http://www.nap.edu/rss?topic=423 2013-06-19T14:18:15-04:00 Science books from the publishers for the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Medicine, and the National Research Council tag:nap.edu,2013:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12568#final 2013-05-20T00:00:00-04:00 2013-05-20T13:10:03-04:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is one of several federal agencies responsible for protecting Americans against significant risks to human health and the environment. As part of that mission, EPA estimates the nature, magnitude, and likelihood of risks to human health and the environment; identifies the potential regulatory actions that will mitigate those risks and protect public health1 and the environment; and uses that information to decide on appropriate regulatory action. Uncertainties, both qualitative and quantitative, in the data and analyses on which these decisions are based enter into the process at each step. As a result, the informed identification and use of the uncertainties inherent in the process is an essential feature of environmental decision making.</p> <p>EPA requested that the Institute of Medicine (IOM) convene a committee to provide guidance to its decision makers and their partners in states and localities on approaches to managing risk in different contexts when uncertainty is present. It also sought guidance on how information on uncertainty should be presented to help risk managers make sound decisions and to increase transparency in its communications with the public about those decisions. Given that its charge is not limited to human health risk assessment and includes broad questions about managing risks and decision making, in this report the committee examines the analysis of uncertainty in those other areas in addition to human health risks. <em>Environmental Decisions in the Face of Uncertainty</em> explains the statement of task and summarizes the findings of the committee. </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12568">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> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=371'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> &raquo; <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/423/~4/Ac79ZtSbLGA" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12568 tag:nap.edu,2013:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18267#final 2013-05-07T00:00:00-04:00 2013-03-29T08:46:34-04:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>Pharmaceutical companies, academic researchers, and government agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health all possess large quantities of clinical research data. If these data were shared more widely within and across sectors, the resulting research advances derived from data pooling and analysis could improve public health, enhance patient safety, and spur drug development. Data sharing can also increase public trust in clinical trials and conclusions derived from them by lending transparency to the clinical research process. Much of this information, however, is never shared. Retention of clinical research data by investigators and within organizations may represent lost opportunities in biomedical research. Despite the potential benefits that could be accrued from pooling and analysis of shared data, barriers to data sharing faced by researchers in industry include concerns about data mining, erroneous secondary analyses of data, and unwarranted litigation, as well as a desire to protect confidential commercial information. Academic partners face significant cultural barriers to sharing data and participating in longer term collaborative efforts that stem from a desire to protect intellectual autonomy and a career advancement system built on priority of publication and citation requirements. Some barriers, like the need to protect patient privacy, pre- sent challenges for both sectors. Looking ahead, there are also a number of technical challenges to be faced in analyzing potentially large and heterogeneous datasets.</p> <p>This public workshop focused on strategies to facilitate sharing of clinical research data in order to advance scientific knowledge and public health. While the workshop focused on sharing of data from preplanned interventional studies of human subjects, models and projects involving sharing of other clinical data types were considered to the extent that they provided lessons learned and best practices. The workshop objectives were to examine the benefits of sharing of clinical research data from all sectors and among these sectors, including, for example: benefits to the research and development enterprise and benefits to the analysis of safety and efficacy. <em>Sharing Clinical Research Data: Workshop Summary</em> identifies barriers and challenges to sharing clinical research data, explores strategies to address these barriers and challenges, including identifying priority actions and "low-hanging fruit" opportunities, and discusses strategies for using these potentially large datasets to facilitate scientific and public health advances.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18267">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=391'>Health Sciences</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=398'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=471'>Research and Data</a></p><br /> <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/423/~4/F_G4epKOdbI" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18267 tag:nap.edu,2013:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18317#prepub 2013-03-25T10:46:14-04:00 2013-03-25T11:58:39-04:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Prepublication Now Available</strong></p> <p>National Patterns of R&D Resources is an annual report issued by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) of the National Science Foundation, which provides a national view of current 'patterns' in funding of R&D activities in government, industry, academia, federally funded research and development centers, and non-profits. Total R&D funds are broken out at the national level by type of provider, type of recipient, and whether the R&D is basic, applied, or developmental. These patterns are compared both longitudinally versus historical R&D amounts, and internationally. </p> <p>This report series, which is based on input from several censuses and surveys, is used to formulate policies that, e.g., might increase incentives to support different types, sources, or recipients of R&D than is currently the case. To communicate these R&D patterns, each report is composed of a set of tabulations of national R&D disaggregated by type of donor, type of recipient, and type of R&D. While this satisfies many key user groups, the question was whether some modifications of the report could attract a wider user community and at the same time provide more useful information for current users.</p> <p><em>National Patterns of R&D Resources: Future Directions for Content and Methods </em>addresses the following questions: (1) what additional topics and tabulations could be presented without modifying the current portfolio of R&D censuses and surveys, (2) what additional topics and tabulations might be presented by expanding these current data collections, (3) what could be done to enhance international comparability of the tabulations, (4) since much of the information on non-profit R&D providers and recipients is estimated from 15 year-old data, what impact might this be having on the quality of the associated National Patterns tabulations, (5) what statistical models could be used to support the issuance R&D estimates at state-level and geographic regions below the national level, (6) what use could be made from the recent development of administrative sources of R&D information, and finally, (7) what graphical tools could be added to the current tabulations to enhance the communication of R&D patterns to the users of this series of publications.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18317">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> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=307'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> &raquo; <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/423/~4/mKKW6Uce18A" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18317 tag:nap.edu,2013:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18247#final 2013-01-07T10:45:01-05:00 2013-01-07T10:45:12-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>The workshop was convened to explore the region's approach to urban sustainability, with an emphasis on building the evidence base upon which new policies and programs might be developed. Participants examined how the interaction of various systems (natural and human systems; energy, water, and transportation systems) affected the region's social, economic, and environmental conditions. The objectives of the workshop were as follows:</p> <p><br /> - Discuss ways that regional actors are approaching sustainability— specifically, how they are attempting to merge environmental, social, and economic objectives.<br /> - Share information about ongoing activities and strategic planning efforts, including lessons learned.<br /> - Examine the role that science, technology, and research can play in supporting efforts to make the region more sustainable.<br /> - Explore how federal agency efforts, particularly interagency partnerships, can complement or leverage the efforts of other key stakeholders.</p> <p><em>Pathways to Urban Sustainability: A Focus on the Houston Metropolitan Region: Summary of a Workshop </em>was designed to explore the complex challenges facing sustainability efforts in the Houston metropolitan region and innovative approaches to addressing them, as well as performance measures to gauge success and opportunities to link knowledge with action. In developing the agenda, the planning committee chose topics that were timely and cut across the concerns of individual institutions, reflecting the interests of a variety of stakeholders. Panelists were encouraged to share their perspectives on a given topic; however, each panel was designed to provoke discussion that took advantage of the broad experience of the participants.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18247">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> &raquo; <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=285'>Environment and Environmental Studies</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=375'>Sustainable Development</a></p><br /> <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/423/~4/Daweo5oWfoE" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18247 tag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13513#final 2012-12-19T16:23:34-05:00 2012-12-19T16:23:41-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>On May 23, 2012, the Roundtable on Technology, Science, and Peacebuilding convened a workshop at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) to investigate data sharing as a means of improving coordination among US government and nongovernment stakeholders involved in peacebuilding and conflict management activities. <em>Using Data Sharing to Improve Coordination in Peacebuilding:Report of a Workshop by the National Academy of Engineering and the United States Institute of Peace: Roundtable on Technology, Science, and Peacebuilding</em> addresses the following question: What needs must a data sharing system address to create more effective coordination in conflict zones and to promote the participation of federal agencies and nonfederal organizations in Peacebuilding?</p> <p><br /> In addition, the workshop served as a means to obtain feedback on the UNITY system, a data-sharing platform developed by the Department of Defense (DOD) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The Roundtable was established in 2011 as a partnership between USIP and the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) to make a measurable and positive impact on conflict management, peacebuilding, and security capabilities by bringing together leaders from the technical and peacebuilding communities. Its members are senior executives and experts from leading governmental organizations, universities, corporations, and nongovernmental organizations.</p> <p><br /> Its principal goals are: 1. To accelerate the application of science and technology to the process of peacebuilding and stabilization; 2. To promote systematic, high-level communication between peacebuilding and technical organizations on the problems faced and the technical capabilities required for successful peacebuilding; and 3. To collaborate in applying new science and technology to the most pressing challenges faced by local and international peacebuilders working in conflict zones. The Roundtable is strongly committed to action-oriented projects, and the long-term goal of each is to demonstrate viability with a successful field trial. The Roundtable has selected a portfolio of high-impact peacebuilding problems on which to focus its efforts: 1. Adapting agricultural extension services to peacebuilding, 2.Using data sharing to improve coordination in peacebuilding, 3. Sensing emerging conflicts, and 4. Harnessing systems methods for delivery of peacebuilding services.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13513">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'></a> &raquo; <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'></a> &raquo; <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/423/~4/jXRheoIExvA" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13513 tag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18258#final 2012-12-13T10:45:01-05:00 2012-12-19T16:17:52-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>Digital technologies and networks are now part of everyday work in the sciences, and have enhanced access to and use of scientific data, information, and literature significantly. They offer the promise of accelerating the discovery and communication of knowledge, both within the scientific community and in the broader society, as scientific data and information are made openly available online. The focus of this project was on computer-mediated or computational scientific knowledge discovery, taken broadly as any research processes enabled by digital computing technologies. Such technologies may include data mining, information retrieval and extraction, artificial intelligence, distributed grid computing, and others. These technological capabilities support computer-mediated knowledge discovery, which some believe is a new paradigm in the conduct of research. The emphasis was primarily on digitally networked data, rather than on the scientific, technical, and medical literature. The meeting also focused mostly on the advantages of knowledge discovery in open networked environments, although some of the disadvantages were raised as well.</p> <p>The workshop brought together a set of stakeholders in this area for intensive and structured discussions. The purpose was not to make a final declaration about the directions that should be taken, but to further the examination of trends in computational knowledge discovery in the open networked environments, based on the following questions and tasks:</p> <p>1. Opportunities and Benefits: What are the opportunities over the next 5 to 10 years associated with the use of computer-mediated scientific knowledge discovery across disciplines in the open online environment? What are the potential benefits to science and society of such techniques?<br /> 2. Techniques and Methods for Development and Study of Computer-mediated Scientific Knowledge Discovery: What are the techniques and methods used in government, academia, and industry to study and understand these processes, the validity and reliability of their results, and their impact inside and outside science?<br /> 3. Barriers: What are the major scientific, technological, institutional, sociological, and policy barriers to computer-mediated scientific knowledge discovery in the open online environment within the scientific community? What needs to be known and studied about each of these barriers to help achieve the opportunities for interdisciplinary science and complex problem solving?<br /> 4. Range of Options: Based on the results obtained in response to items 1-3, define a range of options that can be used by the sponsors of the project, as well as other similar organizations, to obtain and promote a better understanding of the computer-mediated scientific knowledge discovery processes and mechanisms for openly available data and information online across the scientific domains. The objective of defining these options is to improve the activities of the sponsors (and other similar organizations) and the activities of researchers that they fund externally in this emerging research area.</p> <p><em>The Future of Scientific Knowledge Discovery in Open Networked Environments: Summary of a Workshop</em> summarizes the responses to these questions and tasks at hand.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18258">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'></a> &raquo; <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/423/~4/whJRe0vdXPE" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18258 tag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=17019#final 2012-12-11T12:21:06-05:00 2012-12-21T11:43:06-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>The theme of this international symposium is the promotion of greater sharing of scientific data for the benefit of research and broader development, particularly in the developing world. This is an extraordinarily important topic. Indeed, I have devoted much of my own career to matters related to the concept of openness. I had the opportunity to promote and help build the open courseware program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). This program has made the teaching materials for all 2,000 subjects taught at MIT available on the Web for anyone, anywhere, to use anytime at no cost. In countries where basic broadband was not available, we shipped it in on hard drives and compact disks. Its impact has been worldwide, but it has surely had the greatest impact on the developing world. I am also a trustee of a nonprofit organization named Ithaca that operates Journal Storage (JSTOR) and other entities that make scholarly information available at very low cost.</p> <p>The culture of science has been international and open for centuries. Indeed, the scientific enterprise can only work when all information is open and accessible, because science works through critical analysis and replication of results. In recent years, as some scientific data, and especially technological data, have increased in economic value frequently has caused us to be far less open with information than business and free enterprise require us to be. Indeed, the worldwide shift to what is known as open innovation is strengthening every day.</p> <p>Finally, since the end of World War II, the realities of modern military conflict and now terrorism have led governments to restrict information through classification. This is important, but I believe that we classify far too much information. The last thing we need today, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, is further arbitrary limitations on the free flow of scientific information, whether by policies established by governments and businesses, or by lack of information infrastructure. For all these reasons, the international sharing of scientific data is one of the topics of great interest here at the National Academies and has been the subject of many of our past reports. This is the primary reason why this symposium has been co-organized by the NRC's Policy and Global Affairs Division—the Board on International Scientific Organizations (BISO) and the Board on Research Data and Information (BRDI). <em>The Case for International Sharing of Scientific Data: A Focus on Developing Countries: Proceedings of a Symposium</em> summarizes the symposium.