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Technology Transfer: NNSA Did Not Implement the Technology Infrastructure Pilot Program (open access)

Technology Transfer: NNSA Did Not Implement the Technology Infrastructure Pilot Program

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Energy is required to establish a technology infrastructure pilot program to improve technology partnership activities. The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), in April 2002, reported that it was unable to implement the technology infrastructure pilot program in fiscal year 2001, because of other programming priorities. NNSA also said that it did not have any immediate plans to implement the pilot program in fiscal year 2002. Although it has not funded the pilot program, NNSA stated that it supports technology partnerships with private entities that fulfill mission requirements and agreed that the "cluster" type of infrastructure that the pilot program would promote is important for its facilities because community and economic development are enhanced."
Date: May 10, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Multifamily Rural Housing: Prepayment Potential and Long-Term Rehabilitation Needs for Section 515 Properties (open access)

Multifamily Rural Housing: Prepayment Potential and Long-Term Rehabilitation Needs for Section 515 Properties

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Nearly 450,000 elderly and other households depend on federal assistance to live in multifamily rural rental properties that were constructed with subsidized federal loans. Because the properties were built in areas when and where privately financed housing units, affordable by lower income households, were not considered economically feasible, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Housing Service (RHS) has made direct loans available to developers of affordable multifamily housing under its section 515 program. RHS has funded many more new properties than the portfolio has lost through prepayment. The number of new properties added to the portfolio exceeded the number that left the program after prepayment in every year except 2001. If the statutory requirement restricting prepayment for loans made before December 1989, were changed to allow prepayment without restrictions after 20 years from the date of the loan, prepayment could be an option for the owners of 3,900 of all section 515 properties over the next eight years. RHS field staff routinely inspect properties, complete and retain detailed descriptions of noted deficiencies, and transmit the summaries of the deficiencies identified to a central database. Only current …
Date: May 10, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Weapons of Mass Destruction: State Department Oversight of Science Centers Program (open access)

Weapons of Mass Destruction: State Department Oversight of Science Centers Program

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since 1994, the United States has appropriated $227 million to support two multilateral science centers in Russia and Ukraine. The science centers pay scientists who once developed nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and missile systems for the Soviet Union to conduct peaceful research. By employing scientists at the science centers, the United States seeks to reduce the risks that these scientists could be tempted to sell their expertise to terrorists. This report examines the (1) selection procedures the State Department uses to fund projects that meet program objectives and (2) monitoring procedures the State Department uses to verify that scientists are working on the peaceful research they are paid to produce. GAO found that State lacks complete information on the total number and locations of senior scientists and has not been granted access to senior scientists at critical research institutes under the Russian Ministry of Defense. GAO also found that State has designed an interagency review process to select and fund research proposals submitted by weapons scientists to the science centers in Russia and Ukraine. The overall goal is to select projects that reduce proliferation risks …
Date: May 10, 2001
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Post-Hearing Questions Related to Federal Human Capital Issues (open access)

Post-Hearing Questions Related to Federal Human Capital Issues

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This letter answers several questions that arose from a recent GAO testimony (GAO-02-528T) on human capital management. GAO discusses (1) early retirement and early separation incentives, (2) expanded management flexibilities, (3) federal financial management, (4) hiring processes, (5) what federal managers must do to motivate and empower their employees, and (6) what the federal government must do to be competitive as an employer of choice."
Date: May 10, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Public Transportation: Preliminary Analysis of Changes to and Trends in FTA's New Starts and Small Starts Programs (open access)

Public Transportation: Preliminary Analysis of Changes to and Trends in FTA's New Starts and Small Starts Programs

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Through the New Starts program, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) identifies and recommends new fixed-guideway transit projects for funding--including heavy, light, and commuter rail; ferry; and certain bus projects. The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) authorized the New Starts program through fiscal year 2009 and made a number of changes to the program, including creating a separate program commonly called Small Starts. This program is intended to offer an expedited and streamlined evaluation and rating process for smaller-scale transit projects. FTA subsequently introduced a separate eligibility category within the Small Starts program for "Very Small Starts" projects. Very Small Starts projects are simple, low-risk projects that FTA has determined qualify for a simplified evaluation and rating process. This testimony discusses GAO's preliminary findings on (1) FTA's implementation of SAFETEA-LU changes to the New Starts program, (2) the extent to which the New Starts pipeline (i.e., projects in the preliminary engineering and final design phases) has changed over time, and (3) future trends for the New Starts and Small Starts pipelines. To address these objectives, GAO surveyed 215 project sponsors and interviewed …
Date: May 10, 2007
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Intellectual Property: Industry and Agency Concerns Over Intellectual Property Rights (open access)

