Knowledge City is a planned environmentally and technologically advanced city in China's Guangzhou Development District. RAND worked with GDD to outline a set of strategies to help the city attract and retain high-tech firms and workers and to ensure the availability of innovation-oriented financing.
Hedge funds did not play a pivotal role in the financial crisis compared to other agents, such as credit rating agencies, mortgage lenders, and issuers of credit default swaps. However, hedge funds do have the potential to contribute to disruptions of the U.S. financial system.
The nature of the American drug problem has changed substantially over the last 20 years. It is now less of a crime problem illustrated by drug market violence and more of a health problem with higher rates of morbidity and mortality, and a criminal justice problem of burdensome incarceration rates.
Lessons learned from past cases of local defense forces used in the context of counterinsurgency—in Indochina, Algeria, South Vietnam, Oman, El Salvador, Southern Lebanon, Afghanistan, and Iraq—can be applied to the current development of the Afghan Local Police.
Since World War II, the United States has relied on a global network of military bases and forces to protect its interests and those of its allies. But the international environment has changed greatly and economic concerns have risen, leading some to debate just what America's role should now be in the world.
By 8th grade, Hispanic and black children are 50 percent more likely to be obese than non-Hispanic white children. Obesity is equally prevalent among Hispanic and black children, but it emerges and is sustained earlier in Hispanics. This should have implications for diagnosis and prevention strategies going forward.
When making complex decisions, researchers and policymakers often seek the input of many stakeholders and individuals with varied perspectives. ExpertLens is an online application developed by research and programming experts at the RAND Corporation to help achieve these goals easily and cost effectively.
Amenable mortality—deaths that should not occur in the presence of timely and effective health care—were higher in the U.S. compared to France, Germany, and the U.K. between 1999 and 2007. Deaths from circulatory conditions like cerebrovascular disease and hypertension are the main reason amenable death rates remained high in the U.S.
Budgetary constraints, heavy passenger loads, and popular hostility toward screening procedures are all challenges to securing commercial aviation. After 40 years of focus on tactical measures, it is time for a sweeping review of aviation security.
The threat of terrorist attack on American aviation has made the system the focus of intense security efforts, but it is difficult to determine if the benefits outweigh their cost. Efficient security policy—a focus on getting the most security for the least cost—should be the priority in an era of fiscal austerity.
The not-for-profit Wounded Warrior Project gives injured veterans access to programs to improve their health and economic outcomes. Participants are achieving the goal of not missing work due to physical health problems and have obesity rates proportionate to that of the U.S. population.
A decade of unprecedented efforts in Arkansas has cut cigarette use by nearly one-third and reduced incidence of tobacco-related illnesses such as heart attacks and stroke. To maintain the gains it has made, Arkansas should continue its financial commitment of devoting the tobacco settlement funds to public health programs.
Visits to retail medical clinics increased four-fold from 2007 to 2009, with the proportion of patients over age 65 growing from 8 to 19 percent of all visits during this period. More than 44 percent of visits occurred on the weekend or other hours when physician offices typically are closed.
India and Pakistan each have a stake in influencing developments in Afghanistan and both countries engage in Afghanistan to advance their own respective geopolitical, defense, and economic objectives. However, India has far more to offer.
Public support for al-Qa'ida's transnational jihadist movement, the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Turkey, and the Maoist insurgency in Nepal is examined using a conceptual model that draws on social science and social movement theory.
The U.S. and its European allies have a strong interest in Assad's fall, largely due to that regime's alignment with Iran. Syria provides the main bridge by which Iran is able to support Hezbollah and Hamas, influence Lebanon, outflank its Sunni Gulf adversaries and threaten Israel.
The U.S. Forest Service should upgrade its large airborne firefighting fleet to include more amphibious scooper aircraft, with air tankers and helicopters in a supporting role during the initial attack of fires before they become large.
Law enforcement agencies can use barrier analysis, a method of assessment aimed at identifying potential obstacles to obtaining resources or participating in a program, to better understand and address the challenge of creating diversity among their personnel.
Military family support programs have proliferated, but there has been little evaluation of whether the programs are meeting their key objectives. An examination of the curriculum, themes, and outcomes of Operation Purple found some positive effects from participation and helps lay the groundwork for future studies.
Today, as withdrawal looms, the United States and its partners should work with the Afghans to define what sort of police development can be realistically envisioned for Afghanistan, and devote resources and assistance to developing that into the future.
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