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=17019">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'></a> &raquo; <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/423/~4/Oy35o8I8Kfs" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=17019 tag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13457#final 2012-11-29T00:00:00-05:00 2012-11-29T11:04:14-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>No person or place is immune from disasters or disaster-related losses. Infectious disease outbreaks, acts of terrorism, social unrest, or financial disasters in addition to natural hazards can all lead to large-scale consequences for the nation and its communities. Communities and the nation thus face difficult fiscal, social, cultural, and environmental choices about the best ways to ensure basic security and quality of life against hazards, deliberate attacks, and disasters. Beyond the unquantifiable costs of injury and loss of life from disasters, statistics for 2011 alone indicate economic damages from natural disasters in the United States exceeded $55 billion, with 14 events costing more than a billion dollars in damages each.</p> <p>One way to reduce the impacts of disasters on the nation and its communities is to invest in enhancing resilience--the ability to prepare and plan for, absorb, recover from and more successfully adapt to adverse events. <i>Disaster Resilience: A National Imperative</i> addresses the broad issue of increasing the nation's resilience to disasters. This book defines "national resilience", describes the state of knowledge about resilience to hazards and disasters, and frames the main issues related to increasing resilience in the United States. It also provide goals, baseline conditions, or performance metrics for national resilience and outlines additional information, data, gaps, and/or obstacles that need to be addressed to increase the nation's resilience to disasters. Additionally, the book's authoring committee makes recommendations about the necessary approaches to elevate national resilience to disasters in the United States.</p> <p>Enhanced resilience allows better anticipation of disasters and better planning to reduce disaster losses-rather than waiting for an event to occur and paying for it afterward. <i>Disaster Resilience</i> confronts the topic of how to increase the nation's resilience to disasters through a vision of the characteristics of a resilient nation in the year 2030. Increasing disaster resilience is an imperative that requires the collective will of the nation and its communities. Although disasters will continue to occur, actions that move the nation from reactive approaches to disasters to a proactive stance where communities actively engage in enhancing resilience will reduce many of the broad societal and economic burdens that disasters can cause.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13457">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=281'></a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=332'>Earthquakes, Floods and Natural Disasters</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'></a> &raquo; <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/423/~4/RRIZmAg4vKU" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13457 tag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13510#final 2012-11-21T00:00:00-05:00 2012-11-26T22:33:34-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>In anticipation of future environmental science and engineering challenges and technologic advances, EPA asked the National Research Council (NRC) to assess the overall capabilities of the agency to develop, obtain, and use the best available scientific and technologic information and tools to meet persistent, emerging, and future mission challenges and opportunities. Although the committee cannot predict with certainty what new environmental problems EPA will face in the next 10 years or more, it worked to identify some of the common drivers and common characteristics of problems that are likely to occur.</p> <p>Tensions inherent to the structure of EPA's work contribute to the current and persistent challenges faced by the agency, and meeting those challenges will require development of leading-edge scientific methods, tools, and technologies, and a more deliberate approach to systems thinking and interdisciplinary science. <em>Science for Environmental Protection: The Road Ahead</em> outlines a framework for building science for environmental protection in the 21st century and identified key areas where enhanced leadership and capacity can strengthen the agency's abilities to address current and emerging environmental challenges as well as take advantage of new tools and technologies to address them. The foundation of EPA science is strong, but the agency needs to continue to address numerous present and future challenges if it is to maintain its science leadership and meet its expanding mandates.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13510">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> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=371'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> &raquo; <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=281'>Earth Sciences</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=337'>Natural Resources and Conservation</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=285'>Environment and Environmental Studies</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=372'>Pollutants and Toxics</a></p><br /> <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/423/~4/f5Fra_AdVhY" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13510 tag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13564#final 2012-11-19T10:45:01-05:00 2012-12-05T14:14:10-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>The growth of electronic publishing of literature has created new challenges, such as the need for mechanisms for citing online references in ways that can assure discoverability and retrieval for many years into the future. The growth in online datasets presents related, yet more complex challenges. It depends upon the ability to reliably identify, locate, access, interpret, and verify the version, integrity, and provenance of digital datasets. Data citation standards and good practices can form the basis for increased incentives, recognition, and rewards for scientific data activities that in many cases are currently lacking in many fields of research. The rapidly-expanding universe of online digital data holds the promise of allowing peer-examination and review of conclusions or analysis based on experimental or observational data, the integration of data into new forms of scholarly publishing, and the ability for subsequent users to make new and unforeseen uses and analyses of the same data-either in isolation, or in combination with, other datasets. <br /> </p> <p>The problem of citing online data is complicated by the lack of established practices for referring to portions or subsets of data. There are a number of initiatives in different organizations, countries, and disciplines already underway. An important set of technical and policy approaches have already been launched by the U.S. National Information Standards Organization (NISO) and other standards bodies regarding persistent identifiers and online linking.</p> <p><br /> The workshop summarized in <em>For Attribution -- Developing Data Attribution and Citation Practices and Standards: Summary of an International Workshop </em>was organized by a steering committee under the National Research Council's (NRC's) Board on Research Data and Information, in collaboration with an international CODATA-ICSTI Task Group on Data Citation Standards and Practices. The purpose of the symposium was to examine a number of key issues related to data identification, attribution, citation, and linking to help coordinate activities in this area internationally, and to promote common practices and standards in the scientific community.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13564">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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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/423/~4/FFpJqtjQypM" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13564 tag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13541#final 2012-11-07T12:45:01-05:00 2013-01-04T23:23:12-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>In 2012, the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) approached the National Research Council's TIGER standing committee and asked it to develop a list of workshop topics to explore the impact of emerging science and technology. From the list of topics given to DIA, three were chosen to be developed by the Committee for Science and Technology Challenges to U.S. National Security Interests. The first in a series of three workshops was held on April 23-24, 2012. This report summarizes that first workshop which explored the phenomenon known as big data.</p> <p><br /> The objective for the first workshop is given in the statement of task, which explains that that workshop will review emerging capabilities in large computational data to include speed, data fusion, use, and commodification of data used in decision making. The workshop will also review the subsequent increase in vulnerabilities over the capabilities gained and the significance to national security. The committee devised an agenda that helped the committee, sponsors, and workshop attendees probe issues of national security related to so-called big data, as well as gain understanding of potential related vulnerabilities. The workshop was used to gather data that is described in this report, which presents views expressed by individual workshop participants.</p> <p><br /> <em>Big Data: A Workshop Report </em>is the first in a series of three workshops, held in early 2012 to further the ongoing engagement among the National Research Council's (NRC's) Technology Insight-Gauge, Evaluate, and Review (TIGER) Standing Committee, the scientific and technical intelligence (S&TI) community, and the consumers of S&TI products.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13541">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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=471'>Research and Data</a></p><br /> <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/423/~4/Tsj4lE26sK0" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13541 tag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13306#final 2012-10-17T10:45:01-04:00 2012-10-17T10:45:06-04:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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/423/~4/pJc5YPT7gqU" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13306 tag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13529#final 2012-10-03T12:45:01-04:00 2012-10-03T12:50:00-04:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>Research and development (R&D) organizations are operated by government, business, academe, and independent institutes. The success of their parent organizations is closely tied to the success of these R&D organizations. In this report, organizations refers to an organization that performs research and/or development activities (often a laboratory), and parent refers to the superordinate organization of which the R&D organization is a part. When the organization under discussion is formally labeled a laboratory, it is referred to as such. The question arises: How does one know whether an organization and its programs are achieving excellence in the best interests of its parent? Does the organization have an appropriate research staff, facilities, and equipment? Is it doing the right things at high levels of quality, relevance, and timeliness? Does it lead to successful new concepts, products, or processes that support the interests of its parent?</p> <p><br /> This report offers assessment guidelines for senior management of organizations and of their parents. The report lists the major principles of assessment, noting that details will vary from one organization to another. It provides sufficient information to inform the design of assessments, but it does not prescribe precisely how to perform them, because different techniques are needed for different types of organizations. <br /> </p> <p><em>Best Practices in Assessment of Research and Development Organizations </em>covers three key factors that underpin the success of an R&D organization: (1) the mission of the organization and its alignment with that of the parents; (2) the relevance and impact of the organization's work; and (3) the resources provided to the organization, beginning with a high-quality staff and management.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13529">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=284'></a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=365'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id='></a> &raquo; <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/423/~4/GcM_CYDu0e8" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13529 tag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13249#final 2012-10-03T10:45:05-04:00 2012-10-03T13:11:35-04:00 The National Academies Press http://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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a></p><br /> <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/423/~4/nFtaqGV_1M8" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13249 tag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13527#final 2012-09-28T12:45:22-04:00 2012-09-28T13:11:40-04:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)--recognizing that information and insights gained through continual examination of practices for organizational assessment are useful for decision makers at organizations across the deferral, industrial, academic, and national laboratory sectors-recently requested that the National Research Council (NRC) organize a panel to review best practices in assessment of research and development (R&D) organizations. In response, the NRC established the Panel for Review of Best Practices in Assessment of Research and Development Organizations.</p> <p>The panel was charged to consider means of assessing the following in a manner that satisfies the requirements of NIST to perform effective assessments but also identifies assessment methods that can be applied selectively to other R&D organizations. These methods include: technical merit and quality of the science and engineering work, the adequacy of the resources available to support high-quality work, the effectiveness of the agency's delivery of the services and products required to fulfill its goals, the degree to which the agency's current and planned R&D portfolio supports its mission, as well as the agency's flexibility to respond to changing economic, political, social and technological contexts.</p> <p>As one means of data gathering, among others that the panel is performing toward development of a final report of its findings, the panel organized a planning committee for a workshop on best practices in assessment of R&D organizations. <em>Best Practices in Assessment of Research and Development Organizations: Summary of a Workshop</em> reviews the workshop conducted at the Keck Center of the National Academies in Washington, D.C., on March 19, 2012.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13527">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=284'></a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=365'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id='></a> &raquo; <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/423/~4/jOC2fgj1Q0k" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13527 tag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13503#final 2012-09-28T12:40:52-04:00 2012-09-28T12:41:43-04:00 The National Academies Press http://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> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=362'>Engineering Education</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=282'></a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=347'>Engineering Education</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'></a> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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/423/~4/882BuI8iZv4" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13503 tag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13488#final 2012-09-25T00:00:00-04:00 2012-10-03T10:45:05-04:00 The National Academies Press http://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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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/423/~4/vrr2RnWvD6Q" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13488 tag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13479#final 2012-08-30T10:45:01-04:00 2013-01-09T11:13:46-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>On June 12-14, 2012, the Board on Global Science and Technology held an international, multidisciplinary workshop in Washington, D.C., to explore the challenges and advances in intelligent human-machine collaboration (IH-MC), particularly as it applies to unstructured environments. This workshop convened researchers from a range of science and engineering disciplines, including robotics, human-robot and human-machine interaction, software agents and multi-agentsystems, cognitive sciences, and human-machine teamwork. Participants were drawn from research organizations in Australia, China, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States.</p> <p>The first day of the workshop participants worked to determine how advances in IH-MC over the next two to three years could be applied solving a variety of different real-world scenarios in dynamic unstructured environments, ranging from managing a natural disaster to improving small-lot agile manufacturing. On the second day of the workshop, participants organized into small groups for a deeper exploration of research topics that had arisen, discussion of common challenges, hoped-for breakthroughs, and the national, transnational, and global context in which this research occurs. Day three of the workshop consisted of small groups focusing on longer term research deliverables, as well as identifying challenges and opportunities from different disciplinary and cultural perspectives. In addition, ten participants gave presentations on their research, ranging from human-robot communication, to disaster response robots, to human-in-the-loop control of robot systems.</p> <p><em>Intelligent Human-Machine Collaboration: Summary of a Workshop</em> describes in detail the discussions and happenings of the three day workshop.