This document offers notes that accompany a presentation on media ethics and dilemmas. The presentation and its accompanying notes were presented with an essay that was awarded a 2013 Nicholas and Anna Ricco Ethics Award. The notes discuss media ethics and how changes in journalism and technology have led to new ethical dilemmas.

Paper outlining a fishbowl discussion event at the 2013 International iConference. The theme of the fishbowl event is data curation, data lifecycle, pedagogy, professional development, and library education.

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since fiscal year 2011, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has used changes in the number of apprehensions on the southwest border between ports of entry as an interim measure for border security as reported in its annual performance plans. In fiscal year 2011, DHS reported a decrease in apprehensions, which met its goal to secure the southwest border. Our analysis of Border Patrol data showed that apprehensions decreased within each southwest border sector from fiscal years 2006 to 2011, generally mirroring decreases in estimated known illegal entries. Border Patrol attributed these decreases in part to changes in the U.S. economy and improved enforcement efforts. In addition to apprehension data, sector management collect and use other data to assess enforcement efforts within sectors. Our analysis of these data show that the percentage of estimated known illegal entrants apprehended from fiscal years 2006 to 2011 varied across southwest border sectors; in the Tucson sector, for example, there was little change in the percentage of estimated known illegal entrants apprehended over this time period. The percentage of individuals apprehended who repeatedly crossed the border illegally declined across the border by …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO identified three basic alternative methods to the current airline ticket-based method for PFC collections. These methods are not mutually exclusive and could be used by either individual airports or a group or airports:"

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "There is still no one agency or group that knows the nation's need for all U.S. high- containment laboratories, including the research priorities and the capacity, number and location, to address priorities. This deficiency may be more critical today than 3 years ago because current budget constraints make prioritization essential. Since the publication of our report in 2009, the number of high-containment laboratories has increased. Although modern high-containment technologies (for example, high-efficiency particulate air [HEPA] filtration) in conjunction with laboratory design have been effective in reducing the level of risk, there is nevertheless some degree of risk associated with design, construction, operations, and maintenance of high-containment laboratories. This was realized following a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) power failure incident in Atlanta, Georgia, where no biological agent was released but that showed the difficulties in maintaining biological containment, and a leaky pipe incident in Pirbright, United Kingdom, that failed to maintain biological containment. Increasing the number of laboratories also increases the aggregate national risk."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "We found that DOD awarded 51 sole source 8(a) contracts over $20 million between October 2009 and September 2012. As we reported in our December 2012 government-wide review, DOD awarded eight sole-source 8(a) contracts worth over $20 million from March 16, 2011, when the requirement was implemented in the FAR, through March 31, 2012, the most recent data available at the time of our review. Of the eight, six contracts did not meet the new justification requirement because contracting officials were not aware of the requirement or because they were confused about the type of justification to complete."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "While Congress has tasked FAA to lead the effort of safely integrating unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in the national airspace, several federal and other entities also have a role. FAA has established various mechanisms to facilitate collaboration with these entities. For example, FAA has entered into formal agreements with the Department of Defense (DOD) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on obtaining appropriate safety data and coordinating research and development, respectively. FAA has also involved industry stakeholders and academia in the development of standards and research for UAS operations. FAA recently created the UAS Integration Office, within FAA, to coordinate all intra-agency UAS efforts and provide organizational leadership. Continued collaboration among UAS stakeholders will be critical to minimizing duplication of research and addressing implementation obstacles."

Other written product issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This is GAO's summary of the Performance and Accountability Report for fiscal year 2012."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began operations in 2003, it has implemented key homeland security operations and achieved important goals and milestones in many areas to create and strengthen a foundation to reach its potential. As it continues to mature, however, more work remains for DHS to address gaps and weaknesses in its current operational and implementation efforts, and to strengthen the efficiency and effectiveness of those efforts. In its assessment of DHS's progress and challenges 10 years after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, as well as its more recent work, GAO reported that DHS had, among other things, developed strategic and operational plans across its range of missions; established new, or expanded existing, offices and programs; and developed and issued policies, procedures, and regulations to govern its homeland security operations. However, GAO also identified that challenges remained for DHS to address across its missions. Examples of progress made and work remaining include the following:"

