A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Federal agencies must have the capacity to serve the public during disruptions to normal operations. This depends, in part, on continuity efforts that help agencies marshal, manage, and maintain their most important asset--their people, or human capital. GAO identified the human capital considerations relevant to federal continuity efforts; described efforts by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to address these considerations relevant to continuity of operations (COOP); and described the role Federal Executive Boards (FEB) play in coordinating such efforts outside Washington, D.C."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since fiscal year 1997, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has relied primarily on its 21 health care networks to allocate resources to its medical centers. VA headquarters also directly allocates some resources to the medical centers. In addition, medical centers collect resources from third-party insurance payments and other sources. VA provides general guidance to\ networks for resource allocation to medical centers, but permits variation in networks' allocation methodologies. Representatives from veterans groups and others have expressed concerns regarding resource allocations to medical centers in Network 9 (Nashville) known as the Mid South Healthcare Network. GAO was asked to report for fiscal year 2002 (1) the amount of resources medical centers in the network received and the source of those resources and (2) the basis on which medical centers in the network received these resources. GAO was also asked to supplement findings for fiscal year 2002 with information for fiscal years 1997 through 2003."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2003, Congress authorized the Secretary of Defense to provide administrative services and support to foreign coalition liaison officers temporarily assigned to the headquarters of a combatant command or any of its subordinate commands. Congress required GAO to assess the implementation of this legislation. Specifically, GAO's objectives were to determine (1) what guidance the Department of Defense (DOD) has provided on the implementation of this legislation, (2) the extent to which the commands are aware of and are using this legislation, and (3) the level of support being provided by commands using this legislation and the benefits derived from it."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In 2002, the United States experienced one of the worst wildland fire seasons in the past 50 years--almost 7 million acres burned. These fires included the largest and costliest fire in Oregon in the past century--the Biscuit Fire. Following a lightning storm, five fires were discovered in the Siskiyou National Forest over a 3- day period beginning July 13. These fires eventually burned together to form the Biscuit Fire, which burned nearly 500,000 acres in southern Oregon and Northern California and cost over $150 million to extinguish. GAO evaluated (1) whether policies and procedures were in place for acquiring needed firefighting resources during the initial days of the Biscuit Fire, and the extent to which these policies and procedures were followed when the fire was first identified; (2) what resource management issues, if any, affected the ability of personnel to fight the fire; and (3) what differences, if any, existed in key certification standards for personnel among federal and state agencies and whether these differences affected efforts to respond to the fire. In commenting on a draft of this report, the Forest Service stated that the …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2003, the federal government collected $5.6 billion in royalties from oil and gas production on federal lands. Although most oil and gas companies pay royalties in cash, the Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS) has the option to take a percentage of the oil and gas produced and sell this product-- known as "taking royalties in kind (RIK)." MMS has taken royalties in kind continuously since 1998 with the goal of achieving administrative savings while maintaining revenue. GAO attempted to (1) quantify the administrative savings that may be attributable to the RIK sales and (2) compare the sales revenues from RIK sales to what would have been collected in cash royalty payments."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The equity listing standards of the three largest U.S. securities markets--the American Stock Exchange (Amex), the Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. (NASDAQ), and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)--have received heightened attention as part of efforts to restore investor confidence following the 2001 terrorist attacks and the unexpected corporate failures beginning that year. GAO was asked to discuss (1) the status of the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) recommendations to the three largest markets for improving their equity listing programs, (2) SEC's oversight of NASDAQ's moratorium on the enforcement of certain of its listing standards and the status of affected listed companies (issuers), and (3) actions the three largest markets have taken to strengthen corporate governance."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "From 1993 through 2002, the Department of Defense (DOD) delivered over $150 billion in services and defense articles--including classified spare parts and unclassified items containing military technology--to countries through foreign military sales programs. GAO was asked to review whether the Army's key internal controls adequately restricted blanket orders for (1) classified spare parts and (2) unclassified items containing military technology. GAO was also asked to determine if periodic tests were conducted to validate the Army's system and its logic."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In 2001, the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Administration for Children and Families (ACF) implemented the Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSR) to increase states' accountability. The CFSR uses states' data profiles and statewide assessments, as well as interviews and an on-site case review, to measure state performance on 14 outcomes and systemic factors, including child well-being and the provision of caseworker training. The CFSR also requires progress on a program improvement plan (PIP); otherwise ACF may apply financial penalties. This report examines (1) ACF's and the states' experiences preparing for and conducting the statewide assessments and on-site reviews; (2) ACF's and the states' experiences developing, funding, and implementing items in PIPs; and (3) any additional efforts that ACF has taken beyond the CFSR to help ensure that all states meet federal goals related to children's safety, permanency, and well-being."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) emerged in southern China in November 2002 and spread rapidly along international air routes in early 2003. Asian countries had the most cases (7,782) and deaths (729). SARS challenged Asian health care systems, disrupted Asian economies, and tested the effectiveness of the International Health Regulations. GAO was asked to examine the roles of the World Health Organization (WHO), the U.S. government, and Asian governments (China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan) in responding to SARS; the estimated economic impact of SARS in Asia; and efforts to update the International Health Regulations."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In the 1990s, the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Federal Housing Administration (FHA) dealt with a series of instances where buyers had not been notified of serious problems revealed by their appraisals. This led to several reforms, some of which allegedly may have caused some buyers to forgo home inspections, confusing that service with appraisals. Advocates of mandating home inspections claim that FHA will benefit from fewer foreclosures, and buyers will benefit by avoiding homes with costly problems. GAO was asked to assess (1) how many recent FHA homebuyers got home inspections and what were the perceived benefits, (2) whether homebuyers understand the differences between appraisals and home inspections, (3) whether inspections are associated with loan performance, and (4) the implications of mandating home inspections."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "For fiscal year 2002 (the most recent data), the Corporation for Public Broadcasting provided about 16 percent of public television's revenues of $1.63 billion. GAO agreed to review the statutory allocations for federal funding of public television, the Corporation's distribution of funds through its Community Service Grant and Television Future Fund programs, its distribution of funds for the Public Broadcasting Service's National Program Service and for local programming, and its grant programs for assisting public television's transition to digital technologies and services."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported that poor nutrition and lack of physical activity are catching up to tobacco use as the leading cause of death in the United States. In addition to having negative health outcomes, children with poor nutrition may have a harder time succeeding in school than other children. To help improve nutrition, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) provides nutrition education through five of its programs. The department spent $472 million on these efforts in fiscal year 2002. GAO was asked: (1) What key actions can officials take to increase the likelihood of success in nutrition education? (2) Do USDA and state and local officials take these actions during program design, service delivery, and program monitoring and evaluation?"