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13479">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> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=319'>Computers</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=284'>Engineering and Technology</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=360'>Applications of Technology</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> &raquo; <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/423/~4/vIDqJJ4iau8" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13479 tag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13267#final 2012-06-06T10:45:01-04:00 2012-06-06T10:45:06-04:00 The National Academies Press http://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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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/423/~4/TUY9cFdgv3E" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13267 tag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13358#final 2012-02-17T00:00:00-05:00 2012-02-22T11:10:46-05:00 The National Academies Press http://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> &raquo; <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/423/~4/K1TJMG4rua4" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13358 tag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13282#final 2012-02-07T00:00:00-05:00 2012-02-07T15:06:09-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>The National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) of the National Science Foundation (NSF) communicates its science and engineering (S&E) information to data users in a very fluid environment that is undergoing modernization at a pace at which data producer dissemination practices, protocols, and technologies, on one hand, and user demands and capabilities, on the other, are changing faster than the agency has been able to accommodate. NCSES asked the Committee on National Statistics and the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board of the National Research Council to form a panel to review the NCSES communication and dissemination program that is concerned with the collection and distribution of information on science and engineering and to recommend future directions for the program.</p> <p><i>Communicating Science and Engineering Data in the Information Age</i> includes recommendations to improve NCSES's dissemination program and improve data user engagement. This report includes recommendations such as NCSES's transition to a dissemination framework that emphasizes database management rather than data presentation, and that NCSES analyze the results of its initial online consumer survey and refine it over time. The implementation of the report's recommendations should be undertaken within an overall framework that accords priority to the basic quality of the data and the fundamentals of dissemination, then to significant enhancements that are achievable in the short term, while laying the groundwork for other long-term improvements.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13282">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=279'></a> &raquo; <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/423/~4/uUKVxTbcZEk" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13282 tag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13295#final 2012-01-30T00:00:00-05:00 2012-01-30T15:18:09-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> After the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and subsequent anthrax mailings, the U.S. government prioritized a biosurveillance strategy aimed at detecting, monitoring, and characterizing national security health threats in human and animal populations, food, water, agriculture, and the environment. However, gaps and challenges in biosurveillance efforts and integration of biosurveillance activities remain. September 8-9, 2011, the IOM held a workshop to explore the information-sharing and collaboration processes needed for the nation's integrated biosurveillance strategy. <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13295">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=399'>Public Health and Prevention</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=400'>Public Policy</a></p><br /> <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/423/~4/eQa_li3UCoU" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13295 tag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13300#final 2012-01-03T10:45:02-05:00 2012-01-03T10:45:13-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>The United States and other countries around the world face problems of an increasingly global nature that often require major contributions from science and engineering that one nation alone cannot provide. The advance of science and engineering is an increasingly global enterprise, and in many areas there is a natural commonality of interest among practitioners from diverse cultures. In response to challenges, the National Academies held a workshop in Washington, DC, in February 2011, to assess effective ways to meet international challenges through sound science policy and science diplomacy. <br /> <em><br /> U.S. and International Perspectives on Global Science Policy and Science Diplomacy</em> summarizes issues addressed during this workshop. Participants discussed many of the characteristics of science, such as its common language and methods; the open, self-correcting nature of research; the universality of the most important questions; and its respect for evidence. These common aspects not only make science inherently international but also give science special capacities in advancing communication and cooperation. Many workshop participants pointed out that, while advancing global science and science diplomacy are distinct, they are complementary, and making them each more effective often involves similar measures. Some participants suggested it may sometimes be more accurate to use the term <em>global science cooperation</em> rather than <em>science diplomacy</em>. Other participants indicated that <em>science diplomacy</em> is, in many situations, a clear and useful concept, recounting remarkable historical cases of the effective use of international scientific cooperation in building positive governmental relationships and dealing with sensitive and urgent problems.<br /> <br /> To gain U.S. and international perspectives on these issues, representatives from Brazil, Bangladesh, Egypt, Germany, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Morocco, Rwanda, South Africa, and Syria attended the workshop, as well as two of the most recently named U.S. science envoys, Rita Colwell and Gebisa Ejeta.<br /> </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13300">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> &raquo; <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=278'>Biology and Life Sciences</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=314'>Biotechnology</a></p><br /> <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/423/~4/nfHgavhRC84" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13300 tag:nap.edu,2011:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13309#final 2011-12-07T10:45:01-05:00 2011-12-07T12:15:59-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>This letter report describes the 2009-2011 activities of the Board on Global Science and Technology (BGST) and provides an initial characterization of the global science and technology landscape that the Board can use as a roadmap to develop future activities. BGST met five times between November 2009 and May 2011. Board meetings were devoted to (1) identifying national security implications of the globalization of S&T, (2) building a baseline understanding of current indicators for the U.S. posture with regard to the evolving global S&T landscape, and (3) developing a BGST engagement strategy. The letter portion of the report summarizes activities of the board in its first year, and also describes some existing approaches to identifying and/or benchmarking emerging technologies globally. It is followed by 5 appendixes which include three experimental examples of a qualitative approach to benchmarking, and brief descriptions of programs that are part of the National Academies complex, with which BGST has cooperated.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13309">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> &raquo; <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=290'>Math, Chemistry and Physics</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=409'>Chemistry</a></p><br /> <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/423/~4/Y7K0_c8mvOM" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13309 tag:nap.edu,2011:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13192#final 2011-10-04T10:45:01-04:00 2011-10-04T10:45:16-04:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>The globalization of science, engineering, and medical research is proceeding rapidly. The globalization of research has important implications for the U.S. research enterprise, for the U.S. government agencies, academic institutions, and companies that support and perform research, and for the world at large. As science and technology capabilities grow around the world, U.S.-based organizations are finding that international collaborations and partnerships provide unique opportunities to enhance research and training. At the same time, significant obstacles exist to smooth collaboration across national borders. Enhancing international collaboration requires recognition of differences in culture, legitimate national security needs, and critical needs in education and training.</p> <p>In response to these trends, the Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable (GUIRR) launched a Working Group on International Research Collaborations (I-Group) in 2008, following its meeting on New Partnerships on a Global Platform that June. As part of I-Group's continuing effort, a workshop on Examining Core Elements of International Research Collaboration was held July 26-27, 2010 in Washington, DC. One primary goal of the workshop is to better understand the risks involved in international research collaboration for organizations and individual participants, and the mechanisms that can be used to manage those risks. Issues to be addressed in the workshop include the following: (1) Cultural Differences and Nuances; (2) Legal Issues and Agreements; (3) Differences in Ethical Standards; (4) Research Integrity and the Responsible Conduct of Research; (5) Intellectual Property; (6) Risk Management; (7) Export Controls; and (8) Strategies for Developing Meaningful International Collaborations.</p> <p>The goal for the workshop and the summary, <i>Examining Core Elements of International Research Collaboration,</i> is to serve as an information resource for participants and others interested in international research collaborations. It will also aid I-Group in setting its future goals and priorities.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13192">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> &raquo; <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/423/~4/U0Z3qfDxZug" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13192 tag:nap.edu,2011:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13163#final 2011-09-28T09:45:42-04:00 2011-11-02T14:33:07-04:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p><i>The Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence, Third Edition</i>, assists judges in managing cases involving complex scientific and technical evidence by describing the basic tenets of key scientific fields from which legal evidence is typically derived and by providing examples of cases in which that evidence has been used.</p> <p>First published in 1994 by the Federal Judicial Center, the <i>Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence</i> has been relied upon in the legal and academic communities and is often cited by various courts and others. Judges faced with disputes over the admissibility of scientific and technical evidence refer to the manual to help them better understand and evaluate the relevance, reliability and usefulness of the evidence being proffered. The manual is not intended to tell judges what is good science and what is not. Instead, it serves to help judges identify issues on which experts are likely to differ and to guide the inquiry of the court in seeking an informed resolution of the conflict.</p> <p>The core of the manual consists of a series of chapters (reference guides) on various scientific topics, each authored by an expert in that field. The topics have been chosen by an oversight committee because of their complexity and frequency in litigation. Each chapter is intended to provide a general overview of the topic in lay terms, identifying issues that will be useful to judges and others in the legal profession. They are written for a non-technical audience and are not intended as exhaustive presentations of the topic. Rather, the chapters seek to provide judges with the basic information in an area of science, to allow them to have an informed conversation with the experts and attorneys.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13163">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> &raquo; <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=278'>Biology and Life Sciences</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=315'>Genetics</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=277'>Behavioral and Social Sciences</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=306'>Law and Justice</a></p><br /> <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/423/~4/yUlJrnAZhKg" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13163 tag:nap.edu,2011:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13208#final 2011-09-08T10:45:01-04:00 2011-09-08T10:45:24-04:00 The National Academies Press http://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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a></p><br /> <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/423/~4/u0bAAl3MIrY" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13208 tag:nap.edu,2011:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13152#final 2011-09-08T00:00:00-04:00 2011-09-08T16:51:21-04:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>Sustainability is based on a simple and long-recognized factual premise: Everything that humans require for their survival and well-being depends, directly or indirectly, on the natural environment. The environment provides the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat.</p> <p>Recognizing the importance of sustainability to its work, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been working to create programs and applications in a variety of areas to better incorporate sustainability into decision-making at the agency. To further strengthen the scientific basis for sustainability as it applies to human health and environmental protection, the EPA asked the National Research Council (NRC) to provide a framework for incorporating sustainability into the EPA's principles and decision-making. <br /> <br /> This framework, <em>Sustainability and the U.S. EPA</em>, provides recommendations for a sustainability approach that both incorporates and goes beyond an approach based on assessing and managing the risks posed by pollutants that has largely shaped environmental policy since the 1980s. Although risk-based methods have led to many successes and remain important tools, the report concludes that they are not adequate to address many of the complex problems that put current and future generations at risk, such as depletion of natural resources, climate change, and loss of biodiversity. Moreover, sophisticated tools are increasingly available to address cross-cutting, complex, and challenging issues that go beyond risk management.</p> <p>The report recommends that EPA formally adopt as its sustainability paradigm the widely used "three pillars" approach, which means considering the environmental, social, and economic impacts of an action or decision. Health should be expressly included in the "social" pillar. EPA should also articulate its vision for sustainability and develop a set of sustainability principles that would underlie all agency policies and programs.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13152">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> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=375'>Sustainable Development</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> &raquo; <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=285'>Environment and Environmental Studies</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=371'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br /> <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/423/~4/qQkrtK3dTn0" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13152 tag:nap.edu,2011:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13196#final 2011-08-19T10:45:01-04:00 2011-08-19T10:45:17-04:00 The National Academies Press http://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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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/423/~4/T1Q0L4RrAZA" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13196 tag:nap.edu,2011:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12984#final 2011-06-29T00:00:00-04:00 2011-07-01T13:22:26-04:00 The National Academies Press http://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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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/423/~4/GMcJ85FwrZg" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12984 tag:nap.edu,2011:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13190#final 2011-06-23T16:01:26-04:00 2011-06-23T16:01:35-04:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>The income that supports the activities of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) comes from two major sources: program revenue received from sponsors to pay for the myriad studies and other activities undertaken each year by the National Research Council (NRC), and a much smaller sum that is obtained from our endowment under the endowment spending policies adopted by the Council. The goal of the endowment is to provide stable support for the Academy's programs and activities. To achieve this goal, the Council, acting on the recommendations of the Finance Committee, has historically authorized spending from the portfolio at a rate designed to maintain the purchasing power of the endowment over time.</p> <p>This Report of the Treasure of the National Academy of Sciences presents the financial position and results of operations as well as a review of the endowment, trust, and other long-term investments portfolio activities of our Academy for the year ended December 31, 2010. While this book provides essential financial summary to key personnel, it also serves as a vital informative resource for various members of the public, private, and governmental sectors.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13190">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> &raquo; <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/423/~4/rSkjUpR6Gvg" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13190 tag:nap.edu,2011:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13143#final 2011-06-15T10:45:01-04:00 2011-06-15T10:45:10-04:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>The U.S. population is more than 80 percent urban. Recognizing that many metropolitan areas in the United States have been experimenting with various approaches to sustainability, and that despite the differences among regions, there are likely some core similarities and transferable knowledge, Roundtable members selected the metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia region as a case study. The Atlanta region provided a compelling example for exploring urban sustainability issues because of the region's rapid growth rate, well-documented challenges with water, land use, and transportation; and its level of engagement with federal government agencies on matters related to sustainability.