Minutes from the Global Studies Faculty Seminar January 2014 meeting.

Offshore wind is a clean, renewable source of energy and can be an economic driver in the United States. To better understand the employment opportunities and other potential regional economic impacts from offshore wind development, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funded research that focuses on four regions of the country. The studies use multiple scenarios with various local job and domestic manufacturing content assumptions. Each regional study uses the new offshore wind Jobs and Economic Development Impacts (JEDI) model, developed by DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory. This fact sheet summarizes the potential economic impacts identified by the study for the Great Lakes region.

Offshore wind is a clean, renewable source of energy and can be an economic driver in the United States. To better understand the employment opportunities and other potential regional economic impacts from offshore wind development, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funded research that focuses on four regions of the country. The studies use multiple scenarios with various local job and domestic manufacturing content assumptions. Each regional study uses the new offshore wind Jobs and Economic Development Impacts (JEDI) model, developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. This fact sheet summarizes the potential economic impacts for the Gulf of Mexico region.

Offshore wind is a clean, renewable source of energy and can be an economic driver in the United States. To better understand the employment opportunities and other potential regional economic impacts from offshore wind development, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funded research that focuses on four regions of the country. The studies use multiple scenarios with various local job and domestic manufacturing content assumptions. Each regional study uses the new offshore wind Jobs and Economic Development Impacts (JEDI) model, developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. This fact sheet summarizes the potential economic impacts for the Mid-Atlantic region.

This document is intended to help individuals, businesses, and governments determine if they are a primary or a secondary operator under under the construction stormwater general permit.

"This document is intended to help individuals, businesses, and governments determined if they are a primary or a secondary operator under the construction stormwater general permit" (lines 1-2)

This survey provides counts of allegations and substantiated incidents of sexual violence in adult correctional facilities based in surveys from 2009-2011.

Manual provides information to aid Texas Court Judges presiding over criminal cases.

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether Government Code section 51.608, which requires that court costs imposed on a defendant in a criminal proceeding be the amount required on the date the defendant is convicted, violates federal and state constitutional prohibitions of ex post facto laws (RQ-1135-GA).

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Confidentiality of records in juvenile misdemeanor cases (RQ-1136-GA).

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether Texas Constitution article XVI, section 40 prohibits a constable from serving as a commissioner of an emergency services district (RQ-1137-GA).

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether councils of governments are "units of general local government" for purposes of the federal HOME Investment Partnership Program (RQ-1139-GA).

A page drafting plans for the Dallas Way.

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "We reported the number of 2008 tax returns by state for IRS's 2009 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) participants. OVPD offered incentives for taxpayers to disclose their offshore accounts and pay delinquent taxes, interest and penalties. Generally, the program offered somewhat reduced penalties and no risk of criminal prosecution, if eligible taxpayers fully disclosed their previously unreported offshore accounts, and paid taxes due plus interest. To safeguard taxpayer identifies, we suppressed the totals for any state with fewer than 10 OVDP participants."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Among the 9 states and 35 services examined, GAO found that all states varied Medicaid payments for at least some services. However, the states differed in the number of services for which they varied payments, in the factors that accounted for variation, and in the magnitude of the variation. Many of the states varied payment rates by at least one of the factors GAO was able to explore in detail: provider type, service setting, and/or patient age. Some states also varied their payment rates for other reasons, such as by geographic region or by physician specialty. GAO also found that most of the median Medicaid payment rates calculated from claims data generally confirmed payment rates published in studies of fee schedules conducted by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Urban Institute; however, some of the published fee schedule rates were rarely used in practice. Collectively, GAO's findings demonstrate that Medicaid fee-for-service claims data can be a useful source of information for analyzing provider payments. These data have the potential to provide a more complete representation of provider payment than do fee schedules, as claims data can capture …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal years 2007 through 2011, the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) spent at least half their compact sector funds in the education and health sectors. Because both countries spent significant amounts of compact funds on personnel in those sectors, the U.S.-FSM and U.S.-RMI joint management and accountability committees capped budgets for personnel in those sectors at fiscal year 2011 levels due to concerns about the sustainability of sector budgets as compact funding continues to decline through fiscal year 2023. As required by the committees, the FSM states completed plans to address annual decreases in compact funding; however, as of August 2013, the FSM National Government and the RMI had not submitted plans to address the annual decreases. Without such plans, the countries may not be able to sustain essential services in the education and health sectors."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO's review of open sources published between October 1, 2012, and November 7, 2013, identified four foreign firms that were reported to have engaged in commercial activity in Iran's energy sector during this time period, including one previously-unidentified firm--China Oilfield Services Limited. In addition, since the last report issued in December 2012, GAO moved four firms--INA, ONGC Videsh Ltd., Petronet LNG, and Sasol--to the "Withdrawn" category. For eight additional firms that GAO previously identified as reported to have engaged in commercial activity in Iran's energy sector, GAO found insufficient information to indicate that they had either continued or ceased such activity during the specified time period."