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation (No FEAR) Act, which took effect October 1, 2003, requires agencies to repay discrimination settlements and judgments paid on their behalf. The No FEAR Act is similar to the Contract Disputes Act (CDA) of 1978, which holds agencies accountable for payment in contract disputes. Under both laws, federal agencies must reimburse the Judgment Fund, which is administered by the Treasury Department. Before the No FEAR Act, agencies did not have to repay the fund. The No FEAR Act requires GAO to review the financial impact on Treasury of administering that law and CDA. Based on this requirement, this report provides information on (1) Treasury's estimates of its costs to process discrimination claim payments and CDA payments in fiscal year 2003 and its costs to process and seek reimbursement for claim payments under lawsuits covered by the No FEAR Act beginning in fiscal year 2004, (2) differences in claims processing and reimbursement efforts under CDA and the No FEAR Act, and (3) the extent of federal agency compliance with CDA's reimbursement requirements and Treasury's view of how effective its …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The federal government spends more than $230 billion annually for products and services to conduct its operations. Through its purchasing decisions, it has the opportunity to affirm its policies and goals, including those related to purchases of biobased products, as set out in the 2002 farm bill. A biobased product is a commercial or industrial product, other than food or feed that is composed of, in whole or part, biological products, renewable domestic agricultural materials, or forestry materials. GAO examined (1) actions the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and other agencies have taken to carry out farm bill requirements for purchasing biobased products, (2) additional actions that may be needed to implement the requirements, and (3) views of stakeholders on the need for and costs of testing biobased products. GAO interviewed officials from USDA, major procuring agencies, testing entities, interested associations, and 15 manufacturers of biobased products."

This report discusses the changing demographics and growth shifts in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

Homelessness has significant economic as well as social consequences for the City of Dallas. While offering compassion to the homeless, this report also acknowledges that the overwhelming presence of homeless persons on the streets of downtown has negative economic impacts on individual businesses, the prospects for redevelopment, and the city's finances. This report, by the University of North Texas Center for Economic Development and Research, discusses theses aspects.

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) has treated ballistic missile defense as a priority since the mid-1980s and has invested tens of billions of dollars to research and develop such capabilities. In 2002 two key events transformed DOD's approach in this area: (1) the Secretary of Defense consolidated existing missile defense elements into a single acquisition program and placed them under the management of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and (2) the President directed MDA to begin fielding an initial configuration, or block, of missile defense capabilities in 2004. MDA estimates it will need $53 billion between fiscal years 2004 and 2009 to continue the development, fielding, and evolution of ballistic missile defenses. To fulfill a congressional mandate, GAO assessed the extent to which MDA achieved program goals in fiscal year 2003. While conducting this review, GAO also observed shortcomings in how MDA defines its goals."

Numerical methods are used to examine dimensional errors in metal structures microfabricated by the LIGA process. These errors result from elastic displacements of the PMMA mold during electrodeposition and arise from thermal expansion of the PMMA when electroforming is performed at elevated temperatures and from PMMA swelling due to absorption of water from aqueous electrolytes. Both numerical solutions and simple analytical approximations describing PMMA displacements for idealized linear and axisymmetric geometries are presented and discussed. We find that such displacements result in tapered metal structures having sidewall slopes up to 14 {micro}m per millimeter of height for linear structures bounded by large areas of PMMA. Tapers for curved structures are of similar magnitude, but these structures are additionally skewed from the vertical. Potential remedies for reducing dimensional errors are also discussed. Here we find that auxiliary moat-like features patterned into the PMMA surrounding mold cavities can reduce taper by an order of magnitude or more. Such moats dramatically reduce tapers for all structures, but increase skew for curved structures when the radius of curvature is comparable to the structure height.