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In brief, GAO found that (1) VHA's reported outpatient medical appointment wait times are unreliable, (2) there was inconsistent implementation of certain elements of VHA's scheduling policy that could result in increased wait times or delays in scheduling timely medical appointments, and (3) VHA is implementing or piloting a number of initiatives to improve veterans' access to medical appointments. Specifically, VHA's reported outpatient medical appointment wait times are unreliable because of problems with correctly recording the appointment desired date--the date on which the patient or provider would like the appointment to be scheduled--in the VistA scheduling system. Since, at the time of our review, VHA measured medical appointment wait times as the number of days elapsed from the desired date, the reliability of reported wait time performance is dependent on the consistency with which VA medical centers (VAMC) schedulers record the desired date in the VistA scheduling system. However, aspects of VHA's scheduling policy and related training documents on how to determine and record the desired date are unclear and do not ensure replicable and reliable recording of the desired date by the large number of staff across …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) continues to incur unsustainable operating deficits, has not made required payments of $11.1 billion to prefund retiree health benefits, and has reached its $15 billion borrowing limit. Thus far, USPS has been able to operate within these constraints, but now faces a critical shortage of liquidity that threatens its financial solvency and ability to finance needed capital investment. USPS had an almost 25 percent decline in total mail volume and net losses totaling $40 billion since fiscal year 2006. While USPS achieved about $15 billion in savings and reduced its workforce by about 168,000 over this period, its debt and unfunded benefit liabilities grew to $96 billion by the end of fiscal year 2012. USPS expects mail volume and revenue to continue decreasing as online bill communication and e-commerce expand."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO's prior work has identified a number of lessons from federal responses to seasonal influenza vaccine shortages and the 2009 H1N1 pandemic that carry implications for future influenza seasons or another influenza pandemic. These lessons include the value of planning that involves the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); the importance of effective communication among all levels of government and with the public; and the difficulty of matching vaccine supply with the public's demand for it. First, planning is critical to an effective response, and it particularly helped in responding to the H1N1 pandemic. Planning activities, such as exercises and interagency meetings, built relationships that positioned the government to respond effectively. Second, clear and consistent communication, especially regarding the availability of vaccine, is key. The failure to effectively manage public expectations of vaccine availability can undermine government credibility and contribute to individuals' failure to seek or receive an influenza vaccination. Recognizing the importance of sharing updated information, HHS's influenza website includes a vaccine finder for individuals, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) website helps providers find vaccine available for purchase. Third, predicting all of …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Departments of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Defense (DOD) have undertaken a number of patchwork efforts over the past 15 years to achieve interoperability (i.e., the ability to share data) of records between their information systems; however, these efforts have faced persistent challenges. The departments' early efforts to achieve interoperability included enabling DOD to electronically transfer service members' electronic health information to VA; allowing clinicians at both departments viewable access to records on shared patients; and developing an interface linking the departments' health data repositories. As GAO reported, however, several of these efforts were plagued by project planning and management weaknesses, inadequate accountability, and poor oversight, limiting their ability to realize full interoperability."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Management challenges within the Department of Interior's Office of the Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs (Indian Affairs), such as fragmented administrative structures and frequent turnover in leadership, continue to hamper efforts to improve Indian education. For example, incompatible procedures and lack of clear roles for the Bureau of Indian Education and the Indian Affairs' Deputy Assistant Secretary for Management (DAS-M), which provides administrative functions to BIE, such as human resources and acquisitions, contribute to delays in schools acquiring needed materials and resources. According to BIE officials, some DAS-M staff are not aware of the necessary procedures and timelines to meet schools' needs. For instance, delays in contracting have occasionally affected BIE's ability to provide services for students with disabilities in a timely manner. A study commissioned by Indian Affairs to evaluate the administrative support structure for BIE and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)--also under Indian Affairs--concluded that organizations within Indian Affairs, including DAS-M, BIA, and BIE, do not coordinate effectively and communication among them is poor. Similarly, preliminary results from GAO's work suggest that lack of consistent leadership within DAS-M and BIE hinders collaboration between the two …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In September 2012, GAO reported that many large procurement agencies were in the early stages of implementing strategic sourcing and had achieved limited results. For example, in fiscal year 2011, the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Energy, and Veterans Affairs accounted for 80 percent of the $537 billion in federal procurement spending, but reported managing about 5 percent of that spending, or $25.8 billion, through strategic sourcing efforts. These agencies reported savings of $1.8 billion--less than one-half of 1 percent of federal procurement spending. Further, most of these agencies' strategic sourcing efforts did not address their highest spending areas--including some information technology (IT)-related services--which may provide opportunities for additional savings. While strategic sourcing may not be suitable for all procurements, leading companies strategically manage about 90 percent of their procurements and report annual savings of 10 percent or more. When strategic sourcing contracts were used, federal agencies generally reported achieving savings between 5 and 20 percent."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins ""

