The National Academies Standing Committee on Primary Care is tasked with offering guidance to the federal government on primary care policy. In September of 2025, the standing committee hosted a public meeting that included a session on patient incentives in primary care to encourage healthy behavior to prevent and manage chronic disease to inform the Innovation Center's prevention strategy. While informative, the session covered just one aspect of the Innovation Center’s prevention strategy.
Since that public meeting, National Academies staff have engaged in additional conversations with Innovation Center staff to better understand ways in which the National Academies' Standing Committee on Primary Care can offer evidence-based guidance to inform the Innovation Center's work. This report examines the risks and opportunities associated with the use of digital technology - specifically mobile applications and wearable devices - with preventing and managing chronic disease across the lifespan in primary care settings.
Topics: Health and Medicine » Healthcare and Quality | Computers and Information Technology » Information Technology
Floods, droughts, wildfires, earthquakes, other extreme environmental events pose persistent and growing risks to ecosystems, infrastructure, and human life. A deeper understanding of the timing and severity of extreme events provides opportunities to prepare, adapt and mitigate the societal consequences of. While modern observational systems have recorded the extreme events of the past century or two, they do not provide a full record of the historic frequency and magnitude of such events.
Paleoenvironmental data from natural archives, such as sediments, ice cores, tree rings, and corals can extend the record of events back centuries to millennia. Such data are already being used to inform public policy, infrastructure design, and emergency planning across the United States. For example, tree-ring reconstructions of past hydrologic conditions have informed Bureau of Reclamation planning for the Colorado River and resource strategies at water utilities. Despite its potential to inform disaster preparedness, the use of paleoenvironmental data are hindered by many challenges, including a diversity of analytical methods, decentralized storage, and limited digital discoverability.
At the request of Department of Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, this report evaluates potential functions and criteria for a new center for paleoenvironmental records of extreme events. The report's authoring committee concludes that while there is a need for new physical storage and better coordination of digital repositories and databases, the most urgent unmet need is an enhanced capacity for synthesis and translation - the processes that transform data into usable knowledge. The report provides a vision for a new center dedicated to synthesis and translation with the mission to help improve societal resilience to future extreme events.
Topics: Earth Sciences » Earthquakes, Floods and Natural Disasters | Computers and Information Technology » Information Technology
Skills in computing and data are critical for students to thrive in a data-driven world. As advanced digital technologies evolve, the capacity to understand how data are produced, interpreted, and used is increasingly essential for civic participation, workforce readiness, and scientific advancement. While efforts to expand learning in these areas have grown, opportunities to participate are unevenly distributed and lack coherence across grades and subjects.
Data and Computing In K-12 Education: Foundational Competencies presents a coherent national framework for developing the foundational competencies students need in data and computing. This report identifies seven shared competencies that span disciplines and grade levels and examines how they align with existing STEM standards and classroom practice. It offers guidance for integrating data and computing into K-12 education in ways that strengthen core mathematics and science learning. Through addressing curriculum, teacher preparation, professional learning, technology access, assessment, and system-level coordination, the report calls for sustained, coordinated action to ensure that all students have meaningful opportunities to develop literacy in data and computing.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Information Technology | Education » K-12 Education | Computers and Information Technology » Policy, Reviews and Evaluations
The United States faces a critical shortage of computing doctorates - a vital workforce responsible for driving advances in artificial intelligence, bolstering cybersecurity, and training the next generation of computing innovators. A decline in advanced degrees in computing will undercut technology innovation across all sectors and put U.S. global competitiveness at risk.
Pathways to Doctoral Degrees in Computing recommends addressing this anticipated shortage through improved graduate student recruitment, retention, and mentoring programs as well as targeted interventions to address hiring challenges. This report also explores how new partnerships between academia and industry could better align computing programs with broader workforce needs, and what data is needed to support these efforts.
Topics: Education » Higher Education | Education » Math and Science Education | Computers and Information Technology » Policy, Reviews and Evaluations
Advances in artificial intelligence, and specifically in machine learning, are enabling new capabilities across nearly every sector of the economy. Many of these applications - such as automated vehicles, the power grid, or surgical robots - are safety critical: where malfunctions can result in harm to people, the environment, or property. While machine learning is already being deployed to enhance the capabilities of some physical systems, extending the rigorous practices of safety engineering to include machine learning components brings significant challenges.
Machine Learning for Safety-Critical Applications explores ways to safely integrate machine learning into physical systems and presents research priorities for improving safety, testing, and evaluation. This report finds that designing machine learning algorithms in a way that aligns with safety engineering standards will require changes in research, training, and engineering practice - as well as a shift away from focusing on algorithmic performance in isolation.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Information Technology | Engineering and Technology » Applications of Technology | Computers and Information Technology » Policy, Reviews and Evaluations
Over the last decade, advances in artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have created transformational opportunities for health, health care, and biomedical science. While new tools are available to improve effectiveness and efficiency in myriad applications in health and health care, challenges persist, including those related to increasing costs of care, staff burnout and shortages, and the growing disease burden of an aging population. The need for new approaches to address these long-standing challenges is evident and AI offers both new hope and new concerns.
An Artificial Intelligence Code of Conduct for Health and Medicine: Essential Guidance for Aligned Action presents a unifying AI Code of Conduct (AICC) framework developed to align the field around responsible development and application of AI and to catalyze collective action to ensure that the transformative potential of AI in health and medicine is realized. Designed to be applied at every level of decision making—from boardroom to bedside and from innovation labs to reimbursement policies—the publication serves as a blueprint for building trust, protecting patients, and ensuring that innovation benefits people.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Information Technology | Health and Medicine » Healthcare and Quality | Health and Medicine » Policy, Reviews and Evaluations
Cybercrime poses serious threats and financial costs to individuals and businesses in the United States and worldwide. Reports of data breaches and ransomware attacks on governments and businesses have become common, as have incidents against individuals (e.g., identity theft, online stalking, and harassment). Concern over cybercrime has increased as the internet has become a ubiquitous part of modern life. However, comprehensive, consistent, and reliable data and metrics on cybercrime still do not exist - a consequence of a shortage of vital information resulting from the decentralized nature of relevant data collection at the national level.
Cybercrime Classification and Measurement addresses the absence credible cybercrime data and metrics. This report provides a taxonomy for the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the purpose of measuring different types of cybercrime, including both cyber-enabled and cyber-dependent crimes faced by individuals and businesses, and considers the needs for its periodic revision. This report was mandated by the 2022 Better Cybercrime Metrics Act (BCMA).
Topics: Behavioral and Social Sciences » Surveys and Statistics | Behavioral and Social Sciences » Law and Justice | Computers and Information Technology » Information Security and Privacy
The integration of large language models (LLMs) and generative artificial intelligence (AI) in health care holds the potential to transform the practice of medicine, the work and experiences of health care providers, and the health and well-being of patients. Generative AI can support clinical decision making and streamline workflows, promote patients and their support networks' engagement in care processes, and support clinical research.
However, successful and ethical implementation of generative AI requires careful consideration of the associated risks, particularly those concerning data privacy, bias, transparency, and infrastructure limitations.
Generative Artificial Intelligence in Health and Medicine: Opportunities and Responsibilities for Transformative Innovation explores the transformative potential of generative AI in health care, with a focus on its applications in clinical decision making, administrative efficiency, and patient engagement.
Topics: Health and Medicine » Health Sciences | Computers and Information Technology » Computers
Cyber technologies underpin every facet of the economy and are critical for national security. Cyber and cyber-enabled systems are rapidly growing in both complexity and scale, and - despite significant progress - are outpacing the capacity to keep them safe, secure, and resilient to disruptions. Cyber hard problems - unsolved technical and research problems for which progress toward solution would have a significant impact on the practical security of cyber systems - are frequently caused or sustained by human or societal factors and misaligned incentives. These in turn are exacerbated by the continuing tremendous growth in the production and use of cyber technologies and their resulting near ubiquity in societally important systems and institutions.
This report builds off of the Cyber Hard Problem List originally developed for the Department of Homeland Security in 1996. Cyber Hard Problems reviews that original list, then provides an update by identifying and describing current key hard problems for cyber resiliency. This report explores each of the identified problems, and then proposes ways to use the list to enhance community-wide coordination of research and development activities.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Information Security and Privacy | Engineering and Technology » Policy, Reviews and Evaluations
Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) promise to improve productivity significantly, but there are many questions about how AI could affect jobs and workers.
