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Best Practices: Setting Requirements Differently Could Reduce Weapon Systems' Total Ownership Costs (open access)

Best Practices: Setting Requirements Differently Could Reduce Weapon Systems' Total Ownership Costs

A chapter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "For fiscal year 2003, the Department of Defense (DOD) asked for about $185 billion to develop, procure, operate, and maintain its weapon systems. This request represents an increase of 18 percent since 2001 for the total ownership costs of DOD weapon systems. Often, DOD systems need expensive spare parts and support systems after they are fielded to meet required readiness levels. DOD has been increasingly concerned that the high cost of maintaining systems has limited its ability to modernize and invest in new weapons. This report examines the best practices of leading commercial firms to manage a product's total ownership costs and determines if those practices can be applied to DOD."
Date: February 11, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Securities Investor Protection: Update on Matters Related to the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (open access)

Securities Investor Protection: Update on Matters Related to the Securities Investor Protection Corporation

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "As result of ongoing concerns about the adequacy of disclosures provided to investors about the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) and investors' responsibilities to protect their investments, GAO issued a report in 2001 entitled Securities Investor Protection: Steps Needed to Better Disclose SIPC Policies to Investors (GAO-01-653). GAO was asked to determine the status of recommendations made to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and SIPC in that report. GAO was also asked to review a number of issues involving excess SIPC insurance, private insurance securities firms purchase to cover accounts that are in excess of SIPC's statutory limits."
Date: July 11, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Transmittal of Comptroller General Decision on the Transportation Security Administration's Time and Attendance Approval System (open access)

Transmittal of Comptroller General Decision on the Transportation Security Administration's Time and Attendance Approval System

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This letter is to highlight internal control advice we offered in our December 2002 decision to four certifying officers of the Department of Transportation (DOT). Their July 24, 2002 letter had requested a Comptroller General decision related to certifying payroll payments. Pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 3529, the four certifying officers asked us whether the method of approving an employee's time and attendance (T&A) information in the T&A system, to which the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is transitioning, meets the requirements of Title 6 of GAO's Policy and Procedures Manual for Guidance of Federal Agencies."
Date: March 11, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Follow-up Report on Matters Relating to Securities Arbitration (open access)

Follow-up Report on Matters Relating to Securities Arbitration

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Our June 2000 report Securities Arbitration: Actions Needed to Address Problem of Unpaid Awards revealed that, although investors had won a majority of awards against brokers, a high proportion of those awards had not been paid. Nearly all of the unpaid awards involved cases decided in the National Association of Securities Dealer's (NASD) arbitration program and most involved brokers that had left the securities industry. A year later we reported on limited data suggesting that the rate of unpaid awards had declined. However, we noted that given the short time period that the data covered, regulators needed to continue monitoring the payment of the awards to determine whether additional steps need to be taken. Arbitration attorneys and claimants have also expressed concern about the timeliness of NASD's updating of arbitrator disclosure information, which can be used by the parties in arbitration to judge the competence and objectivity of arbitrators, and with NASD's ability to remove arbitrators from cases if conflicts arise. In addition, arbitration attorneys also expressed concern about the use of motions to dismiss and motions for summary judgment to terminate NASD-administered arbitration cases. This report responds …
Date: April 11, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Ocean and Coastal Activities: Information on Federal Funding (open access)

Ocean and Coastal Activities: Information on Federal Funding

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Oceans Act of 2000 established the Commission on Ocean Policy (Commission) to make recommendations for a coordinated and comprehensive national ocean policy. The Commission is required to prepare and submit to the Congress and the President a final report of its findings and recommendations, which is scheduled for September 2003. The Oceans Act also requires the President to biennially submit a report to the Congress listing all federal programs related to ocean and coastal activities, including current and future funding levels for each program identified, which the Commission can use in its work."
Date: August 11, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Challenges and Risks Associated with the Joint Tactical Radio System Program (open access)

