New Titles from the National Academies Press | Industry and Laborhttp://www.nap.edu/rss?topic=2892013-05-25T08:18:44-04:00Science books from the publishers for the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Medicine, and the National Research CouncilBuilding the Illinois Innovation Economy: Summary of a Symposiumtag:nap.edu,2013:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=14684#final2013-05-14T10:49:04-04:002013-05-14T10:49:04-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
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<p>Responding to the challenges of fostering regional growth and employment in an increasingly competitive global economy, many U.S. states and regions have developed programs to attract and grow companies as well as attract the talent and resources necessary to develop innovation clusters. These state and regionally based initiatives have a broad range of goals and increasingly include significant resources, often with a sector focus and often in partnership with foundations and universities. These are being joined by recent initiatives to coordinate and concentrate investments from a variety of federal agencies that provide significant resources to develop regional centers of innovation, business incubators, and other strategies to encourage entrepreneurship and high-tech development.</p> <p><em>Building the Illinois Innovation Economy</em> is a study of selected state and regional programs to identify best practices with regard to their goals, structures, instruments, modes of operation, synergies across private and public programs, funding mechanisms and levels, and evaluation efforts. This report reviews selected state and regional efforts to capitalize on federal and state investments in areas of critical national needs. This review includes both efforts to strengthen existing industries as well as specific new technology focus areas such as nanotechnology, stem cells, and energy in order to improve our understanding of program goals, challenges, and accomplishments. As a part of this review, The Committee on Competing in the 21st Century: Best Practice in State and Regional Innovation Initiatives is convening a series of public workshops and symposia involving responsible local, state, and federal officials and other stakeholders. These meetings and symposia will enable an exchange of views, information, experience, and analysis to identify best practice in the range of programs and incentives adopted.</p> <p><em>Building the Illinois Innovation Economy </em>summarizes discussions at these symposia, fact-finding meetings, and commissioned analyses of existing state and regional programs and technology focus areas, the committee will subsequently produce a final report with findings and recommendations focused on lessons, issues, and opportunities for complementary U.S. policies created by these state and regional initiatives.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=14684">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=406'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/QJ5pquV0O7Y" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=14684Emerging Workforce Trends in the U.S. Energy and Mining Industries: A Call to Actiontag:nap.edu,2013:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18250#prepub2013-03-21T10:46:20-04:002013-03-21T10:46:20-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
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<p>Energy and mineral resources are essential for the nation's fundamental functions, its economy, and security. Nonfuel minerals are essential for the existence and operations of products that are used by people every day and are provided by various sectors of the mining industry. Energy in the United States is provided from a variety of resources including fossil fuels, and renewable and nuclear energy, all with established commercial industry bases. The United States is the largest electric power producer in the world. The overall value added to the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) in 2011 by major industries that consumed processed nonfuel mineral materials was $2.2 trillion.</p> <p><br /> Recognizing the importance of understanding the state of the energy and mining workforce in the United States to assure a trained and skilled workforce of sufficient size for the future, the Department of Energy's (DOE's) National Energy technology Laboratory (NETL) contracted with the National Research Council (NRC) to perform a study of the emerging workforce trends in the U.S. energy and mining industries. <em>Emerging Workforce Trends in the U.S. Energy and Mining Industries: A Call to Action </em>summarizes the findings of this study.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18250">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=407'>Workforce and Labor Issues</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=283'>Energy and Energy Conservation</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=356'>Energy Resources</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/hwSmjPfj1F0" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18250Improving Self-Escape from Underground Coal Minestag:nap.edu,2013:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18300#prepub2013-03-14T10:45:29-04:002013-03-14T11:55:17-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
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<p>Coal mine disasters in the United States are relatively rare events; many of the roughly 50,000 miners underground will never have to evacuate a mine in an emergency during their careers. However, for those that do, the consequences have the potential to be devastating. U.S. mine safety practices have received increased attention in recent years because of the highly publicized coal mine disasters in 2006 and 2010. Investigations have centered on understanding both how to prevent or mitigate emergencies and what capabilities are needed by miners to self-escape to a place of safety successfully. This report focuses on the latter - the preparations for self-escape.</p> <p>In the wake of 2006 disasters, the U.S. Congress passed the Mine Improvement<br /> and New Emergency Response Act of 2006 (MINER Act), which was designed to strengthen existing mine safety regulations and set forth new measures aimed at improving accident preparedness and emergency response in underground coal mines. Since that time, the efforts of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) have contributed to safety improvements in the mining industry. However, the Upper Big Branch mine explosion in 2010 served as a reminder to remain ever vigilant on improving the prevention of mine disasters and preparations to help miners survive in the event of emergencies.</p> <p>This study was set in the context of human-systems integration (HSI), a systems approach that examines the interaction of people, tasks, and equipment and technology in the pursuit of a goal. It recognizes this interaction occurs within, and is influenced by, the broader environmental context. A key premise of human-systems integration is that much important information is lost when the various tasks within a system are considered individually or in isolation rather than in interaction with the whole system. <em>Improving Self-Escape from Underground Coal Mines</em>, the task of self-escape is part of the mine safety system. </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18300">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=407'>Workforce and Labor Issues</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=277'>Behavioral and Social Sciences</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=404'>Human Factors</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/tOTmyw7p8lQ" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18300Collecting Compensation Data from Employerstag:nap.edu,2013:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13496#final2013-03-01T00:00:00-05:002013-04-22T12:04:45-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
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<p>U.S. agencies with responsibilities for enforcing equal employment opportunity laws have long relied on detailed information that is obtained from employers on employment in job groups by gender and race/ethnicity for identifying the possibility of discriminatory practices. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Office of Federal Contract Compliance programs of the U.S. Department of Labor, and the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice have developed processes that use these employment data as well as other sources of information to target employers for further investigation and to perform statistical analysis that is used in enforcing the anti-discrimination laws. The limited data from employers do not include (with a few exceptions) the ongoing measurement of possible discrimination in compensation.</p> <p>The proposed Paycheck Fairness Act of 2009 would have required EEOC to issue regulations mandating that employers provide the EEOC with information on pay by the race, gender, and national origin of employees. The legislation was not enacted. If the legislation had become law, the EEOC would have been required to confront issues regarding currently available and potential data sources, methodological requirements, and appropriate statistical techniques for the measurement and collection of employer pay data.</p> <p>The panel concludes that the collection of earnings data would be a significant undertaking for the EEOC and that there might be an increased reporting burden on some employers. Currently, there is no clearly articulated vision of how the data on wages could be used in the conduct of the enforcement responsibilities of the relevant agencies.<em> Collecting Compensation Data from Employers </em>gives recommendations for targeting employers for investigation regarding their compliance with antidiscrimination laws.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13496">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/dpn-eXT48jw" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13496Measuring What We Spend: Toward a New Consumer Expenditure Surveytag:nap.edu,2013:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13520#final2013-02-15T00:00:00-05:002013-02-19T13:28:34-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
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<p>The Consumer Expenditure (CE) surveys are the only source of information on the complete range of consumers' expenditures and incomes in the United States, as well as the characteristics of those consumers. The CE consists of two separate surveys: (1) a national sample of households interviewed five times at three-month intervals; and (2) a separate national sample of households that complete two consecutive one-week expenditure diaries. For more than 40 years, these surveys, the responsibility of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), have been the principal source of knowledge about changing patterns of consumer spending in the U.S. population.</p> <p>In February 2009, BLS initiated the Gemini Project, the aim of which is to redesign the CE surveys to improve data quality through a verifiable reduction in measurement error with a particular focus on underreporting. The Gemini Project initiated a series of information-gathering meetings, conference sessions, forums, and workshops to identify appropriate strategies for improving CE data quality. As part of this effort, BLS requested the National Research Council's Committee on National Statistics (CNSTAT) to convene an expert panel to build on the Gemini Project by conducting further investigations and proposing redesign options for the CE surveys.</p> <p>The charge to the Panel on Redesigning the BLS Consumer Expenditure Surveys includes reviewing the output of a Gemini-convened data user needs forum and methods workshop and convening its own household survey producers workshop to obtain further input. In addition, the panel was tasked to commission options from contractors for consideration in recommending possible redesigns. The panel was further asked by BLS to create potential redesigns that would put a greater emphasis on proactive data collection to improve the measurement of consumer expenditures. <em>Measuring What We Spend</em> summarizes the deliberations and activities of the panel, discusses the conclusions about the uses of the CE surveys and why a redesign is needed, as well as recommendations for the future.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13520">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=277'>Behavioral and Social Sciences</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=307'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/9e62AVBd0FE" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13520Building the Ohio Innovation Economy: Summary of a Symposiumtag:nap.edu,2013:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13538#final2013-02-08T10:45:18-05:002013-02-27T09:06:08-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
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<p>Since 1991, the National Research Council, under the auspices of the Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy, has undertaken a program of activities to improve policymakers' understandings of the interconnections of science, technology, and economic policy and their importance for the American economy and its international competitive position. The Board's activities have corresponded with increased policy recognition of the importance of knowledge and technology to economic growth.</p> <p><br /> One important element of STEP's analysis concerns the growth and impact of foreign technology programs. U.S. competitors have launched substantial programs to support new technologies, small firm development, and consortia among large and small firms to strengthen national and regional positions in strategic sectors. Some governments overseas have chosen to provide public support to innovation to overcome the market imperfections apparent in their national innovation systems. They believe that the rising costs and risks associated with new potentially high-payoff technologies, and the growing global dispersal of technical expertise, underscore the need for national R&D programs to support new and existing high-technology firms within their borders.</p> <p><br /> Similarly, many state and local governments and regional entities in the United States are undertaking a variety of initiatives to enhance local economic development and employment through investment programs designed to attract knowledge-based industries and grow innovation clusters. These state and regional programs and associated policy measures are of great interest for their potential contributions to growth and U.S. competitiveness and for the "best practice" lessons that they offer for other state and regional programs. STEP's project on State and Regional Innovation Initiatives is intended to generate a better understanding of the challenges associated with the transition of research into products, the practices associated with successful state and regional programs, and their interaction with federal programs and private initiatives. The study seeks to achieve this goal through a series of complementary assessments of state, regional, and federal initiatives; analyses of specific industries and technologies from the perspective of crafting supportive public policy at all three levels; and outreach to multiple stakeholders. <em>Building the Ohio Innovation Economy: Summary of a Symposium</em> explains the of the study, which is to improve the operation of state and regional programs and, collectively, enhance their impact.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13538">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=406'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/64cOpJcGtyU" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13538Medical Care Economic Risk: Measuring Financial Vulnerability from Spending on Medical Caretag:nap.edu,2013:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13525#final2013-01-10T00:00:00-05:002013-01-12T14:10:32-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
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<p>The United States has seen major advances in medical care during the past decades, but access to care at an affordable cost is not universal. Many Americans lack health care insurance of any kind, and many others with insurance are nonetheless exposed to financial risk because of high premiums, deductibles, co-pays, limits on insurance payments, and uncovered services. One might expect that the U.S. poverty measure would capture these financial effects and trends in them over time. Yet the current official poverty measure developed in the early 1960s does not take into account significant increases and variations in medical care costs, insurance coverage, out-of-pocket spending, and the financial burden imposed on families and individuals. Although medical costs consume a growing share of family and national income and studies regularly document high rates of medical financial stress and debt, the current poverty measure does not capture the consequences for families' economic security or their income available for other basic needs.</p> <p>In 1995, a panel of the National Research Council (NRC) recommended a new poverty measure, which compares families' disposable income to poverty thresholds based on current spending for food, clothing, shelter, utilities, and a little more. The panel's recommendations stimulated extensive collaborative research involving several government agencies on experimental poverty measures that led to a new research Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM), which the U.S. Census Bureau first published in November 2011 and will update annually. Analyses of the effects of including and excluding certain factors from the new SPM showed that, were it not for the cost that families incurred for premiums and other medical expenses not covered by health insurance, 10 million fewer people would have been poor according to the SPM.</p> <p>The implementation of the patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) provides a strong impetus to think rigorously about ways to measure medical care economic burden and risk, which is the basis for <em>Medical Care Economic Risk</em>. As new policies - whether part of the ACA or other policies - are implemented that seek to expand and improve health insurance coverage and to protect against the high costs of medical care relative to income, such measures will be important to assess the effects of policy changes in both the short and long term on the extent of financial burden and risk for the population, which are explained in this report.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13525">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=392'>Healthcare and Quality</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=277'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=307'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/5lBJPXSnbfU" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13525Building the U.S. Battery Industry for Electric Drive Vehicles: Summary of a Symposiumtag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13370#final2012-12-14T08:45:29-05:002012-12-14T08:45:50-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Since 1991, the National Research Council, under the auspices of the Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy, has undertaken a program of activities to improve policymakers' understandings of the interconnections of science, technology, and economic policy and their importance for the American economy and its international competitive position. The Board's activities have corresponded with increased policy recognition of the importance of knowledge and technology to economic growth. The goal of the this symposium was to conduct two public symposia to review and analyze the potential contributions of public-private partnerships and identify other relevant issues for the Department of Energy, Office of Vehicle Technologies, Energy Storage Team's activities in the energy storage research and development area. The symposia will also identify lessons from these and other domestic and international experiences to help inform DoE as to whether its activities are complete and appropriately focused. Additional topics that emerge in the course of the planning may also be addressed. <em>Building the U.S. Battery Industry for Electric Drive Vehicles: Summary of a Symposium</em> gathers representatives from leading battery manufacturers, automotive firms, university researchers, academic and industry analysts, congressional staff, and federal agency representatives. An individually-authored summary of each symposium will be issued.</p> <p>The symposium was held in Michigan in order to provide direct access to the policymakers and industrial participants drawn from the concentration of battery manufacturers and automotive firms in the region. The symposium reviewed the current state, needs, and challenges of the U.S. advanced battery manufacturing industry; challenges and opportunities in battery R&D, commercialization, and deployment; collaborations between the automotive industry and battery industry; workforce issues, and supply chain development. It also focused on the impact of DoE's investments and the role of state and federal programs in support of this growing industry. This task of this report is to summarize the presentations and discussions that took place at this symposium. Needless to say, the battery industry has evolved very substantially since the conference was held, and indeed some of the caveats raised by the speakers with regard to overall demand for batteries and the prospects of multiple producers now seem prescient. At the same time, it is important to understand that it is unrealistic to expect that all recipients of local, state, or federal support in a complex and rapidly evolving industry will necessarily succeed. A number of the firms discussed here have been absorbed by competitors, others have gone out of business, and others continue to progress.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13370">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=405'>Industrial and Manufacturing Technologies</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id='></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=294'>Transportation</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=284'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=361'>Construction: Design, Research, Planning</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/5jibnSSg-so" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13370Building the Arkansas Innovation Economy: Summary of a Symposiumtag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13532#final2012-12-14T08:45:15-05:002012-12-14T08:45:29-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>A committee under the auspices of the Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy (STEP), is conducting a study of selected state and regional programs in order to identify best practices with regard to their goals, structures, instruments, modes of operation, synergies across private and public programs, funding mechanisms and levels, and evaluation efforts. The committee is reviewing selected state and regional efforts to capitalize on federal and state investments in areas of critical national needs. <em>Building the Arkansas Innovation Economy: Summary of a Symposium</em> includes both efforts to strengthen existing industries as well as specific new technology focus areas such as nanotechnology, stem cells, and energy in order to better understand program goals, challenges, and accomplishments. As a part of this review, the committee is convening a series of public workshops and symposia involving responsible local, state, and federal officials and other stakeholders. These meetings and symposia will enable an exchange of views, information, experience, and analysis to identify best practice in the range of programs and incentives adopted. Drawing from discussions at these symposia, fact-finding meetings, and commissioned analyses of existing state and regional programs and technology focus areas, the committee will subsequently produce a final report with findings and recommendations focused on lessons, issues, and opportunities for complementary U.S. policies created by these state and regional initiatives.</p> <p><br /> Since 1991, the National Research Council, under the auspices of the Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy, has undertaken a program of activities to improve policymakers' understandings of the interconnections of science, technology, and economic policy and their importance for the American economy and its international competitive position. The Board's activities have corresponded with increased policy recognition of the importance of knowledge and technology to economic growth. One important element of STEP's analysis concerns the growth and impact of foreign technology programs.1 U.S. competitors have launched substantial programs to support new technologies, small firm development, and consortia among large and small firms to strengthen national and regional positions in strategic sectors. Some governments overseas have chosen to provide public support to innovation to overcome the market imperfections apparent in their national innovation systems. They believe that the rising costs and risks associated with new potentially high-payoff technologies, and the growing global dispersal of technical expertise, underscore the need for national R&D programs to support new and existing high-technology firms within their borders.