Recent technical innovations have driven the rapid development of generative AI systems, which produce text, images, or other content based on user requests - advances which have the potential to complement or replace human labor in specific tasks, and to reshape demand for certain types of expertise in the labor market.
Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Work evaluates recent advances in AI technology and their implications for economic productivity, the workforce, and education in the United States. The report notes that AI is a tool with the potential to enhance human labor and create new forms of valuable work - but this is not an inevitable outcome. Tracking progress in AI and its impacts on the workforce will be critical to helping inform and equip workers and policymakers to flexibly respond to AI developments.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Information Technology | Behavioral and Social Sciences » Human Systems and Technology | Behavioral and Social Sciences » Policy, Reviews and Evaluations
Federal facilities are increasingly complex and sophisticated systems of systems, with automated systems tied together through operational technology (OT) networks monitoring and controlling lighting and environmental control systems (CS), among many others. Federal agencies have built virtual fortresses around their information technology (IT) networks, including connected CS and OT networks, yet key vulnerabilities can allow bad actors to tunnel through the embedded layers of protection, interfere with facility operation and control, and gain direct passages into IT networks, bypassing their elaborate protections. On July 9, 2024, the National Academies' Federal Facilities Council convened a workshop to discuss the security of CS and OT networks. Workshop panelists explored the current threat environment; standards, policies, and guidance to protect OT and CS from malicious actors; and approaches that industry has taken to protect its OT and CS security.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Information Security and Privacy | Computers and Information Technology » Policy, Reviews and Evaluations
Across multiple domains of science, engineering, and medicine, excitement is growing about the potential of digital twins to transform scientific research, industrial practices, and many aspects of daily life. A digital twin couples computational models with a physical counterpart to create a system that is dynamically updated through bidirectional data flows as conditions change. Going beyond traditional simulation and modeling, digital twins could enable improved medical decision-making at the individual patient level, predictions of future weather and climate conditions over longer timescales, and safer, more efficient engineering processes. However, many challenges remain before these applications can be realized.
This report identifies the foundational research and resources needed to support the development of digital twin technologies. The report presents critical future research priorities and an interdisciplinary research agenda for the field, including how federal agencies and researchers across domains can best collaborate.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Information Technology | Math, Chemistry, and Physics » Math and Statistics | Computers and Information Technology » Policy, Reviews and Evaluations
Facial recognition technology is increasingly used for identity verification and identification, from aiding law enforcement investigations to identifying potential security threats at large venues. However, advances in this technology have outpaced laws and regulations, raising significant concerns related to equity, privacy, and civil liberties.
This report explores the current capabilities, future possibilities, and necessary governance for facial recognition technology. Facial Recognition Technology discusses legal, societal, and ethical implications of the technology, and recommends ways that federal agencies and others developing and deploying the technology can mitigate potential harms and enact more comprehensive safeguards.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Information Security and Privacy | Behavioral and Social Sciences » Law and Justice | Engineering and Technology » Applications of Technology
Member agencies of the intelligence community (IC) collect, maintain, and store large amounts of data. There is a profusion of sensors and communications options that has led to a dramatic escalation in the amount of data readily available for a wide variety of purposes. Much more data are being created than are being deleted. But a large fraction, as much as 30 to 35 percent of enterprise data, is data that are rarely accessed (with weeks to years elapsing between uses) and may sit for a long period of time. This poses a challenge because it means that, worldwide, a massive number of exabytes of data need to be securely maintained, managed, and administered in some sort of way. Additionally, the amount of data that will need to be archived for short- and long-term use will continue to rise. In particular, the IC has the potential to be one of the largest customers for cold data storage because of its wide-ranging need for information.
At the request of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), this Rapid Expert Consultation (REC) explores options for technologies for archival data storage, focusing primarily on current data storage technologies, particularly magnetic storage, Flash, MRAM, and optical storage. While not all of these technologies are well suited to archival storage applications, the ODNI indicated a desire to hear about all possible options. Brief overviews of emerging technologies are included. Finally, the REC offers comments on the importance of non-technological aspects of archiving, including policies and personnel, which should be considered in the design and acquisition of long-term data storage systems.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Information Security and Privacy | Conflict and Security Issues » Policy, Reviews and Evaluations
The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) in health care offers unprecedented opportunities to improve patient and clinical team outcomes, reduce costs, and impact population health. While there have been a number of promising examples of AI applications in health care, it is imperative to proceed with caution or risk the potential of user disillusionment, another AI winter, or further exacerbation of existing health- and technology-driven disparities.
This Special Publication synthesizes current knowledge to offer a reference document for relevant health care stakeholders. It outlines the current and near-term AI solutions; highlights the challenges, limitations, and best practices for AI development, adoption, and maintenance; offers an overview of the legal and regulatory landscape for AI tools designed for health care application; prioritizes the need for equity, inclusion, and a human rights lens for this work; and outlines key considerations for moving forward.
AI is poised to make transformative and disruptive advances in health care, but it is prudent to balance the need for thoughtful, inclusive health care AI that plans for and actively manages and reduces potential unintended consequences, while not yielding to marketing hype and profit motives.
Topics: Health and Medicine » Medical Technologies and Treatments | Computers and Information Technology » Information Technology
The effective use of data is foundational to the concept of a learning health system—one that leverages and shares data to learn from every patient experience, and feeds the results back to clinicians, patients and families, and health care executives to transform health, health care, and health equity. More than ever, the American health care system is in a position to harness new technologies and new data sources to improve individual and population health.
Learning health systems are driven by multiple stakeholders—patients, clinicians and clinical teams, health care organizations, academic institutions, government, industry, and payers. Each stakeholder group has its own sources of data, its own priorities, and its own goals and needs with respect to sharing that data. However, in America's current health system, these stakeholders operate in silos without a clear understanding of the motivations and priorities of other groups. The three stakeholder working groups that served as the authors of this Special Publication identified many cultural, ethical, regulatory, and financial barriers to greater data sharing, linkage, and use. What emerged was the foundational role of trust in achieving the full vision of a learning health system.
This Special Publication outlines a number of potentially valuable policy changes and actions that will help drive toward effective, efficient, and ethical data sharing, including more compelling and widespread communication efforts to improve awareness, understanding, and participation in data sharing. Achieving the vision of a learning health system will require eliminating the artificial boundaries that exist today among patient care, health system improvement, and research. Breaking down these barriers will require an unrelenting commitment across multiple stakeholders toward a shared goal of better, more equitable health.
We can improve together by sharing and using data in ways that produce trust and respect. Patients and families deserve nothing less.
Topics: Health and Medicine » Policy, Reviews and Evaluations | Computers and Information Technology » Information Security and Privacy
Sharing health data and information across stakeholder groups is the bedrock of a learning health system. As data and information are increasingly combined across various sources, their generative value to transform health, health care, and health equity increases significantly. Health data have proven their centrality in guiding action to change the course of individual and population health, if properly stewarded and used.
In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, both data and a lack of data illuminated profound shortcomings that affected health care and health equity. Yet, a silver lining of the pandemic was a surge in collaboration among data holders in public health, health care, and technology firms, suggesting that an evolution in health data sharing is visible and tangible.
This Special Publication features some of these novel data-sharing collaborations, and has been developed to provide practical context and implementation guidance that is critical to advancing the lessons learned identified in its parent NAM Special Publication, Health Data Sharing: Building a Foundation of Stakeholder Trust. The focus of this publication is to identify and describe exemplar groups to dispel the myth that sharing health data more broadly is impossible and illuminate the innovative approaches that are being taken to make progress in the current environment. It also serves as a resource for those waiting in the wings, showing how barriers were addressed and harvesting lessons and insights from those on the front lines.
In the meantime, knowledge is already available to foster better health care and health outcomes. The examples described in this volume suggest how intentional attention to health data sharing can enable unparalleled advances, securing a healthier and more equitable future for all.
Topics: Health and Medicine » Healthcare and Quality | Computers and Information Technology » Information Security and Privacy | Health and Medicine » Policy, Reviews and Evaluations
Cybersecurity for Level 0 and Level 1 devices - which include sensors, the Industrial Internet of Things, and operate on a time scales ranging from milliseconds to seconds - is underdeveloped. This Federal Facilities Council white paper addresses changes to improve cybersecurity, productivity, process safety, predictive maintenance, and resilience, while also breaking down cultural and organizational barriers.
