Author Archive

Kathleen Hickey

Kathleen Hickey is a freelance writer for GCN.
Digital Government

Researchers build VistA interoperability into digital health platform demo

With 21 standardized application programming interfaces, researchers could exchange health information among several different systems.

Emerging Tech

How governments really use emerging tech

A number of agencies have been able to leverage innovation to deliver government services more efficiently, create public value and transform lives, a new report says.

Digital Government

Reducing incarceration with technology

Safety and Justice Challenge grant winners are working to address local justice disparities through innovative reforms.

Digital Government

Does broadband speed always matter?

Minimum broadband speeds should be based on concrete use rather than arbitrary numbers, an expert argues.

Digital Government

Can real-time transit data really be open?

Variations in state and local licensing agreements can raise transaction costs, create barriers and substantially reduce the value of the data, a new report suggests.

Management

Smart city hotbeds? Think small

Less extensive projects, ease of implementation and access to federal funding may be driving the trend.

Cybersecurity

Army Reserve pilots management tool for cyber talent

Working with Carnegie Mellon University, the Army Reserve has developed the Cyber Warrior Database, a master repository to track the skills soldiers acquire in their civilian jobs and match them to potential military applications.

Cybersecurity

Mobile biometric breathalyzer speeds sobriety testing

The devices are increasing the efficiency of Massachusetts’ probation officers monitoring low-risk offenders mandated not to drink alcohol.

Digital Government

Improving search across clinical trials

With OpenTrialsFDA, researchers can more easily search the Federal Drug Administration’s drug approval packages for detailed information about the methods and results of clinical trials, some of which has never been published.

Management

What’s really needed for data-driven government

Data held by local government is a potential goldmine of insights into how to improve people’s lives and their communities, a recent report says. But fundamental changes and best practices are needed for agencies to effectively use it.

Digital Government

How citizens’ data can augment environmental monitoring

By using citizen-generated data and analysis to “do data differently,” collective environmental problems could be more creatively and expansively addressed, researchers say.

Emerging Tech

VA improves treatment with natural language processing tool

The new tool extracts relevant data from the case notes narratives in electronic heath records.

Management

LouieLab: An innovation hub for a smarter Louisville

LouieLab is a public-private collaborative coworking space designed to promote and build smart city projects.

Digital Government

Can two-speed IT bridge traditional and digital approaches?

Two separate IT units -- one standard IT group and a second one for digital technology -- can help organizations work with legacy systems in today’s disruptive environment.

Cybersecurity

Biometric authentication growing for mobile devices, but security needs work

Hacks of phone-based fingerprint readers and facial recognition software underscore the need for multifactor identification.

Digital Government

Fostering data-driven education

With student information systems, learning management systems and data warehouses, education officials can deliver personalized education, improve school efficiency and promote innovation.

Digital Government

3-D, high-res maps of the last frontier

Topographic maps of Alaska will help researchers studying a range of issues, such as ice loss, glacial changes and surface water flow.

Cybersecurity

Can blockchain bring interoperability to health care?

The distributed ledger technology may be able to manage and secure health information that flows back and forth among patients, doctors, insurance companies and federal agencies.

Management

The middle-mile fiber solution

KentuckyWired is installing some 3,000 miles of open-access, middle-mile, fiber-optic cable that will allow 1,000 government and postsecondary education sites in all 120 counties to be connectivity points for communities.

Management

Easing analysis of crowdsourced data

The Civic CrowdAnalytics web application automates analysis of unstructured crowdsourced data using natural language processing and machine learning.