Search results for ""Author Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education""

The national income and product accounts that underlie gross domestic product (GDP), together with other key economic data?price and employment statistics? are widely used as indicators of how well the nation is doing. GDP, however, is focused on the production of goods and services sold in markets and reveals relatively little about important production in the home and other areas outside of markets. A set of satellite accounts?in areas such as health, education, volunteer and home production, and environmental improvement or pollution?would contribute to a better understanding of major issues related to economic growth and societal well-being. Beyond the Market: Designing Nonmarket Accounts for the United States hopes to encourage social scientists to make further efforts and contributions in the analysis of nonmarket activities and in corresponding data collection and accounting systems. The book illustrates new data sources and new ideas that have improved the prospects for progress. Table of Contents Front Matter Executive Summary 1 Introduction 2 Accounting and Data Foundations 3 Home Production 4 The Role of the Family in the Production of Human Capital 5 Education 6 Health 7 The Government and Private Nonprofit Sectors 8 The Environment References Appendix: Biographical Sketches of Panel Members and Staff Index

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Using Science as Evidence in Public Policy encourages scientists to think differently about the use of scientific evidence in policy making. This report investigates why scientific evidence is important to policy making and argues that an extensive body of research on knowledge utilization has not led to any widely accepted explanation of what it means to use science in public policy. Using Science as Evidence in Public Policy identifies the gaps in our understanding and develops a framework for a new field of research to fill those gaps. For social scientists in a number of specialized fields, whether established scholars or Ph.D. students, Using Science as Evidence in Public Policy shows how to bring their expertise to bear on the study of using science to inform public policy. More generally, this report will be of special interest to scientists who want to see their research used in policy making, offering guidance on what is required beyond producing quality research, beyond translating results into more understandable terms, and beyond brokering the results through intermediaries, such as think tanks, lobbyists, and advocacy groups. For administrators and faculty in public policy programs and schools, Using Science as Evidence in Public Policy identifies critical elements of instruction that will better equip graduates to promote the use of science in policy making. Table of Contents Front Matter Summary 1 Introduction 2 Why This Report Now 3 The Use of Research Knowledge: Current Scholarship 4 Research on the Use of Science in Policy: A Framework 5 The Next Generation of Researchers and Practitioners References Appendix A: Selected Major Social Science Research Methods: Overview Appendix B: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff

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Automation in air traffic control may increase efficiency, but it also raises questions about adequate human control over automated systems. Following on the panel's first volume on air traffic control automation, Flight to the Future (NRC, 1997), this book focuses on the interaction of pilots and air traffic controllers, with a growing network of automated functions in the airspace system. The panel offers recommendations for development of human-centered automation, addressing key areas such as providing levels of automation that are appropriate to levels of risk, examining procedures for recovery from emergencies, free flight versus ground-based authority, and more. The book explores ways in which technology can build on human strengths and compensate for human vulnerabilities, minimizing both mistrust of automation and complacency about its abilities. The panel presents an overview of emerging technologies and trends toward automation within the national airspace system?in areas such as global positioning and other aspects of surveillance, flight information provided to pilots an controllers, collision avoidance, strategic long-term planning, and systems for training and maintenance. The book examines how to achieve better integration of research and development, including the importance of user involvement in air traffic control. It also discusses how to harmonize the wide range of functions in the national airspace system, with a detailed review of the free flight initiative. Table of Contents Front Matter Summary Part I: Automation Issues and Emerging Technologies 1 Automation Issues in Air Traffic Management 2 Emerging Technological Resources Part II: Current and Envisioned Automation of Air Traffic Control Tasks 3 Surveillance and Communication 4 Flight Information 5 Immediate Conflict Avoidance 6 Strategic Long-Range Planning 7 Support Functions Part III: Integration 8 Integration of Research and Development 9 Airspace System Integration: The Concept of Free Flight 10 Conclusions and Recommendations References Appendixes Appendix A Appendix B Appendix C Index Color Plates

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Developing credible short-term and long-term projections of Medicare health care costs is critical for public- and private-sector policy planning, but faces challenges and uncertainties. There is uncertainty not only in the underlying economic and demographic assumptions used in projection models, but also in what a policy modeler assumes about future changes in the health status of the population and the factors affecting health status , the extent and pace of scientific and technological breakthroughs in medical care, the preferences of the population for particular kinds of care, the likelihood that policy makers will alter current law and regulations, and how each of these factors relates to health care costs for the elderly population. Given the substantial growth in the Medicare population and the continued increases in Medicare, Medicaid, and private health insurance spending, the availability of well-specified models and analyses that can provide useful information on the likely cost implications of health care policy alternatives is essential. It is therefore timely to review the capabilities and limitations of extant health care cost models and to identify areas for research that offer the most promise to improve modeling, not only of current U.S. health care programs, but also of policy alternatives that may be considered in the coming years. The National Research Council conducted a public workshop focusing on areas of research needed to improve health care cost projections for the Medicare population, and on the strengths and weaknesses of competing frameworks for projecting health care expenditures for the elderly. The workshop considered major classes of projection and simulation models that are currently used and the underlying data sources and research inputs for these models. It also explored areas in which additional research and data are needed to inform model development and health care policy analysis more broadly. The workshop, summarized in this volume, drew people from a wide variety of disciplines and perspectives, including federal agencies, academia, and nongovernmental organizations. Table of Contents Front Matter 1 Introduction 2 Current Models of Health Care Cost Projections 3 Modeling Medical Technology 4 Factors Affecting Health Status 5 Participants' Views on Needed Research References Appendixes Appendix A: Predicting Medicare Cost Growth--John N. Friedman Appendix B: Workshop Agenda and Presenters Appendix C: Biographical Sketches of Steering Committee Members Committee on National Statistics

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