<p/> <p>Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Lessons from the Atlanta Metropolitan Region: Summary of a Workshop explores the Atlanta region's approach to urban sustainability, with an emphasis on building evidence based foundation upon which policies and programs might be developed. The two day workshop held on September 30 and October 1, 2010 examined how the interaction of various systems (natural and human systems; energy, water and transportations systems) affect the region's social, economic, and environmental conditions. The intent of this workshop summary is to analyze a metropolitan region so that researchers and practitioners can improve their understanding of the spatial and temporal aspects of urban sustainability. </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13143">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> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=375'>Sustainable Development</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> &raquo; <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/423/~4/3kPH4PZiXe4" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13143 tag:nap.edu,2011:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11463#final 2011-05-09T11:53:25-04:00 2011-05-12T16:52:38-04:00 The National Academies Press http://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> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=282'>Education</a> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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/423/~4/PbB9STnGxJo" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11463 tag:nap.edu,2011:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13137#final 2011-04-21T00:00:00-04:00 2011-04-22T12:28:12-04:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>The charge of the Army Research Laboratory Technical Assessment Board (ARLTAB) is to provide biannual assessments of the scientific and technical quality of the research, development, and analysis programs at the Army Research Laboratory (ARL). The advice provided in this report focuses on technical rather than programmatic considerations.</p> <p>The Board is assisted by six National Research Council (NRC) panels, each of which focuses on the portion of the ARL program conducted by one of ARL's six directorates. When requested to do so by ARL, the Board also examines work that cuts across the directorates. The Board has been performing assessments of ARL since 1996. The current report summarizes its finding for the 2009-2010 period, during which 96 volunteer experts in fields of science and engineering participated in the following activities: visiting ARL annually, receiving formal presentations of technical work, examining facilities, engaging in technical discussions with ARL staff, and reviewing ARL technical materials.</p> <p>The Board continues to be impressed by the overall quality of ARL's technical staff and their work and applauds ARL for its clear, passionate concern for the end user of its technology--the soldier in the field--and for ARL's demonstrated mindfulness of the importance of transitioning technology to support immediate and longer-term Army needs. ARL staff also continue to expand their involvement with the wider scientific and engineering community. In general, ARL is working very well within an appropriate research and development (R&D) niche and has been demonstrating significant accomplishments.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13137">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> &raquo; <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=280'>Conflict and Security Issues</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=329'>Weapons and Technology</a></p><br /> <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/423/~4/p3gjgg0Uqdk" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13137 tag:nap.edu,2011:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13151#final 2011-04-18T14:08:32-04:00 2011-04-18T14:08:37-04:00 The National Academies Press http://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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=282'>Education</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id='></a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=284'>Engineering and Technology</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id='></a> &raquo; <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/423/~4/XisBLPX6Xvs" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13151 tag:nap.edu,2011:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13113#final 2011-04-07T09:45:01-04:00 2011-04-08T13:47:50-04:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>This report offers a summary of the substantive presentations during an international workshop, <i>Trends in Science and Technology Relevant to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention,</i> held October 31 - November 3, 2010 at the Institute of Biophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It is meant to provide scientists and other technical experts with factual information about the range and variety of topics discussed at the workshop, which may be of interest to national governments and non-governmental organizations as they begin to prepare for the 7th Review Conference of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BWC) in 2011.</p> <p>The Beijing workshop reflected the continuing engagement by national academies international scientific organizations, and individual scientists and engineers in considering the biosecurity implications of developments in the life sciences and assessing trends in science and technology (S&T) relevant to nonproliferation. The workshop provided an opportunity for the scientific community to discuss the implications of relevant developments in S&T for multiple aspects of the BWC.</p> <p><i>Trends in Science and Technology Relevant to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention</i> follows the structure of the plenary sessions at the workshop. It begins with introductory material about the BWC and current examples of the types and modes of science advice available to the BWC and other international nonproliferation and disarmament agreements, in particular the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). This report includes only a very brief description of the some of the post-presentation discussions held during the plenary sessions - and does not include an account of the small breakout groups - since these were intended to inform the committee's finding and conclusions and will be reflected in the final report.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13113">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> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=329'>Weapons and Technology</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> &raquo; <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/423/~4/DAwBloR0gNc" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13113 tag:nap.edu,2011:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13001#final 2011-02-28T00:00:00-05:00 2011-03-08T17:22:55-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>Thirty years ago federal policy underwent a major change through the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980, which fostered greater uniformity in the way research agencies treat inventions arising from the work they sponsor. Before the Act, if government agencies funded university research, the funding agency retained ownership of the knowledge and technologies that resulted. However, very little federally funded research was actually commercialized. As a result of the Act's passage, patenting and licensing activity from such research has accelerated. </p> <p>Although the system created by the Act has remained stable, it has generated debate about whether it might impede other forms of knowledge transfer. Concerns have also arisen that universities might prioritize commercialization at the expense of their traditional mission to pursue fundamental knowledge--for example, by steering research away from curiosity-driven topics toward applications that could yield financial returns. <br /> <br /> To address these concerns, the National Research Council convened a committee of experts from universities, industry, foundations, and similar organizations, as well as scholars of the subject, to review experience and evidence of the technology transfer system's effects and to recommend improvements. The present volume summarizes the committee's principal findings and recommendations.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13001">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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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/423/~4/nkcLBd3lqqU" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13001 tag:nap.edu,2011:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13028#final 2011-02-17T00:00:00-05:00 2011-02-18T13:44:02-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>Natural disasters--including hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and floods--caused more than 220,000 deaths worldwide in the first half of 2010 and wreaked havoc on homes, buildings, and the environment. To withstand and recover from natural and human-caused disasters, it is essential that citizens and communities work together to anticipate threats, limit their effects, and rapidly restore functionality after a crisis. <br /> <br /> Increasing evidence indicates that collaboration between the private and public sectors could improve the ability of a community to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters. Several previous National Research Council reports have identified specific examples of the private and public sectors working cooperatively to reduce the effects of a disaster by implementing building codes, retrofitting buildings, improving community education, or issuing extreme-weather warnings. State and federal governments have acknowledged the importance of collaboration between private and public organizations to develop planning for disaster preparedness and response. Despite growing ad hoc experience across the country, there is currently no comprehensive framework to guide private-public collaboration focused on disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. <br /> <br /> <em>Building Community Disaster Resilience through Private-Public Collaboration</em> assesses the current state of private-public sector collaboration dedicated to strengthening community resilience, identifies gaps in knowledge and practice, and recommends research that could be targeted for investment. Specifically, the book finds that local-level private-public collaboration is essential to the development of community resilience. Sustainable and effective resilience-focused private-public collaboration is dependent on several basic principles that increase communication among all sectors of the community, incorporate flexibility into collaborative networks, and encourage regular reassessment of collaborative missions, goals, and practices.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13028">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=281'>Earth Sciences</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=332'>Earthquakes, Floods and Natural Disasters</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> &raquo; <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/423/~4/B8tz4mueeZQ" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13028 tag:nap.edu,2011:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13073#final 2011-01-25T00:00:00-05:00 2011-01-25T17:18:45-05:00 The National Academies Press http://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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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/423/~4/5Z90WAIz6EI" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13073 tag:nap.edu,2010:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12958#final 2010-12-16T00:00:00-05:00 2010-12-17T17:37:10-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>The Challenges and Opportunities for Education About Dual Use Issues in the Life Sciences workshop was held to engage the life sciences community on the particular security issues related to research with dual use potential. More than 60 participants from almost 30 countries took part and included practicing life scientists, bioethics and biosecurity practitioners, and experts in the design of educational programs. <br /> <br /> The workshop sought to identify a baseline about (1) the extent to which dual use issues are currently being included in postsecondary education (undergraduate and postgraduate) in the life sciences; (2) in what contexts that education is occurring (e.g., in formal coursework, informal settings, as stand-alone subjects or part of more general training, and in what fields); and (3) what online educational materials addressing research in the life sciences with dual use potential already exist.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12958">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=278'>Biology and Life Sciences</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=317'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=282'>Education</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=348'>Higher Education</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> &raquo; <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/423/~4/QxglrLHhhbc" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12958 tag:nap.edu,2010:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12921#final 2010-11-04T10:45:29-04:00 2010-11-09T15:05:15-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>During the first decade of the 21st century, the National Academies, working with a number of partner organizations in Iran, carried out a program of U.S.-Iran engagement in science, engineering, and health (herein referred to as science engagement). This book reviews important aspects of the science engagement program, including: (a) objectives of the program, (b) opportunities and constraints in developing the program, and (c) scientific and political impacts of the activities. Suggestions for future activities that draw on the conclusions and recommendations that have emerged from workshops and other types of interactions are set forth. Of course, the political turmoil within Iran and uncertainties as to the direction of U.S.-Iran government-to-government relations will undoubtedly complicate initiation and implementation of new science engagement activities in the near term. At the same time, many American and Iranian participants and important government officials in the United States and Iran have believed that science engagement can contribute to the evolution of an improved political environment for development of less adversarial relations between the two governments.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12921">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> &raquo; <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=288'>Health and Medicine</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=399'>Public Health and Prevention</a></p><br /> <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/423/~4/JYn_vqQE0mM" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12921 tag:nap.edu,2010:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13008#final 2010-10-27T00:00:00-04:00 2010-10-28T11:40:25-04:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>The mission of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Physics Laboratory is to support U.S. industry, government, and the scientific community by providing measurement services and research for electronic, optical, and radiation technology. In this respect, the laboratory provides the foundation for the metrology of optical and ionizing radiations, time and frequency, and fundamental quantum processes, historically major areas of standards and technology. <br /> The Panel on Physics visited the six divisions of the laboratory and reviewed a selected sample of their programs and projects.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13008">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> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=412'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> &raquo; <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/423/~4/k0ixCen8UHI" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13008 tag:nap.edu,2010:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13012#final 2010-10-27T00:00:00-04:00 2010-10-28T11:44:53-04:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Center for Neutron Research (NCNR) is a national user facility whose mission is to ensure the availability of neutron measurement capabilities in order to meet the needs of U.S. researchers from industry, academia, and government agencies. This mission is aligned with the mission of NIST, which is to promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve the quality of life. <br /> <br /> As requested by the Deputy Director of NIST, this book assesses NCNR, based on 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 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=13012">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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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/423/~4/WOnqOqTs7pQ" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13012 tag:nap.edu,2010:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13010#final 2010-10-27T00:00:00-04:00 2010-10-28T11:42:57-04:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>The Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory (MSEL) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) works with industry, standards bodies, universities, and other government laboratories to improve the nation's measurements and standards infrastructure for materials. A panel of experts appointed by the National Research Council (NRC) assessed the four divisions of MSEL, by visiting these divisions and reviewing their activities.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13010">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> &raquo; <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/423/~4/WdGjNEucBu8" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13010 tag:nap.edu,2010:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12929#final 2010-10-14T00:00:00-04:00 2010-10-15T13:33:25-04:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is the nation's primary resource for advancing scientific research, development, and evaluation on crime and crime control and the administration of justice in the United States. Headed by a presidentially appointed director, it is one of the major units in the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) of the U.S. Department of Justice. Under its authorizing legislation, NIJ awards grants and contracts to a variety of public and private organizations and individuals.