurisdictions of Alexandria and Arlington and Fairfax counties, tested the FRAC card to authenticate an emergency responder's credentials.

The article focuses on the debate over the fixing of General Schedule (GS) pay scale. Employee unions have urged the U.S. government to execute less drastic measures compared with the ones being considered to deal with the federal pay system. A hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee's Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of Columbia Subcommittee, held on July 31, 2007, reflected the differences in the opinions of the public officials and employee union leaders regarding the issue. David Cox, national secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of Government Employees said that the GS pay scale is founded on objective market data. INSET: NTEU URGES USE OF UNDERUSED PAY PERKS.

The article reports that the National Treasury Employees Union and the American Federation of Government Employees has criticized the efforts of U.S. President George W. Bush's administration to replace the civil service pay system with a new one modeled on private-sector pay. They believe that such efforts to implement the changes were dismal failures that would politicize federal pay. U.S. Office of Personnel Management Director Linda Springer defended the programs, stating that early attempts at introducing pay-for-performance systems have largely succeeded.

The article discusses the measures proposed by U.S. lawmakers to safeguard the independence of inspectors general (IG) of federal agencies. Representative Jim Cooper has introduced the Improving Government Accountability Act, which will give IGs greater protection when an agency executive wants to fire them. Senator Claire McCaskill, citing several incidents that have prompted questions about IGs' objectivity and accountability, claims she will introduce a similar legislation in the Senate. However, some government oversight experts have expressed doubts about Cooper's bill.

The article reports that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will push forward its personnel-management improvements. An assessment by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) criticized DHS for not moving fast in implementing its alternative personnel system. According to undersecretary of management Paul Schneider, DHS officials have chosen to focus on the performance-based management component first. He added that the program is an integral part in the department's strategy for a unified DHS. OPM recommends that DHS should create and dedicate resources to a program management office to ensure faster progress.

The article discusses the challenges faced by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security concerning federal oversight. Under pressure from the Congress, the federal agency is implementing a series of reform measures designed to enhance its responsiveness to federal oversight. The author states that one of the approaches applied by the department is the dependence of the annual performance reviews of its employees on their response to requests for information from oversight officials. It is also planning to improve guidance for employees on working with other public officials.

The article reports on the resistance of state governments in the U.S. to information technology (IT) consolidation. According to Virginia's chief information officer (CIO) Lem Stewart, consolidation projects can succeed if leaders use strategic tools such as legislative mandates requiring agencies to comply or face being in violation of state code. He adds that it is normal that state governments are experiencing difficulties in getting all the support of public employees for the consolidation effort.

The article discusses the performance of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) in terms of recruiting employees. According to Jesse Hoskins, comptroller general's special assistant for the projects, GAO made more than 400 entry-level hires. Seventy four percent of interns at GAO received job offers in 2006 and 62% percent of those interns accepted positions. It reveals that the recruiting program of GAO targets 46 universities in the U.S. Some of the data collected by the agency from schools include the number of applications submitted and the diversity of the applicant pool.

Reports on the protest of American barley producers against the subsidized shipments of European Union barley in the United States (US). Demand of the protesting farmers; Information on the shipment subsidy; Actions that the US Department of Agriculture may take against further subsidized shipments from Europe.

Reports on the collapse of Minneapolis, Minnesota-based Cargill Inc.'s wheat-for-zinc barter deal with North Korea due to serious infrastructure problems in the country. President and chief executive officer Ernie Micek's explanation behind the failed deal.