Challenges and Risks Associated with the Joint Tactical Radio System Program

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The recent emergence of software-defined radio technology offers the potential to address key communications shortfalls and significantly improve military capabilities. The Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) program was initiated in 1997 to develop and apply this technology and to bring together separate service-led programs into a joint software-defined radio development effort. JTRS radios are intended to interoperate with existing radio systems and provide the war fighter with additional communications capability to access maps and other visual data, communicate via voice and video with other units and levels of command, and obtain information directly from battlefield sensors. As such, the JTRS program is considered a major transformational effort for the military and is expected to enable information superiority, network-centric warfare as well as modernization efforts, such as the Army's Future Combat Systems. Although total program costs have yet to be determined, the Army's effort to acquire and field close to half of the estimated 250,000 JTRS radios that are needed is expected to cost $14.4 billion. Congress asked us to review the JTRS program to determine if there are either management or technical challenges and risks that could jeopardize …
Date: August 11, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
HUD Purchase Cards: Poor Internal Controls Resulted in Improper and Questionable Purchases (open access)

HUD Purchase Cards: Poor Internal Controls Resulted in Improper and Questionable Purchases

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Due to the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) increasing use of purchase cards and the inherent risk associated with their use, Congress asked GAO to audit the purchase card program concentrating on assessing internal controls and determining whether purchases being made are a valid use of government funds."
Date: April 11, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Forest Service Purchase Cards: Internal Control Weaknesses Resulted in Instances of Improper, Wasteful, and Questionable Purchases (open access)

Forest Service Purchase Cards: Internal Control Weaknesses Resulted in Instances of Improper, Wasteful, and Questionable Purchases

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since 1999, GAO has designated Forest Service's financial management as a high-risk area because of internal control and accounting weaknesses that have been identified by the Inspector General and GAO. Given these known risks and the hundreds of millions of dollars in credit card purchases made by the agency each year, GAO was asked to review the Forest Service's fiscal year 2001 purchase card transactions to determine whether (1) existing internal controls were designed to provide reasonable assurance that improper purchases would be prevented or detected, (2) purchases were made in accordance with established policies and procedures, and (3) purchases were made for a reasonable cost and reflected a legitimate government need."
Date: August 11, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Veterans Benefits Administration: Better Staff Attrition Data and Analysis Needed (open access)

Veterans Benefits Administration: Better Staff Attrition Data and Analysis Needed

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "By the year 2006, the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) projects it will lose a significant portion of its mission-critical workforce to retirement. Since fiscal year 1998, VBA has hired over 2,000 new employees to begin to fill this expected gap. GAO was asked to review, with particular attention for new employees, (1) the attrition rate at VBA and the soundness of its methods for calculating attrition and (2) whether VBA has adequate data to effectively analyze the reasons for attrition. To answer these questions, we obtained and analyzed attrition data from VBA's Office of Human Resources, calculated attrition rates for VBA and other federal agencies using a government-wide database on federal employment, and interviewed VBA officials about their efforts to measure attrition and determine why new employees leave."
Date: February 11, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Environmental Protection Agency: Problems Persist in Effectively Managing Grants (open access)

Environmental Protection Agency: Problems Persist in Effectively Managing Grants

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Over the years, EPA has had persistent problems in managing its grants. Grants constituted one-half of the agency's annual budget, or about $4.2 billion in fiscal year 2002. EPA uses grants to implement its programs to protect human health and the environment and awards them to over 3,300 recipients, including state and local governments, tribes, universities, and nonprofit organizations. EPA's ability to efficiently and effectively accomplish its mission largely depends on how well it manages its grant resources and builds in accountability. Since 1996, GAO and EPA's Office of Inspector General have repeatedly reported on EPA's problems in managing its grants. Because these problems have persisted, in January 2003, GAO cited grants management as a major management challenge for EPA. GAO is currently reviewing EPA's efforts to improve grants management at the request of the Chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and Representative Anne Northup. For this testimony GAO is reporting on results of its previously issued reports and on the grants problems EPA faces, past actions to address these problems, and recently issued EPA policies and a 5-year grants management plan to address its …
Date: June 11, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Homeland Defense: DOD Needs to Assess the Structure of U.S. Forces for Domestic Military Missions (open access)