This is not a publication of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The views expressed in this publication are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Information Security and Privacy | Computers and Information Technology » Information Technology | Computers and Information Technology » Policy, Reviews and Evaluations
The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), in partnership with other agencies and divisions of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, coordinates a portfolio of projects that build data capacity for conducting patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR). PCOR focuses on producing scientific evidence on the effectiveness of prevention and treatment options to inform the health care decisions of patients, families, and health care providers, taking into consideration the preferences, values, and questions patients face when making health care choices.
ASPE asked the National Academies to appoint a consensus study committee to identify issues critical to the continued development of the data infrastructure for PCOR. Building Data Capacity for Patient-Centered Outcomes Research contains findings and conclusions in the areas that could benefit from being prioritized as part of ASPE's work, and offers input on strengthening the overall framework for building the data infrastructure over the coming years. The committee authoring this report also issued three interim reports, which summarized discussions from three workshops, and are included as appendices in the final report.
Topics: Health and Medicine » Healthcare and Quality | Computers and Information Technology » Information Technology
Computing in some form touches nearly every aspect of day to day life and is reflected in the ubiquitous use of cell phones, the expansion of automation into many industries, and the vast amounts of data that are routinely gathered about people's health, education, and buying habits. Computing is now a part of nearly every occupation, not only those in the technology industry. Given the ubiquity of computing in both personal and professional life, there are increasing calls for all learners to participate in learning experiences related to computing including more formal experiences offered in schools, opportunities in youth development programs and after-school clubs, or self-initiated hands-on experiences at home. At the same time, the lack of diversity in the computing workforce and in programs that engage learners in computing is well-documented.
It is important to consider how to increase access and design experiences for a wide range of learners. Authentic experiences in STEM - that is, experiences that reflect professional practice and also connect learners to real-world problems that they care about - are one possible approach for reaching a broader range of learners. These experiences can be designed for learners of all ages and implemented in a wide range of settings. However, the role they play in developing youths' interests, capacities, and productive learning identities for computing is unclear. There is a need to better understand the role of authentic STEM experiences in supporting the development of interests, competencies, and skills related to computing.
Cultivating Interest and Competencies in Computing examines the evidence on learning and teaching using authentic, open-ended pedagogical approaches and learning experiences for children and youth in grades K-12 in both formal and informal settings. This report gives particular attention to approaches and experiences that promote the success of children and youth from groups that are typically underrepresented in computing fields. Cultivating Interest and Competencies in Computing provides guidance for educators and facilitators, program designers, and other key stakeholders on how to support learners as they engage in authentic learning experiences.
Topics: Education » Math and Science Education | Computers and Information Technology » Computers | Computers and Information Technology » Information Technology
Institutional review boards (IRBs) are the linchpins of the protection systems that govern human participation in research. In recent years, high-profile cases have focused attention on the weaknesses of the procedures for protecting participants in medical research. The issues surrounding participants protection in the social, behavioral, and economic sciences may be less visible to the public eye, but they are no less important in ensuring ethical and responsible research.
This report examines three key issues related to human participation in social, behavioral, and economic sciences research: (1) obtaining informed, voluntary consent from prospective participants: (2) guaranteeing the confidentiality of information collected from participants, which is a particularly challenging problem in social sciences research; and (3) using appropriate review procedures for "minimal-risk" research.
Protecting Participants and Facilitating Social and Behavioral Sciences Research will be important to policy makers, research administrators, research sponsors, IRB members, and investigators. More generally, it contains important information for all who want to ensure the best protection—for participants and researchers alike—in the social, behavioral, and economic sciences.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Information Security and Privacy | Behavioral and Social Sciences » Surveys and Statistics | Surveys and Statistics » Surveys and Statistics
The field of computer science (CS) is currently experiencing a surge in undergraduate degree production and course enrollments, which is straining program resources at many institutions and causing concern among faculty and administrators about how best to respond to the rapidly growing demand. There is also significant interest about what this growth will mean for the future of CS programs, the role of computer science in academic institutions, the field as a whole, and U.S. society more broadly.
Assessing and Responding to the Growth of Computer Science Undergraduate Enrollments seeks to provide a better understanding of the current trends in computing enrollments in the context of past trends. It examines drivers of the current enrollment surge, relationships between the surge and current and potential gains in diversity in the field, and the potential impacts of responses to the increased demand for computing in higher education, and it considers the likely effects of those responses on students, faculty, and institutions. This report provides recommendations for what institutions of higher education, government agencies, and the private sector can do to respond to the surge and plan for a strong and sustainable future for the field of CS in general, the health of the institutions of higher education, and the prosperity of the nation.
Topics: Education » Higher Education | Education » Math and Science Education | Computers and Information Technology » Policy, Reviews and Evaluations
At the request of the Special Cyber Operations Research and Engineering (SCORE) Interagency Working Group and sponsored with assistance from the National Science Foundation and from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine appointed an expert committee to explore future research goals and directions for cybersecurity. The committee for this multi-phased sequential study considered future research goals and directions for foundational science in cybersecurity, and included relevant efforts in economics and behavioral science as well as more "traditional" cybersecurity topics. It considered major challenge problems, explored proposed new directions, identified gaps in the current portfolio, considered the complementary roles of research in unclassified and classified settings, and considered how foundational work in an unclassified setting can be translated to meet national security objectives. This abbreviated annex provides background information on the full classified annex resulting from the study.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Information Security and Privacy | Conflict and Security Issues » Prevention, Security and Response
The Bulk Collection of Signals Intelligence: Technical Options study is a result of an activity called for in Presidential Policy Directive 28 (PPD-28), issued by President Obama in January 2014, to evaluate U.S. signals intelligence practices. The directive instructed the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) to produce a report within one year "assessing the feasibility of creating software that would allow the intelligence community more easily to conduct targeted information acquisition rather than bulk collection." ODNI asked the National Research Council (NRC)—the operating arm of the National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Engineering—to conduct a study, which began in June 2014, to assist in preparing a response to the President. Over the ensuing months, a committee of experts appointed by the Research Council produced the report.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Computers | Computers and Information Technology » Policy, Reviews and Evaluations
In order to conduct operations successfully and defend its capabilities against all warfighting domains, many have warned the Department of Defense (DoD) of the severity of the cyber threat and called for greater attention to defending against potential cyber attacks. For several years, many within and outside DoD have called for even greater attention to addressing threats to cyberspace.
At the request of the Chief of Naval Operations, the National Research Council appointed an expert committee to review the U.S. Navy's cyber defense capabilities. The Department of the Navy has determined that the final report prepared by the committee is classified in its entirety under Executive Order 13526 and therefore cannot be made available to the public. A Review of U.S. Navy Cyber Defense Capabilities is the abbreviated report and provides background information on the full report and the committee that prepared it.
Topics: Conflict and Security Issues » Prevention, Security and Response | Conflict and Security Issues » Military and Defense Studies | Computers and Information Technology » Information Security and Privacy
At the Nexus of Cybersecurity and Public Policy offers a wealth of information on practical measures, technical and nontechnical challenges, and potential policy responses to the never-ending battle of cybersecurity.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Information Security and Privacy | Computers and Information Technology » Policy, Reviews and Evaluations
The Workshop on the Future of Antennas was the second of three workshops conducted by the National Research Council's Committee for Science and Technology Challenges to U.S. National Security Interests. The objectives of the workshop were to review trends in advanced antenna research and design, review trends in commercials and military use of advanced antennas that enable improved communication, data transfer, soldier health monitoring, and other overt and covert methods of standoff data collection.
The first day's sessions, consisting of five presentations and discussions on antennas and wireless communications and control, were open to committee members, staff, guests, and members of the public. The second day was a data-gathering session addressing vulnerabilities, indicators, and observables; presentations and discussions during this session included classified material and were not open to the public.
The committee's role was limited to planning and convening the workshop. This report is organized by topic in the order of presentation and discussion at the workshop. For Day 1 the topics were Future of Antennas, Commercial State of the Art of Wireless Communications and Control, Military State of the Art of Wireless Communications and Control, and Future Trends in Antenna Design and Wireless Communications and Control. For Day 2 the topics were Vulnerabilities of Ubiquitous Antennas, and Indicators and Observables, followed by a wrap-up discussion. Summary of a Workshop on the Future of Antennas describes what happened at the workshop.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Internet and Networking
The committee evaluated submissions received in response to a request for proposals (RFP) for Biomolecular Simulation Time on Anton, a supercomputer specially designed and built by D.E. Shaw Research (DESRES) that allows for dramatically increased molecular dynamics simulations compared to other currently available resources. During the past 2 years, DESRES has made available to the non-commercial research community node-hours on an Anton system housed at the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center (PSC), based on the advice of previous National Research Council committees convened in the falls of 2010 and 2011.