Intellectual Property: Industry and Agency Concerns Over Intellectual Property Rights

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Improperly defined intellectual property rights in a government contract can result in the loss of an entity's critical assets or limit the development of applications critical to public health or safety. Conversely, successful contracts can spur economic development, innovation, and growth, and dramatically improve the quality of delivered goods and services. Contracting for intellectual property rights is difficult. The stakes are high, and negotiating positions are frequently ill-defined. Moreover, the concerns raised must be tempered with the understanding that government contracting can be challenging even without the complexities of intellectual property rights. Further, contractors often have reasons for not wanting to contract with the government, including concerns over profitability, capacity, accounting and administrative requirements, and opportunity costs. Within the commercial sector, companies identified a number of specific intellectual property concerns that affected their willingness to contract with the government. These included perceived poor definitions of what technical data is needed by the government, issues with the government's ability to protect proprietary data adequately, and unwillingness on the part of government officials to exercise the flexibilities available concerning intellectual property rights. Some of these concerns were on perception rather …
Date: May 10, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Defense Inventory: Army War Reserve Spare Parts Requirements Are Uncertain (open access)

Defense Inventory: Army War Reserve Spare Parts Requirements Are Uncertain

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "According to the current National Military Strategy the United States should be prepared to fight and win two nearly simultaneous wars in different parts of the world. Military policy calls for each of the services to acquire and maintain enough war material inventories to sustain a two-war scenario until the industrial base can resupply our armed forces. Because of limitations in the Army's process for determining war reserve spare parts requirements, however, the accuracy of the war reserve spare parts requirements and funding needs are uncertain. These limitations include (1) not using the best available data on the rate at which spare parts would be consumed during wartime for its war reserve spare parts requirements calculations, (2) having a potential mismatch between the Army's process for determining spare parts requirements for war reserves and how the Army plans to repair equipment on the battlefield, and (3) lacking a fact-based assessment of industrial base capacity to provide needed parts for the two-war scenario. Uncertainties are likely to persist for some time as the Army contemplates a significant transformation of its forces and other changes are considered affecting …
Date: May 10, 2001
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Homeland Security: Management and Programmatic Challenges Facing the Department of Homeland Security (open access)

Homeland Security: Management and Programmatic Challenges Facing the Department of Homeland Security

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plays a key role in leading and coordinating--with stakeholders in the federal, state, local, and private sectors--the nation's homeland security efforts. GAO has conducted numerous reviews of DHS management functions as well as programs including transportation and border security, immigration enforcement and service delivery, and disaster preparation and response. This testimony addresses: (1) why GAO designated DHS's implementation and transformation as a high-risk area, (2) specific management challenges that DHS continues to face, (3) examples of the program challenges that DHS faces, and (4) actions DHS should take to strengthen its implementation and transformation efforts."
Date: May 10, 2007
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Mental Health Parity Act: Despite New Federal Standards, Mental Health Benefits Remain Limited (open access)

Mental Health Parity Act: Despite New Federal Standards, Mental Health Benefits Remain Limited

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the implementation of the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996, focusing on the: (1) extent to which employers comply with the law and how they have revised their health plans; (2) law's effect on claims costs; and (3) steps federal agencies have taken to ensure compliance with the law."
Date: May 10, 2000
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Medicare: Providing Systematic Feedback to Physicians on their Practice Patterns Is a Promising Step Toward Encouraging Program Efficiency (open access)

Medicare: Providing Systematic Feedback to Physicians on their Practice Patterns Is a Promising Step Toward Encouraging Program Efficiency

