Assistance to Firefighters Program: Distribution of Fire Grant Funding

[Excerpt] Firefighting activities are traditionally the responsibility of states and local communities. As such, funding for firefighters is provided mostly by state and local governments. During the 1990s, shortfalls in state and local budgets, coupled with increased responsibilities of local fire departments, led many in the fire community to call for additional financial support from the federal government. Although federally funded training programs existed (and continue to exist) through the National Fire Academy, and although federal money was available to first responders for counterterrorism training and equipment through the Department of Justice, there did not exist a dedicated program, exclusively for firefighters, which provided federal money directly to local fire departments to help address a wide variety of equipment, training, and other firefighter-related needs

Is There a Judicial Remedy for Victims of Federal Data Breaches?

[Excerpt] The scope of information believed to have been compromised by a series of cyber-intrusions at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) continues to grow. OPM recently announced that further investigation of the initial breach affecting 4.2 million current and former federal employees has led officials to conclude that sensitive information on 21.5 million individuals had been stolen from separate OPM databases used in connection with background investigations. In addition to the potential effects on domestic and foreign policy that may result from these breaches, which are discussed here, two recently filed lawsuits raise questions regarding what redress, if any, is due to affected individuals beyond the free credit monitoring that has been offered by OPM. The two suits, filed separately by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) allege a number of legal theories under which the plaintiffs believe recovery may be available, including claims citing the Privacy Act, the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), common law negligence, and the Due Process clause of the Constitution. While, procedural obstacles to such suits, such as whether the plaintiffs have suffered a sufficiently concrete injury to have a right to sue, are important and may end up being dispositive, this post focuses instead on the extent to which selected sources of statutory, common, and constitutional law may provide a judicially enforceable remedy for current and former federal employees whose personal information may have been exposed during the breach of a federal information technology system

Health funder requirements for data management and sharing

A set of guides that describe data management and sharing requirements established by funding agencies that support LSHTM research projects

Fearless: One Billion Rising

One Billion Rising is the annual global celebration associated with the kick-off of the Vagina Monologues. It is a day that encourages women to dance, taking ownership of their bodies, of the space they occupy, and of the rights to expression that they deserve. Over 200 men and women joined in the celebration which took place in the Junction on Feb 14th. Speakers included Professor Stephanie Sellers and Terri Hamrick (CEO of Survivors, Inc.), a student choreographed performance by Elle Rupert (’13) and Riccardo Purita (’13), and ended with a group zumba dance to ring in One Billion Rising! [excerpt

Generalizing Anxiety

As she began reading the list of symptoms, I was making mental check marks next to the ones that applied to me. Fear of interacting with strangers- check. Fear that others will notice that you look anxious- check. Avoiding doing things or talking to people out of fear of embarrassment- check. Fear of situations in which you may be judged- check. Anxiety that disrupts your daily routine, work or school activities- check, check, check. [excerpt

Oregon Vineyard and Winery Quick Facts 1992-2002

This statewide report on vineyards and wineries in Oregon includes a variety of statistics for the years 1992-2002. Statistics include average dollars per ton by variety, planted acreage by variety, wineries crushing grapes by county, crush by variety, and sales by variety

Fearless: The Vagina Monologues

Performed annually around the world to celebrate womanhood, empower survivors of sexual assault and abuse, and create an open forum for challenging cultural attitudes toward women, the Vagina Monologues will be performed by Gettysburg College students next Thursday and Friday (February 20 & 21). [excerpt

Reimagining My Body

I stood there, shoulders slouched, elbows locked, hands glued to the side of the toilet. My body convulsing, I told myself, “this is the last time, just one more time and you’ll get back on track tomorrow.” It wasn’t the last time. I had been forcing myself to purge for months at this point, and each time I hated myself for it. It was something I couldn’t control. It wasn’t out of a need for attention as so commonly thought, but a pure need to be the unreachable level of thin that I thought would make me beautiful. I was thirty pounds underweight and I still hated my body. There is no “good enough” when suffering with this type of illness–every pound you lose just encourages you to continue purging until you are reduced to bone and skin. [excerpt

Fearless: Immersion Projects

Students on an Immersion Project in New Orleans are definitely doing some great work this week! The students spent part of the week working with Grow Dat Youth Farm in New Orleans City Park, an organization that hires youth from the city to work at the farm. They sell 60% of their organically grown food at whole food markets and restaurants and they donate the rest to their student workers. The organization strives to teach their volunteers responsibility, team work and commitment. [excerpt