The success of the program has left DESRES to make the Anton machine housed at the PSC available for an additional 3.7 million node-hours during the 9 months following October 2012. DESRES has asked the National Research Council (NRC) to once again facilitate the allocation of time to the non-commercial research community. To undertake this task, the NRC convened a committee of experts to evaluate the proposals submitted in response to the aforementioned RFP. The committee members were selected for their expertise in molecular dynamics simulations, as well as their experience in the subject areas represented in the 52 proposals that were considered by the committee. They comprised a cross-section of the biomolecular dynamics field in academia, industry, and government, including an array of both senior and junior investigators.
The goal of the third RFP for Biomolecular Simulation Time on Anton has been to continue to facilitate breakthrough research in the study of biomolecular systems by providing a massively parallel system specially designed for molecular dynamics simulations. These special capabilities allow multi-microsecond to millisecond simulation timescales, which previously had been unobtainable. The program seeks to continue to support research that addresses important and high-impact questions demonstrating a clear need for Anton's special capabilities.Report of the Committee on Proposal Evaluation for Allocation of Supercomputing Time for the Study of Molecular Dynamics: Third Round is a summary of the proposals, research, and criteria set forth in the RFP for Biomolecular Simulation Time on Anton.
Topics: Biology and Life Sciences » Biotechnology | Computers and Information Technology » Computers
The end of dramatic exponential growth in single-processor performance marks the end of the dominance of the single microprocessor in computing. The era of sequential computing must give way to a new era in which parallelism is at the forefront. Although important scientific and engineering challenges lie ahead, this is an opportune time for innovation in programming systems and computing architectures. We have already begun to see diversity in computer designs to optimize for such considerations as power and throughput. The next generation of discoveries is likely to require advances at both the hardware and software levels of computing systems.
There is no guarantee that we can make parallel computing as common and easy to use as yesterday's sequential single-processor computer systems, but unless we aggressively pursue efforts suggested by the recommendations in this book, it will be "game over" for growth in computing performance. If parallel programming and related software efforts fail to become widespread, the development of exciting new applications that drive the computer industry will stall; if such innovation stalls, many other parts of the economy will follow suit.
The Future of Computing Performance describes the factors that have led to the future limitations on growth for single processors that are based on complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology. It explores challenges inherent in parallel computing and architecture, including ever-increasing power consumption and the escalated requirements for heat dissipation. The book delineates a research, practice, and education agenda to help overcome these challenges. The Future of Computing Performance will guide researchers, manufacturers, and information technology professionals in the right direction for sustainable growth in computer performance, so that we may all enjoy the next level of benefits to society.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Computers | Computers and Information Technology » Internet and Networking
IOM's 1999 landmark study To Err is Human estimated that between 44,000 and 98,000 lives are lost every year due to medical errors. This call to action has led to a number of efforts to reduce errors and provide safe and effective health care. Information technology (IT) has been identified as a way to enhance the safety and effectiveness of care. In an effort to catalyze its implementation, the U.S. government has invested billions of dollars toward the development and meaningful use of effective health IT.
Designed and properly applied, health IT can be a positive transformative force for delivering safe health care, particularly with computerized prescribing and medication safety. However, if it is designed and applied inappropriately, health IT can add an additional layer of complexity to the already complex delivery of health care. Poorly designed IT can introduce risks that may lead to unsafe conditions, serious injury, or even death. Poor human-computer interactions could result in wrong dosing decisions and wrong diagnoses. Safe implementation of health IT is a complex, dynamic process that requires a shared responsibility between vendors and health care organizations. Health IT and Patient Safety makes recommendations for developing a framework for patient safety and health IT. This book focuses on finding ways to mitigate the risks of health IT-assisted care and identifies areas of concern so that the nation is in a better position to realize the potential benefits of health IT.
Health IT and Patient Safety is both comprehensive and specific in terms of recommended options and opportunities for public and private interventions that may improve the safety of care that incorporates the use of health IT. This book will be of interest to the health IT industry, the federal government, healthcare providers and other users of health IT, and patient advocacy groups.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Information Technology | Health and Medicine » Medical Technologies and Treatments
A Technical Analysis of the Common Carrier/User Interconnections Area assesses the technical factors affecting the common carrier/user interconnection area of public communications. This book develops technical and background information that might be useful to common carriers, users, and equipment manufacturers in reaching and implementing solutions to immediate problems. This includes a technical evaluation of various contending points fo view regarding the common carrier/user interaction area, the various problems to which these views relate, and the various technical and policy alternatives for responding to these problems in the near future.
A Technical Analysis of the Common Carrier/User Interconnections Area addresses questions of the propriety of the telephone company-provided network control signaling requirements and various alternatives to the provision thereof by the telephone company; the necessity and characteristics of telephone company-provided connecting arrangements and various alternatives to the provision thereof by the telephone company; and basic standards and specifications for interconnection and the appropriate method to administer them.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Internet and Networking
The Committee on Proposal Evaluation for Allocation of Supercomputing Time for the Study of Molecular Dynamics evaluated submissions received in response to a Request for Proposals (RFP) for Biomolecular Simulation Time on Anton, a supercomputer specially designed and built by D.E. Shaw Research (DESRES) that allows for dramatically increased molecular dynamics simulations compared to other currently available resources. Over the past year (October 1, 2010—September 30, 2011), DESRES has made available to the non-commercial research community 3,000,000 node-hours on an Anton system housed at the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center (PSC), based on the advice of a previous National Research Council committee convened in the fall of 2010.
The goal of the second RFP for Biomolecular Simulation Time on Anton has been to continue to facilitate breakthrough research in the study of biomolecular systems by providing a massively parallel system specially designed for molecular dynamics simulations. These special capabilities allow multi-microsecond to millisecond simulation timescales, which previously had been unobtainable. The program seeks to continue to support research that addresses important and high impact questions demonstrating a clear need for Anton's special capabilities. The Anton RFP described the three criteria against which the committee was asked to evaluate proposals: Scientific Merit, Justification for Requested Time Allocation, and Investigator Qualifications and Past Accomplishments.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Computers | Biology and Life Sciences » Biotechnology
This report from the Panel on Communicating National Science Foundation (NSF) Science and Engineering Information to Data Users recommends action by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (SRS) on four key issues: data content and presentation; meeting changing storage and retrieval standards; understanding data users and their emerging needs; and data accessibility.
This report also includes a summary of the workshop that focused on the several aspects of the NCSES's current approaches to communicating and disseminating statistical information—including NCSES's information products, website, and database systems. It included presentations from NCSES staff and representatives of key use groups—including the academic research, private nonprofit research, and federal government policy making communities.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Information Technology | Behavioral and Social Sciences » Surveys and Statistics | Surveys and Statistics » Surveys and Statistics
The Department of Defense (DOD) supports basic research to advance fundamental knowledge in fields important to national defense. Over the past six years, however, several groups have raised concern about whether the nature of DOD-funded basic research is changing. The concerns include these: Funds are being spent for research that does not fall under DOD's definition of basic research; reporting requirements have become cumbersome and onerous; and basic research is handled differently by the three services. To explore these concerns, the Congress directed DOD to request a study from the National Research Council (NRC) about the nature of basic research now being funded by the Department. Specifically the NRC was to determine if the programs in the DOD basic research portfolio are consistent with the DOD definition of basic research and with the characteristics associated with fundamental research.
Topics: Conflict and Security Issues » Policy, Reviews and Evaluations | Computers and Information Technology » Information Security and Privacy
As digital technologies are expanding the power and reach of research, they are also raising complex issues. These include complications in ensuring the validity of research data; standards that do not keep pace with the high rate of innovation; restrictions on data sharing that reduce the ability of researchers to verify results and build on previous research; and huge increases in the amount of data being generated, creating severe challenges in preserving that data for long-term use.
Ensuring the Integrity, Accessibility, and Stewardship of Research Data in the Digital Age examines the consequences of the changes affecting research data with respect to three issues - integrity, accessibility, and stewardship-and finds a need for a new approach to the design and the management of research projects. The report recommends that all researchers receive appropriate training in the management of research data, and calls on researchers to make all research data, methods, and other information underlying results publicly accessible in a timely manner. The book also sees the stewardship of research data as a critical long-term task for the research enterprise and its stakeholders. Individual researchers, research institutions, research sponsors, professional societies, and journals involved in scientific, engineering, and medical research will find this book an essential guide to the principles affecting research data in the digital age.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Policy, Reviews and Evaluations | Policy for Science and Technology » Research and Data | Education » Higher Education
The United States is increasingly dependent on information and information technology for both civilian and military purposes, as are many other nations. Although there is a substantial literature on the potential impact of a cyberattack on the societal infrastructure of the United States, little has been written about the use of cyberattack as an instrument of U.S. policy.