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13532">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/BYWuKLEQ2vg" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13532Aging and the Macroeconomy: Long-Term Implications of an Older Populationtag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13465#final2012-12-10T00:00:00-05:002012-12-17T11:38:35-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The United States is in the midst of a major demographic shift. In the coming decades, people aged 65 and over will make up an increasingly large percentage of the population: The ratio of people aged 65+ to people aged 20-64 will rise by 80%. This shift is happening for two reasons: people are living longer, and many couples are choosing to have fewer children and to have those children somewhat later in life. The resulting demographic shift will present the nation with economic challenges, both to absorb the costs and to leverage the benefits of an aging population.</p> <p><em>Aging and the Macroeconomy: Long-Term Implications of an Older Population </em>presents the fundamental factors driving the aging of the U.S. population, as well as its societal implications and likely long-term macroeconomic effects in a global context. The report finds that, while population aging does not pose an insurmountable challenge to the nation, it is imperative that sensible policies are implemented soon to allow companies and households to respond. It offers four practical approaches for preparing resources to support the future consumption of households and for adapting to the new economic landscape.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13465">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=277'>Behavioral and Social Sciences</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=302'>Aging</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=385'>Aging</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=277'>Behavioral and Social Sciences</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=305'>Human Dimensions of Global Change</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/GPIqE4-fF0w" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13465Making Value: Integrating Manufacturing, Design, and Innovation to Thrive in the Changing Global Economytag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13504#final2012-11-02T00:00:00-04:002012-11-02T15:21:44-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Manufacturing is in a period of dramatic transformation. But in the United States, public and political dialogue is simplistically focused almost entirely on the movement of certain manufacturing jobs overseas to low-wage countries. The true picture is much more complicated, and also more positive, than this dialogue implies.</p> <p><br /> After years of despair, many observers of US manufacturing are now more optimistic. A recent uptick in manufacturing employment and output in the United States is one factor they cite, but the main reasons for optimism are much more fundamental. Manufacturing is changing in ways that may favor American ingenuity. Rapidly advancing technologies in areas such as biomanufacturing, robotics, smart sensors, cloud-based computing, and nanotechnology have transformed not only the factory floor but also the way products are invented and designed, putting a premium on continual innovation and highly skilled workers. A shift in manufacturing toward smaller runs and custom-designed products is favoring agile and adaptable workplaces, business models, and employees, all of which have become a specialty in the United States. Future manufacturing will involve a global supply web, but the United States has a potentially great advantage because of our tight connections among innovations, design, and manufacturing and also our ability to integrate products and services.</p> <p><br /> The National Academy of Engineering has been concerned about the issues surrounding manufacturing and is excited by the prospect of dramatic change. On June 11-12, 2012, it hosted a workshop in Washington, DC, to discuss the new world of manufacturing and how to position the United States to thrive in this world. The workshop steering committee focused on two particular goals. First, presenters and participants were to examine not just manufacturing but the broad array of activities that are inherently associated with manufacturing, including innovation and design. Second, the committee wanted to focus not just on making things but on making value, since value is the quality that will underlie high-paying jobs in America's future. <em>Making Value: Integrating Manufacturing, Design, and Innovation to Thrive in the Changing Global Economy </em>summarizes the workshop and the topics discussed by participants.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13504">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=405'>Industrial and Manufacturing Technologies</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=284'>Engineering and Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=361'>Construction: Design, Research, Planning</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/WuyU0KfokeU" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13504Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforcetag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13467#final2012-10-31T00:00:00-04:002012-11-12T14:28:18-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
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<p>The ability of the nation's military to prevail during future conflicts, and to fulfill its humanitarian and other missions, depends on continued advances in the nation's technology base. A workforce with robust Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) capabilities is critical to sustaining U.S. preeminence. Today, however, the STEM activities of the Department of Defense (DOD) are a small and diminishing part of the nation's overall science and engineering enterprise.</p> <p><em>Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce</em> presents five principal recommendations for attracting, retaining, and managing highly qualified STEM talent within the department based on an examination of the current STEM workforce of DOD and the defense industrial base. As outlined in the report, DOD should focus its investments to ensure that STEM competencies in all potentially critical, emerging topical areas are maintained at least at a basic level within the department and its industrial and university bases.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13467">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=282'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=350'>Math and Science Education</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=407'>Workforce and Labor Issues</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=280'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=327'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/IELp1TWMsAE" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13467The New Global Ecosystem in Advanced Computing: Implications for U.S. Competitiveness and National Securitytag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13472#final2012-10-24T09:45:01-04:002012-11-15T17:08:46-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
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<p>Computing and information and communications technology (ICT) has dramatically changed how we work and live, has had profound effects on nearly every sector of society, has transformed whole industries, and is a key component of U.S. global leadership. A fundamental driver of advances in computing and ICT has been the fact that the single-processor performance has, until recently, been steadily and dramatically increasing year over years, based on a combination of architectural techniques, semiconductor advances, and software improvements. Users, developers, and innovators were able to depend on those increases, translating that performance into numerous technological innovations and creating successive generations of ever more rich and diverse products, software services, and applications that had profound effects across all sectors of society. However, we can no longer depend on those extraordinary advances in single-processor performance continuing. This slowdown in the growth of single-processor computing performance has its roots in fundamental physics and engineering constraints--multiple technological barriers have converged to pose deep research challenges, and the consequences of this shift are deep and profound for computing and for the sectors of the economy that depend on and assume, implicitly or explicitly, ever-increasing performance. From a technology standpoint, these challenges have led to heterogeneous multicore chips and a shift to alternate innovation axes that include, but are not limited to, improving chip performance, mobile devices, and cloud services. As these technical shifts reshape the computing industry, with global consequences, the United States must be prepared to exploit new opportunities and to deal with technical challenges. <em>The New Global Ecosystem in Advanced Computing: Implications for U.S. Competitiveness and National Security</em> outlines the technical challenges, describe the global research landscape, and explore implications for competition and national security.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13472">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=279'>Computers and Information Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=321'>Information Technology</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=279'>Computers and Information Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=319'>Computers</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/4JUBBbXVP_o" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13472Blueprint for the Future: Framing the Issues of Women in Science in a Global Context: Summary of a Workshoptag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13306#final2012-10-17T10:45:01-04:002012-10-17T10:45:06-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
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<p>The scientific work of women is often viewed through a national or regional lens, but given the growing worldwide connectivity of most, if not all, scientific disciplines, there needs to be recognition of how different social, political, and economic mechanisms impact women's participation in the global scientific enterprise. Although these complex sociocultural factors often operate in different ways in various countries and regions, studies within and across nations consistently show inverse correlations between levels in the scientific and technical career hierarchy and the number of women in science: the higher the positions, the fewer the number of women. Understanding these complex patterns requires interdisciplinary and international approaches. In April 2011, a committee overseen by the National Academies' standing Committee on Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine (CWSEM) convened a workshop entitled, "Blueprint for the Future: Framing the Issues of Women in Science in a Global Context" in Washington, D.C.</p> <p><br /> CWSEM's goals are to coordinate, monitor, and advocate action to increase the participation of women in science, engineering, and medicine. The scope of the workshop was limited to women's participation in three scientific disciplines: chemistry, computer science, mathematics, and statistics. The workshop presentations came from a group of scholars and professionals who have been working for several years on documenting, analyzing, and interpreting the status of women in selected technical fields around the world. Examination of the three disciplines-chemistry, computer science, and mathematics and statistics-can be considered a first foray into collecting and analyzing information that can be replicated in other fields.</p> <p><br /> The complexity of studying science internationally cannot be underestimated, and the presentations demonstrate some of the evidentiary and epistemological challenges that scholars and professionals face in collecting and analyzing data from many different countries and regions. <em>Blueprint for the Future: Framing the Issues of Women in Science in a Global Context</em> summarizes the workshop presentations, which provided an opportunity for dialogue about the issues that the authors have been pursuing in their work to date.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13306">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=277'>Behavioral and Social Sciences</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=309'>Women and Minorities</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=407'>Workforce and Labor Issues</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/pJc5YPT7gqU" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13306The Subjective Well-Being Module of the American Time Use Survey: Assessment for Its Continuationtag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13535#final2012-10-05T10:45:14-04:002012-11-28T10:18:38-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The American Time Use Survey (ATUS), conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, included a subjective well-being (SWB) module in 2010 and 2012. The module, funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), is being considered for inclusion in the ATUS for 2013. The National Research Council was asked to evaluate measures of self-reported well-being and offer guidance about their adoption in official government surveys. The charge for the study included an interim report to consider the usefulness of the ATUS SWB module, specifically the value of continuing it for at least one more wave. Among the key points raised in this report are the value, methodological benefits, and cost and effects on the ATUS and new opportunities.<br /> </p> <p>Research on subjective or self-reported well-being has been ongoing for several decades, with the past few years seeing an increased interest by some countries in using SWB measures to evaluate government policies and provide a broader assessment of the health of a society than is provided by such standard economic measures as gross domestic product. NIA asked the panel to prepare an interim report on the usefulness of the SWB module of the ATUS, with a view as to the utility of continuing the module in 2013.</p> <p><br /> <em>The Subjective Well-Being Module of the American Time Use Survey </em>is intended to fulfill only one narrow aspect of the panel's broader task. It provides an overview of the ATUS and the SWB module, a brief discussion of research applications to date, and a preliminary assessment of the value of SWB module data. The panel's final report will address issues of whether research has advanced to the point that SWB measures-and which kinds of measures-should be regularly included in major surveys of official statistical agencies to help inform government economic and social policies.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13535">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=277'>Behavioral and Social Sciences</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=308'>Population and Fertility Studies</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=277'>Behavioral and Social Sciences</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=307'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/6FK488BUT28" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13535Clustering for 21st Century Prosperity: Summary of a Symposiumtag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13249#final2012-10-03T10:45:05-04:002012-10-03T13:11:35-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Responding to the challenges of fostering regional growth and employment in an increasingly competitive global economy, many U.S. states and regions have developed programs to attract and grow companies as well as attract the talent and resources necessary to develop regional innovation clusters. These state and regionally based initiatives have a broad range of goals and increasingly include larger resources commitments, often with a sectoral focus and often in partnership with foundations and universities. Recent studies, however, have pointed out that many of these efforts lack the scale and the steady commitment needed for success. This has prompted new initiatives to coordinate and concentrate investments from a variety of federal agencies to develop research parks, business incubators, and other strategies to encourage entrepreneurships and high-tech development in the nation's regions. Understanding the nature of innovation clusters and public policies associated with successful cluster development is therefore of current relevance. <br /> </p> <p><em>Clustering for 21st Century Prosperity</em> identifies best practices with regard to goals, structures, instruments, modes of operation, synergies across private and public programs, funding mechanisms and levels, and evaluation efforts. The committee, under the Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy (STEP) is reviewing selected state and regional efforts to capitalize on federal and state investments in areas of critical national needs. This review includes both efforts to strengthen existing industries as well as specific technology focus areas such as nanotechnology, stem cells, and advanced energy in order to better understand program goals, challenges, and accomplishments.</p> <p><br /> As part of this study, the committee is convening a series of public workshops and symposia involving responsible local, state, and federal officials and other stakeholders. Drawing from discussions at these symposia, fact-finding meetings, and commissioned analyses of existing state and regional programs and technology focus areas, the committee will subsequently produce a final report with findings and recommendations focused on lessons, issues, and opportunities for complementary U.S. policies created by these state and regional initiatives.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13249">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id='></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=406'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/nFtaqGV_1M8" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13249A Review of the Manufacturing-Related Programs at the National Institute of Standards and Technology: Fiscal Year 2012tag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13526#final2012-09-28T12:45:02-04:002012-10-11T12:07:11-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The mission of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) enables NIST to provide broad support for the advancement of U.S. manufacturing. Research and services supporting manufacturing are intended to be an important component in all of the NIST laboratories. Moreover, since manufacturing is a major part of the U.S. economy, the growth or loss of U.S. manufacturing jobs is a very important issue. Clearly, the successful execution of NIST's programs supporting manufacturing will have a significant impact on manufacturing jobs in the United States. With the multidisciplinary, multisector, and crosscutting nature of manufacturing, the Director of NIST requested that the National Research Council (NRC) assess the manufacturing-related programs at NIST in 2012.<br /> </p> <p>Accordingly, a panel of experts was convened by the National Research Council to perform the assessment. The Panel on review of the Manufacturing-Related Programs at the national Institute of Standards and Technology visited the NIST campus in Gaithersburg, Maryland, on March 26-28, 2012. <em>A Review of the Manufacturing-related Programs at the National Institute of Standards and Technology: Fiscal Year 2012</em> contains the results of the panel's assessment. <br /> </p> <p>The assessment considered manufacturing research at NIST broadly, with emphasis on the specific advanced manufacturing areas: Nanomanufacturing (including Flexible Electronics); Smart Manufacturing (including Robotics); and Next-Generation Materials Measurements, Modeling, and Simulation. The area of Biomanufacturing also reviewed as a subset of the Nanomanufacturing review. As is to be expected for programs covering such wide scope, the boundaries among these broad areas are not rigid and there is some overlap among them. On the basis of its assessment, the panel formed the observations and recommendations which are detailed in this report.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13526">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=284'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=365'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=405'>Industrial and Manufacturing Technologies</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/JlskzvezE10" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13526Lifelong Learning Imperative in Engineering: Sustaining American Competitiveness in the 21st Centurytag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13503#final2012-09-28T12:40:52-04:002012-09-28T12:41:43-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The Lifelong Learning Imperative (LLI) project was initiated to assess current practices in lifelong learning for engineering professionals, reexamine the underlying assumptions behind those practices, and outline strategies for addressing unmet needs. The LLI project brought together leaders of U.S. industry, academia, government, and professional societies to assess the current state of lifelong learning of engineers; to examine the need for, and nature of, lifelong learning going forward; and to explore the responsibilities and potential actions for the primary stakeholders.</p> <p>The United States is facing a crisis in its engineering workforce just as global competition is becoming very intense. During the next several years there will be massive retirements of skilled and experiences engineers, and the United States has one of the lowest rates of graduation of bachelor-level engineers in the world: only 4.5 percent of our university graduates are engineers. The issue is especially acute in the national security industry because of citizenship requirements. Perhaps even more critical, the pace of technological change continues to accelerate, making the specifics of engineering education and skill development obsolete in short order. A critical part of our corporate and national strategy to address this looming crisis should be to ramp up the quality of engineers' professional life, improve their capacity to innovate, and widen their fields of opportunity.</p> <p>A project-framing workshop was organized by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) in partnership with the National Academy of Engineering in June 2009 to examine the issues relevant to lifelong learning in engineering. A UIUC research team then conducted a survey-based assessment of the issues identified in the 2009 workshop. Preliminary findings from the UIUC study were examined more fully.<em> Lifelong Learning Imperative in Engineering </em>reflects the opinions of the authors based on the UIUS team's survey analysis and learning from the discussions at the 2011 workshop.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13503">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=284'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=362'>Engineering Education</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=282'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=347'>Engineering Education</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=406'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id='></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/882BuI8iZv4" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13503Meeting Global Challenges: U.S.-German Innovation Policytag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13488#final2012-09-25T00:00:00-04:002012-10-03T10:45:05-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>While nations have always competed for territory, mineral riches, water, and other physical assets, they compete most vigorously today for technology-based innovations and the value that flows from them. Much of this value is based on creating scientific knowledge and transforming it into new products and services for the market. This process of innovation is complex and interdisciplinary. Sometimes it draws on the genius of individuals, but even then it requires sustained collective effort, often underpinned by significant national investments. Capturing the value of these investments to spur domestic economic growth and employment is a challenge in a world where the outputs of innovation disseminate rapidly. Those equipped to understand, apply, and profit from new knowledge and technical advances are increasingly able to capture the long-term economic benefits of growth and employment.</p> <p><br /> In response to this new, more distributed innovation paradigm, the National Academies Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy (STEP) convened leading academics, business leaders, and senior policymakers from Germany and the United States to examine the strengths and challenges of their innovation systems. More specifically, they met to compare their respective approaches to innovation, to learn from their counterparts about best practices and shared challenges, and to identify cooperative opportunities. The symposium was held in Berlin and organized jointly by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) and the U.S. National Academies with support of the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) and the American Embassy in Berlin.