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Southwest Retort, Volume 56, Number 9, May/June 2004 (open access)

Southwest Retort, Volume 56, Number 9, May/June 2004

This publication of the Dallas-Fort Worth Section of the American Chemical Society includes information about research, prominent scientist, organizational business, and various other stories of interest to the community.
Date: June 2004
Creator: American Chemical Society. Dallas/Fort Worth Section.
Object Type: Journal/Magazine/Newsletter
System: The UNT Digital Library

The Modern Cowboy

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
“The American cowboy is a mythical character who refuses to die,” says author John R. Erickson. On the one hand he is a common man: a laborer, a hired hand who works for wages. Yet in his lonely struggle against nature and animal cunning, he becomes larger than life. Who is this cowboy? Where did he come from and where is he today? Erickson addresses these questions based on firsthand observation and experience in Texas and Oklahoma. And in the process of describing and defining the modern working cowboy—his work, his tools and equipment, his horse, his roping technique, his style of dress, his relationships with his wife and his employer—Erickson gives a thorough description of modern ranching, the economic milieu in which the cowboy operates. The first edition of this book was published in 1981. For this second edition Erickson has thoroughly revised and expanded the book to discuss recent developments in cowboy culture, making The Modern Cowboy the most up-to-date source on cowboy and ranch life today. “We meet the modern cowboy (his dress depends on weather, chores, and vanity) and follow him through the year: spring roundup, branding and ‘working’ the calves; spotting problem animals and cutting …
Date: June 15, 2004
Creator: Erickson, John R.
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library

A Texas Baptist History Sourcebook: a Companion to Mcbeth's Texas Baptists

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
From the days of Z. N. Morrell and James Huckins to Bill Pinson and Charles Wade, Baptists have played and continue to play an important role in the religious, secular, and political life of Texas. Over the previous one hundred and fifty years several Texas Baptist histories have been written, but not until now have the documents used in the development of these texts been made available in one resource. In A Texas Baptist History Sourcebook, Joseph E. Early, Jr., has provided the most complete collection of Texas Baptist sources ever issued in one volume. This work consists of church minutes, state and association convention records, denominational newspaper articles, records of Baptist universities, and myriads of other resources. Included in this work are George Washington Truett's sermon Baptists and Religious Liberty delivered on the steps of the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., James Milton Carroll's Trail of Blood, J. Frank Norriss railings against the Baptist General Convention of Texas, and countless other sources depicting the many years of Texas Baptist history. This book is designed as a complementary work to Harry Leon McBeth's Texas Baptists: A Sesquicentennial History. Students can follow McBeth's chapter divisions, headings, and subheadings for greater ease …
Date: June 15, 2004
Creator: Early, Joseph E., Jr
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library
Rebuilding Iraq: Resource, Security, Governance, Essential Services, and Oversight Issues (open access)

Rebuilding Iraq: Resource, Security, Governance, Essential Services, and Oversight Issues

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Rebuilding Iraq is a U.S. national security and foreign policy priority. According to the President, the United States intends to help Iraq achieve democracy and freedom and has a vital national interest in the success of free institutions in Iraq. As of April 30, 2004, billions of dollars in grants, loans, assets, and revenues from various sources have been made available or pledged to the reconstruction of Iraq. The United States, along with its coalition partners and various international organizations and donors, has embarked on a significant effort to rebuild Iraq following multiple wars and decades of neglect by the former regime. The Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), established in May 2003, was the U.N.-recognized coalition authority led by the United States and the United Kingdom that was responsible for the temporary governance of Iraq. Specifically, the CPA wasresponsible for overseeing, directing, and coordinating the reconstruction effort. On June 28, 2004, the CPA transferred power to a sovereign Iraqi interim government, and the CPA officially dissolved. To pave the way for this transfer, the CPA helped the Iraq Governing Council develop the Law of Administration for the State of …
Date: June 28, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Posthearing Questions Related to Agencies' Implementation of the Chief Human Capital Officers (CHCO) Act (open access)