<br /> <br /> At the request of NIJ, <i>Strengthening the National Institute of Justice</i> assesses the operations and quality of the full range of its programs. These include social science research, science and technology research and development, capacity building, and technology assistance. <br /> <br /> The book concludes that a federal research institute such as NIJ is vital to the nation's continuing efforts to control crime and administer justice. No other federal, state, local, or private organization can do what NIJ was created to do. Forty years ago, Congress envisioned a science agency dedicated to building knowledge to support crime prevention and control by developing a wide range of techniques for dealing with individual offenders, identifying injustices and biases in the administration of justice, and supporting more basic and operational research on crime and the criminal justice system and the involvement of the community in crime control efforts. As the embodiment of that vision, NIJ has accomplished a great deal. It has succeeded in developing a body of knowledge on such important topics as hot spots policing, violence against women, the role of firearms and drugs in crime, drug courts, and forensic DNA analysis. It has helped build the crime and justice research infrastructure. It has also widely disseminated the results of its research programs to help guide practice and policy. But its efforts have been severely hampered by a lack of independence, authority, and discretionary resources to carry out its mission.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12929">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> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=306'>Law and Justice</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> &raquo; <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/423/~4/MVlPLICshqk" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12929 tag:nap.edu,2010:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=10430#final 2010-10-04T10:58:51-04:00 1969-12-31T19:00:00-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> "Many people say that it is the intellect which makes a great scientist. They are wrong: it is character." -- Albert Einstein<br><br> <b>Integrity in Scientific Research</b> attempts to define and describe those elements that encourage individuals involved with scientific research to act with integrity.<br><br> Recognizing the inconsistency of human behavior, it stresses the important role that research institutions play in providing an integrity--rich environment, citing the need for institutions to provide staff with training and education, policies and procedures, and tools and support systems. It identifies practices that characterize integrity in such areas as peer review and research on human subjects and weighs the strengths and limitations of self--evaluation efforts by these institutions. In addition, it details an approach to promoting integrity during the education of researchers, including how to develop an effective curriculum. Providing a framework for research and educational institutions, this important book will be essential for anyone concerned about ethics in the scientific community. <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=10430">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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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/423/~4/SGxbvfcvIos" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=10430 tag:nap.edu,2010:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12920#final 2010-10-04T00:00:00-04:00 2010-10-05T09:52:32-04:00 The National Academies Press http://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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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/423/~4/AkEQSEZvlQY" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12920 tag:nap.edu,2010:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12999#final 2010-09-23T13:45:01-04:00 2011-01-14T12:41:37-05:00 The National Academies Press http://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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a></p><br /> <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/423/~4/FoWUFSJ3gz8" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12999 tag:nap.edu,2010:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12844#final 2010-06-30T00:00:00-04:00 2010-01-22T10:45:01-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>Helium has long been the subject of public policy deliberation and management, largely because of its many strategic uses and its unusual source-it is a derived product of natural gas and its market has several anomalous characteristics. Shortly after sources of helium were discovered at the beginning of the last century, the U.S. government recognized helium's potential importance to the nation's interests and placed its production and availability under strict governmental control. In the 1960s, helium's strategic value in cold war efforts was reflected in policies that resulted in the accumulation of a large reserve of helium owned by the federal government. The latest manifestation of public policy is expressed in the Helium Privatization Act of 1996 (1996 12 Act), which directs that substantially all of the helium accumulated as a result of those earlier policies be sold off by 2015 at prices sufficient to repay the federal government for its outlays associated with the helium program. <br /> <br /> The present volume assesses whether the interests of the United States have been well served by the 1996 Act and, in particular, whether selling off the helium reserve has had any adverse effect on U.S. scientific, technical, biomedical, and national security users of helium.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12844">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> &raquo; <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=283'>Energy and Energy Conservation</a> &raquo; <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/423/~4/7oPtzAbaXHQ" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12844 tag:nap.edu,2010:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12936#final 2010-06-16T16:30:39-04:00 2010-06-16T16:30:39-04:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>This <em>Report of the Treasurer of the National Academy of Sciences</em> presents the financial position and results of operations, as well as a review of the endowment, trust, and other long-term investments pool activities of the Academy for the year ended December 31, 2009.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12936">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> &raquo; <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/423/~4/7fiFyOSwSpQ" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12936 tag:nap.edu,2010:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12873#final 2010-03-29T10:45:02-04:00 2010-03-29T10:45:02-04:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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/423/~4/BPEjDH8siAo" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12873 tag:nap.edu,2010:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12864#final 2010-02-23T00:00:00-05:00 2010-02-22T09:45:01-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 (9/11) on the United States prompted a rethinking of how the United States prepares for disasters. Federal policy documents written since 9/11 have stressed that the private and public sectors share equal responsibility for the security of the nation's critical infrastructure and key assets. Private sector entities have a role in the safety, security, and resilience of the communities in which they operate. Incentivizing the private sector to expend resources on community efforts remains challenging. Disasters in the United States since 9/11 (e.g., Hurricane Katrina in 2005) indicate that the nation has not yet been successful in making its communities resilient to disaster.<br /> <br /> In this book, the National Research Council assesses the current states of the art and practice in private-public sector collaboration dedicated to strengthening community disaster resilience.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12864">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> &raquo; <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=281'>Earth Sciences</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=332'>Earthquakes, Floods and Natural Disasters</a></p><br /> <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/423/~4/lZo8BSB5qvo" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12864 tag:nap.edu,2010:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12772#final 2010-01-27T00:00:00-05:00 2009-09-30T10:45:01-04:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>Two surveys of the National Science Foundation's Division of Science Resources Statistics (SRS) provide some of the most significant data available to understand research and development spending and policy in the United States. These are the Survey of Federal Funds for Research and Development and the Survey of Federal Science and Engineering Support to Universities, Colleges, and Nonprofit Institutions. These surveys help reach conclusions about fundamental policy questions, such as whether a given field of research is adequately funded, whether funding is balanced among fields, and whether deficiencies in funding may be contributing to a loss of U.S. scientific or economic competitiveness. <br /> <br /> However, the survey data are of insufficient quality and timeliness to support many of the demands put on them. In addition the surveys are increasingly difficult to conduct in times of constrained resources, and their technological, procedural, and conceptual infrastructure has not been modernized for procedure or content. <br /> <br /> <i>Data on Federal Research and Development Investments</i> reviews the uses and collection of data on federal funds and federal support for science and technology and recommends future directions for the program based on an assessment of these uses and the adequacy of the surveys. The book also considers the classification structure, or taxonomy, for the fields of science and engineering.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12772">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> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=410'>Math and Statistics</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> &raquo; <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/423/~4/lzAU5dCFiGU" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12772 tag:nap.edu,2010:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12788#final 2010-01-26T00:00:00-05:00 2009-10-21T10:45:01-04:00 The National Academies Press http://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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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/423/~4/msxFTTiHCls" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12788 tag:nap.edu,2009:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12716#final 2009-12-22T00:00:00-05:00 2009-09-16T10:45:02-04:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>In 1998, the National Science Foundation (NSF) launched a program of Grants for Vertical Integration of Research and Education in the Mathematical Sciences (VIGRE). These grants were designed for institutions with PhD-granting departments in the mathematical sciences, for the purpose of developing high-quality education programs, at all levels, that are vertically integrated with the research activities of these departments. To date, more than 50 departments at 40 institutions have received VIGRE awards. <br /> <br /> As requested by NSF, the present volume reviews the goals of the VIGRE program and evaluates how well the program is designed to address those goals. The book considers past and current practices for assessing the VIGRE program; draws tentative conclusions about the program's achievements based on the data collected to date; and evaluates NSF's plans for future data-driven assessments. In addition, critical policy and programmatic changes for the program are identified, with recommendations for how to address these changes.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12716">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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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/423/~4/42RCupQuJgY" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12716 tag:nap.edu,2009:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12541#final 2009-12-17T00:00:00-05:00 2009-05-04T10:45:02-04:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>Sustainable development--meeting human needs while nurturing and restoring the planet's life support systems--requires a continuous process of scientific innovation, new knowledge and learning, and collaborative approaches to implementing technologies and policies. To address these challenges, different stakeholder groups are increasingly seeking to ally themselves through partnership, in order to implement projects, deliver services, establish secure funding mechanisms, and achieve on the ground results. Advocates of this collaborative approach point to the failure of governmental regulations, international commitments, or business as usual. However, skeptics often question the effectiveness of partnerships at achieving sustainable development goals and, in the absence of demonstrated results, wonder where partnerships are adding value. <br /> A symposium held in June 2008 and summarized in this volume, attempted to advance the dialogue on partnerships for sustainability in order to catalyze existing knowledge and inform future efforts. Ideas that came out of discussions at the symposium will help leaders in government, the private sector, foundations and NGOs, and universities, both in the United States and internationally, as they develop and participate in new partnerships for sustainability. <br /> </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12541">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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=360'>Applications of Technology</a></p><br /> <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/423/~4/ychA3EOQXwE" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12541 tag:nap.edu,2009:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12615#final 2009-11-17T00:00:00-05:00 2009-07-30T14:17:18-04:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>As digital technologies are expanding the power and reach of research, they are also raising complex issues. These include complications in ensuring the validity of research data; standards that do not keep pace with the high rate of innovation; restrictions on data sharing that reduce the ability of researchers to verify results and build on previous research; and huge increases in the amount of data being generated, creating severe challenges in preserving that data for long-term use.</p> <p>Ensuring the Integrity, Accessibility, and Stewardship of Research Data in the Digital Age examines the consequences of the changes affecting research data with respect to three issues - integrity, accessibility, and stewardship-and finds a need for a new approach to the design and the management of research projects. The report recommends that all researchers receive appropriate training in the management of research data, and calls on researchers to make all research data, methods, and other information underlying results publicly accessible in a timely manner. The book also sees the stewardship of research data as a critical long-term task for the research enterprise and its stakeholders. Individual researchers, research institutions, research sponsors, professional societies, and journals involved in scientific, engineering, and medical research will find this book an essential guide to the principles affecting research data in the digital age.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12615">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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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/423/~4/wSnklsBMgH8" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12615 tag:nap.edu,2009:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12742#final 2009-11-13T10:45:01-05:00 2009-11-13T10:45:01-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>This volume is the latest in a series of biennial assessments of the scientific and technical quality of the Army Research Laboratory (ARL). The current report summarizes findings for the 2007-2008 period, during which 95 volunteer experts in fields of science and engineering participated in the following activities: visiting ARL annually, receiving formal presentations of technical work, examining facilities, engaging in technical discussions with ARL staff, and reviewing ARL technical materials. <br /> <br /> The overall quality of ARL's technical staff and their work continues to be impressive, as well as the relevance of their work to Army needs. ARL continues to exhibit a clear, passionate concern for the end user of its technology--the soldier in the field. While two directorates have large program-support missions, there is considerable customer-support work across the directorates, which universally demonstrate mindfulness of the importance of transitioning technology to support immediate and near-term Army needs. ARL staff also continue to expand their involvement with the wider scientific and engineering community. <br /> <br /> This involvement includes monitoring relevant developments elsewhere, engaging in significant collaborative work (including the Collaborative Technology Alliances), and sharing work through peer reviews. In general, ARL is working very well within an appropriate research and development niche and has been demonstrating significant accomplishments.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12742">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> &raquo; <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=280'>Conflict and Security Issues</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=329'>Weapons and Technology</a></p><br /> <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/423/~4/KHJQ3Vopkpo" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12742 tag:nap.edu,2009:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12753#final 2009-11-06T10:45:39-05:00 2009-11-06T10:45:39-05:00 The National Academies Press http://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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a></p><br /> <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/423/~4/2E8rW6jpnS0" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12753 tag:nap.edu,2009:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12714#final 2009-10-08T10:45:01-04:00 2009-10-08T10:45:01-04:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>Vital statistics, the records of birth and death, are a critical national information resource for understanding public health. Over the past few decades, the specific program that gathers the data has evolved into a complex cooperative program between the federal and state governments for social measurement. The Vital Statistics Cooperative Program (VSCP) is currently maintained by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). <br /> <br /> The U.S. vital statistics system relies on the original information reported by myriad individuals, channeled through varying state and local information systems, and coordinated and processed by a federal statistical agency that has experienced relatively flat funding for many years. The challenges facing the vital statistics system and the continuing importance of the resulting data make it an important topic for examination. <br /> <br /> A workshop, held by the National Academies and summarized in this volume, considered the importance of adequate vital statistics. In particular, the workshop assessed both current and emerging uses of the data, considered the methodological and organizational features of compiling vital data, and identified possible visions for the vital statistics program.