Homeland Defense: DOD Needs to Assess the Structure of U.S. Forces for Domestic Military Missions

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The way in which the federal government views the defense of the United States has dramatically changed since September 11, 2001. Consequently, the Department of Defense (DOD) has adjusted its strategic and operational focus to encompass not only traditional military concerns posed by hostile states overseas but also the asymmetric threats directed at our homeland by both terrorists and hostile states. GAO was asked to review DOD's domestic missions, including (1) how DOD's military and nonmilitary missions differ; (2) how DOD's military and nonmilitary missions have changed since September 11, 2001; (3) how the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act affects DOD's nonmilitary missions; and (4) the extent to which DOD's organizations, plans, and forces are adequate for domestic military missions and the consequent sustainability of the current mission approach."
Date: July 11, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Defense Trade: Better Information Needed to Support Decisions Affecting Proposed Weapons Transfers (open access)

Defense Trade: Better Information Needed to Support Decisions Affecting Proposed Weapons Transfers

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The heightened visibility of advanced U.S. weapons in military conflicts has prompted foreign countries to seek to purchase such weaponry. In 2001, transfers of U.S. weapons and technologies to foreign governments totaled over $12 billion. The potential loss of U.S. technological advantage has been raised as an issue in recently approved transfers of advanced military weapons and technologies--such as military aircraft that were reported in the media to contain superior radar and avionics than those in the Department of Defense's (DOD) inventory. GAO looked at how releasability of advanced weapons is determined, how U.S. technological advantage is considered and protected, and what information is needed to make informed decisions on the potential release of advanced weapons."
Date: July 11, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Free Trade Area of the Americas: Negotiations Progress, but Successful Ministerial Hinges on Intensified U.S. Preparations (open access)

Free Trade Area of the Americas: Negotiations Progress, but Successful Ministerial Hinges on Intensified U.S. Preparations

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Establishing a 34-nation Free Trade Area of the Americas agreement has been under negotiation since 1998. This agreement would eliminate tariffs and create common trade and investment rules for these nations. Most recently, the United States, along with Brazil, assumed the leadership of the negotiations. GAO was asked to analyze (1) the challenges for the current negotiating phase, which will include a ministerial meeting in Miami, Florida, in November 2003; and (2) the U.S.'s readiness to serve as co-chair of the negotiations and host of the November 2003 ministerial."
Date: April 11, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Best Practices: Better Acquisition Outcomes Are Possible If DOD Can Apply Lessons from F/A-22 Program (open access)

Best Practices: Better Acquisition Outcomes Are Possible If DOD Can Apply Lessons from F/A-22 Program

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Over the next 5 years, DOD's overall investments are expected to average $150 billion a year to modernize and transition our forces. In addition, DOD must modernize its forces amid competing demands for federal funds, such as health care and homeland security. Therefore, it is critical that DOD manage its acquisitions in the most cost efficient and effective manner possible. DOD's newest acquisition policy emphasizes the use of evolutionary, knowledge-based concepts that have proven to produce more effective and efficient weapon systems outcomes. However, most DOD programs currently do not employ these practices and, as a result, experience cost increases, schedule delays, and poor product quality and reliability. This testimony compares the best practices for developing new products with the experiences of the F/A-22 program."
Date: April 11, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Commercial Aviation: Issues Regarding Federal Assistance for Enhancing Air Service to Small Communities (open access)

Commercial Aviation: Issues Regarding Federal Assistance for Enhancing Air Service to Small Communities

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Small communities have long faced challenges in obtaining or retaining the commercial air service they desire. These challenges are increasing as many U.S. airlines try to stem unprecedented financial losses through numerous cost-cutting measures, including reducing or eliminating service in some markets, often small communities. Congress will be considering whether to reauthorize its federal assistance programs for small communities. GAO was asked to describe the kinds of efforts that states and local communities have taken to enhance air service at small communities; federal programs for enhancing air service to small communities; and issues regarding the type and extent of federal assistance to enhance air service to small communities."
Date: March 11, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Paperwork Reduction Act: Record Increase in Agencies' Burden Estimates (open access)

