A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Delays in processing of equal employment opportunity (EEO) complaints have been a long-standing concern. In 2000, as part of the Department of Defense's (DOD) fiscal year 2001 authorization act, Congress authorized DOD to carry out a 3-year pilot program for improving processes to resolve complaints by civilian DOD employees by testing procedures that would reduce EEO complaint processing times and eliminate redundancy, among other things. The act requires two reports from GAO--90 days after the first and last fiscal years of the pilot program's operation. In December 2005 and January 2006, we provided briefings on our initial review of the pilot program. This report (1) describes key features and status of the three programs and (2) assesses DOD's plan for evaluating the effectiveness of the pilot program."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Both Congress and the President have indicated that access to broadband for all Americans is critically important. Broadband is seen as a critical economic engine, a vehicle for enhanced learning and medicine, and a central component of 21st century news and entertainment. As part of our response to a mandate included in the Internet Tax Nondiscrimination Act of 2004, this report examines the factors that affect the deployment and the adoption of broadband services. In particular, this report provides information on (1) the current status of broadband deployment and adoption; (2) the factors that influence the deployment of broadband networks; (3) the factors that influence the adoption, or purchase, of broadband service by households; and (4) the options that have been suggested to spur greater broadband deployment and adoption."

Borehole seismology is the highest resolution geophysical imaging technique available today to the oil and gas industry for characterization and monitoring of oil and gas reservoirs. However, the industry's ability to economically do high resolution 3D imaging of deep and complex gas reservoirs using borehole seismology is currently hampered by the lack of the acquisition technology necessary to record the large volumes of the high frequency, high signal-to-noise-ratio borehole seismic data needed to do 3D imaging. This project takes direct aim at this shortcoming by developing a 400 level 3C clamped downhole seismic receiver array, and accompanying software, for borehole seismic 3D imaging. This large borehole seismic array will remove the technical acquisition barrier for recording the necessary volumes of data to do high resolution 3D VSP or 3D cross well seismic imaging. Massive 3D VSP{reg_sign} and long range Cross-Well Seismology (CWS) are two of the borehole seismic techniques that will allow the Gas industry to take the next step in their quest for higher resolution images of the gas reservoirs for the purpose of improving the recovery of the natural gas resources. Today only a fraction of the original Oil or Gas in place is produced when reservoirs are …

This report begins with an inventory of basic information: definitions and guides to histories of the growth of open access publishing and citation archives and descriptions of selected major open access activities. It moves on to summarize major points of difference between proponents and opponents of nongovernmental open access publishing and databases, and then highlights federal, including National Institutes of Health (NIH), open access activities and contentious issues surrounding these developments. The report also briefly describes open access developments in the United Kingdom (where a number of governmental and nongovernmental initiatives have occurred) and in the international arena. Finally, controversial issues which could receive attention in the 109th Congress are summarized.

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We present a mechanism for catalyzed vacuum bubble production obtained by combining moduli stabilization with a generalized attractor phenomenon in which moduli are sourced by compact objects. This leads straightforwardly to a class of examples in which the Hawking decay process for black holes unveils a bubble of a different vacuum from the ambient one, generalizing the new endpoint for Hawking evaporation discovered recently by Horowitz. Catalyzed vacuum bubble production can occur for both charged and uncharged bodies, including Schwarzschild black holes for which massive particles produced in the Hawking process can trigger vacuum decay. We briefly discuss applications of this process to the population and stability of metastable vacua.

The authors perform an analysis of the three-body charmless decay B{sup {+-}} {yields} K{sup {+-}}K{sup {+-}}K{sup {-+}} using a sample of 226.0 {+-} 2.5 million B{bar B} pairs collected by the BABAR detector and measure the total branching fraction and Cp asymmetry to be {beta} = (35.2 {+-} 0.9 {+-} 1.6) x 10{sup -6} and A{sub CP} = (-1.7 {+-} 2.6 {+-} 1.5)%. They fit the Dalitz plot distribution using an isobar model and report the measured values of magnitudes and phases of the production coefficients. The decay dynamics is dominated by the K{sup +}K{sup -} S-wave, for which we perform a partial-wave analysis in the region m(K{sup +}K{sup -}) < 2 GeV/c{sup 2}. They find no evidence of CP violation for individual components of the isobar model.

The authors describe searches for decays of B mesons to the charmless final states {eta}'{eta}'K. The data consist of 228 million B{bar B} pairs produced in e{sup +}e{sup -} annihilation, collected with the BABAR detector at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. The 90% confidence level upper limits for the branching fractions are {Beta}(B{sup 0} {yields} {eta}'{eta}'K{sup 0}) < 31 x 10{sup -6} and {Beta}(B{sup +} {yields} {eta}'{eta}'K{sup +}) < 25 x 10{sup -6}.

We perform a general study of primordial scalar non-Gaussianities in single field inflationary models. We consider models where the inflaton Lagrangian is an arbitrary function of the scalar field and its first derivative, and the sound speed is arbitrary. We find that under reasonable assumptions, the non-Gaussianity is completely determined by 5 parameters. In special limits of the parameter space, one finds distinctive ''shapes'' of the non-Gaussianity. In models with a small sound speed, several of these shapes would become potentially observable in the near future. Different limits of our formulae recover various previously known results.

This report contains a summary of Argentina's sovereign debt and the resolving of its sovereign defaults.