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12714">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> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=410'>Math and Statistics</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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/423/~4/roIohYdRgX8" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12714 tag:nap.edu,2009:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12546#final 2009-09-21T10:45:02-04:00 2009-09-21T10:45:02-04:00 The National Academies Press http://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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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/423/~4/CAfTDuP8hmY" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12546 tag:nap.edu,2009:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12701#final 2009-09-16T00:00:00-04:00 2009-07-07T10:45:01-04:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>As civil space policies and programs have evolved, the geopolitical environment has changed dramatically. Although the U.S. space program was originally driven in large part by competition with the Soviet Union, the nation now finds itself in a post-Cold War world in which many nations have established, or are aspiring to develop, independent space capabilities. Furthermore discoveries from developments in the first 50 years of the space age have led to an explosion of scientific and engineering knowledge and practical applications of space technology. The private sector has also been developing, fielding, and expanding the commercial use of space-based technology and systems. <br /> <br /> Recognizing the new national and international context for space activities, <em>America's Future in Space</em> is meant to advise the nation on key goals and critical issues in 21st century U.S. civil space policy. <br /> <br /> </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12701">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> &raquo; <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=293'>Space and Aeronautics</a> &raquo; <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/423/~4/I-HuCGSJQuU" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12701 tag:nap.edu,2009:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12671#final 2009-09-02T00:00:00-04:00 2009-07-10T10:45:02-04:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) of the U.S. Department of Justice is one of the smallest of the U.S. principal statistical agencies but shoulders one of the most expansive and detailed legal mandates among those agencies. Ensuring the Quality, Credibility, and Relevance of U.S. Justice Statistics examines the full range of BJS programs and suggests priorities for data collection.<br /> <br /> BJS's data collection portfolio is a solid body of work, well justified by public information needs or legal requirements and a commendable effort to meet its broad mandate given less-than-commensurate fiscal resources. The book identifies some major gaps in the substantive coverage of BJS data, but notes that filling those gaps would require increased and sustained support in terms of staff and fiscal resources.<br /> <br /> In suggesting strategic goals for BJS, the book argues that the bureau's foremost goal should be to establish and maintain a strong position of independence. To avoid structural or political interference in BJS work, the report suggests changing the administrative placement of BJS within the Justice Department and making the BJS directorship a fixed-term appointment.<br /> <br /> In its thirtieth year, BJS can look back on a solid body of accomplishment; this book suggests further directions for improvement to give the nation the justice statistics--and the BJS--that it deserves.<br /> <br /> </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12671">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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=306'>Law and Justice</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=277'>Behavioral and Social Sciences</a> &raquo; <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/423/~4/Xna0LmzOjdY" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12671 tag:nap.edu,2009:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12589#final 2009-07-29T15:47:32-04:00 2009-07-29T15:47:32-04:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>Scores of talented and dedicated people serve the forensic science community, performing vitally important work. However, they are often constrained by lack of adequate resources, sound policies, and national support. It is clear that change and advancements, both systematic and scientific, are needed in a number of forensic science disciplines to ensure the reliability of work, establish enforceable standards, and promote best practices with consistent application. <em>Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward</em> provides a detailed plan for addressing these needs and suggests the creation of a new government entity, the National Institute of Forensic Science, to establish and enforce standards within the forensic science community.<br /> <br /> The benefits of improving and regulating the forensic science disciplines are clear: assisting law enforcement officials, enhancing homeland security, and reducing the risk of wrongful conviction and exoneration. <em>Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States</em> gives a full account of what is needed to advance the forensic science disciplines, including upgrading of systems and organizational structures, better training, widespread adoption of uniform and enforceable best practices, and mandatory certification and accreditation programs. <br /> <br /> While this book provides an essential call-to-action for congress and policy makers, it also serves as a vital tool for law enforcement agencies, criminal prosecutors and attorneys, and forensic science educators. </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12589">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> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=306'>Law and Justice</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> &raquo; <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/423/~4/N0MfUOpxzWE" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12589 tag:nap.edu,2009:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12460#final 2009-07-14T00:00:00-04:00 2009-02-05T10:45:01-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>The same technologies that fuel scientific advances also pose potential risks--that the knowledge, tools, and techniques gained through legitimate biotechnology research could be misused to create biological weapons or for bioterrorism. This is often called the dual use dilemma of the life sciences. Yet even research with the greatest potential for misuse may offer significant benefits. Determining how to constrain the danger without harming essential scientific research is critical for national security as well as prosperity and well-being.</p> <p>This book discusses a 2007 survey of American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) members in the life sciences about their knowledge of dual use issues and attitudes about their responsibilities to help mitigate the risks of misuse of their research.</p> <p>Overall, the results suggest that there may be considerable support for approaches to oversight that rely on measures that are developed and implemented by the scientific community itself. The responses also suggest that there is a need to clarify the scope of research activities of concern and to provide guidance about what actions scientists can take to reduce the risk that their research will be misused by those with malicious intent.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12460">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> &raquo; <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=278'>Biology and Life Sciences</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=317'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=280'>Conflict and Security Issues</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=327'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=280'>Conflict and Security Issues</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=328'>Prevention, Security and Response</a></p><br /> <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/423/~4/Y3NKa6fYsIc" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12460 tag:nap.edu,2009:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12686#final 2009-06-16T15:46:33-04:00 2009-06-16T15:46:33-04:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>This <em>Report of the Treasurer of the National Academy of Sciences</em> presents the financial position and results of operations, as well as a review of the endowment, trust, and other long-term investments pool activities of the Academy for the year ended December 31, 2008. </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12686">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> &raquo; <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/423/~4/LJhdNlVByz8" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12686 tag:nap.edu,2009:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12558#final 2009-05-01T00:00:00-04:00 2009-02-24T11:45:01-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>Many voluntary health organizations fund translational research. An increasing number of these organizations are looking at venture philanthropy as a critical way to advance their missions of helping patients and working to cure disease.</p> <p>A wide range of participants gathered on October 3, 2008 at the Beckman Center of the National Academies of Science for a workshop titled "Venture Philanthropy Strategies Used by Patient Organizations to Support Translational Research." Participants with experience in venture philanthropy shared their experiences and lessons learned in order to improve efficiency and effectiveness in translational research.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12558">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> &raquo; <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=288'>Health and Medicine</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=388'>Other Diseases</a></p><br /> <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/423/~4/-eO6s1_KSP4" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12558 tag:nap.edu,2009:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12567#final 2009-04-30T00:00:00-04:00 2009-01-08T13:45:01-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>The national security controls that regulate access to and export of science and technology are broken. As currently structured, many of these controls undermine our national and homeland security and stifle American engagement in the global economy, and in science and technology. These unintended consequences arise from policies that were crafted for an earlier era. In the name of maintaining superiority, the U.S. now runs the risk of becoming less secure, less competitive and less prosperous. <br /> <br /> <em>Beyond "Fortress America"</em> provides an account of the costs associated with building walls that hamper our access to global science and technology that dampen our economic potential. The book also makes recommendations to reform the export control process, ensure scientific and technological competitiveness, and improve the non-immigrant visa system that regulates entry into the United States of foreign science and engineering students, scholars, and professionals. <br /> <br /> <em>Beyond "Fortress America" </em>contains vital information and action items for the President and policy makers that will affect the United States' ability to compete globally. Interested parties--including military personnel, engineers, scientists, professionals, industrialists, and scholars--will find this book a valuable tool for stemming a serious decline affecting broad areas of the nation's security and economy. <br /> <br /> </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12567">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> &raquo; <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=280'>Conflict and Security Issues</a> &raquo; <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/423/~4/f_sjI3yqAVo" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12567 tag:nap.edu,2009:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12192#final 2009-03-27T10:45:01-04:00 2009-03-27T10:45:01-04:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>The scientific research enterprise is built on a foundation of trust. Scientists trust that the results reported by others are valid. Society trusts that the results of research reflect an honest attempt by scientists to describe the world accurately and without bias. But this trust will endure only if the scientific community devotes itself to exemplifying and transmitting the values associated with ethical scientific conduct.<br /> <br /> <i>On Being a Scientist</i> was designed to supplement the informal lessons in ethics provided by research supervisors and mentors. The book describes the ethical foundations of scientific practices and some of the personal and professional issues that researchers encounter in their work. It applies to all forms of research--whether in academic, industrial, or governmental settings-and to all scientific disciplines. <br /> <br /> This third edition of <i>On Being a Scientist</i> reflects developments since the publication of the original edition in 1989 and a second edition in 1995. A continuing feature of this edition is the inclusion of a number of hypothetical scenarios offering guidance in thinking about and discussing these scenarios.<br /> <br /> <i>On Being a Scientist</i> is aimed primarily at graduate students and beginning researchers, but its lessons apply to all scientists at all stages of their scientific careers.<br /> </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12192">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=282'>Education</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=348'>Higher Education</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=277'>Behavioral and Social Sciences</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=307'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=471'>Research and Data</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id='></a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=286'>Explore Science</a></p><br /> <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/423/~4/lebDU3De6so" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12192 tag:nap.edu,2009:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12531#final 2009-03-02T00:00:00-05:00 2008-11-11T10:45:01-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>Maintaining the capabilities of the nuclear weapons stockpile and performing the annual assessment for the stockpile's certification involves a wide range of processes, technologies, and expertise. An important and valuable framework helping to link those components is the quantification of margins and uncertainties (QMU) methodology.<br /> <br /> In this book, the National Research Council evaluates:</p> <ul> <li>how the national security labs were using QMU, including any significant differences among the three labs</li> <li>its use in the annual assessment</li> <li>whether the applications of QMU to assess the proposed reliable replacement warhead (RRW) could reduce the likelihood of resuming underground nuclear testing</li> </ul> <p><br /> This book presents an assessment of each of these issues and includes findings and recommendations to help guide laboratory and NNSA implementation and development of the QMU framework. It also serves as a guide for congressional oversight of those activities.<br /> </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12531">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> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=327'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> &raquo; <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/423/~4/ioEGI7x386o" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12531 tag:nap.edu,2009:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12209#final 2009-02-24T00:00:00-05:00 2008-12-03T10:45:01-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>Risk assessment has become a dominant public policy tool for making choices, based on limited resources, to protect public health and the environment. It has been instrumental to the mission of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as well as other federal agencies in evaluating public health concerns, informing regulatory and technological decisions, prioritizing research needs and funding, and in developing approaches for cost-benefit analysis.</p> <p>However, risk assessment is at a crossroads. Despite advances in the field, risk assessment faces a number of significant challenges including lengthy delays in making complex decisions; lack of data leading to significant uncertainty in risk assessments; and many chemicals in the marketplace that have not been evaluated and emerging agents requiring assessment.</p> <p><i>Science and Decisions</i> makes practical scientific and technical recommendations to address these challenges. This book is a complement to the widely used 1983 National Academies book, Risk Assessment in the Federal Government (also known as the Red Book). The earlier book established a framework for the concepts and conduct of risk assessment that has been adopted by numerous expert committees, regulatory agencies, and public health institutions. The new book embeds these concepts within a broader framework for risk-based decision-making. Together, these are essential references for those working in the regulatory and public health fields.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12209">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> &raquo; <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=288'>Health and Medicine</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=399'>Public Health and Prevention</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=400'>Public Policy</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=285'>Environment and Environmental Studies</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=371'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br /> <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/423/~4/FZyEE-cIagA" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12209 tag:nap.edu,2009:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12537#final 2009-02-04T10:46:09-05:00 2009-02-04T10:46:09-05:00 The National Academies Press http://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> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=282'>Education</a> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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/423/~4/XuOG4LbirfM" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12537 tag:nap.edu,2008:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12514#final 2008-12-29T10:45:01-05:00 2008-12-29T10:45:01-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>Designed to protect the privacy of individual student test scores, grades, and other education records, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 places limits the access of educational researches, and slows research not only in education but also in related fields, such as child welfare and health.