Paperwork Reduction Act: Record Increase in Agencies' Burden Estimates

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Paperwork Reduction Act requires federal agencies to minimize the paperwork burden they impose on the public. The act also requires agencies to obtain approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) before collecting covered information. GAO examined changes during the past fiscal year in federal agencies' paperwork burden estimates and their causes, focusing on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). GAO also examined changes in the number of violations of the Paperwork Reduction Act."
Date: April 11, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Tax Administration: IRS Should Reassess the Level of Resources for Testing Forms and Instructions (open access)

Tax Administration: IRS Should Reassess the Level of Resources for Testing Forms and Instructions

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Taxpayers rated the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) ability to provide clear and easy-to-use forms and instructions among the lowest of 27 indicators of service in 1993. Due to continuing concerns about unclear forms and instructions, GAO was asked to determine (1) whether and how often IRS tests the clarity of new and revised individual income tax forms and instructions; (2) the benefits, if any, of testing forms and instructions for clarity prior to their use; and (3) whether any factors limit IRS's ability to do more tests and if so, how they can be addressed."
Date: April 11, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Human Capital: Selected Agency Actions to Integrate Human Capital Approaches to Attain Mission Results (open access)

Human Capital: Selected Agency Actions to Integrate Human Capital Approaches to Attain Mission Results

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Successful strategic human capital management requires the integration of human capital approaches with strategies for accomplishing organizational missions and program goals. Such integration allows the agency to ensure that its core processes efficiently and effectively support mission-related outcomes. Based on the recommendations of various human capital experts, GAO identified six executive branch agencies that had taken key actions to integrate their human capital approaches with their strategic planning and decision making. The agencies were the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the General Services Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, the Social Security Administration, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the U.S. Geological Survey. These key actions may prove helpful to other agencies as they seek to ensure that their human capital approaches are aligned with their program goals."
Date: April 11, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
A STUDY OF THE DISCREPANCY BETWEEN FEDERAL AND STATE MEASUREMENTS OF ON-HIGHWAY FUEL CONSUMPTION (open access)

A STUDY OF THE DISCREPANCY BETWEEN FEDERAL AND STATE MEASUREMENTS OF ON-HIGHWAY FUEL CONSUMPTION

Annual highway fuel taxes are collected by the Treasury Department and placed in the Highway Trust Fund (HTF). There is, however, no direct connection between the taxes collected by the Treasury Department and the gallons of on-highway fuel use, which can lead to a discrepancy between these totals. This study was conducted to determine how much of a discrepancy exists between the total fuel usages estimated based on highway revenue funds as reported by the Treasury Department and the total fuel usages used in the apportionment of the HTF to the States. The analysis was conducted using data from Highway Statistics Tables MF-27 and FE-9 for the years 1991-2001. It was found that the overall discrepancy is relatively small, mostly within 5% difference. The amount of the discrepancy varies from year to year and varies among the three fuel types (gasoline, gasohol, special fuels). Several potential explanations for these discrepancies were identified, including issues on data, tax measurement, gallon measurement, HTF receipts, and timing. Data anomalies caused by outside forces, such as deferment of tax payments from one fiscal year to the next, can skew fuel tax data. Fuel tax evasion can lead to differences between actual fuel use and …
Date: August 11, 2003
Creator: Hwang, HL
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Vision 21 Systems Analysis Methodologies Annual Report: 2001 (open access)

