Digital Government
Fatter Paychecks for Fed IT Workers?
There have been a lot of news headlines recently that claim that federal pay is significantly higher than private sector pay. A new <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2010/04/federal_it_pros.html">survey</a> by InformationWeek adds fuel to this claim, at least when comparing federal IT workers to their private sector counterparts. In fact, findings show that federal IT workers earn approximately 10 percent more than private sector IT employees.
Digital Government
How the VA VistA system is like a fighter jet
Dr. Steve Ondra's metaphor comparing the VA's electronic health record systems to fighter jets took wing at the AFCEA Health IT Day today.
Digital Government
Wired to Hoard or Share?
Andrew Krzmarzick asks an interesting question on his <a href="http://genshift.com/government-20/are-civil-servants-too-old-and-selfish-for-gov-2-0/">Generation Shift blog</a>: are civil servants too old and selfish to give in to social media platforms? Recent <a href="http://stephendale.posterous.com/are-civil-servants-made-for-social-media">comments</a> by blogger Stephen Dale note that more public sector decision makers fall into the Baby Boomer category than Generation X, and it's these older decision makers who are primarily responsible for blocking social media access at their agencies.
Digital Government
Cybergeddon: Information security as a global concern
An upcoming international summit brings together cybersecurity experts from the around the world, including Howard Schmidt, to discuss ways to protect the world’s digital infrastructure.
Digital Government
DHS' updated infrastructure plan emphasizes systems resiliency
The National Infrastructure Protection Plan, updated by DHS, puts greater emphasis on the resiliency of critical systems, particularly IT systems, according to a GAO evaluation.
Digital Government
Court ruling rolls back FCC's net-neutrality guidelines
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the FCC does not have authority to regulate the network management practices of Internet service providers. The commission had ordered Comcast to stop interfering with customers’ peer-to-peer traffic.
Digital Government
Study: Social Security disability backlogs vary greatly by state
Influx in applications and employee furloughs contribute to some delays, data indicates.
Digital Government
Administrator calls collaboration key to FAA's NextGen
New air traffic control system will continue to run into problems unless the agency can convince employees to work together and finalizes key policies such as who can access flight information and who pays for upgrades to planes.
Digital Government
DISA launches huge integrated technology contract
Pact would provide cradle-to-grave operational support for training, exercises and events, analyze operational readiness, and form concepts for global networks and systems.
Digital Government
GPS Backup? What GPS Backup?
The folks over at the multiagency National Executive Committee for Space-Based Positioning, Navigation and Timing posted a <a href=http://pnt.gov/public/faq.shtml#jamming>notice</a> reminding us that the "U.S. government strongly encourages all GPS users to maintain backup capabilities for positioning, navigation and timing" in case of jamming or other outages.
Digital Government
Head to Toe, Health IT Exposed
For gearheads and policy wonks who quiver at the mention of health IT (and you know who you are), your <a href="http://www.healthaffairs.org/1500_about_journal.php">"swimsuit issue"</a> hits stands today. That's right, the entire issue of Health Affairs magazine is devoted to ... wait for it ... glistening full-body coverage of the "benefits and limitations of electronic health record systems."
Digital Government
Opening Up on Open Government
Tom Fox of the Partnership for Public Service writes in The Washington Post's <a href="http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/fedcoach/2010/04/can-you-collaborate-with-a-million-people.html#more">Federal Coach column</a> on Monday about how the public sector faces unique challenges in order to collaborate effectively. Federal leaders are required to collaborate up and down their agencies' chain of command, among leaders in other agencies, with state and local partners, private sector insurers and 300 million citizens, Fox writes, pointing to such demands as the key reasons why public sector leadership is so challenging.
Digital Government
iEnvy: Do BlackBerry users need an iPad?
The apps available for Apple's sleek new iPad have many BlackBerry-carrying feds drooling, but BlackBerry also offers a robust, if lesser-known, app store, says GCN Lab Director John Breeden.
Digital Government