Posthearing Questions Related to Agencies' Implementation of the Chief Human Capital Officers (CHCO) Act

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This letter responds to the request by the Chairwoman, Subcommittee on Civil Service and Agency Organization, House Committee on Government Reform that GAO provide answers to follow-up questions from recent hearing entitled "First Year on the Job: Chief Human Capital Officers.""
Date: June 18, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Military Training: DOD Report on Training Ranges Does Not Fully Address Congressional Reporting Requirements (open access)

Military Training: DOD Report on Training Ranges Does Not Fully Address Congressional Reporting Requirements

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Section 366 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2003 required the Secretary of Defense to develop a report outlining a comprehensive plan to address training constraints caused by limitations on the use of military lands, marine areas, and air space that are available in the United States and overseas for training. The foundation for that plan is an inventory identifying training resources, capacities and capabilities, and limitations. In response to section 366, this report discusses the extent to which (1) the Office of the Secretary of Defense's (OSD) training range inventory is sufficient for developing the comprehensive training range plan and (2) OSD's 2004 training range report meets other requirements mandated by section 366."
Date: June 4, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Student Mentoring Programs: Education's Monitoring and Information Sharing Could Be Improved (open access)

Student Mentoring Programs: Education's Monitoring and Information Sharing Could Be Improved

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "As part of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA) of 2001, the Congress authorized a 3-year, $17 million per year school-based mentoring grant program. For fiscal year 2004, Congress has increased funding to about $50 million to fund additional mentoring efforts. Congress requested that GAO provide information on the student mentoring program. To do this, GAO answered the following questions: (1) What are the basic elements, policies, and procedures of successful mentoring programs? (2) What are the key characteristics of NCLBA-funded mentoring efforts, including the extent to which they have the basic elements, policies, and procedures of successful mentoring programs? (3) How does the Department of Education monitor program implementation? (4) What are Education's and grantees' plans to assess program outcomes?"
Date: June 25, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Homeland Security: Communication Protocols and Risk Communication Principles Can Assist in Refining the Advisory System (open access)

Homeland Security: Communication Protocols and Risk Communication Principles Can Assist in Refining the Advisory System

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Established in March 2002, the Homeland Security Advisory System was designed to disseminate information on the risk of terrorist acts to federal agencies, states, localities, and the public. However, these entities have raised questions about the threat information they receive from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the costs they incurred as a result of responding to heightened alerts. This report examines (1) the decision making process for changing the advisory system national threat level; (2) information sharing with federal agencies, states, and localities, including the applicability of risk communication principles; (3) protective measures federal agencies, states, and localities implemented during high (codeorange) alert periods; (4) costs federal agencies reported for those periods; and (5) state and local cost information collected by DHS."
Date: June 25, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Geospatial Information: Better Coordination Needed to Identify and Reduce Duplicative Investments (open access)

Geospatial Information: Better Coordination Needed to Identify and Reduce Duplicative Investments

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "From homeland security to tracking outbreaks of disease, to investigating the space shuttle disaster to responding to natural disasters, the collection, maintenance, and use of location-based (geospatial) information has become critical to many federal agencies' abilities to achieve their goals. Local governments and the private sector also rely on such data to support essential functions. GAO was asked to determine the extent to which the federal government is coordinating the sharing of geospatial assets, including through oversight measures in place at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), in order to identify and reduce redundancies in geospatial data and systems."
Date: June 23, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Nuclear Nonproliferation: DOE's Effort to Close Russia's Plutonium Production Reactors Faces Challenges, and Final Shutdown Is Uncertain (open access)

Nuclear Nonproliferation: DOE's Effort to Close Russia's Plutonium Production Reactors Faces Challenges, and Final Shutdown Is Uncertain

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Russia's continued operation of three plutonium production reactors poses a serious proliferation threat. The Department of Energy's (DOE) Elimination of Weapons-Grade Plutonium Production program seeks to facilitate the reactors' closure by building or refurbishing replacement fossil fuel plants. This report (1) describes DOE's efforts to manage and implement the program, (2) assesses the challenges DOE faces in achieving its goal of shutting down the reactors, and (3) identifies DOE's current expenditures and projected program costs."
Date: June 4, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Private Health Insurance: Coverage of Key Colorectal Cancer Screening Tests is Common but Not Universal (open access)

