One aspect of this paper is an in-depth analysis justifying and calculating the GIA factor, which was originally described in Peltier 2002, which is also cited by the CU sea level group.

FORBES: NASA-Funded Group Doctors Sea Level Data

After all, payment history is the biggest factor in calculating your credit score.

FORBES: 10 Steps to Repair, Rebuild, and Protect Your Credit

Similar to the recent difficulty of identifying the seven billionth human born on earth (that prize went to Danica May Camacho, a girl born in the Philippine capital of Manila, symbolically chosen by the UN to mark the global population milestone), it is understandable if Apple used location as an important factor in calculating their tiebreaks.

FORBES: Winner of 25 Billionth Apple App Store Download was a Chinese Consumer, Coincidence?

Effective October 1, 2002, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) will provide a factor (OPM factor) to federal agencies for calculating future employment related benefits.

WHITEHOUSE: M-03-01, Business Rules for Intragovernmental Transactions, Attachment B | The White House