</p> <p><br /> Both U.S. and German participants described common challenges on a wide variety of issues ranging from energy security and climate change to low-emissions transportation, early-stage financing, and workforce training. While recognizing their differences in approach to these challenges, participants on both sides drew out valuable lessons from each other's policies and practices. Participants were also aware of the need to adapt to a new global environment where many countries have focused new policy measures and new resources to support innovative firms and promising industries. <em>Meeting Global Challenges: U.S.-German Innovation Policy </em>reviews the participants meeting and sets goals and recommendations for future policy.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13488">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=406'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id='></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/vrr2RnWvD6Q" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13488Rising to the Challenge: U.S. Innovation Policy for Global Economytag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13386#final2012-07-16T10:45:02-04:002012-07-16T10:46:15-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>America's position as the source of much of the world's global innovation has been the foundation of its economic vitality and military power in the post-war. No longer is U.S. pre-eminence assured as a place to turn laboratory discoveries into new commercial products, companies, industries, and high-paying jobs. As the pillars of the U.S. innovation system erode through wavering financial and policy support, the rest of the world is racing to improve its capacity to generate new technologies and products, attract and grow existing industries, and build positions in the high technology industries of tomorrow.<br /> </p> <p><em>Rising to the Challenge: U.S. Innovation Policy for Global Economy</em> emphasizes the importance of sustaining global leadership in the commercialization of innovation which is vital to America's security, its role as a world power, and the welfare of its people. The second decade of the 21st century is witnessing the rise of a global competition that is based on innovative advantage. To this end, both advanced as well as emerging nations are developing and pursuing policies and programs that are in many cases less constrained by ideological limitations on the role of government and the concept of free market economics. The rapid transformation of the global innovation landscape presents tremendous challenges as well as important opportunities for the United States.</p> <p><br /> This report argues that far more vigorous attention be paid to capturing the outputs of innovation - the commercial products, the industries, and particularly high-quality jobs to restore full employment. America's economic and national security future depends on our succeeding in this endeavor.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13386">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=406'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/VzphGHyo3aQ" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13386An Interim Report on Assuring DoD a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforcetag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13433#final2012-06-28T10:45:01-04:002012-09-05T14:30:12-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p><em>An Interim Report on Assuring DoD a Strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce</em> is a report on the science, technology, mathematics, and engineering (STEM) workforce of the Department of Defense (DOD) and the U.S. defense industrial base is part of an 18-month study to assess the STEM capabilities that the DOD will need in order to meet its goals, objectives, and priorities. This study also assesses whether the current DOD workforce and strategy will meet those needs; and indentifies and evaluates options and recommends strategies that the department could use to help meet its future STEM needs. This study was undertaken by the National Academy of Engineering and the National Research Council.</p> <p><br /> This report was issued for the purpose of assisting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering with its fiscal year 2012 planning process and with laying the groundwork for future years. Earlier in the project, the Committee on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Workforce Needs for the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Defense Industrial Base convened a workshop on August 1 and 2, 2011, in Rosslyn, Virginia. This workshop met for the purpose of gathering a broad range of views from the public sector and the private sector. This includes major defense contractors, and from nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), all of which are stakeholders in the future STEM workforce. At the conclusion of this study, a final report will be released.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13433">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=407'>Workforce and Labor Issues</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=282'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=350'>Math and Science Education</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=406'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/jGb1qey8Jhg" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13433Building Hawaii's Innovation Economy: Summary of a Symposiumtag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13267#final2012-06-06T10:45:01-04:002012-06-06T10:45:06-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Responding to the challenges of fostering regional growth and employment in an increasingly competitive global economy, many U.S. states and regions have developed programs to attract and grow companies as well as attract the talent and resources necessary to develop innovation clusters. These state and regionally based initiatives have a broad range of goals and increasingly include significant resources, often with a sectoral focus and often in partnership with foundations and universities. These are being joined by recent initiatives to coordinate and concentrate investments from a variety of federal agencies that provide significant resources to develop regional centers of innovation, business incubators, and other strategies to encourage entrepreneurship and high-tech development.<br /> </p> <p><em>Building Hawaii's Innovation Economy: Summary of a Symposium</em> explains the study of selected state and regional programs in order to identify best practices with regard to their goals, structures, instruments, modes of operation, synergies across private and public programs, funding mechanisms and levels, and evaluation efforts. This report reviews selected state and regional efforts to capitalize on federal and state investments in areas of critical national needs. <em>Building Hawaii's Innovation Economy </em>also reviews efforts to strengthen existing industries as well as specific new technology focus areas such as nanotechnology, stem cells, and energy in order to better understand program goals, challenges, and accomplishments.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13267">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/TUY9cFdgv3E" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13267Report of a Workshop on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce Needs for the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Defense Industrial Basetag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13318#final2012-02-21T00:00:00-05:002012-02-22T10:41:28-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p><i>Report of a Workshop on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce Needs for the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Defense Industrial Base</i> is the summary of a workshop held August 11, 2011, as part of an 18-month study of the issue. This book assesses the STEM capabilities that the Department of Defense (DOD) needs in order to meet its goals, objectives, and priorities; to assess whether the current DOD workforce and strategy will meet those needs; and to identify and evaluate options and recommend strategies that the department could use to help meet its future STEM needs.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13318">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=284'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=362'>Engineering Education</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/TdZF3A_NiaY" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13318Improving Measures of Science, Technology, and Innovation: Interim Reporttag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13358#final2012-02-17T00:00:00-05:002012-02-22T11:10:46-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES), at the U.S. National Foundation, is 1 of 14 major statistical agencies in the federal government, of which at least 5 collect relevant information on science, technology, and innovation activities in the United States and abroad. The America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 expanded and codified NCSES's role as a U.S. federal statistical agency. Important aspects of the agency's mandate include collection, acquisition, analysis, and reporting and dissemination of data on research and development trends, on U.S. competitiveness in science, technology, and research and development, and on the condition and progress of U.S. science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education.<br /> <em><br /> Improving Measures of Science, Technology and Innovation: Interim Report</em> examines the status of the NCSES's science, technology, and innovation (STI) indicators. This report assesses and provides recommendations regarding the need for revised, refocused, and newly developed indicators designed to better reflect fundamental and rapid changes that are reshaping global science, technology and innovation systems. The book also determines the international scope of STI indicators and the need for developing new indicators that measure developments in innovative activities in the United States and abroad, and Offers foresight on the types of data, metrics and indicators that will be particularly influential in evidentiary policy decision-making for years to come. <br /> <br /> In carrying out its charge, the authoring panel undertook a broad and comprehensive review of STI indicators from different countries, including Japan, China, India and several countries in Europe, Latin America and Africa. Improving Measures of Science, Technology, and Innovation makes recommendations for near-term action by NCSES along two dimensions: (1) development of new policy-relevant indicators that are based on NCSES survey data or on data collections at other statistical agencies; and (2) exploration of new data extraction and management tools for generating statistics, using automated methods of harvesting unstructured or scientometric data and data derived from administrative records.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13358">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/K1TJMG4rua4" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13358Making Things: 21st Century Manufacturing and Design: Summary of a Forumtag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13313#final2012-02-02T16:33:53-05:002012-02-02T16:34:08-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>More than two decades ago, a commission of 17 MIT scientists and economists released a report, <em>Made in America</em>, which opened with the memorable phrase, "To live well, a nation must produce well." Is that still true? Or can the United States remain a preeminent nation while other countries increasingly make the products that once were made in America? </p> <p>These questions were at the center of a forum titled "Making Things: 21st Century Manufacturing and Design" held during the 2011 Annual Meeting of the National Academy of Engineering. In a wide-ranging and provocative conversation, seven leaders of business, government, and academia explored the many facets of manufacturing and design and outlined the many opportunities and responsibilities posed by manufacturing for the engineering profession.</p> <p><em>Making Things: 21st Century Manufacturing and Design</em> summarizes the discussions that took place during the 2011 forum. The report concludes with a forum agenda and each attendee's bibliography.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13313">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=284'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=361'>Construction: Design, Research, Planning</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/u7PzWxAXQiY" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13313Growing Innovation Clusters for American Prosperity: Summary of a Symposiumtag:nap.edu,2011:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12926#final2011-10-21T10:45:01-04:002011-10-21T10:45:20-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Responding to the challenges of fostering regional growth and employment in an increasingly competitive global economy, many U.S. states and regions have developed programs to attract and grow companies as well as attract the talent and resources necessary to develop innovation clusters. These state and regionally based initiatives have a broad range of goals and increasingly include significant resources, often with a sectoral focus and often in partnership with foundations and universities. These are being joined by recent initiatives to coordinate and concentrate investments from a variety of federal agencies that provide significant resources to develop regional centers of innovation, business incubators, and other strategies to encourage entrepreneurship and high-tech development. This has led to renewed interest in understanding the nature of innovation clusters and public policies associated with successful cluster development.</p> <p>The Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy (STEP), conducted a symposium which brought together state and federal government officials, leading analysts, congressional staff, and other stakeholders to explore the role of clusters in promoting economic growth, the government's role in stimulating clusters, and the role of universities and foundations in their development.</p> <p><i>Growing Innovation Clusters for American Prosperity</i> captures the presentations and discussions of the 2009 STEP symposium on innovation clusters. It includes an overview highlighting key issues raised at the meeting and a summary of the meeting's presentations. This report has been prepared by the workshop rapporteur as a factual summary of what occurred at the workshop.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12926">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=406'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=405'>Industrial and Manufacturing Technologies</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/iiEUTtj3Y-A" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12926An Assessment of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology: Fiscal Year 2011tag:nap.edu,2011:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13251#final2011-10-14T00:00:00-04:002011-11-02T14:35:35-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Since 1959, the National Research Council (NRC), at the request of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), has annually assembled panels of experts to assess the quality and effectiveness of the NIST measurements and standards laboratories. In 2011, the NRC evaluated three of the six NIST laboratories: the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST), the NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR) and the Information Technology Laboratory (ITL). Each of these was addressed individually by a separate panel of experts; this report assesses CNST.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13251">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=284'>Engineering and Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=365'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=405'>Industrial and Manufacturing Technologies</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/SmFJBIAhYv8" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13251Measuring the Impacts of Federal Investments in Research: A Workshop Summarytag:nap.edu,2011:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13208#final2011-09-08T10:45:01-04:002011-09-08T10:45:24-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The enactment of the America COMPETES Act in 2006 (and its reauthorization in 2010), the increase in research expenditures under the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), and President Obama's general emphasis on the contribution of science and technology to economic growth have all heightened interest in the role of scientific and engineering research in creating jobs, generating innovative technologies, spawning new industries, improving health, and producing other economic and societal benefits. Along with this interest has come a renewed emphasis on a question that has been asked for decades: Can the impacts and practical benefits of research to society be measured either quantitatively or qualitatively?</p> <p>On April 18-19, 2011, the Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy (STEP) and the Committee on Science, Engineering and Public Policy (COSEPUP) of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine, held a workshop to examine this question. The workshop sought to assemble the range of work that has been done in measuring research outcomes and to provide a forum to discuss its method. The workshop was motivated by a 2009 letter from Congressman Rush Holt (D-New Jersey). He asked the National Academies to look into a variety of complex and interconnected issues, such as the short-term and long-term economic and non-economic impact of federal research funding, factors that determine whether federally funded research discoveries result in economic benefits, and quantification of the impacts of research on national security, the environment, health, education, public welfare, and decision making.</p> <p><i>Measuring the Impacts of Federal Investments in Research</i> provides the key observations and suggestions made by the speakers at the workshop and during the discussions that followed the formal presentations.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13208">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/u0bAAl3MIrY" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13208The Future of Photovoltaic Manufacturing in the United Statestag:nap.edu,2011:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12724#final2011-08-26T10:45:01-04:002011-08-26T10:45:18-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Technological innovation and growth are critical to U.S. competitiveness in a global economy. One means of facilitating growth and improving competitiveness is to foster more robust innovation ecosystems through the development of public-private partnerships, industry consortia, and other regional and national economic development initiatives. Public-private partnerships, in particular, catalyze the commercialization of state and national investments in research and development. <br /> <br /> One of the major projects of the National Research Council's Board on Science Technology and Economic Policy (STEP) is to examine state and local investment programs designed to attract and grow knowledge-based industries. STEP analyzes state and regional innovation initiatives to gain a better understanding of the challenges associated with the transition of research into products, the practices associated with successful state and regional programs, and their interaction with federal programs and private initiatives. In April and July 2009, STEP convened two meeting to assess the future of the U.S. photovoltaic industry and the practical steps that the federal government and some state and regional governments are taking to develop the capacity to manufacture photovoltaics competitively. <br /> <em><br /> The Future of Photovoltaic Manufacturing in the United States</em> captures the presentations and discussions of these meetings. This report explores the prospects for cooperative R&D efforts, standards, and roadmapping efforts that could accelerate innovation and growth of a U.S. photovoltaics industry. It includes both efforts to strengthen existing industries as well as specific new technology focus areas such as nanotechnology, stem cells, and energy in order to gain an improved understanding of program goals, challenges, and accomplishments.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12724">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=405'>Industrial and Manufacturing Technologies</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=406'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/laKtln63RnA" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12724Building the 21st Century: U.S. China Cooperation on Science, Technology, and Innovationstag:nap.edu,2011:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13196#final2011-08-19T10:45:01-04:002011-08-19T10:45:17-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The global economy is characterized by increasing locational competition to attract the resources necessary to develop leading-edge technologies as drivers of regional and national growth. One means of facilitating such growth and improving national competitiveness is to improve the operation of the national innovation system. This involves national technology development and innovation programs designed to support research on new technologies, enhance the commercial return on national research, and facilitate the production of globally competitive products. <br /> <br /> Understanding the policies that other nations are pursuing to become more innovative and to what effect is essential to understanding how the nature and terms of economic competition are shifting. <em>Building the 21st Century U.S.-China Cooperation on Science, Technology, and Innovation</em> studies selected foreign innovation programs and comparing them with major U.S. programs. This analysis of Comparative Innovation Policy includes a review of the goals, concept, structure, operation, funding levels, and evaluation of foreign programs designed to advance the innovation capacity of national economies and enhance their international competitiveness. This analysis focuses on key areas of future growth, such as renewable energy, among others, to generate case-specific recommendations where appropriate.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13196">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=406'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/T1Q0L4RrAZA" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13196Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation: America's Science and Technology Talent at the Crossroadstag:nap.edu,2011:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12984#final2011-06-29T00:00:00-04:002011-07-01T13:22:26-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>In order for the United States to maintain the global leadership and competitiveness in science and technology that are critical to achieving national goals, we must invest in research, encourage innovation, and grow a strong and talented science and technology workforce. <em>Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation </em>explores the role of diversity in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce and its value in keeping America innovative and competitive. According to the book, the U.S. labor market is projected to grow faster in science and engineering than in any other sector in the coming years, making minority participation in STEM education at all levels a national priority.</p> <p><em>Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation </em>analyzes the rate of change and the challenges the nation currently faces in developing a strong and diverse workforce. Although minorities are the fastest growing segment of the population, they are underrepresented in the fields of science and engineering. Historically, there has been a strong connection between increasing educational attainment in the United States and the growth in and global leadership of the economy. Expanding <em>Underrepresented Minority Participation </em>suggests that the federal government, industry, and post-secondary institutions work collaboratively with K-12 schools and school systems to increase minority access to and demand for post-secondary STEM education and technical training.</p> <p>The book also identifies best practices and offers a comprehensive road map for increasing involvement of underrepresented minorities and improving the quality of their education. It offers recommendations that focus on academic and social support, institutional roles, teacher preparation, affordability and program development.</p> <p><br /> </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12984">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=282'>Education</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=350'>Math and Science Education</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=284'>Engineering and Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=362'>Engineering Education</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=290'>Math, Chemistry and Physics</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=412'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=407'>Workforce and Labor Issues</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=282'>Education</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=347'>Engineering Education</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/GMcJ85FwrZg" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12984Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Futuretag:nap.edu,2011:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11463#final2011-05-09T11:53:25-04:002011-05-12T16:52:38-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
