"Be A Wonk" a talk by Patrick Wagstrom from Ohio LinuxFest 2009 that talks about how policy is made and what geeks need to do to influence policy development.
4. Currently research software development and software development communities The views and opinions expressed in this presentation are my own and are not necessarily those of International Business Machines, Carnegie Mellon University, the National Science Foundation, the Office of Naval Research, the Army Research Lab, or any other persons or organizations past, present, or future.
104. Net Present Value? From the Arizona Republic: For possible sale with a lease-back: Two three-story buildings, constructed in 1960, with a connecting basement, electronic-voting system and reliable, if somewhat combative, tenants. The Arizona Legislature, in a bid to close up the state budget, is looking to sell the House and Senate buildings and lease them back for as long as 20 years. The move would cost as much as $1.2 billion in lease payments, but give the state some quick cash, possibly up to $735 million. An increase of 7 percent in the broadband adoption rate in every state, yields an overall economic benefit of approximately $134 billion a year. This would product 2.4 million jobs, saving $92 billion; $35.2 billion in benefits from accessing broadband at home; $6.4 billion from the reduced needs for travel; $662 million in health care savings; and $18.2 million in carbon credits. http://connectednation.org/research/economic_impact_study/