Accountability-Central.com AC Alert for August 9, 2011 That Dreaded Word From The Teacher: “Research!”

OK, let’s face it! There were certain assignments we all dreaded back in our high school and college days. One was the infamous “research paper.” The assignment usually meant hours of reading and fact-gathering followed by transition of relevant information into an “essay type” format. The amount of time spent gathering and preparing our masterpiece was usually driven by the prescribed length: perhaps 10 written pages...or 3000 words...or maybe 10 typewritten pages double spaced. (Depending on how these papers were assigned.) The rules for information, presentation and grammar were usually very strict: you ignored them at your own risk!

Often, the research paper constituted a significant part of the final grade, so it had the potential to salvage a poor semester -- or sink a good one!

Research may have been considered by us to be an “enemy of the people” in those carefree days, but it can be a very useful friend today. That's how the editors at Accountability Central see it; we devote a menu choice section of our home page to the “latest research.” The dictionaries define research as a diligent and systematic inquiry or investigation into a subject in order to discover or revise facts, theories, or applications. Simply scroll down on our home page and you’ll see how our editors apply those actions to a wide variety of societal, financial, business, regulatory, public health, and other issues.

It’s a valuable but often overlooked content section of AC that enables us to collect and deliver important information to you which doesn’t necessarily fit neatly into the “news” or “commentary” profile.

Here’s a review of some recent items we’ve added to our “Latest Research” category:

A summary of the debt ceiling compromise
(Source: CBS News) The painful process towards achieving the debt deal received intense media coverage, but the actual details were often overlooked. AC offers a summary of the debt ceiling deal reached by congressional leaders and the White House on Sunday, which was signed into law on August 2nd by President Obama

Mobile use doesn't alter kids' cancer risk-study
(Source: Reuters) Children and adolescents who use mobile phones are at no bigger risk of developing brain cancer than non-users, according to a study of patients aged 7 to 19. The research, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found that brain tumor patients were no more likely to be regular phone users than control subjects who did not have cancer.

Pennsylvania fracking report raises questions
(Source: Politico.com) Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission has released a set of recommendations on “fracking.” According to this analysis, the commission’s recommendations are consistent with those of Gov. Tom Corbett. The panel didn’t recommend a tax on gas drilling, but rather called for imposing an impact fee that would counteract the effects of drilling on local communities.

This is just a sampling of the information in our Accountability-Central.com Alert.  Go here for the full text of this alert, and more information on Sustainability, and other Accountability related topics.