In a world where advanced knowledge is widespread and low-cost labor is readily available, U.S. advantages in the marketplace and in science and technology have begun to erode. A comprehensive and coordinated federal effort is urgently needed to bolster U.S. competitiveness and pre-eminence in these areas. This congressionally requested report by a pre-eminent committee makes four recommendations along with 20 implementation actions that federal policy-makers should take to create high-quality jobs and focus new science and technology efforts on meeting the nation's needs, especially in the area of clean, affordable energy: <br><br> 1) Increase America's talent pool by vastly improving K-12 mathematics and science education; <br> 2) Sustain and strengthen the nation's commitment to long-term basic research; <br> 3) Develop, recruit, and retain top students, scientists, and engineers from both the U.S. and abroad; and <br> 4) Ensure that the United States is the premier place in the world for innovation. <br> <br> Some actions will involve changing existing laws, while others will require financial support that would come from reallocating existing budgets or increasing them. <i>Rising Above the Gathering Storm</i> will be of great interest to federal and state government agencies, educators and schools, public decision makers, research sponsors, regulatory analysts, and scholars. <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11463">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=282'>Education</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=352'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=284'>Engineering and Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=365'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=407'>Workforce and Labor Issues</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/PbB9STnGxJo" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11463Rising Above the Gathering Storm, Revisited: Rapidly Approaching Category 5: Condensed Versiontag:nap.edu,2011:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13151#final2011-04-18T14:08:32-04:002011-04-18T14:08:37-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>In 2005 the National Academies<span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>released <em>Rising Above the Gathering Storm</em>, a book focused on the ability of all Americans to compete for quality jobs in the evolving global economy. <em>Rising Above the Gathering Storm</em> concluded that a primary driver of the future economy and concomitant creation of jobs in the 21st century will be innovation, largely derived from advances in science and engineering. It proposed four overarching recommendations, underpinned by 20 specific implementing actions. The America COMPETES Act approved many of the recommendations set forth in <em>Rising Above the Gathering Storm</em>. </p> <p>In 2010, the National Academies released <em>Rising Above the Gathering Storm, Revisited</em>, an updated volume that outlines the work of the government and the private sector in the past five years. This volume also presents a series of thought-provoking factoids about the state of science and innovation in America. It asserts that the 20 actions previously endorsed should be fully implemented. </p> <p>This report is a condensed version of <em>Rising Above the Gathering Storm, Revisited</em>.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13151">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id='></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=282'>Education</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id='></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=284'>Engineering and Technology</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id='></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/XisBLPX6Xvs" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13151Certifying Personal Protective Technologies: Improving Worker Safetytag:nap.edu,2011:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12962#final2011-03-16T00:00:00-04:002011-03-16T13:18:05-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>When you purchase a product, you expect it to work. Construction workers on high-rise buildings need to be confident that their safety harnesses will arrest a fall. Firefighters need to know that their gloves and other protective equipment can withstand high temperatures. Healthcare workers administering highly toxic chemotherapy agents need to know that their gloves will withstand penetration. For personal protective technologies (PPT)-- where the major purpose of the product is to protect the wearer against a hazard -- a deficit in product effectiveness can mean injury, illness, or death. Examining the extent to which products meet specific performance or design criteria is the focus of conformity assessment efforts. For PPT conformity assessment, the ultimate goal is preventing worker illness, injury, or death from hazardous working conditions. <br /> <br /> <em>Certifying Personal Protective Technologies</em> focuses on conformity assessment for occupational PPT -- ensuring that PPT are effective in preventing or reducing hazardous exposures or situations that workers face in their jobs. Because respirators already have an extensive testing and conformity assessment process in place, this book specifically addresses conformity assessment processes for other types of PPT, including eye and face protection, gloves, hearing protectors, and protective clothing.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12962">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=407'>Workforce and Labor Issues</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=402'>Workplace and Occupational Health</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=405'>Industrial and Manufacturing Technologies</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/7yrTSSJbfLw" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12962Global Technology: Changes and Implications: Summary of a Forumtag:nap.edu,2011:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13073#final2011-01-25T00:00:00-05:002011-01-25T17:18:45-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Engineers know what they mean by the word <em>technology</em>. They mean the things engineers conceive, design, build, and deploy. But what does the word <em>global </em>in the phrase <em>global technology</em> mean? Does it mean finding a way to feed, clothe, house, and otherwise serve the 9 billion people who will soon live on the planet? Does it mean competing with companies around the world to build and sell products and services? On a more immediate and practical level, can the rise of global technology be expected to create or destroy U.S. jobs?<br /> <br /> The National Academy of Engineering held a three-hour forum exploring these and related questions. The forum brought together seven prominent members of the engineering community:</p> <ul> <li>Esko Aho, Executive Vice President of Corporate Relations and Responsibility, Nokia; former Prime Minister of Finland</li> <li>Bernard Amadei, Founder, Engineers Without Borders, Professor, University of Colorado</li> <li>John Seely Brown, Visiting Professor, University of Southern California; Former Chief Scientist of Xerox Corporation</li> <li>Ruth A. David, President and CEO of Analytic Services, Inc.</li> <li>Eric C. Haseltine, Consultant, former Associate Director for Science and Technology in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and former head of research and development at Disney Imagineering</li> <li>Nicholas Negroponte, Founder, One Laptop Per Child Association Inc., Founder and Chairman Emeritus of the MIT Media Lab</li> <li>Raymond S. Stata, Co-founder and Chairman of the Board, Analog Devices Inc.</li> </ul> <p>In the first half of the forum, each panelist explored a specific dimension of the global spread of technology. The topics varied widely--from reducing poverty to the impact of young people on technology to the need for systems thinking in engineering. But all seven presenters foresaw a world in which engineering will be fundamentally different from what it has been. In the second half of the forum, the panelists discussed a variety of issues raised by moderator Charles Vest and by forum attendees.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13073">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=406'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/5Z90WAIz6EI" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13073Examination of the U.S. Air Force's Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce Needs in the Future and Its Strategy to Meet Those Needstag:nap.edu,2010:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12718#final2010-11-09T00:00:00-05:002010-11-12T14:25:21-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The Air Force requires technical skills and expertise across the entire range of activities and processes associated with the development, fielding, and employment of air, space, and cyber operational capabilities. The growing complexity of both traditional and emerging missions is placing new demands on education, training, career development, system acquisition, platform sustainment, and development of operational systems. While in the past the Air Force's technologically intensive mission has been highly attractive to individuals educated in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, force reductions, ongoing military operations, and budget pressures are creating new challenges for attracting and managing personnel with the needed technical skills. Assessments of recent development and acquisition process failures have identified a loss of technical competence within the Air Force (that is, in house or organic competence, as opposed to contractor support) as an underlying problem. These challenges come at a time of increased competition for technical graduates who are U.S. citizens, an aging industry and government workforce, and consolidations of the industrial base that supports military systems. <br /> <br /> In response to a request from the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Science, Technology, and Engineering, the National Research Council conducted five fact-finding meetings at which senior Air Force commanders in the science and engineering, acquisition, test, operations, and logistics domains provided assessments of the adequacy of the current workforce in terms of quality and quantity.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12718">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=282'>Education</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=350'>Math and Science Education</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=280'>Conflict and Security Issues</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=327'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=407'>Workforce and Labor Issues</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/tJq624IpbMg" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12718Gender Differences at Critical Transitions in the Careers of Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Facultytag:nap.edu,2010:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12062#final2010-10-04T10:58:51-04:001969-12-31T19:00:00-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p><i>Gender Differences at Critical Transitions in the Careers of Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Faculty</i> presents new and surprising findings about career differences between female and male full-time, tenure-track, and tenured faculty in science, engineering, and mathematics at the nation's top research universities. Much of this congressionally mandated book is based on two unique surveys of faculty and departments at major U.S. research universities in six fields: biology, chemistry, civil engineering, electrical engineering, mathematics, and physics. A departmental survey collected information on departmental policies, recent tenure and promotion cases, and recent hires in almost 500 departments. A faculty survey gathered information from a stratified, random sample of about 1,800 faculty on demographic characteristics, employment experiences, the allocation of institutional resources such as laboratory space, professional activities, and scholarly productivity.</p> <p>This book paints a timely picture of the status of female faculty at top universities, clarifies whether male and female faculty have similar opportunities to advance and succeed in academia, challenges some commonly held views, and poses several questions still in need of answers. This book will be of special interest to university administrators and faculty, graduate students, policy makers, professional and academic societies, federal funding agencies, and others concerned with the vitality of the U.S. research base and economy.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12062">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=277'>Behavioral and Social Sciences</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=309'>Women and Minorities</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=282'>Education</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=347'>Engineering Education</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=284'>Engineering and Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=362'>Engineering Education</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=407'>Workforce and Labor Issues</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=282'>Education</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=348'>Higher Education</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=282'>Education</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=350'>Math and Science Education</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/3zmqiQty490" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12062Measuring Poverty: A New Approachtag:nap.edu,2010:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=4759#final2010-10-04T10:58:51-04:001969-12-31T19:00:00-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
Each year's poverty figures are anxiously awaited by policymakers, analysts, and the media. Yet questions are increasing about the 30-year-old measure as social and economic conditions change.<br>In <B>Measuring Poverty</B> a distinguished panel provides policymakers with an up-to-date evaluation of<br><ul><li>Concepts and procedures for deriving the poverty threshold, including adjustments for different family circumstances.<br><li>Definitions of family resources.<br><li>Procedures for annual updates of poverty measures.<br></ul>The volume explores specific issues underlying the poverty measure, analyzes the likely effects of any changes on poverty rates, and discusses the impact on eligibility for public benefits. In supporting its recommendations the panel provides insightful recognition of the political and social dimensions of this key economic indicator.<br><B>Measuring Poverty</B> will be important to government officials, policy analysts, statisticians, economists, researchers, and others involved in virtually all poverty and social welfare issues.<br><br> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=4759">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=392'>Healthcare and Quality</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=277'>Behavioral and Social Sciences</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=307'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/iOv-85Bn4Fg" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=4759Health and Safety Needs of Older Workerstag:nap.edu,2010:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=10884#final2010-10-04T10:58:51-04:001969-12-31T19:00:00-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Mirroring a worldwide phenomenon in industrialized nations, the U.S. is experiencing a change in its demographic structure known as population aging. Concern about the aging population tends to focus on the adequacy of Medicare and Social Security, retirement of older Americans, and the need to identify policies, programs, and strategies that address the health and safety needs of older workers.</P> <p> Older workers differ from their younger counterparts in a variety of physical, psychological, and social factors. Evaluating the extent, causes, and effects of these factors and improving the research and data systems necessary to address the health and safety needs of older workers may significantly impact both their ability to remain in the workforce and their well being in retirement.</P> <p> <i>Health and Safety Needs of Older Workers</i> provides an image of what is currently known about the health and safety needs of older workers and the research needed to encourage social polices that guarantee older workers a meaningful share of the nation s work opportunities.</P> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=10884">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=277'>Behavioral and Social Sciences</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=302'>Aging</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=407'>Workforce and Labor Issues</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/Y8NUJnwOspY" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=10884S&T Strategies of Six Countries: Implications for the United Statestag:nap.edu,2010:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12920#final2010-10-04T00:00:00-04:002010-10-05T09:52:32-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>An increase in global access to goods and knowledge is transforming world-class science and technology (S&T) by bringing it within the capability of an unprecedented number of global parties who must compete for resources, markets, and talent. In particular, globalization has facilitated the success of formal S&T plans in many developing countries, where traditional limitations can now be overcome through the accumulation and global trade of a wide variety of goods, skills, and knowledge. As a result, centers for technological research and development (R&D) are now globally dispersed, setting the stage for greater uncertainty in the political, economic, and security arenas.<br /> <br /> These changes will have a potentially enormous impact for the U.S. national security policy, which for the past half century was premised on U.S. economic and technological dominance. As the U.S. monopoly on talent and innovation wanes, arms export regulations and restrictions on visas for foreign S&T workers are becoming less useful as security strategies. The acute level of S&T competition among leading countries in the world today suggests that countries that fail to exploit new technologies or that lose the capability for proprietary use of their own new technologies will find their existing industries uncompetitive or obsolete. The increased access to information has transformed the 1950s' paradigm of "control and isolation" of information for innovation control into the current one of "engagement and partnerships" between innovators for innovation creation. Current and future strategies for S&T development need to be considered in light of these new realities.<br /> <br /> This book analyzes the S&T strategies of Japan, Brazil, Russia, India, China, and Singapore (JBRICS), six countries that have either undergone or are undergoing remarkable growth in their S&T capabilities for the purpose of identifying unique national features and how they are utilized in the evolving global S&T environment.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12920">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=284'>Engineering and Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=365'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=406'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/AkEQSEZvlQY" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12920Rising Above the Gathering Storm, Revisited: Rapidly Approaching Category 5tag:nap.edu,2010:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12999#final2010-09-23T13:45:01-04:002011-01-14T12:41:37-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>In the face of so many daunting near-term challenges, U.S. government and industry are letting the crucial strategic issues of U.S. competitiveness slip below the surface. Five years ago, the National Academies prepared <i>Rising Above the Gathering Storm</i>, a book that cautioned: "Without a renewed effort to bolster the foundations of our competitiveness, we can expect to lose our privileged position." Since that time we find ourselves in a country where much has changed--and a great deal has not changed.</p> <p>So where <i>does</i> America stand relative to its position of five years ago when the <i>Gathering Storm</i> book was prepared? The unanimous view of the authors is that our nation's outlook has worsened. The present volume, <i>Rising Above the Gathering Storm, Revisited</i>, explores the tipping point America now faces. Addressing America's competitiveness challenge will require many years if not decades; however, the requisite federal funding of much of that effort is about to terminate.</p> <p><i>Rising Above the Gathering Storm, Revisited</i> provides a snapshot of the work of the government and the private sector in the past five years, analyzing how the original recommendations have or have not been acted upon, what consequences this may have on future competitiveness, and priorities going forward. In addition, readers will find a series of thought- and discussion-provoking factoids--many of them alarming--about the state of science and innovation in America.</p> <p><i>Rising Above the Gathering Storm, Revisited</i> is a wake-up call. To reverse the foreboding outlook will require a sustained commitment by both individual citizens and government officials--at all levels. This book, together with the original <i>Gathering Storm</i> volume, provides the roadmap to meet that goal. While this book is essential for policy makers, anyone concerned with the future of innovation, competitiveness, and the standard of living in the United States will find this book an ideal tool for engaging their government representatives, peers, and community about this momentous issue.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12999">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=282'>Education</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=345'>Education Research and Theory</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=284'>Engineering and Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=365'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/FoWUFSJ3gz8" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12999A Database for a Changing Economy: Review of the Occupational Information Network (O*NET)tag:nap.edu,2010:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12814#final2010-05-11T00:00:00-04:002009-12-04T10:45:01-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Information about the characteristics of jobs and the individuals who fill them is valuable for career guidance, reemployment counseling, workforce development, human resource management, and other purposes. To meet these needs, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) in 1998 launched the Occupational Information Network (O*NET), which consists of a content model--a framework for organizing occupational data--and an electronic database. The O*NET content model includes hundreds of descriptors of work and workers organized into domains, such as skills, knowledge, and work activities. Data are collected using a classification system that organizes job titles into 1,102 occupations.<br /> <br /> The National Center for O*NET Development (the O*NET Center) continually collects data related to these occupations. In 2008, DOL requested the National Academies to review O*NET and consider its future directions. In response, the present volume inventories and evaluates the uses of O*NET; explores the linkage of O*NET with the Standard Occupational Classification System and other data sets; and identifies ways to improve O*NET, particularly in the areas of cost-effectiveness, efficiency, and currency.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12814">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=290'>Math, Chemistry and Physics</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=410'>Math and Statistics</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=407'>Workforce and Labor Issues</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/Gn9JQpxDdeU" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12814Industrial Environmental Performance Metrics: Challenges and Opportunitiestag:nap.edu,2010:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=9458#final2010-04-21T08:52:19-04:001969-12-31T19:00:00-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<B>Industrial Environmental Performance Metrics</B> is a corporate-focused analysis that brings clarity and practicality to the complex issues of environmental metrics in industry. The book examines the metrics implications to businesses as their responsibilities expand beyond the factory gate--upstream to suppliers and downstream to products and services. It examines implications that arise from greater demand for comparability of metrics among businesses by the investment community and environmental interest groups. The controversy over what sustainable development means for businesses is also addressed.<br> <br> <B>Industrial Environmental Performance Metrics</B> identifies the most useful metrics based on case studies from four industries--automotive, chemical, electronics, and pulp and paper--and includes specific corporate examples. It contains goals and recommendations for public and private sector players interested in encouraging the broader use of metrics to improve industrial environmental performance and those interested in addressing the tough issues of prioritization, weighting of metrics for meaningful comparability, and the longer term metrics needs presented by sustainable development.<br> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=9458">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=285'>Environment and Environmental Studies</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=368'>Ecology and Ecosystems</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=405'>Industrial and Manufacturing Technologies</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/F1A6M2WOnpI" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=9458Work, Jobs, and Occupations: A Critical Review of the Dictionary of Occupational Titlestag:nap.edu,2010:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=92#final2010-04-05T13:51:15-04:002010-04-05T13:51:15-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Various editions of the <i>Dictionary of Occupational Titles</i> have served as the Employment Service's basic tool for matching workers and jobs. The <i>Dictionary of Occupational Titles</i> has also played an important role in establishing skill and training requirements and developing Employment Service testing batteries for specific occupations. However, the role of the <i>Dictionary of Occupational Titles</i> has been called into question as a result of planned changes in the operation of the Employment Service. <br><br>A plan to automate the operations of Employment Service offices using a descriptive system of occupational keywords rather than occupational titles has led to a claim that a dictionary of occupational titles and the occupational research program that produces it are outmoded. Since the automated keyword system does not rely explicitly on defined occupational titles, it is claimed that the new system would reduce costs by eliminating the need for a research program to supply the occupational definitions. <br><br>In light of these considerations, the present volume evaluates the future need for the <i>Dictionary of Occupational Titles</i>.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=92">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=407'>Workforce and Labor Issues</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/udFhaA58sJc" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=92The Dragon and the Elephant: Understanding the Development of Innovation Capacity in China and India: Summary of a Conferencetag:nap.edu,2010:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12873#final2010-03-29T10:45:02-04:002010-03-29T10:45:02-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
