2020

Health Care Quality
commentary
When It Comes to U.S. Health Systems—Diversity Matters
Ryan E. Tsuchida, Sydney Fouche, John Burkhardt, Ted Corbin, Harrison Alter, Mahshid Abir
Sep 25, 2020
The RAND Blog
Health care systems are a powerful and relatively well-resourced stakeholder in the effort to eliminate inequities both among the health workforce and among patient populations. The deliberate practice of increasing diversity within the workplace may have the power to create significant, positive impacts on workplace culture and patient care.
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Taiwan
commentary
Taiwan’s KMT May Have a Serious '1992 Consensus' Problem
Derek Grossman @DerekJGrossman, Brandon Alexander Millan
Sep 25, 2020
The Diplomat
The 1992 Consensus is an agreement between the Kuomintang opposition party in Taiwan and mainland Chinese authorities on the existence of only “One China.” Maintaining the 1992 Consensus as the cornerstone of the Kuomintang's platform has not helped the party's cause, and more importantly, has probably done the opposite.
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Workplace Well-Being
commentary
It May Be Time to Rethink the Design of Jobs to Deliver Good Health for Workers
Chris Warhurst, Christian Van Stolk
Sep 25, 2020
Warwick Institute for Employment Research
Even before the COVID-19 crisis, the impact of poorly designed jobs on the health of workers was drawing attention. Now may be the time to fundamentally rethink the design of jobs so that they promote good health and lessen poor health and its costs.
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Health Care Cost Inflation
blog
Health Care Price Transparency, COVID-19 Vaccinations, Gun Laws: RAND Weekly Recap
Sep 25, 2020
This weekly recap focuses on what private health plans pay compared to what Medicare pays, when COVID-19's global spread really began, laws that could reduce firearm deaths, and more.
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Workplace Well-Being
commentary
Managing the Challenge of Workforce Presenteeism in the COVID-19 Crisis
Christian Van Stolk, Michael Whitmore
Sep 25, 2020
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
Presenteeism occurs when people work when in suboptimal health. Both presenteeism and absenteeism are key influences on workplace productivity, but presenteeism is by far the most significant. It's vital that employers identify and deal with presenteeism, for the health of their people as well as that of the organization.
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Taiwan
commentary
Ambiguity Has Its Uses
Michael J. Mazarr @MMazarr
Sep 24, 2020
Foreign Affairs
As China's thirst to resolve the Taiwan issue intensifies, the United States' halfhearted commitment to the island will become increasingly perilous: too weak to deter Chinese aggression but strong enough to drag the United States into a war. No U.S. approach to Taiwan will offer a perfect guarantee of peace. But the United States has many options short of the provocative, costly, and diplomatically risky step of an unconditional security pledge.
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Cybersecurity
commentary
Could Time Be Up for TikTok?
Daniel Gonzales, Sarah Harting, Julia Brackup
Sep 24, 2020
The RAND Blog
Is it possible for ByteDance to maintain ownership in TikTok Global while ameliorating U.S. national security concerns? At the heart of any deal should be a highly technical agreement on data security issues—one that not only the two companies but the two governments might have to agree to.
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Georgia (country)
commentary
Georgia: From COVID-19 to a Critical Test of Democracy
Kenneth Yalowitz, John Tefft, William Courtney @courtneywmh
Sep 23, 2020
The National Interest
Georgia has successfully dealt with the COVID-19 outbreak but now must meet the task of conducting free, fair, and transparent parliamentary elections on October 31 and dealing with the economic impacts of the pandemic.
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Domestic Terrorism
commentary
The American Jihad Was a Failure. For Those Who Joined, It Was a Path to Destruction
Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins
Sep 23, 2020
The Hill
To keep the jihad going after 9/11, al Qaeda exhorted homegrown terrorists to take up arms in the United States. ISIS later made similar appeals. These calls to arms yielded some plots and a few attacks, but overall, the American jihad was a failure.
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Middle East
commentary
In the Middle East, Russia and China Expand Their Influence
Ali Wyne, Colin P. Clarke
Sep 18, 2020
Lawfare
While the United States is concerned primarily about a resurgent China's inroads in the Middle East, it is also nervous about the gambits of a revanchist Russia. As the United States decides when and how to contest China and Russia—in and beyond the Middle East—it will have to resist alarmism as vigorously as complacency.
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Wildfires
blog
Wildfires, America's Wealth Gap, Screening for COVID-19 at Work: RAND Weekly Recap
Sep 18, 2020
This weekly recap focuses on the growing risk of wildfires, how Americans' incomes have grown (or not), workplace screenings for COVID-19 symptoms, and more.
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Homeless Populations
commentary
Access to Mobile Technology Could Help to Alleviate LA's Homelessness Crisis
Sarah B. Hunter, Rajeev Ramchand, Benjamin Henwood
Sep 16, 2020
The RAND Blog
The vast majority of people experiencing homelessness have cell phones, which often serve as their lifelines. Providing technological supports, such as Wi-Fi access and opportunities to charge devices, could result in better access to social services and, ultimately, better quality of life and outcomes.
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Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
commentary
PTSD and Substance Use Disorders Are a Vicious Cycle for Veterans
Michael Richardson, Roger Brooks, Eric R. Pedersen @ericrpedersen, Terri Tanielian @TerriTanielian
Sep 15, 2020
Military.com
It is not uncommon to see a co-occurrence of PTSD and heavy use of substances, which can rise to the level of a substance use disorder. It may be necessary to challenge how the needs of veterans are addressed to remove barriers to care that make treating these co-occurring disorders simultaneously so difficult.
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International Diplomacy
commentary
The Lost Generation in American Foreign Policy
James Dobbins @Jim_Dobbins, Gabrielle Tarini @gabbytarini
Sep 15, 2020
The Hill
Throughout the 55 years following World War II, successive U.S. administrations racked up major foreign policy successes at an average rate of about once a year. Since 2001, the pace of foreign policy achievement has fallen to once every four years. The result has been a lost generation in American foreign policy.
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Afghanistan
commentary
The Islamic State in Afghanistan Is Down, but Not Out
Abdul Sayed, Colin P. Clarke
Sep 14, 2020
Newsweek
The Afghan Taliban is on the verge of entering into a power-sharing agreement with the Afghan government in a peace deal facilitated by the United States. Washington seems to be holding out hope that the deal will stabilize the country. But the Islamic State Khorasan Province remains a concern. The Islamic State in Afghanistan may be down, but it's not out.
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Security Cooperation
commentary
America's Indo-Pacific Vision Is Becoming a Reality—Because of China
Derek Grossman @DerekJGrossman
Sep 14, 2020
Nikkei Asian Review
The Trump administration's Indo-Pacific strategy has received a significant boost in recent months toward achieving its goal of keeping the region “free and open” from Chinese coercion. Ironically, China itself has been doing the boosting.
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