Private Health Insurance: Coverage of Key Colorectal Cancer Screening Tests is Common but Not Universal

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. Its mortality can be reduced through early detection and treatment. Four key tests are used to detect the cancer--fecal occult blood test (FOBT), flexible sigmoidoscopy, double-contrast barium enema (DCBE), and colonoscopy. Private health insurance plans generally cover these tests to diagnose cancer; however, the extent to which plans cover the tests for screening purposes--where no symptoms are evident--is less clear. Congress is considering legislation that would require coverage of the tests for screening purposes among all private health insurance plans. GAO was asked to (1) identify the state laws that require private health insurance coverage of these screening tests; and (2) determine the extent to which the tests are covered among small employer, individual, large employer, and federal employee health plans. GAO summarized state laws that require coverage of the tests. GAO examined test coverage among a sample of the largest 19 small employer and 14 individual plans in 10 states without laws requiring the coverage, and among 35 large employer plans nationally. The findings cannot be generalized beyond these plans. GAO …
Date: June 17, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Defense Space Activities: Continuation of Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Program's Progress to Date Subject to Some Uncertainty (open access)

Defense Space Activities: Continuation of Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Program's Progress to Date Subject to Some Uncertainty

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. space policy states that access to and use of space is critical to preserving peace and protecting U.S. national security and also benefits the country's civil and commercial interests. Air Force guidance explains further that access to space requires the ability to launch critical space assets, when needed, by a mix of space launch systems from standard launch pads at major support facilities. This is to ensure that a launch failure or other catastrophic event does not prevent mission success. These critical space assets, or satellites, are used for a wide range of government activities such as communications, navigation, and ballistic missile warning. The Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program, consisting of both Atlas V and Delta IV launch vehicles, was established as the strategic launch system to meet the nation's critical space mission needs and correspond with U.S. policy that requires U.S. government satellites to be launched on U.S. manufactured launch vehicles. Specifically, the EELV program's overarching objective called for the development of a national expendable launch capability for assured access to space that would reduce the overall recurring cost of launch by at least …
Date: June 24, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Rebuilding Iraq: Fiscal Year 2003 Contract Award Procedures and Management Challenges (open access)

Rebuilding Iraq: Fiscal Year 2003 Contract Award Procedures and Management Challenges

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Congress has appropriated more than $20 billion since April 2003 to support rebuilding efforts in Iraq. This complex undertaking, which is occurring in an unstable security environment and under significant time constraints, is being carried out largely through contracts with private-sector companies. As of September 2003, agencies had obligated nearly $3.7 billion on 100 contracts or task orders under existing contracts. Given widespread congressional interest in ensuring that reconstruction contracts are awarded properly and administered effectively, GAO reviewed 25 contract actions that represented about 97 percent of the obligated funds. GAO determined whether agencies had complied with competition requirements in awarding new contracts and issuing task orders and evaluated agencies' initial efforts in carrying out contract administration tasks."
Date: June 1, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Independent Standard-Setting Process for Establishing Accounting Standards for Private-Sector Entities (open access)

Independent Standard-Setting Process for Establishing Accounting Standards for Private-Sector Entities

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "On March 31, 2004, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued an exposure document on a proposed Statement, Share-Based Payment, an Amendment of FASB Statements No. 123 and 95, which addresses the accounting for compensation to employees in the form of equity shares, including stock options. GAO recognizes that this is a complex and controversial issue on which reasonable people can and do disagree. In light of the above, there has been a renewed interest for the Congress to legislate accounting rules for stock options. Notwithstanding our and others' views on the merits of various accounting methods for stock options, GAO believes that the principle of independence, both in fact and in appearance, is essential to the credibility of and confidence in any authoritative standard-setting processes. With respect to the role of FASB in this and other areas, we support its efforts, as the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) designated independent private-sector standard-setting body, to identify issues for consideration, prepare exposure documents, conduct outreach efforts and solicit comments on exposure documents, and consider the resulting comments in finalizing and issuing new accounting standards. This time-tested and proven deliberative …
Date: June 28, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Vendor Payments: Inadequate Management Oversight Hampers the Navy's Ability to Effectively Manage Its Telecommunication Program (open access)