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Frank Smith. Smith was drafted into the Navy in August, 1943 and went to boot camp in New York. He then trained as a radio operator. He was sent to New Guinea and worked at a station at Hollandia where he received coded messages. Then he went to the Philippines for the invasion of Luzon where he worked aboard a communications vessel. When the war ended, Smith was back at Hollandia and was discharged in April, 1946.

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO found that from 2007 through 2009, the federal government's actions to stabilize the financial system provided significant funding support and other benefits to bank holding companies and their subsidiaries. The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve Board), the Department of the Treasury (Treasury), and FDIC introduced new programs with broad-based eligibility that provided funding support to eligible institutions, which included entities that were part of a bank holding company and others. Programs that provided the most significant support directly to bank holding companies or their subsidiaries included Treasury's capital investment programs, the Federal Reserve System's lending programs, and FDIC's guarantee programs. Some large institutions benefited from special assistance specific to their institution."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012, amended the Clean Air Act to transfer regulatory authority for air emissions on the outer continental shelf (OCS) off Alaska's north coast, including the Chukchi and Beaufort seas, from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to the Department of the Interior. Since the act was passed on December 23, 2011, there has been limited activity subject to air emission regulations or permitting on the OCS off Alaska's north coast, according to officials at the EPA and Interior. EPA officials stated that, before the act was passed, EPA had issued to Shell Gulf of Mexico Inc. and Shell Offshore, Inc., collectively, three air emission permits for drilling and other activities on the OCS off Alaska's north coast. Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is responsible for reviewing and approving plans for exploration, development, and production activities; this process includes projections of air emissions. According to a BOEM official, after the act passed, Shell conducted exploratory drilling on the OCS off Alaska's north coast in 2012, but it did so under its existing air emissions permits from EPA. Ancillary activities, such as surveys of the …

Notes accompanying a presentation for the Jazz Education Network Fifth Annual Conference. These notes and the presentation discuss how Gene Hall and Leon Breeden advanced the legitimacy of jazz in music education.

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "On October 11, 2013, DOD submitted to the congressional defense committees the OPIR Technology report. Upon reviewing the report, we determined that the OPIR report was comprehensive and appropriately identified its limitations. In particular, DOD, in consultation with the IC, provided a description of (1) the plan and budget for current and next generation OPIR systems and (2) OPIR technology requirements. The report elaborated on current cooperative efforts between the DOD and IC communities and identified potential future opportunities for further cooperation. Further details remain classified."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since GAO reported on this issue in December 2012, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has developed application guidance for airport operators applying to the Screening Partnership Program (SPP). In December 2012, GAO reported that TSA had not provided guidance to airport operators on its application and approval process, which had been revised to reflect requirements in the Federal Aviation Administration Modernization and Reform Act of 2012. Further, airport operators GAO interviewed at the time generally stated that they faced difficulties completing the revised application, such as how to obtain cost information. Therefore, GAO recommended that TSA develop application guidance, and TSA concurred. To address GAO's recommendation, TSA updated its SPP website in December 2012 by providing general application guidance and a description of the criteria and process the agency uses to assess airports' SPP applications. The guidance provides examples of information that airports could consider providing to TSA to help assess their suitability for the program and also outlines how the agency will analyze cost information. The new guidance addresses the intent of GAO's recommendation and should help improve transparency of the SPP application process as well as …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO's work at four VAMCs found that these VAMCs did not always follow VHA requirements for documenting open-market purchases of surgical implants. Specifically:"