This work involves coordinating efforts across the Executive branch to strengthen the current system and working toward passage of meaningful, comprehensive immigration reform legislation.

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Extensive ecological studies are underway in three African countries, including DR Congo, to try to find the "reservoir" - this work essentially involves checking for signs of the virus in thousands of different species of animal, in order to identify the carrier.

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Part of this role involves overseeing the work of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (Iana), which does the technical work required to maintain the net's address books.

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In the case of "technical debt", Mr Lesokhin believes this involves committing resources to work out which parts of banks' dormant code are most likely to turn zombie to avoid potentially calamitous consequences.

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This lack of clarity is partly because knowledge work involves more diverse and amorphous tasks than do production or clerical positions, where the relatively clear-cut, predictable activities make jobs easier to automate or streamline.

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