Vendor Payments: Inadequate Management Oversight Hampers the Navy's Ability to Effectively Manage Its Telecommunication Program

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Problems with management oversight and control of DOD's purchase card program led to concerns that similar issues exist for DOD's vendor payments. As a result, this report focuses on the Navy's telecommunication program and whether (1) the Navy has the basic cost and inventory information needed to oversee and manage these purchases and (2) selected Navy sites have adequate control to provide reasonable assurance that goods and services are purchased cost effectively and payments are made only for valid charges."
Date: June 14, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Nuclear Waste: Absence of Key Management Reforms on Hanford's Cleanup Project Adds to Challenges of Achieving Cost and Schedule Goals (open access)

Nuclear Waste: Absence of Key Management Reforms on Hanford's Cleanup Project Adds to Challenges of Achieving Cost and Schedule Goals

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Energy's (DOE) Hanford Site in Washington State houses DOE's largest and most complex nuclear cleanup project--treating and preparing for disposal 55 million gallons of high-level radioactive waste. In 2000, DOE awarded an 11-year, $4.3 billion contract to design, construct, and test treatment facilities at Hanford. GAO was asked to review (1) efforts to accelerate the project's completion, (2) implementation on this project of agencywide management reforms, and (3) the challenges resulting from any unimplemented reforms."
Date: June 9, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Information Technology: Training Can Be Enhanced by Greater Use of Leading Practices (open access)

Information Technology: Training Can Be Enhanced by Greater Use of Leading Practices

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Effective training of information technology (IT) staff, as called for in the E-Government (E-Gov) Act of 2002, is essential to developing and retaining a qualified workforce. In an earlier report (GAO-03-390), we identified 22 leading practices, grouped into 5 key training management processes, used by private-sector companies to implement effective IT training. These practices suggest approaches that government agencies could consider. To assess IT training in the federal government, including its use of leading practices, we were asked to determine, among other things, to what extent federal agencies use our leading practices, the major obstacles in providing effective IT training and how agencies address them, and the progress the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is making in issuing policies and performing evaluations to encourage agencies to provide effective IT training."
Date: June 24, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Geospatial Information: Better Coordination and Oversight Could Help Reduce Duplicative Investments (open access)

Geospatial Information: Better Coordination and Oversight Could Help Reduce Duplicative Investments

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The collection, maintenance, and use of location-based (geospatial) information are essential to federal agencies carrying out their missions. Geographic information systems (GIS) are critical elements used in the areas of homeland security, healthcare, natural resources conservation, and countless other applications. GAO was asked to review the extent to which the federal government is coordinating the efficient sharing of geospatial assets, including through Office of Management and Budget (OMB) oversight. GAO's report on this matter, Geospatial Information: Better Coordination Needed to Identify and Reduce Duplicative Investments (GAO-04-703), is being released today. GAO's testimony focuses on the extent to which the federal government is coordinating the sharing of geospatial assets, including through oversight measures in place at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), in order to identify and reduce redundancies in geospatial data and systems."
Date: June 23, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Anti-Money Laundering: Issues Concerning Depository Institution Regulatory Oversight (open access)

Anti-Money Laundering: Issues Concerning Depository Institution Regulatory Oversight

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. government's framework for preventing, detecting, and prosecuting money laundering has been expanding through additional pieces of legislation since its inception in 1970 with the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). The purpose of the BSA is to prevent financial institutions from being used as intermediaries for the transfer or deposit of money derived from criminal activity and to provide a paper trail for law enforcement agencies in their investigations of possible money laundering. The most recent changes arose in October 2001 with the passage of the USA PATRIOT Act, which, among other things, extends antimoney laundering (AML) requirements to other financial service providers previously not covered under the BSA. GAO was asked to testify on its previous work and the ongoing work it is doing for the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs on the depository institution regulators' BSA examination and enforcement process."
Date: June 3, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Substance Abuse And Mental Health Services Administration: Planning for Program Changes and Future Workforce Needs Is Incomplete (open access)