The objective of this work was to use a simple compartment model of soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) dynamics to predict forest recovery on degraded soils and forest sustainability, following recovery, under different regimes of prescribed fire and timber management. This report describes the model and a model-based analysis of the effect of prescribed burning and forest thinning or clearcutting on stand recovery and sustainability at Fort Benning, GA. I developed the model using Stella{reg_sign} Research Software (High Performance Systems, Inc., Hanover, NH) and parameterized the model using data from field studies at Fort Benning, literature sources, and parameter fitting. The model included (1) a tree biomass submodel that predicted aboveground and belowground tree biomass, (2) a litter production submodel that predicted the dynamics of herbaceous aboveground and belowground biomass, (3) a soil C and N submodel that predicted soil C and N stocks (to a 30 cm soil depth) and net soil N mineralization, and (4) an excess N submodel that calculated the difference between predicted plant N demands and soil N supplies. There was a modeled feedback from potential excess N (PEN) to tree growth such that forest growth was limited under conditions of N deficiency. Two …

The role of soil C dynamics in the exchange of CO{sub 2} between the terrestrial biosphere and the atmosphere is at the center of many science questions related to global climate change. The purpose of this report is to summarize measured trends in environmental factors and ecosystem processes that affect soil C balance along elevation gradients in the southern Appalachian Mountains of eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina, USA. Three environmental factors that have potentially significant effects on soil C dynamics (temperature, precipitation, and soil N availability) vary in a predictable manner with altitude. Forest soil C stocks and calculated turnover times of labile soil C increase with elevation, and there is an apparent inverse relationship between soil C storage and mean annual temperature. Relationships between climate variables and soil C dynamics along elevation gradients must be interpreted with caution because litter chemistry, soil moisture, N availability, and temperature are confounded; all potentially interact in complex ways to regulate soil C storage through effects on decomposition. Some recommendations are presented for untangling these complexities. It is concluded that past studies along elevation gradients have contributed to a better but not complete understanding of environmental factors and processes that potentially affect …

More than ten years ago, Sandia managers defined a set of traits and characteristics that were needed for success at Sandia. Today, the Sandia National Laboratories Success Profile Competencies continue to be powerful tools for employee and leadership development. The purpose of this report is to revisit the historical events that led to the creation and adaptation of the competencies and to position them for integration in future employee selection, development, and succession planning processes. This report contains an account of how the competencies were developed, testimonies of how they are used within the organization, and a description of how they will be foundational elements of new processes.

The Metals Processing Laboratory Users Facility (MPLUS) is a Department of Energy (DOE), Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Industrial Technologies Program, user facility designated to assist researchers in key industries, universities, and federal laboratories in improving energy efficiency, improving environmental aspects, and increasing competitiveness. The goal of MPLUS is to provide access to the specialized technical expertise and equipment needed to solve metals processing issues that limit the development and implementation of emerging metals processing technologies. The scope of work can also extend to other types of materials. MPLUS has four primary user centers: (1) Processing--casting, powder metallurgy, deformation processing (including extrusion, forging, rolling), melting, thermomechanical processing, and high-density infrared processing; (2) Joining--welding, monitoring and control, solidification, brazing, and bonding; (3) Characterization--corrosion, mechanical properties, fracture mechanics, microstructure, nondestructive examination, computer-controlled dilatometry, and emissivity; and (4) Materials/Process Modeling--mathematical design and analyses, high-performance computing, process modeling, solidification/deformation, microstructure evolution, thermodynamic and kinetic, and materials databases A fully integrated approach provides researchers with unique opportunities to address technologically related issues to solve metals processing problems and probe new technologies. Access is also available to 16 additional Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) user facilities ranging from state-of-the-art materials characterization capabilities, and high-performance computing to …

This post-closure inspection report provides documentation of the semiannual inspection activities, maintenance and repair activities, and conclusions and recommendations for calendar year 2003 for eight corrective action units located on the Tonopah Test Range, Nevada.

This report documents results from a study carried out by Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville for the Office of Public Transportation, Tennessee Department of Transportation. The study team was tasked with developing a process and a supporting methodology for estimating the benefits accruing to the State from the operation of state supported public transit services. The team was also tasked with developing forecasts of the future demands for these State supported transit services at five year intervals through the year 2020, broken down where possible to the local transit system level. Separate ridership benefits and forecasts were also requested for the State's urban and rural transit operations. Tennessee's public transit systems are subsidized to a degree by taxpayers. It is therefore in the public interest that assessments of the benefits of such systems be carried out at intervals, to determine how they are contributing to the well-being of the state's population. For some population groups within the State of Tennessee these transit services have become essential as a means of gaining access to workplaces and job training centers, to educational and health care facilities, as well as to shops, social functions and recreational sites.