Cyberattacks—actions intended to damage adversary computer systems or networks—can be used for a variety of military purposes. But they also have application to certain missions of the intelligence community, such as covert action. They may be useful for certain domestic law enforcement purposes, and some analysts believe that they might be useful for certain private sector entities who are themselves under cyberattack. This report considers all of these applications from an integrated perspective that ties together technology, policy, legal, and ethical issues.
Focusing on the use of cyberattack as an instrument of U.S. national policy, Technology, Policy, Law and Ethics Regarding U.S. Acquisition and Use of Cyberattack Capabilities explores important characteristics of cyberattack. It describes the current international and domestic legal structure as it might apply to cyberattack, and considers analogies to other domains of conflict to develop relevant insights. Of special interest to the military, intelligence, law enforcement, and homeland security communities, this report is also an essential point of departure for nongovernmental researchers interested in this rarely discussed topic.
Topics: Conflict and Security Issues » Weapons and Technology | Computers and Information Technology » Information Security and Privacy | Conflict and Security Issues » Prevention, Security and Response | Conflict and Security Issues » Policy, Reviews and Evaluations
Despite a strong commitment to delivering quality health care, persistent problems involving medical errors and ineffective treatment continue to plague the industry. Many of these problems are the consequence of poor information and technology (IT) capabilities, and most importantly, the lack cognitive IT support. Clinicians spend a great deal of time sifting through large amounts of raw data, when, ideally, IT systems would place raw data into context with current medical knowledge to provide clinicians with computer models that depict the health status of the patient.
Computational Technology for Effective Health Care advocates re-balancing the portfolio of investments in health care IT to place a greater emphasis on providing cognitive support for health care providers, patients, and family caregivers; observing proven principles for success in designing and implementing IT; and accelerating research related to health care in the computer and social sciences and in health/biomedical informatics.
Health care professionals, patient safety advocates, as well as IT specialists and engineers, will find this book a useful tool in preparation for crossing the health care IT chasm.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Information Technology | Engineering and Technology » Applications of Technology | Health and Medicine » Medical Technologies and Treatments
In the realm of health care, privacy protections are needed to preserve patients' dignity and prevent possible harms. Ten years ago, to address these concerns as well as set guidelines for ethical health research, Congress called for a set of federal standards now known as the HIPAA Privacy Rule.
In its 2009 report, Beyond the HIPAA Privacy Rule: Enhancing Privacy, Improving Health Through Research, the Institute of Medicine's Committee on Health Research and the Privacy of Health Information concludes that the HIPAA Privacy Rule does not protect privacy as well as it should, and that it impedes important health research.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Information Security and Privacy | Health and Medicine » Policy, Reviews and Evaluations
Many federal funding requests for more advanced computer resources assume implicitly that greater computing power creates opportunities for advancement in science and engineering. This has often been a good assumption. Given stringent pressures on the federal budget, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) are seeking an improved approach to the formulation and review of requests from the agencies for new computing funds.
This book examines, for four illustrative fields of science and engineering, how one can start with an understanding of their major challenges and discern how progress against those challenges depends on high-end capability computing (HECC). The four fields covered are:
This book finds that all four of these fields are critically dependent on HECC, but in different ways. The book characterizes the components that combine to enable new advances in computational science and engineering and identifies aspects that apply to multiple fields.
Topics: Engineering and Technology » Applications of Technology | Computers and Information Technology » Computers
All U.S. agencies with counterterrorism programs that collect or "mine" personal data—such as phone records or Web sites visited—should be required to evaluate the programs' effectiveness, lawfulness, and impacts on privacy. A framework is offered that agencies can use to evaluate such information-based programs, both classified and unclassified. The book urges Congress to re-examine existing privacy law to assess how privacy can be protected in current and future programs and recommends that any individuals harmed by violations of privacy be given a meaningful form of redress.
Two specific technologies are examined: data mining and behavioral surveillance. Regarding data mining, the book concludes that although these methods have been useful in the private sector for spotting consumer fraud, they are less helpful for counterterrorism because so little is known about what patterns indicate terrorist activity. Regarding behavioral surveillance in a counterterrorist context, the book concludes that although research and development on certain aspects of this topic are warranted, there is no scientific consensus on whether these techniques are ready for operational use at all in counterterrorism.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Information Security and Privacy | Behavioral and Social Sciences » Law and Justice | Conflict and Security Issues » Prevention, Security and Response | Behavioral and Social Sciences » Surveys and Statistics | Surveys and Statistics » Surveys and Statistics
The nation's defense systems depend critically on advanced software, a dependency that will grow in both extent and complexity. Yet the Department of Defense is increasingly concerned for a number of reasons about its ability to meet these growing software needs. The help address these concerns, DoD asked the NRC to assess the nature of the national investment in software research and consider ways to revitalize the knowledge and human resource base needed to assure the needed software-intensive systems. To provide preliminary feedback on DoD software research needs and priorities and suggestions for a research agenda, DoD asked the NRC for an interim letter report. The letter report addresses three key technology areas: the management of engineering risk; software quality assurance; and the reduction of requirements-related risk without excessive sacrifice in systems capability. These and other areas will be discussed in greater detail in the final report.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Policy, Reviews and Evaluations | Conflict and Security Issues » Policy, Reviews and Evaluations
Innovation in Global Industries challenges this thinking. The book, a collection of individually authored studies, examines in detail structural changes in the innovation process in 10 service as well as manufacturing industries: personal computers; semiconductors; flat-panel displays; software; lighting; biotechnology; pharmaceuticals; financial services; logistics; and venture capital. There is no doubt that overall there has been an acceleration in global sourcing of innovation and an emergence of new locations of research capacity and advanced technical skills, but the patterns are highly variable. Many industries and some firms in nearly all industries retain leading-edge capacity in the United States. However, the book concludes that is no reason for complacency about the future outlook. Innovation deserves more emphasis in firm performance measures and more sustained support in public policy.
Innovation in Global Industries will be of special interest to business people and government policy makers as well as professors, students, and other researchers of economics, management, international affairs, and political science.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Policy, Reviews and Evaluations | Engineering and Technology » Policy, Reviews and Evaluations | Industry and Labor » Policy, Reviews and Evaluations
Toward a Safer and More Secure Cyberspace examines these Internet security vulnerabilities and offers a strategy for future research aimed at countering cyber attacks. It also explores the nature of online threats and some of the reasons why past research for improving cybersecurity has had less impact than anticipated, and considers the human resource base needed to advance the cybersecurity research agenda. This book will be an invaluable resource for Internet security professionals, information technologists, policy makers, data stewards, e-commerce providers, consumer protection advocates, and others interested in digital security and safety.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Information Security and Privacy | Computers and Information Technology » Internet and Networking | Conflict and Security Issues » Prevention, Security and Response
The growing scale and complexity of software-intensive systems are introducing fundamental new challenges of uncertainty and scale that are particularly demanding for defense systems. To assist in meeting these challenges, the Department of Defense asked the NRC to assess the nature of U.S. national investment in software research. As part of this study, a workshop was held to examine uncertainty at scale in current and future software-intensive systems. This report presents a summary of the workshop discussions that centered on process, architecture, and the grand scale; DoD software challenges for future systems; agility at scale; quality and assurance with scale and uncertainty; and enterprise scale and beyond. The report also offers a summary of key themes emerging from the workshop: architectural challenges in large-scale systems; the need for software engineering capability; and open questions and research opportunities.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Policy, Reviews and Evaluations | Computers and Information Technology » Computers
The U.S. military has committed to a strategy of network-centric warfare. As a result, the Army has become increasingly interested in the critical role of network science. To a significant extent, this interest was stimulated by an earlier NRC report, Network Science. To build on that book, the Army asked the NRC to conduct a study to define advanced operating models and architectures for future Army laboratories and centers focused on network science, technologies, and experimentation (NSTE). The challenges resulting from base realignment and closure (BRAC) relocations of Army research, development, and engineering resources—as they affected the NSTE program—were also to be a focus of the study. This book provides a discussion of what NSTE is needed by the Army; an examination of the NSTE currently carried out by the Army; an assessment of needed infrastructure resources for Army NSTE; and an analysis of goals, models, and alternatives for an NSTE center.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Internet and Networking | Conflict and Security Issues » Military and Defense Studies
Although Y2K did not result in major disruptions, the event is a rich source of critical lessons for strategic management of information and communication technology (ICT), many of which apply to large organizations today. Using a case study approach, this report describes lessons learned from the response of the Air Force to Y2K and makes recommendations for managing ICT complexity, aligning organizational and ICT strategies, and minimizing risk.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Policy, Reviews and Evaluations | Education » Testing, Assessments and Standards
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Information Security and Privacy | Behavioral and Social Sciences » Law and Justice
To prevent both the individually annoying and nationally significant consequences, human capabilities and needs must be considered early and throughout system design and development. One challenge for such consideration has been providing the background and data needed for the seamless integration of humans into the design process from various perspectives: human factors engineering, manpower, personnel, training, safety and health, and, in the military, habitability and survivability. This collection of development activities has come to be called human-system integration (HSI). Human-System Integration in the System Development Process reviews in detail more than 20 categories of HSI methods to provide invaluable guidance and information for system designers and developers.