Substance Abuse And Mental Health Services Administration: Planning for Program Changes and Future Workforce Needs Is Incomplete

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is the lead federal agency responsible for improving the quality and availability of prevention and treatment services for substance abuse and mental illness. The upcoming reauthorization review of SAMHSA will enable the Congress to examine the agency's management of its grant programs and plans for converting its block grants to performance partnership grants, which will hold states more accountable for results. GAO was asked to provide the Congress with information about SAMHSA's (1) strategic planning efforts, (2) efforts to manage its workforce, and (3) partnerships with state and community-based grantees."
Date: June 4, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
DOD Civilian Personnel: Comprehensive Strategic Workforce Plans Needed (open access)

DOD Civilian Personnel: Comprehensive Strategic Workforce Plans Needed

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "During its downsizing in the early 1990s, the Department of Defense (DOD) did not focus on strategically reshaping its civilian workforce. GAO was asked to address DOD's efforts to strategically plan for its future civilian workforce at the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), the military services' headquarters, and the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). Specifically, GAO determined: (1) the extent to which civilian strategic workforce plans have been developed and implemented to address future civilian workforce requirements, and (2) the major challenges affecting the development and implementation of these plans."
Date: June 30, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
DOD Travel Cards: Control Weaknesses Resulted in Millions of Dollars of Improper Payments (open access)

DOD Travel Cards: Control Weaknesses Resulted in Millions of Dollars of Improper Payments

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Ineffective management and oversight of the Department of Defense's (DOD) premium class travel and unused airline tickets led to concerns about DOD's overall management of the centrally billed accounts. GAO was asked to determine whether (1) DOD improperly reimbursed travelers for airline tickets DOD paid for using centrally billed accounts, (2) internal controls were effective in preventing issuance of unauthorized airline tickets, and (3) other control weaknesses led to compromised and fraudulently used centrally billed accounts."
Date: June 9, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Homeland Security: Coordinated Planning and Standards Needed to Better Manage First Responder Grants in the National Capital Region (open access)

Homeland Security: Coordinated Planning and Standards Needed to Better Manage First Responder Grants in the National Capital Region

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since the tragic events of September 11, 2001, the National Capital Region (NCR), comprising jurisdictions including the District of Columbia and surrounding jurisdictions in Maryland and Virginia, has been recognized as a significant potential target for terrorism. GAO was asked to report on (1) what federal funds have been allocated to NCR jurisdictions for emergency preparedness; (2) what challenges exist within NCR to organizing and implementing efficient and effective regional preparedness programs; (3) what gaps, if any, remain in the emergency preparedness of NCR; and (4) what has been the role of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in NCR to date."
Date: June 24, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
United Nations: Observations on the Oil for Food Program and Iraq's Food Security (open access)

United Nations: Observations on the Oil for Food Program and Iraq's Food Security

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Oil for Food program was established by the United Nations and Iraq in 1996 to address concerns about the humanitarian situation after international sanctions were imposed in 1990. The program allowed the Iraqi government to use the proceeds of its oil sales to pay for food, medicine, and infrastructure maintenance. The program appears to have helped the Iraqi people. From 1996 through 2001, the average daily food intake increased from 1,300 to 2,300 calories. From 1997-2002, Iraq sold more than $67 billion of oil through the program and issued $38 billion in letters of credit to purchase commodities. However, over the years numerous allegations have surfaced concerning potential fraud and program mismanagement. GAO (1) reports on its estimates of the illegal revenue acquired by the former Iraqi regime in violation of U.N. sanctions, (2) provides observations on program administration; and (3) describes the current and future challenges in achieving food security."
Date: June 16, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library