<br /> <br /> Recent trends have converged to greatly increase the supply of data on student performance in public schools. Education policies now emphasize education standards and testing to measure progress toward those standards, as well as rigorous education research. At the same time, private firms and public agencies, including schools, have replaced most paper records with electronic data systems. Although these databases represent a rich source of longitudinal data, researchers' access to the individually identifiable data they contain is limited by the privacy protections of FERPA.<br /> <br /> To explore possibilities for data access and confidentiality in compliance with FERPA and with the Common Rule for the Protection of Human Subjects, the National Academies and the American Educational Research Association convened the Workshop on Protecting Student Records and Facilitating Education Research in April 2008. </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12514">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> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=471'>Research and Data</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=279'>Computers and Information Technology</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=320'>Information Security and Privacy</a></p><br /> <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/423/~4/B8aq16Q97pk" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12514 tag:nap.edu,2008:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12547#final 2008-12-23T00:00:00-05:00 2008-12-19T10:45:01-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) is an independent, nonpartisan, national institution established and funded by the U.S. Congress. The goals of the USIP are to help prevent and resolve violent international conflicts; promote post-conflict stability and development; and to increase conflict management capacity, tools, and intellectual capital worldwide. One way the USIP meets those goals is through the Jennings Randolph Program for International Peace, which awards Senior Fellowships to outstanding scholars, policymakers, journalists, and other professionals from around the world to conduct research at the USIP. The Fellowship Program began in 1987, and 253 Fellowships have been awarded through 2007.<br /> This book presents a preliminary assessment of the Fellowship Program, and recommends certain steps to improve it, including more rigorous and systematic monitoring and evaluation of the Fellowship in the future. The committee also makes several recommendations intended to help USIP gain further knowledge about the perceptions of the Fellowships in the wider expert community.<br /> </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12547">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> &raquo; <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=288'>Health and Medicine</a> &raquo; <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/423/~4/PNoK2bGLQHk" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12547 tag:nap.edu,2008:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12539#final 2008-11-26T10:45:01-05:00 2008-11-26T10:45:01-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>In October 2007, the U.S. National Academies and the Iranian Institute for Advanced Studies in Basic Science organized the first of a series of planned U.S.-Iranian workshops on the topic "Science as a Gateway to Understanding." This new workshop series is a component of the broader effort of the National Academies to support bilateral workshops and exchange visits in a variety of fields with a number of Iranian institutions that began in 2000. <br /> <br /> This book includes papers that were presented at the workshop and summaries of the discussions that followed some of the presentations. At the conclusion of the workshop there was general agreement that the presentations on many aspects of science and scientific cooperation that have a bearing on mutual understanding were an important first step. Several participants underscored that the next workshop should emphasize how scientific cooperation can lead in concrete terms to improved understanding among both academic and political leaders from the two countries.<br /> </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12539">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id='></a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=286'>Explore Science</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> &raquo; <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/423/~4/x0zyGbzx9Yw" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12539 tag:nap.edu,2008:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12481#final 2008-11-05T00:00:00-05:00 2008-09-17T10:45:01-04:00 The National Academies Press http://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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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/423/~4/OW7LFNfJRdc" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12481 tag:nap.edu,2008:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12092#final 2008-10-23T10:45:01-04:00 2008-10-23T10:45:01-04:00 The National Academies Press http://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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a></p><br /> <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/423/~4/fjxj3KwYslY" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12092 tag:nap.edu,2008:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12185#final 2008-07-16T10:45:02-04:00 2008-07-16T10:45:02-04:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> In June 2006, seventeen scientists and educators selected by the National Academies, the Academy of Sciences of Iran, and the Acad&#233;mie des Sciences of France held a workshop at the estate of the Fondation des Treilles in Toutour, France, to discuss issues concerning the role of science in the development of modern societies. <p> <i>Science and Technology and the Future Development of Societies</i> includes the presentations made at the workshop and summarizes the discussions that followed the presentations. Topics of the workshop included science and society issues, the role of science and engineering in development; obstacles and opportunities in the application of science and technology to development; scientific thinking of decision makers; management and utilization of scientific knowledge; and science, society, and education. This book also provides useful background for the further development of interactions of Western scientists and educators with Iranian specialists. </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12185">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id='></a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=286'>Explore Science</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=277'>Behavioral and Social Sciences</a> &raquo; <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=277'>Behavioral and Social Sciences</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=307'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> &raquo; <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/423/~4/paesfNNZ_oc" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12185 tag:nap.edu,2008:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12442#final 2008-07-16T09:45:01-04:00 2008-07-16T09:45:01-04:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> Extremely hazardous substances (EHSs) can be released accidentally as a result of chemical spills, industrial explosions, fires, or accidents involving railroad cars or trucks transporting EHSs or intentionally through terrorist activities. These substances can also be released by improper storage or handling. Workers and residents in communities surrounding industrial facilities where EHSs are manufactured, used, or stored and in communities along the nation's railways and highways are potentially at risk of being exposed to airborne EHSs during accidental or intentional releases. <p>In 1993, the National Advisory Committee was tasked with developing acute exposure guideline levels (AEGLs) for approximately 200 EHSs. This book is the fifteenth interim report from that committee. It summarizes the committee's conclusions and recommendations for improving documents for 16 chemicals and one chemical mixture identified as EHSs. The report also summarizes the committee's conclusions and recommendations for improving a draft white paper that proposes standard operating procedures for using physiologically based pharmacokinetic modeling as a tool in the AEGLs development program. </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12442">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> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=409'>Chemistry</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=290'>Math, Chemistry and Physics</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=412'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> &raquo; <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/423/~4/TbNROl8XO80" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12442 tag:nap.edu,2008:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12164#final 2008-06-26T00:00:00-04:00 2008-04-02T08:45:03-04:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>Over the past 25 years, the United States has made support for the spread of democracy to other nations an increasingly important element of its national security policy. These efforts have created a growing demand to find the most effective means to assist in building and strengthening democratic governance under varied conditions.</p> <p>Since 1990, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has supported democracy and governance (DG) programs in approximately 120 countries and territories, spending an estimated total of $8.47 billion (in constant 2000 U.S. dollars) between 1990 and 2005. Despite these substantial expenditures, our understanding of the actual impacts of USAID DG assistance on progress toward democracy remains limited--and is the subject of much current debate in the policy and scholarly communities.</p> <p>This book, by the National Research Council, provides a roadmap to enable USAID and its partners to assess what works and what does not, both retrospectively and in the future through improved monitoring and evaluation methods and rebuilding USAID's internal capacity to build, absorb, and act on improved knowledge.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12164">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> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=327'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> &raquo; <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/423/~4/egY-kq_c9RI" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12164 tag:nap.edu,2008:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12202#final 2008-05-13T00:00:00-04:00 2008-05-02T09:45:01-04:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> In 2004, the NRC released a workshop report about the future direction of the U.S. civil space program. At the same time, the Administration announced the Vision for Space Exploration, and in June 2004, it issued a report that articulated a balanced space program for human and robotic exploration and science. Subsequent NRC reports, however, have noted that NASA has not been given the resources to carry out this broad-based program. This challenge, along with others faced by the U.S. civil space program, stimulated the NRC to form an ad hoc committee to organize a second workshop, held in November 2007, to address the space program's future directions. The workshop's goal was to air a range of views and perspectives so as to inform discussions of these questions by policymakers and the public. This book presents a summary of the workshop. <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12202">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=293'>Space and Aeronautics</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=418'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=293'>Space and Aeronautics</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=419'>Space Exploration and Development</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=293'>Space and Aeronautics</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=420'>Space Systems and Hardware</a></p><br /> <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/423/~4/PqnmaA3K9Ig" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12202 tag:nap.edu,2008:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12160#final 2008-04-09T00:00:00-04:00 2008-02-15T13:25:34-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> The federal government plays the predominant role in supporting research and development (R&D) and in establishing public policies that affect science and technology (S&T) in the United States. However, the federal government is no longer the sole focus of R&D funding and S&T policy making. State and local policy makers are unquestionably making more and more decisions that affect all of us on a daily basis. With this shift, states have also assumed an increasing responsibility for developing, formalizing, and institutionalizing policies and programs that support R&D and enable S&T evidence and expertise to be incorporated into policy making. <p> These issues were explored during a first-of-its-kind National Convocation organized by the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine in collaboration with the National Association of Academies of Science and the California Council on Science and Technology. Scientists, engineers, state policy makers, experts from state regulatory agencies, representatives from foundations, and experts in scientific communication from 20 states and the District of Columbia participated in this event. This report highlights the major themes from the Convocation that emerged from the presentations and from the rich discussions that occurred in both plenary and breakout sessions. <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12160">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=282'>Education</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=349'>K-12 Education</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> &raquo; <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/423/~4/D8amE3f21go" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12160 tag:nap.edu,2008:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12156#final 2008-02-11T09:45:02-05:00 2008-02-11T09:45:02-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> NASA has asked the Space Studies Board (SSB) of the NRC to examine issues related to space science and technology through a series of three workshops. The first of these was held in November 2007 in conjunction with another workshop being held jointly by the SSB and ASEB to assess U.S. civil space policy broadly. Some of the workshop sessions focused more than others on issues of interest to NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD). This book concentrates on those sessions and presents a summary of the views of the participants on the issues that are relevant to SMD. A separate book will be prepared on the full range of issues about U.S. civil space policy discussed at the workshop. <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12156">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=293'>Space and Aeronautics</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=418'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> &raquo; <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/423/~4/1agBwCVR9iQ" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12156 tag:nap.edu,2007:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12020#final 2007-12-03T09:52:51-05:00 2007-12-03T09:52:51-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> The NRC Resident Research Associateship Program at NIST provides two-year temporary appointments for outstanding scientists and engineers. This book describes program applicants and awardees and offers suggestions for an in-depth assessment of career outcomes. Preliminary investigation indicates that outreach efforts produce more qualified applicants than NIST has slots to fill, the pool of applicants is increasingly diverse, and many Research Associates go on to permanent positions at NIST. The agency should conduct a more thorough evaluation of the program, including an assessment of outreach to potential applicants, individuals who decline an award, the program s impact on the careers of awardees, and the benefits of the program to NIST and the broader scientific and engineering community. <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12020">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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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/423/~4/J2Je5-jKu_4" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12020 tag:nap.edu,2007:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12013#final 2007-10-18T09:24:44-04:00 1969-12-31T19:00:00-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <p>Based on a series of regional meetings on university campuses with officials from the national security community and academic research institutions, this report identifies specific actions that should be taken to maintain a thriving scientific research environment in an era of heightened security concerns. Actions include maintaining the open exchange of scientific information, fostering a productive environment for international scholars in the U.S., reexamining federal definitions of sensitive but unclassified research, and reviewing policies on deemed export controls. The federal government should establish a standing entity, preferably a Science and Security Commission, that would review policies regarding the exchange of information and the participation of foreign-born scientists and students in research.