Topics: Behavioral and Social Sciences » Human Systems and Technology | Computers and Information Technology » Internet and Networking | Behavioral and Social Sciences » Defense and Security
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Information Security and Privacy
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Internet and Networking | Engineering and Technology » Applications of Technology
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Internet and Networking | Conflict and Security Issues » Weapons and Technology
Topics: Biology and Life Sciences » Biotechnology | Computers and Information Technology » Computers | Biology and Life Sciences » Biology | Math, Chemistry, and Physics » Math and Statistics | Math, Chemistry, and Physics » Physics | Math, Chemistry, and Physics » Chemistry | Surveys and Statistics » Surveys and Statistics
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Policy, Reviews and Evaluations | Computers and Information Technology » Information Security and Privacy | Policy for Science and Technology » Research and Data | Behavioral and Social Sciences » Surveys and Statistics | Surveys and Statistics » Surveys and Statistics
This workshop summary was produced in the course of a broader study that is exploring how information technology research can foster new and improved government services, operations, and interactions with citizens. This workshop summary examines how this technology can contribute to more-effective response and recovery efforts to crises such as natural disasters or terrorist attacks, as well as to mitigation and preparedness in order to reduce the impact of these events.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Internet and Networking
This volume tells 16 remarkable stories—first person accounts of how information and communication technologies have been successfully introduced into institutions for the benefit of scientists and engineers in sub-Saharan Africa. These case studies focus on the lessons learned in designing and implementing projects dealing with scientific and technological information and examine the impact.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Internet and Networking
Computers at Risk presents a comprehensive agenda for developing nationwide policies and practices for computer security. Specific recommendations are provided for industry and for government agencies engaged in computer security activities.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Computers
Computers, communications, digital information, software—the constituents of the information age—are everywhere. Being computer literate, that is technically competent in two or three of today's software applications, is not enough anymore. Individuals who want to realize the potential value of information technology (IT) in their everyday lives need to be computer fluent—able to use IT effectively today and to adapt to changes tomorrow.
Being Fluent with Information Technology sets the standard for what everyone should know about IT in order to use it effectively now and in the future. It explores three kinds of knowledge—intellectual capabilities, foundational concepts, and skills—that are essential for fluency with IT. The book presents detailed descriptions and examples of current skills and timeless concepts and capabilities, which will be useful to individuals who use IT and to the instructors who teach them.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Information Technology | Computers and Information Technology » Internet and Networking
In response to a request from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the committee studied a range of issues to help identify what strategies the Department of Defense might follow to meet its need for flexible, rapidly deployable communications systems. Taking into account the military's particular requirements for security, interoperability, and other capabilities as well as the extent to which commercial technology development can be expected to support these and related needs, the book recommends systems and component research as well as organizational changes to help the DOD field state-of-the-art, cost-effective untethered communications systems. In addition to advising DARPA on where its investment in information technology for mobile wireless communications systems can have the greatest impact, the book explores the evolution of wireless technology, the often fruitful synergy between commercial and military research and development efforts, and the technical challenges still to be overcome in making the dream of "anytime, anywhere" communications a reality.
Topics: Conflict and Security Issues » Military and Defense Studies | Computers and Information Technology » Internet and Networking
This collection of papers by scholars of technology and society, based on a National Academy of Engineering symposium, explores the process of mutual adjustment between information technologies and social institutions. The topics addressed include recent developments and likely futures in information technology, comparison of information technology to historical developments in other technologies, and the interaction of information technology with businesses, homes, property rights in information, and various hierarchies of social organization.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Information Technology
Broadband communication expands our opportunities for entertainment, e-commerce and work at home, health care, education, and even e-government. It can make the Internet more useful to more people. But it all hinges on higher capacity in the "first mile" or "last mile" that connects the user to the larger communications network. That connection is often adequate for large organizations such as universities or corporations, but enhanced connections to homes are needed to reap the full social and economic promise.
Broadband: Bringing Home the Bits provides a contemporary snapshot of technologies, strategies, and policies for improving our communications and information infrastructure. It explores the potential benefits of broadband, existing and projected demand, progress and failures in deployment, competition in the broadband industry, and costs and who pays them. Explanations of broadband's alphabet soup — HFC, DSL, FTTH, and all the rest — are included as well. The report's finding and recommendations address regulation, the roles of communities, needed research, and other aspects, including implications for the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Computers | Computers and Information Technology » Internet and Networking
This report presents findings of a workshop featuring representatives of Internet Service Providers and others with access to data and insights about how the Internet performed on and immediately after the September 11 attacks. People who design and operate networks were asked to share data and their own preliminary analyses among participants in a closed workshop. They and networking researchers evaluated these inputs to synthesize lessons learned and derive suggestions for improvements in technology, procedures, and, as appropriate, policy.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Internet and Networking | Computers and Information Technology » Information Technology
Topics: Math, Chemistry, and Physics » Chemistry | Computers and Information Technology » Computers
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Policy, Reviews and Evaluations | Computers and Information Technology » Internet and Networking
New legal approaches, such as the European Union's 1996 Directive on the Legal Protection of Databases, and other legal initiatives now being considered in the United States at the federal and state level, are threatening to compromise public access to scientific and technical data available through computerized databases. Lawmakers are struggling to strike an appropriate balance between the rights of database rights holders, who are concerned about possible commercial misappropriation of their products, and public-interest users of the data such as researchers, educators, and libraries.
A Question of Balance examines this balancing act. The committee concludes that because database rights holders already enjoy significant legal, technical, and market-based protections, the need for statutory protection has not been sufficiently substantiated. Nevertheless, although the committee opposes the creation of any strong new protective measures, it recognizes that some additional limits against wholesale misappropriation of databases may be necessary. In particular, a new, properly scoped and focused U.S. statute might provide a reasonable alternative to the European Union's highly protectionistic database directive. Such legislation could then serve as a legal model for an international treaty in this area. The book recommends a number of guiding principles for such possible legislation, as well as related policy actions for the administration.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Information Security and Privacy | Policy for Science and Technology » Research and Data
This book presents a comprehensive examination of cryptography and its evolution from a national security tool to a key compenent of the global information super-highway. It addresses the urgent need for a strong national policy on cryptography that promotes and encourages its widespread use to protect the information interests of individuals, businesses, and the nation as a whole, while respecting legitimate national needs of law enforcement and intelligence for national security and foreign policy purposes.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Information Technology | Computers and Information Technology » Internet and Networking
Software is the product of intellectual creativity, but protection of the intellectual property residing in software is the subject of some controversy. This book captures a wide range of perspectives on the topic from industry, academe, and government, drawing on information presented at a workshop and forum.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Policy, Reviews and Evaluations
This book synthesizes the findings of three workshops on research issues in high-performance computing and communications (HPCC). It focuses on the role that computing and communications can play in supporting federal, state, and local emergency management officials who deal with natural and man-made hazards (e.g., toxic spills, terrorist bombings). The volume also identifies specific research challenges for HPCC in meeting unmet technology needs in crisis management and other nationally important application areas, such as manufacturing, health care, digital libraries, and electronic commerce and banking.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Internet and Networking | Computers and Information Technology » Policy, Reviews and Evaluations
Advancement of telecommunications and information infrastructure occurs largely through private investment. The government affects the rate and direction of this progress through regulation and public investment. This book presents a range of positions and perspectives on those two classes of policy mechanism, providing a succinct analysis followed by papers prepared by experts in telecommunications policy and applications.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Internet and Networking | Computers and Information Technology » Policy, Reviews and Evaluations
The need for quality improvement and for cost saving are driving both individual choices and health system dynamics. The health services research that we need to support informed choices depends on access to data, but at the same time, individual privacy and patient-health care provider confidentiality must be protected.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Information Security and Privacy
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Internet and Networking | Computers and Information Technology » Information Security and Privacy
Like its constituent agencies and other organizations, the federal government generates and increasingly saves a large and growing fraction of its records in electronic form. Recognizing the greater and greater importance of these electronic records for its mission of preserving "essential evidence," the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) launched a major new initiative, the Electronic Records Archives (ERA). NARA plans to commence the initial procurement for a production-quality ERA in 2003 and has started a process of defining the desired capabilities and requirements for the system.