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<p>The return of the once-dormant economies of China and India to dynamism and growth is one of the most remarkable stories in recent history. The two countries are home to nearly 40 percent of the world's population, but until recently neither had played an influential role in the contemporary global economy. <br /> <br /> In the past two decades, China and India have liberalized internal economic policy, treatment of foreign investment, and trade, and have experienced economic growth at sustained high rates. From the point of view of the United States, however, the most important development in the Chinese and Indian economies in the long term may be the strides they are making in developing their own domestic innovation capacities. After a long period of underinvestment, both countries have committed to growing their science and education systems to bolster research and further economic expansion. <br /> <br /> Some observers of the recent growth have said that both countries are surging in their efforts to spur innovation; others have emphasized the potential of one country over the other; and still others have suggested that both China and India have a long way to go before achieving innovation-driven growth. With such a range of views, The National Academies set out to describe developments in both countries, in relation to each other and the rest of the world, by organizing a conference in Washington, D.C. The conference, summarized in this volume, discussed recent changes at both the macroeconomic level and also in selected industries, and explored the causes and implications of those changes.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12873">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=406'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/BPEjDH8siAo" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12873Rebuilding a Real Economy: Unleashing Engineering Innovation: Summary of a Forumtag:nap.edu,2010:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12851#final2010-03-26T11:05:53-04:002010-03-26T11:05:53-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The financial crisis that began in 2008 is a stark demonstration that we as a nation take great risks when we build too much of our economy on a base that does not create real value. Relying on vaporous transactions to generate wealth is no substitute for making real products and providing real services. In the 21st century, the United States and the rest of the world will face some of the greatest challenges of the modern age: feeding a growing population, generating adequate energy without destroying the environment, countering chronic and emerging infectious diseases. The first decade of the new century has shown that technological innovation is essential for the United States and other countries to meet these challenges.<br /> <br /> At the 2009 Annual Meeting of the National Academy of Engineering in Irvine, California, a public forum entitled '<em>Rebuilding a Real Economy: Unleashing Engineering Innovation</em>' brought together seven prominent leaders of the innovation system to discuss the challenges facing America. The insights of the panel members cut to the heart of what this nation needs to do to remain a global leader in the turbulent world of the 21st century.<br /> <br /> This summary captures the main points made by the forum participants with the aim of encouraging further reflection and discussion. As the panelists pointed out, no single action can reenergize our innovation system. A portfolio of interconnected and interdependent initiatives must be undertaken to generate new knowledge and technology and move that new knowledge successfully into a competitive world marketplace. But the panelists clarified the goal toward which we must strive and some of the most important steps we need to take to achieve that goal.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12851">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/e9z9kcUmOwk" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12851Improving State Voter Registration Databases: Final Reporttag:nap.edu,2010:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12788#final2010-01-26T00:00:00-05:002009-10-21T10:45:01-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p><i>Improving State Voter Registration Databases</i> outlines several actions that are needed to help make voter registration databases capable of sharing information within state agencies and across state lines. These include short-term changes to improve education, dissemination of information, and administrative processes, and long-term changes to make improvements in data collection and entry, matching procedures, and ensure privacy and security.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12788">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=277'>Behavioral and Social Sciences</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=308'>Population and Fertility Studies</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/msxFTTiHCls" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12788Technical Capabilities Necessary for Systemic Risk Regulation: Summary of a Workshoptag:nap.edu,2010:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12841#final2010-01-25T00:00:00-05:002010-01-19T10:45:01-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The financial reform plans currently under discussion in the United States recognize the need for monitoring and regulating systemic risk in the financial sector. To inform those discussions, the National Research Council held a workshop on November 3, 2009, to identify the major technical challenges to building such a capability. The workshop, summarized in this volume, addressed the following key issues as they relate to systemic risk:</p> <ul> <li>What data and analytical tools are currently available to regulators to address this challenge?</li> <li>What further data-collection and data-analysis capabilities are needed?</li> <li>What specific resource needs are required to accomplish the task?</li> <li>What are the major technical challenges associated with systemic risk regulation?</li> <li>What are various options for building these capabilities?</li> </ul> <p>Because every systemic event is unique with respect to its specific pathology--the various triggers and the propagation of effects--the workshop focused on the issues listed above for systemic risk in general rather than for any specific scenario. Thus, by design, the workshop explicitly addressed neither the causes of the current crisis nor policy options for reducing risk, and it attempted to steer clear of some policy issues altogether (such as how to allocate new supervisory responsibilities). More than 40 experts representing diverse perspectives participated in the workshop.</p> <p> </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12841">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=290'>Math, Chemistry and Physics</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=410'>Math and Statistics</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/9Ll6BTFKpdY" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12841Choosing the Nation's Fiscal Futuretag:nap.edu,2010:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12808#final2010-01-13T10:03:00-05:002010-01-13T10:03:00-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>A mismatch between the federal government's revenues and spending, now and in the foreseeable future, requires heavy borrowing, leading to a large and increasing federal debt. That increasing debt raises a serious challenge to all of the goals that various people expect their government to pursue. It also raises questions about the nation's future wealth and whether too much debt could lead to higher interest rates and even to loss of confidence in the nation's long-term ability and commitment to honor its obligations. Many analysts have concluded that the trajectory of the federal budget set by current policies cannot be sustained.<br /> <br /> In light of these projections, <i>Choosing the Nation's Fiscal Future</i> assesses the options and possibilities for a sustainable federal budget. This comprehensive book considers a range of policy changes that could help put the budget on a sustainable path: reforms to reduce the rate of growth in spending for Medicare and Medicaid; options to reduce the growth rate of Social Security benefits or raise payroll taxes; and changes in many other government spending programs and tax policies. The book also examines how the federal budget process could be revised to be more far sighted and to hold leaders accountable for responsible stewardship of the nation's fiscal future.<br /> <br /> <i>Choosing the Nation's Fiscal Future</i> will provide readers with a practical framework to assess budget proposals for their consistency with long-term fiscal stability. It will help them assess what policy changes they want, consistent with their own values and their views of the proper role of the government and within the constraints of a responsible national budget. It will show how the perhaps difficult but possible policy changes could be combined to produce a wide range of budget scenarios to bring revenues and spending into alignment for the long term. This book will be uniquely valuable to everyone concerned about the current and projected fiscal health of the nation.<span trebuchet="" style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span trebuchet="" style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p> </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12808">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=277'>Behavioral and Social Sciences</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=302'>Aging</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/VHxIaON_ITk" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12808Intangible Assets: Measuring and Enhancing Their Contribution to Corporate Value and Economic Growth: Summary of a Workshoptag:nap.edu,2009:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12745#final2009-12-22T10:45:02-05:002009-12-22T10:45:02-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Intangible assets--which include computer software, research and development (R&D), intellectual property, workforce training, and spending to raise the efficiency and brand identification of firms--comprise a subset of services, which, in turn, accounts for three-quarters of all economic activity. Increasingly, intangibles are a principal driver of the competitiveness of U.S.-based firms, economic growth, and opportunities for U.S. workers. Yet, despite these developments, many intangible assets are not reported by companies, and, in the national economic accounts, they are treated as expenses rather than investments.<br /> <br /> On June 23, 2008, a workshop was held to examine measurement of intangibles and their role in the U.S. and global economies. The workshop, summarized in the present volume, included discussions of a range of policy-relevant topics, including: what intangibles are and how they work; the variety and scale of emerging markets in intangibles; and what the government's role should be in supporting markets and promoting investment in intangibles.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12745">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/ZabntRDreeI" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12745Investor Exits, Innovation, and Entrepreneurial Firm Growth: Questions for Researchtag:nap.edu,2009:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12811#final2009-12-18T10:45:01-05:002009-12-18T10:45:01-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The bursting of the dot-com bubble in 2001 coincided with an abrupt and lasting change in the development of entrepreneurial venture-backed firms in the United States. Previously, entrepreneurs and investors commonly took viable young firms public through initial public offerings. Since 2001, however, venture investors have more frequently exited by selling their companies to established corporations, usually for lower returns. There are concerns among some entrepreneurs, investors, and academics that this change has reduced the potential of young, entrepreneurial firms to contribute to innovation, job creation, international competitiveness, and economic growth. There are also claims that public policies, including securities regulation, have contributed to this result and should be modified or compensated for. <br><br>In 2007 investors, entrepreneurs, and academic experts in economics, corporate finance, and law came together to consider the merits and feasibility of additional research addressing the change in investor exit strategies, its causes and consequences. During the 2007 workshop, summarized in this volume, participants identified several factors complicating systematic inquiry and suggested a number of research avenues that could be productive.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12811">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=406'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/K_n3yKjkAqE" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12811Evaluating Occupational Health and Safety Research Programs: Framework and Next Stepstag:nap.edu,2009:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12639#final2009-11-12T00:00:00-05:002009-08-25T08:45:01-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Each year, approximately 5,000 fatal work-related injuries and 4 million non-fatal injuries and illnesses occur in the United States. This number represents both unnecessary human suffering and high economic costs. In order to assist in better evaluating workplace safety and create safer work environments, the Institute of Medicine conducted a series of evaluations of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) research programs, assessing the relevance and impact of NIOSH's work on improving worker safety and health.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12639">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=407'>Workforce and Labor Issues</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=402'>Workplace and Occupational Health</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/p0XRPEsp9NI" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12639Interacademy Programs Between the United States and Eastern Europe 1967-2009: The Changing Landscapetag:nap.edu,2009:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12753#final2009-11-06T10:45:39-05:002009-11-06T10:45:39-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p><i>Interacademy Programs Between the United States and Eastern Europe 1967-2009</i> documents how interacademy programs have played a significant role in establishing and maintaining American scientific contacts with colleagues in Eastern Europe prior to and following the lifting of the Iron Curtain. The book also discusses the changing roles of the academies of the region and the changing nature of interacademy cooperation that has emerged since 1991. The countries of interest are Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, the former German Democratic Republic, and the countries that previously were united politically within the framework of the former Yugoslavia. <br /> <br /> The book should be of interest to officials and specialists in both the United States and the countries of Eastern Europe who are actively engaged in promoting scientific cooperation through bilateral and other channels. Also, an emerging audience for this book is the growing group of analysts in the United States interested in "science diplomacy" involving U.S. cooperation with countries that have political agendas that differ in important respects from the objectives of U.S. policies.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12753">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/2E8rW6jpnS0" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12753Reengineering the Survey of Income and Program Participationtag:nap.edu,2009:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12715#final2009-10-26T00:00:00-04:002009-07-28T15:28:51-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Beginning in 2006, the Census Bureau embarked on a program to reengineer the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) to reduce its costs and improve data quality and timeliness. The Bureau also requested the National Academies to consider the advantages and disadvantages of strategies for linking administrative records and survey data, taking account of the accessibility of relevant administrative records, the operational feasibility of linking, the quality and usefulness of the linked data, and the ability to provide access to the linked data while protecting the confidentiality of individual respondents. <br /> In response, this volume first examines the history of SIPP and reviews the survey's purpose, value, strengths, and weaknesses. The book examines alternative uses of administrative records in a reengineered SIPP and, finally, considers innovations in SIPP design and data collection, including the proposed use of annual interviews with an event history calendar. <br /> </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12715">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=290'>Math, Chemistry and Physics</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=410'>Math and Statistics</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/ykK7IjYDsxI" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12715Revisiting the Department of Defense SBIR Fast Track Initiativetag:nap.edu,2009:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12600#final2009-10-20T10:45:01-04:002009-10-20T10:45:01-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>In October 1995, the Department of Defense launched a Fast Track initiative to attract new firms and encourage commercialization of Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funded technologies throughout the department. The goal of the Fast Track initiative is to help close the funding gap that can occur between Phase I and II of the SBIR program. The Fast Track initiative seeks to address the gap by providing expedited review and essentially continuous funding from Phase I to Phase II, as long as applying firms can demonstrate that they have obtained third-party financing for their technology. Another program initiative, Phase II Enhancement, was launched in 1999 to concentrate SBIR funds on those R&D projects most likely to result in viable new products that the Department of Defense and others will buy. <br /> <br /> The current volume evaluates the two SBIR Program initiatives--Fast Track and Phase II Enhancement--and finds that both programs are effective. Ninety percent of Fast Track and 95 percent of Phase II Enhancement reported satisfaction with their decision. This book identifies the successes and remaining shortcomings of the programs, providing recommendations to address these issues.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12600">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=406'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=293'>Space and Aeronautics</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=418'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/zABc9aobjY8" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12600Approaches to Reducing the Use of Forced or Child Labor: Summary of a Workshop on Assessing Practicetag:nap.edu,2009:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12773#final2009-10-09T00:00:00-04:002009-10-06T10:45:01-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