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since GAO's reports in the early 1990s, the Helium Privatization Act of 1996 has caused considerable changes to the helium program and addressed or altered GAO's prior concerns. In 1992, GAO reported on various aspects of the federal helium program including the helium debt, pricing, and alternatives for meeting federal helium needs."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In February 2011, GAO detailed 30 high-risk areas. Sufficient progress has been made to remove the high-risk designation from two areas."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Air Force based its Guide on existing NASA policy and procedures with respect to payload risk classification and launch vehicle certification. Payloads are classified based in part on factors such as national significance, payload complexity and cost, and are assigned a risk tolerance level accordingly. The Air Force, NASA, and NRO are working to coordinate and share information to facilitate launch vehicle certification efforts; however, each agency will determine for itself when certification has been achieved. As a result, some duplication and overlap of efforts could occur. The Air Force has also added other prerequisites to certification for new entrants that are not captured within the Guide, such as an approved implementation plan and a cooperative research and development agreement. According to the Air Force, these agreements are legal mechanisms intended to enable data sharing between the Air Force and new entrants, while protecting the interests of both."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "DOD's decision to change the alert status at two ACA basing locations was informed by various analyses, which assessed the impact on operational effectiveness to the ACA operation. DOD's analyses were based on a NORAD assessment--which included a computer model--a Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE) computer model, and an analysis by NORAD's Continental U.S. NORAD Region. NORAD's analyses, informed by a model developed in response to a recommendation in our 2009 report and bolstered by additional NORAD analysis, identified two basing locations that could be removed from 24-hour alert status with little impact on ACA capabilities overall. In GAO's January 2012 report, GAO noted limitations to NORAD's computer model. For example, GAO found that it did not include a prioritized list of metropolitan areas and critical infrastructure locations that NORAD should protect and that it did not incorporate assumptions associated with all three elements of risk: threat, vulnerability, and consequence. Since the January 2012 report, NORAD has strengthened its risk-based management approach of the ACA operation by improving its risk analyses, including to change some of the assumptions used to address vulnerability and consequence in its model. …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO has previously reported that the SM-3 Block IIB program did not conduct a formal analysis of alternatives (AoA) prior to beginning technology development. AoAs provide insight into the technical feasibility and costs of alternatives by determining if a concept can be developed and produced within existing resources. Although the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is not required to do an AoA for its programs because of its acquisition flexibilities, GAO has previously reported that an AoA can be a key step to ensure that new programs have a sound acquisition basis."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In just this past fiscal year alone, GAO's work yielded significant results across the government, including $55.8 billion in financial benefits--a return of $105 for every dollar invested in GAO and 1,440 other benefits--that is, recommendations that helped to change laws, improve public services, and promote sound management throughout government. Since 2002, GAO's work has resulted in over 1/2 trillion dollars in financial benefits and over 14 thousand other benefits for the American people."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Medicare Program: CMS has not met GAO's criteria to have the Medicare program removed from the High-Risk List. For example, although CMS has made progress in measuring and reducing improper payment rates in different parts of the program, it has yet to demonstrate sustained progress in lowering the rates. Because the size of Medicare relative to other programs leads to aggregate improper payments that are extremely large, continuing to reduce improper payments in this program should remain a priority for CMS. Further, CMS should complete some actions required by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) that were designed to improve the integrity of the program, such as determining which providers must post surety bonds to help in recovering payments for fraudulent billing, using fingerprint screening for high-risk providers, issuing a final regulation that requires providers to disclose additional information, and establishing core elements for provider compliance programs."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Of the seven foreign firms we identified in December 2012 as having been reported to have engaged in commercial activity in Iran's energy sector at some point between June 1, 2011, and September 30, 2012, we found that one--Daelim--had U.S. government contracts. Our review of open sources did not identify any foreign firms that exported technologies to the Iranian government for monitoring, filtering, or disrupting information and communications flows."