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12013">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> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=327'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> &raquo; <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/423/~4/sryDB2wEYDc" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12013 tag:nap.edu,2007:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12010#final 2007-09-18T00:00:00-04:00 1969-12-31T19:00:00-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> The book on the NCNR presents a general assessment of the Lab, followed by assessments of its facilities and personnel, its role as a user facility, and its science and technology. The book notes that the NCNR provides a high flux of neutrons to an evolving suite of high-quality instruments, has a substantial and satisfied external user community, and its in-house science and technology is robust. <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12010">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=284'>Engineering and Technology</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=361'>Construction: Design, Research, Planning</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> &raquo; <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/423/~4/7ogGA0GmSEY" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12010 tag:nap.edu,2007:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12021#final 2007-09-14T10:44:23-04:00 1969-12-31T19:00:00-05:00 The National Academies Press http://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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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/423/~4/XvkGYcd3HhQ" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12021 tag:nap.edu,2007:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11972#final 2007-07-25T00:00:00-04:00 1969-12-31T19:00:00-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> Many regulations issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are based on the results of computer models. Models help EPA explain environmental phenomena in settings where direct observations are limited or unavailable, and anticipate the effects of agency policies on the environment, human health and the economy. Given the critical role played by models, the EPA asked the National Research Council to assess scientific issues related to the agency's selection and use of models in its decisions. The book recommends a series of guidelines and principles for improving agency models and decision-making processes. The centerpiece of the book's recommended vision is a life-cycle approach to model evaluation which includes peer review, corroboration of results, and other activities. This will enhance the agency's ability to respond to requirements from a 2001 law on information quality and improve policy development and implementation. <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11972">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> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=371'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> &raquo; <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/423/~4/DUvBUn1Mddo" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11972 tag:nap.edu,2007:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11867#final 2007-07-12T00:00:00-04:00 1969-12-31T19:00:00-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> More than $400 billion worth of products rely on innovations in chemistry. Chemical engineering, as an academic discipline and profession, has enabled this achievement. In response to growing concerns about the future of the discipline, <i>International Benchmarking of U.S. Chemical Engineering Research Competitiveness</i> gauges the standing of the U.S. chemical engineering enterprise in the world. <p> This in-depth benchmarking analysis is based on measures including numbers of published papers, citations, trends in degrees conferred, patent productivity, and awards. The book concludes that the United States is presently, and is expected to remain, among the world s leaders in all subareas of chemical engineering research. However, U.S. leadership in some classical and emerging subareas will be strongly challenged. <p> This critical analysis will be of interest to practicing chemical engineers, professors and students in the discipline, economists, policy makers, major research university administrators, and executives in industries dependent upon innovations in chemistry. <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11867">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> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=409'>Chemistry</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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/423/~4/YkAX0ON6AgY" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11867 tag:nap.edu,2007:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11741#final 2007-05-04T00:00:00-04:00 1969-12-31T19:00:00-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> The United States economy relies on the productivity, entrepreneurship, and creativity of its people. To maintain its scientific and engineering leadership amid increasing economic and educational globalization, the United States must aggressively pursue the innovative capacity of all its people&#8212women and men. However, women face barriers to success in every field of science and engineering; obstacles that deprive the country of an important source of talent. Without a transformation of academic institutions to tackle such barriers, the future vitality of the U.S. research base and economy are in jeopardy. <p> <i>Beyond Bias and Barriers</i> explains that eliminating gender bias in academia requires immediate overarching reform, including decisive action by university administrators, professional societies, federal funding agencies and foundations, government agencies, and Congress. If implemented and coordinated across public, private, and government sectors, the recommended actions will help to improve workplace environments for all employees while strengthening the foundations of America&#39s competitiveness. <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11741">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> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=309'>Women and Minorities</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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/423/~4/PT5hvnxpGWY" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11741 tag:nap.edu,2007:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11692#final 2007-01-22T00:00:00-05:00 1969-12-31T19:00:00-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> In the past 30 years, the population of prisoners in the United States has expanded almost 5-fold, correctional facilities are increasingly overcrowded, and more of the country's disadvantaged populations&#8212racial minorities, women, people with mental illness, and people with communicable diseases such as HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, and tuberculosis&#8212are under correctional supervision. <p> Because prisoners face restrictions on liberty and autonomy, have limited privacy, and often receive inadequate health care, they require specific protections when involved in research, particularly in today's correctional settings. Given these issues, the Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Human Research Protections commissioned the Institute of Medicine to review the ethical considerations regarding research involving prisoners. <p> The resulting analysis contained in this book, Ethical Considerations for Research Involving Prisoners, emphasizes five broad actions to provide prisoners involved in research with critically important protections: <p> &#8226 expand the definition of "prisoner"; <p> &#8226 ensure universally and consistently applied standards of protection; <p> &#8226 shift from a category-based to a risk-benefit approach to research review; <p> &#8226 update the ethical framework to include collaborative responsibility; and <p> &#8226 enhance systematic oversight of research involving prisoners. <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11692">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> &raquo; <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=288'>Health and Medicine</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=400'>Public Policy</a></p><br /> <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/423/~4/Vhxl_uRjkjg" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11692 tag:nap.edu,2006:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11766#final 2006-11-15T15:35:38-05:00 1969-12-31T19:00:00-05:00 The National Academies Press http://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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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/423/~4/v59CYRMnE9s" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11766 tag:nap.edu,2006:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11567#final 2006-06-07T00:00:00-04:00 1969-12-31T19:00:00-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> Biomedical advances have made it possible to identify and manipulate features of living organisms in useful ways&#8212leading to improvements in public health, agriculture, and other areas. The globalization of scientific and technical expertise also means that many scientists and other individuals around the world are generating breakthroughs in the life sciences and related technologies. The risks posed by bioterrorism and the proliferation of biological weapons capabilities have increased concern about how the rapid advances in genetic engineering and biotechnology could enable the production of biological weapons with unique and unpredictable characteristics. <i>Globalization, Biosecurity, and the Future of Life Sciences</i> examines current trends and future objectives of research in public health, life sciences, and biomedical science that contain applications relevant to developments in biological weapons 5 to 10 years into the future and ways to anticipate, identify, and mitigate these dangers. <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11567">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=278'>Biology and Life Sciences</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=314'>Biotechnology</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=280'>Conflict and Security Issues</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=328'>Prevention, Security and Response</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> &raquo; <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/423/~4/JXQ0D6ps1QQ" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11567 tag:nap.edu,2006:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11583#final 2006-05-24T00:00:00-04:00 1969-12-31T19:00:00-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> In October 2003 the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the National Research Council (NRC) entered into a cooperative agreement. The agreement called for the NRC to examine selected aspects of U.S. foreign assistance activities&#8212primarily the programs of the USAID&#8212that have benefited or could benefit from access to strong science, technology, and medical capabilities in the United States or elsewhere. After considering the many aspects of the role of science and technology (S&T) in foreign assistance, the study led to the publication of <i>The Fundamental Role of Science and Technology in International Development</i>. In the book special attention is devoted to partnerships that involve the USAID together with international, regional, U.S. governmental, and private sector organizations in fields such as heath care, agriculture and nutrition, education and job creation, and energy and the environment. This book explores specific programmatic, organizational, and personnel reforms that would increase the effective use of S&T to meet the USAID&#39s goals while supporting larger U.S. foreign policy objectives. <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11583">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> &raquo; <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=280'>Conflict and Security Issues</a> &raquo; <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/423/~4/F_ZsoKXiHds" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11583 tag:nap.edu,2006:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11487#final 2006-03-09T00:00:00-05:00 1969-12-31T19:00:00-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> The patenting and licensing of human genetic material and proteins represents an extension of intellectual property (IP) rights to naturally occurring biological material and scientific information, much of it well upstream of drugs and other disease therapies. This report concludes that IP restrictions rarely impose significant burdens on biomedical research, but there are reasons to be apprehensive about their future impact on scientific advances in this area. The report recommends 13 actions that policy-makers, courts, universities, and health and patent officials should take to prevent the increasingly complex web of IP protections from getting in the way of potential breakthroughs in genomic and proteomic research. It endorses the National Institutes of Health guidelines for technology licensing, data sharing, and research material exchanges and says that oversight of compliance should be strengthened. It recommends enactment of a statutory exception from infringement liability for research on a patented invention and raising the bar somewhat to qualify for a patent on upstream research discoveries in biotechnology. With respect to genetic diagnostic tests to detect patient mutations associated with certain diseases, the report urges patent holders to allow others to perform the tests for purposes of verifying the results. <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11487">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=278'>Biology and Life Sciences</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=317'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=278'>Biology and Life Sciences</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=314'>Biotechnology</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=471'>Research and Data</a></p><br /> <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/423/~4/uRmzcImoBZw" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11487 tag:nap.edu,2005:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11434#final 2005-11-11T00:00:00-05:00 1969-12-31T19:00:00-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> Policy makers need information about the nation ranging from trends in the overall economy down to the use by individuals of Medicare in order to evaluate existing programs and to develop new ones. This information often comes from research based on data about individual people, households, and businesses and other organizations, collected by statistical agencies. The benefit of increasing data accessibility to researchers and analysts is better informed public policy. To realize this benefit, a variety of modes for data access including restricted access to confidential data and unrestricted access to appropriately altered public-use data must be used. The risk of expanded access to potentially sensitive data is the increased probability of breaching the confidentiality of the data and, in turn, eroding public confidence in the data collection enterprise. Indeed, the statistical system of the United States ultimately depends on the willingness of the public to provide the information on which research data are based. <i>Expanding Access to Research Data</i> issues guidance on how to more fully exploit these tradeoffs. The panel s recommendations focus on needs highlighted by legal, social, and technological changes that have occurred during the last decade. <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11434">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> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=323'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=279'>Computers and Information Technology</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=320'>Information Security and Privacy</a></p><br /> <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/423/~4/2l_d-LxFR9A" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11434 tag:nap.edu,2005:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11450#final 2005-11-10T00:00:00-05:00 1969-12-31T19:00:00-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> <i>Ethical Considerations for Research on Housing-Related Health Hazards Involving Children</i> explores the ethical issues posed when conducting research designed to identify, understand, or ameliorate housing-related health hazards among children. Such research involves children as subjects and is conducted in the home and in communities. It is often conducted with children in low-income families given the disproportionate prevalence of housing-related conditions such as lead poisoning, asthma, and fatal injuries among these children. This book emphasizes five key elements to address the particular ethical concerns raised by these characteristics: involving the affected community in the research and responding to their concerns; ensuring that parents understand the essential elements of the research; adopting uniform federal guidelines for such research by all sponsors (Subpart D of 45 CFR 46); providing guidance on key terms in the regulations; and viewing research oversight as a system with important roles for researchers, IRBs and their research institutions, sponsors and regulators of research, and the community. <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11450">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> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=303'>Children, Youth and Families</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=398'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> &raquo; <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/423/~4/Vl6TJLhs4fI" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11450 tag:nap.edu,2005:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11457#final 2005-10-03T09:50:44-04:00 1969-12-31T19:00:00-05:00 The National Academies Press http://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> &raquo; <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> &raquo; <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/423/~4/6ilECYv9dVA" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11457 tag:nap.edu,2005:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11289#final 2005-09-12T00:00:00-04:00 1969-12-31T19:00:00-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> Policy Implications of International Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Scholars in the United States explores the role and impact of students and scholars on US educational institutions and the US economy. The nation has drawn increasingly on human resources abroad for its science and engineering workforce. However, competition for talent has grown as other countries have expanded their research infrastructure and created more opportunities for international students. The report discusses trends in international student enrollments, stay rates, and examines the impact of visa policies on international mobility of the highly skilled. <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11289">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=282'>Education</a> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=352'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> &raquo; <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/423/~4/zKaGlwaKukM" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11289 tag:nap.edu,2005:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11211#final 2005-07-26T00:00:00-04:00 1969-12-31T19:00:00-05:00 The National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu <p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p> High-field magnets those that operate at the limits of the mechanical and/or electromagnetic properties of their structural materials are used as research tools in a variety of scientific disciplines. The study of high magnetic fields themselves is also important in many areas such as astrophysics. Because of their importance in scientific research and the possibility of new breakthroughs, the National Science Foundation asked the National Research Council to assess the current state of and future prospects for high-field science and technology in the United States. This report presents the results of that assessment. It focuses on scientific and technological challenges and opportunities, and not on specific program activities. The report provides findings and recommendations about important research directions, the relative strength of U.S. efforts compared to other countries, and ways in which the program can operate more effectively. <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11211">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> &raquo; <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=412'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> &raquo; <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/423/~4/zkTAvd65bdk" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11211