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO was asked to discuss--based on Medicare: Focus on Physician Practice Patterns Can Lead to Greater Program Efficiency, GAO-07-307 (Apr. 30, 2007)--the importance in Medicare of providing feedback to physicians on how their use of health care resources compares with that of their peers. GAO's report discusses an approach to analyzing physicians' practice patterns in Medicare and ways the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) could use the results. In a related matter, Medicare's sustainable growth rate system of spending targets used to moderate physician spending growth and annually update physician fees has been problematic, acting as a blunt instrument and lacking in incentives for physicians individually to be attentive to the efficient use of resources in their practices. GAO's statement focuses on (1) the results of its analysis estimating the prevalence of inefficient physicians in Medicare and (2) the potential for CMS to profile physicians in traditional fee-for-service Medicare for efficiency and use the results in ways that are similar to other purchasers' efforts to encourage efficiency."
Date: May 10, 2007
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
United Nations: Reform Initiatives Have Strengthened Operations, but Overall Objectives Have Not Yet Been Achieved (open access)

United Nations: Reform Initiatives Have Strengthened Operations, but Overall Objectives Have Not Yet Been Achieved

A chapter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO assessed the status and impact of reforms to improve the United Nations (U.N.), focusing on whether: (1) the U.N. had put into place the three core elements of the Secretary General's 1997 reform program; and (2) they are improving U.N. management and performance as intended."
Date: May 10, 2000
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Credit Program Reconciliation and Technical Amendments To Accounting Standards for Direct Loans and Loan Guarantees In Statements of Federal Financial Accounting Standards No.2 and No.18 (open access)

Credit Program Reconciliation and Technical Amendments To Accounting Standards for Direct Loans and Loan Guarantees In Statements of Federal Financial Accounting Standards No.2 and No.18

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO published an exposure draft for the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB). In this exposure draft, FASAB proposes the reporting of entities to their financial statements reconciliations between the beginning and ending balances of the subsidy cost allowance for direct loans and loan guarantee liability on a program-by-program basis for major programs, in addition to reconciliation for the entity as a whole."
Date: May 10, 2000
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Defense Acquisitions: Decisions on the Joint Strike Fighter Will Be Critical for Acquisition Reform (open access)

Defense Acquisitions: Decisions on the Joint Strike Fighter Will Be Critical for Acquisition Reform

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed Department of Defense (DOD) Joint Strike Fighter acquisition program, focusing on the: (1) best commercial practices for developing new products; (2) reasons why DOD does not follow these practices; and (3) opportunity that Joint Strike Fighter represents to strengthen--or weaken--the effect of best practices and acquisition reform on major weapons."
Date: May 10, 2000
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Commercial Fisheries: Effectiveness of Fishing Buyback Programs Can Be Improved (open access)

Commercial Fisheries: Effectiveness of Fishing Buyback Programs Can Be Improved

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Fish populations in many commercial fisheries are declining, causing a growing imbalance between the number of vessels in fishing fleets and the number of fish available to catch. Federally funded fishery buyback programs are one tool available for managers to bring the number of vessels and the number of fish back into balance. Buyback programs need to be carefully designed if they are to sucessfully sustain fisheries. If buyback programs are not accompanied by other measures that reduce incentives to reenter a fishery, capacity reductions resulting from buybacks will erode. Unless a buyback program prevents it, fishermen can use previously inactive vessels or permits and reenter the buyback fishery. By themselves, the buyback programs do not address a root cause of overfishing, which is called the "race to fish." In most fisheries, fishermen have an incentive to increase their fishing capacity to catch fish before someone else does or use their existing capacity more intensely. Plans for evaluating the results of buybacks should also be considered when these programs are being designed. Measuring and evaluating results can identify important lessons that can improve the effectiveness of future buybacks. …
Date: May 10, 2001
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
United Nations: Reforms Are Progressing, but Overall Objectives Have Not Yet Been Achieved (open access)

United Nations: Reforms Are Progressing, but Overall Objectives Have Not Yet Been Achieved

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the status of reforms to improve the United Nations (U.N.), focusing on efforts to: (1) restructure U.N. leadership and operations; (2) develop a performance-based human capital system; and (3) introduce programming and budgeting processes focused on results."
Date: May 10, 2000
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Information Security: 'ILOVEYOU' Computer Virus Emphasizes Critical Need for Agency and Governmentwide Improvements (open access)