Globally, child labor and forced labor are widespread and complex problems. They are conceptually different phenomena, requiring different policy responses, though they may also overlap in practice. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) was designed to reduce the use of child and forced labor in the production of goods consumed in the United States. The Act was reauthorized in 2003, 2005, and 2008. <br><br> In response to provisions of TVPA, the the Bureau of International Labor Affairs requested that the National Research Council organize a two-day workshop. The workshop, summarized in this volume, discusses methods for identifying and organizing a standard set of practices that will reduce the likelihood that persons will use forced labor or child labor to produce goods, with a focus on business and governmental practices. <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12773">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=407'>Workforce and Labor Issues</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=406'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/DOFARjVHG9o" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12773An Assessment of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology: Fiscal Year 2009tag:nap.edu,2009:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12766#final2009-10-08T00:00:00-04:002009-09-30T10:45:36-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST's) Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST) was founded on May 1, 2007, and remains in development with respect to projects and staffing. It aspires to be recognized both as a world leader in each of its research areas and as an organization providing ready access to unexcelled nanoscale measurement and fabrication facilities. <br /> <br /> <i>An Assessment of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology</i> evaluates the overall CNST accomplishments and operations for FY 2009. As requested by the Deputy Director of NIST, the scope of the assessment included the following criteria: (1) the technical merit of the current laboratory programs relative to current state-of-the-art programs worldwide; (2) the adequacy of the laboratory budget, facilities, equipment, and human resources, as they affect the quality of the laboratory's technical programs; and (3) the degree to which the laboratory programs in measurement science and standards achieve their stated objectives and desired impact.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12766">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=284'>Engineering and Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=365'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=405'>Industrial and Manufacturing Technologies</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/vh61sd_1aQo" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12766An Assessment of the Small Business Innovation Research Program at the Department of Defensetag:nap.edu,2009:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11963#final2009-09-28T00:00:00-04:001969-12-31T19:00:00-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The SBIR program allocates 2.5 percent of 11 federal agencies' extramural R&D budgets to fund R&D projects by small businesses, providing approximately $2 billion annually in competitive awards. At the request of Congress, the National Academies conducted a comprehensive study of how the SBIR program has stimulated technological innovation and used small businesses to meet federal research and development needs. Drawing substantially on new data collection, this book examines the SBIR program at the Department of Defense and makes recommendations for improvements. Separate reports will assess the SBIR program at NSF, NIH, DOE, and NASA, respectively, along with a comprehensive report on the entire program.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11963">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=406'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/26HtIezYVxM" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11963Understanding Research, Science and Technology Parks: Global Best Practice: Report of a Symposiumtag:nap.edu,2009:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12546#final2009-09-21T10:45:02-04:002009-09-21T10:45:02-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Many nations are currently adopting a variety of directed strategies to launch and support research parks, often with significant financial commitments and policy support. By better understanding how research parks of other nations operate, we can seek to improve the scale and contributions of parks in the U.S. To that end, the National Academies convened an international conference on global best practices in research parks. <br /> <br /> This volume, a report of the conference, includes discussion of the diverse roles that research parks in both universities and laboratories play in national innovation systems. The presentations identify common challenges and demonstrate substantial differences in research park programs around the world.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12546">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=405'>Industrial and Manufacturing Technologies</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/CAfTDuP8hmY" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12546Venture Funding and the NIH SBIR Programtag:nap.edu,2009:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12543#final2009-06-22T00:00:00-04:002009-05-22T11:00:14-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The Small Business Administration issued a policy directive in 2002, the effect of which has been to exclude innovative small firms in which venture capital firms have a controlling interest from the SBIR program. This book seeks to illuminate the consequences of the SBA ruling excluding majority-owned venture capital firms from participation in SBIR projects. </p> <p>This book is part of the National Research Council's study to evaluate the SBIR program's quality of research and value to the missions of five government agencies. The other books in the series include:</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11989">An Assessment of the SBIR Program (2008)</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11929">An Assessment of the SBIR Program at the National Science Foundation (2007)</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11964">An Assessment of the Small Business Innovation Research Program at the National Institutes of Health (2009)</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12052">An Assessment of Small Business Innovation Research Program at the Department of Energy (2008)</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12441">An Assessment of the Small Business Innovation Research Program at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (2009)</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11963">An Assessment of the Small Business Innovation Research Program at the Department of Defense (2009)</a></li> </ul> <p> </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12543">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=400'>Public Policy</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=406'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/5VTSz6Wm1ww" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12543The Health Hazard Evaluation Program at NIOSHtag:nap.edu,2009:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12475#final2009-03-30T00:00:00-04:002008-11-13T09:45:02-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>It is the unique mission of the Health Hazard Evaluation Program within the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to respond to requests to investigate potential occupational health hazards. In contrast to other NIOSH programs, the Health Hazard Evaluation Program is not primarily a research program. Rather, it investigates and provides advice to workplaces in response to requests from employers, employees and their representatives, and federal agencies.<br /> <br /> The National Research Council was charged with evaluating the NIOSH Health Hazard Evaluation Program and determining whether program activities resulted in improvements in workplace practices and decreases in hazardous exposures that cause occupational illnesses. The program was found to play a key role in addressing existing widespread or emerging occupational health issues. This book makes several recommendations that could improve a very strong program including more systematic use of surveillance data to facilitate priority setting, and greater interaction with a broader array of workers, industries, and other government agencies.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12475">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=407'>Workforce and Labor Issues</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=402'>Workplace and Occupational Health</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/WGdJJ-0bAWo" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12475An Assessment of the Small Business Innovation Research Program at the National Aeronautics and Space Administrationtag:nap.edu,2009:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12441#final2009-03-27T00:00:00-04:002008-12-17T10:45:01-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program is one of the largest examples of U.S. public-private partnerships. Founded in 1982, SBIR was designed to encourage small business to develop new processes and products and to provide quality research in support of the many missions of the U.S. government, including health, energy, the environment, and national defense. In response to a request from the U.S. Congress, the National Research Council assessed SBIR as administered by the five federal agencies that together make up 96 percent of program expenditures. <br /> This book, one of six in the series, reports on the SBIR program at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and finds that the program is making significant progress in achieving the Congressional goals for the program. Keeping in mind NASA's unique mission and the recent significant changes to the program, the committee found the SBIR program to be sound in concept and effective in practice at NASA.. The book recommends programmatic changes that should make the SBIR program even more effective in achieving its legislative goals.<br /> </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12441">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=406'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=293'>Space and Aeronautics</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=418'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/F2I20_s5ZXw" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12441Construction Research at NIOSH: Reviews of Research Programs of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Healthtag:nap.edu,2009:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12530#final2009-03-12T00:00:00-04:002008-11-06T10:45:01-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conducts construction-relevant research activities. From 1996 through 2005, the program focused on four research goals:</p> <ul> <li>reducing traumatic injuries and fatalities;</li> <li>reducing exposure to health hazards;</li> <li>reducing major risks associated with musculoskeletal disorders;</li> <li>increasing the understanding of construction industry attributes and factors for improving health and safety outcomes.</li> </ul> <p><br /> In this book, the National Research Council evaluates the relevance and impact of the NIOSH Construction Research Program in terms of its research priorities and its connection to improvements in the protection of workers in the workplace. <br /> It also assesses the program' s identification and targeting of new research areas, to identify emerging research issues, and to provide advice on ways that the program might be strengthened. <br /> <br /> The book finds that the efforts of the Construction Research Program have made meaningful contributions to improving construction worker safety and health, and provides overreaching and specific recommendations for continuing progress. While NIOSH cannot set and enforce research-based standards on its own, the program can be expected to help reduce construction workplace fatalities, injuries, and illnesses through its research, its research dissemination, and transfer into practice. <br /> </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12530">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=402'>Workplace and Occupational Health</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=406'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=407'>Workforce and Labor Issues</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/KPoaFfalSz4" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12530An Assessment of the Small Business Innovation Research Program at the National Institutes of Healthtag:nap.edu,2009:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11964#final2009-03-02T00:00:00-05:001969-12-31T19:00:00-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The SBIR program allocates 2.5 percent of 11 federal agencies' extramural R&D budgets to fund R&D projects by small businesses, providing approximately $2 billion annually in competitive awards. At the request of Congress the National Academies conducted a comprehensive study of how the SBIR program has stimulated technological innovation and used small businesses to meet federal research and development needs. </p> <p>Drawing substantially on new data collection, this book examines the SBIR program at the National Institutes of Health and makes recommendations for improvements. Separate reports will assess the SBIR program at DOD, NSF, DOE, and NASA, respectively, along with a comprehensive report on the entire program.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11964">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=398'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=406'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/Zj6PQY-7898" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11964Rising Above the Gathering Storm Two Years Later: Accelerating Progress Toward a Brighter Economic Future. Summary of a Convocationtag:nap.edu,2009:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12537#final2009-02-04T10:46:09-05:002009-02-04T10:46:09-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p><em>Rising Above the Gathering Storm Two Years Later: Accelerating Progress Toward a Brighter Economic Future</em> summarizes a convocation held in April 2008 to commemorate the release of the original Gathering Storm report. The convocation featured participation by Members of Congress, Cabinet Secretaries, leaders from industry and academia, and other experts. The discussions reviewed progress made thus far in implementing the Gathering Storm recommendations to strengthen K-12 education in math and science, research, higher education, and the environment for innovation. Participants also noted that much additional work is needed to ensure that America remains a leader in science and engineering in the long term.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12537">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=282'>Education</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=352'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=284'>Engineering and Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=365'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=407'>Workforce and Labor Issues</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/XuOG4LbirfM" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12537Future of the Nuclear Security Environment in 2015: Proceedings of a Russian-U.S. Workshoptag:nap.edu,2009:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12590#final2009-02-02T00:00:00-05:002009-01-29T07:45:01-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The U.S. National Academies (NAS) and the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), building on a foundation of years of interacademy cooperation, conducted a joint project to identify U.S. and Russian views on what the international nuclear security environment will be in 2015, what challenges may arise from that environment, and what options the U.S. and Russia have in partnering to address those challenges.</p> <p>The project's discussions were developed and expanded upon during a two-day public workshop held at the International Atomic Energy Agency in November 2007. A key aspect of that partnership may be cooperation in third countries where both the U.S. and Russia can draw on their experiences over the last decade of non-proliferation cooperation. More broadly, the following issues analyzed over the course of this RAS-NAS project included: safety and security culture, materials protection, control and accounting (MPC&A) best practices, sustainability, nuclear forensics, public-private partnerships, and the expansion of nuclear energy.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12590">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=280'>Conflict and Security Issues</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=328'>Prevention, Security and Response</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=405'>Industrial and Manufacturing Technologies</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/7E6Nc5kF5EE" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12590Internationalization of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle: Goals, Strategies, and Challengestag:nap.edu,2009:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12477#final2009-01-26T00:00:00-05:002008-09-30T09:15:01-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The so-called nuclear renaissance has increased worldwide interest in nuclear power. This potential growth also has increased, in some quarters, concern that nonproliferation considerations are not being given sufficient attention. In particular, since introduction of many new power reactors will lead to requiring increased uranium enrichment services to provide the reactor fuel, the proliferation risk of adding enrichment facilities in countries that do not have them now led to proposals to provide the needed fuel without requiring indigenous enrichment facilities. Similar concerns exist for reprocessing facilities.</p> <p><em>Internationalization of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle </em>summarizes key issues and analyses of the topic, offers some criteria for evaluating options, and makes findings and recommendations to help the United States, the Russian Federation, and the international community reduce proliferation and other risks, as nuclear power is used more widely.</p> <p>This book is intended for all those who are concerned about the need for assuring fuel for new reactors and at the same time limiting the spread of nuclear weapons. This audience includes the United States and Russia, other nations that currently supply nuclear material and technology, many other countries contemplating starting or growing nuclear power programs, and the international organizations that support the safe, secure functioning of the international nuclear fuel cycle, most prominently the International Atomic Energy Agency.<br /> </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12477">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=283'>Energy and Energy Conservation</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=358'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=280'>Conflict and Security Issues</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=327'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=405'>Industrial and Manufacturing Technologies</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/ZbXkSbrLbpw" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12477An Assessment of the SBIR Programtag:nap.edu,2008:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11989#final2008-12-29T00:00:00-05:001969-12-31T19:00:00-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The SBIR program allocates 2.5 percent of 11 federal agencies' extramural R&D budgets to fund R&D projects by small businesses, providing approximately $2 billion annually in competitive awards. At the request of Congress, the National Academies conducted a comprehensive study of how the SBIR program has stimulated technological innovation and used small businesses to meet federal research and development needs. Drawing substantially on new data collection, this report provides a comprehensive overview of the SBIR program at the five agencies representing 96 percent of program expenditure-- DOD, NIH, NSF, DOE, and NASA--and makes recommendations on improvements to the program. Separate books on each agency will also be issued.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11989">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=406'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/TdcycV0_kBc" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11989Traumatic Injury Research at NIOSHtag:nap.edu,2008:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12459#final2008-12-15T00:00:00-05:002008-08-27T10:45:02-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
The occurrences of both injury and death that take place on the job are a significant public health problem in the United States, causing a substantial human and economic burden. Traumatic Injury Research at NIOSH is the sixth report in the series Reviews of Research Programs of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The Committee to Evaluate the NIOSH Traumatic Injury Research Program found the program's research during 1996-2005 (the evaluation period for this review) relevant to reducing the burden of traumatic injury in the workplace and to have contributed to improvements in worker health and safety. To continue to reduce injuries and deaths to workers due to trauma, the committee recommended that the TI Research Program continue setting goals within the program's scope and resources; work with other federal agencies that support injury prevention and control research to outline areas of collaboration; embark on a program to increase the visibility of traumatic injury research; develop a strategic plan for evaluating its research-to-practice efforts and for building the capacity to carry out these efforts; and consider research on the safety impacts of changes in the nature of work as well as intervention research targeting organization policies and practices. <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12459">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=402'>Workplace and Occupational Health</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=407'>Workforce and Labor Issues</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=406'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/mTI1GZrvQhU" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12459Science and Technology for America's Progress: Ensuring the Best Presidential Appointments in the New Administrationtag:nap.edu,2008:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12481#final2008-11-05T00:00:00-05:002008-09-17T10:45:01-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The new Obama administration and the 110th Congress elected in November 2008 will face immediate challenges. Events will not permit a leisurely leadership transition. The prompt appointment of a Presidential science adviser and the nomination of top officials in the new administration with the knowledge and experience to address complex problems will be essential. The concerns of the nation regarding jobs and economic growth, health care, national security, energy, and the environment demand informed action. Each of these concerns-from national security, economic development, health care, and the environment, to education, energy, and natural resources-is touched in essential ways by the nation's science and technology enterprise.<br /> <br /> This is the fourth in a series of books from the National Academies on the presidential appointment process, each delivered during a presidential election year with the goal of providing recommendations to the President-elect about appointing his senior science and technology leadership and pursuing sustained improvements in the appointments process.<br /> <br /> <br /> </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12481">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=407'>Workforce and Labor Issues</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/OW7LFNfJRdc" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12481Innovative Flanders: Innovation Policies for the 21st Century: Report of a Symposiumtag:nap.edu,2008:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12092#final2008-10-23T10:45:01-04:002008-10-23T10:45:01-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Recognizing that innovation is the key to international competitiveness in the 21st century, policymakers around the world are seeking more effective ways to translate scientific and technological knowledge into new products, processes, and businesses. They have initiated major programs, often with substantial funding, that are designed to attract, nurture, and support innovation and high-technology industries within their national economies.</p> <p><br /> To help U.S. policymakers become more aware of these developments, a committee of the National Academies' Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy undertook a review of the goals, concept, structure, operation, funding levels, and evaluation efforts of significant innovation programs around the world. As a part of this effort, the committee identified Flanders, a region of Belgium with substantial autonomy, which is recognized for its comprehensive approach to innovation. Based on initial meetings in Washington and Brussels, and with the endorsement of Flanders Vice Minister-President Fientje Moerman, it was agreed to organize a conference that would review regional innovation policies in the context of the policies and programs of the Flanders government, and their interaction with those of the European Union. This book provides a summary of that symposium.<br /> </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12092">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=279'>Computers and Information Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=323'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/fjxj3KwYslY" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12092An Assessment of Small Business Innovation Research Program at the Department of Energytag:nap.edu,2008:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12052#final2008-09-26T00:00:00-04:002008-06-13T10:45:01-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program is one of the largest examples of U.S. public-private partnerships. Founded in 1982, SBIR was designed to encourage small business to develop new processes and products and to provide quality research in support of the many missions of the U.S. government, including health, energy, the environment, and national defense. In response to a request from the U.S. Congress, the National Research Council assessed SBIR as administered by the five federal agencies that together make up 96 percent of program expenditures. This book, one of six in the series, reports on the SBIR program at the Department of Energy. It finds that, in spite of resource constraints, the DoE has made significant progress in meeting the legislative objectives of SBIR and that the program is effectively addressing the mission of the Department of Energy. The book documents the achievements and challenges of the program and recommends programmatic changes to make the SBIR program even more effective in achieving its legislative goals. <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12052">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=406'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/lQSRqnM6bkA" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12052Science Professionals: Master's Education for a Competitive Worldtag:nap.edu,2008:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12064#final2008-09-26T00:00:00-04:002008-07-11T10:45:19-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>What are employer needs for staff trained in the natural sciences at the master's degree level? How do master's level professionals in the natural sciences contribute in the workplace? How do master's programs meet or support educational and career goals?</p> <p><i>Science Professionals: Master's Education for a Competitive World</i> examines the answers to these and other questions regarding the role of master's education in the natural sciences. The book also focuses on student characteristics and what can be learned from efforts underway to enhance the master's in the natural sciences, particularly as a professional degree. </p> <p>This book is a critical tool for Congress, the federal agencies charged with carrying out the America COMPETES Act, and educational and science policy makers at the state level. Additionally, anyone with a stake in the development of professional science education (four year institutions of higher education, students, faculty, and employers) will find this book useful. </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12064">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=282'>Education</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=350'>Math and Science Education</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=407'>Workforce and Labor Issues</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=282'>Education</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=348'>Higher Education</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/G5GICqHYqJA" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12064The Personal Protective Technology Program at NIOSHtag:nap.edu,2008:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12203#final2008-09-25T00:00:00-04:002008-06-26T10:45:01-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