Digital television (DTV) is a new television service representing the most significant development in television technology since the advent of color television in the 1950s. DTV can provide sharper pictures, a wider screen, CD-quality sound, better color rendition, and other new services currently being developed. This report discusses a key issue in the Congressional debate over the digital transition has been addressing the millions of American over-the-air households whose existing analog televisions will require converter boxes in order to receive digital signals when the analog signal is turned off.

This report provides an overview of current local, state, and federal policies and programs that support school choice and identifies and summarizes recent federal school choice legislation.

This report discusses the federal and state laws that could be applicable to information brokers and legislation that has been introduced in the 109th Congress to address consumer concerns about the practice of information gathering and identify theft resulting from security breaches.

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The overall purpose of this project is to evaluate the biological and economic feasibility of restoring high-quality forests on mined land, and to measure carbon sequestration and wood production benefits that would be achieved from forest restoration procedures. In this quarterly report we present data that show the spatial distribution of carbon in mine soils. Soil carbon data from deep soil pits from grassland minelands located in Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia were analyzed to determine the vertical distribution and variability of soil organic carbon (SOC) down to a 2-m depth. Regression analyses were used to describe and model the distribution by soil depth of C(wt%), BD{sub fines}(g cm{sup -3}), and fines (vol%) in mine soils. The volume of excavated mine soil samples was transformed in terms of costs of digging and sampling, including sample collection and preparation, and C(wt%) analysis, in order to determine the maximum cost-effective depth (MCD) for carbon inventorying on the mined sites analyzed. Based on the horizontal variation of SOC(g m{sup -2}), we determined the sampling intensity required to achieve a desired accuracy of the amount of sequestered SOC(g m{sup -2}) at certain probability levels. The MCD and sampling intensity measurements were used to determine …

This thesis describes a Dalitz plot analysis of B{sup 0} {yields} K{sup +}{pi}{sup -}{pi}{sup 0} decays. The data sample comprises 213 million {Upsilon}(4S) {yields} B{bar B} decays collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy B Factory at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center in California (SLAC). Preliminary results are presented for measurements of the inclusive branching fraction, quasi-two-body fractions and CP-violating charge asymmetries for intermediate states including K*(892){sup +}{pi}{sup -} and {rho}(770){sup -}K{sup +}. Observations of B{sup 0} decays to the K{pi} S-wave intermediate states, K*{sub 0}(1430){sup +}{pi}{sup -} and K*{sub 0}(1430){sup 0}{pi}{sup 0}, are reported. Evidence of the decay B{sup 0} {yields} K*(892){sup 0}{pi}{sup 0} is seen. We set upper limits at 90% confidence level on branching fractions of the nonresonant and other less significant intermediate states.

The demand for increased efficiency of gas turbines used in power generation and aircraft applications has fueled research into advanced materials for gas turbine blades that can withstand higher temperatures in that they have excellent resistance to creep. The term ''Superalloys'' describes a group of alloys developed for applications that require high performance at elevated temperatures. Superalloys have a load bearing capacity up to 0.9 times their melting temperature. The objective of the investigation was to develop a thermodynamic model that can be used to describe the response of single crystal superalloys that takes into account the microstructure of the alloy within the context of a continuum model. Having developed the model, its efficacy was to be tested by corroborating the predictions of the model with available experimental data. Such a model was developed and it is implemented in the finite element software ABAQUS/STANDARD through a user subroutine (UMAT) so that the model can be used in realistic geometries that correspond to turbine blades.

Large-scale assistance programs are being undertaken by the United States following the war with Iraq. To fund such programs, in April 2003, Congress approved a $2.48 billion Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund (IRRF) in the FY2003 Supplemental Appropriation. In November 2003, the FY2004 Supplemental Appropriation provided an additional $18.4 billion for the IRRF. Many reconstruction efforts on the ground are underway, but security concerns have slowed progress considerably. Of the nearly $29 billion in appropriated funds from all accounts directed at reconstruction purposes, close to 40% is targeted at infrastructure projects -- roads, sanitation, electric power, oil production, etc. About 38% is used to train and equip Iraqi security forces. A range of programs -- accounting for roughly 22% of appropriations -- are in place to offer expert advice to the Iraqi government, establish business centers, rehabilitate schools and health clinics, provide school book and vaccinations, etc.

The House passed its version of the FY2007 defense authorization bill, H.R. 5122, on May 11. The bill authorizes $513 billion for national defense, including $50 billion in emergency funding for operations in Iraq and elsewhere in the first months of the fiscal year. The Senate Armed Services Committee marked up its version of the bill, S. 2766, on May 4. It also authorizes $513 billion, including emergency funding. Senate floor action appears likely in June. House subcommittee markup of the defense appropriations bill is tentatively scheduled for June 7.

Sub-Saharan Africa has been far more severely affected by AIDS than any other part of the world. The United Nations reports that 25.8 million adults and children are infected with the HIV virus in the region, which has about 11.3% of the world's population but more than 64% of the worldwide total of infected people. This report discusses this issue in detail, including the cause of the African AIDS epidemic, the social and economic consequences, response and treatment, and U.S. policy.

As noted by the Population Reference Bureau, “The U.S. is getting bigger, older, and more diverse.” The objective of this report is to highlight some of the demographic changes that have already occurred since 1950 and to illustrate how these and future trends will reshape the nation in the decades to come (through 2050). This report discusses the current and projected demographic changes if policymakers accelerate efforts to address and adapt to the changing population profile as it relates to a number of essential domains, such as work, retirement, and pensions, private wealth and income security, and the health and well-being of the aging population.

This report describes recent developments in Liberia, a small, poor West African country that is undergoing a post-conflict transition and peace-building process after its second civil war in a decade.

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