Information Security: 'ILOVEYOU' Computer Virus Emphasizes Critical Need for Agency and Governmentwide Improvements

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the "ILOVEYOU" computer virus, focusing on the need for agency and governmentwide improvements in information security."
Date: May 10, 2000
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Air Traffic Control: Role of FAA's Modernization Program in Reducing Delays and Congestion (open access)

Air Traffic Control: Role of FAA's Modernization Program in Reducing Delays and Congestion

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) efforts to modernize the nation's air traffic control (ATC) system and its relationship to other initiatives to address the escalating crises of insufficient capacity facing the aviation industry. Specifically, GAO reviews the (1) extent of the delay and congestion problems and the contribution of the ATC system to them, (2) progress and problems encountered in FAA's ATC modernization program, and (3) importance of a continued focus on delivering ATC equipment and on human capital issues as policymakers seek to address delays and congestion. GAO found that the national airspace system (NAS) is facing significant capacity problems. Last year, more than 25 percent of nationwide flights were canceled, delayed or diverted. These actions affected 163 million passengers who, on average, were delayed almost an hour. Inefficiencies in the ATC system contribute to the delays and congestion. Modernizing equipment, along with other changes in the ATC system, is expected to help increase the capacity of NAS between 5 and 15 percent. However, improvements from FAA's modernization program have fallen short so far. Although FAA has installed new equipment to provide the necessary …
Date: May 10, 2001
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Welfare Reform: Tribes Are Using TANF Flexibility To Establish Their Own Programs (open access)

Welfare Reform: Tribes Are Using TANF Flexibility To Establish Their Own Programs

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Under welfare reform, American Indian tribes have the option to run Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs either alone or as part of a consortium of other tribes rather than receiving benefits and services from state TANF programs. Because of the difficult economic circumstances on many reservations, the law also gives tribal TANF programs more flexibility to design their programs than it gives to states. Tribes have used various strategies to stimulate economic development; however, unemployment and poverty rates remain high on reservations, and prospects for economic growth are limited. Nationally, the number of American Indian families receiving TANF assistance has declined significantly in recent years. On some reservations, however, caseloads have remained the same or increased. American Indians represent an increasing proportion of the total TANF caseload in some states. To date, 172 tribes, either alone or as part of a consortium, have used the act's flexibility to design and administer their own TANF programs. Tribes face challenges in implementing tribal TANF programs, including a lack of (1) reliable data on the number of American Indian TANF recipients; (2) infrastructure support, such as information systems; and …
Date: May 10, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Fiscal Year 2002 Budget Request: U.S. General Accounting Office (open access)

Fiscal Year 2002 Budget Request: U.S. General Accounting Office

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony reviews GAO's fiscal year 2000 accomplishments, fiscal year 2001 plans and future challenges, and fiscal year 2002 budget request. In fiscal year 2000, GAO saved taxpayers more than $23 billion. GAO's work also resulted in improved public health and safety, better national security, and stronger financial management and information systems. During fiscal year 2001, GAO will continue to focus on the major issues facing Congress, including the solvency of Social Security, education, economic development, Medicare reform, and national security. Internally, GAO will continue to take steps to address its own two major management challenges: human capital and information technology. To fully support Congress, GAO is requesting a budget of about $430.3 million for fiscal year 2000. This funding will allow GAO to staff and support its approved 3,275 full-time equivalent staffing level and sustain existing services to Congress."
Date: May 10, 2001
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
An analysis of the x-ray linear dichroism spectrum for NiO thin films grown on vicinal Ag(001) (open access)

An analysis of the x-ray linear dichroism spectrum for NiO thin films grown on vicinal Ag(001)

Antiferromagnetic (AFM) NiO thin films are grown epitaxially on vicinal Ag(118) substrate and investigated by x-ray linear dichroism (XLD). We find that the NiO AFM spin exhibits an in-plane spin reorientation transition from parallel to perpendicular to the step edges with increasing the NiO film thickness. In addition to the conventional L{sub 2} adsorption edge, x-ray linear dichroism (XLD) effect at the Ni L{sub 3} adsorption edge is also measured and analyzed. The result identifies a small energy shift of the L{sub 3} peak. Temperature-dependent measurement confirms that the observed XLD effect in this system at the normal incidence of the x-rays originates entirely from the NiO magnetic ordering.
Date: May 10, 2008
Creator: Wu, Y. Z.; Zhao, Y.; Arenholz, E.; Young, A. T.; Sinkovic, B. & Qiu, Z. Q.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Gemini Planet Imager: Preliminary Design Report (open access)

