2016

blog

The Art of Data in Baseball

The traditional baseball scout's keen eye is no longer deemed sufficient to rate talent, said Jeff Luhnow, general manager of the Houston Astros, at RAND's Politics Aside event. Analysts check curveball spin rates, computer-modeled swing mechanics, and even sleep habits.

blog

Making National Security Decisions

In a crisis, there's a tendency in government to add more people to address the problem, but doing so often slows decisionmaking. It's easier to invent something new rather than require the agency to fix problems in the existing structure.

commentary

Is the U.S. Abandoning the World Order It Created?

In the 20th century the United States created and expanded a world order that has provided security and prosperity, and it has borne much of the cost for sustaining it. Can that liberal global order be updated rather than jettisoned?

James Dobbins @Jim_Dobbins

commentary

What the Battles of Mosul and Aleppo Tell Us About Their Countries' Futures

The battle of Mosul is not just about defeating ISIS. It is about restoring Mosul to the multi-ethnic city it once was. The Syrian government's style of warfare in Aleppo, however, accepts that Syria will remain a divided country.

Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins

commentary

Why the Polls Were Wrong

RAND's Presidential Election Panel Survey, like other polls, overpredicted the popular vote. But since it focused on the decisionmaking process and how that translated into behaviors, the data could provide deep insights into what happened and how it took pollsters by surprise.

Michael S. Pollard @MichaelSPollard

commentary

The Road Ahead: Rebuilding the Country's Infrastructure in the Trump Administration Era

Policymakers generally agree on the need to rebuild America's infrastructure. But the country is far behind in this area. Why? Transportation projects take time and money. And it's hard to predict how a project will affect its surroundings.

Liisa Ecola

blog

Who Wins Globalization?

While more needs to be done for those who once worked in industries such as furniture manufacturing, where essentially all activity has moved to lower-cost nations, the U.S. is starting to see an increase in manufacturing activity because of new types of technological advances.

q&a

Autonomous Vehicles: Imagining the Day-to-Day of the Future

At RAND's 2016 Politics Aside event, Nidhi Kalra and Timothy Bonds discuss what daily life might be like once autonomous vehicles populate the roads.

blog

The Price of Personalized Health Care

Medical care in the United States is entering an era where technology can give patients more control over their care and let them take control of their health data.

blog

Pulling Up the Drawbridge 'Is Fundamentally Flawed'

Turning inward in response to rapid global change overstates the costs of doing so and downplays the benefits of facing outward.

blog

Social Media's Role in the Erosion of Truth

The firehose of information on social media makes it hard for people to distinguish between sources that are credible and those that aren't.

blog

Getting the Most Out of Data Science

Policymakers should pursue efforts to assure that the array of data collected by the federal government benefits all Americans by improving the availability, reliability, and transparency of the information, said DJ Patil, the United States' chief data scientist, at RAND's 2016 Politics Aside event.

blog

'Truth Decay' Makes Facts Subjective and Polarization More Extreme

"When everyone has their own facts, then nobody really has any facts at all," said President and CEO Michael Rich at RAND's Politics Aside event. Truth Decay pushes political polarization to even greater extremes and prevents policymakers from reaching consensus on solutions to the nation's biggest challenges.

commentary

How Will Jihadist Strategy Evolve As the Islamic State Declines?

As ISIL experiences ongoing battlefield losses it will have to rework its strategy to sustain itself as a preeminent jihadist brand. Meanwhile, the group will likely place greater emphasis on smaller scale strikes that require less central direction.

Colin P. Clarke, Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

commentary

The Neighborhood Park: An Underused Oasis

Most neighborhood parks are underutilized, especially in the mornings and on weekdays. But with a modest amount of redesign, investment, and marketing, parks could lead more people to engage in routine physical activity.

Deborah A. Cohen, Catherine J. Nagel