Vision 21 Systems Analysis Methodologies Annual Report: 2001

Under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Energy/National Energy Technology Laboratory, a multi-disciplinary team led by the Advanced Power and Energy Program of the University of California at Irvine is defining the system engineering issues associated with the integration of key components and subsystems into power plant systems that meet performance and emission goals of the Vision 21 program. The study efforts have narrowed down the myriad of fuel processing, power generation, and emission control technologies to selected scenarios that identify those combinations having the potential to achieve the Vision 21 program goals of high efficiency and minimized environmental impact while using fossil fuels. The technology levels considered are based on projected technical and manufacturing advances being made in industry and on advances identified in current and future government supported research. Included in these advanced systems are solid oxide fuel cells and advanced cycle gas turbines. The results of this investigation will serve as a guide for the U. S. Department of Energy in identifying the research areas and technologies that warrant further support.
Date: August 11, 2003
Creator: Samuelsen, G.S.; Rao, A.; Robson, F. & Washom, B.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Microstructural Evolution Based on Fundamental Interfacial Properties (open access)

Microstructural Evolution Based on Fundamental Interfacial Properties

This first CMSN project has been operating since the summer of 1999. The main achievement of the project was to bring together a community of materials scientists, physicists and mathematicians who share a common interest in the properties of interfaces and the impact of those properties on microstructural evolution. Six full workshops were held at Carnegie Mellon (CMU), Northwestern (NWU), Santa Fe, Northeastern University (NEU), National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), Ames Laboratory, and at the University of California in San Diego (UCSD) respectively. Substantial scientific results were obtained through the sustained contact between the members of the project. A recent issue of Interface Science (volume 10, issue 2/3, July 2002) was dedicated to the output of the project. The results include: the development of methods for extracting anisotropic boundary energy and mobility from molecular dynamics simulations of solid/liquid interfaces in nickel; the extraction of anisotropic energies and mobilities in aluminum from similar MD simulations; the application of parallel computation to the calculation of interfacial properties; the development of a method to extract interfacial properties from the fluctuations in interface position through consideration of interfacial stiffness; the use of anisotropic interface properties in studies of abnormal grain growth; the …
Date: July 11, 2003
Creator: Rollett, A. D.; Srolovitz, D. J. & Karma, A.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Study of Experience Credit for Professional Engineering Licensure (open access)

A Study of Experience Credit for Professional Engineering Licensure

Oak Ridge National Laboratory performed a study of experience credit for professional engineering licensure for the Department of Energy's Industrial Assessment Center (IAC) Program. One of the study's goals was to determine how state licensure boards grant experience credit for engineering licensure, particularly in regards to IAC experience and experience prior to graduation. Another goal involved passing IAC information to state licensure boards to allow the boards to become familiar with the program and determine if they would grant credit to IAC graduates. The National Council of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors (NCEES) has adopted a document, the ''Model Law''. This document empowers states to create state engineering boards and oversee engineering licensure. The board can also interpret and adopt rules and regulations. The Model Law also gives a general ''process'' for engineering licensure, the ''Model Law Engineer''. The Model Law Engineer requires that an applicant for professional licensure, or professional engineering (PE) licensure, obtain a combination of formal education and professional experience and successfully complete the fundamentals of engineering (FE) and PE exams. The Model Law states that a PE applicant must obtain four years of ''acceptable'' engineering experience after graduation to be allowed to sit for the PE …
Date: August 11, 2003
Creator: Martin, M.A.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
[Clipping: Female Aviators provided crucial service during World War II] (open access)

[Clipping: Female Aviators provided crucial service during World War II]

Newspaper clipping of part of an article about Millie Dalrymple, a former WASP member, and her personal history, especially as part of the WASP. A gardening section begins on the other side of the clipping, including advertisements for gardening supplies.
Date: January 11, 2003
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Clipping
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cherokeean/Herald (Rusk, Tex.), Vol. 154, No. 16, Ed. 1 Wednesday, June 11, 2003 (open access)

Cherokeean/Herald (Rusk, Tex.), Vol. 154, No. 16, Ed. 1 Wednesday, June 11, 2003

Weekly newspaper from Rusk, Texas that includes local, state and national news along with extensive advertising.
Date: June 11, 2003
Creator: Whitehead, Marie
Object Type: Newspaper
System: The Portal to Texas History