Gemini Planet Imager: Preliminary Design Report

For the first time in history, direct and indirect detection techniques have enabled the exploration of the environments of nearby stars on scales comparable to the size of our solar system. Precision Doppler measurements have led to the discovery of the first extrasolar planets, while high-contrast imaging has revealed new classes of objects including dusty circumstellar debris disks and brown dwarfs. The ability to recover spectrophotometry for a handful of transiting exoplanets through secondary-eclipse measurements has allowed us to begin to study exoplanets as individual entities rather than points on a mass/semi-major-axis diagram and led to new models of planetary atmospheres and interiors, even though such measurements are only available at low SNR and for a handful of planets that are automatically those most modified by their parent star. These discoveries have galvanized public interest in science and technology and have led to profound new insights into the formation and evolution of planetary systems, and they have set the stage for the next steps--direct detection and characterization of extrasolar Jovian planets with instruments such as the Gemini Planet Imager (GPI). As discussed in Volume 1, the ability to directly detect Jovian planets opens up new regions of extrasolar planet phase …
Date: May 10, 2007
Creator: Macintosh, B
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Gas Storage Technology Consortium (open access)

Gas Storage Technology Consortium

Gas storage is a critical element in the natural gas industry. Producers, transmission and distribution companies, marketers, and end users all benefit directly from the load balancing function of storage. The unbundling process has fundamentally changed the way storage is used and valued. As an unbundled service, the value of storage is being recovered at rates that reflect its value. Moreover, the marketplace has differentiated between various types of storage services, and has increasingly rewarded flexibility, safety, and reliability. The size of the natural gas market has increased and is projected to continue to increase towards 30 trillion cubic feet (TCF) over the next 10 to 15 years. Much of this increase is projected to come from electric generation, particularly peaking units. Gas storage, particularly the flexible services that are most suited to electric loads, is critical in meeting the needs of these new markets. In order to address the gas storage needs of the natural gas industry, an industry-driven consortium was created--the Gas Storage Technology Consortium (GSTC). The objective of the GSTC is to provide a means to accomplish industry-driven research and development designed to enhance operational flexibility and deliverability of the Nation's gas storage system, and provide a …
Date: May 10, 2006
Creator: Morrison, Joel L. & Elder, Sharon L.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The use of bulk states to accelerate the band edge statecalculation of a semiconductor quantum dot (open access)

The use of bulk states to accelerate the band edge statecalculation of a semiconductor quantum dot

We present a new technique to accelerate the convergence of the folded spectrum method in empirical pseudopotential band edge state calculations for colloidal quantum dots. We use bulk band states of the materials constituent of the quantum dot to construct initial vectors and a preconditioner. We apply these to accelerate the convergence of the folded spectrum method for the interior states at the top of the valence and the bottom of the conduction band. For large CdSe quantum dots, the number of iteration steps until convergence decreases by about a factor of 4 compared to previous calculations.
Date: May 10, 2006
Creator: Vomel, Christof; Tomov, Stanimire Z.; Wang, Lin-Wang; Marques,Osni A. & Dongarra, Jack J.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
MODIFIED BOROHYDRIDES FOR REVERSIBLE HYDROGEN STORAGE (open access)

MODIFIED BOROHYDRIDES FOR REVERSIBLE HYDROGEN STORAGE

This paper reports the results in the effort to destabilize lithium borohydride for reversible hydrogen storage. A number of metals, metal hydrides, metal chlorides and complex hydrides were selected and evaluated as the destabilization agents for reducing dehydriding temperature and generating dehydriding-rehydriding reversibility. It is found that some additives are effective. The Raman spectroscopic analysis shows the change of B-H binding nature.
Date: May 10, 2006
Creator: Au, Ming
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library