Maintaining the health and safety of workers in the United States and globally is accomplished in part by reducing hazardous exposures through the use of personal protective equipment. Personal protective technologies (PPT) include respirators worn by construction workers and miners; protective clothing, respirators, and gloves worn by firefighters and mine rescue workers; and respirators and protective clothing worn by healthcare workers. An estimated 5 million workers are required to wear respirators in 1.3 million U.S. workplaces. For some occupations, such as firefighting, the worker's protective equipment is the only form of protection against life-threatening hazards; for other workers, the PPT is a supplement to ventilation and other environmental, engineering, or administrative hazard controls. <p> In the United States, federal responsibility for civilian worker PPT is integral to the mission of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). This book examines the NIOSH Personal Protective Technology Program (PPT Program) and specifically focuses on the relevance and impact of this program in reducing hazardous exposures and improving worker health and safety. </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12203">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=406'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=402'>Workplace and Occupational Health</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/5zDS-mdgwjo" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12203Retooling for an Aging America: Building the Health Care Workforcetag:nap.edu,2008:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12089#final2008-08-27T00:00:00-04:002008-04-14T10:15:02-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
As the first of the nation's 78 million baby boomers begin reaching age 65 in 2011, they will face a health care workforce that is too small and woefully unprepared to meet their specific health needs. <p><i>Retooling for an Aging America</i> calls for bold initiatives starting immediately to train all health care providers in the basics of geriatric care and to prepare family members and other informal caregivers, who currently receive little or no training in how to tend to their aging loved ones. The book also recommends that Medicare, Medicaid, and other health plans pay higher rates to boost recruitment and retention of geriatric specialists and care aides.</p> <p>Educators and health professional groups can use Retooling for an Aging America to institute or increase formal education and training in geriatrics. Consumer groups can use the book to advocate for improving the care for older adults. Health care professional and occupational groups can use it to improve the quality of health care jobs.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12089">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=385'>Aging</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=392'>Healthcare and Quality</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=407'>Workforce and Labor Issues</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=394'>Medical Training and Workforce</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/dqunM8YpsYo" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12089Using the American Community Survey for the National Science Foundation's Science and Engineering Workforce Statistics Programstag:nap.edu,2008:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12244#final2008-08-11T00:00:00-04:002008-06-02T10:45:01-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has long collected information on the number and characteristics of individuals with education or employment in science and engineering and related fields in the United States. An important motivation for this effort is to fulfill a congressional mandate to monitor the status of women and minorities in the science and engineering workforce. Consequently, many statistics are calculated by race or ethnicity, gender, and disability status. For more than 25 years, NSF obtained a sample frame for identifying the target population for information it gathered from the list of respondents to the decennial census long-form who indicated that they had earned a bachelors or higher degree. The probability that an individual was sampled from this list was dependent on both demographic and employment characteristics. But, the source for the sample frame will no longer be available because the census long-form is being replaced as of the 2010 census with the continuous collection of detailed demographic and other information in the new American Community Survey (ACS). At the request of NSF's Science Resources Statistics Division, the Committee on National Statistics of the National Research Council formed a panel to conduct a workshop and study the issues involved in replacing the decennial census long-form sample with a sample from the ACS to serve as the frame for the information the NSF gathers. The workshop had the specific objective of identifying issues for the collection of field of degree information on the ACS with regard to goals, content, statistical methodology, data quality, and data products. <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12244">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=290'>Math, Chemistry and Physics</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=410'>Math and Statistics</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=407'>Workforce and Labor Issues</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/9RRtQHhF55Q" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12244The Offshoring of Engineering: Facts, Unknowns, and Potential Implicationstag:nap.edu,2008:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12067#final2008-07-28T10:45:01-04:002008-07-28T10:45:01-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The engineering enterprise is a pillar of U.S. national and homeland security, economic vitality, and innovation. But many engineering tasks can now be performed anywhere in the world. The emergence of "offshoring"- the transfer of work from the United States to affiliated and unaffiliated entities abroad - has raised concerns about the impacts of globalization.</p> <p><i>The Offshoring of Engineering</i> helps to answer many questions about the scope, composition, and motivation for offshoring and considers the implications for the future of U.S. engineering practice, labor markets, education, and research. This book examines trends and impacts from a broad perspective and in six specific industries - software, semiconductors, personal computer manufacturing, construction engineering and services, automobiles, and pharmaceuticals.</p> <p><i>The Offshoring of Engineering</i> will be of great interest to engineers, engineering professors and deans, and policy makers, as well as people outside the engineering community who are concerned with sustaining and strengthening U.S. engineering capabilities in support of homeland security, economic vitality, and innovation.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12067">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=284'>Engineering and Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=365'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/5jvvrqjzUro" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12067Respiratory Diseases Research at NIOSH: Reviews of Research Programs of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Healthtag:nap.edu,2008:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12171#final2008-07-07T00:00:00-04:002008-03-05T09:46:07-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
Respiratory diseases caused by exposures to dangerous materials in the workplace have tremendous implications for worker health and, by extension, the national economy. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) estimates that deaths from work-related respiratory diseases and cancers account for about 70% of all occupational disease deaths. NIOSH conducts research in order to detect and reduce work-related hazardous exposures, injuries, and diseases; its Respiratory Disease Research Program (RDRP) focuses on respiratory diseases. This National Research Council book reviews the RDRP to evaluate the 1) relevance of its work to improvements in occupational safety and health and 2) the impact of research in reducing workplace respiratory illnesses. The assessment reveals that the program has made essential contributions to preventing occupational respiratory disease. The National Research Council has rated the Program a 5 out of 5 for relevance, and a 4 out of 5 for impact. To further increase its effectiveness, the Respiratory Disease Research Program should continue and expand its current efforts, provide resources for occupational disease surveillance, and include exposure assessment scientists in its activities. <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12171">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=402'>Workplace and Occupational Health</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=407'>Workforce and Labor Issues</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/J__a-yem8II" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12171An Assessment of the SBIR Program at the National Science Foundationtag:nap.edu,2008:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11929#final2008-06-26T00:00:00-04:001969-12-31T19:00:00-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program is one of the largest examples of U.S. public-private partnerships. Founded in 1982, SBIR was designed to encourage small business to develop new processes and products and to provide quality research in support of the many missions of the U.S. government, including health, energy, the environment, and national defense. In response to a request from the U.S. Congress, the National Research Council assessed SBIR as administered by the five federal agencies that together make up 96 percent of program expenditures. <p> This book, one of six in the series, reports on the SBIR program at the National Science Foundation. The study finds that the SBIR program is sound in concept and effective in practice, but that it can also be improved. Currently, the program is delivering results that meet most of the congressional objectives, including stimulating technological innovation, increasing private-sector commercialization of innovations, using small businesses to meet federal research and development needs, and fostering participation by minority and disadvantaged persons. The book suggests ways in which the program can improve operations, continue to increase private-sector commercialization, and improve participation by women and minorities. </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11929">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=406'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/oyyahrf0cz8" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11929Innovation in Global Industries: U.S. Firms Competing in a New World (Collected Studies)tag:nap.edu,2008:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12112#final2008-05-12T00:00:00-04:002008-05-01T09:45:02-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
The debate over offshoring of production, transfer of technological capabilities, and potential loss of U.S. competitiveness is a long-running one. Prevailing thinking is that the world is flat that is, innovative capacity is spreading uniformly; as new centers of manufacturing emerge, research and development and new product development follow. <p><i>Innovation in Global Industries</i> 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. <p><i>Innovation in Global Industries</i> 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. <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12112">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=279'>Computers and Information Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=323'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=284'>Engineering and Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=365'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=406'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/s5kFVpRleiI" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12112State Voter Registration Databases: Immediate Actions and Future Improvements, Interim Reporttag:nap.edu,2008:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12173#final2008-04-17T00:00:00-04:002008-04-08T09:45:01-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
The Help America Vote Act of 2002 requires the states to develop a single, computerized voter registration data base (VRD) that is defined, maintained, and administered at the state level. To help the states with this task, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission asked the NRC to organize a series of workshops and prepare an interim report addressing the challenges in implementing and maintaining state VRDs. The EAC also asked the NRC to advise the states on how to evolve and maintain the databases so that they can share information with each other. This report provides an examination of various challenges to the deployment of state VRDs and describes potential solutions to these challenges. This interim report's primary focus is on shorter-term recommendations although a number of long-range recommendations are presented. The final report will elaborate on the long-range questions and address considerations about interstate interoperability of the VRDs. <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12173">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=277'>Behavioral and Social Sciences</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=308'>Population and Fertility Studies</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=279'>Computers and Information Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=323'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/AcP8cmcjaps" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12173Review of DOE's Nuclear Energy Research and Development Programtag:nap.edu,2008:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11998#final2008-03-31T00:00:00-04:001969-12-31T19:00:00-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>There has been a substantial resurgence of interest in nuclear power in the United States over the past few years. One consequence has been a rapid growth in the research budget of DOE's Office of Nuclear Energy (NE). In light of this growth, the Office of Management and Budget included within the FY2006 budget request a study by the National Academy of Sciences to review the NE research programs and recommend priorities among those programs. The programs to be evaluated were: Nuclear Power 2010 (NP 2010), Generation IV (GEN IV), the Nuclear Hydrogen Initiative (NHI), the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP)/Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI), and the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) facilities. This book presents a description and analysis of each program along with specific findings and recommendations. It also provides an assessment of program priorities and oversight.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11998">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=283'>Energy and Energy Conservation</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=358'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=405'>Industrial and Manufacturing Technologies</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/pjJjI5Qhm9w" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11998Minerals, Critical Minerals, and the U.S. Economytag:nap.edu,2008:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12034#final2008-02-11T00:00:00-05:001969-12-31T19:00:00-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
Minerals are part of virtually every product we use. Common examples include copper used in electrical wiring and titanium used to make airplane frames and paint pigments. The Information Age has ushered in a number of new mineral uses in a number of products including cell phones (e.g., tantalum) and liquid crystal displays (e.g., indium). For some minerals, such as the platinum group metals used to make cataytic converters in cars, there is no substitute. If the supply of any given mineral were to become restricted, consumers and sectors of the U.S. economy could be significantly affected. Risks to minerals supplies can include a sudden increase in demand or the possibility that natural ores can be exhausted or become too difficult to extract. Minerals are more vulnerable to supply restrictions if they come from a limited number of mines, mining companies, or nations. Baseline information on minerals is currently collected at the federal level, but no established methodology has existed to identify potentially critical minerals. This book develops such a methodology and suggests an enhanced federal initiative to collect and analyze the additional data needed to support this type of tool. <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12034">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=281'>Earth Sciences</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=337'>Natural Resources and Conservation</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=281'>Earth Sciences</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=340'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/HZW4WAn5bUo" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12034Research on Future Skill Demands: A Workshop Summarytag:nap.edu,2008:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12066#final2008-02-05T09:45:01-05:002008-02-05T09:45:01-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Over the past five years, business and education groups have issued a series of reports indicating that the skill demands of work are rising, due to rapid technological change and increasing global competition. Researchers have begun to study changing workplace skill demands. Some economists have found that technological change is "skill-biased," increasing demand for highly skilled workers and contributing to the growing gap in wages between college-educated workers and those with less education. However, other studies of workplace skill demands have reached different conclusions. These differences result partly from differences in disciplinary perspective, research methods, and datasets. <br /> <br /> The findings of all of these strands of research on changing skill demands are limited by available methods and data sources. Because case study research focuses on individual work sites or occupations, its results may not be representative of larger industry or national trends. At a more basic level, there is some disagreement in the literature about how to define "skill". In part because of such disagreements, researchers have used a variety of measures of skill, making it difficult to compare findings from different studies or to accumulate knowledge of skill trends over time. <br /> <br /> In the context of this increasing discussion, the National Research Council held a workshop to explore the available research evidence related to two important guiding questions: What are the strengths and weaknesses of different research methods and data sources for providing insights about current and future changes in skill demands? What support does the available evidence (given the strengths and weaknesses of the methods and data sources) provide for the proposition that the skills required for the 21st century workplace will be meaningfully different from earlier eras and will require corresponding changes in educational preparation?</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12066">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=277'>Behavioral and Social Sciences</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=305'>Human Dimensions of Global Change</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=282'>Education</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=345'>Education Research and Theory</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=407'>Workforce and Labor Issues</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/Sdu7H8Mbi-U" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12066Manpower and Personnel Needs for a Transformed Naval Forcetag:nap.edu,2008:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12030#final2008-01-25T00:00:00-05:002008-01-02T09:45:05-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
The Department of Defense (DOD) is committed to transforming the nation's armed forces to meet the military challenges of the future. One approach to achieving this transformation is by leveraging advances in science and technology. New technologies and innovations are integral to today's military actions, and associated changes have rippled through all aspects of operations, highlighting the need for changes in policies related to military personnel. At the request of the Force Chief of Naval Operations, the NRC reviewed the military manpower and personnel policies and studies currently underway in the DOD and developed an implementation strategy for the Department of the Navy's future military manpower and personnel needs. This book presents an introduction to current personnel policies of and concerns facing the Naval forces; an assessment of demographic, technological, and other forces affecting future personnel needs and availability; a summary and assessment of previous studies; an examination of the role of research tools in implementing personnel policy change; and an analysis of obstacles to and strategies for transforming the Naval forces. <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12030">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=280'>Conflict and Security Issues</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=326'>Military and Defense Studies</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=407'>Workforce and Labor Issues</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/AZA3rR8l1vQ" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12030New Directions for Understanding Systemic Risk: A Report on a Conference Cosponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the National Academy of Sciencestag:nap.edu,2007:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11914#final2007-12-17T00:00:00-05:001969-12-31T19:00:00-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The stability of the financial system and the potential for systemic events to alter its function have long been critical issues for central bankers and researchers. Recent events suggest that older models of systemic shocks might no longer capture all of the possible paths of such disturbances or account for the increasing complexity of the financial system. To help assess these concerns, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the NRC cosponsored a conference that brought together engineers, scientists, economists, and financial market experts to promote better understanding of systemic risk in a variety of fields. The book presents an examination of tools used in ecology and engineering to study systemic collapse in those areas; a review of current trends in economic research on systemic risk, the payments system, and the market of interbank funds; and for context, descriptions of how systemic risk in the financial system affects trading activities.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11914">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=290'>Math, Chemistry and Physics</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=410'>Math and Statistics</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/Xd8w6HLcsz0" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11914Coal: Research and Development to Support National Energy Policytag:nap.edu,2007:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11977#final2007-11-21T00:00:00-05:001969-12-31T19:00:00-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