As part of its preparations for an initial ERA procurement, NARA asked the National Academies' Computer Science and Telecommunications Board (CSTB) to provide independent technical advice on the design of an electronic records archive, including an assessment of how work sponsored by NARA at the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) helps inform the ERA design and what key issues should be considered in ERA's design and operation.Building an Electronic Records Archie at the National Archives and Records Administration provides preliminary feedback to NARA on lessons it should take from the SDSC work and identifies key ERA design issues that should be addressed as the ERA procurement process proceeds in 2003.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Policy, Reviews and Evaluations | Computers and Information Technology » Information Technology
This letter report presents a review of actions taken by the FBI that address many of the concerns discussed in the NRC report, A Review of the FBI's Trilogy Information Technology Modernization Program. That report was released in early May. The letter report presents the NRC assessment of those steps, noting where progress is apparent in addressing earlier concerns and where additional efforts are needed.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Policy, Reviews and Evaluations | Math, Chemistry, and Physics » Chemistry
Computing the Future presents a timely assessment of academic computer science and engineering, examining what should be done to ensure continuing progress in making discoveries that will carry computing into the twenty-first century. Most importantly, it advocates a broader research and educational agenda that builds on the field's impressive accomplishments.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Policy, Reviews and Evaluations
Maintaining the United States' strong lead in information technology will require continued federal support of research in this area, most of which is currently funded under the High Performance Computing and Communications Initiative (HPCCI). The Initiative has already accomplished a great deal and should be continued. This book provides 13 major recommendations for refining both HPCCI and support of information technology research in general. It also provides a good overview of the development of HPCC technologies.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Internet and Networking | Computers and Information Technology » Computers
This book warns that retaining U.S. preeminence in computing at the beginning of the next century will require long-term planning, leadership, and collective will that cannot be attained with a business-as-usual approach by industry or government. This consensus emerged from a colloquium of top executives from the U.S. computer sector, university and industry researchers, and government policymakers.
Among the major issues discussed are long-term, or strategic, commitment on the part of large firms in the United States; cooperation within and among firms and between industry, universities, and government; weaknesses in manufacturing and in the integration of research, development, and manufacturing; technical standards for both hardware and software manufacture and operation; and education and infrastructure (in particular, computer networks).
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Policy, Reviews and Evaluations
The information age is taking its toll on traditional office management techniques. According to Infosystems, "If you're cautious of 'experts' who claim to have all the answers, then you'll find comfort in the theme of 'unleashed creativity' that recurs throughout the 20 essays presented in this book....Organizations will have to devise a strategy for understanding how [a microcomputer's] performance can be monitored. Regardless of what may happen, this book provides managers with appropriate ammunition."
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Computers
Regional health care databases are being established around the country with the goal of providing timely and useful information to policymakers, physicians, and patients. But their emergence is raising important and sometimes controversial questions about the collection, quality, and appropriate use of health care data.
Based on experience with databases now in operation and in development, Health Data in the Information Age provides a clear set of guidelines and principles for exploiting the potential benefits of aggregated health data—without jeopardizing confidentiality.
A panel of experts identifies characteristics of emerging health database organizations (HDOs). The committee explores how HDOs can maintain the quality of their data, what policies and practices they should adopt, how they can prepare for linkages with computer-based patient records, and how diverse groups from researchers to health care administrators might use aggregated data.
Health Data in the Information Age offers frank analysis and guidelines that will be invaluable to anyone interested in the operation of health care databases.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Information Security and Privacy
This book identifies challenges and opportunities in the development and implementation of software that contain significant statistical content. While emphasizing the relevance of using rigorous statistical and probabilistic techniques in software engineering contexts, it presents opportunities for further research in the statistical sciences and their applications to software engineering.
It is intended to motivate and attract new researchers from statistics and the mathematical sciences to attack relevant and pressing problems in the software engineering setting. It describes the "big picture," as this approach provides the context in which statistical methods must be developed. The book's survey nature is directed at the mathematical sciences audience, but software engineers should also find the statistical emphasis refreshing and stimulating. It is hoped that the book will have the effect of seeding the field of statistical software engineering by its indication of opportunities where statistical thinking can help to increase understanding, productivity, and quality of software and software production.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Policy, Reviews and Evaluations | Math, Chemistry, and Physics » Math and Statistics | Surveys and Statistics » Surveys and Statistics
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Computers | Computers and Information Technology » Internet and Networking
Beyond Productivity argues that, at the beginning of the 21st century, information technology (IT) is forming a powerful alliance with creative practices in the arts and design to establish the exciting new, domain of information technology and creative practices—ITCP. There are major benefits to be gained from encouraging, supporting, and strategically investing in this domain.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Internet and Networking
Progress in information technology (IT) has been remarkable, but the best truly is yet to come: the power of IT as a human enabler is just beginning to be realized. Whether the nation builds on this momentum or plateaus prematurely depends on today's decisions about fundamental research in computer science (CS) and the related fields behind IT.
The Computer Science and Telecommunications Board (CSTB) has often been asked to examine how innovation occurs in IT, what the most promising research directions are, and what impacts such innovation might have on society. Consistent themes emerge from CSTB studies, notwithstanding changes in information technology itself, in the IT-producing sector, and in the U.S. university system, a key player in IT research.
In this synthesis report, based largely on the eight CSTB reports enumerated below, CSTB highlights these themes and updates some of the data that support them.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Information Technology | Industry and Labor » Economics
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Information Security and Privacy | Computers and Information Technology » Policy, Reviews and Evaluations
Whether or not you use a computer, you probably use a telephone, electricity, and a bank. Although you may not be aware of their presence, networked computer systems are an integral part of daily life. Yet if such systems perform poorly or don't work at all, they can put life, liberty, and property at risk. Is the trust we place in networked computer systems justified? And if it isn't, what can we do to make such systems more secure?
In this book, industry and academic experts provide a detailed assessment of the current state of the art for building trustworthy networked information systems. They propose new directions for research in computer and network security, software technology, and system architecture.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Internet and Networking | Computers and Information Technology » Information Technology
This book sets out technological research topics designed to facilitate and expand distributed work—including telecommuting, working while mobile, and working in geographically distributed teams. The book's recommendations for computing and communications infrastructure center on the provision and use of bandwidth—or the speed of communications. Concurrent applications research should be focused on ease of use and interoperability of the multitude of devices and programs that currently are needed to engage in distributed work.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Internet and Networking
Large and growing opportunity costs are resulting from the inability to produce sophisticated, reliable software in a timely manner. Software engineering presents stubborn problems, but in this book, a group of experts suggest several constructive directions for research. Together, they support the need for greater interaction between researchers and practitioners and more aggressive efforts to share and reuse software engineering knowledge.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Information Security and Privacy
This book advises the National Archives and Records Administration and federal R&D agencies on the long-term retention of scientific and technical data, particularly in electronic formats. It proposes the creation of a National Scientific Information Resource Federation, which would apply a strategic data life-cycle management plan to better link the government's existing scientific data holdings and improve public access to those holdings. The book is expected to draw attention to data management concerns in the context of the current government emphasis on promoting a National Information Infrastructure and to make a significant contribution to improving the inadequate situation regarding our nation's valuable scientific data and information resources.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Information Technology | Earth Sciences » Climate, Weather and Meteorology
This book describes a number of social and legal issues as they relate to various members of electronically networked communities. After a brief introduction to relevant legal precedents and to the manner in which societies develop norms for social behavior, the book explores right and responsibilities related to free speech, vandalism, property interests, and privacy.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Internet and Networking | Policy for Science and Technology » Research and Data
While societies have always had information infrastructures, the power and reach of today's information technologies offer opportunities to transform work and family lives in an unprecedented fashion. This volume, a collection of six papers presented at the 1994 National Academy of Engineering Meeting Technical Session, presents a range of views on the subject of the revolution in the U.S. information infrastructure. The papers cover a variety of current issues including an overview of the technological developments driving the evolution of information infrastructures and where they will lead; the development of the Internet, particularly the government's role in its evolution; the impact of regulatory reform and antitrust enforcement on the telecommunications revolution; and perspectives from the computer, wireless, and satellite communications industries.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Internet and Networking | Computers and Information Technology » Computers
In response to a mandate from Congress in conjunction with the Protection of Children from Sexual Predators Act of 1998, the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board (CSTB) and the Board on Children, Youth, and Families of the National Research Council (NRC) and the Institute of Medicine established the Committee to Study Tools and Strategies for Protecting Kids from Pornography and Their Applicability to Other Inappropriate Internet Content.