Coal will continue to provide a major portion of energy requirements in the United States for at least the next several decades. It is imperative that accurate information describing the amount, location, and quality of the coal resources and reserves be available to fulfill energy needs. It is also important that the United States extract its coal resources efficiently, safely, and in an environmentally responsible manner. A renewed focus on federal support for coal-related research, coordinated across agencies and with the active participation of the states and industrial sector, is a critical element for each of these requirements. <p> <i>Coal</i> focuses on the research and development needs and priorities in the areas of coal resource and reserve assessments, coal mining and processing, transportation of coal and coal products, and coal utilization. <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11977">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=283'>Energy and Energy Conservation</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=356'>Energy Resources</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=407'>Workforce and Labor Issues</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/gnZ36nGMs1c" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11977Improving the Social Security Representative Payee Program: Serving Beneficiaries and Minimizing Misusetag:nap.edu,2007:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11992#final2007-09-17T00:00:00-04:001969-12-31T19:00:00-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p> <p>More than 7 million recipients of Social Security benefits have a representative payee—a person or an organization—to receive or manage their benefits. These payees manage Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance funds for retirees, surviving spouses, children, and the disabled, and they manage Supplemental Security Income payments to disabled, blind, or elderly people with limited income and resources. More than half of the beneficiaries with a representative payee are minor children; the rest are adults, often elderly, whose mental or physical incapacity prevents them from acting on their own behalf, and people who have been deemed incapable under state guardianship laws. The funds are managed through the Representative Payee Program of the Social Security Administration (SSA). The funds total almost $4 billion a month, and there are more than 5.3 million representative payees. In 2004 Congress required the commissioner of the SSA to conduct a one-time survey to determine how payments to individual and organizational representative payees are being managed and used on behalf of the beneficiaries.1 To carry out this work, the SSA requested a study by the National Academies, which appointed the Committee on Social Security Representative Payees. This report is the result of that study.</p> <p><em>Improving the Social Security Representative Payee Program: Serving Beneficiaries and Minimizing Misuse</em> (1) assesses the extent to which representative payees are not performing their duties in accordance with SSA standards for representative payee conduct, (2) explains whether the representative payment policies are practical and appropriate, (3) identifies the types of representative payees that have the highest risk of misuse of benefits, and (4) finds ways to reduce the risk of misuse of benefits and ways to better protect beneficiaries.</p> </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11992">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=277'>Behavioral and Social Sciences</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=307'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=406'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/QGOZ18SBxgI" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11992Is America Falling Off the Flat Earth?tag:nap.edu,2007:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12021#final2007-09-14T10:44:23-04:001969-12-31T19:00:00-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The aviation and telecommunication revolutions have conspired to make distance increasingly irrelevant. An important consequence of this is that US citizens, accustomed to competing with their neighbors for jobs, now must compete with candidates from all around the world. These candidates are numerous, highly motivated, increasingly well educated, and willing to work for a fraction of the compensation traditionally expected by US workers.<br /> <br /> If the United States is to offset the latter disadvantage and provide its citizens with the opportunity for high-quality jobs, it will require the nation to excel at innovation--that is, to be first to market new products and services based on new knowledge and the ability to apply that knowledge. This capacity to discover, create and market will continue to be heavily dependent on the nation's prowess in science and technology.<br /> <br /> Indicators of trends in these fields are, at best, highly disconcerting. While many factors warrant urgent attention, the two most critical are these: (1) America must repair its failing K-12 educational system, particularly in mathematics and science, in part by providing more teachers qualified to teach those subjects, and (2) the federal government must markedly increase its investment in basic research, that is, in the creation of new knowledge.<br /> <br /> Only by providing leading-edge human capital and knowledge capital can America continue to maintain a high standard of living--including providing national security--for its citizens.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12021">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=279'>Computers and Information Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=323'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=282'>Education</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=350'>Math and Science Education</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=282'>Education</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=352'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=284'>Engineering and Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=362'>Engineering Education</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=284'>Engineering and Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=365'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/XvkGYcd3HhQ" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12021India's Changing Innovation System: Achievements, Challenges, and Opportunities for Cooperation: Report of a Symposiumtag:nap.edu,2007:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11924#final2007-08-02T09:53:27-04:001969-12-31T19:00:00-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>As part of its review of <i>Comparative National Innovation Policies: Best Practice for the 21st Century</i>, the Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy convened a major symposium in Washington to examine the policy changes that have contributed to India's enhanced innovative capacity. This major event, organized in cooperation with the Confederation of Indian Industry, was particularly timely given President Bush's March 2006 visit to India and the Joint Statement issued with the Indian government calling for strategic cooperation in innovation and the development of advanced technologies. The conference, which brought together leading figures from the public and private sectors from both India and the United States, identified accomplishments and existing challenges in the Indian innovation system and reviewed synergies and opportunities for enhanced cooperation between the Indian and U.S. innovation systems. This report on the conference contains three elements: a summary of the key symposium presentations, an introductory chapter analyzing the policy issues raised at the symposium, and a research paper providing a detailed examination of India's knowledge economy, placing it in terms of overall global trends and analyzing its challenges and opportunities.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11924">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=284'>Engineering and Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=365'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/vXEdLv8es6I" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11924Understanding Business Dynamics: An Integrated Data System for America's Futuretag:nap.edu,2007:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11844#final2007-04-20T09:13:20-04:001969-12-31T19:00:00-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
The U.S. economy is highly dynamic: businesses open and close, workers switch jobs and start new enterprises, and innovative technologies redefine the workplace and enhance productivity. With globalization markets have also become more interconnected. Measuring business activity in this rapidly evolving environment increasingly requires tracking complex interactions among firms, establishments, employers, and employees. <i>Understanding Business Dynamics</i> presents strategies for improving the accuracy, timeliness, coverage, and integration of data that are used in constructing aggregate economic statistics, as well as in microlevel analyses of topics ranging from job creation and destruction and firm entry and exit to innovation and productivity. This book offers recommendations that could be enacted by federal statistical agencies to modernize the measurement of business dynamics, particularly the production of information on small and young firms that can have a disproportionately large impact in rapidly expanding economic sectors. It also outlines the need for effective coordination of existing survey and administrative data sources, which is essential to improving the depth and coverage of business data. <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11844">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=277'>Behavioral and Social Sciences</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=308'>Population and Fertility Studies</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/0d5et3FwOuU" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11844Assessment of the Results of External Independent Reviews for U.S. Department of Energy Projectstag:nap.edu,2007:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11887#final2007-04-10T00:00:00-04:001969-12-31T19:00:00-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Peer review is an essential component of engineering practice and other scientific and technical undertakings. Peer reviews are conducted to ensure that activities are technically adequate, competently performed, and properly documented; to validate assumptions, calculations, and extrapolations; and to assess alternative interpretations, methodologies, acceptance criteria, and other aspects of the work products and the documentation that support them. Effective peer reviews are conducted in an environment of mutual respect, recognizing the contributions of all participants. Their primary objective is to help the project team achieve its goals. Reviews also contribute to quality assurance, risk management, and overall improvement of the management process.</p> <p><br /> The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) conducts different types of peer reviews at the different stages of a project, including reviews to assess risks and other factors related to design, safety, cost estimates, value engineering, and project management. Independent project reviews (IPRs) are conducted by federal staff not directly affiliated with the project or program and management and operations (M&O) contractors. External independent reviews (EIRs) are overseen by the Office of Engineering and Construction Management and conducted by contractors external to the department. EIRs are the primary focus of this report. However, the committee found that, in many cases, IPRs are explicitly used as preparation for or as preliminary reviews prior to EIRs. Thus, because IPRs are integral to the review process in DOE, they are also discussed because they might have an effect on EIRs.</p> <p><br /> In October 2000, DOE issued Order 413.3, Program and Project Management for the Acquisition of Capital Assets (DOE, 2000). The order established a series of five critical decisions (CDs), or major milestones, that require senior management review and approval to ensure that a project satisfies applicable mission, design, security, and safety requirements: approve mission need, approve alternative selection and cost range, approve performance baseline, approve start of construction, and approve start of operations or project closeout.</p> <p><br /> <em>Assessment of the Results of External Independent Reviews for U. S. Department of Energy Projects </em>summarizes the results.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11887">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=283'>Energy and Energy Conservation</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=358'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=406'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/uZmUg5AFv1s" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11887Biological, Social, and Organizational Components of Success for Women in Academic Science and Engineering: Workshop Reporttag:nap.edu,2006:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11766#final2006-11-15T15:35:38-05:001969-12-31T19:00:00-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
During the last 40 years, the number of women studying science and engineering (S&E) has increased dramatically. Nevertheless, women do not hold academic faculty positions in numbers that commensurate with their increasing share of the S&E talent pool. The discrepancy exists at both the junior and senior faculty levels. In December 2005, the National Research Council held a workshop to explore these issues. Experts in a number of disciplines met to address what sex-differences research tells us about capability, behavior, career decisions, and achievement; the role of organizational structures and institutional policy; cross-cutting issues of race and ethnicity; key research needs and experimental paradigms and tools; and the ramifications of their research for policy, particularly for evaluating current and potential academic faculty. <i>Biological, Social, and Organizational Components of Success for Women in Academic Science and Engineering</i> consists of three elements: an introduction, summaries of panel discussions including public comment sessions, and poster abstracts. <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11766">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=277'>Behavioral and Social Sciences</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=309'>Women and Minorities</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=282'>Education</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=348'>Higher Education</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=407'>Workforce and Labor Issues</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/v59CYRMnE9s" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11766The Workforce Challenge: Recruiting, Training, and Retaining Qualified Workers for Transportation and Transit Agencies -- Special Report 275tag:nap.edu,2006:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=10764#final2006-11-07T11:33:51-05:001969-12-31T19:00:00-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
TRB Special Report 275 - The Workforce Challenge: Recruiting, Training, and Retaining Qualified Workers for Transportation and Transit Agencies calls upon surface transportation agencies, the private sector, educational institutions, unions, and employees, to establish training as a key priority. The report recommends that this broad coalition work to expand existing federal and academic resources, create an institutional focus for the issue, and establish human resources management as a strategic function within the transportation community.<b><a href="http://trb.org/publications/sr/sr275.pdf">Special Report 275 Summary</a></b> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=10764">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=407'>Workforce and Labor Issues</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=294'>Transportation</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=446'>Administration and Management</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/XHbvVohXZSo" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=10764Opportunities to Address Clinical Research Workforce Diversity Needs for 2010tag:nap.edu,2006:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11679#final2006-06-28T08:42:25-04:001969-12-31T19:00:00-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Based on a 2003 workshop, this study describes current public and private programs and recommends ways to recruit and retain more women and underrepresented minorities into clinical research, especially physician-scientists and nurses. Federal sponsors should improve data collection, evaluate existing training programs, and increase the diversity of study section review panels. Public and private sponsors should create funding mechanisms with flexible career paths, and universities and professional societies should both play enhanced roles in fostering diversity. A significant push is needed to recruit minorities into nursing and provide more clinical research training for nurse-scientists, nursing students, and nursing faculty.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11679">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=394'>Medical Training and Workforce</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=407'>Workforce and Labor Issues</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/w5AM4Xqtb2k" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11679Measuring and Sustaining the New Economy, Software, Growth, and the Future of the U.S Economy: Report of a Symposiumtag:nap.edu,2006:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11587#final2006-04-10T09:07:53-04:001969-12-31T19:00:00-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
Starting in the mid 1990s, the United States economy experienced an unprecedented upsurge in economic productivity. Rapid technological change in communications, computing, and information management continue to promise further gains in productivity, a phenomenon often referred to as the New Economy. To better understand this phenomenon, the National Academies Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy (STEP) has convened a series of workshops and commissioned papers on Measuring and Sustaining the New Economy. This major workshop, entitled Software, Growth, and the Future of the U.S. Economy, convened academic experts and industry representatives from leading companies such as Google and General Motors to participate in a high-level discussion of the role of software and its importance to U.S. productivity growth; how software is made and why it is unique; the measurement of software in national and business accounts; the implications of the movement of the U.S. software industry offshore; and related policy issues. <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11587">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/8nocYI4OXxI" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11587Asking the Right Questions About Electronic Votingtag:nap.edu,2006:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11449#final2006-03-02T00:00:00-05:001969-12-31T19:00:00-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
Many election officials look to electronic voting systems as a means for improving their ability to more effectively conduct and administer elections. At the same time, many information technologists and activists have raised important concerns regarding the security of such systems. Policy makers are caught in the midst of a controversy with both political and technological overtones. The public debate about electronic voting is characterized by a great deal of emotion and rhetoric. <p> <i>Asking the Right Questions About Electronic Voting</i> describes the important questions and issues that election officials, policy makers, and informed citizens should ask about the use of computers and information technology in the electoral process--focusing the debate on technical and policy issues that need resolving. The report finds that while electronic voting systems have improved, federal and state governments have not made the commitment necessary for e-voting to be widely used in future elections. More funding, research, and public education are required if e-voting is to become viable. <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11449">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=277'>Behavioral and Social Sciences</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=308'>Population and Fertility Studies</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/ji-hwd-5vRU" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11449Engineering Research and America's Future: Meeting the Challenges of a Global Economytag:nap.edu,2005:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11393#final2005-10-06T00:00:00-04:001969-12-31T19:00:00-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
Leadership in innovation is essential to U.S. prosperity and security. In a global, knowledge-driven economy, technological innovation the transformation of new knowledge into products, processes, and services of value to society is critical to competitiveness, long-term productivity growth, and an improved quality of life. Preeminence in technological innovation depends on a wide array of factors, one of which is leadership in engineering research, education, and practice. A threedecade- long decline in the share of federal investment in research and development devoted to engineering and a perceived erosion of basic, long-term engineering research capability in U.S. industry and federal laboratories have raised serious questions about the long-term health of engineering research in the United States. This book illustrates the critical role of engineering research in maintaining U.S. technological leadership; documents major challenges and opportunities facing the U.S. engineering research enterprise; and offers specific recommendations for leaders in federal and state government, industry, and universities to help strengthen U.S. engineering research in the face of intensifying global competition. <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11393">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=407'>Workforce and Labor Issues</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/_GMCPHKe_lo" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11393Deconstructing the Computer: Report of a Symposiumtag:nap.edu,2005:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11457#final2005-10-03T09:50:44-04:001969-12-31T19:00:00-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
Starting in the mid 1990s, the United States economy experienced an unprecedented upsurge in economic productivity. Rapid technological change in communications, computing, and information management continue to promise further gains in productivity, a phenomenon often referred to as the New Economy. To better understand this phenomenon, the National Academies Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy (STEP) has convened a series of workshops and commissioned papers on Measuring and Sustaining the New Economy. <p> This major workshop, entitled Deconstructing the Computer, brought together leading industrialists and academic researchers to explore the contribution of the different components of computers to improved price-performance and quality of information systems. The objective was to help understand the sources of the remarkable growth of American productivity in the 1990s, the relative contributions of computers and their underlying components, and the evolution and future contributions of the technologies supporting this positive economic performance. <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11457">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/6ilECYv9dVA" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11457Integrating Employee Health: A Model Program for NASAtag:nap.edu,2005:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11290#final2005-08-29T00:00:00-04:001969-12-31T19:00:00-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
The American workforce is changing, creating new challenges for employers to provide occupational health services to meet the needs of employees. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) workforce is highly skilled and competitive and employees frequently work under intense pressure to ensure mission success. The Office of the Chief Health and Medical Officer at NASA requested that the Institute of Medicine review its occupational health programs, assess employee awareness of and attitude toward those programs, recommend options for future worksite preventive health programs, and ways to evaluate their effectiveness. The committee s findings show that although NASA has a history of being forward-looking in designing and improving health and wellness programs, there is a need to move from a traditional occupational health model to an integrated, employee-centered program that could serve as a national model for both public and private employers to emulate and improve the health and performance of their workforces. <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11290">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=407'>Workforce and Labor Issues</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=402'>Workplace and Occupational Health</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/289/~4/P1TgbpeSK_E" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11290