To collect input and to disseminate useful information to the nation on this question, the committee held two public workshops. On December 13, 2000, in Washington, D.C., the committee convened a workshop to focus on nontechnical strategies that could be effective in a broad range of settings (e.g., home, school, libraries) in which young people might be online. This workshop brought together researchers, educators, policy makers, and other key stakeholders to consider and discuss these approaches and to identify some of the benefits and limitations of various nontechnical strategies. The December workshop is summarized in Nontechnical Strategies to Reduce Children's Exposure to Inappropriate Material on the Internet: Summary of a Workshop. The second workshop was held on March 7, 2001, in Redwood City, California. This second workshop focused on some of the technical, business, and legal factors that affect how one might choose to protect kids from pornography on the Internet. The present report provides, in the form of edited transcripts, the presentations at that workshop.
Topics: Behavioral and Social Sciences » Children, Youth and Families | Computers and Information Technology » Internet and Networking
Who Goes There?: Authentication Through the Lens of Privacy explores authentication technologies (passwords, PKI, biometrics, etc.) and their implications for the privacy of the individuals being authenticated. As authentication becomes ever more ubiquitous, understanding its interplay with privacy is vital. The report examines numerous concepts, including authentication, authorization, identification, privacy, and security. It provides a framework to guide thinking about these issues when deciding whether and how to use authentication in a particular context. The book explains how privacy is affected by system design decisions. It also describes government's unique role in authentication and what this means for how government can use authentication with minimal invasions of privacy. In addition, Who Goes There? outlines usability and security considerations and provides a primer on privacy law and policy.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Internet and Networking
Drawing on the findings of sector-specific workshops, e-mail surveys, research literature, expert testimony, and committee and panel members' expertise, this National Academy of Engineering study assesses the qualitative impact of academic research on five industries—network systems and communications; medical devices and equipment; aerospace; transportation, distribution, and logistics services; and financial services. The book documents the range and significance of academic research contributions to the five industries—comparing the importance of different types of contributions, the multi- and interdisciplinary nature of these contributions, and the multiple vectors by which academic research is linked to each industry. The book calls for action to address six cross-cutting challenges to university-industry interactions: the growing disciplinary and time-horizon-related imbalances in federal R&D funding, barriers to university-industry interaction in service industries, the critical role of academic research in the advancement of information technology, the role of academic research in the regulation of industry, the impact of technology transfer activities on core university research and education missions, and the search for new pathways and mechanisms to enhance the contributions of academic research to industry. The book also includes findings and recommendations specific to each industry.
Topics: Industry and Labor » Economics | Computers and Information Technology » Internet and Networking | Policy for Science and Technology » Research and Data
Supercomputers play a significant and growing role in a variety of areas important to the nation. They are used to address challenging science and technology problems. In recent years, however, progress in supercomputing in the United States has slowed. The development of the Earth Simulator supercomputer by Japan that the United States could lose its competitive advantage and, more importantly, the national competence needed to achieve national goals. In the wake of this development, the Department of Energy asked the NRC to assess the state of U.S. supercomputing capabilities and relevant R&D. Subsequently, the Senate directed DOE in S. Rpt. 107-220 to ask the NRC to evaluate the Advanced Simulation and Computing program of the National Nuclear Security Administration at DOE in light of the development of the Earth Simulator. This report provides an assessment of the current status of supercomputing in the United States including a review of current demand and technology, infrastructure and institutions, and international activities.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Internet and Networking | Computers and Information Technology » Computers
The national information infrastructure (NII) holds the promise of connecting people of all ages and descriptions—bringing them opportunities to interact with businesses, government agencies, entertainment sources, and social networks. Whether the NII fulfills this promise for everyone depends largely on interfaces—technologies by which people communicate with the computing systems of the NII.
More Than Screen Deep addresses how to ensure NII access for every citizen, regardless of age, physical ability, race/ethnicity, education, ability, cognitive style, or economic level. This thoughtful document explores current issues and prioritizes research directions in creating interface technologies that accommodate every citizen's needs.
The committee provides an overview of NII users, tasks, and environments and identifies the desired characteristics in every-citizen interfaces, from power and efficiency to an element of fun. The book explores:
Offering data, examples, and expert commentary, More Than Screen Deep charts a path toward enabling the broadest-possible spectrum of citizens to interact easily and effectively with the NII. This volume will be important to policymakers, information system designers and engineers, human factors professionals, and advocates for special populations.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Internet and Networking
Despite widespread interest in virtual reality, research and development efforts in synthetic environments (SE)—the field encompassing virtual environments, teleoperation, and hybrids—have remained fragmented.
Virtual Reality is the first integrated treatment of the topic, presenting current knowledge along with thought-provoking vignettes about a future where SE is commonplace.
This volume discusses all aspects of creating a system that will allow human operators to see, hear, smell, taste, move about, give commands, respond to conditions, and manipulate objects effectively in a real or virtual environment. The committee of computer scientists, engineers, and psychologists on the leading edge of SE development explores the potential applications of SE in the areas of manufacturing, medicine, education, training, scientific visualization, and teleoperation in hazardous environments.
The committee also offers recommendations for development of improved SE technology, needed studies of human behavior and evaluation of SE systems, and government policy and infrastructure.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Internet and Networking | Conflict and Security Issues » Military and Defense Studies
Supercomputers are the ultimate engine of the information age. By generating and processing vast amounts of data with hitherto unparalleled speed, they make new activities in industrial research and product development possible.
Supercomputers explores commercial supercomputer applications today as well as those emerging from university laboratories. It outlines trends in the supercomputing technology into the near future, and also contributes to a growing debate on the roles of the public and private sectors in nurturing this vital technology.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Internet and Networking
Interactive multimedia and information infrastructure receive a lot of attention in the press, but what do they really mean for society? What are the most significant and enduring innovations? What does the convergence of digitally based technologies mean for U.S. businesses and consumers? This book presents an overview of the exciting but much-hyped phenomenon of digital convergence.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Internet and Networking | Computers and Information Technology » Policy, Reviews and Evaluations
This book identifies areas that represent new needs and opportunities for human factors research in the coming decades. It is forward-looking, problem oriented, and selectively focused on national or global problems, including productivity in organizations, education and training, employment and disabilities, health care, and environmental change; technology issues, including communications technology and telenetworking, information access and usability, emerging technologies, automation, and flexible manufacturing, and advanced transportation systems; and human performance, including cognitive performance under stress and aiding intellectual work.
Topics: Behavioral and Social Sciences » Human Systems and Technology | Computers and Information Technology » Internet and Networking
Systems integration—the enterprise-wide integration of computer applications—offers an enormous opportunity for U.S. firms to capitalize on their strengths in such areas as complex software, networking, and management.
In this book, industry leaders, university researchers, and government policymakers discuss what systems integration is, its importance and prospects for growth, why it is expected to define the characteristics of computerization for decades to come, and why the United States is perceived to have a strong competitive advantage.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Internet and Networking | Industry and Labor » Economics
IDs—Not That Easy highlights some of the challenging policy, procedural, and technological issues presented by nationwide identity systems. In the wake of the events of September 11, 2001, nationwide identity systems have been proposed to better track the movement of suspected terrorists. However, questions arise as to who would use the system and how, if participation would be mandatory, the type of data that would be collected, and the legal structures needed to protect privacy. The committee's goal is to foster a broad and deliberate discussion among policy-makers and the public about the form of nationwide identity system that might be created, and whether such a system is desirable or feasible.
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Information Security and Privacy | Computers and Information Technology » Internet and Networking
Topics: Computers and Information Technology » Internet and Networking | Engineering and Technology » Applications of Technology | Behavioral and Social Sciences » Surveys and Statistics | Surveys and Statistics » Surveys and Statistics